Mages don’t concern themselves with victory or defeat in battle.

They are all on a quest for the Root Source.

This was the first time Lu Cang had discussed his insights on the Root Source with a "peer."

But things were different now.

Lu Cang was no longer the ignorant and confused Magic Apprentice who had just first heard of the Root Source.

Now, Lu Cang had quite a few of his own ideas and insights regarding the path of the Root Source, and he had long wished to discuss them with someone.

Unfortunately, there were few who could discuss the Root Source.

In his exchange with Xu Zhou.

Two different understandings of the Root Source collided. Yet, each could form a self-consistent theory about the Root Source and explain the world as it was.

This brought a unique kind of epiphany.

Xu Zhou said the Root Source devours all.

In the course of Magic’s evolution, obsolete forms are devoured by the Root Source. Ultimately, the Root Source must point to a law that leads to termination.

Xu Zhou’s idea was informed by the history of the Void and the history of Magic.

The Void was a place of ruin and remnants. Legend told that the Void was once an extremely prosperous higher-dimensional plane, but now it had become a ruined and desolate place of exile.

According to legend, this was caused by the Root Source devouring other Laws during its evolution, turning them into a part of itself.

And as for Magic, much of it had also been lost, no longer passed down through the generations.

The Root Source guides the creation of Magic, but it also devours the Magic that people create.

What he said wasn’t baseless speculation. On the contrary, he provided many historical accounts and classical records as evidence...

The most classic example was the disappearance of Space Magic.

In ancient times, there was Great Teleportation Magic, capable of teleporting living beings over extremely vast distances, even across the sea of stars.

But now, this Teleportation Magic had completely vanished. The reason was that the Root Source had devoured it, and thus, the world lost an entire school of Magic.

’Magic is the Root Source’s food?’

’Does Xu Zhou view the Root Source as a special kind of living being?’

These were all perspectives Lu Cang had never heard before, angles he had never even considered.

Many of Xu Zhou’s points and arguments struck Lu Cang as profoundly elegant, leading him to moments of epiphany.

’That’s right... If it weren’t so, how could things be this way?’

’If this is true... it’s truly terrifying.’

Xu Zhou’s line of reasoning and perspective threw open a new door for Lu Cang, illuminating a completely new and clear path forward.

At the same time, Lu Cang also found much in Xu Zhou’s views that corroborated his own thoughts.

This strengthened Lu Cang’s conviction in his own path of the Root Source.

The Root Source evolves all things, and all Magic manifests from the Root Source.

In turn, Lu Cang’s own thoughts and proofs regarding the Root Source left Xu Zhou deeply shaken.

’To prove the Root Source through its manifestations... it’s true that all Magic is inextricably linked to the Root Source, one interlocking with the next.’

’And all Magic is, in itself, a manifestation of the myriad things in creation.’

’Water, Fire, earth, wood, wind... the Elements are the myriad things, and the myriad things are born of the Elements. In that case, it’s indeed possible for the Root Source to give rise to all Magic and all things.’

’It truly is... so ingenious.’

’But one can think of this, yet how can one prove it?’

’There is a long road between having an idea and proving it. If it can’t be proven, the idea can only be considered speculation.’

Then, he listened as Lu Cang deconstructed various spells, layer by layer, making the profound simple. He started with the spells, then dissected the very essence of Magic.

This made Xu Zhou feel the depth of Lu Cang’s understanding of Magic even more keenly.

His understanding of Magic had reached the pinnacle of mastery. Xu Zhou feared that even some Elder Mages who had spent their entire lives researching a single spell hadn’t studied it as thoroughly as Lu Cang had.

To top it all off, he even linked different spells together. The sheer scale and depth of his theory shook Xu Zhou to his core.

’Is this really a child of the Human Race? How could he have such a profound understanding?’

’This isn’t some thousand-year-old monster, is he?’

「Root Magic」

It wasn’t that simply thinking about the Root Source was enough to create Magic.

Rather, one had to combine their understanding of the Root Source with all of their personal insights into Magic, its manipulation, and even their life experiences, to forge a Root Magic that was entirely their own.

Only after hearing Lu Cang’s explanation did Xu Zhou sigh with admiration...

’If I didn’t have an understanding of Magic as profound as Lu Cang’s,’ he thought, ’even if I contemplated the exact same path of the Root Source, I would never have been able to comprehend a Root Magic like "Source·All Laws."’

The two of them talked for a long time.

They even exchanged many of the spells they had learned.

They had completely forgotten their original reason for coming to the arena.

After Lu Cang had finished learning the final spell, *Magic·Bone-Piercing Black Lock*, Xu Zhou sighed with emotion. "Getting to know Brother Lu Cang today has been my greatest reward."

"This single conversation has been more fruitful than a year and a half of solitary thought."

"It is a shame, however, that my own understanding of Magic is too shallow to provide you with any more ideas, Brother Lu Cang."

"If you should ever come to the Void as a guest, Brother Lu Cang, I, Xu Zhou, will certainly do my utmost to entertain you."

Lu Cang smiled. "Definitely. If I ever go to the Void, I’ll look you up."

Xu Zhou also smiled. "The Void is not a place ordinary life forms can enter. If you really do intend to come one day, you must be well-prepared."

Lu Cang nodded.

The two performed the farewell gestures of their respective races, sharing a reluctant sense of mutual admiration.

With that, Xu Zhou surrendered directly.

He conceded defeat and left.

Lu Cang looked out at the empty arena, a sense of wistful loss in his heart.

This was the first "peer" with whom he could truly discuss Magic.

For the first time, Lu Cang felt that he was not alone on his pursuit of the Demon Dao. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Iz was too far ahead of him; he had advanced too many steps.

Lu Cang found it difficult to consider him a "fellow traveler."

Most of the time, Iz was simply answering his questions, not engaging in a discussion between equals.

Today was the first time, aside from Iz,

that he had met such a pure seeker of the path to the Root Source.

’It’s hard to think of someone like that as an enemy.’

As Lu Cang exited his arena and arrived in the combat void where countless other rooms could be seen, a request suddenly appeared in his consciousness.