The Martial Unity

So, her logic wasn't all that surprising with that consideration in mind. Talent was often an opportunity, and it was an opportunity she had taken.

"What about you?" She asked, curiosity flashing through her eyes. "Do you enjoy Martial Art?"

"With every fiber of my heart." Rui unhesitatingly replied. Normally, he would not say something that cheesy, but he did genuinely believe what he said. It was the unadultered truth.

He would not have dedicated half his life to Project Water had he not truly wanted to fulfill his dream. Dying, reincarnating and being given an even greater opportunity to fulfill not just that dream, but also his original dream of wanting to become a Martial Artist, had only made his desire far stronger than they were.

Back on Earth, he was constrained by all kinds of limits. Not just personal limits such as his health and other personal circumstances, but also the limits of the importance and capability of martial arts.

On the other hand, Gaea was a miraculous world that often felt like it had been hand-crafted specifically for his sake.

"Hmmm..." She hummed at his words. "Is it really that fun? What are you trying to accomplish?"

Rui paused, he wasn't sure he should tell her, frankly it could help her against him in the finals tomorrow.

But he supposed it didn't matter, by now the bare basics of his Martial Art would have undoubtedly been leakes, just like how he easily got his hands on the bare basics of the Martial Art of the other representatives.

"My Martial path is perfect adaptive evolution. I wish to create a Martial Art that allows me to perfectly adapt and evolve to not just all Martial Art and Martial Artists, but all entities that can engage in physical conflict." He said, confidently.

Fiona's eyes widened at those words.

What an incredibly ambitious Martial Path! The sheer difficulty of creating and mastering such a nigh-omnipotent Martial Art could not possibly be stated!

She couldn't even begin to imagine what such a Martial Art would even look like!

"..."

She was speechless.

"... I see." She had managed to squeeze out. Her instructors had told her that Rui's Martial Art was fluid and formless and took on a shape that was more optimal at dealing with his opponent, but hearing it from Rui was completely different. She hadn't realized just how far it went, and far he intended to go with it.

"Is such a thing even possible?" Fiona asked earnestly, curiosity brimming in her eyes.

Rui suppressed the urge to confidently say yes.

But the truth simply was... he could not possibly know. He was a scientist after a Martial Artist, and a scientist, he didn't make claims that were not only lacking in evidence but perhaps had evidence to the contrary.

He had already failed in achieving his dream once, and when he was given a second chance, the difficulty of success had risen astronomically. He just could not in good faith say that it was definitely possible.

"... I would like to believe it's possible." Rui said slowly, after a brief silence. "But I don't know."

"What if it isn't possible?" Fiona asked, as her curiosity intensified.

"I can never know that." He replied. "It's only truly impossible when one gives up. If it isn't possible, then I'll just die trying till my last breath."

"I see... In comparison to you, I feel a bit shallow to be honest." She said. "Power is something I'm good at, it's also very helpful and useful. But beyond that..." she shrugged.

"Power is a tool." Rui said. "A tool to achieve what one wishes to achieve. What do you want to use this tool for?"

"I'm not sure, making a living?" She pondered.

Rui laughed at those words. "Well, you already have more than enough power to make a living. So why do you pursue power?"

She shrugged helplessly.

Evidently, she wasn't too sure herself. It seemed she was merely going with the flow.

Frankly, Rui could even understand. She was a prodigious genius with unbelievable talent. She discovered her Martial Path at the age of nine. She had instantly been thrust into Martial World at an incredibly young age, with the hopes that she would become a renowned Martial Artist.

Rui vaguely guessed her family was much lighter about the matter. Perhaps if her family had been as oppressive as Kane's family, she would have also developed s desire to break free of her shackles. Perhaps if the Arrancar Family was like the Roschem Family, Kane would have also been less driven than he is today.

He couldn't say.

"Well, nothing wrong with that." Rui said, shrugging. You didn't necessarily have to have a singular goal or ambition. Plenty of people lived perfectly fine lives in this manner.

Though Rui suspected she wouldn't be able to break through to higher Martial Realms with that sort of attitude. To merely become a Martial Squire candidate, one needed their Martial Art to have a certain degree of individuality and originality.

Rui didn't think she would fulfill that condition with that kind of outlook, perhaps she would simply never become a Squire candidate.

Frankly, it was quite shocking to Rui. When he first heard about her, he had pictured someone who stood at the peak of the Apprentice Realm and was on the verge of a breakthrough to the Squire Realm. However, since then, his understanding of the Martial Realms and the Martial Path had deepened significantly.

He kept these thoughts to himself however. The two of them spoke more freely, delving into all kinds of topics as they had dinner together.

"You're telling me Kane's epithet is the 'Elusive Wind'?" Rui laughed as Fiona recounted a tale from the past. She had told him a lot of interesting things about his friends, showing him a side of their lives that he hadn't known of. "He never told me that! That's hilarious."

"He hates it." She giggled. "Every significant Martial Artist gets an unofficial epithet, I imagine you'll also get an epithet, you made it to the finals, after all."