Chapter 1035: Seven Major Factions, Twenty-Five Councilors

Following this, Bulundesi chatted with Xia Duo about some interesting tidbits from within the Seven Towers before hurriedly taking his leave. Afterward, Xia Duo's rest room was no longer peaceful, as people came to visit from time to time.

Some were clearly laying their cards on the table to recruit him, some were beating around the bush to probe his stance, some were simply there to pledge allegiance, and others were merely using the name of exchange to come and take a look at the man himself.

In this process, based on the principle of reciprocity, if the other party wanted to recruit, inquire, or exchange, they would inevitably have to state their own side's stance first.

Because of this, Xia Duo finally gained a relatively clear understanding of the "chess players" of Netheril, which could be roughly divided into seven major factions, namely—

The Lord Faction, Radical Spellcaster, the fence-sitters, the anti-Elf faction, the Pro-Elf Faction, the Truth Faction, and the Faith Faction.

The Seven Towers Council is rather special; perhaps calling it the "Seven Towers Interest Group" is more appropriate, as their actual stances and ultimate demands are not entirely consistent.

For instance, Giles Tower can be classified under the Lord Faction; Gustav Tower can be classified under both the Lord Faction and the anti-Elf faction,

while Morien Tower can be classified under the Lord Faction and the Truth Faction.

In addition, there is the distinction between conservative and open attitudes toward knowledge, but this is much like the Seven Towers Council, more akin to an interest alliance than just a stance.

In short, having the same stance does not mean having the same interests, but when interests are aligned, stances are often aligned as well.

A small place like Netheril is still quite complex internally; for the time being, Xia Duo only classifies himself under the Lord Faction, and perhaps the Moderate Spellcaster faction.

Of course, because it is moderate, it appears plain, and Xia Duo has not specifically categorized himself into one class.

……

Soon, the banquet was about to begin. Under the reminder of Deacon Tom, Xia Duo declined all subsequent visitors; only then did he realize that he did not need to see all of these people.

In fact, if he had known beforehand who the "chess players" of Netheril were and what their stances were, there would have been no need to see some of them at all.

They were simply not on the same path, and seeing them would be a waste of time, unless the visitor betrayed the master behind them and exchanged a great secret for their own protection.

However, this possibility is extremely low, and Xia Duo does not believe that a subordinate who spends all year running around outside in the magic world could know many great secrets.

……

Light Hall.

When Xia Duo entered, his eyes suddenly brightened. At this moment, it felt as if time had flowed backward to midday; the artificial light spilling down from the hall's dome was bright yet soft.

One could even feel a slight warmth upon touching it, like the sun in a warm winter, soothing the body and mind.

The hall was very large; even with a long dining table placed inside and accommodating over twenty people at once, it did not appear crowded.

The twenty-five Councilors of the Arcane Union had all arrived. Of course, Xia Duo only recognized Bulundesi and Olong among them.

As for the others, he might have heard their names, or perhaps he hadn't even heard their names, let alone known their faces!

"Lord Xia Duo, come, let me introduce you!"

As soon as Xia Duo appeared, Bulundesi took the initiative to greet him and introduce the Councilors of the Arcane Union, but Xia Duo met another acquaintance first:

"Councilor Olong, long time no see!"

"Indeed, it has been a long time! I didn't expect that our next meeting would be on such an occasion. It seems Master Bailun was right; you truly have great potential!"

Meeting again, Olong was filled with emotion. In just a few years, a Senior Arcanist had grown up almost right under his nose.

Had he known this earlier, he might as well have invested in him in advance; perhaps things would be a different scene now.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Bulundesi continued to introduce them to Xia Duo—

"This is Councilor Ansaieluo, from Morien Tower. In the Arcane Union, he is only responsible for guarding the 【Nether Scroll】. If you want to know secret rumors related to the 【Nether Scroll】, asking him is the right choice!"

"Nice to meet you, Councilor Ansaieluo."

"Nice to meet you, Lord Xia Duo."

……

"This is Councilor Feiziban, from Gustav Tower. He is responsible for internal audits in the Arcane Union. Don't let his cold, poker-faced appearance fool you; he is actually very enthusiastic inside, and he knows more about the internal news of the Seven Towers than I do."

"Nice to meet you!"

……

From the Councilors sent by the Seven Towers Great Arcanists to the Arcane Union, to the leaders of certain more powerful Mage Tower organizations, Bulundesi introduced them one by one without tiring.

But the closeness and distance were quite distinct; by the end of the introductions, basically only a name remained.

Regarding this, Xia Duo did not show any discourtesy, nodding and greeting every Councilor almost equally. If the other party was interested in chatting a few more sentences, Xia Duo would also respond.

Compared to those who visited his rest room earlier, every one of these Councilors was at least an Archmage, and among them were many with illustrious reputations.

Of course, personal strength is not much; although Xia Duo has only just become a Senior Arcanist, he is confident that he can rank among the top of these Councilors.

What is truly important about these Councilors is their status; they represent the twenty-five most powerful Mage Tower organizations in Netheril. On this point alone, even if they were all low-level Mages, Xia Duo could not help but attach importance to them.

However, importance is one thing, but some people are ultimately not meant to walk the same path.

After the introductions, the banquet had more or less begun. A Councilor named "Haichenite" represented the Arcane Union President, Great Arcanist Kangjienio, in welcoming Xia Duo and announced the start of the banquet.

Consequently, the twenty-some people in the Light Hall, who had been quite harmonious, immediately split into different factions.

Xia Duo sat down with Bulundesi, Olong, and several other Councilors from the Seven Towers Council, while the others were also in twos and threes.

Fortunately, this long dining table was large enough, and Councilor Haichenite's voice was loud enough; otherwise, when the toast was being given, one end of the table would not have been able to hear the voice from the other.

Xia Duo felt quite uncomfortable with such a strange social environment, and at the same time, he had some doubts in his heart: didn't Bulundesi say earlier that Master Kangjienio would attend?

He had even prepared to hustle for a set of Ioun Stone equipment!

Moreover, when he contacted Master Bailun after returning from the Outer Planes a few days ago, didn't the Master also say he would come to the welcome banquet?

Why hadn't they arrived yet?

The banquet dishes were in the Netheril style, mainly pan-fried and roasted, with some raw vegetables as sides, paired with Elf Fruit Wine. Overall, it was quite good, but Xia Duo found it somewhat tasteless.

With things on his mind, even eating was no longer enjoyable.

In the interval between toasts, Xia Duo disguised his actions slightly and sent a Sending to Bulundesi, asking: "When will Master Kangjienio arrive?"

"The President hasn't been feeling well lately, but rest assured, since he said he would come, he will definitely come!"

Bulundesi spoke so definitively, while Xia Duo's understanding of Kangjienio was limited to a little bit of background information and hearsay rumors.

However, the credibility of rumors about Great Arcanists among spellcasters is still quite high.

Thus, Xia Duo suppressed the confusion in his heart and waited patiently.