Chapter 1951: Civic Consciousness, The Worst-Case Scenario

After speaking with Laidun, Xia Duo came to Jieyi's home again. According to Laidun's description, Jieyi had been living at home during this time and had even built a simple laboratory at home to conduct experiments.

When Xia Duo arrived, he happened to see Jieyi's mother harvesting wheat outside, with Jieyi wanting to help but being shooed away by his mother.

Just then, Jieyi also spotted Xia Duo. Too busy to argue with his mother, he immediately dropped the tools in his hands, trotted toward Xia Duo, and called out in a tone of excitement that perhaps even he himself had not noticed:

"President, you're here!"

"President" referred to Xia Duo's status in the Progress Society. Xia Duo also valued this identity highly; in the future, this title might change to "Chairman," but for now, it was still President.

Xia Duo nodded slightly to acknowledge him, then joked, "You're quite free at home!"

"President, I—" Jieyi touched his head, not knowing how to explain, though he also knew the President was not angry with him because of this.

However, Jieyi's mother did not think so. Upon overhearing Xia Duo say this, she also immediately dropped the tools in her hands and ran over:

"Lord Territory Leader, it was I who asked Jieyi to help me. If you want to blame someone, blame me!"

Upon reaching them, Jieyi's mother made a gesture to kneel. Xia Duo knew very well that this was not a performance, but the awe of the territory's people toward their lord, carved into their bones in this current era.

Even in Daxia Territory, where Xia Duo granted the people full respect and freedom, these "old" residents still retained the shackles of the old society in their hearts.

Xia Duo certainly could not watch Jieyi's mother kneel before him. Perhaps this was a normal thing in Jieyi's eyes, but Xia Duo did not think so.

This kneel was simple, but the significance of whether Xia Duo accepted it or not was momentous. Once he chose to accept it, the civic consciousness education that Daxia Territory had been carrying out for a long time might turn into a bubble.

Thus, with a shift of his consciousness, his Bloodline Power automatically drove the surrounding air to form a soft cushion to support Jieyi's mother, and he said solemnly:

"I am not blaming Jieyi; I was just joking with him earlier. The Mages of the Tower of Time are not as unapproachable as you imagine. And remember—the people of my Daxia Territory do not need to kneel to anyone, including me!"

"Respect is not embodied by kneeling, and I do not need to gain satisfaction through others kneeling. If you respect me, then please respect the order and philosophy I have created!"

Xia Duo's words were not just for Jieyi's mother to hear, but also for Jieyi, and of course, even more so for himself to hear.

The sages of his hometown once said, "I examine myself three times a day." As a ruler holding (almost unlimited) power, Xia Duo wanted to see the scenery from higher up and naturally would not let himself degenerate.

But not everyone can withstand the temptation of near-infinite power. Xia Duo also worried that one day he would lose his progressive nature and become that truly backward feudal lord, so he had to constantly remind himself not to forget his original intention.

With Xia Duo saying this, Jieyi, as a member of the Tower of Time and also a member of the Progress Society, naturally felt it deeply. And Jieyi's mother, although her awareness was a bit lacking, had been influenced by the territory all along, and with the lord's personal explanation, she quickly recovered her state.

"Jieyi, I just came from Laidun's side. I heard him say you have made good progress in the civilianization of Magic?"

"It's alright, not as good as Administrator Laidun said. I just stepped into this field that others haven't set foot in yet, and it's also because of your guidance, President. As long as others are willing, they can catch up quickly too."

"Regardless, you are the one who made the breakthrough first. Believe me, your name will surely become a legend in the future. For now, take me to see the samples."

Although Jieyi was only a low-level Mage, there were not a few cases in history where low-level Mages or even Apprentices created highly influential Spells.

Invention and creation do not necessarily have to be sufficiently complex or sufficiently Advanced to be meaningful; rather, they must emphasize being just right.

If Jieyi really solved the pain point of ordinary people using Magic Items, then even if he didn't leave a name for posterity, he would at least be worthy of the title of "Legendary Mage."

It is perfectly normal for a Legendary Mage to be a low-level Mage. "Legendary" just means the deeds are extraordinary—either difficult for ordinary people to achieve or having great influence—rather than specifically referring to strength.

Xia Duo thought highly of Jieyi and had even considered whether to make him a calling card for the Tower of Time or Daxia Territory.

……

Next, Jieyi's mother continued to harvest the (drying) wheat on the ground in front of the house, while Jieyi led Xia Duo to the simple laboratory he had set up temporarily.

The sky had already turned overcast in the afternoon, and it might rain at night. If the wheat could not be dried before winter, this year's harvest might have to be discounted again.

On the way, Jieyi told Xia Duo about the reduced crop yields this year due to the abnormal climate and implicitly expressed his worry, which made things even more difficult for Daxia Territory, which already had many people and little land.

Regarding this, before entering the Projection Plane, Xia Duo had already let the Tower of Time and the Arcane Garden of the No. 1 Spire begin a production increase plan.

And after entering the Projection Plane, he discovered that the climate abnormality of the Main Plane might be related to the loss of control of the Dragon Madness Mythallar. That is to say, this climate abnormality phenomenon might become the norm in the future, or even further deteriorate.

If it deteriorates, perhaps the food the Netherese eat in the future will all have to come from the Arcane Garden.

To stop the deterioration, or even eliminate the existing climate abnormality, one would need to inspect and repair the Dragon Madness Mythallar, but Xia Duo did not have that much energy to study the Dragon Madness Mythallar right now.

Not to mention that repairing it would very likely alert the Elves. If a world war were triggered by a slip-up, that would be bad.

For the time being, this matter could only be dragged out, slowly waiting for a turning point. Fortunately, the main systems of the Floating City had already been completed. As long as the Arcane Garden was built, it would be enough to supply all the people in the territory.

The design capacity of the Floating City was 2 million people, and the design plan of the Arcane Garden was also based on this data. Calculating with the current population of the territory plus the Savile Territory, which was less than 200,000, one Floating City was more than enough.

If the ground climate was truly too harsh to bear, then they would just move everything to the Floating City.

However, Xia Duo did not tell Jieyi these things for the time being; he only told him that the Tower of Time had long had a response plan. As for the climate abnormality, Seventon was already investigating it, and perhaps there would be results next year.

……

Soon, Xia Duo arrived at Jieyi's laboratory. It was actually a granary next to the house, with a partition made inside. Its simplicity—no, it should be its crudeness—made Xia Duo frown as he looked at it.

Come to think of it, since Xia Duo transmigrated, even at his most difficult times, he had never been in such a bad situation. However, he also knew it wasn't that Jieyi lacked the conditions; he had long ago equipped Jieyi with a private laboratory in the No. 1 Spire.