Lu Cang interrupted it. "Xuzhou, are you really content with things ending like this?"
Lu Cang said seriously, "I came to discuss the Source with you, not to hear an answer like that."
"You're the first person I've ever discussed the Source with. Even though you're not human, I've always thought of you as a close friend."
They weren't actually that close, but Lu Cang did consider him a friend.
"Do you really have to be certain you'll reach the end before you even try?"
"From the moment you set foot on this path, you knew it wouldn't be easy, didn't you?"
Lu Cang sat cross-legged on the ground.
"I only recently advanced to a level-four mage. What did it feel like when you first became a level-four mage?"
Xuzhou said, "It was wonderful. I could see the structure of space."
"What about when you first comprehended Origin Magic?"
Xuzhou said, "Hmm... I was overjoyed, I suppose. It felt like I'd finally solved a puzzle."
But then he wore a bitter smile. "It also felt like proof that I was one of a kind."
Lu Cang said, "You're not one of a kind enough already?"
"You're a mage who can comprehend the Source. In my kingdom, among a population of forty billion, only three people have comprehended the Source."
Leaving Iz and himself out of it, there really were three.
"If you, an Origin Mage, are going to sell yourself short, what does that say to all the ordinary mages?"
Xuzhou said, "Ordinary mages?"
"They're not even pursuing..."
Lu Cang cut him off. "The mage's creed. Don't tell me you've forgotten it."
Xuzhou abruptly raised his head.
Lu Cang continued, "No matter how weak a mage is, they're still pursuing the Source.
"Even knowing they might never see the Source