The Martial Unity

Of those three techniques, Rui needed to make sure he used them to the most optimal degree. Fortunately, there were ways through which the most optimal distribution could be analyzed.

('It all comes down to which is the most energy-conservative way to ensure that I last through the initial chaotic phase,') Rui narrowed his eyes as his mind furiously processed through all the available combinations and permutations.

The most energy-conservative Metabody technique was Hungry Pain plus Final Breathing. However, this technique would not guarantee him getting past the initial phase where he would be targeted by a good number of Martial Artists. Given that it decreased his output with the intent of preserving stamina, he could be sure that this technique alone would not get him through.

Nemean Blossom was definitely something that would ensure that he would get past the initial phase. The technique made him so tough by sacrificing power, speed, and stamina, that it could easily allow him to withstand anything they threw at him. The Earthen Fortress Bloom technique that this technique was based on was tough alone, and had been enhanced by the Hungry Pain technique that enhanced the thickening of the cell wall of cells had already proven itself when he tested it. It was an absolute guarantee that he would make it through.

('But it's not the most energy conservative way of getting through,') Rui knew that.

Each Metabody technique truly drained him, they sacrificed everything for the sake of amplifying one parameter, and once he was done, he would be weakened. So even if he got past the initial chaotic phase, he could very well end up in trouble in the later phases due to being drained from maintaining the Nemean Blossom technique which would be draining away at the biochemical and nutritional resources of the body and Hungry Pain. It had a definitive time limit from the moment it was used.

('In that case… Weaving Blood is definitely more alluring.')

Weaving Blood did not have a time limit the same way that the other techniques did. The reason for this was that Weaving Blood did not constantly consume energy and biochemical resources every second the way Nemean Blossom or Void Forestep did. Instead, Weaving Blood's energy consumption was entirely dependent on damage.

If there was no damage done, then Weaving Blood would not consume any energy. Stamina would be preserved in this case.

If there was tons of damage done, then Weaving Blood would consume tons of energy. Stamina would not be preserved in this case.

In fact, unlike the other techniques, it was possible to deplete and finish Weaving Blood in just a matter of seconds as long as the damage was high enough. This was not the case for Nemean Blossom.

('This means that if I use Weaving Blood, as long as I stay sharp and keep my reflexes up, I can get past the initial chaos phase with zero energy consumption as long as I don't take any damage.) Rui's eyes lit up. This was an alluring outcome. Weaving Blood was the only technique that could allow him to get away with no extra energy consumption despite using the Metabody System.

('However… it also means that if I do happen to get hit in the head and suffer blunt force trauma… It's game over.') Rui sighed.

Weaving Blood could not heal blunt force trauma, it also could not heal being knocked out. These were not conventional wounds to cells and tissue that could be healed with cellular division.

Of course, if he didn't get hit hard in the head, then there would be no problem. But the issue was that if he did, it would cost him his life.

('In which case, it will be better to have a bit of Nemean Blossom to ensure that this doesn't happen. Sure, my energy consumption will increase a bit, but it's best to make sure that even if I get caught off-guard, I don't lose anything.') Rui mused.

Nemean Blossom made his flesh so tough and resistive to impacts that he would not get knocked out by pretty much anything any of the Martial Squires within the room he was in had to offer.

('So, twenty-percent Nemean Blossom, eighty-percent Weaving Blood.') Rui decided.

Now that he had made that decision, he was mostly done with all the considerations that he had about the contest.

He did, nonetheless, take his time to scan all of his opponents. Part of the reason that they were all put in the same place before the contest officially began was to put their ability to gather information on their opponents to the test. As well as their strategic and tactical intelligence in the test.

Rui smiled a bit.

He didn't get full of himself, but he was absolutely certain that he was the best at this out of all his competitors by far. It was unfortunate that they weren't really moving or doing anything physically rigorous because he would have been able to build elementary predictive models on them.

However, even if he could not do that, he could conduct basic threat analysis on all of them, while also building profiles on them containing as much information about their Martial Bodies and Art.

While all the Martial Squires were engaging in basic analysis, Rui was the only one who turned it into a system that operated within the confines of his massive Mind Palace.

Of the several hundred Martial Squires, he could detect only three grade-ten Martial Squires. These three were the three greatest perceived threats, only because Rui was able to conceal his threat level well enough. There was no doubt that these three were also going to be heavily targeted and would be focusing on making sure they didn't go down while being attacked by many Martial Squires.

It was ironic because the strongest Martial Squires including himself and those three would be on the defensive while the most aggressive ones would be the ones immediately below them, hoping to surpass them with numbers to claim the spot of representative for themselves.