The Martial Unity

Chapter 3820: The Solution

The atmosphere in the royal funeral hall had grown tremendously tense as her declaration hung in the air.

The peril that hung in the air tingled at their nerves.

They sensed the convergence of the fate of their continent and civilization within the royal funeral hall. So much so that even the gathered leaders of human civilization remained silent, reduced to spectators.

They simply waited with bated breaths as Rui’s intense ethereal eyes bore deep into hers. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of fear or hesitation in her golden irises.

What he did sense was a deep resolve to risk her life in pursuit of her political agendas. Unlike the other princes and princesses who had simply collapsed in resignation and despair upon hearing Rui’s announcement, she remained determined.

She understood that she did not need to ascend the throne to fulfill her political agenda.

She comprehended the best path to achieving her political agendas in the circumstances she had been dealt, and seamlessly began making progress down their path.

She multiplied her base of power by an order of magnitude by seizing the right opportunity and harmonizing with the available political power she could get her hands on.

She understood his political weaknesses and constraints, and deftly applied maximum pressure and pain on them to slow him down in order to outpace him.

The longer this debate and battle of rhetoric continued, the more Rui lost his halo of invincibility and the more hers grew, thus leveraging even the constraint of time against him.

Time slowed down in his ethereal eyes as a glint of appreciation within them emerged. ’She’s good. Really, really good. So this is what it would have felt like to fight against my father in a political battle.’

She didn’t have his experience, but she was prodigiously talented and assimilated his ways by working under him. She was able to produce an extraordinary amount of resistance against him despite the gap in their innate political power.

He knew it wasn’t enough to defeat him, however. He simply had too many advantages going for him, and as splendid as her capacity for political intrigue and maneuvering was, it could not close the titanic gulf between them.

She had lost the throne war.

She was clearly aware of that truth, as well.

She swiftly abandoned her aspirations for Empress and focused on executing her agendas of political harmony through other ways, namely by spontaneously building a powerful coalition with the stakeholders of the Martial World.

Her statement of fighting him for the rest of her life made Rui groan internally. He would have to deal with this kind of resistance and friction for who knew however many decades and centuries?

’I won’t be able to properly focus on Martial Art if I make an enemy of this woman.’

Being Emperor would already take time out of his schedule; that was something that he had resolved himself to because the responsibility was beneficial to pressuring him into growing faster.

But if she became his permanent political opponent, then he would have to become a full-time politician just to keep her at bay.

’Absolutely not, I refuse to deal with such a pain in the ass for an entire era.’

For a moment, he truly felt tempted to kill her. That was how much of an impediment and inconvenience she was. But he quickly banished the thought. She was his little sister, and they shared a father who loved them both. He also did not want to violate his chosen principles and become a full-on tyrant.

Yet, at the same time, he would not back off from his vision.

That left only one option.

Time unfroze in his eyes as his attention returned to the present.

To the Princess of Harmony, who stood firm and tall with a resolute expression.

He stretched his arm to her, offering his hand.

”Then join me, Princess Ru. Join my faction and join my administration once I ascend the throne.” His ethereal eyes softened. ”I will appoint you in charge of ensuring that my regime over the Martial World is always in harmony with Martial Artists.”

Her eyes widened as a wave of shock rippled through all the guests of honor.

”...What?” A stunned whisper escaped the Princess of Harmony.

She had just declared that she would spend her life fighting against his regime and his political vision, and now he invited her to his faction and administration?

Even Secretary Claris, the Shepherd, and Amare gazed at him with a bewildered expression.

”You will find my reasoning compelling,” Rui told her with a calm tone of voice. ”If your political agenda is harmony, then you will be able to achieve it better with a high-ranking position within the Kandrian government. You will be able to wield the power of the Kandrian Empire and even my power to achieve your goals. In turn, I will have turned an impediment into an asset. If you refuse, then we will both be locked into a long, painstaking, and brutal political battle for ages. It is better to set aside our differences and work together in harmony, isn’t that right, Princess of Harmony?”

He cleverly framed it in a way that made it difficult for her to refuse without looking like she didn’t believe in her stated political ideology. Her eyes narrowed as she gazed at him with a deep, scrutinizing gaze. ”How do I govern that which I oppose?”

”By being practical,” Rui remarked. ”By understanding that something is better than nothing. If you agree to join my team, then, through you, I will make my regime as amenable to the Martial World as possible. It will be less disagreeable, less ruthless, and less brutal for the Martial Sages and Martial Masters. There are certain fundamentals that will not change, but outside of the core stuff, I can be very flexible. You will become the bridge between my regime and the will of those you claim to represent, tasked with ensuring harmony between the regime and the Martial World. I will create a new ministry, the Ministry of Harmony.”

His ethereal eyes sharpened.

”And I will make you my Minister of Harmony.”