The Martial Unity

This was the first warning that Martial Sages received after breaking through to the Sage Realm.

Unlike the Realms that came before it, the Sage Realm could be lost.

Change could not be stopped.

And thus, Enlightenment needed to keep up with change.

Martial Sages needed to be aware of how they changed as sovereign beings.

“And what if you could stop them?”

Sage Sera’s eyes widened with shock.

The Psycher smiled knowingly. “What if you could impede their understanding of the changes that happen to them as beings? Alternatively, what if you could cause changes in them faster than their awareness could keep up?”

She stood up with a shocked expression as an epiphany exploded in the depths of her mind.

“Then they would lose their Enlightenment of Self. Or they would have dedicated their attention inwardly if they want to prevent that…”

That would distract them in the middle of battle, weakening and sabotaging their combat power.

A wild grin emerged on her face.

“I found it! I found the solution to my problem!”

She threw one last glance at the unfathomable Psycher.

“Thanks, I owe you one.”

WHOOSH

And just like that, she departed from the Esocline Federation with an excited grin on her face.

The Psycher simply continued relishing his tea with a soft, unfathomable smile on his face.

Sage Sera, on the other hand, returned to the Kandrian Empire and immediately buried herself in the manifold for thirty years.

The potential solution that she had gotten from the insights of the Psycher were as exciting as they were difficult and time-consuming. It was different from what she had done up until now, although it manifested in the same way in so far as its effects on the battle were concerned.

Because it was so radically different in its core principles, it took her thirty years until she deemed herself ready to try out the implementation of her new ability against Martial Sages.

And as a pleasant surprise, the Emperor of Harmony and the Martial Union launched a joint attack on the Nest of Terra, in which she was more than happy to take part.

“I. DID. NOT. LOSE!!!” the Terrampager roared with maniacal bloodlust.

“Then, what are you going to do about it?” she smirked.

Her words evoked a change in him.

“Are you just going to live the rest of your life being the pathetic weakling Sage who got demolished by a Martial Master?” Her predatory grin was gruesome.

His eyes flared with rage.

The very idea of that sounded revolting to his soul.

“Nggh…” he winced as his hands shifted to his head.

He could feel himself approaching the brink of losing his understanding of what kind of being he was.

It took effort to harmonize mind and soul once more.

Effort that had been redirected away from the battle.

It created a clean opening.

BOOOOOOM!!!

A devastating kick to the jaw rattled his head, causing the blunt force trauma to exceed a critical threshold.

His Body went limp.

THUD

He collapsed, unconscious.

She took a deep breath, putting her hand on her heart.

The victory changed her.

She closed her eyes as she familiarized herself with the changes that the victory had caused in her.

She could feel her confidence surging.

She had mellowed out a little after breaking through to the Sage Realm because of her obsolete power and the absence of confidence it caused. She had lost some of her predatory aggression.

And now it returned.

Her smile grew malevolent while her head raised itself ever so slightly, while her chest ceased its minute droop and grew puffed once more.

Her eyes grew chillingly perilous with the knowledge that her Martial Art had regained its lethality.

An eerie air of danger radiated from her once more.

The Harbinger had returned.

“I wonder if I should go help Zentra…” she mused as she gazed at a distant battle unfolding far away from her. “Hmmm… it’s his first proper battle as a Sage, too, so I should leave him to his own devices.”

BOOOOOOOM BOOOOOOOOM BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!

The world shook as Sage Zentra’s arms enlarged as they blasted his opponent with tremendously devastating power.

The Terran Martial Sage gritted his teeth, protecting himself from the shocking amount of power that a newbie Sage was able to unleash. He grabbed his sword, waiting for the right moment to unleash it against his opponent in half.

“DIE!!!”

WHOOSH!!!

And yet, the Terran Sage widened his eyes with a shocked expression as his blade missed his target.

Sage Zentra has split his body in half voluntarily to avoid being chopped by the sword created by earth-bending.

What followed was even more shocking.

Both halves of Sage Zentra began attacking the Martial Sage independently, bludgeoning him with countless devastating attacks armed with materia prima!

BOOOOOOOOM BOOOOOOOOOM BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

“Argghhh!” the Terran Martial Sage grimaced with pain as he struggled to deal with the incoming attacks. “What the hell is this monstrosity?!”

Sage Zentra was the opposite of the Harbinger.

He had an absolute affinity with the Sage Realm.

The soul exerted tremendous influence and control over the Body. The moment he gained Enlightenment of Self and his mind harmonized with his soul, becoming one, he also had access to the cockpit of all cells in his Body.

He had already had a profoundly shocking mastery of body manipulation, but with the Martial Soul, he had reached uncharted territory of mastery.

“I’m afraid I am just getting started.” His voice was as composed as always, even as he unleashed a monstrous onslaught of attacks.

His separated lower half grew two more legs while his separated upper body generated two more arms.

And thus, he unleashed twice as many attacks as before.

His opponent never stood a chance.

It wasn’t long before he was rendered unconscious.

“Well done,” the Harbinger smirked with amusement as he put his Body back together.

“It is rather underwhelming, I must regrettably confess,” he remarked calmly. “I had envisioned a much more difficult battle, but my expectations have been sorely under-met. What strikes me as strange is how weak these Sages are.”

The Harbinger’s smile was derisive.

“It’s not that they are weak. We are simply too strong. It’s been seven years in the real world since the Kandrian Empire got its national treasures. The immense dividends that those treasures pay have accumulated into an insurmountable.”

Her grin widened.

“The Kandrian Empire is simply the strongest.”

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