Chapter 633: The Ancestor's Gift (22)

"Do you believe the root of the problem in the Seal Land lies in the decline of energy throughout the entire Magic World?" Liu Ziyi hesitated for a moment, following Zhao Jiaozhu's lead as she asked him.

"The decline of the Magic World is because the bloodline of Mages is declining; the outside world believes this is the view of the Lotus Burners, which is why they want to keep Mages away from the human way of life," Zhao Jiaozhu said calmly. "But, no, we are not that ignorant. Furthermore, regardless of anything else, the birth of Luo Qi proves that our ability to wield Magic has not declined. The Magic World, silent for decades, has finally produced a true Mage once again; in time, he will grow to be as powerful as Pei Shu. Moreover, we can barely produce offspring when intermarrying with humans, so generally speaking, our bloodline has not been diluted. In other words, I know clearly that the Magic Energy of this world is gradually disappearing. Our race should unite to find the cause of the decline in Magic Energy, rather than wasting time enjoying the sustenance provided by humans."

The fingers Liu Ziyi used to rotate the display image slowed down. "Do you think we can find the cause of the decline and solve this problem?"

"We will certainly be able to solve this problem," Zhao Jiaozhu said in a low voice. His answer was so brief, without any explanation, yet it was even harder to doubt.

Luo Qi felt a power, a power that even he was somewhat shaken by. Everyone is loyal to the race they were born into, and everyone innately loves their own race; this is everyone's nature, and Luo Qi is no exception. If it weren't for the fact that these people before him had almost killed Du Zhengyi, and if it weren't for the abuse he himself had experienced firsthand, he too would have been inspired by these words, and he too would have wanted to pursue such a great cause.

"Sometimes I think..." Luo Qi said in a low voice.

As the powerful Mage Luo Qi, who had just been pointed out, began to speak, many people couldn't help but turn to look at him. With the sacred blessing Zhao Jiaozhu had bestowed upon him, people had somewhat forgotten that just a moment ago he had been spouting nonsense.

"Sometimes I think..." Luo Qi said, head bowed, pacing two steps on the ground as if pondering or hesitating, "I am wondering if this is a kind of inevitable fate."

"What is an inevitable fate?" Zhao Jiaozhu asked gently.

"The great Ancestor Mage designed everything, arranging everything for us just like a Creator. I mean, everything. Have you ever thought that the time the Ancestor Mage designed for Mages is only so long? Once the time is up, Mages must exit the historical stage of this world. Perhaps everything was calculated long ago; Magic Energy will disappear before the humans' three-thousandth calendar year, and the existence of Mages will end there."

"What nonsense are you spouting?" a Lotus Burner asked him.

"Don't you find it strange? After Mages disappear, nothing will be left behind. I know you must have thought about it: no music, no poetry, no literature; even the buildings were left by the Ancestor Mage, not us. We are just hermit crabs using these shells. You are obsessed with wanting Mages to leave human society, to gather into your own communities and form your own culture—this is actually understandable, I really do understand you. I also often feel sad; I feel as if we are also a kind of Seal Beast, as if our duty is to watch over humans. When we naturally lose our Magic and naturally go extinct because of our poor fertility, humans will still exist, living and multiplying. They will fly to the depths of the universe in spaceships, exploring an endless future, while it will be as if we never existed." Luo Qi said sorrowfully as he walked, then let his sorrow spread exponentially; he himself was more sorrowful than the saddest elegy.

The sorrow neutralized the will Zhao Jiaozhu had gathered. Liu Ziyi looked at Luo Qi in astonishment; half of the Lotus Burners fell into a deeper silence, while the other half grew angry. Luo Qi had long since dodged that half of the anger and stood in the middle of the Battle Mages, as slippery as a fish leaping into the water. They couldn't even see his face; he was a good half-head shorter than the average Battle Mage, and the tall, sturdy Battle Mages blocked him completely.

Zhao Jiaozhu's expression turned extremely ugly for a moment, but even the gaze he wanted to cast toward Luo Qi had nowhere to land; Luo Qi was simply too short.

"Luo Qi's... imagination is truly very much like a human's," he had no choice but to say.

He paused slightly, deciding to bypass Luo Qi's interference. "I do not believe the problem in the Seal Land is related to the energy decline of the entire world. For one thing, the Seal Land has had problems a long time ago, and the frequency of these problems is not entirely positively correlated with the energy decline of the entire world."

"Indeed," Liu Ziyi said slowly. "The data monitored by Qionglin... also confirms this problem."

"I have observed the structure of several Seal Lands and can be certain that each Seal Land actually has its own separate Magic Energy, which is actually very unusual. We share the Magic Energy of this world, yet these Seal Lands have their own separate sources of energy. Although these energies are relatively very weak and decline faster, if we can truly understand the origin of Magic—I mean, understand Magic as the Ancestor Mage did—we might be able to find a way to continue producing this energy, ideally making it eternal. Eternal Magic Energy, an eternal Magic World, and we will also continue to exist forever," Zhao Jiaozhu said.

"Well said," Liu Ziyi said softly.

"Qionglin, in monitoring Magic Energy, should have had this thought as well." Zhao Jiaozhu looked at Liu Ziyi with approval; he had always been fond of the outstanding members of his race.

Luo Qi suddenly understood why Zhao Jiaozhu had suddenly lost interest in the Seal Beast; what he said was not without reason, and this could be called a great cause. Any elite Mage would agree with this view to some extent, or even strive for it. But for Du Zhengyi, who guarded these Seal Lands and Gushan, he seemed unmoved by any of this. Perhaps Du Zhengyi knew some truths, knew the deep-seated reasons why they could not achieve their goal. But Luo Qi also did not feel the Battle Mages generate any impulse to crave glory from these two speeches; they were as calm as Steel Warriors awaiting orders. Even though an active warrior like Yan Hao was already impatient with staying here for so long, it was still as if some line was quietly restraining them.

But on the other hand, Luo Qi could confirm why there were people within Qionglin colluding with the Lotus Burners. This was not a simple transfer of benefits; walking together because of shared ideals was more resilient than any other reason. Luo Qi felt anxiety for a moment, along with a vague self-loathing. But suddenly, he saw the face of Wusu beside him, and his heart was shaken.

The first impact was, of course, the almost lethal beauty of the Venerable Great Mage Wusu; no matter when the men and women of Wushan appeared in a crowd, they would be as dazzling as stars. But, no, that was not what was important. Luo Qi leaned close to Wusu, and a smile appeared on the young Venerable's lips as he knowingly lowered his head slightly.

Luo Qi whispered to him, "Great Mage Wusu, why can you see their shadows?"

Wusu's face went blank for a second, then returned to normal. "As expected of a Mind Archmage; you saw the phantom through my mind, didn't you?"

"Sometimes it's really not easy to tell if it's me who's crazy or if it's someone else's fault," Luo Qi said.

"The happy little troubles of a Mind Archmage," Wusu smiled slightly.

"Is everything you paint what you see in your mind?"

"Yes," Wusu said.

"Why?"

"Perhaps I am here to figure out why," Wusu said leisurely.

Luo Qi closed his mouth. On the other side of the crowd, Zhao Jiaozhu continued, "Let us speak frankly. I believe the Magic Energy here is not fundamentally different from the Magic Energy of this world. I can also be certain that the Du Clan can use the power of the Seal Land without any obstacles. That is why the Du Family can guard these Seal Lands; Du Mage should feel as if he has returned to his own home here."

Luo Qi had to shift his attention over. Du Zhengyi would have an advantage here?

(End of chapter)