Chapter 2531: Pre-Meeting Exchange

Xia Duo took a broad view of the other councilors' attitudes; even when opinions were completely at odds, he did not get angry. In fact, compared to the various sides' positions on specific matters, he cared more about the degree to which this current set of rules of the game was being accepted.

His meetings or communications with everyone were also largely to test the waters in this regard. As long as the rules of the game could be established, he did not care even if the motions he proposed did not receive any support for the time being.

Time was on his side; as long as he persisted on his current path, the future would eventually belong to him.

……

The next morning.

Xia Duo and Niya arrived at the Arcane Plaza early. At this time, the plaza still bore traces of the Midsummer Festival celebration from a few days prior. More than a dozen young people wearing Seven Towers mage robes were each busy running back and forth across the plaza with groups of commoners.

They were setting up the venue!

According to previous notifications, the first meeting would be held openly for everyone to see at the Arcane Plaza, and subsequent meetings would be held in the assembly hall currently being rushed to completion inside the Council Building to the north.

Perhaps because the Seven Towers was already rebuilding a new assembly hall, when Xia Duo had previously discussed remote meeting plans with the councilors, although everyone was somewhat moved, they did not give a positive response.

As for the Seven Towers side, the act of summoning councilors and lords to Seventon itself might have been enough for them to persist; they were the only party that reacted with indifference to the remote meeting plan.

Seeming to notice Xia Duo pausing in the plaza, a Seven Towers staff member soon trotted over to Xia Duo, bowed to the two of them, and then said:

However, considering the reaction of the Main Plane councilors, they could not openly band together in a big way.

This was also easy to understand; there were too many councilors from the Tianshui Three Planes, and the 【Mythallar】 could directly strengthen their power—in reality, it was increasing their voice.

Accepting pre-orders was fine; in any case, he had already accepted pre-orders from others, so a few more didn't matter. But if delivery were required in the short term, the problem would be significant, as it could easily change the balance of power between the various sides.

As for the others, they only nodded and greeted each other from afar and did not gather together, including Zhenna, who currently had a good relationship with Xia Duo.

"Councilor Xia Duo, Councilor Saville, the venue here has not been set up yet. The two of you may go to the Council to rest for a moment. Speaker Badijiaer will confirm the flow of this council meeting with all councilors one last time."

Xia Duo did not feel surprised by this question, because in previous exchanges, he had discussed the 【Mythallar】 issue with councilors from the Tianshui Three Planes, but he had not given a definitive answer.

"Councilor Xia Duo, I heard that you are accepting pre-orders for the 【Mythallar】. I wonder if we have that qualification?" a councilor from the Golden Plain Plane (one of the three planes) who had taken the initiative to approach suddenly asked.

It could be seen that although they had not considered Xia Duo, nor had they leaned toward Kelifu, Shaolaisen, and the others from the Main Plane, they had formed their own group; at least in the short term, it would be difficult to see them splinter.

"Hmm."

But regardless, now was the best time to inject influence into the Arcane Union.

……

Therefore, after Buluode and Xia Duo approached, four or five people among the Tianshui Three Planes councilors immediately approached as well. Clearly, after the planes were connected, they wanted to cut into the actual operation of this country at the first opportunity, and starting with the Arcane Union was a good choice.

The other Tianshui Three Planes councilors who did not immediately approach were not necessarily opposed to Xia Duo; it was likely more out of caution.

These four or five people had talked with Xia Duo before and could be considered to have similar ideological backgrounds. This time, by taking the initiative to approach, they were almost undisguised in their stance and attitude.

Badijiaer came over to say hello and then quickly walked away, returning to the corner where he had been to continue discussing something with Yinaole, who was currently serving as Vice Speaker.

This would not change in the short term, and the Arcane Union was undoubtedly an organization that was larger and contained more interests than the subordinate agencies of the past Seventon Council.

At the same time, the two of them approaching was also, to a certain extent, support for and consolidation of Vice Speaker Yinaole's position. Although the Vice Speaker did not have much power, as of now, the Arcane Union was still in Yinaole's hands!

……

Following Badijiaer, two more people came over to greet Xia Duo: Huo En of the First Tower, and Xia Duo's potential ally Weide.

"Xia Duo, Saville, you two sit for a while. Once everyone has arrived, I will confirm the process with you."

The First Tower had not thought about grabbing it immediately, but in the long run, it would still gradually transition to the First Tower's side. It was just that in this process, other councilors had too many opportunities to insert people inside.

And only two or three talents from the Tianshui Three Planes had come, including Puman, who had the most contact with Xia Duo; it seemed that factions had already formed before the meeting had even begun.

Of course, the new and old assembly halls or other banquet halls, and even the Library and gardens, were all here.

Inside the Council Building, it was actually a complex. The Seventon Council originally had many subordinate agencies set up here, and it was also where the Pioneering Hall, where the New Covenant was signed, was located.

Huo En left after greeting them, but Weide stayed behind and sat next to Xia Duo.

Xia Duo and Niya looked at each other, then bypassed the busy crowd and walked toward the Council on the north side of the plaza. As he went up the steps, he noticed that a group of commoners was slowly entering the plaza from the direction he had come from in the west, under the guidance of guards.

Soon, with the arrival of the Tianshui Three Planes councilors, this division of factions became very obvious. The people on the First Tower side gathered more and more; not only were there their own dozen or so councilors, but councilors from the Tianshui Three Planes also leaned toward that side.

Of course, Xia Duo's side also had a few more people. One was Buluode; there was nothing to say about that, as both were students of Yinaole and had no conflict of interest, making them natural allies in politics.

Or rather, their stance now was just like how the dozen or so councilors of the First Tower were natural allies; these councilors from the Tianshui Three Planes could also be called natural allies.

It seemed they were peripheral observers specially arranged.

Moreover, the future allocation of magic resources by the Arcane Union would also largely require Council authorization; the Arcane Union was more responsible for the specific execution after the Council made decisions.

At this moment, Xia Duo also deeply realized the existence of factions.

Letting people from the Tianshui Three Planes band together directly—that kind of banding together with a 【Mythallar】—let alone the First Tower, even Xia Duo would find it very headache-inducing. Originally, Xia Duo had planned to station Councilors in the Arcane Union, but plans could not keep up with changes. In the blink of an eye, the Arcane Union and the Seventon Council merged; the original Councilor system would be retained for the time being, but the Permission Level would not be as high as before.

At this time, Xia Duo and Niya were guided to an open courtyard. More than half of the First Tower councilors had arrived, and the Main Plane councilors, except for Bailun and Kangjienio, were basically all present after Xia Duo and Niya arrived.