The Martial Unity

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('Of course, this alone probably isn't enough to discover one's Martial Path and break through to the Apprentice Realm.') Rui noted.

For example, if their Martial Path happened to be related to a non-standard field like poison, then no amount of self-awareness of their existing style and combat would be able to allow them to discover their Martial Path until they were actually exposed to poison.

Of course, it was highly unlikely that they had Martial Paths related to poison. Now that Rui had gained access to some lesser-known secrets of the impact of one's personal experiences throughout their life on their Martial Path, he knew that their life experiences would almost certainly not morph their Martial Path into something niche and esoteric.

Furthermore, Rui already had some suspicions about their Martial Paths.

Max was likely going to have a Martial Path centered around offense or power, or both. His combat style contained a lot of both, thus it was not unreasonable for Rui to suspect that the boy would be going down this path.

Of course, Rui could not specifically say what his Martial Path would be. Both offense and power were extremely broad fields of Martial Art, and there were a large number of possible specific sub-fields that his Martial Path could be.

The same could be said for Mana, who seemed to excel in all-around maneuvering and agility. Even within those fields, she could end up pursuing numerous particular sub-fields.

He decided to, at the very least, give them decent levels of exposure to various unorthodox fields, it would expand their Martial Art worldview and give them a better understanding of the various kinds of Martial Art there could be.

"Big brother, can you spar with us again?"

The two of them looked at him expectantly.

"Alright, fine." Rui sighed, relenting.

"Alright!"

The two took their positions and stances while Rui simply stood where he was, waiting for them. He took his time to observe their stances and movements in slow motion.

Yet more than that, what drew his attention was their demeanor and impression. Rui recalled that a few months ago when they attended the Martial entrance exam, while they were certainly passionate and excited, he couldn't help but think that they were quite childish and naïve.

However, ever since their loss in that exam, the two had grown a lot more determined and worked much harder and fiercer than they did before. They lost their childish demeanor rather quickly as they persevered through much more intense training than before.

Rui had to admit that he was quite proud of them.

"Begin."

The two of them rushed at him once he uttered the word. Mana reached him first, launching a remarkably swift kick to his chin. What impressed Rui was that she did not even shift her body to launch the attack, her knee reached her shoulder as her leg flexibly flew up unhampered.

WHOOSH

Rui stepped back five centimeters slowly, having begun the moment her attack began. Her kick missed him narrowly, disheveling his hair with the gust of wind she generated.

She sidestepped as Max charged in with a powerful blow charged up, swinging it with all his might against Rui.

POW

Rui partially redirected the strike while also partially dodging, applying the bare minimum amount of power needed to successfully defend against the attack. He leaped to the side, putting some distance between them as he analyzed their teamwork.

('She reached first, launching a swift attack, yet her goal was only to give Max enough time to charge up all the momentum and power so that he could launch it in a single attack.') Rui noted as he watched them turning towards him in slow motion.

Rui glanced at Max.

('Maybe Max's Martial Path will be a combination of offense and power in the form of maximizing one-hit power. He doesn't seem to have much of an interest or knock for grappling.') Rui mused.

Rui had taught them both Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a martial art that Max was not too very fond of.

He watched as the two of them rushed at him again, using all kinds of tricks and coordinated maneuvers to try and maximize their chances of pushing Rui farther than they ever had before. Rui noticed that, since the entrance exam, the two had really begun to specialize their combat styles even more. Max focused mainly on landing the most powerful impacts that he possibly could, while Mana created opportunities that allowed Max to land his powerful blows on their opponent.

They made a good team, as far as their specialties were considered. Furthermore, they had a lot as a team. Though Rui also made sure that they trained and sparred individually as well. Ultimately, it would be quite dangerous if their combat styles became too dependent on each other. This would hinder their path forward to the upper Realms.

Furthermore, it might warp the development of their Martial Paths in an unhealthy manner too, which was worse than just being hindered. Thus, Rui ensured that both of them spent more than half their sparring training, sparring one on one, rather than two-on-one.

Still, teamwork was useful, especially when they were trying to crack one of the most difficult Martial exams in the country.

Rui just had to ensure that there was a balance. Teamwork would still be useful even after they join the Martial Academy if they did choose to form a party. They could complete missions together, allowing them to leverage the many years that they had been fighting together. Although their fighting styles would certainly evolve as time passed, as long as they spent a healthy combination of individualistic growth and team growth, they could become formidable Martial Artists in the future.

It was a future that Rui was looking forward to. He definitely took pride in them as both siblings and students. Every time he trained with them, he made sure to give it his all as a mentor and as an older brother.