Martial Arts Worlds

"…So, are you letting us go?"

Sacrael asked with a few sweatdrops falling off his face, and the other Bulwarkians looked nervous as hell.

They didn't like Imperius' smile—not at all—it was the smile of Pirate Immortal that ruled over these waters.

"…Go."

Imperius commanded with a chuckle.

Sacrael gulped loud enough for them to hear, and then he rushed to the door—as if his feet were on fire—and rushed out of the door.

The rest of the Bulwarkians followed him, and they disappeared into the night—they didn't stay on the streets, as it would be easy to spot them, as they were over three meters tall each.

Imperius closed the door, tapped his fingers against it, and started laughing as if he just saw something funny.

"Hahaha… ahh… You were smart for informing Martial Order about this—if I hadn't been here, they would've killed you instantly.

"We would've lost two Martial Order members, and that would've been a shame—indeed a big shame."

Imperius said and sat on the sofa, then kicked his feet up to its armrest and lay down for a moment of relaxation.

"…So you are a pirate. I guess Martial Order has people of all professions. I just didn't think one of the Grandmasters would be one."

Kiernan said.

"Disappointed?"

Imperius opened his right eye and looked at him with a teasing look.

"No… I don't have room to be disappointed. I am sure Pirate Immortal is a valuable asset to the Martial Order. Does Old King know?"

Kiernan asked.

"Of course he knows. He knows everything. He even knows who you are, and Rockstar hasn't had a need to tell him even."

Imperius said.

"…I see."

Kiernan sighed, scratched behind his ear, and then asked.

"You want me to send you back?"

"Nah… I am fine being here for a while. These Bulwarkians are still lurking around, and who knows, they might try something stupid.

"They still need your help to get them back to Bulwark Land."

Imperius said, put his arms under his head, and relaxed with a smile on his face—but it was clear that there might be some ulterior motives behind his smile.

'…He is a pirate, and while he is on my side for now, I shouldn't trust him one bit. He is after something here, which is why he wanted to 'help' me.

'I am still in a risky position. If anybody from God Island finds out what I've done… or if those Bulwarkians get caught and spill the beans about how they got here, I will be screwed.'

Kiernan thought.

"Do not worry—Bulwarkians won't snitch you out if they get caught. They're a race that will die than get caught."

Imperius said with a smile and added.

"However, I think you're in the middle of a storm. A storm that will hit God Island. I'd suggest you focus on this championship of yours and ignore the rest for now.

"Bulwarkians won't make a move just yet. They cannot breach the vault, after all, and they need to wait for a moment when it is open."

Imperius said.

'Vault…?'

…

A gold and silver carriage stopped by a sidewalk, a door opened, and a top-hat-wearing man stepped out with an air of confidence and elegance.

He had a tailored suit with a matching beige-colored briefcase in hand and walked to the front door.

Knock! Knock!

He stopped after two knocks and waited.

A short while later, the door opened, and Kiernan, his eyes looking heavy, looked at him with a freshly woken-up look.

"Kiernan Hunter, I assume?"

The man said.

"That is me… Who are you?"

Kiernan said, wiping his eyes.

"A representative of the Martial Arts Association. I am here to bring you this."

The man opened his briefcase, took out a star with the number "4" engraved into it, and stamped it into Kiernan's chest.

It looked like a badge almost.

"What is this?"

Kiernan asked.

"All representatives of the country will wear this "Tier Badge" to help the General Managers of the World Fighting League.

"They're here, looking at new recruits. They're looking at talents, but also for diamonds in the rough. If you show potential that surpasses the expectations of tier 4 country talents, you might receive a recruitment invitation."

The man closed the briefcase and tipped his hat before climbing back to his carriage and leaving as quickly as he appeared.

"…World Fighting League, huh."

Kiernan slammed the door shut, and as he turned around, he saw Imperius standing in front of him with a smile on his face.

"Shit… How long have you been standing there? Did that man before see you?"

He asked.

"Nah, he didn't see me."

Imperius said with a smile and asked.

"What did he want?"

"To give me a Tier Badge to help General Managers of the World Fighting League."

Kiernan said.

"Ah… You intend to become a professional fighter? I am sure that is a dream of many kids like you, and it's… the safe route of martial artists.

"If you want to become something great—an Immortal—a safe route won't be it.

"These Martial Arts World Championships are funny to me. World Championships of what? The strongest fighters aren't really participating in that.

"It's just the strongest safe route fighters.

"World Champions only have Martial Emperors fighting, and that's not anywhere close to the top of the martial arts world as we know it."

Imperius said with a chuckle.

"About Martial Arts Pathway… I only know the names of the ranks till Martial Emperor, and then I know there is something called Immortal Stage. Can you tell me more?"

Kiernan asked.

"From Unranked to Martial Emperor, you're at Martial Stage—it's the earliest stage of martial arts, and the common public thinks that's all.

"That's the entire Martial Arts Pathway.

"But the truth is, there is a secret stage beyond that known as the Immortal Stage.

"False Immortal—it's the next rank above Martial Emperor, and just like the name suggests, it's a stage of false immortals.

"That's where I am stuck at—I am not really immortal. I can still be killed, but the aging itself does not kill me.

"Demi Immortal—it's the next rank, and those of that stage are borderline immortals. Killing them can be very… bothersome.

"And the last rank of Immortal Stage—True Immortal—immortal beings that can't be killed… or so we think.

"Of course, even that is not the end of the Martial Arts Pathway.

"Above that is God Stage—False God, Demi God, and True God. They are incredibly powerful and almost godlike in their abilities.

"However, even that's not the end.

"Above True God… We have Martial Gods."