The Martial Unity

WHOOSH

Rui avoided a strike successfully.

Squire Dylon had been using some a wind-manipulation technique that pushed Rui back into the way of his attack every time he tried to dodge it. But Rui had already found a solution.

Fight fire with fire.

Fight wind-manipulation technique with wind-manipulation techniques.

He used Tempestuous Ripple to counter the wind-manipulation technique that Squire Dylon was using to obstruct his evasion.

WHOOSH

BAM!

Rui smoothly dodged an attack he cleanly landed a powerful attack on Squire Dylon. Squire Dylon lashed out once more, yet, the same outcome recurred.

Rui countered every single move he made, almost as if he knew it was coming.

Rui grinned. The initial predictive model had been completed sooner than he had expected. Furthermore, the increase in effectiveness had been remarkable. He could obtain much more accurate and precise results much more quicker.

WHOOSH

BAM!!

He comfortably evaded yet another jab as he simultaneously landed a powerful hook at a vulnerable hole in Squire Dylon's defense that he had exposed during his attack.

It was the perfect counter.

('This is amazing. The VOID algorithm's execution is perfect!') He grew excited once more. He was able to see more than just one move into the future, something that was actually beyond his expectations.

But by processing the data much more than he ever would be able to in that brief period of time, he was able to statistical evaluations of the likelihood of the target of the predictive model making a certain move.

Yet the battle didn't return to the previous domineering advantage that Rui had held.

Squire Dylon wasn't done yet.

Rui felt a sharp sense of danger through the empowered sense of danger and risk of the Primordial Instinct.

BAM!

An incredibly swift and powerful straight punch crashed into his guard.

He skidded away, as he glanced over to Squire Dylon. ('He's no longer limiting himself to the conventional Martial Apprentice Realm.')

Squire Dylon had come to recognize the truth in Rui's words. Limiting himself to grade ten wasn't enough. He would need to exceed the Apprentice Realm.

And exceed it he did.

The pressure he exuded wasn't extremely far from that of a genuine Squire-level aura.

Rui's expression broke into a grin as he heightened his reactions, awaiting yet another attack.

He didn't have to wait at all.

WHOOSH

Dylon had crossed the distance between them at a speed that exceeded the perception capabilities of most Martial Apprentices spectating.

WHOOSH

Rui avoided a flying knee kick empowered with the full momentum of his charge, as he swiveled around, launching a swift high-kick at Dylon's head.

POW!

He blocked the attack before launching a flurry of attacks at Rui. Rui's extreme mental processing along with the Primordial Instinct and the VOID algorithm allowed him to counter every strike accurately and precisely.

High kicks were met with perfectly-timed spinning sweeping kicks.

Strikes were met with other strikes that dodged the attack naturally as a part of its form. Every move had its perfect counter.

This was until Squire Dylon began demonstrating the reason he was hired.

FLICK

A stinging sensation extended across Rui's hand from a nick from one of his strikes.

DRIP DRIP

A few drops of blood hit the ground as Rui's eyes widened. ('He has piercing techniques too!')

This meant Rui had to dedicate even more resources to be careful.

Yet he wasn't careful enough.

His vision blurred for just a tiny bit, confusing him. He glanced at Squire Dylon's nails, they had not only extended into razor-sharp claws but also had a sickly purple color to them.

('Poison!') Rui's eyes widened.

He had fused both a piercing and a poison technique so that the poison could be injected directly into his bloodstream!

"There is a reason they made me the head instructor of the offensive-training facility, you know." He smirked.

Squire Dylon began unleashing his versatility, hindering Rui's predictions of him. Rui needed to continuously update his prediction model with every new technique that Dylon used. Thankfully, with the help of the secondary brain, he was able to perform these data-intensive calculations and estimations rather swiftly.

Still, the sheer diversity that Squire Dylon dished out was truly impressive. He seemed to have techniques in nearly every offensive field that Rui had ever come across!

Furthermore, his physical parameters had risen ever since he decided he couldn't afford to hold back. His parameters had long since risen beyond the general limits of the modern Apprentice Realm.

They were in the quasi-Squire Realm.

Yet, Rui did not falter. Move after move, exchange after exchange, he incorporated all the data into the VOID algorithm and began forming even more accurate and precise predictions of Squire Dylon. The Martial Apprentices were struggling to even visually keep up.

Yet the tidbits that they could perceive and comprehend properly were so shocking that they almost wished they couldn't.

How could a Martial Apprentice operate at such a level of power?

How could a Martial Apprentice react to speed far above the general limits of the Apprentice Realm?

How could a Martial Apprentice force someone with a durability of a mighty mountain to block his attacks?

They didn't understand.

They simply took the liberty of being beheld to the magnificent battle between the two Martial Artists as they watched a Martial Apprentice attain power that perhaps no single Martial Apprentice had ever obtained prior.

BAM!

Squire Dylon blocked a powerful uppercut empowered with Vital Pressure, Outer Convergence, Flame Breathing, Adamant Reforging but also the Reverberating Lance technique. Many powerful Apprentice-level techniques had pushed the sheer force of the collision with the attack beyond bare basic human parameters.

Yet his opponent was one of a higher Realm. Even if the defensive techniques he used were not truly Squire-level, his evolved body alone meant he could withstand an immense amount of punishment. The strike ultimately didn't inflict any meaningful damage.

('Damn, I can't win using ordinary attacks.') Rui cursed. ('I'm going to have to create an opportunity where my trump cards may be able to take him down.