The Martial Unity

Rui exited the room, heading back to the viewing gallery before running into Master Ceeran once more.

"Ah, how did it go, Rui?" He asked eagerly.

"Interesting, but ultimately fruitless," Rui replied. "It probably won't be joining Her Highness' campaign."

"I see…that's a shame," Master Ceeran remarked. "If you're partaking in the Kandrian Throne War, then you only have two princes left. You might want to reconsider some of your choices. After all, you only have the People's Prince and the Underworld Prince, and both of them are bad choices."

Rui turned to him with a curious look. "Why do you think so?"

"It should be obvious. The Underworld Prince is a little bastard who caught up with the mafias and the black market. Sometimes, I don't understand why the Royal Family doesn't just clean that entire mess up with force." Master Ceeran snorted. "The People's Prince, on the other hand, is a peasant-loving prince who puts their interests above all. I'm surprised that any Martial Artist supports him at all."

Rui stared at Master Ceeran with a quizzical expression. It was interesting to see how a Martial Master of the Martial Union regarded the People's Prince. Apparently, a prince that put the people first was an eyesore. He wasn't sure why the Master would come to think in such a manner. Then again, he wasn't a Martial Master of the Martial Union.

At that point, he had diverged so much from the average human that they weren't even of the same species anymore.

"The Royal Family cannot wipe out the Kandrian Underworld for the same reason that no other state in the world has succeeded in curbing the black market," Rui replied calmly. "Supply always meets demand. Always. No amount of restrictions, sanctions, or proactive or reactive measures are ever enough to stop it. If it's illegal but highly demanded, people will get their hands on it, one way or another. The only way to destroy the Underworld is to legalize the trade of the black market. Otherwise, they will always lurk in the shadows."

"You think the Royal Family does not have the power to find and annihilate the black market?" Master Ceeran asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's more complicated than that," Rui explained. "The black market has decades…centuries of experience in evading any form of law enforcement and overcoming any hurdle. They understand the Kandrian Empire better than anybody else. They know this nation backward front and inside out. They know the chinks and holes in the system extremely well. They know it well and have capitalized on it even better. That is why finding them is difficult. However, you are correct in that the Royal Family and the Kandrian Empire could find them if they employed all their power. The issue is that that would provoke a war."

"The Royal Family is stronger," Master Ceeran snorted.

"It is, but a civil war between the Royal Family and the Six Dons will ruin the nation. Since Martial Sages will be involved," Rui heaved a sigh. "The losses this nation will be catastrophic, so much more that the Kandrian Royal Family purposefully does not escalate it to active war. It is mostly limited to prevention and restriction in an attempt to suffocate the Underworld."

"They are essentially holding the nation hostage," Master Ceeran remarked.

"Indeed," Rui heaved a sigh. "It's also why Prince Rajak can get away with having the Underworld as his patron. As long as he doesn't mess up, he won't suffer any negative consequences. The Underworld is powerful, although it suffers the disadvantage of the government being averse to it, which is why Prince Rajak is not able to get a lead even though he has the entirety of the third most powerful faction of Kandria behind him. The crowning ceremony officiates the ruler, and the government controls it; this is something even the Underworld can do nothing about."

The Underworld was the third most powerful force in the Kandrian Empire holistically. While the maritime sector and the Underworld were roughly peers economically, the Underworld was much more Martially powerful. Yet their intense enmity with the government made it much more challenging to leverage it to make Prince Rajak the Emperor.

Rui heaved a sigh of relief. If not for this crucial disadvantage, then there was a chance that the Underworld Prince would have surpassed the other six. Regardless, this wasn't something that was all that relevant to Rui. He would never accept the invitation of the Underworld prince; there was absolutely no discussion to be had. Not after the suffering that they had caused to the orphanage.

"I'll be taking my leave here," Rui heaved a sigh, getting up. "I've viewed the Karokann and spoken to Her Highness; there's nothing left me here."

"I see, then, until next time," Master Ceeran smiled.

He bade the Master goodbye, navigating past the crowd and the immense security until he finally descended the steps outside, leaving the viewing gallery. The crowd outside had diminished, but there were still plenty of people watching the Karokann from a distance.

He was just about to sky-walk when a sign caught his attention.

[Martial security protocols: No sky-walking or jumping permitted.]

Apparently, stopping unauthorized sky-walking after the event began was part of the security protocols? He found that rather strange when compared with other formal events hosting members of the Royal Family but abided by it nonetheless, heading northeast in the direction of the Mantian Region.

Just before he reached the range from where he could sky-

walk, suddenly;

"Look, it's the Karokann!"

"I want to get a better view!"

"Move out of the way!"

Rui tutted in irritation as he tried squeezing past the crowd without killing anybody accidentally. He had gotten so used to evading crowds that this experience was almost entirely new for him.

Yet waves of crowds washed just down the street, trying to move in the opposite direction as him. He would have loved to have just jumped above them, but the guards stationed across the street were staring at him pointedly.

"Alleys it is," He squeezed through the buildings, heading through the network of alleys in some of the poorer parts of the town. The population here was scarce and was of the type that was too poor to care about a submarine.