The Martial Unity

She eventually ceased patting him, returning to her tea. "It is not every day that I get to speak with a boy as incredible as yourself. I look forward to the day you break through to the Master Realm, that will be quite the spectacle as long as you achieve it."

She gave him a knowing glance.

"I too look forward to breaking through to the Master Realm as soon as I can," Rui heaved a sigh. "Although I have been informed that my path to the Master Real might be particularly tough."

Master Vericita nodded knowingly. "That is the price you must pay for the extraordinary power that you will obtain from the Master Realm. I'm frankly shocked that you have already made such remarkable progress as a young man who hasn't even lived three decades."

There it was again, she eyed him knowingly like she was aware of his thought or could see through the depth of his mind. The insight that Martial Masters seemed to have always astonished him, was this the power of the Martial Mind?

"In addition…" She remarked. "I have never seen a young man like yourself harness the power of thought before he harnessed the masculine power that characterizes the male body. It's almost unheard of. Tell me…"

She reached out, petting him once more. "…what is it that led to a young man thinking so much? It is unnatural."

Rui smiled wryly. "You say that like male Martial Artists don't think."

"Not when they're young, they don't."

"That seems excessively harsh, Your Mastery."

Master Vericita smiled softly. "Perhaps, after all, you are accustomed to harnessing the power of thought more than you are the power of body. The only cases I have ever seen such a thing happen are… when one is crippled when one is unable to harness the power of the body. Were you afflicted by any disease that crippled you? But I don't recall any such information on you."

Rui's eyes widened as she managed to hit the nail on the head.

It was true that being crippled physically gave him time to think. A lot of it. That naturally caused him to be immersed in his own thoughts. Whether it was sitting by himself in school, watching the other kids play outside, or at lunch, or at any other time in his life.

He did think a lot, inevitably, if only to not go insane with frustration at his inability to partake in similar activities.

"Whatever it may be, you are blessed to be able to harness thought so well," Master Vericita replied. "It is no doubt your source of a strength as a power Martial Senior."

"Perhaps," Rui smiled.

"Mmm," Master Vericita nodded. "Then you should constantly nourish thought, develop your Martial Art and expand it with individuality and give your mind more things to think about. Once you do that you will gain more power than you can imagine."

"Thank you for your advice, Master," Rui replied, before thinking about giving it some thought. "On the topic of the expanding Martial Art, I had some inquiries of you, Master."

"Hm?" Master Vericita smiled warmly, eager to answer Rui's questions. "Ask away, my child."

"Can you tell me about the Martial Sect relating to domains?" Rui asked. "I have been quite interested in adding domains to my Martial Art."

Master Vericita stared at him for a second, before shaking her head. "There is no Martial Sect centered around domains."

Rui's eyebrows furrowed in surprise. "What? Why not? Surely the Martial Union has many domain Martial Artists."

"Many, no. Regardless the number is not the reason that there isn't a domain Martial Sect. The reason is because the sole domain Martial Master has not bothered to gather Martial Artists together and create a Sect," Master Vericita informed him. "That is why."

Well, there was nothing Rui could do about that.

"…Does that Martial Master train prospective students?" Rui wondered.

"He doesn't," Master Vericita informed him. "He is quite insular does not concern himself with the matters of man. This isn't unheard of. While many Martial Masters like myself are driven to involve ourselves in human society for various objectives and agendas, there are those whose drive drives them away from human civilization. I highly doubt that you will be able to get him to even teach you. Perhaps you could rely on the trainings or teachings of the Martial Seniors."

Rui shook his head. "I'd rather train by myself if that was the case. Martial Masters are worth training under because of their special insight and observation, which is why I bother. But Martial Seniors are in the same boat, I have much less to learn comparatively and I have always preferred relying on myself."

"Suit yourself," She smiled. "Domain techniques are also techniques that are also partially dependent on breathing. They manipulate heaven and earth with breath and body, the breath part would not be possible without breathing techniques. It goes to show just how important breathing techniques are. No other field of Martial Art has given rise to so many other fields of Martial Art that would not even be able to exist without it."

Rui smiled wryly as she began espousing the value of breathing techniques.

"If you seek to pursue domain techniques, then you made the right choice with choosing the roaring dragon blood potion," Master Vericita informed Rui. "Make sure that you complete the treatment before delving into the field, that will be more efficient than creating domain techniques centered around inferior breathing techniques."

"I understand, Master," Rui replied, nodding. "I appreciate the advice and suggestions that you have given me. I will be sure to bear your words in mind."

Master Vericita smiled warmly before her hand reached out patting him over the head. "Mmm, you're a good boy. Harness the power of thought and work towards the Master Realm. The Martial World needs revolutionary Martial Artists like you if we are to maintain dominance as the age bearers in this era."