He closed his eyes as he activated his Martial Heart, empowering the majority of his dormant Martial Mind to life as he effortlessly recreated Rui's full video from scratch based on pure memory, studying it.
He walked over to the clip of Master Uma in his mind, taking on the form that she had taken against Master Deivon. 'Hmm, her Martial Embodiment is a blade of wind, eh? It is congruent with the vibes that her Martial Art gives off. It doesn't matter how brilliant he is. There is no way that a Martial Senior can create a such flawlessly congruent image of a Martial Master.'
Which meant that she was undoubtedly real. However, he didn't recognize her appearance, not that that surprised him. He didn't know all Martial Masters that existed. Although the Master Realm was quite small, there were far too many too widespread for him to know all of them.
He doubted Rui would tell him either, considering that he had abstained from doing so before. Still, he had enough to work with. He studied her attire, pausing when he reached the crest on her chest.
'That symbol... Virodhabhasa Faith?' Master Zeamer frowned. 'Looks like he got entangled with some nasty religious business. But if he really made an enemy of the entire religion, he would be dead right now. Which means...'
It was most likely limited to this Martial Master. He narrowed his eyes, he didn't appreciate his peers messing with his pupil. Even though it was in the past, he had felt Rui's fear when he activated the technique, it was part of what made the technique so powerful.
'Of course, I could just find her and kill her.' Finding her with the information he had was trivially easy. Each Master had a unique Martial Embodiment, meaning he could easily find her if he used his authority and influence within the Panamic Martial Federation.
He was confident about the killing part, as well. Unless Rui completely botched up her threat level, which seemed quite unlikely, he was far stronger than her considering he didn't feel even the slightest hint of danger from the wind of blades that Rui had conjured in the technique.
'Probably wouldn't take more than a few days. Unless she's in the Theocracy protected by Cardinal Sage Sariawar.' Master Zeamer. 'Maybe I should get Reina to help me given that this is her specialty. She seems to have developed affection for the boy so she would definitely be willing. Besides...it will be a good opportunity.'
A lewd smile sprung up on his face for a moment. "Hehehe... Then again, will that be the best course of action?"
Had Rui been a lesser Martial Senior, then getting rid of her would be besr for him. The threat of a Martial Master was too much for more ordinary Martial Seniors to try and overcome.
However, the same could not be said for Rui.
'She is part of his drive.' He realized. 'However, he is not running away from her psychologically. He is fully prepared to grow stronger and then take her down when he has obtained the power he needs to accomplish that. Not only that, he has the confidence that he will succeed. Just like with that Deacon fellow he was telling me about.'
It was quite impressive that Rui was able to turn hostile forces far beyond his power into sources of motivation and drive. Considering that Rui was freely traveling, it most likely meant that he was not under active pursuit from the Martial Master. In that case, she was not an acute threat.
'Then, it's better to let her live. If only so that she can serve as the fuel to propel him greater heights. I shall not interefere.' Master Zeamer made up his mind. 'I just hope my judgement is not wrong.'
If Rui failed, or if she found him before he could succeed, then he would die. Master Zeamer was taking a gamble by letting her live. A gamble with Rui's life at stake.
'I definitely do need to suppress information about him within the Panamic Martial Federation.' He thought. 'Otherwise this Martial Master will be able to learn about him through the intelligence collected by the organization with her Master-level security clearance.'
Master Zeamer paused for a second. 'Ah there's also the Beggar's Sect. Those pesky roaches infesting every corner of humanity are also problematic, though Rui himself has probably handled matters relating to them.'
He could still help out in his own ways in that regard.
'Goodness gracious, what a problematic pupil.' He heaved a troubled sigh. 'On the other hand, look at me. I'm such a good Master. Truly exemplary.'
He nodded to himself, self-satisfied, before glancing at Ieyasu. 'If having a Master become your enemy is good for Rui's growth, then the same must be true for him considering how similar they are. In that case, maybe I should pretend to become his enemy until he reaches the Master Realm. Or better yet, maybe I should find a weak Martial Master, hypnotize them to become his enemy.'
His eyes sparkled with excitment. 'Ohhhh! I have an even better idea. I should not only hypnotize a weak Martial Master to pursue them, but I should fake my death at their hands so that he would be driven to avenge me, his kind wise good-hearted Martial Master that he is so indebted to. yes, that's perfect!'
"Father, you called?"
While he was brainstorming brilliant ideas, a voice called out to him.
"Hm?" The man turned to find four young Martial Artists. "Ah, right. I need to you to carry these two back to their personal quarters. Also send a couple of night attendants to their rooms. I want them to wake up to heaven. Hahaha!"
The man guffawed as his children heaved a resigned sigh before carrying the two unconscious young Martial Seniors away. Naturally, neither of them were particularly pleased to find hoardes of naked women in their bed when they woke up.
