The Martial Unity

The greater the power, the greater the tribulations. Based on what Master Reina was telling him, the depth of his mind would mean that he had a greater amount of work to do. Based on that, he could estimate that it would truly take a long time for him to become a Martial Master.

He would have to spend decades, perhaps even a century under normal circumstances to create his Martial Mind.

'If not for the fact that that I have already done that once in the past.' Rui inwardly grinned. 

He had already come to the realization that the VOID algorithm was a part of the Martial Mind. The many years that he spent creating a framework and a system of thought to create a system of thought that would allow the user to adapt to any and all combat styles.

The VOID algorithm was the fruit of Project Water, his Martial Path. He had always known that it was the core of his Martial Art. 

However, only now did he understand where the VOID algorithm fit within the framework of the Martial Path of Gaia. It would be his nascent Martial Mind, one that he had been born with. One that he had spent his life forging. One that he had inherited from another world.

The efforts that he had gone through back on Earth. The perseverance. The dedication. 

All of that allowed him to be probably the only person to be born with a nascent Martial Mind buried deep within his mind.

Rui suspected that he didn't need to spend nearly as much of the immense time in the Senior Realm building his Martial Mind as Master Reina suspected. He suspected that she didn't know the sheer extent to which he had made progress with the Martial Mind.

'If I subtract the decades that I spent working on the VOID algorithm from the even longer amount of time I have to spend on fleshing my Martial Mind out, then the remaining time becomes much less elaborate.' Rui realized. 'Of course, it's not that I'm unwilling to dedicate a normal human lifetime to creating the Martial Mind. I basically did it once, and I'm more than willing to do it. Especially in this world of Martial Art where it means so much more.'

Still, sooner was better. There was no doubt about that. He had become a Martial Senior at the age of twenty-four, allowing him to begin working towards the Master Realm much sooner than his peers. The only one who could compare was Ieyasu, and he was still behind Rui because Rui was relatively sure that he didn't have a system of thought that could be considered a Martial Mind.

His copying worked based on recreating the nerve impulses that the brain passed through the autonomous nervous system. He recreated techniques by essentially reconstructing them from the core principles that he had already copied.

During his fight with Rui, he displayed the ability to master the core principles of many different fields, including primary ones like offense, defense, and maneuvering, but also many esoteric ones such as friction, heat, cold, and even electric. 

For him recreating a Martial Art was like building a Lego structure that was identical to another. As long as he had the building blocks and the blueprint, he could recreate the exact same Lego building. He improved them by simply having better building blocks.

'Perhaps the only aspects of rigorous thought or cognition in his Martial Art are when he doesn't have the same building blocks. Though even then, it didn't seem all that deep.' Rui mused. 'Regardless, I have a remarkable advantage thanks to the labors of my previous life. I would have put in even more effort had I known that it would pay off in such a way.'

Regardless, this boon would cut the time he spent in the Master Realm significantly. It didn't mean he was going to break through any second because of how high the initial hurdle was, it still made his life much easier. 

"I'm sure you have much to think about, but listen up." She interrupted his train of thought. "You can take all the time in the world to mull on these matters after you are gone from here."

Rui immediately put his many thoughts aside as he paid full attention to the Martial Master.

"The quality of the Martial Mind is something that you should keep in mind as well," Master Reina remarked. "Your system of thought needs to be not only effective in raising your effective power level but also need to be attuned to your Martial Art and Body, though that last part will occur naturally as long as it is imbued with the same individuality that characterized your Martial Art. In essence, only you can create your Martial Mind. If you create a weak Martial Mind that fills up the compartment of the vessel, you will be a weak Martial Master."

Rui narrowed his eyes. "So you're saying it is possible to fill the compartment of the vessel with... low-quality water?"

She nodded. "Some Martial Seniors in the past had been under the impression that they can try breaking through to the Master Realm with a poor Martial Mind that does nothing for their combat in hopes that they can 'update' their Martial Minds after entering the Master Realm. Well, reality isn't that convenient. The quality of the system of thought that comprises one's Martial Mind is what decides the boost the Martial Mind gives you. Can you guess what happened to them?"

"I would conjecture that they were either unable to update their Martial Minds due to some reason or found that the boost of power they gained from breaking into the Master Realm was incomparably weaker than their peers," Rui replied thoughtfully.

"Both of those happened. 'Updating' the Martial Mind after it has been realized and your conscious mind has already expanded to it is like trying to fix flaws in the blade of a sword after it has already cooled down," She explained.