The Martial Unity

He wasn't sure how he was supposed to answer that. Of course, he most certainly recognized that it wasn't a literal question, even though he was tempted to reply with 'male homosapien', he did not think that the aloof Master would find that amusing.

"I'm not sure what that means," Rui replied. "I'm a Martial Artist, just like any other."

"Cease your lies," Her voice reverberated in his ears. "I have lived dozens of times your life. I have seen more than you could possibly even begin to fathom. I know how to differentiate between things that are like any other and things that aren't."

It seemed that she wasn't willing to buy his bullshit.

Rui grew more wary. She seemed a lot less down-to-earth than Master Deivon, who did not act so arrogantly with him all the time despite being two Realms above him. However, her status and power were far greater than even Master Deivon's. Perhaps it was too much of him to expect to be able to be relaxed around her.

If she found out his secrets, especially the one of being from another world, he did not think it would go well. Even if the best possible outcome happened and she worshipped him instead, that was still a terrible outcome in his eyes. He did not want to become the object of devotion and worship of a religion as powerful as the Virodhabhasa Faith.

"I don't know how to answer that," Rui replied. "As far as I'm concerned, I am a Martial Artist who pursues his Martial Path out of personal ambition and love. My Martial Path is… powerful and obscure, but it's not as though there aren't other Martial Paths like that out there."

Tokugawa Ieyasu existed, after all. Furthermore, if he wasn't wrong, Squire Meera was also certainly cut from another cloth as well. He had a decent idea of what her Martial Path was, and it was arguably even more absurd than his.

She simply stared at him with her sharp eyes, not so much as changing a shade.

Rui grew nervous, but he hoped that being a Virodhabhasa Seed, and Master Deivon's heritor would ensure that she does not cross a line.

Instead, she simply closed her eyes and continued training.

"I'm allowed to be here?" Rui asked with curiosity.

She did not bother responding, but it appeared that she did not intend to kick him out. Thankfully, just like Rui had predicted, she could not do anything to him because it did not violate the rules that she herself had announced, which most likely meant that she could not put so much as a scratch on him.

That was good, because if she did kick him out, then his entire plan would have failed.

He did not want to expose his power, after going through all the possible ways in which he could acquire a pass, he sharply realized that hiding in the pocket of air around Master Uma within the table was the only possibility that ensured that he mostly hid his power.

Of course, he exposed Void Forestep, but that much was inevitable, the other outcomes of returning with a pass, or trying to steal a pass exposed his power much more.

Even now, Squire Meera was fighting off several grade-ten Martial Squires, and much to his admiration, she defended her pass.

Of course, her burden had lightened considerably as other Martial Squires also began getting passes to the next round, becoming easier targets than someone with an absurd Martial Path like Squire Meera.

One by one, candidates reached the table, gaining a pass before heading back. Unlike Rui, they were unable to sense the pocket of air that could serve as a good hiding place because they did not have Riemannian Echo.

Once the supply of passes became greater, the individual burden that each pass holder had to bear reduced considerably. Allowing them to be able to withstand the pressure.

Unlike when Rui faced three grade-ten Martial Squires, these Martial Squires did not have to actually defeat, overcome, or even push back their opponents. 

Soon enough, the fortieth candidate got their hands on the pass, serving as a signal to Master Uma.

WHOOSH!!!

The storm disappeared.

"Woah!"

"Oof!"

Several Martial Squires lost their balance, having been resisting the storm this entire time, the disappearance of the storm caused them to momentarily become imbalanced.

Each of them glanced at Master Uma.

And each of them furrowed their eyebrows in surprise as they saw Rui relaxing opposite her. 

Rui smirked mischievously under his mask as they furrowed their eyebrows in anger.

Why did he get to avoid all the competition while also spending time with the esteemed bishop?

"All forty passes have been acquired," Master Uma announced. "The competition has ended. Those who possess a pass in their possession at the moment of the conclusion of this round will go on to the next round. The one who last completely possessed the pass will be the one to pass out of whom both have a hand on the pass of this moment."

This meant that those the few who were engaging in a tug of war over the pass could not all pass, the challenger would not go to the next round unless he actually fully gained control of the pass.

The forty winners quickly gathered while the remaining one hundred and sixty were eliminated. 

Of course, that did not mean their battle had been in vain. As part of the top two hundred out of a hundred thousand Martial Squires, they could be considered to be the elite out of the elite. Any organization below a certain level of strength would fight to have them.

However, it was undoubtedly the case that the forty winners who made it to the third round benefited far more.

Rui could sense with his Primordial Instinct that each of the forty Martial Squires was cut from an entirely different cloth than standard grade-ten Martial Squires. Even the three grade-ten Martial Squires that he overcame from the preliminary contest could not compare to these forty Martial Squires.