The Martial Unity

WHOOSH

Kyrie evaded a blow from Dylon, while striking soft and sensitive areas at specific angles with differing hand forms to inflict the maximum amount of pain and damage, earning grimaces from Dylon.

POW POW POW

"Isn't that Vital Pressure?" Rui asked, just barely managing to recognize the familiar characteristics of the offensive striking technique after a few hours into the fight. Kyrie was so blindingly fast that he truly struggled to make out anything about her impacts at all! He would have instantly recognized had he seen a Martial Apprentice.

However, Kyrie's attacks were indistinguishably fast.

"I can't say for sure. But I think it is." Kane admitted as he squinted his eyes, ducking his head forward trying to keep up with Kyrie's onslaught.

('Not even Kane is able to perceive her attacks cleanly.') Rui thought. Kane was by far the fastest among his friends, if even Kane was this inferior, it spoke volumes to the prowess of Martial Squires.

He wouldn't be too surprised if Kyrie was using Vital Pressure. It was an extremely useful and fundamental technique; it was the type of technique that wouldn't lose its relevance even at higher Realms of Martial Art combat.

Every living being possessed soft, weak and sensitive spots. As long as these vital spots existed universally, they could be pressured in various ways to inflict higher amounts of pain and damage. This was the principle that Vital Pressure was based. It truly was a foundational technique. Nearly every Martial Artist he had seen that used striking to some degree, used Vital Pressure.

('Maybe I can integrate that fact into the VOID algorithm.') Rui realized. ('If Vital Pressure is this universal, then developing a counter-deductive system specifically built for that technique might be quite useful.')

He could apply the tactic he used against Kane earlier to the Vital Pressure technique. Vital Pressure did reduce the number of strike locations because the number of weak and sensitive striking locations on the body was a minority of all the striking locations on the body, making it easier to predict his opponent's moves in advance and adapt his counter to those attacks more optimally.

He shook his head putting aside such thoughts and focused on the battle, he could think more deeply about this later.

He began to notice that Squire Dylon's movements were starting to grow more and more sluggish and lethargic. Compared to the start of the fight, where his movements were sharp and energetic, he had undoubtedly grown slower.

His face was covered in sweat and his breathing was strained, whereas Kyrie on the other hand appeared much less fatigued.

Rui immediately connected the dots together.

('As an all-rounder, she probably has better stamina than someone like Squire Dylon.') Rui mused. As far as he could tell, she had adopted an approach to combat that maximized her all of her distributed strengths as an all-rounder while diminishing the significance of offensive power.

('Huh, what do you know.') Rui thought to himself. ('She's basically doing something similar to the most elementary tier of the VOID algorithm.')

He wasn't too surprised. The VOID algorithm at its simplest iteration was just a systemized data-drive protocol form of common sense, in a way. He didn't think the VOID algorithm was something invincible that higher Realms of Martial Art couldn't replicate. Higher Realms of Martial Artists had traversed their Martial Path far, far deeper than Rui had, which almost certainly mean their minds were much superior in combat than his own mind, likely even with his reincarnation double-growth advantage.

In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if higher Realm Martial Artists possessed such superior cognition that they were capable of producing results that were superior to his algorithm.

As it currently was, the VOID algorithm was a relic that was special back on Earth, however Earth was astronomically inferior to Gaea as far Martial Art went. He was not arrogant enough to believe it was unsurpassable.

However, it didn't mean he was resigned to let it be that way. Project Water and the VOID algorithm were at the core of his Martial Art. The more he developed the VOID algorithm and upgraded and evolved it to encompass Martial Art in Gaea, the more his Martial Art would grow stronger.

Even if his Martial Art and VOID algorithm, as they were now, may just happen to be obsolete at the highest levels of Martial Art, he didn't they would remain that way by the time he reached the peak of Martial Art.

GRASP

A sudden shift in the fight's monotonous flow broke Rui out of his reverie. Squire Dylon had purposefully tanked an attack from Kyrie in order to get his hands on her, in order to turn the fight into a grappling contest.

He had managed to get his hands on her shoulder and refused to let go. His intent was clear to Rui, he wanted to get rid of Kyrie's maneuvering advantage by dragging her into an all-out grappling contest. As far as Rui could tell, it was working.

The two wrangled on the ground fiercely, consequentially cracking the hard tiles that were especially built to withstand the power of Martial Apprentices without a single scratch!

Squire Dylon had a physicality advantage, he had a stronger body, by virtue of being of a higher weight-class and also having a Martial Art in which raw power was important.

Grappling was a field where physicality mattered much more than in striking.

In a striking contest, it was possible for an inferior striker to defeat a superior striker thanks to a single well-times and well-placed strike due to dumb luck.

There were no flukes in grappling, there was only inevitability.

('However, inevitability could swing both ways.') Rui noted. ('His stamina is much more depleted than Kyrie's stamina, and her stamina consumption is lower than his because of her higher conservation of energy, likely due to a Squire-level breathing technique.')

The fight had entered its final stage, and the conclusion was anything but clear!