Martial Era: Starting With The Strongest Talent

Felecia just stared at Scott, the word four still echoing in her head like something broken. Her lips parted slightly, but no argument came out. Instead, she took a slow breath, steadying herself. "Show me proof."

Scott didn’t hesitate. He lifted his hand and swiped through the air with practiced ease. A holographic screen flickered into existence between them, its glow reflecting in Felecia’s eyes as tension tightened in her chest.

He navigated quickly, fingers moving with precision as he accessed the alliance forum. "When I was training," he said calmly, "Adam came in here to record his techniques. Standard process. Nothing unusual at first glance."

The forum loaded, and Felecia leaned in slightly, her gaze locking onto the screen. Threads filled the display, but one stood out immediately, flooded with responses, and viewed thousands of times within hours.

"A new master... Reaper?" she muttered under her breath, her eyes narrowing as she scrolled. The number beside the post made her pause. Sixty-three techniques. Her heartbeat skipped once, then again, as disbelief crept in.

Scott watched her reaction but continued anyway, his tone steady. "That’s where things stopped making sense. He didn’t upload one technique. He uploaded sixty-three. All at once."

Felecia’s fingers curled slightly at her side as she processed that. It wasn’t just excessive. It was impossible.

"At first, I thought he was being reckless," Scott admitted. "Creating yellow-grade techniques just to bypass limits and create ten techniques quickly, But that doesn’t fit Adam."

Felecia shook her head slowly, her eyes still glued to the screen. "No... he wouldn’t cripple his own path like that." Her voice came out quieter now, but more certain. That wasn’t the kind of fighter Adam was.

Scott nodded once. "Exactly. So I checked them. Every single one."

He tapped the screen, and detailed breakdowns appeared beside each technique. Felecia’s pupils shrank as the classifications loaded in. Each one carried the same label.

Profound.

Her breath caught.

"...All of them?" she whispered, the words barely leaving her mouth.

Scott didn’t answer with words. He simply let the data speak for itself.

Felecia’s mind immediately started calculating, numbers flashing through her thoughts with brutal clarity. Six thousand enlightenment per profound technique. Sixty-three techniques. The total stacked rapidly, crushing everything she thought she understood.

Her stomach dropped.

"That’s..." She stopped mid-sentence, unable to finish. The number forming in her head felt wrong. It was far beyond the known limits. Even the peak of a supreme master couldn’t reach that threshold.

Her fingers trembled slightly. "That exceeds fifty-four thousand existence... by a massive margin."

Scott finally spoke again, his voice lower now. "Exactly. Which means one thing." He paused briefly, letting the weight settle. "Adam’s enlightenment isn’t just high. It’s beyond the known ceiling."

Silence fell between them.

Felecia didn’t respond this time. She couldn’t. Her mind was struggling to keep up, trying to reconcile what she knew with what she was seeing. The gap between those two things was starting to feel dangerous.

Scott tapped the screen again and a video began to play.

Adam appeared on the screen, calm and focused, standing in the training area and he moved immediately, executing the first technique with clean, precise motion.

Then the second.

Then the third.

Felecia’s eyes widened as the sequence continued without pause. Each movement flowed into the next, each technique a distinct affinity, refined, and deadly in its own way. There was no repetition or shortcuts. Every display was real.

Her breathing slowed without her noticing.

By the tenth technique, she was already struggling to keep track.

By the twentieth, her understanding began to fracture.

By the thirtieth, she stopped trying to predict what would come next.

And still, Adam continued.

There was no strain in his movements. No visible exhaustion. Just pure control. Pure mastery. As if performing dozens of profound techniques back-to-back was something completely natural to him.

Felecia didn’t speak.

She simply watched, her mind going quiet in a way that only happened when something truly impossible stood right in front of her.

The video kept playing.

And Adam still wasn’t done.

****

Ivy stepped out of the shower and into her workshop, steam still clinging faintly to her skin. Her clothes were slightly damp, sticking uncomfortably as she draped a towel around her neck and casually cleaned her ears.

She took two steps forward, then stopped.

Her body froze mid-motion, instincts tightening instantly as her gaze swept across the room. Something was off. Without wasting time, Ivy moved straight to her desk. Her hand reached out quickly, grabbing her glasses from the surface. She wiped the lenses clean with practiced ease before slipping them on.

Most martial artists didn’t deal with poor eyesight. But Ivy wasn’t like most. Years of harsh experimentation, volatile materials, and constant strain had taken their toll.

And then there were the two years.

Two years of stress. Two years of waiting while Adam and Rem remained unconscious. That alone had pushed her limits further than anything else. The damage had settled quietly, but permanently.

Her eyes scanned the case in front of her.

"...It’s not here."

The words slipped out softly. Ivy didn’t panic. Instead, her mind adjusted quickly, piecing things together with calm precision.

Adam must have taken it.

Her gaze lingered on the empty space for a moment longer, then she leaned back slightly, exhaling through her nose. The conduit had been sealed away for years, untouched, waiting for its rightful owner.

Now, it was gone.

A small smile tugged at her lips.

"About time," she muttered under her breath, a faint sense of relief settling in her chest. If Adam had reclaimed it, then that meant one thing. He was finally moving forward again.

That alone was enough.

Her thoughts were still settling when she suddenly felt a presence right behind her.

Ivy’s body reacted instantly, her shoulders tightening as her heart spiked. She turned sharply, eyes locking onto the figure standing just inches away without a sound.

Remedy.

Ivy exhaled sharply, tension leaving her just as fast as it came.

"You scared me," Remedy didn’t respond immediately.

She stood there, calm as ever, her expression unreadable. But something in her posture was different, but clear enough for Ivy to notice instantly.