Chapter 1106: Near-term and Short-term Plans, Ideological War

Success depends on preparation; without it, failure is certain.

Xia Duo is accustomed to setting either detailed or general plans for his various future actions, and he adjusts these future plans based on the changes in the current situation.

With plans naturally come goals, or rather, it is precisely because there are goals one wishes to achieve that corresponding plans are formulated.

Xia Duo's near-term goal is to complete the production of the Daxia Code physical copies, along with a series of minor measures surrounding this matter; his short-term goal is to complete the transformation of the 【Yellow Sand Semi-Plane】.

As for the trip to Leisen Territory, although it was previously delayed due to the Princess's Ascension to Godhood, that does not prevent it from remaining one of Xia Duo's short-term plans, alongside the transformation of the 【Yellow Sand Semi-Plane】.

In fact, when it comes to the impact on the more distant future, the trip to Leisen Territory might be much more important than the 【Yellow Sand Semi-Plane】.

After all, the only recorded experimental accident capable of erasing a spellcaster's ability to contact specific Magic Net layers is the one in Leisen Territory.

And there is more than one semi-plane besides the 【Yellow Sand Semi-Plane】.

Today, Xia Duo already knows the principles of Plane Creation, and he has even obtained, from the 【Nether Scroll】, spell element units that reach the essence of Plane Creation from other magic systems recorded by the scroll's creator.

Give him some time, and he could create a 【Yellow Sand Semi-Plane】 almost identical to the current one himself.

But as for how to make a spellcaster regress in level (erasing the ability and cognition to contact specific Magic Net layers), he is still completely clueless.

The reason why the proportion of Arcanists is currently very low is not only because advancement requires a vast amount of knowledge, and that knowledge is far from popularized in the current Netheril.

It is also because once a spellcaster misses the advancement at the 10th-level stage, no matter how many levels they gain afterward, they will never be able to become an Arcanist unless they become a Legendary Mage and then advance to Great Arcanist.

However, as long as one masters the technology to make a spellcaster regress in level directionally, then advancing to Arcanist is not limited to only being a 10th-level Mage; no matter how many levels they gain afterward, they can regress and advance again.

Even a Legendary Mage, if they feel they lack the confidence to advance directly to Great Arcanist, can regress to 10th level to advance.

As for re-leveling after the level regression, that is too simple; as long as the knowledge mastered by the individual has not disappeared, following the Ascension Trial, leveling up is a matter of minutes!

Once such technology is realized, the path for future spellcasters will also undergo earth-shaking changes.

Combined with popularized magic education, Arcanist will become a very common educational background, similar to university students in Xia Duo's hometown, rather than the very rare elite profession it is in current Netheril.

Therefore, Xia Duo must make a trip to Leisen Territory; if not for the many near-term affairs, he might have already sent a visit notification to the Leisen Lord.

Of course, his plans go far beyond these; a magic civilization cannot be formed overnight, but is a long process involving every aspect.

And this requires Xia Duo to plan and calculate for it in every aspect.

……

After flipping through all the unread documents accumulated in the Study, Xia Duo sent a message to call the Territory Administrator Laidun to the Study.

Having not seen him for nearly half a month, Xia Duo couldn't help but chuckle when he saw Laidun again; Laidun was still in his old, simple attire, and he hadn't even managed to change into a new set of old Leather Armor yet.

This half-month might have been just an ordinary half-month for Laidun, but for Xia Duo, too many things had happened during this period.

Thinking of the upcoming plans, Xia Duo deliberated and said:

"Last month, I bought a ship in Seventon, and it should arrive at the Territory by the end of this month. There is a group of Bards I recruited on the ship; you know their purpose, so have Kaide treat them well when the time comes.

"There might also be some slaves purchased on the way; their placement must also be handled well. Today they may still be slaves, but once they accumulate merit and are freed, they will be no different from the other citizens of Daxia Territory.

"Do not dwell on their past status; once they arrive at Daxia Territory, it is a brand new beginning."

Xia Duo is not worried about Laidun paying lip service while acting differently; as a devout believer and practitioner of the Radiant Priest's Doctrine, Laidun cannot do such a thing, but the psychological state of his subordinates and ministers is a goal he needs to care about.

Otherwise, he would really be worried that Laidun might think the wrong way and go to extremes.

The Doctrine of the Radiant Priest was most likely created by certain Mage Lords in the early days of Netheril to maintain their rule; although it largely aligns with the philosophy of the Radiant Priest, the ideological system within its doctrinal text is not necessarily as perfect or complete as the thoughts of the Radiant Priest himself.

Loopholes or contradictions are not rare.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be Clerics of the Radiant Priest with vastly different ideological tendencies, such as Justiciars, Radiant Priests, Inquisitors, and Paladins, appearing at the same time.

In fact, these Clerics with different ideological tendencies can all interpret the thoughts and philosophies of the Radiant Priest by perceiving Holy Power themselves, although if they go deeper, they might eventually converge with the Radiant Priest.

But at the surface level, it is difficult to escape the influence of the original doctrinal text, which is the root cause of the ideological division among those Clerics.

It must be said that those ancient Netheril Lords likely did a good thing inadvertently.

At least for Xia Duo, it is so.

A "God-Priest-Believer" system, or organization, with a very perfect ideological system in its doctrinal text is something Xia Duo really does not want to encounter.

Because that would mean the faith generated by this doctrine would be very stubborn and not necessarily compatible with the magic civilization he envisions.

In this case, even if the source of this thought—the God—is destroyed, it does not necessarily mean such thoughts can be eradicated.

Similar to those major sects on Earth, due to their relatively perfect ideological theories, in an era of enlightened science, even without the manifestation of a True God, they can still develop vigorously and spectacularly.

This is actually not a contest of force against force, or the physical elimination of the physical body, but a war where one ideology defeats another and completely gains the upper hand; it can be said to be very difficult.

Fortunately, no such monster has appeared in current Netheril, which gives Xia Duo a lot of room for development.

Of course, the Radiant Priest is still quite compatible with the magic civilization Xia Duo envisions, and the process of him trying to influence Laidun is actually a constant search for the point where the two are more compatible.

Moreover, in some of Xia Duo's subsequent plans, it would be many times more troublesome without Laidun!

……

"Yes, Lord!"

Regarding Xia Duo's instructions and the influence exerted within them, Laidun did not show any resistance, but accepted them entirely.

Now he can indeed be described as "a gentleman who can be deceived by what is right."