The Martial Unity

This battle was rather therapeutic after his traumatic experience against the Gatekeeper. It reminded him that the Gatekeeper was an aberrant among aberrants. It also reminded me that he was strong.

The result was decisive. The Silas Clan watched the Mindforgers haul the unconscious Awakened Bodyforger chosen to test Rui's full power, shocked at how quickly and decisively the battle had been won by him.

"Have her mother tend to her wounds."

"Wrap her up in Velmin Leaves; it will hasten her recovery."

"To think she would lose so decisively…"

It was difficult to accept, but a victory was a victory.

Once Senior Huldah had been tended to, the Silas Council returned their attention to Rui.

Their eyes flashed with various different emotions. Admiration, respect, reluctance, and even amicability.

Yet there was also another emotion that lurked underneath.

Greed.

It had not escaped them that the power of prophecy that Rui had demonstrated was fundamentally different from that of the Eye of Prophecy that they wielded. The Mindforgers and even the matriarch had gotten the sense that it did not intersect with their technique in any way.

This meant that it could potentially be used concurrently with their technique.

It could elevate their power of prophecy to a much greater degree!

They would be lying if they weren't tempted to use…less-than-ethical methods to forcefully extract the technique. Yet the powerful Martial Sage that stood by Rui dissuaded them from even thinking about such things.

More importantly, he was the grandson of the matriarch.

Her words were absolute.

They waited for her word.

"My grandson…" Matriarch Nephi gazed into his eyes.

A hint of pride could be detected in her tone.

"You are strong. I have never seen an Awakened Bodyforger as young as you. Yet I most- certainly haven't seen one as strong as you, either."

She closed her eyes. "I must confess, I was almost certain that you were attempting to deceive us by claiming you had the power of prophecy to gain the name of Silas and our Eye of Prophecy technique."

"Thank you, grandmother," Rui bowed his head.

She opened her eyes, her powerful gaze bored deep into his eyes.

"If you seek the name of Silas, then you shall have it.

Rui's eyes widened.

"As is the right of those who bear the name of Silas, if you seek the Eye of Prophecy, then you shall have it."

A wave of murmurs spread across the Silas Clan. The matriarch had always been the most ardent believer in prophecy and the refusal to allow it to leave the family. If not for her daughter's sincere and passionate pleading, she would have never allowed the Eye of Prophecy to leave the Silas Clan.

Yet, now, she had bluntly offered the name of the Silas Clan and the Eye of Prophecy technique to Rui!

"However, it comes at a price," she declared. "If you choose to bear the name of Silas, you must bear the responsibilities along with its privileges."

She narrowed her eyes, arriving at the point. "You must share your power of prophecy with the Silas Clan; that is the responsibility of those who bear the name of Silas. We have a Martial culture where the progress in prophecy made by any member is shared with the entire clan and made available to all those who seek it. This is a way of giving back to the clan for the gift of prophecy that was initially bestowed upon them when they ascended to become Pathforgers."

Essentially, if he was willing to share his predictive model with the Silas Clan, they would share the Eye of Prophecy technique with him. The whole business regarding the name of Silas Clan was simply to ensure that, technically, the Eye of Prophecy would never leave the Silas Clan or Silas blood.

This way, they could ensure that that didn't happen, technically, while also gaining Rui's predictive model to enrich their prophetic power.

"…I'm not opposed to a mutually beneficial exchange of techniques," Rui replied. "However, as I said, the technique is also not my only need of the Silas Clan. I am in dire need of aid in search of someone. On top of that, I'm going to be very busy for months, if not years, with this task. I cannot afford to spend years mastering what is undoubtedly an extremely difficult technique. Nor do I have the time to teach what is the most difficult set of techniques that I have ever created. My circumstances are, unfortunately, complicated."

Rui made it clear that he was not willing to talk about them in front of the entirety of the Silas Clan.

"The council shall hear what you have to say," the Matriarch nodded.

"I wish to speak to you alone, grandmother," Rui replied. "I am your grandson, after all. I believe I have that right."

Her eyes softened at that request.

It was true that she was not treating him like a grandmother ought to. Unfortunately, she was also the leader of the Silas Clan; she needed to uphold their norms more absolutely than others and treat Rui as a leader.

"…As you wish," she closed her eyes. "I, too, have been meaning to speak to you about…many things."

It wasn't long before the Sage Sayfeel activated a barrier of heaven and earth around the shed that the grandson and grandmother moved into, giving the three of them absolute privacy.

"…Before we get to business…" Rui began. "I am sorry that I did not ever come to meet the Silas Clan ever before. I was unaware of my relationship with the Silas Clan my entire life, having learned recently. I was unaware that there was such a group as the Silas Clan. I was unaware that I was the son of the Emperor of Harmony."

Matriarch Nephi closed her eyes, shaking her head. "Rael, I see he chose to keep the truth from you your entire life."

"…He said it was at my mother's request," Rui heaved a sorrowful sigh.