Chapter 956: Pioneer Hall, Seeing the Princess Again

Emerging from Giles Tower, Xia Duo and Niya walked shoulder to shoulder, not speaking, yet within their Mind Link, the two were constantly sharing their thoughts on this trip to Seventon.

—"Did you notice? There are more people in the Old City District; I wonder what this New Year Festival will actually be like!"

—"I don't know... Look at that person! Are they spying on us?"

Intense emotional fluctuations caused Niya to unconsciously share the image she saw into the Mind Link; such passively shared sensory information is generally difficult for an ordinary person to parse, but Xia Duo was no ordinary person.

He did not turn his head to look, but merely focused slightly into the Mind Link, instantly finding the target Niya was pointing at, and then he told Niya:

"That person is just passing by; judging by the emblem on their cuff, they should be a member of Morien Tower, don't worry about it!"

Morien Tower has the strongest academic atmosphere among the Seven Towers; most members of Morien Tower are single-mindedly devoted to the field of Magic, and the person who just passed by was indeed just glancing as they walked past.

If they were a spy, they wouldn't be so blatant, nor would they let a member of Morien Tower face them directly for surveillance.

At the very least, they should have found an Archmage or the like to hide in the shadows and cast surveillance spells.

Xia Duo touched the back of Niya's hand with the back of his own, comforting her through the Mind Link: "Relax, there shouldn't be any accidents in the Old City District, and if there really are, I can handle them!"

Niya did not answer directly, but simply touched the back of Xia Duo's hand with her own as a response.

……

It was not far from Giles Tower to the Seventon Council; Xia Duo and Niya walked and stopped along the way, and it did not take long for them to arrive behind the Seventon Council.

This was a complex of stone buildings with a simple and orderly design, appearing to lack much aesthetic appeal, similar in style to the Arcane Union Headquarters directly opposite it, both revealing the pragmatic and plain style of Netherese Mages.

It formed a sharp contrast with the luxurious and exquisite Elven style of the embassy district not far to the west.

In Savile Territory, the Elven style occupied an absolute advantage in aesthetics; almost everyone in Nan Jing regarded the Elven style as beautiful and pursued it deeply.

But in Seventon, at least judging from the architectural styles of the Seventon Council and the Arcane Union, the upper echelons of Netheril already had the determination to shake off the influence of Elven culture.

It is just a pity that the actual effect might not be as desired; after all, there are too many old buildings here in Seventon, and for old buildings to be unaffected by the Elven style is almost impossible.

Not to mention anything else, the Nether Palace, where the Princess lives and works daily, is a very "Her Highness" style Elven building.

In Xia Duo's view, if there were truly determination, it should start from the upper echelons taking the lead in boycotting; of course, it might also be that now is not the best time for a boycott.

Or perhaps, the Great Arcanists already have enough confidence to completely digest the influence of Elven culture.

As for the actual situation, it remains to be seen.

……

"Let's go, the Pioneer Hall can be entered from the back door; there's no need to go to the New City District to take the main entrance."

Xia Duo appeared to be leading the way for Niya with familiarity, but in fact, he was not familiar with this place at all, having only been here a few times before when handling matters regarding the recruitment of new territory residents.

However, the places he went to those few times were the daily administrative offices under the Council, which were still different from the Pioneer Hall he was going to this time, which was responsible for the regularization of Pioneers.

Nevertheless, Xia Duo had long since collected information related to the Council at the Giles Tower Library and the Arcane Union Headquarters Library.

Of course, this was not the point.

In fact, from the moment one enters the Council, there will be a receptionist to guide the way; all Xia Duo had to do was tell the other party the specific hall he wanted to go to:

"To the Pioneer Hall!"

"Yes, my lord, please follow me!"

Xia Duo and Niya looked at each other and followed behind the receptionist; during the journey, he constantly compared the surrounding environment with the Council information he had seen to determine if they were being led the wrong way.

……

"My lord, the Pioneer Hall is just ahead."

"Very good!"

Xia Duo paused his steps, casually took a few Gold Coins from his Dimensional Bag and tossed them to the receptionist who led the way, then brought Niya into the Pioneer Hall together.

……

"Teacher?!"

"Your Highness the Princess?!"

Just as they walked into the hall, Xia Duo and Niya stopped their steps simultaneously, looking at the figure standing in a beam of light projected from the hall's dome more than ten paces ahead, stunned on the spot.

Good grief, Greta hadn't mentioned that coming to the Council to handle paperwork would mean running into the Princess!

Xia Duo was truly a bit afraid of seeing the Princess now; previously in the Green Field Plane, the image of the light flame that could not be looked at directly, which the Princess displayed in his Cloud Qi Vision, had truly shocked him.

But now, she was blocking the way here, so what could he do?

Niya had already stepped forward to salute, and Xia Duo could only bite the bullet and follow, while also trying hard to adjust his emotions so as not to reveal any strange expressions.

"Niya, I guessed that you might also follow!"

The Princess first responded to Niya with a quip, then looked at Xia Duo without saying a word, staring until Xia Duo felt his scalp tingle, before suddenly adding:

"Are you very afraid of me? The last time I saw you, you didn't seem to be like this!"

Xia Duo knew that the "last time" the Princess mentioned did not refer to the time in the Green Field Plane, but the time when the two had a face-to-face exchange, which was still last year.

Well, it is already Netherese Calendar 837 now; strictly speaking, it should count as the year before last.

Hearing the Princess's words, Xia Duo's heart gave a violent jump; if the trip to the 【Projection Plane: Underdark】 allowed him to truly witness the powerful might of Elven High Mages, making him dare not underestimate Great Arcanists similar to High Mages.

But he himself had also grown, being only one step away from a Senior Arcanist; to say he was very afraid of a Great Arcanist, that was really not necessarily the case—if he couldn't beat them, he could still slip away!

But that time in the Green Field Plane really shocked him; his conjecture about Cloud Qi was that it might be Faith Power, so what was the situation if Faith Power was as dense as a light flame?

It was not as if Xia Duo had not seen other Great Arcanists; not to mention the several other Great Arcanists who appeared with the Princess in the Green Field Plane at the time, even his teacher, Master Bailun, whom he had just seen not long ago!

But whether it was the other Great Arcanists of the Seven Towers or Master Bailun, their Cloud Qi did not manifest in the light flame form like the Princess's!

Without a doubt, the Princess already had a lead in terms of Faith Power or Belief Power that other Great Arcanists could hardly compare to.

Furthermore, Xia Duo had discovered multiple statues of the Princess with special powers in Savile Territory, which was so far from the Nether Core Region, a long time ago.

Therefore, he had every reason to suspect that the Princess might be attempting Ascension to Godhood through faith and had already achieved certain results.

What kind of existence a god is and what kind of might they have, Xia Duo did not yet know, but he knew one thing: for such an existence, it is best to keep a respectful distance!

Excessive contact, besides the harm that such an existence itself might cause, could also lead to being caught in the crossfire caused by the opponents of such an existence.

Involving Great Arcanists, Xia Duo might still have some confidence, but involving a god, he had no confidence at all.

……

Looking up, the Princess was watching him with a beaming smile, which made Xia Duo feel even colder inside, yet he dared not reveal the slightest bit of it on his face; facing such an existence, he truly had no way at all and could only answer truthfully—