Marcus had experienced wielding the legendary Excalibur itself, and possessed a very clear understanding of what the divine blade was truly capable of achieving in skilled hands. Although the energy sword technique he had just demonstrated was genuinely powerful and impressive, it couldn't begin to compare with the devastating capabilities of the actual holy weapon.
His improvised attack hadn't even approached the lowest threshold of what could be considered a true radiant sword technique. What he had created was more accurately described as concentrated sword energy rather than the reality-warping attacks that genuine Excalibur techniques could produce.
But Marcus wasn't discouraged by this limitation. That particular attack had been performed purely out of curiosity and interest—an attempt to recreate some small fraction of the legendary sword's overwhelming power through his own abilities.
Although he couldn't directly replicate the divine sword energy of Excalibur, he was certainly capable of releasing similar energy waves and projections through other methods. After all, the scope and versatility of the five void schools provided tremendous flexibility in energy manipulation and application.
The various thoughts and comparisons running through Marcus's mind remained unknown to his audience, who were all completely stunned by the sword technique they had just witnessed.
From their perspective, Marcus had reached this incredible level of power with what appeared to be casual effort, and they couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of devastating force he might be capable of when fighting at full strength.
"Teacher... that was absolutely amazing!" Bruce murmured in awe as he continued staring at the space where Marcus's energy projection had passed.
Although neither Bruce nor Selina possessed anything approaching Marcus's level of power, they had both seen their teacher wearing his advanced battle armor during their previous encounters with supernatural threats.
At that time, they had assumed that the incredible combat capabilities they witnessed were primarily due to Marcus's technological equipment. They had thought that without his specialized combat gear, Marcus's personal strength might not be able to reach such overwhelming levels.
Now they realized how completely wrong their assumptions had been. Although the combat power Marcus had just displayed couldn't compare to what he achieved while wearing his full battle armor, the difference was essentially irrelevant from their current perspective.
Judging from Marcus's single sword strike, even if both students broke out with every ounce of their combined strength, they wouldn't be able to resist or deflect such an attack.
In fact, even Bane at his absolute peak—before any of his enhancement systems had been damaged—would have been killed instantly by Marcus's casual sword technique.
Looking at his shocked students and Alfred, Marcus clapped his hands lightly to recapture their attention and focus.
"All right, you've seen what's possible with sufficient training and dedication," Marcus said with encouraging authority. "Now continue your practice. If you truly want to change Gotham, you must become significantly stronger than you are currently."
Hearing Marcus's straightforward instruction, both students nodded slowly with newfound understanding and determination.
They finally grasped what Marcus had been trying to teach them about the relationship between power and meaningful change. To transform Gotham, they would need to master much more formidable abilities than their current skill level.
The Wayne family was indeed incredibly wealthy, possessing resources that most people could never imagine. But what good was money alone in their current situation?
Within Wayne Enterprises itself, virtually no one took seriously the opinions or directives of a child like Bruce, regardless of the fact that he was technically their ultimate boss and primary shareholder.
There were even employees and executives within Wayne Enterprises who had attempted to assassinate their own chairman, motivated by nothing more than Bruce's desire to conduct thorough audits of the company's financial records and business practices.
These were people who worked for the Wayne Group, including senior executives and department heads who not only failed to fulfill their professional responsibilities, but had actually tried to murder the person who employed them.
Would these same individuals dare to behave so treacherously if Bruce possessed truly overwhelming personal power that made him essentially invincible?
Absolutely not. They would either obediently carry out his instructions without question, or they would choose to flee the city rather than risk his displeasure.
To genuinely change Gotham, a person needed much more than financial resources. They required extremely powerful capabilities, and Bruce would never abandon this crucial goal.
Selina's perspective and motivation, however, followed a somewhat different path of reasoning.
Although Selina also wanted to help change Gotham for the better, this desire was primarily influenced by her close relationship with Bruce rather than arising from her own independent convictions.
Her original and most fundamental goal had always been to live freely without constraints or limitations imposed by others. This objective seemed simple and straightforward on the surface, but it was actually the most difficult thing to achieve in a place like Gotham.
Gotham was widely known as a criminal paradise where people appeared to have tremendous freedom to act according to their desires. But this apparent freedom was only meaningful when compared to the lives of ordinary, law-abiding citizens.
Anyone who wanted to survive in Gotham had to understand and follow the city's unwritten but strictly enforced rules. Those who violated these criminal codes ended up being thrown into the harbor to feed the sharks.
Moreover, during her time living on the streets, Selina had observed many different types of people who seemed powerful and independent. They appeared to be free agents, but they could only operate within the abnormal power structures that governed Gotham, never daring to challenge or exceed the boundaries of those twisted systems.
Some of these individuals possessed remarkable insight into human psychology, allowing them to easily manipulate and persuade others to accomplish their objectives through mental influence rather than physical force.
Other people survived through sheer ferocity and fearlessness, carving out territory and respect in Gotham through their willingness to use violence without hesitation or moral consideration.
But all of these people, regardless of their particular strengths or specializations, lived carefully within Gotham's established criminal hierarchy. They spent enormous effort maintaining and respecting the rules that kept the city's underground functioning.
Selina had no desire to live cautiously under these deformed and corrupt systems that governed Gotham's criminal culture. She wanted to become the freest person in the entire city, able to act according to her own conscience and desires.
Achieving this level of independence meant that she needed to master power that surpassed everyone else's capabilities. Only when her personal strength exceeded all potential opposition could she afford to ignore these twisted rules and live according to her own principles.
Additionally, if she could help Bruce achieve his goal of transforming Gotham, then her own objective would automatically be accomplished as well. After all, changing Gotham fundamentally meant eliminating the abnormal power structures and criminal codes, which would free her from any obligation to respect or follow those systems.
Both students practiced their Zenurik school techniques with intense focus and dedication, hoping to eventually reach a level where they could wield devastating sword energy with a single strike, just as their teacher had demonstrated.
Observing their renewed commitment and hard work, Marcus nodded with satisfaction before turning to address Alfred.
"How are your preparations proceeding?" Marcus asked with obvious interest. "Do you want to continue with the plans to expand and transform the secret room?"
After their previous visit to Bruce's rudimentary underground base, Marcus had offered his suggestions for improvement, and Alfred had clearly agreed with the proposed modifications. The butler was preparing to address Bruce's current tactical limitations through technological and logistical enhancements.
"I've already made my decision about the chamber's renovation," Alfred confirmed with professional determination. "The secret room definitely needs to be completely remodeled and expanded. However, I won't attempt to accomplish everything at once—this needs to be a gradual, carefully planned process."
The transformation of the secret room represented an enormous engineering project with countless technical and security considerations. There were many complex factors that needed to be addressed, particularly the absolute requirement that the hidden base remain completely secret and undetected by outside parties. Any exposure of Bruce's activities would lead to numerous unnecessary and dangerous complications.
Alfred had decided to utilize Wayne Enterprises' resources and capabilities to accomplish his objectives, beginning with comprehensive surveillance and intelligence-gathering systems that would make their awareness of threats and criminal activities essentially omnipresent throughout Gotham.
As for the equipment and technology needed to directly assist Bruce during active combat situations, those requirements would actually be much simpler to address.
Wayne Enterprises had achieved its current position through decades of technological innovation and development, which meant the company possessed access to numerous powerful weapons and advanced equipment. As the future owner and chairman of Wayne Enterprises, Bruce's desire to experiment with some of this technology should be relatively easy to accommodate.
After hearing Alfred's careful analysis and strategic planning, Marcus nodded with obvious approval. The fewer people who knew about Bruce's eventual Batcave, the better for everyone's security and effectiveness.
The expansion and enhancement of this underground base would certainly require an extended period of time to complete properly. However, the support equipment that Bruce needed for immediate tactical improvement could be made available much sooner.
Both men returned to the manor's comfortable living room to continue their discussion about the specific types of support equipment that would be most useful.
"Mr. Marcus," Alfred said as he gathered several different technical documents, "what do you think Master Bruce's support equipment should look like in terms of functionality and deployment?"
As he spoke, Alfred spread several distinct files across the coffee table in front of Marcus. Each document represented different cutting-edge products that Alfred had discovered in Wayne Enterprises' extensive technical development archives.
Every file described a newly developed product with impressive capabilities and potential applications. The functions of these various devices were quite different from each other, but they all shared one significant limitation: their purposes were extremely specialized and narrow.
What Bruce needed for effective field support was straightforward, reliable assistance that could be deployed quickly during active combat situations. If these single-function devices were used individually for tactical support, Bruce would likely find himself overwhelmed trying to manage multiple separate systems during critical moments.
After all, Bruce couldn't afford to waste precious time searching through numerous specialized devices to find exactly what he needed while under fire or pursuing dangerous criminals.
"How about integrating all of them together into a single, comprehensive system?" Marcus suggested with growing enthusiasm. "We could install everything in Bruce's vehicle and design it for remote operation and deployment. That way he'd have access to multiple capabilities through one centralized platform."
Marcus offered this recommendation with particular interest, recognizing that this represented an excellent opportunity to witness the creation of the legendary Batmobile that would eventually become such an iconic part of Bruce's crime-fighting arsenal.
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