The Martial Unity

The Underworld was perhaps the only power bloc that had a negative reaction in the sea of positive reactions within the Kandrian Empire.

Yet, none were more overjoyed than the Martial Union.

An emergency assembly meeting had been called, featuring all kinds of authoritative officials within the Martial Union and as many Martial Masters that could be called on short notice.

"All hail the Void Prince!"

One Martial Master declared loudly.

"Truly, His Highness has bestowed nothing short of a miracle to the Kandrian Empire and to the Martial Union."

"With the power of the Silas Clan, the Martial Union will be invincible! We will be invincible!"

Naturally, many of them were deeply excited by the prospects of the Silas Clan joining the Martial Union.

It made too much sense for them to do so. The Silas Clan was a Martial family that was centered around a technique or a field led by a Martial Sage. This kind of model already existed in the Kandrian Empire and the Martial Union.

It was nothing new; thus, as far as the Martial Union was concerned, the Silas Clan fit right into the Union!

"We must immediately arrange for a qualified ambassador!"

"Indeed, the probability is low, but we must ensure that neither the Kandrian government nor the Underworld gets their hands on the Silas Clan!"

"The Void Prince is our ambassador, fools. He is officially recognized as the senior ambassador of the Martial Union. He is the strongest Martial Senior of our Union and blood kin to the Silas Clan."

"There is no better ambassador for the Martial Union!"

"Truly, there is no one better than the Void Prince. All hail the Void Emperor!"

The meeting soon devolved into a cheering party, and a praising session of Rui, for the Martial Masters, were too pleased by this particular outcome.

"Your Masteries, if I may," one non-Martial Artist in the panel adjacent to the Martial assembly chirped up.

He managed to successfully earn their attention on account of being the Director of Foreign Affairs of the entire Martial Union, a particularly powerful position within the Martial Union.

"While the Void Prince is most certainly a qualified ambassador, we ought to consider more direct diplomatic endeavors that operate under our direct authorization. Naturally, the Void Prince can also take his own measures or even cooperate with our authorized delegation, but it is best that we take a more proactive stance to reel in the Silas Clan regardless."

His words were sensible.

It made the enthusiastic Martial Masters pause and consider the merit of his words. A wave of murmurs spread across them.

"Forget about it."

A powerful voice cut through the atmosphere.

A single Martial Master drew all the attention in the assembly hall to herself. Instantly, the room quietened down as the Martial Masters deferred her.

Master Sera Graven, the Harbinger.

The sole grade-thirty Martial Master of the Kandrian Empire.

The strongest.

She closed her eyes. "The Silas Clan is led by a martial sage. In other words, nobody on this assembly panel is qualified to negotiate with the Silas Clan."

She opened her eyes.

A wave of fear spread through the Martial Masters around her.

"Only the Martial Sages are qualified to handle this particular case."

Her words rang true.

While other organizations did not hold such an attitude when it came to dealing with Martial Artists, the Martial Union was firm that delegations ought to include Martial Artists of the same rank.

It was one of the reasons that Ceeran had been deployed with Rui to the Vilun Island.

"In the Void Prince's case, he is blood kin of the Silas Clan, thus he is somewhat immune to this rule in this case. However, I'm sure that the Martial Sages of our Union will act nonetheless."

An understanding needed to be developed between the leaders of the union and the head of the Silas Clan. If that did not happen, then no amount of negotiating from the Void Prince would be able to bridge the gap.

"The Silas Clan is said to be extremely proud of their prophetic heritage and legacy from Sage Silas," the Harbinger quietly analyzed the situation. "That may make it difficult, although it is not insurmountable by any measure."

A proud Martial Sage was hardly new. Several Martial Sages of the Kandrian Empire were deeply proud, arrogant, and even narcissistic. Yet, they still managed to live in the same Empire, and ten of them even formed a union together, even if they didn't necessarily like each other all that much.

"Rather than considering tasks beyond our reach, I suggest we focus on things that are within our reach. The Silas Clan propagates a forbidden technique, which might violate some of our rules and bylaws," she analyzed.

"Not precisely, Your Mastery," the Director of Union Code replied. "What is forbidden is the commercial transaction and sale of forbidden techniques. Simply creating one and using it for one's self, or sharing it with family is not forbidden. On top of that, Martial Sages possess penal immunity; thus, if the Silas Clan frames it as the Matriarch's endeavors and initiatives, there would be no violation in any case."

That was a relief.

The worst-case scenario that could unfold was that the Silas Clan changed their mind about joining the Martial Union because of a handful of rules.

The assembly was willing to go as far as amending the rules just to accommodate the Silas Clan.

That was how valuable a Martial Sage and the power of prophecy was. There were very few lines that the Martial Union was not willing to cross to have them. The Silas Clan was the kind of resource that could trigger continental wars if they were independent.

The fact that Rui had singlehandedly granted the Martial Union this boon had elevated his position in the Martial Union to even greater heights. Not even 'platinum boy' was enough to describe how valuable and important he had become to the Martial Union.