It was truly a fascinating tale to Rui. Just from this information alone, he realized how wise the Martial Union's decision to educate students on the context of the state of affairs was.

('The best way for history to repeat itself is to have those of the future forget about the past.') Rui mused. Although he suspected that the relationship between Martial Artists and the state was likely not pleasant, this made him realize how much he underestimated the issue.Copyright by Nôv/elDrama.Org.

('Ruling entities probably fear and disdain Martial Artists because of the tilt in the balance of power that Martial Artists cause, yet they not only cannot do anything to the Martial Artists because of foreign pressure, but actively need the power of Martial Artists to deter external enemies.') Rui realized.

('On the other hand, the Martial Artists resent sovereign states for their desire to suppress them, but need cooperate for the same reasons the ruling entities do; external pressure.')

Of course, Rui was cognizant that the reality of the matter was likely much more complicated. His understanding was likely an oversimplification of the issue. Furthermore, it was obvious that he had incomplete information. There was no way that the Martial Academy would reveal the true state of affairs and political machinations of the Union and Royal Family.

He would likely learn more about them if he grew stronger, and ascended to higher realms.

The next few portions and sections of his theoretical curriculum focused more on the Kandrian Empire and Kandrian Martial Union rather than delving deeper into the state of affairs of the Panama Continent.

The Martial Union was founded almost four hundred years ago, although it had a very different shape and form back then. The Kandrian Empire, like many surviving sovereign states of the Warring Era decided to opt for a state of co-existence and cooperation with the Martial Artists.

The Martial Union and the Royal Family forged and signed the Kandrian Martial Treaty, a declaration of peace, cooperation and an alliance. They also signed the Kandrian Martial Convenant; a contract that specified the terms and condition of cooperation.

The conditions and stipulations were explored in the textbook. The Convenant contained several clauses that meticulously established premises and context for the terms and conditions, before delving into them. This was to ensure there was no legal wiggle room or loopholes that either party could exploit to their advantage at the cost of the other.

The actual terms and conditions were remarkably similar. The first clause was about National defense. The Royal Family paid a huge sum of money as an annual commission to the Martial Union, in exchange for assistance with continuous and routine reinforcement, surveillance and patrolling of borders.

Another clause was related to the terms and conditions the Martial Union and the Royal Family agreed to in the event of a war or an invasion. Although there were actually a lot of conditions and premises, what it essentially boiled down to was that the Martial Union was willing to defend the Kandrian Empire for a vast amount of money and other resources, while still reserving the right to withdraw from the war, under certain conditions.

If the situation ever escalated to mass ruin, then the Martial Union did not want to be dragged down with the Kandrian Empire!

A sovereign state was nothing without a territory, but unions were much more flexible, if the worst were ever to come, moving house was not an impossibility.

There were several more clauses that all basically boiled down to the Martial Union aiding the country in matters of national interest, in exchange for money, resources and other exclusive privileges and benefits.

It was a very complex exchange dynamic.

This Convenant actually provided the Martial Union with a huge portion of its net revenue. The sheer wealth that the Royal Family was capable of splurging made even the mighty Martial Union look modest and humble.

Underneath all this convoluted and complex agreements was a sense of fragility, or atleast so Rui thought. Just looking at the contract gave him the feeling that the two parties were unwilling and reluctant to cooperate, but forced to do so due to numerous circumstances.

Still, just because they did agree to cooperate, doesn't mean there was true peace between them, at the very least Rui was absolutely certain there was no way that this could be the case.

If there ever came a day where either the Royal Family or the Martial Union grew weak or fell for power, he was sure that both parties would have absolutely no problem exploiting and dominating the other for the maximum utility they possibly could.

Considering this, the existence of the Martial Academies made more sense. The most immediate threat to the Martial Union was all around them. Furthermore, the nature of the Martial Art was such that the Martial Union would inevitably grow weaker with time gradually. Many Martial Artists died every year in the field completing missions, meaning, unless the rate of emergence of new Martial Artists was equal to, or ideally, greater than the rate of death of Martial Artists and the rate of retirement of Martial Artists, then the Martial Union would eventually grow weaker and perhaps even be pushed back by the Kandrian Empire.

Although Martial Artists were strong, the biggest disadvantage was that they were difficult to produce. Producing even a Martial Squire was very difficult, only those with talent and drive had the potential to become Martial Squires, and even then, only a small fraction of these candidates would end up becoming martial Squires. Furthermore, this would only happen several years after the process had initially begun.

('The ranks above Martial Squire must be even more difficult and time consuming.') Rui realized.

In comparison to the Kandrian Empire whose military and technological might was something that could much easily be replenished and strengthened with funds and resources.

Facing such an uphill battle when it came to maintaining and sustaining power, it was no wonder the Martial Union went all out on the Martial Academies! These institutions were a lifeline that allowed the Martial Academy to be able to maintain high militaristic strength.