Chapter 958: Political Ecological Balance and Semi-plane Venues

Becoming a Lord, in theory, already puts one on equal footing with a Princess within the Netheril national system.

The title of "Princess," after the transfer of royal power, remains only a symbolic honor with no actual authority.

Princess Xiya's status within the current Netheril system should be: Seven Towers Group - Giles Lineage Leader - Netheril (Family) Lord; the other Great Arcanists of the Seven Towers also hold their own respective Lord statuses.

In Netheril, the vast majority of Lords have deep connections with the Seven Towers Group, and some still maintain vassal relationships to this day.

Some have severed ties with the Seven Towers Group due to the passage of time, lack of contact, or the payment of certain costs, no longer having any vassal relationships and becoming independent.

Others follow the more common Pioneer model, independently pioneering and establishing a Territory from the very beginning, unrelated to the Seven Towers Group; of course, in the past, one had to be at least an Archmage to be qualified to choose this model.

But even so, tracing the first-generation Lords upward, it is very easy to trace back to personal relationships related to the Seven Towers.

Take the Savile Territory, for example.

Saville was an independent pioneer with no direct connection to the Seven Towers, but he was a student of Iolum, and although Iolum also pioneered independently and built a Territory, his origins can still be traced back to the Seven Towers.

He was born into a Commoner family in Seventon, theoretically counting as a subject of the Netheril (Family) Territory, Giles Lineage, and his subsequent education also took place entirely in Seventon, making it impossible to separate him from the Seven Towers.

However, regardless of how many connections a Lord has with the Seven Towers, they are all members of the Seventon Council and, in theory, are on equal footing with those Great Arcanist Lords.

Of course, when handling daily affairs, one cannot possibly call all the Lords together to handle them; there must be a representative, and that representative is the Seven Towers.

This point is somewhat similar to the difference between committee members and standing committee members in Xia Duo's hometown.

And this is the true reason why the Seven Towers maintains the legitimacy of the Seventon Council.

As for ordinary Lords, they will basically only be more protective of this system than the Seven Towers; those truly dissatisfied are likely only a small number of people in the Arcane Union.

Those with ability can mostly become Lords and share in real power, while those without sufficient ability have perhaps already recognized the status quo and accepted reality.

The remainder either think too highly of themselves or possess immense ability, with ambitions so inflated that they want to challenge the current, relatively stable system; such people are, after all, few.

……

After understanding the various contents of the Territory Document, besides having a clearer understanding of his current situation, Xia Duo also had a comprehensive reflection on the current political ecology of Netheril.

Not to mention anything else, just knowing the true meaning of the Lord status, he understood that those powerful Spellcasters who have not obtained Lord status must each have various secrets.

Of course, this does not mean that once one becomes a Lord, there are no problems; it only means that a Lord will maintain the existing system like the Seventon Council.

As for whether they maintain the overall interests of Netheril, that is not necessarily the case.

A Lord, in essence, still acts for themselves and for their own Territory; this is also the prerequisite for the existence of the Seventon Council—acknowledging the independence of each Lord and Territory.

Only under the premise of ensuring their own interests can there be the overall interests of Netheril.

Ordinary Lords are not necessarily narrow-minded; it is just a case of "not being in that position, so not seeking to govern that policy"—as long as they take care of themselves, that is enough.

Since the Seven Towers possesses a leadership position, it naturally must shoulder the responsibilities of leadership, acting as a coordinator for all parties' relationships and a maintainer of Netheril's overall interests.

And during this time, the Seven Towers obtaining some due benefits is also something that can be accepted by other Lords.

Otherwise, if they relied only on violent suppression, the Seventon Council would have long since fallen apart.

In short, the current Netheril is in a relatively complex, yet relatively stable, state of dynamic equilibrium.

Wanting to break this balance is not difficult, and force is not even a necessary condition.

As long as one proves to all the Lords of the Seventon Council that they can do better than the Seven Towers, that is enough; no one would fail to support someone who can bring them more benefits.

Theoretically, if someone were eloquent enough, they could completely found a nation through mere words.

Of course, in reality, if one is not even a Great Arcanist, what qualifications would one have to participate in such major affairs!

Or they would just be engaging in petty conspiracies, becoming a bit of after-dinner gossip for those who truly hold power.

After understanding this, Xia Duo knew that only by becoming a Great Arcanist could one truly possess a stage of one's own to perform on.

……

From the Seventon Council to Giles Tower, Xia Duo walked the return path very slowly, taking even more time than the two of them had spent strolling and stopping in the Old City District on the way there.

However, Niya did not say anything, just silently walking by his side; when the magnificent Giles Tower was about to bump into Xia Duo, he finally came back to his senses, stopped his steps, and cast an apologetic look at Niya:

"Sorry, I was too lost in thought just now."

"It's okay, have you figured it out?" Niya said.

"Not yet, but I can think about it slowly!"

After saying this, Xia Duo laughed heartily and pulled Niya into Giles Tower.

……

Afterwards, the two went to see Archmage Wohuaide.

Archmage Wohuaide appeared to be an elderly man with a kind and benevolent expression; upon seeing Xia Duo and Niya, he also appeared very amiable, and only after some pleasantries did they enter the main topic:

"The two of you should already know that this New Year Festival will be held at the Arcane Plaza, but there may be some changes in the details."

Some changes?

Xia Duo did not quite understand what Archmage Wohuaide meant, but it did not matter; before he even needed to ask, the Archmage took the initiative to explain:

"The subsequent formal festival, as well as the preceding rehearsals, will all be conducted within a Semi-plane, only that on the day of the festival, the Semi-plane will overlap with the Arcane Plaza."

Huh—

So that's it!

Xia Duo immediately thought of the scene of the previous Snow Melting Competition, where the Spell Duel segment was placed in a Semi-plane, and that Semi-plane overlapped with the area where the battle platform in the center of the Seventon New City District Arena was located.

With such an arrangement, this upcoming New Year Festival does not look like it will be very peaceful at all!

Could it be to prevent Seventon from being smashed to pieces if a fight breaks out?

Xia Duo certainly would not ask this directly, but he kept a few more things in mind; when the rehearsal comes, he must take a good look at what kind of tricks this so-called New Year Festival has!

"Lord Wohuaide, we are ready; take us to conduct the festival rehearsal!"

"Young people are so impatient! Fine, then let's go to the Semi-plane first; we can talk more once we get there!"

As he spoke, Wohuaide cast a Teleportation Spell directly in the Reception Room in front of Xia Duo and Niya.