Rui almost shook with surprise, for the figure had entered his sensory ranges instantly.
The old man resembled a caveman. His attire was fashioned from the furry pelts of several animals and beasts. On his shoulder was a large bunch of firewood that he held up with a single arm.
His hair and beard were frizzled and matted. He resembled an ascetic who had secluded themselves in the mountains for a long time.
Which he indeed had done.
"Master Gurren, I-"
"Not interested," The Martial Master walked past him into his hut.
"You don't even know what I'm about to say," Rui raised an eyebrow.
"You're here because you want to learn domain techniques," Master Gurren snorted. "You're here despite the fact that you have undoubtedly hurt that I don't teach. Which means you think you can convince me otherwise. I hate arrogant brats like you. Especially brats like you who broke the record for the youngest breakthrough to the Senior Realm. You must think you can do anything."
"So you know about me."
"No, I'm just not blind. I can see your Realm and I can see your age," He snorted, putting aside the firewood he had collected. "Arrogant brat insulting my ability."
"It wasn't my intention to-"
"Don't care," The Master snorted.
Rui heaved a sigh as he considered the Martial Master. He wasn't sure how he was going to make progress if the Martial Master was going to make it this difficult.
Still, he noted that the Martial Master had yet to tell him to get out. Yet, the issue was that the Martial master had no reason to cooperate with him. Until that didn't change, he couldn't do anything.
"If you have nothing to do, get out of here," The Master snorted. This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.
Welp, there it was.
"As you wish, Master Gurren," Rui replied, skywalking away, but he kept observing the Martial Master with his senses.
He couldn't rely on the Martial Master's goodwill as he did with Master Reina and Master Zeamer. If he wanted the Martial Master to help with domain techniques, he was going to have to give the Martial Master something that he wanted or needed.
Rui scrutinized the hut and its surroundings. The man truly lived with very little despite being a Martial Master.
Not only did he live alone, but he refused the use of esoteric artifacts or technology for some reason. Even though they certainly would make his quality better.
'Is he a Martial Supremacist?' Rui wondered inwardly. Perhaps him being a Martial Supremacist would explain his disdain for technology.
However, would a Martial Supremacist seclude themselves instead of making the effort to turn the Kandrian Empire into a Martial nation?
There was a realistic chance that he could succeed as long as he threw his support behind Prince Raijun, but he certainly was not doing that.
Rui spotted the man discarding spoiled meat that was no longer fit for consumption off the mountain. His senses went inside the little hut, spotting some cut meat that was still fit to use. The old Martial Master quickly set light to a bunch of firewood, impaling the meat before lighting it over the fire.
He was intent on finding out exactly what it was that the old Martial Master wanted and needed. So far, Rui had already thought of some things that he could offer to the elder Martial Master that he would want.
He continued observing the Martial Master from several kilometers away. The elder Martial Master could undoubtedly sense Rui, but apparently, he didn't care enough to chase Rui away.
Soon enough, it was nighttime. Rui relaxed on a tree, watching the Martial Master intently as dusk came and the sun settled. A little prior to midnight, Rui raised an eyebrow as he felt the Martial Master activate his Martial Heart.
He quickly leaned forward confused. With how powerful the Martial Master was, there was no need for him to activate his Martial Heart. On top of that, he went as far as to activate his Martial Mind.
His existence changed… altering to a 'domain' as he activated his Martia Mind, manifesting his Martial Embodiment inside Rui's mind.
What did it look like?
It was hard for Rui to describe. It resembled a vast sky and land stuffed inside a spherical pocket dimension with curled space to contain them, like a drop of water refracting light to warp the image that the light conveyed.
Rui wondered how other people saw his domain. After all, the concept of a domain did not have a universal image that everybody shared. It was a more abstract concept, especially in a world with limited mathematics that could provide concrete mathematical definitions for the concept of domain.
The Martial Master activated a single domain technique, much to Rui's intrigue. Suddenly the air around him became opaque, sealing off any light. Not just light, it sealed off any other of the five senses from peering through the domain of opaque air.
Rui understood why he had taken that measure, it was to protect the animals and the few human settlements that occupied the Great Jrava Mountain Range from his power. If they couldn't see him, then they wouldn't be passively hypnotized by his Martial Embodiment and wouldn't suffer mental damage as a result.
He was a lot kinder than Rui had expected, for someone who hated interacting with other humans.
He ascended to the skies, sky-walking straight up at incredible speeds.
Rui was curious about what a Martial Master could be doing at such heights. He decided to lightly follow him at just the edge of his senses, trying to keep as much distance between them as possible.
Eventually, the Martial Master soared to heights that not even Rui could reach through sky-walking due to the plummeting density of the air, the Martial Master on the other hand, went far beyond his vision.
'Is he trying to go beyond space or something?' Rui wondered with curiosity.