Chapter 2920: Xia Duo Refuses to Fall Behind

The reason for such haste is that the Remote Conference System actually has permission levels for speaking; under normal circumstances, the Speaker would not deliberately control it, but if some topics exceed the scope of discussion or clearly trigger controversy, the Speaker can then exercise their authority to mute participants.

In a situation like today's, the procedure should have been to adjourn the meeting and let everyone go about their business, but since Lander forcibly introduced an agenda item that had not been determined beforehand, Badijiaer could have muted him from any perspective.

It is just that this time, Badijiaer ultimately kept in mind the sentiment of them both being from the Seven Towers and did not mute Lander, but that was only because it was Lander; if it had been anyone else from the Seven Towers, Badijiaer might not have given such an opportunity.

"Lander, if you actually have something to say, you can contact me privately to discuss it; there is no need to launch a surprise attack like this."

After saying this, Badijiaer prepared to close the Remote Conference System; giving one chance to speak was enough, any more and others might think Lander was acting under his command!

As it turned out, Xia Duo also stood up at this moment and said to everyone: "I believe what Councilor Lander said makes a lot of sense. Although we can also use the Alliance Public Computing Resource Pool after it is established, the Translation Device is ultimately not omnipotent. Under conditions of equal access quality and quantity, the actual effect is ultimately inferior to a network formed by Netherese Mages."

"I think it is absolutely necessary to establish a public computing resource pool for our own Netherese Mage community. I know you are all worried about privacy issues, but in fact, there is no need to be so nervous."

"I do not deny that the Spirit Thought Network does leak privacy, but just as you said when you were at the Northland Alliance Headquarters, what is privacy? Image, voice, or perhaps stance and attitude? Is there anyone who lives entirely in a void?"

"The privacy leaked by the Riel Network is actually far less than what you all experience by attending a remote conference. Everyone can go back and set up a network themselves to experience the truth of my words. After the meeting, I will provide you all with enough Connectors and supporting Spells."

"For the sake of the magic development of Netheril, I will say this in advance: as long as the Council passes the Netherese Mage Public Computing Resource Pool plan, I will be the first to respond!"

At present, there was only Xia Duo and Ruier taking the lead, and more people were needed to stand up and lead the trend. In such a situation, although Badijiaer was very annoyed inside, he did not stop it.

Weide had initially schemed against the Savile Territory, later coveted the ownerless lands of the Nan Jing, and even commanded people from the Rodney Territory to cause trouble in the Nan Jing; it could be said that new grudges and old hatreds were intertwined.

Once many things are spoken out loud and someone takes the lead, it becomes very easy for another situation to form—if you don't agree, is it because you have other motives, or is it not politically correct?

In this situation, Yiaole, although still the Vice Speaker in name, actually no longer had many opportunities to speak on his own initiative.

Ever since the New Covenant was signed and the Arcane Union was incorporated under the Iolum Council, Yiaole rarely spoke proactively at various meetings.

The one speaking was Buluode. Since his teacher and Xia Duo had both stood up, he had no reason not to. Now was the critical moment to choose a side; if he shrank back now, he would never be able to hold his head up again.

So he had to stand up!

In the past, as the President of the Arcane Union, he held a role similar to a Speaker or a neutral arbitrator, but now the Iolum Council's procedural rules had been perfected, and there was already a Speaker!

It was Yiaole!

Just as Xia Duo finished speaking, Ruier, who had seized the opportunity, also immediately expressed his stance. The performance of the two left the silent councilors deep in thought.

From his heart, Xia Duo did not want to be enemies with anyone, but reality always forced him to endure hostility for one reason or another. Now, being able to turn enemies into friends was not necessarily a bad thing.

But this time it was different. He keenly felt that this was a decision that would change the future direction of Netherese Spirit Thought. Even if it wasn't, how could there be a reason for a student to charge ahead while the teacher sat on the sidelines watching!

"I'll join too!"

The Wisdom High Tower had sent some people to the Tower of Time to study, and after they finished their studies and returned, they implemented academic-style Magic Education at the Wisdom High Tower, no longer using the traditional Apprentice system of the past.

Actually, Xia Duo really wanted to say something piercing: those in this position who were still worried about their privacy being leaked were, nine times out of ten, running some evil business in private—the kind that would provoke public anger!

"I'll be the second!"

"And me! The Wisdom High Tower and the Tower of Time have long had cooperative projects; this is just taking it a step further. Besides, I am also looking forward to seeing where the limits of the Riel Network really are!"

The relationship between the two sides was not friendly, but at this moment, any bit of support was very important to Xia Duo. He really had no reason to push it away; perhaps it would become a key turning point for improving the relationship between the two sides!

That Weide could stand up to support him was not an exception to Xia Duo at all. Just as Weide said, the Wisdom High Tower and the Tower of Time had ongoing cooperative projects; this was actually an exchange program.

"I'll join too! The Pure White High Tower also has eight or nine Mages!"

Establishing a public computing resource pool for a country was actually no longer just a matter of the pros outweighing the cons, but that the pros far, far outweighed the cons.

It was just that if there was only the common interest of a public computing resource pool, the so-called "friendship" was actually not very stable; it would depend on whether there would be opportunities to find more common interests in the future.

At the Alliance level, regarding whether to establish a public computing resource pool, Netheril was the only one that had not yet expressed its stance. Ultimately, it was the conservative ideology that had been running rampant within Netheril since the Nether Scroll was stolen that was at fault!

Not only that, Yiaole even went a step further and proposed a practical plan: "If everyone is worried, then we can do it ourselves."

Worrying about privacy was a traditional instinct for Netherese Mages, but once things were spoken out clearly, everyone was already a great Mage. Whether in terms of magical attainment or status and position, they were already standing at the pinnacle of Netheril.

Of course, this is not to say that the privacy of those in high positions is unimportant, but that there is no need to be so sensitive. The Riel Network was actually already quite adequate in terms of privacy risk management.

Otherwise, are the Elves fools?

"My Mystery Tower, Xia Duo's Tower of Time, and Councilor Ruier's Truth Tower—gathering one hundred Mages might be a bit difficult, but one hundred high-level Mages should not be a problem."

Just as the momentum Xia Duo and Ruier had built was about to be suppressed by the silence, an unexpected person stood up—

But the two sides had eventually reconciled, and in many Planes, the interests of Weide and Xia Duo were consistent. The two currently only had partial differences in philosophy; Weide could be considered Xia Duo's most reliable ally outside of Yiaole's faction.

Not to mention, the Iolum Council system after the New Covenant was becoming increasingly mature; with that, was there still any need to worry about privacy issues?

"I'll be the third!"

Keluosi's support was quite surprising to Xia Duo. Although the matter of imitating the Tower of Time's Communication Magic Tool had already been overturned, there were still differences in other areas, especially recently when the Tower of Time and the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce had been jointly cracking down on counterfeits within the Verdant Tower Alliance, causing quite a stir. Xia Duo doubted that Keluosi could have no objections.

A little bit of insignificant privacy leakage might indeed create certain risks, but some people have even choked to death drinking water; does that mean everyone should stop drinking water?