Chapter 2040: Reign of the Master Realm

Rui stared at her with unadulterated surprise at the stunning revelations that his grandmother had shared with him.

He had never considered the consequences of the Martial Mind on psychology.

He had implicitly assumed that it didn't have any major effects on the mind based on the empirical observations that Martial Masters weren't particularly crazy or psychologically deviant.

They had an erudite air about them, but that was all he had ever observed of them.

Yet, now his grandmother shared with him the truth.

"The Age of Martial Art has had many ups and downs," she calmly informed him. "Among the lows were things such as the Martial Revolution which consisted of civil wars across all of humanity. Another low was a brief period of barbarism when infants were subjected to horrors of all kinds in the hopes of producing powerful Martial Paths. And another lesser-known and downplayed low was the Reign of the Master Realm."

She turned to him. "When Martial Seniors broke through to the Master Realm, many of them experienced the very shift in psychology that I just elaborated on. At the time, the Master Realm was the peak of Martial Art; you can imagine just what happened."

He felt chills as he thought about the kinds of horrors that unfolded.

"Narcissists. Sociopaths and psychopaths. Egomaniacs." She snorted contemptuously. "While they pursued their Martial Paths and were still driven by their Martial Drives, the courses of actions that they might have previously considered to be immoral were less and less so. Humans became lesser beings both in body and mind. No different from how humans view livestock as lesser, inferior, and property with which they could as they pleased. The most unfortunate reality is that they were not technically wrong. It is because the comparison cannot be refuted that it caused such a massive shift in psychology over time. The Reign of the Master Realm was one of the worst periods to ever be a human."

"...I have not read about this in my study of history in the Age of Martial Art."

"The Panamic Martial Federation and all its constituents have exerted a tremendous amount of political power over centuries to censor and even retcon history. But no matter what the doctored and falsified historical literature being pedaled around today says, we Martial Artists of that brief era remember it as clearly as yesterday."

Her tone grew grave. "We keep it deep within ourselves as a reminder to never let that history recur."

She turned to him with a powerful gaze. "Now that you have become a Martial Master, you are entitled to know this truth. Hone your mind and mentality, or pay the price. There are resources and manners in which you can condition your mind and will be available to you for free in the Martial Union or the Panamic Martial Federation."

Rui gazed at her impassively.

"Do you think I'd go down that path?"

She considered the question for a moment. "...It might shock you to believe, but no. Despite all the changes you have undergone, I do not believe you will ever go down that path. Not as long as the Quarrier Orphanage exists."

A soft smile cracked at the edge of his mouth. "I see."

"...After all, that is how the Reign of the Master Realm came to an end," she replied. "While there were plenty of madmen Martial Masters, there were even more Martial Masters who happened to retain a strong bond to humanity. Parents. A loved one. Children. A family. A community. These things anchored the Martial Masters despite the tug of the Martial Mind to view humans as inferior. It is why I never strayed into a dark path myself. My responsibilities and my Martial Drive to protect my clan keep rock solid. These days there are even more systems in place to keep Masters from developing psychopathy."

Rui started to gain a better understanding of the mentalities of more eccentric Martial Masters such as Master Reina and especially Master Zeamer.

"The breakthrough of the first Martial Sage, a man of powerful integrity and honor, led to the end of the Reign of the Master Realm," she lightly continued. "If not for him, the destruction of human civilization as we know it may as well have come to be the case. Yet, the tug of darkness always remains. Martial Masters must learn to exercise emotional control and discipline when they break through to the Master Realm. It is also encouraged that they breed and start their own families to tether them to humanity strongly. That is one of the reasons that the Martial Community nationally and internationally are thriving."

Rui immediately thought of the Arrancar Family and Sage Damian Arrancar.

It had always struck him strange that a Martial Sage of his temperament and personality would ever bother creating a family as large as the Arrancar Family, especially when he clearly wasn't a family-oriented man if Kane's childhood was indicative of anything.

Perhaps he had done so with the intention of ensuring he didn't become a true devil, as his epithet suggested, that would lead to his own destruction.

"It's a shame that she left the orphanage," his grandmother commented lightly with a small smirk. "A wasted opportunity."

Rui coughed awkwardly. "Please don't joke about that. I didn't come here to talk about starting a family or the Reign of the Master Realm, really."

His voice grew more serious.

"I came here to gain clarity."

"Hah." She snorted mirthlessly. "If only it were that simple. The clarity you seek can only come from within, not without. Nobody can give you the clarity you seek except yourself."

Rui was hardly satisfied with such a vague answer. "What is the path to the Sage Realm and, more importantly..."

His eyes narrowed. "...what does it have to do with who I am?"

She gazed at him, snorting.

"You are unworthy of the answers to those questions if they existed in the first place," her eyes narrowed. "Look at the mess that your mind and emotions are in. Even your mother was closer to the Sage Realm than you are."