The Martial Unity

Rui’s perspective on what was possible had been expanded significantly. He had always viewed the deeper layers of the information dimension as something to ’expand’ to if he wanted to grow stronger, but only now had he realized that each of these layers of reality was meaningfully different from the others, not just simply extensions of the causal layer.

He had never even imagined that it was possible to make permanent changes to the laws of reality governing a phenomenon in this fashion. But the first thought that came to mind was that this could be used to alter the laws of physics governing his body.

If he could do what Argenton had done to his own body, he could allow his Martial Body to play by an entirely different set of rules.

There was limitless potential in this idea. The only constraint was time. Because it took him a lot of effort to make permanent changes by altering the layer of laws, there was no way he could immediately change everything. This was the nature of Legislation. It was permanent and self-sufficient, but the magnitude of the reality-defying effects was limited.

But he could progressively allow his body to play by an increasingly different set of rules. This was entirely separate from the rule-breaking of his Martialverse, but the two could stack on top of each other and potentially even resonate in a manner to produce an outcome that was greater than the sum of the parts.

The possibilities were endless.

’Wait.’ Rui’s eyes widened with a thrilling excitement. ’What if I use Legislation to alter the laws of physics of my body when it comes to hyperdimensional reality?’

That way, he wouldn’t need to use his Martialverse’s Water to ’wash’ away the quantum vacuum flux that kept the Calabi-Yau manifolds closed. He could just permanently alter the laws of reality governing his body to be able to be connected to higher dimensions free of cost!

That wasn’t all. He could even alter the laws to create his very own laws of physics conducive to adaptive evolution. Perhaps even create literal ’Laws of Water’ that specifically allowed him to permanently defy reality in an adaptive evolution manner.

His mind surged with a myriad of ideas on how he could achieve these goals.

The very thought of it made him extremely jittery. It was the kind of idea that would make one laugh aloud spontaneously regardless of how unhinged one looked. Indeed, both Argenton and Dwight stared at Rui with a puzzled expression as he started chortling like a madman.

”—hahaha! Oh.” Rui paused, collecting himself, regaining his composure and dignity. ”Ahem, sorry about that, pretend you didn’t see it.”

The two Transcendents stared at him with a dubious expression. Argenton simply huffed. [If there’s nothing else, then I’m getting back to work. Tekvore Transcendents accumulate power. I’m too weak for a Transcendent right now. I must immediately begin developing the impossible metaphysical technologies and assimilate them into my being. That takes time, unfortunately.]

He directed a pointed gaze at Rui. [I’m hoping you can lend me the manifold.]

Rui nodded. ”No problem. Your power is humanity’s power. In return, is it possible for you to leverage your Legislation to improve my body as if it were a piece of technology? That goes for you, Dwight.”

In a way, his Martial Body was a biotechnological artifact carefully engineered over the years; he had improved and upgraded it in so many ways that it was a weapon of mass destruction that was on par with even the likes of God’s Hammer.

The two Transcendents cursorily sized his body up, sweeping it from head to toe. They hadn’t had the opportunity to study his body thoroughly with their information senses yet. But expressions of amazement emerged on their face as they explored the information form of his body.

Dwight could appreciate Rui’s mastery of primordial seed, a rather important material to dwarven craftsmen. He used the material in a way that the dwarf had never seen. Only someone with both the knowledge and Martial prowess that Rui possessed could possibly replicate that.

Argenton, on the other hand, could explore the nature of Rui’s brain directly this time. Rui had already shared some of the details with him, but seeing the light signals in his brain allowed him to appreciate Rui’s ability to integrate technology into his body. This feat would have been difficult even for a tekvore, so it spoke volumes that a martialus like Rui had pulled it off.

[I might be able to increase the speed of the light signals between your neurons,] the tekvore replied with interest. [You also have the ability to absorb light, I can see. A rather interesting application of esoteric matter.]

He was probably referring to the Blood of Solaris that Rui had drunk a long time ago. Even though he wasn’t aware of it, his informational awareness was too high for him to miss that.

”I can improve the harmony between the Realms in your existence, maybe, but...” the dwarf shook his head. ”It’s too complex. I’m not a biotechnology expert.”

[If I make a single mistake while tinkering with the light in your brain, you could die or even lose your phenomenological uniformity], the tekvore replied. [I don’t mind it if you’re willing to take that risk and are willing to entrust me with your life and Path.]

Rui thought about it for a moment, before ultimately shaking his head. ”Forget it, it was just a thought.”

He ultimately didn’t want to put his fate in the hands of another person in such a manner. Not to mention, he didn’t like the idea of becoming dependent on other people. Martial Artists ought to remain as independent as possible, as far as he was concerned. Although his Legislation was mild, he could improve it as time went by.

[Good, if there’s nothing else, then I need to get going. My breakthrough has been flawed and imperfect, and I need to resolve the issues as soon as possible.]

Rui raised an eyebrow. ”Flawed?”