"The ocean breeze is good," Rui sighed as he closed his eyes. "Quite soothing and relaxing."
Yet it wasn't enough to soothe his emotions. Abandoning his family was one of the most painful things he had ever gone through. He would gladly subject himself to the pain of the Squire evolution breakthrough another thousand times instead if he had the choice. But, he didn't.
He knew that he wasn't truly abandoning them in spirit. He had gone to great lengths in order to ensure that they wouldn't incur harm as a result of his failures. However, he knew that wasn't what they would feel. He knew that in the years to come, they would wonder why Rui hadn't come back home.
Just the thought of it made his soul ache.
He couldn't tell them the truth, that would be cruel. Informing them that the bigshot chairman of an international powerhouse of a company with Martial Seniors on retainer was doing everything in his power to harm them would shatter his family. He subsequently couldn't explain the reason he left either, in addition to being afraid of Chairman Deacon coming about that information and realizing that the entire chase of Rui and Kane he was on was an elaborate, and highly expensive sham.
In the end, he asked the Martial Union to discreetly convey a simple message.
'I'm sorry.'
Anything more, and the risks multiplied. His family would not understand the need for secrecy, nor could he trust their judgment in this matter, unfortunately, barring Julian. Given the number of immature kids in the Orphanage, it was not worth the risk.
He opened his eyes, inhaling deeply.
"So, where to again?" Kane asked, trying to dispel the gloomy mood that had beset Rui.
"As far away from here as possible," Rui applied. "We'll be traveling to the other side of the continent, to the other side of the world."
Kane's eyes widened as he realized what Rui meant. "The western end of the continent. We're going to go to the very other side? That's going to take forever!"
"It's not going to take a short amount of time, that's for sure," Rui replied.
"What are we gonna do once we get there?" Kane asked. "We're going to need housing and food at a bare minimum. Are we going to have to undertake missions and stuff?"
"Who knows?" Rui smiled wryly. "It'll be a fun adventure, although I do have a few places in mind."
"Oh yeah?" Kane raised an eyebrow. "Like where?"
"I have heard rumors of a place in the western end of the continent that is said to be able to help Martial Apprentices and Martial Squires grow stronger. A sovereign territory said to belong to a powerful Martial Senior," Rui replied. "Unfortunately, I didn't have time to do any research. I could have asked Guildmaster Bradt, but I didn't want him to know what my intentions were."
"Hm," Kane frowned. "A place that helps lower Realm Martial Artists grow stronger? That sounds like a scam, honestly."
"True. Still, I am a little optimistic. If it were a scam, I probably wouldn't have ever heard of it. Martial Artists aren't stupid, and they wouldn't flock to such a place, but who knows, maybe you're right" Rui offered. "I'm considering visiting that place at some point or another."
"What's it called?" Kane asked skeptically.
"Ruohuan," Rui replied. "I don't know anymore, unfortunately."
"Ok, that's one place we could travel to," Kane shrugged. "What else?"
"The Floating island of Ajanta is also something I've considered visiting at some point," Rui told him. "Seems like a remarkable geological phenomenon, said to be mostly accessible only to Martial Artists due to its extreme elevation. The higher concentration of Martial Artists definitely makes it a special place."
"That's a common element in the previous location as well," Kane raised an eyebrow. "Is that what you're going with?"
Rui nodded. "We may be traveling, but that doesn't mean we're here to relax and have fun. I want to get much stronger in the next ten years, and that means we need to make the best use of the next ten years to grow stronger. That generally involves going to places that are conducive to making Martial Artists stronger. One of the ways to find such places across the continent is to simply observe where Martial Artists across the entirety of the continent go."
"That makes sense. One such place would have been the Shionel Dungeon," Kane noted.
"That's right. A ton of Martial Squires came from all over to partake in it since it was a good chance to challenge one's self and hone one's Martial Art," Rui replied.
Rui did not intend to waste the next ten years. He was worried that simply traveling without actually pushing himself to grow stronger would lead to his strength stagnating. Exploring the tribulations of the continent was a great way to stimulate yourself.
"That reminds me," Kane remarked. "The Beast Domain is definitely one such place, isn't it?"
"Yeah, there's no doubt about that," Rui narrowed his eyes. "The difficulties of the Shionel Dungeon are commonplace in the Beast Domain. It's why Martial Artists often travel to the Beast Domain to forge themselves and grow stronger. It's definitely on the list. However, I am keen on exploring Human Domain more before we enter the Beast Domain."
"I am fine anyhow," Kane shrugged. "Just going far away from the Kandrian Empire is good enough for me."
Rui hadn't forgotten Kane's desire to break free from his family. It appeared that he had effectively realized his objective, for now, at least.
"What a strange turn of events," Rui remarked. "To think that you would come to get what you want through such crazy circumstances."
"Yeah, you're damn right about that. It's almost hard to believe myself," Kane concurred. "I wouldn't have been able to achieve it myself. So, I do owe you a big thanks."
Kane knew that he would have been caught by his family had he tried running away himself.
