The Martial Unity

Rui could only suppress his reluctance as he executed the series of actions, traveling around, changing rides, and changing attire, among other things. The entire process took a few days in total, but eventually, he made it back without a single person possibly noticing his return. 

The measures that the Silent Shadow had taken were tedious and complex, but Rui could understand why they could fool even the Beggar's Sect. They were the kind of measures that were extremely difficult to instate and could not be done more than once. 

It was only days later that he finally found himself back in the Shadow Isles and Area Crina.

The Shadow Isles were still recovering from the damage that he had inflicted on it. However, almost none of the assassins who left the Shadow Isles came back. It appeared that the Martial Squires and Apprentices simply couldn't stay in a place where they didn't have any agency.

Rui had also mentally tormented them with his bloodlust amplified with the Mind Mask. He had non-verbally conveyed to them that as long as they remained here, they were forever going to be his target.

He told them to leave the entire geographic region.

Most of them obliged, not willing to die. According to the Beggar's Sect that he had spoken to briefly before pretending to leave the Derschek Region, which had been part of Master Reina's plan, the majority of assassins that Rui had driven had gone on to leave the Derschek Region as a whole, putting as much distance between them and the Shadow Isles as possible.

"Your plan has been a mighty success." Professor Carl noted. "Clearing away the problem that has plagued our branch of the foreign affairs department of the Beggar's Sect is a massive contribution to the Beggar's Sect."

"How much of a dent does it put in my commission payment to the Beggar's Sect?" Rui wondered.

"A lot. You have cleared half of your commission payment, roughly speaking. We can show you the actual bills and receipts if you're a stickler for detail."

Rui shook his head. The Beggar's Sect had worked hard and long to cultivate reputations of fairness, trustworthiness, and credibility, they would never squander decades if not centuries of hard work by deceiving their benefactor just for some paltry extra profits. The intelligence community as a whole would learn of it very quickly if Rui complained and their reputation would suffer.

"Still... half, huh?" Rui murmured. 

He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He had put in a ton of effort and achieved extraordinary results, and yet that had been only half of the payment he made.

"It's a good thing, the intelligence that you have requested can only be obtained through the system we have in place that was created over centuries of development behind it. It is actually a little bit shocking that you have managed to repay half of your commission payment in just six months. At this rate, you could potentially be the first Martial Artist of your age to repay such a big commission payment so quickly. Half a year is nothing for Martial Artists like yourself." Professor Carl explained.

Rui left it at that. As long as he completed the payment and got the strategic intelligence on Chairman Deacon that he needed.

"So I assume that the Beggar's Sect will regain control over the region?" Rui asked.

"Of course, we have begun not only stabilizing our influence but also ensuring that the assassination industry never entrenches itself back into the Derschek Region." The man declared.

The entire had begun to have tales and legends spun around it, making it a taboo for assassins. The Beggar's Sect delightfully hastened that process with its ability to control public opinion and cognition as well as it did.

Regardless, Rui didn't care about the state of the Shadow Isles and the Derschek Region. He had succeeded in achieving the objective that he had come to achieve and nothing else really mattered to him.

"Oh, you're finally back?" She mused when he had re-entered the secret training chamber externally through a hidden entrance that Master Reina had managed to conceal even from the Beggar's Sect. "You better have not made any mistakes. I would spank you if you did. Don't think I'm joking. I'll do it."

"Tempting," Rui sarcastically replied. "But I'll decline. let's get started with the training."

It wasn't long before they found themselves in certain sections of the training chamber, ready to embark on a training voyage. Rui had chosen to begin with developing his own disguise technique.

"As I mentioned before. The disguise technique that I showed you is based on an amalgamation of many different mechanisms and principles, which is unusual for a single technique. It is impractical for you to master all of them unless you truly intend to live a life where impersonation-level disguise is very important and significant. A handful of principles and mechanisms is enough to make you unrecognizable."

"What kind of principles would you recommend I master? How many options do I have to choose from?" Rui asked.

"Oh there are many things you could master," She remarked. "You could, for instance, master the principle of adjusting the water retention of your flesh, changing the volume of your flesh."

She closed her eyes, activating a breathing technique. Her face slowly grew larger and more bloated, changing her appearance to a certain degree.

"You could focus on adjusting skull structure and shape by manipulating the individual bones that comprise it."

"Or you could focus on changing secondary features like facial hair or eye color."

"Or you could focus on changing skin color by adjusting pigmentation." 

"You could alter your perceived height and perceived body shape with pelvic tilts and spinal extensions or contractions, a low-grade technique but actually quite effective."

Rui watched, amazed and disturbed, at the proficiency at which she altered her appearance so well. "I don't need too many, just enough to make me unrecognizable."