Chapter 535: Du Tingxiu

"Tell me about it," Luo Qi pleaded.

Han Yi looked at Luo Qi suspiciously for a moment, realized he truly didn't know, and gave a sarcastic laugh. "Are children like you already unaware of a person named Du Tingxiu?"

"Is that my fault? Are we Mages a cultured race that respects history?" Luo Qi said. He couldn't suppress his eagerness and hurriedly steered the topic back. "The name Du Tingxiu sounds a bit dated. He must be at least a hundred years old, right? Is he... is he someone like Du Zhengyi?"

"Like Du Zhengyi?" Han Yi's anger flared up to his eyebrows again, and he indignantly rebuked, "Is Du Zhengyi the most outstanding Mage? Is he the standard template for a modern Mage? Ha, ridiculous. How could Du Zhengyi compare to Du Tingxiu?"

"If the gap is that big, then can this member of the Du Clan turn Fireballs into atomic bombs, or can he teleport himself to Mars?" Luo Qi said.

"What kind of perspective is that?" Han Yi gave a contemptuous smile. "As expected of a child; you think whoever swings a kitchen knife the fastest is a big shot."

"I know, of course..." Luo Qi stopped halfway, bit his lip, swallowed his retort, forced himself to calm down, and humbly begged, "I really don't know much. Why don't you teach me?"

Han Yi's expression improved slightly. "What is the highest standard for evaluating a person among the Chinese?"

"What standard? Being able to make money?"

"Think of the more ancient Chinese."

Luo Qi pondered for a moment, comparing several standards. "Could it be... 'The investigation of things having been extended, knowledge became complete; their knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere; their thoughts being sincere, their hearts were rectified; their hearts being rectified, their persons were cultivated; their persons being cultivated, their families were regulated; their families being regulated, their states were rightly governed; their states being rightly governed, the whole kingdom was made tranquil'?"

"Yo, I haven't read the full version, but you actually remember that much."

Luo Qi really didn't know what to say. "But you actually know it?"

"I think you meant to say 'cultivate the person, regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world'; that is indeed what I wanted to say," Han Yi said. "Du Zhengyi is indeed very strong, but he can only look after himself. Have you ever seen him care about anyone's life or death, or lead a team? A lone wolf—no matter how strong, what does it matter? Have you ever really seen a hero who saved the world with the strength of one person? If the true Fengqi Du Clan were still here today, do you think Du Zhengyi could lead them?"

"Fengqi Du Clan?" Luo Qi firmly memorized this keyword and searched his memory. He dared not rashly open more of others' memories, and he did not find this shadow in the small amount of memory he had already organized.

"Legend has it that this branch of the Du Clan first gathered and lived in Fengqiyuan, so later generations called them the Fengqi Du Clan. This clan had many special features; since you are familiar with Du Zhengyi, I don't need to say more. Du Tingxiu was the patriarch of the Fengqi Du Clan, led the Du Family for nearly a hundred years, and was also the last patriarch of the Du Clan," Han Yi said.

"Oh, if there were hundreds of Du Zhengyis, that wouldn't be easy to lead. Put that way, this Master Du is indeed very impressive; it's not easy to regulate that family," Luo Qi couldn't help but say with deep emotion.

"Hundreds of Du Zhengyis isn't true. The Du Clan's standard was indeed a large cut above the average Mage level, but the general trend of Magic's decline is a fact, and this situation also appeared in the Du Family. Although Du Tingxiu's ability was no weaker than Du Zhengyi's, it is not a fact that the Du Family was entirely made up of Du Zhengyis," Han Yi said.

"So that's how it is," Luo Qi said. "Have you met Du Tingxiu?"

His gaze sank, landing on the teacup on the table, and he continued gloomily, "I loathe Du Zhengyi, that is true, but even I am unwilling to speak ill of Du Tingxiu. He was a gentleman. When I was young, I was fortunate enough to hear one of his lectures at the Northern Academy. The phrase 'cultivate the person, govern the state, and bring peace to the world'—the first time I heard it was at that lecture. I was very young then, and at the time I thought, if there truly is a gentleman in this world, then it is likely someone like Du Tingxiu."

Luo Qi thought for a moment. "That is a very high evaluation."

"Du Tingxiu was not a Venerable, but his reputation in the Qionglin was very high. Not only did the Du Clan respect this patriarch, but Mages outside the Du Clan also admired him. He performed many good deeds at the time that benefited the entire Mage World. If you ask me, in that environment at the time, he was the Light of the Mage."

"But he rebelled later," Luo Qi reminded him.

"Yes. But the situation at the time was very complicated. Humans had just created tools capable of destroying the world; in terms of energy, humans surpassed Mages for the first time and posed a threat to Mages. Humans were even able to leave this world and fly toward the stars. Humans suddenly began to advance by leaps and bounds; no one knew where humans would head, and no one knew how much time we had before being discovered by humans. The Mage World began to become turbulent, all kinds of ideologies began to appear, and some Mages began to become extreme," Han Yi said.

"The Lotus Burners," Luo Qi whispered.

"Correct, I believe that was when they truly grew in strength," Han Yi said. "At such a time, Du Tingxiu repeatedly reminded us that we should have something to hold onto. He was different from ordinary people; he had his own systematic ideology. He helped many people and had a great reputation, and he used this reputation to give speeches everywhere to promote his views. He believed that we had cared for humans and protected humans, like a mother to humans. Then, no mother would destroy her children just because they might become more powerful than her. As for what else specifically, I was too young at the time and not entirely clear; these are all my childhood understandings of him. However, many people believed in him. He brought something different to Mages—not material for survival, nor powerful abilities."

"What was that?" Luo Qi asked.

"Perhaps, he gave meaning to Mages. Some Mages were a bit lost as to why they were alive because they lived too well. For example, a longer lifespan than humans, and never having to worry about a livelihood for a lifetime. As a result, many people didn't know what they were living for, and the longer many Mages lived, the more serious their mental problems became. Look at humans, busy filling their stomachs their whole lives; they don't have that much mental energy to catch such a rich man's disease."

"Put that way, Du Tingxiu was a social activist rarely seen among Mages," Luo Qi concluded. "That is indeed even rarer than Du Zhengyi."

Han Yi snorted coldly.

"But he still became a traitor to the Mage World. What exactly happened? Also, since you said Du Zhengyi is nothing like him, how could you conclude that Du Zhengyi is his direct descendant? Because Du Zhengyi is relatively powerful? No, no, don't be angry. Look, the more you say it like that, the more their only common point remains that they are both relatively good at fighting!"

(End of chapter)