Chapter 2468: Bargaining

Although the third stage is the home turf of the Seven Towers, due to a lack of moral standing, there is actually only one path left to take: delay, and the path is only growing narrower.

It is already impossible to pretend this matter never happened, so what the Seven Towers needs most right now is a decent conclusion.

What Xia Duo and the others need is relatively simple: they only need to have those three Other Planes connected to the Main Plane, allowing the descendants of the Pioneers there to migrate freely.

Of course, it is still quite difficult for both sides to reach an agreement; after all, for the Seven Towers, no matter how decently this incident ends, they have effectively suffered a major loss, so compensation is essential.

This is where the bargaining comes in.

However, such matters are generally not suitable for discussion in public, which led to the private meeting invited by Yinaole.

"Master Yinaole, isn't this matter being handled a bit too excessively?"

In private, Badijiaer does not need to maintain the demeanor of a Chief Controller; after entering the Xiu Xi Shi, he began to complain to Yinaole. He has every reason to believe that today's events are definitely related to the Seven Towers' previous refusal of Xia Duo.

Thinking of this, Badijiaer could not help but glare at Xia Duo again; if he had known it would lead to today's situation, he should have agreed to the other party, but it is too late for regrets now.

Yinaole, who lagged behind and was the last to enter the Xiu Xi Shi, could not help but feel a trace of resentment upon hearing Badijiaer's complaints. Although he controlled his emotions well, his tone was not very pleasant:

"Whether this matter is excessive has already been publicly debated at the daytime meeting. The descendants of the Pioneers in the Other Planes are also Netherese; they deserve the right to choose."

"Furthermore, I believe I have negotiated with you about this matter more than once, but what was your attitude? And Puman, he certainly wasn't someone I sought out, was he? If you had treated them even a little better, would they have needed to beg me for help?"

Yinaole's words attracted the attention of others in the Xiu Xi Shi. Indeed, to reach the point of convening the Council of Great Arcanists, negotiations must have failed.

Just then, Xia Duo interjected; he could not let Yinaole bear the accusations of the Seven Towers alone. "Puman sought me out first. Upon hearing his description of the current state of the Tianshui Plane, I was deeply shocked, which is why I introduced him to my teacher."

"Besides my teacher and me, there are actually others who have met Puman. Even if my teacher didn't mention it, others would have, and if others didn't, I would have!"

On this matter, the Seven Towers is actually in the wrong. The saying "justice resides in the hearts of the people"—although it is not the same world, the general rules are similar. According to the many principles of the Seville Covenant, the Seven Towers has indeed acted poorly.

Even if Badijiaer does not admit it out loud, he understands it in his heart. The reason for the current stalemate is nothing more than the inability to save face and the loss of actual interests.

As for the latter, it is already an inevitability; even if others could provide compensation, it would be impossible to restore the state of the past. As for the former, it is perhaps even more important to the current Seven Towers.

Seeing that the two sides were about to argue, Bailun hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over. "Alright, since things have reached this point, let us stop arguing about who is right and who is wrong. The most important thing now is how to conclude this!"

Bailun's reminder was not just for Xia Duo and Yinaole, but even more so for Badijiaer. If this matter is not handled well, the Seven Towers will lose all prestige, and it will not be as simple as the loss of personnel from three Habitable Planes.

"I understand, Master Bailun. You are also affiliated with the Seven Towers; what do you think we should do in this situation?"

In front of Xia Duo and the others, Badijiaer showed a slight weakness, yet he attempted to win Bailun over, clearly still wanting to struggle a bit more.

"I believe the most important thing is to maintain the stability of the current order. The appearance of the descendants from the Other Planes will inevitably cause an imbalance in the power comparison of the various forces in Netheril; it must be handled properly."

Kelifu's words seem neutral, and in fact, they are neutral, but in reality, they lean more toward supporting the Seven Towers, maintaining the existing order framework, and even include the idea of continuing to blockade those three Planes.

However, the few people present, although they all need stability and need to maintain order, are not like Radiant Priests who only care about order and nothing else.

Currently, the Seville Covenant represents the morality above order. If it is abandoned, while the current order might be maintained, in the long run, it would truly be the beginning of the collapse of order.

Kelifu may not fail to see this, but his upheld philosophy does not support him in thinking or acting that way. If he thought and acted the same as Xia Duo, he would become a second Laidun.

Even if he did not become a heretic, a sudden drop in Divine Grace in the short term would be an inevitability.

Unless Xia Duo could convince the Lord of Radiance to recognize "morality above order" and "order above order," any stance taken by Kelifu, who is nearly showing his hand, can actually be ignored.

"Master Kangjienio, what is your view?"

"You young people should handle such matters yourselves, but I think that sentence Xia Duo just said, 'The descendants of the Pioneers also have the right to choose,' is very correct. It is time for those few Planes to return."

After finishing, Kangjienio glanced at Bailun and added, "Isn't the Golden Plain Plane in the hands of the Nether Family? Did that girl Xiya not leave any arrangements?"

"Xiya, er—"

Regarding the title of the Princess, Kangjienio, as the senior-most elder in Netheril, can of course call her by her name. Bailun, as the Princess's teacher, might be able to call her by her Mortal Plane name in private, but in the presence of others, he also needs to maintain the dignity of a True God.

"Because the Ascension Plan was advanced, Her Highness the Princess did not see the current Netheril. At the time, her arrangements for the Golden Plain Plane were somewhat conservative, but in principle, she still supported connecting with the Main Plane as soon as possible."

Mentioning the Princess, everyone fell silent, not to mention Kangjienio's earlier use of her name. Xia Duo could even feel an invisible and nearly tangible gaze cast down from an infinitely high and distant place.

Xia Duo did not know if others felt it, but he was indeed aware of it. Fortunately, Netheril has long had precedents for similar name-calling Perception.

Such as Sandro, who used the Longevity Ritual to transform into a non-human, or Weide, who specifically set up Perception arrays, and so on.

Not to mention gods; there have long been rumors. Thus, after a moment of silence, Badijiaer took the initiative to propose, "We have been meeting for a day, and everyone is a bit tired. Let's stop here for today; I will wait for everyone at Gustav Tower tomorrow."

Involving gods is somewhat sensitive, so the others agreed to Badijiaer's proposal. Soon, only Xia Duo, Yinaole, and Kangjienio remained in the Xiu Xi Shi.

"Was Master Kangjienio doing that on purpose?" Xia Duo asked curiously.

Because he felt that the Princess's gaze seemed to still be fixed here, but he did not think that drawing the Princess into the fray was a good idea. The only thing to be glad about now is that the Princess only cast her gaze and did not take any further action.

Otherwise, today's matter might have been counterproductive.