The Martial Unity

BOOOOOOM!!!

A thundering Yin-Yang Spear crashed into his abdomen, weaving past the hole in his guard. Although the raw power of the attack wasn’t particularly impressive by peak Master standards, what made it devastating nonetheless was how Rui applied it. The right attack at the right place at the right moment.

By embodying this philosophy better than anybody before him, Rui could magnify the combat impact of each attack that he launched. The combination of the updated predictive model and the SOUL System, along with the Metabody System at full power with each Nemean Blossom, Weaving Blood, Neo Godspeed, and Megamind being activated to a quarter of their full power, and he had become a menacing offense.

“I don’t need the defense anymore.”

He swiftly replaced Nemean Blossom and Weaving Blood with Hypertrophic Surge, increasing the power that he unleashed to even greater degrees.

BOOOOOOOM BOOOOOOOM BOOOOOOOM!!!! Each blow left the Worldfolder reeling. He actively defended with all his might, summoning heaven and earth to surround him in a protective cocoon to dull the titanic impacts that struck him. And yet, earth refused to answer his calls.

“In this battle…” A whisper escaped Rui. “Gaia is mine, and mine alone, to command.”

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!

“Rgh!” the peak Martial Master cursed as Rui bombarded his half-exposed body, deprived of its earthly protection.

He didn’t understand.

He didn’t understand why his earth-bending, polished across a century, failed him at what was one of the most important battles in his entire life. He couldn’t have even begun to imagine that Rui had harnessed the Scriptures of Terra sealed in the subterranean architecture of the Nest of Terra. This legendary artifact was confidential to the highest echelons of the Terran government and unknown to other nations.

STEP

With each step Rui took, he smoothly and invisibly dismantled his opponent’s attempt to manipulate earth. While his opponent clumsily and clunkily attempted to manipulate the land of the battlefield, Rui efficiently and smoothly commanded the earth to disobey his opponent’s orders.

Dazed due to this inexplicable failure and deprived of half of the world, the Worldfolder was deeply crippled by power beyond his understanding.

BOOOOOOOM BOOOOOOOM BOOOOOOOM!!!!!

On top of that, each blow Rui threw somehow found itself squeezing past its target’s defenses, inflicting damning blows to all kinds of vital points. And any haphazard haymakers the Worldfolder attempted were doomed to fail even before they commenced.

WHOOSH

The slightest sway was all it took for Rui to evade the man’s attack while his own attack smoothly commenced from the evasion, soaring past a narrow chink in his armor that Rui foresaw.

BOOOOOOOM!!!!!

“Rgh!” the Worldfolder grimaced with pain and anger, gathering as much heaven as he could around him to guide and empower his attacks.

And yet, Rui evaded them like a ghost.

With a clear vision of exactly what their trajectories would be, he merely evaded them to their bare minimum, shifting inches out of the way.

His attacks struck his opponent before his attacks were even complete.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!

Rui bobbed and weaved, evading his blows. Each evasive motion he made was simultaneously part of an offensive motion, serving both evasively and offensively at the same time. BOOOOOOOM BOOOOOOOM BOOOOOOOM!!!!!

Bit by bit.

Step by step.

Blow by blow, Rui weathered him down.

Slowly.

Methodically.

Systematically.

With the Blood of Solaris, any stamina pressure that he may have felt in the past at this stage in the past had gone. He stuck to what worked and avoided going for more novel and complex solutions that were riskier.

Simple solutions were fool-proof.

Because of the minimal number of components, there were fewer things that could go wrong, and it simply cemented his opponent’s defeat without giving him even the slightest opportunity for backlash.

The Masters gaped as they watched one of the formidable peak Masters of their nation rendered to be nothing more than target a punching bag. The Worldfolder, who previously appeared to be larger than life in the eyes of the Masters of the Virodhabhasa Theocracy, had thoroughly lost any aura he might have had in the past. It was a jarring sight that short-circuited their understanding of the limits of the Master Realm.

They didn’t understand.

They didn’t understand how a peak Master, who once fought off dozens of Masters all by himself, could be rendered so weak and pathetic.

This man, who could disrupt the sacred equilibrium of heaven and earth and serve as a channel for their godly wrath to inflict upon his opponents, had been rendered entirely useless.

His control over earth had been thoroughly sealed.

It was as though Gaia refused to accept the call of a son she once favored so much. “…Is he even in the Master Realm anymore?” Master Carian’s voice was reduced to a stunned whisper.

“…If you told me he was a Sage, I might believe you…” Master Greminga shook his head with shock.

“Simply unbelievable.”

“If it was just him dominating the Worldfolder, it would be one thing,” Master Carian’s expression grew severe. “But he’s not just dominating the Worldfolder. He’s somehow simultaneously oppressing the Mindbreaker.”

Nobody had missed the pained spasms of the Mindbreaker while she stood midair, her hands holding her head.

They didn’t understand what was happening, but they could only assume that the Dawnbringer had done something to cause her to be incapacitated. He did this while pummeling the Worldfolder to a pulp with his sharp and devastating offense.

BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!

A thundering Flowing Canon launched the Worldfolder away to the other side of the battlefield, in the direction of the Anti-Life while the Mindbreaker managed to get away slowly, retreating to the other side of the battlefield as well while she struggled to get even a second of a reprieve.

Rui found himself gazing at the stationary Anti-Life, who merely watched the battle with an impassive gaze.

“Tsk… You bastard, are you just going to stand there?” The Worldfolder stood up, glaring at the man with angry eyes. “…We won’t be able to defeat if we don’t work together. Just put your pride aside and cooperate with us,” the Mindbreaker clenched her fists.

Suddenly, the air chilled.

The air chilled as the deathly eyes of the Anti-Life shifted towards them. A single whisper escaped him. “The two of you are a disgrace.”

–