The Martial Unity

The Sloth Sage shrugged. "The kind of favor that only a Martial Sage could complete. Nothing unreasonable, of course. I am not going to assassinate the other princes for you. As long as it is not detrimental to the Martial Union and the Kandrian Empire, I'll do you a solid deal."

Rui narrowed his eyes. "And what if I refuse?"

"Then the Martial Union rescinds its support for you," The Martial Sage lightly remarked. "We will not support someone who refuses to be transparent with us."

"Shouldn't this have been done before the union announced its support for me?" Rui raised an eyebrow.

"If I had the power to have stopped that, I would have. I was against the Union supporting you," The Sloth Sage shrugged. "But you have acquired some…fans. A lot of fans. However…"

His eyes narrowed. "I am not necessarily one of them. At least, not a fan of the political support for you. I was chosen to represent the Union out of all my peers because I have among the least compromised interests and am able to represent the Union rather than my personal interests, believe it or not. The major sects don't want to allow one of their rivals to get it. I, on the other hand, am least involved with my sect, or anybody or anything else."

He heaved a tired sigh as though the very act of monologuing was exhausting.

"The Drunk Dame is even more detached than me, but she's perenially too drunk to be entrusted with representing the Martial Union," The Sloth Sage remarked.

His eyes lazily turned to Rui. "So what's it going to be, Void Prince? Show us you are worthy of our trust by divulging your true intentions, get a favor from me, or…refuse to do so and lose our support due to lack of transparency, as judged by me?"

Rui stared at him.

It appeared that the Sloth Sage was willing to use the fact that he was entrusted with deliberating with Rui to take away the Martial Union's support of him if he didn't come clean.

To a certain extent, he could understand where the Sloth Sage was coming from.

After all, if he were a donor considering heavily supporting and investing in a political candidate, knowing the latter's true intentions and goals was a bare minimum. It was an absolute necessity.

Still, he didn't appreciate being attempted hypnosis against.

However, he needed the Martial Union's support.

He also didn't mind a favor from the Sloth Sage.

"I'll tell if you keep it a secret," Rui narrowed his eyes.

"And just why would I do that, young prince?"

"You don't seem to want me to ascend the throne, right?"

"…It would be a waste of potential," the Sloth Sage closed his eyes. "Your Hungry Pain technique has helped my sect more than you can imagine. Your so-called voidlet techniques will lead to a surge in successful breakthroughs in the Master Realm. And that Mind Palace I saw earlier…"

His eyes opened.

They fixed on Rui, sending chills down his spine.

"The wonders within it that I have borne witness to…" The Sloth Sage continued. "They would be wasted on the throne."

Wonder flashed in his lazy eyes. "Era-defining power. Era-

defining knowledge. Era-defining potential."

He shook his head. "What I have seen today convinces me all the more that you must never ascend the throne. For the sake of the future of Martial Art. For the sake of the future of human civilization."

"…If you don't want me to ascend the throne, then…" Rui's eyes lit up. "…It would you do well to keep my true intentions a secret. After all…"

Rui stared at the man. "I do not intend to ascend the throne."

The Sloth Sage narrowed his eyes as he peered at Rui with his sharp senses.

He could only sense sincerity.

"I don't understand," The Sloth Sage tilted his head.

"I intend to find the Divine Doctor and have him heal the Emperor of Kandria," Rui calmly declared. "The reason I'm growing my faction is to prevent any of my other princes and princesses from ascending the throne even if the Emperor passes away. I will monopolize seventy-five percent of the high-ranking government officials needed to become the ruler of Kandria."

The Sloth Sage raised an eyebrow. "…Divine Doctor. That's a name I haven't heard in a long time. So that's your play, hm?"

He narrowed his eyes. "You'll fail."

"So I've been told," Rui calmly retorted. "It's not going to stop me."

"Hm…" The Sloth Sage considered his words. "And what if you fail?"

"I swore an oath to ascend the throne, should that happen," Rui replied.

"…Well, I suppose that's how desperate the situation is," The Sloth Sage heaved a sigh. "Your chances of success are very low. If I choose to oppose you, they will reduce even more."

Rui didn't deny his words.

They were true.

"Healing the Emperor of Harmony to get him back on the throne…" The Sloth Sage heaved a sigh. "I am not opposed to that. Unlike for most others, the history of the Emperor of Harmony is within my memory. More than three hundred years ago, the Martial Union only had twenty-five Martial Masters, and the Sage Realm hadn't even been discovered yet. I was among the Martial Masters. I recall the young prince Rael approaching me many years before the civil war heated up, predicting everything that went on to happen, successfully extracting the support of the various power blocs of Kandria, including us leaders of the Martial Union, to swiftly become Emperor after he assassinated his father."

He closed his eyes. "I consider him a friend, as do most of my peers. I truly believe that no other person is worthy of ruling over this Empire that rests on a delicate balance that he has created with his own hands."

He heaved a sigh. "Frankly, I figured the Kandrian Empire was screwed the moment I learned about his illness. But it turned out that…"

His eyes turned to Rui. "…that he still had one final card to play."