Chapter 2474: The Banquet

Evening, Code Plaza.

Three or four children with cunning looks in their eyes were pulling desperately at their mothers, running toward the deep blue Portal on the south side of the plaza; several mature-looking men walked behind them, wearing helpless expressions.

"What do you think Lord Xia Duo actually means by this?" one of them asked via secret Sending.

"Isn't this good?" another retorted.

"It is good, but—" the man who first brought up the topic frowned, but ultimately didn't say anything more.

At this moment, a third person interjected, "You all should have seen those Code of Laws Lecturers, right? To be honest, I didn't believe it at first, but because the Master has been canceling more and more projects, and Lord Xia Duo is the Master's student, I came over. But you've seen the situation here yourselves. In my opinion, don't overthink it; perhaps Lord Xia Duo just wants to host a welcome banquet for us."

"But why invite them to the banquet?" the first one pointed at the women and children who had already more than half entered the Portal, showing a puzzled expression.

"I told you not to overthink it. If he lets you bring them, then bring them. Since you've already decided to join the Tower of Time and register in Daxia Territory, there are plenty of days ahead! Get to know things slowly!"

After sending this message, the man shouted "Lily, wait for me" toward the front, then quickened his pace and ran ahead. The two people left behind paused for a moment, then quickly followed.

Chang'an City, Hengchun Square.

The Floating City can freely change its orientation in the sky, but Xia Duo still designated directions for its interior. Now, in the northwest corner of Hengchun Square, the Tower of Time has descended from the Research Zone, its gates wide open, waiting for the guests of tonight's banquet.

Come to think of it, the Tower of Time has only moved three times since its construction, including today. Of the first two times, one was when Niya's father, Aipusi, teleported it to the Mythallar Ruins.

It stayed there for several years until Xia Duo's Floating City was built, at which point it moved to the Floating City Research Zone. This time is the third.

At this moment, Xia Duo and Niya are in the study on the top floor of the Tower of Time, sitting side by side facing the Projection Window in front of them. The Projection Window displays the scene of Hengchun Square and the children's playground one block away.

After Xia Duo returned from the Red Heart Alliance Projection Plane, he set up a simple playground on the Floating City. Although there aren't many Magic Facilities, most of the recreational facilities common in communities on Earth are complete.

Such as slides, climbing ropes, merry-go-rounds, seesaws, spring riders, and space walkers.

The families of the Advanced Rank Mages who just arrived from Linshui Village, after wandering around Hengchun Square, mostly followed the flow of people to the children's playground nearby.

Many children from the Territory come to play there almost every day. Besides the playground, some abandoned steam locomotives are also parked there. Occasionally, when Mages from the Tower of Time come out to test the locomotives, the children have the chance to experience the feeling of locomotive racing.

Although this is a far cry from the steam locomotive racing Xia Duo envisioned, for the children, such big, moving, and noisy toys are incredibly fun!

Now that the families of those Advanced Rank Mages have drifted over, although there aren't many children, there are no barriers between children, and the few children there quickly mingled with the children of the Territory.

Currently, there are not many people in the Territory who don't work, so the only ones surrounding the children now are the families of the Advanced Rank Mages invited to the banquet.

These people are unsure of the background of the children on the Floating City, so naturally, they won't cause unnecessary misunderstandings due to some bad habits from the Inner Land.

Not to mention there are new Mages assigned by the Tower of Time to look after them; it's just that unless there is an abnormal situation, they won't show themselves and will let the children play by themselves.

Those who come to test the steam locomotives do so purely out of personal interest, not because they were assigned a task; in the Tower of Time, public and private matters are clearly distinguished.

In front of the Projection Window.

Xia Duo accompanied Niya, watching leisurely for a while, then threw himself back into the design of the Spellcasting ritual for the construction of the new city. Currently, the first phase of the Spellcasting ritual for the new city construction is more than half complete, with only a little finishing work left.

The reason it has taken so long is mainly because this is the first time; that Ritual Spell is the first to undergo downward-compatible design, and at the same time, the standards for downward-compatible design were also established for the first time.

For the second and third phases, this "template" can be applied directly. Even the training of Spellcasting personnel won't need to be done a second or third time; once trained this time, it can be used in the future.

However, if the interval is too long, it might be necessary to retrain.

"Meow meow~"

Xia Duo suddenly felt something furry rubbing against his leg. He couldn't help but smile knowingly, picking up the pitch-black little creature at his feet and placing it on his lap. But before he could pet it a few times, the little creature struggled and jumped down again.

This is a cat he brought back from Yimaska. There are about a hundred of them in total, most of which were sent to the Territory to be raised, while the remaining small portion—the young and good-looking ones—are kept in the Tower of Time and the Floating City.

Sometimes when Xia Duo is in the mood, he will grab one to pet, not caring which is which. Niya is a bit different; she dotes on a thin, small orange cat, keeping it by her side whenever she has the chance.

Right now, that little orange cat is still lying quietly on Niya's lap, unlike the little black cat Xia Duo just grabbed, which is too naughty to stay still.

But he has spells; the little black cat that just ran away soon kicked its four legs and flew back onto his lap. This game has been played more than once.

This time, the little black cat stayed quiet for a while before leaving. Afterward, Xia Duo fed it a dried fish and didn't pay it any more mind.

For keeping pets, this feeling is very good—not overly intimate, yet not distant. If one invests too much emotion, it is actually not a good thing. Pets generally do not live as long as humans, let alone for a Chang Sheng Zhe like Xia Duo.

Raising a dragon would be quite interesting, but dragons are intelligent creatures, and there is the Dragon Madness Mythallar on the Main Plane, which brings many troubles, making it impossible for Xia Duo to get close to them.

Come to think of it, the most suitable pets for him should be Elemental Creatures, Wind Elements or Water Elements, which happen to match the elemental tendencies of his bloodline.

Weak Elemental Creatures generally have no Wisdom, but the nature of elements makes their lifespans extremely long. As long as no accidents occur, longevity or even immortality is possible.

"Perhaps I can consider conducting Arcane Energy cat experiments." Such a thought flashed through Xia Duo's mind.

Previously, in 【Projection Plane: Evereska Independent】, he had conducted Arcane Energy rabbit experiments, and in the Red Heart Alliance Projection Plane, there was even reliable data on Arcane Energy Elves.

However, there are two problems with this. One is an ethical problem; unlike wild rabbits that have no emotional attachment, cats are pets after all, at least to Xia Duo. Before completing the Arcane Energy cat transformation, who knows how many innocent kittens might die.

The other problem is much more realistic: the question of whether transforming into an Arcane Energy form can extend life. The Red Heart Alliance side never even considered such a question.