The Martial Unity

Rui simply stood there for a moment, still processing not just the crazy conversation that he had had with the Martial Transcendent but also the fact that his problem in the Virodhabhasa Theocracy had already been solved.

The entirety of his perspective of the nation, the loyalty of the Martial Sages who believed in him, and the religion had been turned upside-down in the span of what wasn’t a very long conversation.

Only a Martial Transcendent could change his worldview so drastically and so quickly.

Not only did his thoughts about all of it change, but his feelings on the matter also started to change.

“I am the Antithesis.”

The Martial Pontifex widened his eyes with shock as pure sincerity and honesty could be heard in Rui’s powerful tone.

This time, he didn’t utter it with the intention of deceiving.

This time, he uttered it with the intention of embodying it.

A soft smile emerged on the Martial Pontifex’s face. “Yes, Lord Virodhabhasa.”

“Then, I command you to join the unified Sage task force when the time is right.” He gazed at the Martial Pontifex in clear eyes.

“As you wish, Your Divinity.”

And just like that, the problem of the Virodhabhasa Theocracy was completely solved quicker than Rui had expected. It was undoubtedly one of the shorter visits that Rui had had up until now.

“Coordinate with my father. He will contact you with the details,” Rui replied. “Make sure that you adhere to his plan and support it.”

“Understood, Your Divinity.”

Rui heaved a sigh as he gazed at the setting Sun with a hint of satisfaction.

“Only six nations left.”

He only had two and a half years for all of them. On top of that, with each success he accomplished, the price of failure only grew larger and larger, making his success increasingly imperative. He directed one last glance at the prostrating Martial Pontifex before departing from the base of Mt. Virodha, heading back to his shared quarters with Amare.

On his way, he couldn’t help but think about how just one conversation could change everything. With just one conversation, the title of the Antithesis, the name of Virodhabhasa turned from something he dreaded to something he had embraced of his free will. If the Antithesis was really no more than what Rui was aiming to be with Project Water, then there was indeed no reason to reject it. With just one conversation, the title of the Antithesis, the name of Virodhabhasa turned from something he dreaded to something he had embraced of his free will. If the Antithesis was really no more than what Rui was aiming to be with Project Water, then there was indeed no reason to reject it. “Not just a civilizational self-fulfilling prophecy, but a personal one as well.”

He glanced at hands thoughtfully. Despite his unresolved identity issues, he no longer felt an irrational urge to reject the title. It was quite a drastic change from just prior to the conversation and even amid the conversation, where he detested any attempt to infringe on his identity.

He had also made even greater progress in the Sage Realm in his conversation with the Astral Sovereign, allowing him to learn things about himself that he hadn’t quite understood until then.

He recalled how astronomically far the Sage Realm had felt when he broke through to the Master Realm and when the Divine Doctor had told him about the truth of his reincarnation.

Since then, many years had passed, and he had slowly chipped away at the massive wall between himself and the Sage Realm. The Sage Realm was in sight.

The large soul model that he had been developing also contributed to his ascent to the Sage Realm.

It constantly ran in the background, consuming a portion of his attention at all times, barring important times when he needed to focus. And yet, it was still quite far from reaching completion.

It spoke to the sheer volume of the system of thought.

It was easily, by far, the largest system of thought he had ever worked on.

Not even the Angel of Laplace, the Tree of Life, or the Scriptures of Terra were able to hold even a candle to the sheer size of this large soul model, a model that would predict and map him out as a person.

It was a conscious understanding of one’s self rather than a subconscious enlightenment. He highly doubted anybody had ever taken this path to the Sage Realm, so in many ways, this was a groundbreaking possibility for the future of Martial Art.

“If I can break Masters through to the Sage Realm with this method, then this method will secure humanity’s future against whatever is out there.”

While his existing breakthroughs were quite powerful, they were not as impactful as drawing out as many Sages from Masters.

“On top of that, I don’t need to take them the entire way. There are probably many Masters who are close but are having trouble reaching the Sage Realm and don’t need that much of a boost.”

Thus, once he broke through to the Sage Realm and didn’t have to divert attention to the background process, he could potentially cause Sages to emerge galore.

Soon enough, he reached his living quarters, finding a delighted Amare at his return.

“How did it go?” she asked with eager curiosity.

“Perfectly,” Rui smiled. “The Transcendent Prophet confirmed that I am the Antithesis, you see. The Martial Pontifex has already agreed to partake in the solution of harmony. In turn, I also learned a lot that I didn’t know before and even made progress with myself to the Sage Realm.”

“In the span of a short conversation?” Amare’s eyes lit up. “That’s amazing!”

He told her a little about what he had learned.

Of course, he kept all the dangerous and explosively world-shattering information away. Amare wasn’t exactly the most information-savvy person he knew, and it was unwise to share risky information with her, which could potentially ruin all the progress that he had made with the Virodhabhasa Theocracy.

Even at this point, beholding everything that had risen as a result of the prophecy, he found it difficult to digest all the new information that he had learned from the Astral Sovereign and pretend like nothing had happened.

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