Perhaps he couldn't slap the Doctor in the face on the level of knowledge, but on the physical level, it was still possible.
There might also be people who feel that compared to those in the 'next door' Genius Club, he is too insignificant.
Any one of their casual research projects or topics could overwhelm Dottore to the point of breathlessness.
But such a comparison is unfair; the knowledge reserves of the eras are different. In this era, in this world, Dottore is one of the top geniuses.
Albedo, Gold, Mona, Alice, Dottore, Triple Mona—these people are all first-rate and super-first-rate geniuses, without a doubt.
If knowledge is compared to a circle, then what's outside the circle is the unknown new knowledge, the realm of the unknowable.
No matter which side's geniuses it is, at this moment, they have actually all touched the 'boundary' of the 'circle,' attempting to break through this boundary in their respective ways.
The boundary is the 'knowledge singularity,' just like when humanity discovered fire or discovered antibiotics.
As long as they break through the 'wall,' in just an instant, the geniuses' 'field of vision' will become even broader.
And the 'mediocre people' will follow in their footsteps, filling in the 'circle' that has been expanded.
So Dottore has the capital to be proud, because at least he has touched the boundary.
The Great Sage is also proud, but he has no capital to be proud; he is just an academic clique leader. He can't even see the boundary, let alone touch it.
Moreover, with his thirst for knowledge, he has no desire to explore 'beyond the wall' at all.
At this moment, the Great Sage had already fallen silent. He understood what it meant that the guards hadn't come in until now—he had already lost.
"I fell for your scheme... If you gave me time to respond, I wouldn't have fallen for such a petty trick of yours." The Great Sage was clearly unconvinced.
But he wasn't some martial faction either; now, besides flapping his lips, there was nothing else he could do.
Lucian sneered disdainfully. Leaving aside whether the Great Sage would fall for the scheme or not, schemes exploited information asymmetry, didn't they?
You just lost at intelligence gathering and got played by others—that's all there was to it, what was there to call it?
And give you time to prepare? With your intelligence capabilities that are as laughable as those of the British Empire, there are plenty of ways to toy with you.
Seeing that Lucian was so composed and ignoring him, Azar turned his gaze back to the "Doctor" again.
"Dottore, I still have many experiments under my command, you..."
Before his words were finished, the "Doctor" pressed his hand down, signaling the Great Sage to be quiet.
"Regrettably, I'm not interested in those boring experiments of yours."
"In comparison... a person who can foresee the future with unknown means is far more intriguing to me."
Feeling the "Doctor's" gaze, Lucian's anus tightened.
This guy was nothing like Albedo. Letting Albedo study him a bit wouldn't be a big deal—Teacher Albedo wouldn't harm you.
But the "Doctor" was uncertain; when this guy went mad, he dared to do anything. Most importantly, he thoroughly enjoyed the process of experiments. Once he got into it, he might just lose it completely.
When he lost it, he wouldn't care about anything anymore, leaving behind only a mess in the end.
And he only enjoyed the process, not caring about the results. After leaving a mess, he'd just find it boring and leave, without giving a damn about the consequences.
Lucian glanced at Dottore, the meaning clear: sooner or later, I'll slap you across the face, but hitting him might just make him enjoy it...
Dottore chuckled, utterly unconcerned. In his eyes, owners of Visions were trash, and the scholars of the Akademiya were trash too.
But he had to admit, Lucian was very capable of piquing his interest.
The Fatui's intelligence network wasn't for show; everyone already knew about Lucian's 'resurrection' of a god.
Curiosity, excitement, longing—the thirst for knowledge was screaming!
At this moment, Dottore's heart was filled with three words: Why?
Why were Lucian's prophecies so accurate? Why could Lucian resurrect a god? Why were some of Lucian's abilities so special?
Why? Why? Why???
Question marks flooded Dottore's mind.
The doubts in his heart made Dottore's breathing rapid and hard to calm. The emptiness from just completing an experiment only intensified his craving for knowledge even further.
Lucian... the answers I want should all be on you, right?
As a prophet, you should know, shouldn't you? My longing for you!! How will you respond?
If Lucian didn't currently have a cooperative relationship with the Fatui, the "Doctor" would have really charged right up.
There was no need for the Great Sage to instigate defection; he had been 'disloyal' from the very beginning.
Right now, he was just barely holding back, practically turning the 'traitor' into an 'insider' through sheer endurance.
Lucian felt utterly uncomfortable under Dottore's stare, wondering if he should just slap him around right now?
Lucian's current strength was worlds apart from before. Even though emotional points amplified less obviously as strength increased, it didn't hinder Lucian's growth.
No other reason—just the stats.
So much time, so many stats invested.
I've been in Teyvat for so many years, made so many people cry, spent so many points—isn't it all for this?
Now, Lucian had reached the level of an Archon.
And the current Lucian didn't just have stats; he had studied skills with Xianyun and techniques with Ei—dual degrees in special agent training!
But Dottore's strength was not to be underestimated either; Lucian didn't like fighting battles without certainty.
Lucian had always pursued zero-damage in fights, so his skills were all illusions, armors, summons, and the like.
This was because getting hit hurt, so not getting hit meant no pain.
The first time sparring with Childe, even with preparations, Childe's little knife had still grazed his butt a few times—Lucian didn't want to experience that again.
Right now, Lucian didn't want to clash with Dottore; it wasn't in his plans.
But Dottore's gaze made Lucian very uncomfortable. It seemed like it was time to close the door and unleash Ei.
Ei was Lucian's master, but before the real one returned, it was Lucian teaching Ei, and he'd taught her quite a few things.
Lucian's status in Ei's heart was not low at all. If Dottore really attacked Lucian, Ei would chase him all the way to Snezhnaya to drag him back!
Ei chasing Lucian under the moon— that would steal a bit of Arlecchino's spotlight.
Lucian could teach Ei and Xianyun precisely because he'd been a streamer before, and for that, he'd done some homework, searching up all sorts of random stuff.
Normally, these things weren't all that useful because he couldn't remember them clearly, so he couldn't integrate them thoroughly.
But after transmigrating, it was different. With memory reinforcement, he remembered all the data he'd queried in his previous life.
This was a massive knowledge base. When it came to 'wisdom,' Lucian really wasn't afraid of others.
He wasn't an authority on anything, but he had breadth—his head was like a treasure pouch, remembering a little bit of everything.
Whether it was comforting words, discussions on 'eternity,' or some bizarre mechanisms, Lucian could say a thing or two.
Because of this, Lucian's 'debating' skills were actually pretty strong, but he was more restrained when it came to cursing.
Right now, Lucian had no mood to debate with Azar.
"Let's go out and face everyone."
With that, Lucian snapped his fingers, and a person emerged from the shadows.
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Character Voice Line · Kaveh: About Lucian · Cursing
" He cursed so viciously, but it wasn't really dirty either. He always says we can't curse, but he can't either."