Chapter 614: The Ancestor's Gift (3)

The corridor's lighting activated softly, gradually increasing in brightness to a level suitable for a Mage's eyes. At the edge of a Mage's hearing, a faint sound arose; to Luo Qi, this sound was as if it were there, yet not. However, he knew this corridor had also awakened; following Du Zhengyi's footsteps, the entire ancient Mage structure was slowly waking up, gently responding to the master here.

Master? Luo Qi caught his fleeting thought. It was said that Mind Mages were more like the Ancestor in terms of Magic characteristics, yet it was Du Zhengyi who had truly activated this place. Only Du Zhengyi was most like the Progenitor Mage.

He couldn't help but turn his head to look at Du Zhengyi, who noticed immediately and gave him a look. He was all too familiar with that look, which could be translated directly as: What are you trying to pull now?

Luo Qi turned his head away resentfully, his gaze locking onto Zhao Jiaozhu again, "Zhao Laoda, do you count as a cousin to Du Zhengyi?"

Zhao Jiaozhu was looking down at the path beneath his feet. The walls here were metal, as was the floor, which featured a series of faint, dark patterns; as their footsteps fell, the patterns rippled out across the corridor. His attitude toward Luo Qi had always been decent; he had a decent attitude toward all excellent Mages, as outstanding members of the race were all worth some preferential treatment. While pondering the patterns on the ground, he answered Luo Qi's question, "Cousin? That's a connection three thousand miles long; I really am too embarrassed to claim kinship with Du Mage."

Luo Qi laughed, "Zhao Laoda, I didn't realize you were so humble before."

Zhao Jiaozhu glanced at him with a smile, not minding the offense in his words, as he left plenty of room for the uninhibited speech of a genius child like Luo Qi. Any smart person could easily see where Luo Qi's itch was, and he certainly wouldn't fail to see it. "Admitting that Du Mage is excellent can hardly be called humble; it's just having self-awareness."

Luo Qi leaned closer to him, "Zhao Laoda, have you ever met Du Zhengyi's family? I wonder if you have any relatives who visit each other?"

Several Mages of the Lotus Burner looked at Luo Qi with some surprise; Clownfish probably loathed Luo Qi too much, so he decided to adopt an attitude of ignoring him, focusing his attention on the surrounding environment. They passed the first room in the corridor; the door was visible and unlocked, and behind it was only an empty room. They paused briefly, and several Mages from both sides went in to check, while Luo Qi stood at the doorway chatting with the leader of the Lotus Burner.

"Honestly, I never thought there were any direct descendants of the Du Clan left," Zhao Jiaozhu glanced at Du Zhengyi and continued to Luo Qi, "After the Du Clan's last rebellion against the Qionglin, I thought there were no younger descendants left. But the Qionglin has always been like this—to put it bluntly, and no offense intended—for example, while the Qionglin says on the surface that they want to eliminate Seal Beasts, they are secretly raising them inside the Qionglin. How could they bear not to use any power that can maintain their strategic advantage? They say on the surface that the Du Clan are traitors, but in secret, they have likely changed their names and surnames to keep some descendants. Luo Qi, have you never asked that quiet friend of yours why he isn't at all hateful of the Qionglin for the genocide? To be able to do that, I'm afraid it requires the grand hand of a Mind Mage, doesn't it?"

Luo Qi looked at the composed Du Zhengyi, then turned back to say to Zhao Jiaozhu, "You see, this is clearly sowing discord, but you say it so directly that we find it hard to argue back."

Zhao Jiaozhu was amused and laughed, following Luo Qi's lead, "This isn't sowing discord; this is called truth becoming clearer through debate. What is there that can't be brought out and discussed? The Qionglin does everything first, are we not allowed to talk about it?"

"Well said, flies don't bite seamless eggs; it's the Qionglin that has the seams," Luo Qi said.

"I am not a fly," Zhao Jiaozhu smiled and said indifferently, "How is your course progress? Can you manage to make someone know that you've tampered with their mind, logically knowing that you are the enemy who killed their father and mother, yet still feel a sense of affection for you?"

Luo Qi's bright black eyes stared at him for a moment, then he grinned, "Does the Lotus Burner rely on debating truth to make the Du Clan betray the Qionglin and stand on your side?"

"Then you should have a scale in your own heart, brother. The Du Clan are the true descendants of the Progenitor Mage; who exactly is the one being betrayed? That is really hard to say clearly," Zhao Jiaozhu said.

Behind them, Guan Xinyue said to Liu Ziyi, "Oh, I understand now; it's just like celebrities and fan circles. In the end, the fan circles think they are the foundation, and both outsiders and the main star are traitors. The Ancestor and the Du Family are like the celebrities, while the Qionglin and the Lotus Burner are both fighting over who the true fans are, and who is qualified to be considered the official fan club."

Liu Ziyi reached out and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and the two of them lowered their heads and stifled their laughter.

"What?" Zhao Jiaozhu asked, frowning at Guan Xinyue.

"It's nothing," Luo Qi waved his hand, "Zhao Laoda, what you said makes sense."

"Don't say it like that either; Lotus Burner, don't just discuss the ends without discussing the means, right? Has the Lotus Burner done any good deeds in these thousands of years?"

Luo Qi turned his head back to look at the female Battle Mage walking next to the two girls. Wen Lin also glanced at him, "Luo Qiqi, don't talk to others; do your elders not manage you? At this rate, I see you getting packed away by someone. What color sack do you like? Don't think that just because the other party isn't a Mind Mage, they can't do it; the grand hand of bewitching hearts doesn't need Magic."

Luo Qi looked at Wen Lin with some surprise; he had always been wary of her, as she was from the Fan Mage lineage, and Fan Mage had some unclear ties with the Lotus Burner. Chi Yu, who was beside her, was secretly pulling at her, but she ignored him and instead gave Du Zhengyi a warning look, probably hoping that Du Zhengyi would immediately and instantly cover Luo Qi's mouth.

Du Zhengyi merely glanced at them, his expression calm. Luo Qi smiled triumphantly; no matter what they said, as long as it was just talk, Du Zhengyi wouldn't care. As friends, they could at least afford that much trust. Wen Lin was so angered by his expression that she "tsk'd," and simply bypassed Du Zhengyi, "Luo Qi, you'd better talk about something serious! I just don't understand how you can chat about the Du Family's affairs right in front of Du Zhengyi."

Luo Qi gave a reckless "humph," "What's wrong? You can all chat about my dad in front of me too! That great traitor doesn't even know where he's hiding right now! Who doesn't have some strange relatives! Is it really that unspeakable?"

Wen Lin was stunned by his anger, and even Zhao Jiaozhu was taken aback. It was Wusu, standing to the side, who couldn't help but laugh out loud, and only then did Zhao Jiaozhu notice him, "I haven't asked Mage Wusu yet, what exactly is Wushan's stance?"

Wusu spread his hands, "Venerable Zhao knows that Wushan's position hasn't changed for thousands of years; I'm just here to take a look. As for the disposal of the Seal Beasts, the Qionglin has its own conclusions, and there are Battle Mages responsible for carrying them out. As for the legacy left by the Ancestor, no matter what it is, Wushan has no interest in it."

"Speaking of the Ancestor's legacy, that Ancestor has always been a traitor in the creation myths; no matter which version of the creation myth mentions her, that's pretty much her positioning," Wen Lin said, "No wonder the Lotus Burner is willing to follow; if you think about it carefully, it's a bit of like-mindedness. It's just that such a dangerous Ancestor—no matter what the divine revelation she left behind is, or how useful it is—the danger must be extremely high. Zhao Laoda, let's be clear from the start: we are all grown adults, so let's not really pull that kind of fable trope and actually release some monster from a bottle. I don't mean anything else; I just don't want to lose face. I don't want it to be that in a few years, when the Qionglin talks about this embarrassing matter, my name is prominently listed."

Luo Qi couldn't help but nod; what she said was reasonable, yet he couldn't help but laugh.

"Luo Qiqi, what are you laughing at?" Wen Lin asked.

"I'm thinking that you're right."

"Then what are you laughing at?" Wen Lin asked again.

"I'm laughing because, even though we know there is an Abyss ahead, sometimes people can only slide toward the Abyss. Whether they are wise men or warriors, no one has ever been able to stop this downward trend," Luo Qi replied.

"Then you mean..." Wen Lin didn't know how to continue asking.

Luo Qi smiled, "I have no choice either; I've long since stepped on a watermelon rind and am sliding wherever it takes me."

"Don't say it like that, a great adventure..." Zhao Jiaozhu's words suddenly stopped, and everyone heard a soft "click."

Thank you all for your support; I am truly sorry for the long break in updates. I have more free time during this period and will work hard to update.

Also, I've started a small practice story on a side account, "Deep Space Screw," which is expected to be a story that won't be too long. If you are interested, you can go take a look.

(End of chapter)