CHAPTER 1997 STETHOSCOPIC OFFER
The dynamics of the conversation shifted the moment Rui revealed the Silas Clan and the Elder Tree as bargaining chips. Now, it was almost as if the Divine Doctor was more eager to negotiate with Rui than the other way around.
Both of them knew the Divine Doctor would be lying if he said he was an asset that was equal in value to the Silas Clan and the Elder Tree. In fact, Rui knew that he would probably struggle to compete in value against even one of them, but he didn't mention that at the moment.
"Access to prophecy and the Elder Tree is a continuous service," Rui informed him. "If you want continuous access to prophecy, you need to provide continuous services to the Kandrian Empire."Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.
A continuous service was generally more valuable than a one-time service, assuming all other variables were equal.
"…Be that as it may, I cannot search for Gaia's illness if I practice medicine in Kandria," he retorted clinically. "I cannot forsake my mission."
"I'm not asking you to," Rui calmly replied. "You yourself do not need to personally endeavor the world to find the illness. In fact, I cannot understand why you thought it was a good idea to personally travel across the Beast Domain by yourself instead of relying on Martial Masters. Are you simply trying to prove that you are the only human who can do so by relying exclusively on your own skills? It took you more than a decade to travel to the Mellow, while it took Kane and me three months."
"I cannot rely on Martial Artists because no Martial Artists understand the Tree of Life." He shook his head. "It is not enough to travel; one needs to have a deep understanding of the biosphere to be qualifi-"
The man froze mid-sentence as a realization clicked.
He glanced at Rui.
The expression on Rui's face revealed that he, too, had had the exact same thought. Their minds had simultaneously arrived at a sole possibility that neither of them had considered prior.
"I'm too busy," Rui replied, raising his hands. "My Martial Path is Adaptive Evolution. Adaptive Evolution is a reactive phenomenon and cannot occur actively; it can only occur in response to what I expose it to. To be able to fulfill my life's ambition to adaptively evolve to all forces in existence, I need to devote myself to exposing myself to them, one by one. I don't have time to-"
"-that's perfect!" The Divine Doctor exclaimed, growing excited. "Searching for Gaia's illness will require you to be exposed to everything Gaia has. You are the only Martial Artist, aside from the unmoving Transcendents, who has the ability to serve as my stethoscope for this entire planet!"
Yet his smile froze as Rui's demeanor grew icy.
"I am not your tool."
Rui's voice was chilling.
The Divine Doctor's eyes widened as he gazed into Rui's eyes.
They were pitch black.
Within their depths stirred an endless darkness.
A void.
It instantly cooled down the Divine Doctor's excitement. Yet, the idea was too thrilling for him to let it go. The Divine Doctor instinctively knew that Rui was qualified to effectively serve as a conduit to search for the illness that ailed Gaia.
Perhaps it was because he could sense the enlightenment of the Tree of Life that had perched itself in his Mind Palace. Perhaps it was because he had verified Rui's knowledge with a handful of exceptionally difficult questions.
Yet, he had found a solution that could accelerate his diagnosing process by orders of magnitude. A Martial Senior's sensory range and travel speed were so much higher than his own that it wasn't even funny.
"…That wasn't my intention," the Divine Doctor's frozen smile composed itself. "I was merely suggesting that practicing medicine in the Kandrian Empire was a perfectly amenable condition if you were willing to undertake a Martial commission from me in return."
The Divine Doctor wisely adjusted his words, framing his previous remark in the context of a commission. Martial Artists were accustomed to taking Martial commissions in one form or the other. Thus, it was hardly an offensive suggestion.
"…A commission?" Faint interest lit up in Rui's eyes as he regained his composure.
"A commission." The Divine Doctor confirmed. "A commission to help me diagnose Gaia. No time limits. No limiting conditions. No minimum hours of work. I merely seek an outcome. You may complete it passively while going about exposing yourself to all the forces in this world to fulfill your aforementioned ambition."
Rui understood what he was offering.
Rui suggested that if he wanted both prophecy and continuous contact with the Elder Tree, he would need to offer much more than just healing the Emperor of Harmony. He would need to offer his medicine services continuously in Kandria to make use of such super assets.
However, doing so would mean he could not proceed with his life's mission, for he would remain stuck in Kandria. Thus, the only way he could access both super assets and proceed with his mission was if a qualified Martial Artist with deep enlightenment about the Tree of Life proceeded with the diagnosis process in his stead.
If he could get Rui to do that, the probability that he would succeed in diagnosing Gaia rose tremendously. Not only would a superior searcher do the searching in the Divine Doctor's stead, but he would also gain access to both super assets instead of just one.
Successfully diagnosing Gaia would become a realistic outcome!
Yet, the condition was that Rui agreed to the commission. If he didn't, then the Divine Doctor would be forced to do the physical searching himself, which meant he couldn't practice medicine in Kandria, leaving him with only prophecy and not the Elder Tree's intelligence.
Rui closed his eyes. "…It is not something I care to decide upon now. I will decide on whether or not I accept your commission after we get out of this place and after you heal my father."
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