The Martial Unity

“Of course, having said that,” the Flashing Flier continued, turning to him, “the Martial Union will go naturally with whatever decision you make. What we require is clarity.”

Rui understood what he sought from him.

He was essentially hoping that Rui would get rid of all the pressure that the Martial Union was experiencing due to him. Many people sought to try to procure Rui’s services from them via a commission, even though it wasn’t clear that Rui was willing to entertain most of them.

“This is a simple matter.” Rui heaved a sigh. “I simply do not care to undertake all these commissions for my breakthrough ability. I think that is a straightforward manner of addressing this issue if you ask me, and it will instantly get rid of all the pressure that we are experiencing.”

The others around the table simply stared at him.

Technically, he was right.

Simply refusing these commissions was the best way to get rid of the pressure the Martial Union was facing. All the Martial Union needed to do was publish an announcement that stated it would not be accepting commissions directed towards Rui for breakthroughs, and that would cause the flood of demand for his ability to subside.

However, they did not need to state the obvious. It was also the most unpleasant outcome for all the people of the Martial Union. It would be the Martial Union that suffered the loss in reputation for his decisions.

“It’s inevitable, but as long as you nip it in the bud, it will be as painless as possible,” Rui calmly stated. “Regardless, this isn’t something that will be too damaging.”

“I don’t think you understand how much pressure the Martial Union is under.” Sage Roschem heaved a soft sigh. “The news that you can trigger the breakthrough to three Realms has already spread through much of humanity. There are many extremely powerful people who seek a breakthrough from you from within and outside East Panama. Many of these powerful people are among our largest benefactors and patrons who have supported the Martial Union with the expectation and promise that they will receive leeway whenever such developments in Martial Art occur.”

Rui’s eyes narrowed as he understood why the Martial Union was trying to pressure him into reconsidering his stance of absolutely no compromise. It was extremely unwilling to piss off some of its biggest clients internationally. These were individuals who possessed an unfathomable amount of capital and power and who had supported the Martial Union for decades, if not centuries, as a form of investment.

The Martial Union was very reluctant to provoke these patrons with a blatant rejection. “We have had not only individuals who are extremely powerful and have been extremely supportive of the Martial Union in the past but also members of other Sage-level powerhouses who also seek to obtain a breakthrough from you,” one Master told him. “For example, the crown princess of the Solaris Empire has approached us with a commission for your services. The Namgun Dynasty has sought your services for one of their heirs, and even the Blood Cult has also approached us from the other side of the continent.”

Rui heaved a tired sigh as he fell into thought.

As much as he would love to say no, he needed to deeply consider whether it was worth the consequences.

Unlike the others, he was able to extrapolate the outcomes much deeper into the future and evaluate exactly whether it would come to bite him in the ass a year, ten years, or even a century down the line.

Unfortunately, his modeling and calculations told him that it did not bode well for the Kandrian Empire and, by extension, himself if he refused all of them without any consideration.

For one, if the war escalated even further beyond merely the second phase and began dragging in other Sage-level powerhouses into the battle, there would be many forces that would remember his rude refusal of their requests and would be more inclined to side with the East Panamic Treaty Alliance.

On top of that, his refusal was also a message to the rest of the world that he was unwilling to trade it even to the foremost of patrons and beneficiaries. Given that he was the most prominent prince of the Kandrian Empire, it would be interpreted as the stance of his father and the Empire at large.

With such a stubborn and insular attitude, there was a much higher chance that hostilities between the Kandrian Empire and powers beyond East Panama would erupt. Even if it did not erupt into a full-scale war, the sheer unwillingness to even trade would make these nations more inclined to contribute to the downfall of the Empire, lest it monopolize such a treasure to itself.

This, of course, negatively affected him as he was deeply connected with the state.

Finally, Rui was also keenly aware of the fact that he had caused this by choosing to bare his ability in front of the Sekigahara Confederate. If this had been leaked due to the Martial Union’s incompetence or any other party’s shortcomings, he would not have been as considerate of their circumstances.

“I’m not absolutely opposed to accepting commissions, but…” he began. “I cannot accept more than a very small number. Any more, and it will exceed the limit I set for myself. I cannot let these impede my life or my training and growth. On top of that, may I remind you that we are in the middle of a war. Our Martial Artists take precedence over foreign Martial Artists. Thus, I will only accept commercial commissions as long as there aren’t any Seniors ready to break through to the Master Realm. It isn’t like all the people making commissions will deploy their newly broken-through Martial Artists into our war to defend Kandria. This is my first and final compromise. I will not go one inch further than this. Need I remind you that I also have to deal with the breakthroughs that my father will be leveraging to win allies to win the war?”