The Martial Unity

Chapter 3637: Hybrid Brain

The Divine Doctor’s firm smack down of Rui’s proposal was not unexpected.

Rui himself understood why the man said what he said.

The brain was not to be trifled with.

Other parts of the body were essentially clay to Rui, but the brain was different. If he messed with the brain and something went wrong, then he dwas oomed.

In his almost eighty years of life, Rui had only touched his brain twice. Once was with the mirror brain symbiote and the other was with Gigabrain, and even that wasn’t directly touching the brain itself, but rather the blood-brain barrier.

Of course, there was also the Body Evolution Process, but that didn’t necessarily count.

Or did it?

”During the Body Evolution process, my brain was utterly annihilated and healed back. And somehow, my consciousness was intact thanks to the Martial Path,” Rui recalled with a curious expression. ”So theoretically, can’t I survive brain damage under very certain circumstances?”

”The ’certain circumstances’ is doing all the heavy lifting there,” the Divine Doctor remarked with a knowing expression. ”The metaphysical dimensions of the Martial Path are a known mystery that can be tapped into under highly controlled environments that have been tested and verified through gruesome trial and error to allow one’s consciousness to be preserved in some seemingly extra-causal manner. However, it does not make your consciousness immortal by any means. Martial Artists who had their heads blown up only to be fed injected with high-grade potions immediately did not make it back. More importantly...”

He raised a finger. ”What you are attempting to do is categorically different from the Body Evolution process. You want to replace half the neurons in your brain with evosapien neurons, yes? That is not a destruction of the vessel of your consciousness, where the latter is protected by the Martial Path; that is a change to the vessel, and indirectly a change to your consciousness itself. Your Martial Path will not protect your consciousness from changes caused by material shifts. Banish the thought.”

Rui’s expression soured at the firm rejection of his idea to exploit the unfathomable properties of the Martial Path. ”...I definitely do not want any change to my personality or mind or conscious experience. Is it theoretically possible for me to preserve all of that and have my mind and personality remain unchanged?”

”...Conscious experiences are phenomena we have never understood,” the Divine Doctor remarked. ”I cannot say if your conscious experience will change. But it is possible for you to preserve your mind identically on a neurological level. Where each neuron functions exactly as it did before. Where you make the exact same decisions, have the exact same thoughts, and take the exact same actions as before. But I don’t know about more abstract things like conscious experience.”

That was a fair point.

Things like conscious experience were almost beyond the realm of science and entirely within the realm of metaphysics. It wasn’t even strictly materially bound, as proven by the fact that consciousness could be preserved even when the brain was destroyed in Martial Apprentices undergoing the Body Evolution process.

”I would be satisfied with making the same decisions, having the same thoughts and emotions, and acting the same as always,” Rui remarked, turning to the Divine Doctor.

”...If you are willing to take the risk, then so be it,” the Divine Doctor remarked. ”You will need to study and identify all the neurons you intend to replace. Each neuron is connected to thousands of other neurons, which creates a set of input permutations that can range in the billions, if not trillions, since those thousands of neurons connected with each neuron can each create countless input combinations. Each neuron reacts to those inputs in a particular manner, meaning you will need to create a predictive model for each neuron you intend to replace. And you will need to do that billions of times. Even for you, it will be an extraordinarily difficult and time-consuming task.”

Rui had to admit that the Divine Doctor’s words rang true. Replacing half his brain with evosapien neurology was extremely difficult, extremely risky, and undoubtedly an extraordinarily tedious task.

And yet, when he thought of the gains, he couldn’t help but grow excited.

’Anthea could freely manipulate his neurons to speed up his perception of time, or change their properties. He could alter his cognitive function. If I gain that power, I will be... limitless.’

Just the thought of gaining that much power was truly exciting so much so that it could very well be the single greatest leap of power in his Martial Art since creating the Forge of Creation.

Then there was how much Adaptive Evolution he would get with replacing half of his body with evosapien physiology as well. Together, he would reach unfathomable heights of power as a Martial Sage.

It could even help him deepen his understanding of Adaptive Evolution to the point that he could achieve a breakthrough to the Transcendent Realm, who knew?

”However, the biggest hurdle that I wanted to consult you about was integrating evosapien physiology into my body without triggering my immune system. Right now, I’m actively suppressing my immune response with my Martial Soul, but how do I get evosapien microbiology to integrate into my body and get my body to accept it without any problem?”

”That’s a rather trivial problem to solve,” the Divine Doctor huffed. ”But... I’m afraid my services don’t come for free.”

Rui glared at him. ”You truly want to milk me of services for all of eternity, don’t you?”

”It’s not my fault you are so milkable,” the Divine Doctor smiled. ”You are the most powerful Martial Sage. There is a lot I can gain from you. I’m sure you already know what I seek from you, don’t you?”

Rui heaved a tired sigh. ”You want me to help you find the ’virus’ in the Panama Continent, deep within the depths of the planet.”

”Correct, you may be the only one who can actually accomplish this.”

”...Fine, you have a deal.”