The Martial Unity

"…we might be willing to do so for certain services and trade in return."

Guildmaster Vaughn clearly hoped that this would be the case.

"The Adventurer's Guild is willing to bend over backward for the Silas Clan's prophetic services; I can assure you of that much," he eagerly replied.

"Raw ingredients for longevity potions," Rui replied straightforwardly. "They can only be found within the Beast Domain, for the most part, and the organization that is able to supply the most reliable, accurate, and precise information regarding these natural resources is the Adventurer's Guild."

The Adventurer's Guild had its own guild corps that could be deployed by the guild for various purposes. Unlike a majority of other resources, the Adventurer's Guild did not sell intelligence for the location of the resources required for longevity potions.

This was because longevity potions were strategically precious. There were many powerful individuals across human civilization who were willing to pay fortunes to acquire the chance to prolong their lifespan.

The profit margins for longevity potions were one of the highest for any goods or services, almost as high as that of Martial Artists.

It was too much of a waste for the Adventurer's Guild to allow adventurers to get their hands on it. Thus, they deployed their guild corps to acquire the resources needed for longevity potions.

Of course, this approach was limited only to extremely precious resources.

What Rui was proposing, however, was to allow the Silas Clan to get their hands on the raw materials needed for the longevity potions in return for their prophecy services.

"Hmmm…" Guildmaster Vaughn considered the proposal.

It wasn't a light one.

However, it definitely had merit. For one, Rui demanded information that was strategically valuable, similar to the prophecies of the Silas Clan.

"I am open to a certain amount of trade with the Silas Clan in this regard after some guarantees of the value of their prophecies and an established trade rate," he finally said.

"That's fine and all, but it is you who seeks the prophecy techniques," Rui replied. "The Silas Clan is open to trading the prospects of longevity potions, but an excessive number of demands is not something they will tolerate. There are many other sources of longevity potions besides the Adventurer's Guild. However, there is only one source of prophecies in this world."

Rui had a point.

Although the Adventurer's Guild was most successful with harvesting the raw ingredients in the Beast Domain, they were far from the only ones. They didn't have a majority of market share.

The Beast Domain was too large.

It was too large and far too many Martial Artists scoured its depths. It was impossible for the Adventurer's Guild to monopolize the longevity potions.

However, the Silas Clan had indeed monopolized prophecy, reducing supply and increasing its value.

Guildmaster Vaughn knew that he was at a disadvantage in terms of the intrinsic value of the services that they were trading.

"The details can be hashed out by our respective teams," Rui continued. "As long as you are open to trade, a deal that is fair to both sides can most likely be reached."

Guildmaster Vaughn smiled. "That is true. I shall have my administration contact your factions regarding the details."

"That'll do," Rui replied, unconcerned.

He had already properly grilled his faction in regard to how to handle these kinds of business even if he wasn't there.

Besides, he was sure that his grandmother would be interested in this venture. Longevity potions were extremely expensive and generally weren't for sale in the open market. However, if Silas Chan could bring back their own supply of raw ingredients from the Beast Domain, the total cost would reduce significantly than if they had to redeem one from the Martial Union by completing a large number of commissions.

On top of that, the lifespan lost by offering a handful of prophetic services to the guildmaster would be far less than the lifespan they gained by getting their hands on longevity potions by harvesting resources from the Beast Domain.

"So, what brings you to the Adventurer's Guild?" The man asked after they reached a tentative agreement. "I must confess, I was interested in hearing what it was that you sought me for. The Adventurer's Guild has not had the…best relationship with the Kandrian Empire, unfortunately."

"I won't comment on my father's stance towards the Adventurer's Guild," Rui remarked. "I am not yet Emperor, after all. The Emperor's stance is Kandria's stance, for now."

The guildmaster smiled at the addition at the end of the sentence. "For now, yes."

Rui smiled back as the man happily interpreted it favorably. He had no idea that Rui had no intention of ascending the throne if he could do anything about it.

In fact, he had absolutely no idea that the reason Rui was seeking him was precisely to ensure that he didn't have to ascend the throne as the third Emperor of Kandria.

"I am looking for someone," Rui clarified. "Someone in the Beast Domain. I hoped that the Adventurer's Guild would aid me in finding it."

The guildmaster was hardly surprised. "Many people go missing in the Beast Domain. After all, it is easily the most perilous region to find yourself in, in the Panama Continent. The Adventurer's Guild has an entire department targeted towards recording and finding missing people, though we are accustomed to extremely low success rates. Naturally, I am willing to employ the guild's resources to aid you. Can you provide me with the identity of this person?"

Rui shook his head. "The identity is…sensitive. It is not something I am able to share."

The guildmaster nodded understandingly. "Naturally, we understand the confidentiality of the information of our premium clientele. We have developed strict need-to-know protocols when it comes to the handling of private and confidential information of our clientele. I can assure you that it will not be leaked."

Rui highly doubted he could make that guarantee with powerful international intelligence brokers such as the Beggar's Sect and the Shadow Guild. Even if he could, informing him that he was searching for the Divine Doctor was far too much of a risk.