Chapter 1169: The Xia Duo Era and the Troublemaking Duolaisen

Of course, Xia Duo would not belittle himself; although he was not a genius, this did not mean he would necessarily lose to a genius.

First, the definition of victory or success is not limited to the academic field; if one cannot be the top frontier explorer, one can also be the most successful guide of civilization.

Second, even in the academic field, with the existence of Life Extension Spells, there is no knowledge that cannot be mastered, only knowledge that has not yet been discovered.

As long as one can keep up quickly, one can also be tied for first place!

And this requires a relatively mature environment for academic exchange and sharing of results, or in other words, becoming the leader of this order naturally grants one this portion of Permission Level.

Just like the current Tower of Time; when members of the Tower of Time achieve results, Xia Duo can also share them synchronously.

If this model were expanded, or if there were exchanges between multiple systems, it would be similar to the kind of academic environment on Earth.

Before the arrival of the new era, Xia Duo, who had already become a Senior Arcanist, was already standing at the finish line of most people in the future; what else did he have to be dissatisfied with?

He was full of confidence in whether he could create the "Xia Duo Era"!

……

To take a step back, even if he were surpassed by countless people in the future, being able to live in a civilization that surpassed countless Senior Arcanists and even Great Arcanists would still be far better than the present.

It is similar to asking a modern person on Earth whether they would rather be an ordinary member of a future sci-fi era or an emperor of a past feudal era; it is estimated that the vast majority of people would choose the former.

After all, the further the era develops, the various experiences of an advanced era will completely cover all experiences of the past.

Like the current magical world, having become a god and achieved immortality, does one have to remain unchanged and stop seeking progress? Who knows if the whole population will become gods in the future, and above that, there will be more and newer scenery appearing.

In the end, as long as one overcomes the "self-centered" mindset, the vast majority of people will make choices that best serve their own interests and the interests of the era.

Xia Duo has a psychological need to be respected by others, but his need for this respect is far from reaching the point of "self-centeredness."

In fact, even if he wanted to, it would be impossible to achieve; there are gods above his head, and in front of him right now sit over a dozen Great Arcanists, and there is no shortage of Senior Arcanists like him in the surroundings.

Xia Duo was not sure if he would do so if there really were such an opportunity for "self-centeredness," but at least for now, starting from his own heart, he would not do so!

……

After briefly stating his future administrative philosophy and principles of conduct, Iolum officially began to fulfill his duties as president: "Next, we begin a new agenda—

"Regarding the matter of Ilphars inviting Netherese Mages to Ailintar for magical exchange, the Seventon Council has entrusted this matter to the Arcane Union. If you have any suggestions or opinions, feel free to speak."

After Iolum finished speaking, everyone was silent for a moment. Xia Duo looked at the materials in his hand and roughly knew that this agenda had only existed for the past year or two, probably once every six months, with twelve spots to go to Ailintar for a short exchange.

Before this, it was usually Yierlan, but ever since Netheril abandoned Elven Magic, the relationship between Yierlan and Netheril had gone from bad to worse.

Going to Yierlan for exchange is an exchange in name, but in reality, it is more about probing the development of Yierlan. This activity has been entirely the responsibility of the Seventon Council, that is, the Seven Towers, for decades.

What can be brought to the Arcane Union for discussion are mostly "civilian events" or "unofficial events." Given the current relationship between Netheril and Ilphars, members of the Seven Towers do not need any official channels to go to Ailintar at all.

This kind of exchange activity is more like an opportunity for spellcasters outside the Seven Towers.

Soon, Iolum concluded: "Since everyone has nothing to say, then let the Council handle it!"

This is also the standard practice. The twenty-five councilors of the Council, in addition to representing the will of the fifteen Great Arcanists, also represent the will of ten other larger Mage Tower organizations.

The general direction of the various affairs of the Arcane Union is decided by the fifteen Great Arcanists, while the specific completion is the responsibility of the twenty-five-member Council and its subordinate Deacon teams.

……

Next, for several consecutive agenda items, no one spoke, until—

"Duolaisen Huo Ke accuses the Seven Towers of multiple irregularities in the negotiations regarding the Arcane Union's introduction of new communication spells, and demands that the relevant personnel of the Seven Towers apologize in person!"

When Iolum read this agenda item, the air in the conference hall cooled by a few degrees. It was not that no one dared to challenge the Seven Towers at the Council of Great Arcanists; in fact, it happened every year, and quite often too!

The Seven Towers has a large family and a big business, and there will always be conflicts of interest with other Mage Tower organizations; it is common for things to escalate to the Arcane Union.

But Duolaisen Huo Ke is different. Strictly speaking, he does not have many conflicts of interest with the Seven Towers. Those who understand the so-called irregularities in the communication spell negotiations understand.

So who are the ones who don't understand?

At least everyone in the conference hall at this time, including those listening from the periphery, almost all knew the situation.

The matter involves Elves, especially Cormanthor, which has deep hostility toward Netheril among the Elves. For such a topic, one must be cautious when speaking.

Even Great Arcanists will be careful about their own speech.

But this does not include the other party involved in the agenda—the Seven Towers!

Just as Xia Duo frowned at such an unreasonable request from Duolaisen Huo Ke, Badijiaer of the Gustav Tower within the Seven Towers could no longer suppress the anger in his heart. Regardless of the presence of the peripheral listeners, he stood up immediately, pointed at Duolaisen, and cursed:

"You really have the face to say this! The communication spell you got by licking the Elves' backsides, is that yours? Do you dare to register a patent? Still talking about negotiations? Do you really think others don't know about your little schemes? If you really want to tear off the mask, I tell you, you will be the first to die!"

"Badijiaer! Watch your language!" Iolum reprimanded in a deep voice.

"Hmph!"

Badijiaer glared coldly at Duolaisen, then turned to Iolum and bowed slightly before sitting down without saying a word.

Immediately after, Sikumu, the new Controller of the Giles Tower, spoke: "In the negotiations between the Arcane Union and Lord Huo Ke regarding the introduction of new communication spells, Lord Huo Ke has always been evasive about the details of the spell, and a demonstration alone is not enough to prove its existence.

"I believe this negotiation should not have existed from the beginning. The Seven Towers stopping the negotiation was just to stop the losses for the Arcane Union in time. There were no irregularities at all. This agenda is groundless and should be rejected!"

"Duolaisen, do you have any objections to Sikumu's answer?" Iolum asked Lord Huo Ke again.

"No."

Duolaisen knew the ins and outs of this matter very well. Mentioning it once was enough; if he continued to pester, he would be the one to suffer. But at the same time, he did not intend to let Badijiaer off just like that:

"I demand that Badijiaer apologize for the insults he just made toward me! If the dignity of a Great Arcanist is this cheap, then I have nothing more to say!"