Chapter 2450: Yinaole's Attitude

Yinaole took a deep breath and stated his position without hesitation, "Although Netheril did not go to war with Yierlan later on, the sacrifices made by those pioneering sages are worthy of respect from every Netherese."

"Now that the descendants of those pioneering sages wish to return to the Main Plane, they deserve to be properly settled. I believe any Netherese with a conscience would agree on this point."

Yinaole's reaction was more intense than Xia Duo had anticipated; he had originally thought the other party might hesitate if he didn't mention revising the Seville Covenant, but he hadn't expected such decisiveness.

"But Teacher, what if there are those who do not want them to return to the Main Plane?"

"Who?" Yinaole asked subconsciously.

But then he reacted, realizing that Xia Duo might be referring to the Seven Towers, and he fell into silence. If the Seven Towers were to obstruct it, this would indeed be a major trouble, but trouble did not necessarily mean one had to compromise.

In any case, the descendants of the pioneering sages who had made sacrifices for Netheril needed to be treated seriously and arranged for properly.

After pondering for a moment, Yinaole's brow furrowed deeper and deeper, until finally, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh, "If it is the Seven Towers obstructing it, then this matter is troublesome."

"Can even Teacher not intervene?"

"I can, but it is difficult. Let me consider it further, and I will resolve this matter while ensuring the situation in Netheril remains stable as much as possible."

After saying this, Yinaole looked at Xia Duo with sudden curiosity, "Did you come here this time just to tell me about this?"

"No!"

Xia Duo shook his head, then said in a firm tone, "Teacher, the matter I truly want to discuss is even more important than the return of the pioneering sages' descendants, but once I say it out loud, this matter must be carried through; there can be no compromise."

"Speak. If it is truly as you say, more important than the return of the pioneering sages, as long as it is reasonable, I will certainly support you!" Yinaole stated his position once again.

"Alright, then I will say it."

Xia Duo gazed into Yinaole's equally firm eyes and spoke the words he had long deliberated, "Does Teacher not feel that the current Seville Covenant is already somewhat out of step with the times? Especially the part regarding the executive status of the Seven Towers!"

"And the Council of Great Arcanists of the Arcane Union, does Teacher not feel it is somewhat incongruous? It could completely be combined with the Seven Cities Council!"

"Therefore, I feel it is time to revise the Seville Covenant!"

Xia Duo was just that direct when he spoke, and Yinaole was stunned for a full few seconds before he came back to his senses. Judging by his subconscious movement of standing up from behind the desk, he was truly shocked by the content of what Xia Duo had said.

"You want to revise the Seville Covenant?"

After rising, Yinaole did not sit back down, but instead walked out from behind the desk and paced back and forth within the reasonably spacious Study.

Seeing this, Xia Duo did not urge him, but waited patiently, while simultaneously calculating in his heart Yinaole's final decision, the possible reaction of the Seven Towers, and the impact that would follow if this matter were accomplished.

After a long time, Yinaole stopped. He came before Xia Duo and sat down. He did not immediately express his attitude toward revising the Seville Covenant, but instead explained it like an unrelated party:

"The source of the Seven Towers' executive status can be traced back to the original Seven Cities Alliance. You should not be unfamiliar with this history; it was the initial Seven Towns Alliance that existed first, and only then did Netheril follow."

"But its true legal source must be traced back to the later transfer of royal power by the Nether Family. The Nether Family abandoned their ruling status, or rather their executive status, and handed everything over to the Seven Cities Council established by the Seven Towers."

"Spanning hundreds of years and having undergone several revisions of the Seville Covenant, the Lord Council was developed under the Seven Cities Council, which then formed the current state."

"And the Council of Great Arcanists of the Arcane Union is an important supplement to the Seven Cities Council and to the Nether order."

"After all, the destructive power of Spellcasters is too great, especially Spellcasters of Advanced Rank and above. If they did not even have a channel to voice their opinions, the Seville Covenant might have disintegrated long ago, and Netheril would no longer exist."

After finishing, Yinaole let out another long sigh and said the words Xia Duo had long been waiting for, "Perhaps the time has come again to revise the Seville Covenant!"

At first, when Xia Duo heard Yinaole explaining the source of the Seven Towers' executive status, he thought the other party wanted to defend the Seven Towers, but upon hearing the rest, he understood that Yinaole actually also felt the Council of Great Arcanists was somewhat awkward.

It was just that centuries of tradition and inertia could not be easily changed. Perhaps it was the return of the descendants of the pioneers who opened up Other Planes mentioned earlier that led Yinaole to conclude that the time had come to revise the covenant.

But the opinion Xia Duo most wanted to hear regarding changing the executive status of the Seven Towers was missing, which made him feel somewhat disappointed. However, he could also understand that such a matter indeed required extreme caution and a large amount of investigation.

If Yinaole had made a decision on the spot based solely on his few words, he would instead have to doubt Yinaole's stance.

And now that there was already a good start, what else could he be dissatisfied with!

Subsequently, it was Xia Duo's turn. He began to explain to Yinaole his thoughts on revising the Seville Covenant, including a detailed analysis of the relationship between the Seven Towers' executive power and the current state of Netheril.

"With the Seven Towers in power for hundreds of years, Netheril's concept of developing Magic has gradually become conservative. Some people obtained Magic early on because of the selfless dedication of the sages, but they do not think of inheriting the sages' philosophy or creating a more open atmosphere for Magic research and development; instead, they have begun to obstruct latecomers from accessing Magic."

"This change in concept was not very obvious at first, but it could be traced. It wasn't until the Nether Scroll was stolen nearly a hundred years ago that the situation took a sharp turn for the worse; countless Mages began to cut off communication, wanting to lock Magic only within their own secret vaults."

"The changes over these hundreds of years and the sudden shift in the last hundred years have caused the development of Netheril Magic to nearly stagnate. I believe that as someone who experienced it firsthand, Teacher must have noticed this long ago!"

After Xia Duo finished speaking, the expression on Yinaole's face was somewhat complex, as if he were reminiscing and also reflecting, and finally, he uttered a sentence—

"Indeed! Before the Nether Scroll was stolen, such a trend already had its signs. A clear indicator was that the Seven Towers began to refuse communication with other Mage Tower organizations."

At Yinaole's signal, Xia Duo continued:

"Besides this, I also want to say that the monopoly of power itself may lead to some bad things happening. In my view, power itself is a void without substance; it needs to constantly expand its boundaries, filling itself with the obedience of all those who are dominated. This might be called the 'instinct of power expansion'."

"Then, the Seven Towers' long-term monopoly on executive power must inevitably cause the power they possess to constantly expand over time. The Seville Covenant was established in the past; it is more like a set of principled guidelines and cannot encompass all situations of future development."

"It is conceivable that when the power of the Seven Towers expands to its limit, it is basically equivalent to the power of other lords and Mages being squeezed to the limit. At that time, conflict will be unavoidable."