The Martial Unity

The Masters and Sages who gazed at him heaved a sigh and left him be. As a Martial Artist of the Upper Realms, he wasn't to be coddled anymore. Thus, while they were concerned for him, they knew that he knew the consequences of all his choices, and that was enough.

He was hardly the first Martial Artist to take risks of this kind, and he had a penchant for making extreme decisions like this every once in a while.

What they had to admit was the fact that it seemed to pay off, considering his rate of growth and progress. If this was what it took, then perhaps he was an argument for the Martial Union to propagate a more risk-oriented Martial philosophy.

Of course, it was hardly the main cause for his rate of growth. "At the very least, I would advise you to be open to gathering intel on your assassins," one Master suggested. "Of course, we will gladly deploy our intelligence department to gather all relevant details about the assassins that have moved, according to our intelligence, to kill you and claim the bounty on your head."

Rui stirred at his recommendation.

It wasn't a bad idea to be informed about the kind of assassins and bounty hunters that would be trying to kill him, especially when they would undoubtedly gather as much intel on him if they were competent.

While it would have been more challenging if he had faced them without any knowledge, it was only fair that he knew who they were. Furthermore, at the Master Realm, Martial Artists had already cultivated some kind of name for themselves. Thus, it was actually quite often that random battles occurred between those who had some measure of knowledge of them.

"That's fine." Rui nodded. "I'm curious to know what kind of people have looked at my profile and mustered up the courage to kill me despite knowing who I am."

He was a Royal Prince and the platinum boy of the Martial Union, after all. The consequences of killing him or even trying to were dire for any individual.

Not only were the consequences high, but the probability of them being incurred was high, as the Kandrian Empire's and the Martial Union's investigative ability as it stood now was immense.

To get away with his assassination was extremely difficult as there were many resources that would be dedicated to finding the culprit and bringing them back alive.

Perhaps, in the Master Realm, the only one he wouldn't put it past was Master Reina, but even for her, successfully killing him and getting away with it was probably harder than any other assassination she had undertaken.

In other words, he didn't think that it was possible for his assassination to be a perfect success, especially if he had intel ahead of time and was prepared for it, which he certainly was.

They couldn't afford any long-term fight with him because it would be detected, and they would get caught.

This was the same reason that Prince Ranea, Randal, Rafia, and Raemina had decided against contracting a Master-level assassin, among other reasons. The assassin would be caught, and they would be interrogated, which would undoubtedly reveal that the four royals hired them.

In other words, if someone tried to kill him, it needed to end almost instantaneously and without any fuss. Else, they were screwed and doomed. Because he had received a theoretical foundation in assassination theory from Master Reina, he could even predict their thought process, and that was something that worked in his favor.

In this particular circumstance, he could be certain that they would attempt an indirect assassination. If they could poison him, they could get away with killing him without any of the energy signatures of Masters getting broadcasted and drawing too much attention as a result.

They didn't even need to be there when he died.

That would be the most risk-free and ideal way of killing him. Unfortunately, now that Rui knew that, he was not going to fall for it so easily.

For one, this was one of the easier ways to kill Martial Masters in general, for their Martial Minds did not give them poison resistance. Thus, it made no difference in this Realm.

In that case, perhaps he would face a poison-oriented Master.

The possibilities were quite interesting.

"Please avoid such stunts when we have an ongoing war, young man." Sage Roschem heaved a tired sigh. "Much is riding on you. You play an important role in many ways and it isn't something that can be replaced easily. In fact, even after the war, if you die, the entire nation will be disrupted because you're the only one who can employ your breakthrough triggering ability."

Rui stirred at the earnest request from the Martial Sage.

It was true that the Kandrian Empire had become overdependent on him in several regards. It was annoying when he was guilt-tripped like this with that fact because he did care for the nation itself and wasn't pleased when it suffered harm. But to what extent?

Was he supposed to forsake his way of life and give up on his personal ambition?

It was an unreasonable demand that would never be made of any other Martial Artist. However, because his well-being and status had deep impacts on the Kandrian Empire…

"…In that case, perhaps I should strive to ensure that my state does not affect the Kandrian Empire negatively," he voiced his thoughts aloud.

The others in the room frowned at his words. It was hard to imagine how such a thing was possible.

If for no other reason than the fact that he was the only one who could artificially trigger breakthroughs.

"There are things that only you can do." One of the Masters heaved a sigh. "Until then, naturally, the Kandrian Empire will have a much greater stake in your condition and location."

"…In that case, perhaps I should consider passing on my ability to breakthrough after this war is done," Rui nonchalantly remarked.

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