Chapter 402: Magic Network

"Speaking of the Progenitor Mage..." The old woman smiled slightly, her gaze falling behind the curtain. She listened intently, then reached out and gestured toward a direction. The sound of the flute changed somewhat; Luo Qi couldn't discern anything too profound, but he felt that the length of the flute behind the curtain had vaguely changed. He seemed to remember his grandfather mentioning when chatting with other old Mages that flutes were divided into Southern and Northern styles; he wondered if Shi Xiansheng felt today's flute didn't fit the mood and had changed it on the fly. In a place like this, her state of mind was truly tranquil. But if it were really as still as stagnant water, why climb the Highland?

"Nainai, may I ask, how did you know immediately that a Progenitor Mage had appeared?" Luo Qi asked cautiously. "I believe among those who come to the Highland, there must be some willing to sell you information. But a Progenitor Mage? I believe not many people would know. If someone could spot this from far away, they could probably run for the next leader of Qionglin with that ability, or... become some kind of Great Demon King."

The old woman gave him a cryptic look. Du Zhengyi said from the side, "I told you, he's just a little mushroom, he doesn't understand anything. His best future is to go back and continue his studies; a better future is to not even study, and immediately drop out to go back and open a pet shop. Knowledge changes destiny, he doesn't need to change his destiny, so he doesn't need knowledge."

Luo Qi looked at him unhappily. "Did I ask another stupid question? You know you're getting more and more cynical, right?"

Du Zhengyi ignored him.

"Alright, my big grandson," the old woman said, her temper far better than Du Zhengyi's, showing plenty of patience for the child. "Mages are pragmatists and rarely pay attention to theoretical education. Your knowledge has limitations; that is a problem with the education system, not your fault. I will try to speak as simply and clearly as possible. Do you know our source of Magic?"

Luo Qi blinked.

"Look, he has a smart look for nothing," Du Zhengyi suddenly couldn't help but say, reaching out to give Luo Qi a slap. "When you refused to eat your beans, didn't we tell you about this?"

"Wait, wait, wait, I understand, I remember now," Luo Qi said hurriedly. "Power can be summoned by us, but the power doesn't come from us, right?"

"That is the meaning; if you understand this point, then it is easy to explain," the old woman said.

Luo Qi let out a long breath and muttered with a hint of sarcasm, "How poetic."

"We often say that Mages are in decline," the old woman said slowly, capturing Luo Qi's attention. "It is not just that the power of new Mages is weakening, lacking the inherent power to summon force, but also because the entire source of Magic is not eternal and infinite. While we are decaying, Magic is also distancing itself from us."

"A bit pathetic?" Luo Qi asked.

"Dinosaurs are long gone, and humanity will eventually have an end, too. There is nothing wrong with accepting death with dignity," the old woman said, her eyes looking gently at Luo Qi.

Luo Qi thought that her words not only had a surface meaning but also implied her own choice—that ending at the appropriate time is dignified. But... Luo Qi looked sharply at Du Zhengyi.

The old woman laughed, as if she could see his thoughts without needing to break through the barriers of a Mind Archmage. "The heart is sharp, fixated on every point, yet it does not move."

"Nainai reads Tagore too?" Luo Qi asked in surprise.

"Looking back now, that young man was very charming," the old woman said with a smile.

"Oh," Luo Qi said with delayed realization, remembering that when the poet was young, the old Mage could already be considered an elder by human standards.

"Humans are just like that, coming and going in our lives. Some souls are so interesting, but they are just like fireworks..." The old woman said half a sentence in a low voice, the end of her words disappearing into a sigh. For a moment, Luo Qi felt as if she had fallen into her own spiritual world, revisiting days of the past under the interface of memory. Mages have better memories than humans, so sometimes they live longer, and those trivial details that have already passed will torture them all the more severely.

"I've wandered off-topic, child, I really am old," the old woman laughed again with a bright expression. "Let us return to the lecture and continue with why I knew a Progenitor Mage had appeared. Some Magic can only be invoked by figures at the Progenitor Mage level, and once it appears, it inevitably consumes a huge amount of energy. As long as one monitors the Magic network, once it is discovered that a certain grid has consumed a large amount of Magic energy, one can pinpoint the location."

Luo Qi understood, but the person who consumed the Magic might have been him—the landslide he caused. However, he had used a Progenitor Mage's tool in the world of consciousness; in a sense, it was indeed a reappearance of Progenitor Mage-level Magic. He pondered deeper and glanced at Du Zhengyi; his complexion was still fine, not looking like someone who had over-consumed energy. The way Du Zhengyi defeated the Progenitor Mage must have relied mainly on wit; Du Zhengyi was very good at the combat style of using a small force to deflect a thousand pounds, completely a strategic master.

So, the matter was still exposed on his end.

He asked stammeringly, "So Qionglin must also be monitoring, right?"

"All organizations with strength will monitor the Magic network; even humans might detect certain magnetic field anomalies," the old woman said. "However, speaking of having strength nowadays... there aren't many organizations with strength left. Wushan might see the monitoring results, but they are mostly uninterested. As for the Highland Mages, they haven't been interested in anything for several centuries. The Lotus Burners might know, but they lack the ability to monitor the Magic network; I'm afraid they can only rely indirectly on the means of spies."

"It's over," Luo Qi muttered. "Other things are one thing, but this will make Qionglin investigate me to death."

"Aren't you an innocent child?" Du Zhengyi suddenly said. "What is there to be afraid of investigating?"

"You sarcastic old man," Luo Qi retorted.

"Are you asking for a beating?" Du Zhengyi said.

The old woman looked at Du Zhengyi with a smile. "I suspect that since you are sitting here now, it means you haven't followed Qionglin's procedures entirely either."

Du Zhengyi sat unmoved and said mechanically, "That's right, I should have reported to Qionglin first, waited for Qionglin to handle it, and followed Qionglin's procedures."

Luo Qi's expression became somewhat complex, looking at Du Zhengyi with concern.

"Why are you looking at me? I don't care," Du Zhengyi frowned slightly. "Any punishment is useless to me now; no one can do anything to me."

"But I am afraid their trust in you is ultimately limited. Even if it is your teacher, doing this once will reduce your credibility by a point," the old woman said candidly.

Du Zhengyi looked at her, and only after a long while did he say slowly, "I'm afraid my room for choice isn't that large either."

The old woman's gaze fell on Luo Qi, as if re-evaluating him. Suddenly, her expression became somewhat hesitant. "In what form did this Progenitor Mage appear?"

Luo Qi's brow furrowed. "Nainai, even if the monitoring data were laid out on the table, even if the facts were right before my eyes, it is still a bit difficult for me to believe that a Progenitor Mage would appear. Why would you immediately think of such an inconceivable situation?"

Du Zhengyi gave him an approving look.