The Martial Unity

1946 Primitive

Six months.

Rui’s eyes lit up. “Let’s do it then!”

I strongly recommend against it. You will suffer tremendous psychological anguish and pain over extended periods of time. Even if you manage to come away with your mind and sanity intact, it will have an irreversible impact on you.

Rui closed his eyes.

He would be lying if he said that those words didn’t horrify him.

He didn’t enjoy pain.

He certainly did not enjoy extensive periods of intense mental suffering.

He most definitely did not enjoy the prospects of losing his mind or sanity.

However, the bottom line was clear to Rui.

It had never changed.

“If that is the price to gain access to this power…” Rui’s expression grew grave. “Then so be it.”

Kane stared at him, utterly astounded.

Unfortunately, this was the most Rui thing that Rui could do. Kane especially thought so after he learned the truth about his friend.

A being from another world.

This was a man who had followed his Martial Path to and past death.

With that in consideration, Kane was hardly surprised that Rui was willing to do something this insane.

“Are you absolutely certain?”

“…Yes.”

“…Fine.”

Rui turned to the Elder Tree. “Let’s begin.”

…No.

Rui’s gaze intensified as he glared at the Elder Tree.

I do not have any reason to be as confident that you will come away with your mind intact. I shall have you fulfill your end of the deal before I do mine in case you do lose your mind in the process.

“Fine…” Rui narrowed his eyes. “Do not think about reneging on your end of the deal. You will lose the power of the Kandrian Empire as an ally and a supporter if you do.”

Trees are not in the habit of making enemies. Especially powerful enemies.

Rui knew those words were true. Besides, he didn’t have much of a choice in these circumstances. He had already turned the massive disadvantage of having exposed thoughts into an advantage resulting in what was, as far as he was concerned, a highly lucrative deal. This was the very best that he could make of his circumstances at the moment.

“I shall prepare an information package for you in my mind. It will contain every ounce of information that you will need to inherit my understanding of non-esoteric reality,” Rui replied. “I shall help you through it where you need it while I prepare for inheriting all your knowledge on the biosphere of the Beast Domain.”

That is an acceptable arrangement.

Rui nodded, quickly running some calculations. “It shouldn’t take more than a month to put together all the knowledge that I have to offer. I don’t think it will take too much longer to get a hold of it all unless you are particularly stupid.”

…

“In general, as long as you get the foundations right, you should be able to handle the rest on your own without me.”

Understood. The Elder Tree sensed that each of his words was the truth. That is identical to the arrangement that I had with the Divine Doctor.

Rui narrowed his eyes at those words. “Enough beating around the bush. Tell me everything you know about the Divine Doctor. You will need to do this because I don’t have any actual proof at this point in time that you actually met the Divine Doctor. For all I know, you might have just chosen to say his name because you looked through my memories and knew that I was searching for him.”

It was a valid concern.

Rui did not think that this Elder Tree was necessarily a good being. The Garden of Salvation was purely an endeavor of self- interest and self-preservation. Even the fact that it saved Rui and Kane from Master-level creatures was purely for its own self-interest.

Of course, that did not make it evil, not at all. No creature wanted to die, and Rui could even commend the Elder Tree for surviving in a manner that allowed others to do so as well.

However, that did not mean the creature was one of integrity.

Your concerns are valid and sound, the Elder Tree admitted. Very well, I shall disclose everything I know about the Divine Doctor.

Rui and Kane froze where they stood as the very world around them changed, warping to something else entirely.

Now, they stood in an empty plain in the Garden of Salvation.

For a moment, nothing happened.

WHOOSH

STEP

A man appeared out of nowhere, landing on the ground. His entire body was covered in an attire that resembled a fusion between a doctor and an adventurer. His head was completely covered in a gas mask.

A gas mask Rui recognized.

“It’s him…” Rui whispered. “…These are the Elder Tree’s memories!”

Correct.

CLICK

The man removed the mask, revealing a tanned face.

His eyes brimmed with endless curiosity.

Yet they were also dead.

Devoid of compassion.

The magical biosphere of the Garden of Salvation was no more than complex chemistry to him.

They held no value beyond his curiosity and intellectual pursuit.

“Fascinating.”

A single remark escaped him.

His eyes slowly turned to the Elder Tree as he beheld the enormous lifeform in the distance at the center of the Garden of Salvation.

“Elder Tree…”

His tone was clinical in its curiosity.

“As postulated, a new species of the intelligent flora phylum.” His eyes lit up with interest. “Preparing new species addition, dubbed: elder tree species.”

You… The Elder Tree broke its silence. I am unable to read your mind.

“The skull of this particular vessel is laced with a layer of Aurora Glass, a Sage-level substance that absolutely isolates the brain from any causal interaction with the outside world, rendering you unable to read it. I prepared this solution in case the hypothesis that your adaptive evolution world-

bending relied on mind reading to gain access to the necessary intelligence was true.”

…Your fear was a falsehood, the Elder Tree realized. You were not truly fearful. You induced fear for the sake of entering the Garden of Salvation.

The Divine Doctor simply smiled.

“Fear.” Derision flickered in his detached eyes. “An archaic evolutionary neurological in-built deterrent to danger. One that increases the probability of survival and reproduction.”

A sneer emerged on his face.

“Primitive.”

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