Chapter 2128: Clash of Harmonies

His talk with his father had given Rui some insight into just how serious Emperor Rael was about seeing it to the end. Not that he expected his father not to, but his ambition had slipped to the back of Rui's mind.

The only thing that consumed his mind for the past three years was his own ambition.

Project Water.

Specifically, Project Heavy Hitter.

He still had yet to come up with a name for the technique even though it was very much complete.

"I'll figure it out when I gain inspiration." He shook his head. "For now..."

For now, he was much too eager to test his new strength and understand how much it had grown thanks to the technique.

Normally, one technique alone would never make that much of a difference, but Rui had a feeling that it would be a game-changer.

That was why he later found himself standing before Master Vertol at Darcol that day. "Thank you for coming on such short notice, Master Vertol." Rui smiled at the elder Master who had just arrived before him. "I hope I haven't troubled you all too much."

"Not at all, Your Highness." The older man nodded at Rui with acknowledgement. "You caught me at a good time. On top of that, I have been in your debt the past three years, you see."

Rui raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"It is thanks to you that my Martial Body has grown stronger," Master Vertol continued. "I'll leave it at that."

Rui's eyes lit up as he instantly understood what the man was referring to.

"I see..." he faintly murmured. "It seems much has happened in the past three years."

Master Vertol laughed boisterously. "I suppose that is true. Much has happened, and much will continue to happen. Am I right, Void Prince?"

He gazed at Rui knowingly. It became clear that he possessed some understanding of what the future had in store for the Kandrian Empire. Whether he inferred it from his own observations and experiences or whether he was told in confidence by the Martial Sages of the Earth Sect, Rui didn't know. He supposed it didn't matter, considering that Master Vertol was a high-tier Martial Master who had a level of power to merit some forewarning of what was to come. The same was true for many other Martial Masters.

While Martial Sages would become the most important class, Martial Masters' ability to inflict harm on civilizations and cripple their growth was too high for them not to be relevant to the strategic outlook.

He supposed it didn't matter, considering that Master Vertol was a high-tier Martial Master who had a level of power to merit some forewarning of what was to come. The same was true for many other Martial Masters.

While Martial Sages would become the most important class, Martial Masters' ability to inflict harm on civilizations and cripple their growth was too high for them not to be relevant to the strategic outlook.

It was interesting to ponder, but it was not important to Rui at the moment.

"I hope you will aid me in testing my newfound offensive power, Master Vertol," Rui requested him. "While I have other ways of testing it, I have exerted my offensive power against you the most previously. Thus, unless you have grown massively stronger since our last battle, you can help me understand just how strong my offensive power has grown."

"Hahaha. Ah, Master Rui, I have not changed one bit in the past three years." The elder Master smiled wryly. "Not everyone can grow as fast as you after breaking through the Master Realm. It's not for lack of trying, I can assure you."

Rui stared at him for a moment. "Nonetheless, I appreciate you taking the time to come see me out here and aid me with self-evaluation. Then..."

Rui drew his fist back while his torso coiled, gathering power. His legs spread, giving him stability and solidity.

"Hah, come, Void Prince." The elder Master grinned, taking a Sumo-like stance. "Show me just how much you have grown in the past three years!"

VMMMmmm...!

The Yin-Yang Shield blazed into life, radiating pure power as its harmonic vibrations hummed through heaven and earth upon the dawn of the technique. Yet, no amount of forewarning could have protected his composure when he detected another source of harmonic vibrations.

VMMMmmm...!

His eyes widened as he detected the harmony of Yin and Yang within Rui. Although the principles were extremely inscrutable and almost impossible to decipher, he could instinctively tell that whatever technique Rui was using was based on the same principles as the Yin-Yang Shield technique.

"You...!" The man stared at Rui, aghast, as a soft grin cracked at the edge of Rui's mouth. "Here I come."

Rui surged forth while Master Vertol gritted his teeth, hedging himself in place. The powerful attack surged forth with tremendous power contained within the depths of Rui's body. What followed exceeded either of their imaginations.

At the moment of contact, disharmony turned into harmony as constructive resonance between the two sets of Yin and Yang vibrations formed a tremendous convergence of power upon a single point, resulting in a massive collision of equal and opposite power.

BOOOOOM!!!

A devastatingly enormous crater emerged around them across Daracol as the sheer amount of power they outputted had nowhere else to go, manifesting the devastating destruction that Martial Masters were capable of.

"Rgh!" The two Martial Masters grimaced as the immense power at the point of collision pushed them back.

"...Damn." Rui glanced at his bruised fist.

The collision had been so powerful that it didn't matter who the attacker and the defender were.

However, that also meant...

"Rngh..." The elder stood back up, revealing an enormous bruise on his paunch. "Unbelievable..."

He gazed at Rui with a stunned expression. "To think you managed to crack the principles of the Gen Temple and applied them to an offensive technique. Not only that but its power rivals that of the Yin-Yang Shield. Truly, it is a feat that I thought was impossible."

Rui smiled, glancing at his hands. "I had been looking for ideas to create an offensive technique, and the Yin-Yang Shield technique looked to be quite powerful and potent. Thus, it perfectly fit my needs."

"...So you decided to endeavor to crack a technique that has successfully evaded disclosing its truth to all scrutiny? Hah..." The older man shook his head. "You are something else."