Chapter 346: The Temple (3)

Luo Qi kicked the wall, using this kick to express his complex emotions.

However, this matter was not so complex or difficult to discern; the material of the weapon Du Zhengyi was accustomed to using came from the traditions of his own family, forged through a thousand hammerings to be best suited for war weapons. Just like most things belonging to Mages, the material composition had been passed down from the ancient era through generation after generation of Mages. The fact that the constituent materials of the Du Family's signature weapon appeared here merely confirmed that this was a ruin of ancient Mages.

"This is definitely a precious treasure," Zhou Quan said. "Do you know how precious the composition of the weapon Du Zhengyi uses is? The Society doesn't allow him to leak the metal's composition to anyone at all. If Du Zhengyi has a son or daughter in the future, they will only be able to inherit the metal composition when they are qualified to become a Battle Mage."

"Listening to you say that, I feel like the Society would only want to destroy this place to prevent outsiders from getting their hands on it," Luo Qi said.

"This is the territory of the Highland Mages, and the Society can only respect the principles of the Highland Mages," Zhou Quan said, looking around. "The Highland Mages don't seem to have ever come here. Can you believe it? Right on their own doorstep!"

"There must be some reason," Luo Qi said, but in his heart, he also wondered whether this reason was secular, or if the reason was simply that pursuing this place ran counter to the realm the Highland Mages sought.

"What reason could there be? I estimate there is an eighty percent chance that the Highland Mages believe there is no point in pursuing ancient Magic technology to improve their own energy. Just like how they only eat Energy Beans and pursue a simple life. They just feel that it is better to avoid extra trouble, and that only by being single-minded can they more easily reach the realm of Ascension," Zhou Quan said bluntly.

Luo Qi wanted to admit that what Zhou Quan said actually made a lot of sense, but he vaguely felt that it wouldn't be that simple. Could the true face of things in this world really be glimpsed so easily? It was like driving through a curve; one knows there is a blind spot in the perspective, yet one closes their eyes and trusts that they will definitely be able to make the turn.

Beyond all this, Luo Qi had other problems to deal with—"Even if the Highland Mages haven't used this place, it's impossible for them not to know what is within a hundred kilometers of their home. In principle, this is the property of the Highland Mages. Fixed assets."

"This can only be the property of all Mages, because we are all of the same origin," Zhou Quan corrected Luo Qi.

"What exactly do you mean?" Luo Qi asked suspiciously.

"Opportunities are rare; since we have already walked in, I want to explore it carefully," Zhou Quan said. "At least a preliminary exploration. This is a rare ancient ruin; maybe we can find a Magic Artifact of an Ancient Mage. If we are lucky... by the way, I heard your Luck is particularly high; with you here, maybe we really could discover a Magic Artifact of a Progenitor Mage!"

Luo Qi sensitively sensed that Zhou Quan's adrenaline was currently skyrocketing; he was starting to get excited. Luo Qi asked him, "You think my Luck is particularly high?"

"That's for sure," Zhou Quan laughed teasingly, though his eyes were kind, like he was poking fun at a friend who had good fortune by feigning criticism to praise him. "You are young and already possess the intelligence of a Mind Archmage. You have Pei Shu who appreciates you, and Du Zhengyi is your close friend. After this storm settles, you will be able to take the top spot in the Qionglin Gossip Circle. Your future only has two possibilities..."

Zhou Quan smiled mysteriously, puffing out his chest as he waited for him to ask.

"If you don't say it, I'll go into your head and look for myself," Luo Qi said slowly.

"Your future only has two possibilities," Zhou Quan said hurriedly, as the taboo against Mind Mages still existed. "Either become the national son-in-law or the national daughter-in-law. In the future, you will have many fans, and in your fan circles, they will split into two factions and fight, each presenting evidence to infer whether you are male or female."

Luo Qi stared at him, dumbfounded, before realizing that Zhou Quan was actually still trying to trick him for the sake of that bet. "I don't care about such a distant future! Let's talk about business; this is just an empty room."

"What about that mysterious Yajian?" Zhou Quan reminded him. "We have already walked in; you said earlier that you were too far away from him."

"I don't know; shortening the distance didn't let me get closer to him," Luo Qi said. His own Yajian was currently roaming in this void, and many of his Society Ghosts were on standby inside a High-Energy Crystal. He had now developed the habit of carrying High-Energy Crystals with him.

"Don't worry about it for now; it might just be an illusion, or perhaps it's a residual Consciousness Fragment that can't be truly captured at all," Zhou Quan said.

Luo Qi glanced at him, realizing that Zhou Quan had actually said something very clever. He hadn't thought in that direction, but based on his experience after staying in the Consciousness World for so long and fighting so many battles, he felt that what Zhou Quan said was entirely possible. Yet Zhou Quan wasn't even a Mind Mage at all; the knowledge he had scraped together here and there, while not systematic, was extremely useful. He might have read countless experimental reports, as well as battlefield reports from Battle Mages and Mind Mages. After all, he was effectively a chief steward for Pei Shu.

"But this place is empty, completely empty," Luo Qi reminded him. "Maybe there were a lot of things here originally, and they were all moved away by the Highland Mages later."

"Maybe," Zhou Quan said. "But I still have a chance to pick up some scraps. And don't you find it strange? This place is a bit too empty, clean and empty. For example, if you were to move, you could move all the furniture away, but wouldn't you still leave behind things like cabinets or water pipes?"

Luo Qi understood what he meant. "As long as it existed, there would be traces."

"Right," Zhou Quan nodded, grateful for Luo Qi's quick wit. "We've already come here; if we leave directly without checking anything, how am I supposed to report to Pei Shu? We found a magnificent archway, then we went in, found it pitch black, and then we left... If we write the report like that, they'll think we're two big idiots! Besides, Qiqi, our war with the Lotus Burners has officially begun. Their shadows have already appeared in the Highland Mages' territory, and they must be trying to find ancient Mage Magic here. So we must do the same. If we really find it, we might be able to end the war immediately. The number of Mages is so scarce; we can't afford to lose people."

"I have a premonition that I will definitely regret this in the future. Following the trajectory of trashy TV dramas, if we are this greedy, we will definitely die here too," Luo Qi thought for a moment and said with difficulty.

But Zhou Quan knew he had basically persuaded Luo Qi. "Those are fairy tales. In reality, bad people live much better than good people."

"Fine, let's check it carefully," Luo Qi said, touching his lips.

Zhou Quan nodded with satisfaction.

Luo Qi immediately turned and separated from him, feeling along the wall as he walked toward one side of the hall. He had been looking forward to Zhou Quan saying this all along; regardless of whether Zhou Quan was there or not, Luo Qi would not let any opportunity to get closer to a Progenitor Mage pass him by.