Chapter 3311: Ascension Path Selection

If the New Covenant does not undergo significant changes, Netheril will remain under its current system.

Then, Xia Duo can be certain that if he wants to become the leader of Netheril (he is currently only high-level, not yet a leader), he must almost certainly join the Seven Towers and then become the Speaker.

The Seven Towers must inevitably develop into a political group belonging to the seven Grand Archons who oversee the seven major domains (roughly speaking) of Netheril in the future, rather than the current alliance of lord interests that has continued and developed from the past.

If a Council Member wants to advance, according to the current rules, they must join the Seven Towers.

Thinking this way, Xia Duo even considers whether to obtain a Seven Towers identity now to ensure that he will not be excluded from the core power circle in the future.

Of course, this thought is only a fleeting one; although he participated heavily in the formulation of the New Covenant, this does not mean he identifies with the Seven Towers, even the future political group of the Seven Towers.

Furthermore, even according to the current rules, there is another way to play: uniting a majority of Council Members and lords to abolish the special status of the Seven Towers and instead allow any political group that can gain the recognition of the majority to take power.

With education already beginning to spread in Daxia Territory, he is very confident in this approach.

In fact, this is not a loophole he deliberately left behind, but rather that at present, it is impossible to deny the political status of a normal Great Arcanist; since the identity of Council Member exists, one must grant others this identity.

As long as the number of Great Arcanists he cultivates who share his ideas is large enough—large enough that all other Council Members combined can only become the minority—then at that time, Xia Shao can completely say—

"There are also Holy Light Crystals here. Although they exist as a special equivalent in the Kingdom of Radiance, when brought to the Mortal Plane, they can be used to replenish a Priest's power, and most importantly, they can be used to charge Holy Light Weapons!"

That gives the Ascended God who comes a hope, a hope of being saved in the event of failure; that, on the contrary, will encourage more people to try, and if more try, fewer will succeed.

"And besides weapons, equipment, and Holy Light Crystals, the Kingdom of Radiance basically has nothing else that can be taken out for trade, but if Mage Xia Shao is interested, you can also use these things to conduct transactions."

The so-called birth of the Holy Light perhaps refers more to the birth of the Doctrine than to the birth of the god itself.

Upon hearing this, Xia Shao understands that Divine Envoy Waiqi probably does not know the difference between products of the Heavenly Realm and products of the Mortal Plane, or perhaps he knows but simply does not care, highlighting a sense of being wealthy and generous.

He gave up the opportunity to become a god and chose to let ordinary people and civilization possess a freer and broader future.

This is the first mortal ascension Xia Shao guessed; the Princess was not the first, nor is she the most recent, as there is also the existence of a so-called Drow God of Vengeance.

As long as there is one more success, then the foreseeable era of theocracy may arrive.

The orthodoxy of the Council is in Seventon, not in Daxia Territory!

Therefore, ever since Aierwen's seventh attempt at Ascension to Godhood, Xia Shao has been extremely vigilant about this kind of future and has made considerable preparations for it.

It was the process of the Mage class replacing the Death Priests; the second-generation Nether King backstabbing his old father happened at that time, and it was also during this process of the Mages' rise that the mortal Doctrine of the Lord of Radiance was born.

But mortal Ascension to Godhood is not a delusion; it is a preparation that many Great Arcanists are making. Added to the involutionary nature of the Ascension Order, once a second person in Netheril successfully ascends, the major trend of Ascension will be almost impossible to stop.

Based on his vigilance against theocracy, even when negotiating with the Kingdom of Radiance—which by its very nature cannot break a contract—Xia Shao always kept a wary eye.

As for the hint of Adamantine trade proposed by Xia Shao, Divine Envoy Waiqi immediately understood, and then began to introduce the goods that the Kingdom of Radiance could offer for trade—

At that time, the ruler of that kingdom will, along with the ascension of those mortal rulers, also become a ruler from the Heavenly Realm, and ultimately, theocracy will overwhelm everything.

But from the perspective of civilization, Xia Shao actually hoped that Aierwen would die directly during the process of Ascension to Godhood, rather than being saved by the Princess and taken to the Shenguo.

In the current Elf World, the Elf Main God seems to have a weak presence, but in reality, the influence on the Mortal Plane far exceeds that of the Lord of Radiance; if it were not for the existence of the Lord of Radiance, the other party might have already personally entered the field to conquer the Main Plane.

"Of course, generally speaking, Holy Light Weapons will retain a basic reserve of Holy Power so that the user can carry them around. Some weapons, once they completely lose their Holy Power, cannot even be lifted by a Divine Envoy."

"It is just that the Divine Envoy himself has Holy Power, so it is impossible for this situation to occur. But for mortals, the problem of Holy Power replenishment must be considered."

If it were not for the fact that Xia Shao has even more far-reaching plans, with his current foundation and preparations, his probability of successfully ascending among the many Great Arcanists should be able to rank in the forefront.

"If the quantity is large, because it involves the arrangement of craftsmen, it requires coordination from superiors; after all, the demand for weapons on the Eternal Night Battlefield is almost endless."

Although there is a legend in Netheril that early Netherese participated in shaping the Lord of Radiance and then made a covenant with it, which has continued to this day, legends are just legends. Xia Shao is considered high-level in Netheril and can access the vast majority of secrets.

"Ordinary mortals do not possess Holy Power and can only use the Holy Power reserve that comes with the Holy Light Weapon. Once it is exhausted, considering the actual materials of the Holy Light Weapon, ordinary people might find it very difficult to move those weapons and equipment."

From a personal perspective, he feels very regretful about Aierwen's failure to ascend; he personally hoped that the other party would succeed, as the other party was an elder worthy of respect.

Added to a Holy Light birth event he participated in within a Projection Plane, he can almost be certain that the Holy Light birth in reality is also, nine times out of ten, just a performance by mortals.

It can be foreseen that in the future, mortal Ascension to Godhood will inevitably become the mainstream of the "God Realm," because for existences like the Lord of Radiance and the Lady of Mystery, no one knows how they came to be.

Compared to joining the Seven Towers and then managing and rising step by step, Xia Shao is more inclined toward his own path of advancement.

At that time, not only his own territory, but the clergy of the entire Netheril and even the entire Plane will undergo secularization under his guidance, thereby establishing the true subject of mortals.

"More still needs to be requested from superior Divine Envoys, but please rest assured, Mage Xia Shao, the Kingdom of Radiance's control over weapons and equipment is not strict. For non-standard weapons, the majority of Divine Envoys have the qualification to gift them."

"The Holy Light Weapons forged by the Kingdom of Radiance can be easily controlled even by mortals, but the sale of weapons is of great importance. I can at most promise to give Mage Xia Shao personally a set of Holy Light Weapons forged by elite craftsmen."