Chapter 2453: Characteristics of the Nan Jing

Above the Nan Jing.

Xia Duo and Puman appeared out of thin air. Looking down from high above, the most eye-catching feature was the Daxia-Savile Passage, which connected the two territories to the north and south almost like a great artery.

"It's been a long time; this place has changed drastically again!" Puman couldn't help but exclaim as they descended from the sky.

Xia Duo echoed the sentiment with deep agreement. As someone who had personally witnessed all these changes, he understood more than Puman. Just looking at the north, the changes weren't yet obvious, but in the south, it was almost a new world every day.

Especially the new village areas distributed north of Code Plaza along the Daxia-Savile Passage; even now, if one wasn't careful, they might suddenly expand further north.

……

To observe more closely from the air, the two descended very slowly. Of course, Puman mainly decided the speed, and Xia Duo just accompanied him. At the same time, neither of them alerted anyone, treating it as a surprise inspection.

"Let's look at Savile Territory first!"

As Puman said this, he had already drifted toward the direction of Savile Town. Xia Duo followed behind without a word, using his actions to show approval. In truth, he also really wanted to see how the integration of the two lands was progressing!

Once they reached the low-altitude area, they were effectively in the monitored zone of the Floating City and the Mage Tower. This time, Xia Duo did not remain silent; instead, he quietly contacted the Tower of Time and Savi, temporarily granting Puman a spellcasting Permission Level.

However, Puman was still unaware of all this. The two first maintained their disguise as they descended to the east side of the Central Plaza, then entered the Trade District.

In a typical Territory, the Trade District could reveal many problems, not just whether it was prosperous or not. For example, the Pashius Territory they had just visited, while looking very lively, also revealed a certain amount of chaos within that liveliness.

But in Savile Territory, order was already deeply embedded. As soon as Xia Duo followed Puman into the Trade District, he saw a clearly marked guard post, and beneath it, a security officer wearing a brightly colored orange uniform.

This was something not found in any other territory.

Other territories might also have guards to maintain order, but guards were soldiers first, and only maintained order under the lord's command; their means of maintaining order often relied on violence.

But the Security Office and security officers Xia Duo established were different. Their full-time job was to maintain the long-term stability of social order, and the basis for this was not the lord's vague verbal commands, but written laws where the boundaries were clear to both Law Enforcers and ordinary people.

There is a saying in Xia Duo's hometown: "If the law is unknowable, its power is unfathomable." If a superior establishes written law, it means it is difficult for them to cross legal boundaries to convict ordinary people. This way, ordinary people know the standards of conduct and will not fear the superior.

In Netheril, only the Priest class of the Lord of Radiance was keen on establishing written laws, but this actually conflicted with the interests of the lords. For a territory that could achieve this, its lord could already be called a good lord of the current era!

The laws of most territories were just the lord's verbal commands, which turned into an unfathomable tool for conviction once they reached the common people—like tax collectors finding any excuse to collect extra taxes.

Soldiers responsible for maintaining order could find any reason to say you violated the territory's order and then impose a fine.

Therefore, in most territories, ordinary people were unwilling to seek arbitration from the lord even if a conflict occurred between them, choosing instead to handle it privately. The social chaos this brought was endless.

Just now in Pashius Territory, Xia Duo had seen several scenes of ordinary people arguing, only to suddenly make up when they saw guards watching. But that kind of reconciliation was clearly not sincere, and perhaps the hatred remained buried.

But in the Nan Jing, even in the current Savile Territory, most ordinary people would choose to find a security officer to resolve disputes between them. Even if they were unwilling, others would help.

Trained security officers would arbitrate their behavior according to the Security Management Regulations; for serious cases, they could conduct a public trial, with more professional judges presiding.

Regardless of the final result of such arbitration and trials, the public mostly accepted them. This was where order resided.

……

Besides the security officers, there was another change in the Savile Town Trade District that differed from other territories: the Market Management Regulations.

When it comes to so-called order, people easily think of abstract things, but in fact, order is a very concrete, very practical thing: it is law!

Establishing law and maintaining law is the perfection and implementation of order.

Other territories might have market-related rules and unwritten rules during their years of development, but in the end, they were not written laws that could be placed in the open for all to see.

Many times, the lords themselves, for various reasons, would overturn an entire decree they issued in the morning by the afternoon. The public could only passively accept it, unable to even discuss it.

Because in Netheril, law originated from the lord; as long as the lord wished, it could change at any time. This was the typical "unfathomable power."

But written law was different. Establishing any kind of law must have a purpose. Even the lord, as the legislator, could not easily violate it, otherwise, it would violate the original intent of the legislation.

Therefore, in the realm of written law, the main basis for judging whether a law is good or bad is the original intent of the legislation, which is the "spirit of the law" that Xia Duo often mentioned to Laidun.

This was also the main reason why Xia Duo was full of confidence in Daxia Order: it protected the interests of the majority, not the interests of a small handful of those in power.

And such order had an incomparably huge attraction to the majority.

Although Puman could already be considered a superior, or even a ruler, in terms of his status in current Netheril society, status is one thing, and identification is another.

Some ordinary people were actually very repulsed by the Daxia Code because it cut off their possibility of learning Magic to become someone superior. Even if the law actually protected their rights, they just happened to believe they could and should become someone superior.

This kind of paranoia had no way out in the Nan Jing, but it did not prevent them from staying in the Nan Jing to accumulate strength for a later escape.

Of course, such people were very few. At least Xia Duo hadn't seen them in Daxia Territory. There were a few in Savile Territory, but it didn't affect the overall situation. The existence of these people actually made others' recognition of Daxia Order firmer.

As a Great Arcanist, if Puman were willing to compromise with the Seven Towers, it would actually be very easy for him to become a superior or even a ruler. But if he were truly willing to compromise, he wouldn't be here.

……

After seeing the Trade District, Puman turned to the South District, where there were many Adventurers. However, with the advancement of the integration of the two lands, the Territory Guard had taken on most of the forest-clearing tasks.

Coupled with the tightening of Adventurer licenses, the South District actually showed signs of depression. Seeing this scene, Puman couldn't help but ask:

"If there are no Adventurers, many things would be quite inconvenient, right?"

"That is indeed true, but that requires more professional Adventurers. Ordinary people should just find a proper job!"