THWACK!

A powerful swift blow crashed into Ieyasu's jaw out of nowhere before he could even respond, making him feel dizzy.

Rui got up in that time, leaping away, panting as he caught his breath. "You're nasty, old man."

"You have no idea," The man smiled before walking towards Rui. "Still, the two of you performed better than I had ever expected. I didn't expect you would be able to hurt me to such an extent. I can say that hardly any Martial Senior today is capable of what you two accomplished with your incredible teamwork."

"Hmph, such compliments after such an outcome is hardly pleasing," Ieyasu snorted.

"You would not be pleased even if you won, my frosty little pupil," The Martial Master laughed.

"How are you able to keep up with us in combat at all?" Rui narrowed his eyes. "Without the Martial Heart, you can't use the Martial Mind in its entirety. That means you only have your Martial Body to rely on. Surely you cannot fight against the Martial Heart with just your Martial Body."

Especially not against the likes of Rui and Ieyasu who had Martial Art of extraordinary calibers.

"Hmmm..." The man stroked his white beard as he considered Rui's question as he walked over to an adjacent wall.

His aged hand stretched out, tapping the wall with his finger in an incredibly slow and gentle motion. A soft and tender maneuver that would hurt nary a fly. One that did not even exceed the human realm of power.

And yet;

CRACK!

A gigantic crater formed in the wall.

Rui and Ieyasu widened their eyes in surprise.

"'Even the feeblest of elders, even the frailest of babies may split heaven and earth asunder should their bodies, minds, and souls harmonize with the flow of the universe.'" The man recited what may very well have been verses of a poem. "That was what a friend of mine told me once."

Rui and Ieyasu exchanged a dubious glance.

"Nonsensical," Ieyasu declared. "Incomprehensible metaphorical philosophical garbage."

That was harsh, but Rui wouldn't have been much more generous, it was too detached from the practical realities of Martial Art.

"Hahaha!" The man laughed at Ieyasu's evaluation. "I'm inclined to agree. Still, that friend of mine... is a Martial Transcendent. Perhaps I should call her here and have you say that to her face."

Ieyasu looked like he was trying to swallow a frog. "...You set me up." This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

Rui smirked, happy he didn't say anything, while Master Zeamer had a good laugh at Ieyasu's expense.

"Alright, this has been fun. But time to put it to an end." The Master declared.

The two of them got up, on guard against any attack. Yet suddenly, time seemed to slow down to a crawl, their eyes widened as they witnessed an incredible sight.

Within the depths of their mind, Master Zeamer's very existence seemed to transform from a human figure to something else, something that seemed to ascend humanity.

He became a rotating dichromatic hypnotic spiral of black and white. Every moment they beheld him, his existence seemed to erode the energy of their mind. Metaphorical waves of hypnotic force emerged from the hypnotic spiral, crashing into their consciousness.

Until it eventually overcame it.

THUD

They collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Master Zeamer heaved a sigh as he studied the two unconscious young men, before glancing at his healing broken finger, before glancing back at them.

His demeanor grew solemn as all signs of his usual temperament and character were all but gone.

Master Zeamer was immensely impressed by their performance, it was clear to him that they were the driving forces of the new generation. They were forces that would push the boundaries of what was possible.

He had been quite astonished when Ieyasu had returned more than two years ago as a Martial Senior, having shattered the record by a large extent. Furthermore, he couldn't have helped but grow even more curious when he was informed that Ieyasu's record had already been broken by a similar margin.

Senior Realm by twenty-four and thirty.

'How absurd.' He sighed.

It made fossils like him, who had broken through to the Senior Realm at the age of one hundred and twenty, feel antiquated. It was part of a cycle, each generation of Martial Artists was superior to the previous one.

Each generation empowered each Realm by a higher notch. Yet such a thing did not happen naturally. Or at least, it did not happen this smoothly naturally. There was a force in the Martial World that ensured that each generation of Martial Artists was bestowed with the inheritance of all those before them.

'I should probably send a report to the Panamic Martial Federation about this one.' He glanced at Rui, recalling his precarious circumstances. 'On second thoughts, let's avoid that. I should inform Reina to avoid that as well.'

He knew that the Panamic Martial Federation already was aware of both of them. While the organization avoided meddling with mere Martial Seniors, that didn't apply to the special ones. he had already used his influence to repel them from meddling with Ieyasu, he would have to do the same with Rui.

In Rui's case, there were special circumstances. Master Zeamer recalled the Greater Phantomind Void technique that Rui had used. An incredibly power misdirection technique for a young Martial Senior, one that had truly shocked him. Yet, it wasn't the power that he was focusing on.

It was the image, or video rather, he used to misdirect Master Zeamer. Ordinarily, the target wouldn't actually be able to see the image so much as feel the danger that the image conveyed. But Master Zeamer was able to perceive the entirety of the high-definition three-dimensional video that Rui had created for the technique.

'Who was that Martial Master...?' Master Zeamer narrowed his eyes as he recalled the female Martial Master that was attacking him in the video of the Phantomind Void technique. 'It seems far too unlikely that she's a figment of her imagination. But I don't think I've ever met her before. Hm...'