CHAPTER 2344  PROFITABLE PARTNERSHIPS

"As I said, it's a proposal for a partnership similar to our old one," Guildmaster Bradt replied with interest in his eyes. "Except this time, instead of esoteric ore resources mined from within the dungeon, we will be selling your Martial Art. After all, it is your Martial Art that is in high demand."

Rui stared at him with an intrigued expression. "Go on."

"I'm proposing a commercial endeavor centered around selling your Martial Art and training resources associated with it," Guildmaster Bradt continued eagerly. "What I'm proposing is that we sign a partnership where you hand me a license for the distribution of your copyrighted Martial Art techniques and the patents of your Martial training resources. We set up training centers around the entire continent, not unlike the headquarters that you have currently in construction, and we set up a business model that involves paying for the learning of those techniques and the utility of their resources in a pay-per-use model, or a monthly subscription model, or, ideally, a governmental contract where we get annual payments for free use from the Martial Artists of that nation. Considering how high the demand for your Martial Art is, we stand to make a fortune."

Rui stared at him in disbelief.

What the guildmaster was saying was so out of anything Rui had ever thought of that he was rendered silent in shock as he stared at the man like he was speaking an alien language.

"You want to commercialize and contract all of human civilization to gain my Martial Art with monetary compensation by leveraging the demand born from me being able to break Martial Artists through?" Rui repeated everything he had said. "Seriously?" Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" The man's eyes were steely. "We stand to make a killing the likes of which has never occurred in the Martial World."

"No," Rui retorted reflexively. "I don't care for money."

"Everybody cares for money."

"I am the crown prince of the most powerful nation in the world," Rui reminded him. "I do not care for money."

Guildmaster Bradt leaned back as he pondered over the matter. "Then do it for the same reason you created a sect in the first place."

Rui fell into thought at his words.

Unfortunately, they made sense.

The more people who mastered some kind of adaptive evolution, the greater the base from which he could borrow inspiration from. And that meant the likelier that he would be able to break through any potential bottlenecks when he eventually plateaued in his growth.

He was not arrogant enough to believe that he would be able to maintain astronomical growth forever.

Everybody had limits.

Eventually, he would just hit a plateau, and whenever he did, he would be grateful if he had a massive base from which he could borrow from. While he did have a powerful mind, he would not be able to beat the creativity of countless Martial Artists dabbling in adaptive evolution, and that was a good thing because it meant that he was bound to find something that, for all his brilliance, he had simply never thought of. That could help him find a way through the bottleneck.

After all, he wasn't the one who thought of this particular idea, either.

He glanced at the eager guildmaster.

The man was a thorough businessman and a particularly shrewd and keen one. His thoughts and perspective were eternally slanted towards discerning profits and potential profits.

Rui, on the other hand, had never—not even once—ever harbored such a perspective and that was precisely why he didn't come up with this idea.

Such a thing could happen even in Martial Art, where his perspective was skewed by his biases, identity, and experiences.

A smile emerged on his face.

It was funny that the very suggestion of the idea also happened to serve as proof that the idea was good.

"What if you decide to go with the alliance tomorrow?" Rui raised an eyebrow. "Then, we will be enemies."

Guildmaster Bradt was entirely unperturbed by that. "It is a product of the circumstances. However, that is that, and this is this. Business is business. Money is money. I didn't turn in the man who killed my mother. Instead, I leveraged it to blackmail him into signing a lucrative partnership with me that went on to become the foundation of my business and dominance. Whatever my personal enmity with him was, it was irrelevant. Business is business. Money is money."

Rui stared at him, speechless.

He had forgotten where he was. He was in the Shionel Confederation.

It was a group of merchants with a nation rather than a nation with a group of merchants. It was a cutthroat and ruthless world of business and money that could even make the Martial World look tame.

Still, it was because they were so cutthroat and ruthless that they were predictable. One could understand which direction they were going as long as one understood what direction the money was flowing and what direction it was about to flow.

He recalled how Chairman Decker had come to befriend Rui after he had killed the man's father with his own two hands.

Guildmaster Bradt was actually extremely transparent and predictable in that regard; he made this request because he wanted the money.

Rui heaved a heavy sigh. "I'm open to the idea. However, for it to be worth it for me, money cannot be the only acceptable form of payment."

Guildmaster Bradt raised an eyebrow. "A flexible payment system? Wise. I think stocks, equity, bonds, and other financial assets should be allowed, but I didn't think you would be that open-minded."

"I'm not." Rui scoffed. "I want Martial contributions to be a valid payment method. Specifically, adaptive evolution contributions."

The man narrowed his eyes. "Adaptive evolution does not pay the bills. Our profits will be diminished if we do that."

"Martial profit is the only profit I care about." Rui shrugged with a smile. "You will get your financial compensation as well, of course. Just much less. Think about it."

"…"

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