The Martial Unity

He was not surprised that the Sage Council of the Martial Union had sought to personally tackle this case by themselves instead of leaving it to the Master Council or the Union Assembly.

They were ill-qualified to deal with a Martial Sage.

Frankly, so was he. But he had special power and influence in this case.

There was no doubt that the Silas Clan and its Martial Sage matriarch joining the Martial Union was nothing short of a shock to ten Martial Sages of the Martial Union. They probably would not have personally undertaken this case if Matriarch Nephi had still been a Martial Master.

Naturally, the power of prophecy was deeply attractive, but a Martial Sage wielding prophecy was something that definitely earned their personal intervention.

He was grateful for the deference they had shown him by not rushing in to intervene the moment the Silas Clan entered the Martial Sage after the confrontation with Sage Farana. They had waited patiently for him to finish his initial guidance of the Silas Clan around the Kandrian Empire.

However, they would undoubtedly seek an explanation and understanding of what had happened.

In fact, most likely, the same could be said for the Kandrian government and the military, as well as the Kandrian Security Agency.

The difference was that he was more powerful than most people who sought explanations from him. He didn't need to answer them with the sheer amount of political capital he had.

The only forces he could not brush off were his father and the Martial Union.

STEP

He exhaled deeply as he arrived before the Martial Union national headquarters in the Town of Vargard along with his eight bodyguards.

It wasn't long before he found himself standing before the gate to the Sage Council Hall of the Martial Union.

His expression grew grave.

It took every ounce of self-control to prevent himself from quivering under the sheer pressure that permeated from deep within the hall.

He could almost hear heaven and earth screaming in agony under the weight of ten Martial Sages.

It was as though the weight of their being exceeded what the world around them could bear.

RUMBLE

The world shivered unsteadily.

Rui exhaled unsteadily, reaching the open gates.

CLACK

Ten martial Sages greeted him with powerful, deep stares the moment the gates opened. The ten of them were seated on extravagant thrones on an elevated platform, allowing them to look down on those who beheld them.

Rui gritted his teeth, arming himself with his strongest Mind Mask to weather the passive pressure that their presence generated within his mind.

It was effortless on their behalf.

A part of their being.

Yet it was almost more than what Rui was able to tolerate.

STEP

STEP

STEP

Rui walked closer towards them, reaching the center of the great hall, before bowing deeply to the ten Martial Sages with a hand clasped at his fist.

"Greetings, Your Sagehoods," Rui replied with a deferring and respectful tone. "I am deeply honored to be deigned worthy of-"

"-Cut the crap."

The Sloth Sage's lazy voice echoed through the hall.

He eyed Rui sleepily. "You can save that for royal stuff, and we don't care for that in the Martial Union."

Rui knew this, but it was worth a try.

"I understand Your Sagehood," Rui straightened himself.

"Senior Rui," the Mountain of Fortitude addressed Rui with his Martial honorific rather than his royal one. "You must be aware of why we have summoned you."

His tone was formal.

His eyes were sharp, boring into Rui's.

He conveyed an unfathomable weight—as though a single knuckle on his fist weighted as much as a mountain.

This was a leader of the Earth Sect.

"Most certainly, Your Sagehood," Rui affirmed firmly.

"Then, tell us, Void Prince," the clear voice of a little girl echoed through the hall. "What is the meaning of this?"

He glanced at the Flickering Elder.

She looked to be no older than eight. She would fit right into the Quarrier Orphanage, in fact.

If one could ignore the perilous Sage-level aura that radiated from her, as well as the fact that her physicality distorted in real-time.

A multitude of micro-movements across her entire body in a matter of nanoseconds conveyed the impression that her body was in multiple places at once. It was deeply unsettling, yet Rui firmly maintained his composure.

"It is exactly as it seems, Your Sagehood," Rui sincerely replied. "After my father, Emperor Rael, revealed my kinship with the Silas Clan, I sought them and found them, making contact with them and eventually convincing them to join the Kandrian Empire."

RUMBLE

The world shivered beneath his feet as the Martial Sages narrowed their eyes, peering into his eyes.

"When, where, and how did you do all of this when you never once left the Kandrian Empire?" A raspy whisper echoed through the hall.

The Whispering Widower seemed particularly intense among them.

"I must deeply apologize, Your Sagehood," Rui replied calmly. "However, I'm afraid I cannot say."

RUMBLE

His eyes sharpened. "You would dare to deprive me of the truth?"

Rui gritted his teeth.

It took him every ounce of willpower to maintain his composure, but he could not dare to divulge the existence of Sage Sayfeel. It would be the height of incompetence and betrayal to do so.

"Lemolen."

The air boiled as the Tempestuous Fortress glared at the Whispering Widower, intervening. "Cede."

Rui broke into a cold sweat as a tsunami of peril erupted from the two.

"Pressuring one of our most valued partners and constituents is deeply inappropriate." The Flashing Flier calmly declared, pinning the Widowing Whisperer with a powerful gaze.

Yet the latter refused to relent.

"A Martial Senior ought to know when to defer to a Martial Sage," the Whispering Widower whispered, his eyes turning back to Rui. "His princehood has gotten to his head. Perhaps I ought to-"

He froze as a horrifyingly malevolent bloodlust erupted from across the table.

Its maleficence rotted the very world around them.

Rui shivered.

He shivered as he experienced a depth of horror that he didn't know was possible.

"Touch him, and I will eat your heart."

The world shook with fear as the Devil, Sage Damian Arrancar himself, declared with a predatory grin.