The Martial Unity

Chapter 2820: Heartcrusher

One moment, the many Martial Embodiments of the Martial Masters wove together a tapestry upon the canvas of heaven and earth.

The very next?

A microcosm of Water eroded all of them, washing them away with the sheer force of its expansion.

The Martial Masters froze.

They froze, shivering as they gritted their teeth.

It wasnʼt that they didnʼt want to move.

It was that they couldnʼt.

”Nrggghh!!!”

”ARGHRR!!!”

”What is this?!”

They gritted their teeth as an enormous flood of information influx forcefully bore down on their minds, leaving most of them almost entirely paralyzed. With the blood evolution treatment, Ruiʼs mind and Embodiment had grow even stronger than it ever had before.

The few that were able to move froze anyway.

Not from the information flux, but from the shock.

The shock that such an extraordinary amount of power was even allowed within the Master Realm.

They had made a terrible mistake.

And yet, while other Martial Masters would run away as fast as they could, the Martial Masters of the Gu did not.

”DIE!”

The few mobile Martial Masters surged forth at a blinding speed with murderous bloodlust and ferocious aggression launching powerful attacks at simultaneously. Rui didnʼt move.

Even as the fierce lethal attacks of his opponent converge upon him, he didnʼt so much as move an inch.

A single whisper escaped him as his eyes flared with a blood-red glow.

”Heartcrusher.”

Suddenly, their Martial Hearts disappeared.

The glowing veins and blood vessels that streaked across their entire body simply snuffed.

One moment, their Martial Hearts were blazing with power.

The very next, they were snuffed like a candle.

The Heartcrusher was a technique that Rui spontaneously created then and there with the help of the Forge of Creation and Megamind. He would cast a powerful hypnosis that would essentially get rid of the state of mind and brain that allowed one to tap into the Martial Heart.

After all, the Martial Heart was simply a darwinianly-evolved version of the untapped latent physical power shackled by physical limiters for the bodyʼs own safety. It was theoretically possible to restore those limiters and deprive the person of their Martial Heart for at least as long as the hypnosis was active, but likely until they reawakened it organically once more. THUD THUD THUD

The Martial Masters shook with fear as their fists and attacks crashed into Ruiʼs abdomen without so much as putting even the tiniest scratches on him.

In that moment, all ferocity and fierceness in their eyes and body language disappeared.

They gazed at Ruiʼs blood-red eyes with unadulterated horror as they understood just what kind of curse he had placed on them.

But alas, it was too late.

”ARRGAHRRGHRAGH!!!” one Martial Master broke down as he tore his hair from his head.

The others simply shivered as they gazed at their hands, believing that they were merely reduced to Squires.

It was a horrifying realization and one of the worst things that any Martial Artist could conceive of.

Centuries of effort were robbed forever.

It was too much for their psyche to handle.

The battle was already over.

The Virodhabhasa Gospel detailed that all Martial Art came from the Antithesis.

And what he gave, he could also take.

”Letʼs go, Amare,” Ruiʼs eyes narrowed as he shut off his Realms of power. ”We donʼt have time to waste.

Not a single person had died, and yet they scurried out of his way. There were fates far worse than death, and the sheer terror in their eyes indicated that they would far rather die than become a victim of this demon.

The two of them moved deeper and deeper into the Master ring.

”You spared them.”

Amareʼs voice was warm and appreciative.

”I just didnʼt want to waste energy,” Ruiʼs expression grew severe. ”After all, those were merely the weakest Masters in the Gu. We will face stronger and stronger Martial Masters. And I want to conserve as much power as possible. Not to mention…”

His eyes sharpened. ”I definitely cannot use Gigabrain for anything short of absolute death. Not in this place.”

He would not last months in a coma in the Gu.

Amare tilted her head with confusion.

He was being oddly wary.

She didnʼt think there was anything for him to worry about in the Master-level ring, Rui had reached such an astronomical level of power at his full power that he was simply in a Realm of his own.

On top of that, he had her.

And yet, his body language was tense.

His eyes were sharp.

”Rui…” she frowned. ”Why are you—”

Her eyes widened with shock as he saw the hair on his arm stand on edge.

”You—”

”Ssh…!” His eyes pitch-black eyes peered into the depths of the darkness of the Gu.

Chills crawled across her skin, and she felt a cold wave of peril wash across her entire body. She felt a shiver crawl up her spine involuntarily.

A horrifying sense of fear had gripped her head before she could even realize it.

Her gaze shifted back to the endless darkness that stretched on forever.

Their pace had slowed down to a crawl.

Each step they took forward evoked a tremendous sense of terror in the depths of their heart as they dove deeper and deeper into the Master-level ring of the Gu.

WHOOSH

They emerged from the darkness.

And what they saw shook them.

Mountains of corpses of Sage-level monsters and Martial Masters were strewed about the entirety of the battlefield. A dead earthen basilisk the size of a mountain.

The mangled corpse of a greater dragon.

The ravaged cadaver of a behemoth.

The shredded wings of an angel.

The rend chunks of a chimera.

The endless blood reached the ankles.

Fresh blood.

Each and every single one of these living beings had died very recently, moments ago, with blood still profusely gushing from their corpses.

A single man stood at the very center of the battlefield.

A Martial Master.

His Martial attire was a glistening white.

An almost unseen color in the depths of the Gu.

And yet, what chilled Rui was not the color of the attire.

But the fact that not a single drop of blood could be seen on it. His curly silver hair swayed as he slowly turned towards them.

A friendly smile emerged on his pale face as his eyes lit up with enthusiasm.

”Hello there.” His tone was cheerful. ”Can I help you?”

”Ah, yes please!” Amare smiled with delight, approaching him.

PAT

Rui stopped with a hand on the shoulder.

”Hmmm...?” Amare turned towards him with a confused expression. ”Whatʼs the matter?”

Ruiʼs expression darkened with grave severity.

”Heʼs the only survivor.”

She frowned for a moment.

Then, realization dawned on her.

He was the only survivor of the Gu ritual that had just finished.

Ruiʼs expression grew ashen as he studied the man.

Everything about his body language and demeanor was warm and friendly.

And yet, a single instinct erupted from the depths of Ruiʼs heart.

”A monster.”

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