"I know we're more or less done in the Thundering Valley, but…" Kane sighed as he looked out the window to the glowing storm of lightning pouring down from the clouds to the land. "I really don't want to leave this place."
Rui didn't respond immediately.
He understood Kane's sentiment very well, of course. Perhaps more than even Kane understood it himself.
Rui tried imagining what he would do if he came across a valley where his Flowing Void Style and the VOID algorithm were both ten times stronger than they normally were.
Of course, such a location could not possibly exist. The VOID algorithm was information in its purest form, there was no way there were esoteric substances that could affect something so abstract.
However, if there was such a location, would he truly have the willpower to separate himself from that location? Forcefully abandon that place and return to his, now, painfully weak ordinary VOID algorithm?
He liked to think he would have such willpower, but in reality, he simply didn't know.
Those were the circumstances that Kane was in at the moment. He didn't want to grandstand about discipline or other virtues to try and dispel such sentiments. Kane was already aware of them, and simply virtue signaling would irritate him.
Instead, he wanted to offer Kane a real solution.
"I think it is possible for you to retain the Fulminata technique even without the Thundering Valley," Rui told him.
"You said that before as well…" Kane raised an eyebrow. "But how? The technique requires lightning, and the only source of lightning is the heavens."
Rui did not want to get into the technical details of explaining the distinctions between electricity and lightning, and how the former was what his technique was actually based on. It required far too much of a scientific explanation involving concepts that Kane had never even heard of before.
"Trust me," Rui replied. "It's possible. If you're willing to put some faith in me, I think there's a good chance that I can help you find a way."
Kane stared at Rui before heaving an exaggerated sigh. "You make a hard case. What do you even have in mind?"
"Even if your body does not have the ability to generate lightning, there are definitely materials that can," Rui informed him, turning towards the Thundering Valley. "Why do you think the Thundering Valleys thunders so much? It isn't just the weather, I promise you."
"And you want me to, what, carry this material around with me in a punch everywhere I go?" Kan raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "That sound sounds incredibly impractical, and outside my Martial Art and Path."
"I'm not asking you to carry it outside your body," Rui calmly replied. "I'm telling you you can carry it inside your body."
"Huh?"
"I never did tell you how I created the Riemannian Echo technique, did I?" Rui remarked, murmuring. "Sensing the curvature of space isn't something my body or any Martial Squire's body for that matter is good at."
"You're telling me you inserted substances in your body that allowed you to use Riemannian Echo?" Kane's eyes widened. "That's… wow. Huh. I didn't expect that."
He looked uncertain about the whole idea. "Are you sure that's safe?"
"Very," Rui nodded. "Martial bodies are immune to a certain degree of toxicity that would be instantly lethal to normal human beings. I made sure that the toxicity of the substances I inserted into my body is too little to be able to harm me."
Kane looked more intrigued by this option at this point. How could he not? He knew how effective the Riemannian Echo technique was. It was one of the two elements that were responsible for the titanic success that they had achieved in the Shionel Dungeon and was also the means through which Rui mapped the entirety of the Shionel Dungeon.
Denying that the technique was anything but a resounding success was disingenuous. Kane even grew hopeful that Rui would be able to follow up on his words, considering that Riemannian Echo was also a grade-ten technique just like his Fulminata.
"I can only show you the way though," Rui informed him. "You're going to have to put in the hard work once it's time."
"Try me," Kane's eyes narrowed as they burned with determination.
If it was just a matter of effort, then he would put in as much and then some more effort as needed. Whatever it took to get his hands on the Fulminata technique away from the Thundering Valley!
"So what do we have to do?" Kane asked with a serious tone. "Can it be done here?"
"No…" Rui shook his head. "It can't. This place doesn't have what I need in order to do this. We're going to have to travel to a place where I can get access to what you need."
"Which is?"
"Information on esoteric substances, and a certain degree of Martial Art training resources," Rui murmured. "Their esoteric medical technology also needs to be above a certain level."
Rui closed his eyes as he pulled out the locations related to Martial Art that he purchased from Chairman from his Mind Palace. "Hmmm… There aren't all that many. We may need to interact with a state to obtain what we need, but that is too improbable and also dangerous."
Rui had no intentions of interacting with any sovereign states, at the moment. He knew that there were simply far too many risks associated with trading with a sovereign state. They were too strong, and this time, Rui and Kane would not have the protective veil of being untraceable, or the Martial Union to save him.
Most importantly, Rui was perhaps just a tad bit traumatized by the fiasco at the end of his time in the Shionel Confederation, thus he did not want to get involved in any kind of business that stood to make him powerful enemies that could crush him if he made them mad. He was content fighting in his weight class for now.
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