Chapter 1479: A Drop of Blood, Higher Interests

Blood and the heart are, in essence, not much different; in Xia Duo's view, both contain the most fundamental characteristics of a living being.

To use terms from Earth, blood and the heart are both carriers of genes; what truly plays a role is the gene, not the carrier.

Of course, the Principles of the Longevity Technique are not the same as the Clone Technique; the former focuses more on constructing a 【Longevity Body Data Model】 based on a certain organism, which is much more complex than the Clone Technique.

From a practical perspective, there should be differences between a model derived from the heart and a model derived from blood.

But since both blood and the heart contain the most fundamental characteristics of a living being, does that mean, in theory, one could construct a longevity model based on this organism using this fundamental characteristic, which might be called "bloodline"?

It is indeed feasible in theory; to take a step back, as long as blood is cultivated into a complete body through the Clone Technique, wouldn't that have many more parts than a heart?

It is just that for a single individual of the same race, the corrective effect that can be provided for a longevity model based on that race is limited.

This makes it so that such a special Longevity Technique can likely only be used on individuals with close blood relations, and it does not possess "racial universality" in a certain sense.

If the target needing life extension is a human, then Iolum has already done a large amount of preparatory work in advance, and there is already a relatively reliable universal human version of the Longevity Technique.

But Crown King Akaola is clearly not a human.

Unable to use an off-the-shelf Spell, one can only cobble together a special version on the spot.

And now, the biggest problem facing Xia Duo is how to obtain a longevity model that approaches or even exceeds the effect of a heart by using only blood.

This has nothing to do with race; it is just a shortcut in the prerequisite steps.

If this can be figured out, it will also have an extraordinary positive significance for continuing to perfect the longevity model for the human race in the future.

By then, there will be no need to dissect corpses or track human body dynamics over a long period; one would only need to draw a drop of blood to complete all the data collection.

Thinking of this, Xia Duo's motivation became much fuller; he was not just doing this for the immediate special situation, but for the grand longevity plan of future Magic civilization!

……

Meanwhile, in Seventon, in the standing conference room of Gustav Tower, a discussion regarding the Akaola incident was also proceeding intensely.

After confirming the source of the news from Iolum repeatedly, Badijiaer's expression immediately became extraordinarily colorful, and his look of triumph was almost written all over his face.

Not long ago, he had disagreed from the start with Netheril signing the Common Defense Agreement and the Unilateral Consistent Action Agreement with Akaola, suspecting there was a conspiracy within it, but the Seven Towers' decision-making would not be opposed just because of his individual objection.

But now, the facts proved that Akaola was indeed not as honest as they had previously appeared!

"Huo En, what do you have to say now?"

"What could I have to say? I never said back then that Akaola was definitely trustworthy; it was just that such a win-win agreement was placed in front of us—no matter what conspiracy was inside, we had to sign it first. Only a fool wouldn't sign!"

"Then what do you think we should do now?"

"What else can we do? Either drag it out until next year to see if they go back on their word, or agree to their demands now. Besides these two, do you have any other choices?"

Looking at Huo En's matter-of-fact appearance, Badijiaer, having been retorted by the other party twice in a row, had a clearly displeased expression on his face.

But just before he was about to explode, Lander, who had not said a word since the meeting was convened, suddenly spoke: "Actually, we only have one choice, and that is to agree to the other party!"

"On what grounds?"

"It's very simple: the current external environment requires us to maintain restraint, or to put it in a way easier for you to understand, the current Akaola has no obvious signs of betrayal, so why should we force them over to the side of Keman?"

Badijiaer fell silent; although he could understand it intellectually, it was hard to accept emotionally. "But if they keep doing this, are we going to make concessions every time? Just because of them?"

"Yes, as long as it doesn't involve fundamental interests, we need to make concessions every time; this is what aligns with our interests in the larger direction! Of course, the specific operation still needs to depend on the specific situation; it is certainly impossible to make unconditional concessions."

Having said this, Lander glanced at the others and continued: "Instead of discussing here whether or not to agree to their demands, it would be better to discuss what kind of conditions we should propose after agreeing to them."

"I agree with Lander's view."

"I agree too."

……

With several Great Arcanists expressing their stance one after another, Badijiaer could only nod reluctantly. This scene was almost a replica of the last meeting, only compared to the last time, he felt even more stifled this time.

But at the same time, he also constantly reminded himself not to let personal emotions affect the big picture.

After repeatedly adjusting for a long time, he finally let his state of mind return to calm and participated in the subsequent discussion.

"The Northland Alliance wants to redefine the territorial division of the Northland countries; there will be a non-public negotiation in half a month. It would be best to have Akaola publicly express their support for us before the negotiation."

"How could they possibly refuse such a painless condition that could even be said to have nothing to do with them? This is too cheap for them! If you ask me, we should just make them open their Mythallar Permission; as long as we hold their Mythallar, I'm not afraid they will betray the agreement in the future."

"How could they possibly agree to such a condition? If it were you, would you agree? If you ask me, it's better to let them open up some Mythallar technology. On one hand, Yiaole has already provided some to us, so it's not considered a taboo and is easily accepted by them; on the other hand, Mythallar technology is indeed what we currently need."

……

The discussion on asking others for benefits was not intense. Although some people's demands were more biased toward the interest groups they belonged to, overall, it was still beneficial to the Seven Towers and to Netheril as a whole.

After a while, the seven people had worked out a general plan, and finally, Badijiaer also represented the Seven Towers in asking for the opinion of Iolum, who was observing:

"Master Iolum, do you have any additions to our decision?"

"No, I have nothing to add."

Iolum maintained the consistent style of himself and his predecessor; as long as it did not involve fundamental interests, he generally did not make any comments on the resolutions of the Seven Towers.

Of course, this was only the discussion stage. These seven Great Arcanists of the Seven Towers could not fully represent the vast and tangled interest group that was the Seven Towers; afterwards, they still needed to discuss, negotiate, and compromise within their respective internal circles.

Finally, at least one more such top-level negotiation would be needed to come up with a final plan.

……