Chapter 2155: Choices of History

The Panamic Martial Federation was an enormous organization whose mandate gave it authority over the entirety of the Panama Continent. Due to the sheer scale of its jurisdiction, it had not one but four different headquarters for the four quadrants of the continent.

In other words, Rui didn't need to travel outside of East Panama to get his little briefing done.

"Of course," Master Zentra continued, "each branch has a Martial Master from each powerhouse around the entire continent. Thus, you will be judged and evaluated by each of the powerhouses across the entire Panama Continent."

Rui narrowed his eyes. "Judged and evaluated? You make it sound like I'm being prosecuted."

"Nothing of the sort," Master Zentra reassured. "However, you will be evaluated based on your threat level. This includes not just combat ability but also things like how dangerous your Martial Embodiment is to normal humans. I suspect that you will hit the highest score in that regard."

Rui raised an eyebrow. "It is rather curious that an organization that purports to exist by, for, and of Martial Art cares about the common folk."

Master Zentra gazed at Rui knowingly. "It is because Martial Art is inherently tied to the interests of the common folk. After all, we Martial Artists are not truly our own self-replenishing species. Martial Artists cannot reproduce to give birth to new Martial Artists. No. All Martial Artists were entirely normal people at some point in time. The Panamic Martial Federation has collectively decided that it is unwise to antagonize humanity, for the emergence of new Martial Artists can be severely hampered if human beings come to hate and fear Martial Art too much."

"...There is merit in that rationale," Rui cautiously remarked. "But human beings do not have the power to resist us. Furthermore, the greed for power is something that no amount of hatred and fear for Martial Art can overcome."

Master Zentra directed a wary gaze at Rui. "That is a rather disturbing thought. I most certainly do not want to enslave humanity to have them breed merely to ensure that the Martial Artist population remains large."

"I agree, but I am very certain that there are Martial Artists who feel this way." Rui's tone was confident. "The tilt to psychopathy means that there are definitely Martial Artists who have come to regard ordinary humans as mere reproducers of future Martial Artists."

Master Zentra narrowed his eyes. "You're not supposed to know about that until your briefing with the Panamic Martial Federation."

Rus smiled wryly. "Oops."

The Silas Clan didn't participate in the Panamic Martial Federation until recently, thus his grandmother probably mentioned it to him the way she would any other new Martial Master in the clan.

Master Zentra heaved a sigh. "No matter. The briefing will cover many such secrets exclusive to Masters. Regardless, you're correct. There are Martial Artists who believe in the total enslavement of humanity, even in the Kandrian Empire. They were among the most extreme Martial Supremacists who firmly supported Prince Raijun to the very end. Thankfully, they were in the minority. Most Martial Artists are quite uncomfortable with such an idea, but there are also reasons that the Panamic Martial Federation ruled out such an approach with remarkable unanimity."

"It is too impractical and would send humanity into a dystopian civil war, the likes of which this world has never seen," Rui mused knowingly. "Even the two Martial Revolutions of the Age of Martial Art would pale in comparison to the destruction that a war to enslave humanity would pan out. While Martial Art is the most powerful force in humanity, esoteric technology is fearsome enough to partially keep humanity in check."

After all, there was at least one Sage-level powerhouse that relied on esoteric military technology. The fact that all other Sage-level powerhouses relied on Martial Art primarily was proof that Martial Art was the strongest by a significant margin.

"On top of that, siege weapons are too destructive. In a war between Martial Art and esoteric technology, the former would win, but the latter would spread too much destruction, leaving behind a burning continent that might as well be uninhabitable," Rui further analyzed the reasons that such a war had been deemed an undesirable end. "Indeed." Master Zentra nodded. "That was why the Federation ultimately pursued harmony with humanity as a whole. That comes with certain constraints on Martial Artists of the Upper Realms. We cannot run around incapacitating entire nations with our Martial Embodiments without having humans hating Martial Artists. If we did this, this would reduce the number of Martial Artists that would be born from humans. The few who did become Martial Artists would also hate other Martial Artists for the suffering that they endured as humans. It would increase discord among Martial Artists and would be bad for Martial Art in the long run."

Rui understood the rationale for why the Panamic Martial Federation would focus on regulating the relationship between Martial Art and humanity. If they have decided to pursue a cooperative relationship, then it made sense to ensure that humanity would always have a positive relationship with Martial Artists.

"The reign of the Master Realm was perhaps the period where humanity hated Martial Art more than any other time in history due to the tilt towards psychopathy that Martial Masters underwent during that era," Master Zentra explained. "Martial Art was scorned as evil in many parts of the continent, which led to the birth rates of Martial Artists hitting record lows. The Panamic Martial Federation was created precisely to avoid this outcome. And it has largely succeeded in regulating humanity's relationship with Martial Artists for the sake of Martial Art."

He turned his gaze to Rui. "Today, Martial Arts has a largely positive image in culture due to Masters and Sages staying their hands against large population centers due to the consequences that the Panamic Martial Federation will inflict upon them if they become a liability to human civilization. Yet, that is just one of many things that the Panamic Martial Federation does to protect humanity."