The Martial Unity

Two months passed.

Rui spent the time mastering Project Keep Up With Kane while he conducted extensive research with the remaining two projects, he had nearly come to an end with the theoretical and research phase and had almost fleshed out the entirety of all of the chinks of the technique blueprints.

Project Keep Up With Kane on the other hand, had already nearly reached flawless proficiency.

Compared to the other two projects, he was able to master this technique at quite the pace since he first began.

WHOOSH

He dashed through the woods at top speed.

"Fwuuuuu…" He inhaled with his mouth at just the right pace while his arm movements were positioned such that the resulting vacuum was formed right before him. His body posture was such that he maximized the volume of the vacuum.

Suddenly, his speed more than doubled as he shot through the woods even faster! The lack of the oppressing drag caused by the atmosphere and the atmospheric pressure pushing him from behind led him to move much faster than he normally was limited to.

"Fuuuuu…" He exhaled as he dispelled the technique allowing drag to slow him down and stop him

STEP

He paused as he looked at his pocket watch before turning back to look at the distance he covered.

"That's fifty in a row without a single collision, I guess that makes this a wrap. I'm glad I was able to overcome the discrepancies between this technique and Wind Breathing," Rui casually remarked.

The problem with creating a breathing technique to use when maneuvering was that he was already using Wind Breathing while maneuvering. It was not easy to use two breathing techniques simultaneously due to clashing requirements of timing, frequency, and force among other things.

Thus Rui had created a technique that was compatible with Wind Breathing, to the point where he ended fusing the two techniques to create a single maneuvering technique.

Gale Bolt Breathing.

('I wonder how this corresponds with Ian Nepomniatchi's Lightning Breathing,') Rui casually pondered the matter.

The Wind Breathing that he had mastered was actually merely a downscale of a much more potent version of the technique; Lightning Breathing, a technique that Ian had used in the Martial Contest.

Rui had lacked the talent needed to master the technique and thus had resolved to master a more downgraded version to suit his needs.

Now, having ascended to the Squire Realm, he had upgraded that technique by merging it with another one while it was in development.

('It's not the same as his Lightning Breathing in principle, but I don't think it's that much weaker,') Rui smiled.

He was quite satisfied with the outcome of the technique. Although this technique was not revolutionary, or enough to put him equal with Kane, he would at the very least not hold Kane back much when the two of them were in a situation that require escaping at top speed. It had served its purpose, and he did not want or need more than that from this technique.

He had two other techniques that he wanted to work on.

('I'd like to get back to working on them this moment, but…')

Today was the first day of the Martial Academy.

Max and Mana had attempted the Martial Entrance Exam more than a year ago prior and had failed. The two of them had since then grown extremely driven to become stronger and had discovered their Martial Paths at the age of fourteen under the guidance of Rui and his special training.

They had then attempted the Martial entrance exam just a month ago, dominating the exam and passing with flying colors as Martial Apprentices attending the exam always did. One month later, today, they would be leaving the Quarrier Orphanage and would move to the Martial Academy and begin their training there.

('I'm going to miss them,') He sighed as he reached home.

At the entrance, there was a large congregation of children and adults in the front yard. They had gathered in a circle around Max and Mana, exchanging words and hugs. Rui patiently waited for Max and Mana to finish, yet even when everybody else had had their fill, Lashara was still quite stubborn, refusing to let go of them.

"Mom… We're going to be late you know," Max murmured.

Mana didn't have the heart to refuse Lashara, having been quite emotional herself.

"Be safe…" She cupped their faces in her hands before finally letting go. "Goodbye."

It wasn't long after they exchanged a final farewell with everyone else, that they managed to leave the house.

"Are you two ready?" Rui asked as he studied them.

They had changed a lot over the last year. Their first crushing defeat and disappointment had sobered them up and forged their determination. They had matured a lot in the past year as a result.

The two of them nodded wordlessly with solemn expressions.

"Good, let's get going then."

WHOOSH

The three of them took off from the Orphanage, running as fast as horses. It only took them an hour before they reached the Martial Academy.

"The extra traffic slowed us down, but we still got here well within time," Rui nodded.

"Was it necessary to reach here this early?" Mana asked.

"Not strictly, no," Rui shook his head. "But it's best you get acquainted with your environment before things proceed. After all, you'll be under a lot of pressure from your peers soon enough,"

Max and Mana furrowed their eyebrows, giving him an odd look. "I still can't believe how famous you are, big brother."

"Hehe…"

When they attended the Induction Ceremony, they had been surprised by the sheer number of people that recognized Rui and went out of their way to greet him. Even the headmaster himself went out of his way to meet with Rui, even having an informal chat with their big brother. The aspiring Martial Artists stared at him with admiration and awe.

Rui, on the other hand, felt a little awkward and embarrassed by the reactions of his siblings.