The Martial Unity

Chapter 2678: Hidden Power

And thus, Ruiʼs crash course in the Martial Art aspects of the Dance of Terra began.

”Let me first impart with you our understanding of earth as a phenomenon,” she began. ”It is only when you understand how we view earth will you understand why our earth-bending has evolved the way it has.”

Her gaze shifted down as she knelt, gently dragging her hand across the soil beneath their feet. ”Most people, when they think of earth, are merely thinking of rocks and land. They think of sand, gravel, and soil. They think of the bedrock that supports everything.”

Rui nodded. ”Although itʼs an oversimplification, it is not inaccurate.”

”It is precisely because of that kind of thinking that earth-bending outside the Nest of Terra is primitive,” she remarked, shaking her head. ”You see, while it is true that earth is constituted of gravel, rock, and soil, it also possesses a tremendous amount of power hidden right before oneʼs eyes. Invisible power. So invisible that even Martial Artists of the Upper Realm fail to realize its presence.”

Ruiʼs eyes lit up with interest. ”Power?”

She nodded. ”Power that beggars the mind. An unimaginable power is hidden in the depths of the soil right beneath our feet. Rocks, gravel, and bedrock. These are not static. They, too, are drawn towards Gaia with the power of gravity, possessing immense potential for energy simply by virtue of their mass, size, and position relative to other rocks and gravel. Tell me…”

She turned towards him. ”Why do you think earthquakes happen?”

Rui stirred at her words. ”Because of seismic potential energy being converted into geothermal and geomechanical work as well as seismic radiation, which we experience as the tremors of earthquakes?”

She simply stared at him with a lost expression. ”I do not know what those words mean.”

”Er, basically, there is a lot of energy hidden in earth, and that energy is sometimes released, causing an earthquake,” and yet, the very moment he uttered his words, he understood where she was going with all of this. ”Precisely.” She nodded encouragingly. ”While Martial Artists outside the Nest of Terra simply view earth as a medium, we view earth as a source of power as well. All of our earth-bending makes use of two sources of energy. One is ourselves, and the other is Gaia. The power hidden in her beautiful body is something that we can harness with her grace. For his is a kind and warm mother.”

The Martial Sage brought her hands together as she issued a prayer to the mother planet that bore all life.

The gesture reminded Rui of the Divine Doctor, who also regarded the planet as not only alive but also that the planet was sick.

He also remembered that he had made absolutely zero progress with that request.

”And that is why our earth-bending is superior,” she remarked, getting up. ”We use our body and our breath to not only channel our power through the earth as a medium but also harness the tremendous potential energy hidden beneath its surface.”

”But, how did your people find out that not only is there tremendous potential energy hidden within the land beneath our feet, but also how to harness it?” Ruiʼs eyes lit up with curiosity.

Rui was relatively confident that he could create a system of thought that inputted seismic data and outputted what needed to be done to harness seismic potential energy. However, that would be because he had a tremendous capacity for thought and also because the memories of his past life gave him the scientific foundation to create such systems of thought, even if he wasnʼt a geoscientist.

How did the people of the Nest of Terra learn to do this?

Her expression darkened. ”We learned it the hard way.”

”The hard way?”

She nodded. ”Do you think creating a subterranean civilization can be done without having an exquisite understanding of the power hidden in the depths of land? Do you know how many catastrophes we have suffered, how many people have died from earthquakes, landslides, and collapsing ceilings before we finally mastered the art of identifying hidden power and how to harness it instead of letting it destroy us?”

”Ah… centuries of underground excavation and construction must have undoubtedly bestowed upon you the ability to identify seismic potential energy and seismic tension,” Rui realized with a fascinated expression. ”That sense and intuition must have become engraved in your peopleʼs blood due to the fact that it would predict survival.”

It made perfect sense that what might have become an interesting system of thought for Rui was actually absolutely necessary for the survival of the Terrans so that they didnʼt end up dying.

”And so, we use our sense and intuition to identify where the potential is hidden, and then using force, pressure, temperature, sound, and light, we harness the hidden power within the depths of the land beneath our feet,” she explained as she activated a breathing technique while stepping around in a specific and directed manner.

RUMBLE…

He could sense her imparting pressure and force with her steps, heat, and sound with friction while generating an electromagnetic field from within her body with her spirals. They each played a special role in harnessing the seismic energy within the lands beneath their feet.

Together, it yielded a displacement of land that far exceeded the energy that she herself put into the land.

RUMBLE!!!

Rui watched with amazement as she displaced a tremendous amount of land, reshaping the very surface of the land around them.

”This is the most difficult and important part of earth-bending, whether it is our earth-bending or the more primitive forms of earth-bending on the surface,” she informed him when her demonstration came to an end. ”It isnʼt enough to just identify potential. It isnʼt enough to simply understand earth as a medium. What matters most in all earth-bending is the path of action you choose.”

Ruiʼs eyes lit up with curiosity. ”Path of action?”

”Indeed.” She nodded. ”Iʼm sure youʼre aware that Martial Artists possess a tremendous amount of efficiency in their movements, allowing them to make the absolute maximum of all the power within their body. We are able to make almost absolute perfect utility of the power of our body against our opponent. However, with earth-bending…”

Her eyes returned to the land beneath her feet. ”…there is a third element between yourself and your opponent. That is where the path of action comes in.”

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