The Martial Unity

Yet, timing Kane's strikes was not what Rui's mind was consumed with. Deep within his mind, the brand-new SOUL System had already begun kicking into action, with Kane in a semi-consciousness trance.

He could not contain the excitement from springing up on his face.

At that moment, he was no different from a child unwrapping a long-awaited Christmas present and playing with it for the first time.

Kane's subconscious non-verbal communication had grown deeper and more personalized than ever before. It conveyed a story, but Rui was unable to read it, for he didn't know the language.

For now.

The SOUL System raced into action as Rui began memorizing every detail of Kane's non-verbal communication, swiftly categorizing and tagging each data point.

BOOM!

CRACK!

Even as Rui's bone cracked, he never once let Kane out of his focus. Missing even a single dataset of subconscious non-verbal communication could be a blunder. All he needed to do was weather out Kane's onslaught with Flux Earther, Adamant Reforging, Inner Divergence, and Acute Edge, along with extraordinary timing thanks to the predictive model giving him a major heads-up about precisely when and where an attack was going to land.

In addition, the Metabody System was working at full power, with Weaving Blood and Nemean Blossom at fifty percent power each.

Meanwhile, Temporal Disharmony shackled the worst of Kane's greatest strength.

All these powerful systems and techniques worked hand-in-hand to help Rui against the power of the Martial Heart.

And against all odds, they succeeded.

BOOM!!!

A colossal blow crashed into Rui's guard.

CRACK!

Only a single bone cracked this time, healing quickly while Rui dispersed the rest of the power to the worlds beneath his feet.

"Tsk." Kane grew frustrated at how absurdly difficult it was to put Rui down!

He had mostly suggested this battle as a joke. He hadn't expected that Rui would take the suggestion seriously.

Even before the battle began, he had expected that it would end with a single strike from him. He had known that Rui's Martial Body would crumble like a sand rock if subjected to the power of the Martial Heart.

Or so he had thought.

POW POW POW!!

Rui's speed was so underwhelming in comparison that he could barely shift inches in the time that Kane moved entire feet, yet his movements were extraordinarily well-timed and placed, allowing him to perform his coping defensive maneuvers splendidly.

Yet, nothing could last forever.

CRACK CRACK CRACK!!

Rui's expression grew severe as his arm broke in several places, growing visibly deformed. Kane rushed in, cautiously seizing the opportunity.

BAM BAM BAM!!!

He blasted Rui with a flurry of recurring blows, battering Rui's guard over and over before launching a powerful kick into him.

BOOM!!!

The kick launched Rui far into the distance. In just a moment, he had already reached the other end of the Hroul Mountain Range.

Weaving Blood healed his arms as a final act before it finally died, shutting off. The Metabody System had reached its limit, having valiantly served him across the entire fight, separating him from instant defeat.

And now, it was done.

Yet, the same could not be said for Kane.

"GG."

He appeared behind Rui, a powerful blow surging forward to end the battle.

WHOOSH

Yet the blow crashed into an empty image.

Kane's eyes widened with realization.

It was a feint.

BOOM!

A thundering impact permeated through his entire body from his blind spot, pushing him back.

"You…" Kane stared at Rui in shock.

A profound flush of peril radiated from deep within Rui.

It washed over the Valley of Prisms, drawing out raw, primal fear from deep within the guts of its inhabitants.

It made Kane's skin crawl.

It was difficult to parse.

Here he was, armed with the full power of the Martial Heart. However, despite not possessing it, asuffocating aura of power radiated from Rui as if he had.

"Hmmm…" Rui glanced at his hand, turning back to his best friend.

A single remark escaped him.

"I think I can see your soul."

A nervous grin appeared on Kane's face. "That's the corniest thing I've ever heard."

Rui smirked. "I couldn't resist."

"Oh yeah? Resist this."

Kane flashed forward, appearing before him at blinding speeds as a flurry of blows surged forward towards Rui.

Rui's movements were slow.

They were relaxed.

He moved like he was sauntering in a garden.

He moved like he had no care in this world.

Yet, not a single attack touched him.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!

Kane gritted his teeth in frustration as each attack crashed into a whole slew of empty images. Rui executed the Phantom Step technique with accuracy within a microsecond and micrometer of absolute perfection.

He could not so much as see Kane's blindingly fast movements, let alone react to them.

But he didn't need to.

He reacted to the future.

He reacted to the SOUL.

WHOOSH!

He stepped back mildly, evading a powerful blow by inches, even as Kane had already launched a new onslaught of flashing blows.

Yet, not even they could reach Rui.

BOOM!

Kane gritted his teeth as a thundering impact crashed into his gut before he even realized it!

"Hyah!" A powerful, blindingly fast kick swerved in Rui's direction.

Yet, Rui was already gone.

WHOOSH

It crashed into an empty image.

Yet another feint.

Kane stiffened as a variety of images of Rui spread across the battlefield.

"Misdirection and feinting, two schools of deception," Rui's voice echoed throughout the battlefield. "These techniques do not require speed, power, or durability. No, the most important trait for these techniques is…"

The images disappeared as Rui appeared before Kane.

"…timing."

BAM!

A thundering kick crashed into Kane's solar plexus. The full power of Outer Convergence, Fire Breathing, and Gale Force Breathing supplied the Flowing Canon with immense power. Yet, it was the Reverberating Lance that allowed the impact to permeate past the reinforcements of the Martial Heart, inflicting damage.

"Rgh!" Kane grimaced, leaping away with shock. "But how?!"

Rui smiled, gazing at Kane.

A single remark escaped his mouth.

"I resign."

-

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