Chapter 959: Low Threshold for Cross-Plane Travel, Abnormal Festival Procedures

However, it was not a direct teleportation, but the opening of a portal; this was the first time Xia Duo had watched someone else open a portal connecting to a semi-plane.

The one the Tower of Time uses to connect to the 【Yellow Sand Semi-Plane】 does not count, as the spell used is exactly the same as the one for connecting to the 【Blue Crystal Plane】, being a spell pre-set within the plane exploration array.

That is a true cross-plane portal specifically for plane exploration; not only is it as high as a 9th Circle spell, which Xia Duo cannot cast, but the spell structure is extremely complex, the casting difficulty is incredibly high, and it is not suitable for individual use.

But now, what Archmage Wohuaide cast was merely a 5th Circle spell, even though it only connected to a semi-plane that was very likely extremely close to the Main Plane, or perhaps even partially overlapping.

But this still counts as cross-plane!

It was the first time Xia Duo had seen such a low threshold for crossing planes, and he could not help but observe carefully; his expression naturally could not escape Wohuaide's eyes.

However, Wohuaide was not angry; instead, he stopped in his tracks, giving Xia Duo more time to observe.

Since the Archmage was so generous, Xia Duo could not miss this; he focused his attention, observing from the distribution of the Magic Net Strings at the edge of the portal all the way to the essence of the portal—the specific composition of the plane-linking channel within the Magic Net environment.

After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and said to Wohuaide, "Thank you for your generosity, Archmage, for allowing me to glimpse more mysteries of the plane domain!"

To this, Wohuaide just smiled slightly, "Let's go in; if we don't go in now, they might get worried over there!"

After speaking, he stepped into the portal first; Xia Duo and Niya exchanged a glance and then followed closely into the portal.

……

Direct teleportation seems instantaneous, but the process of teleportation does indeed require time, which is the principle behind delayed teleportation.

But a portal is undoubtedly instantaneous; you arrive the moment you pass through.

As soon as he arrived on the other side, Xia Duo heard a rather familiar voice, "Lord Xia Duo, it really is you! I thought Archmage Aisisi was joking!"

Wensen?

Xia Duo looked toward the sound, and sure enough, it was Wensen, and with him were several other acquaintances—Gelanasi, Aisisi, and Beilaila were all there!

And further away, which was actually just a plaza, it was almost identical to the Arcane Plaza between the Seventon Council and the Arcane Union.

It was just that the plaza within this semi-plane now had many more temporary structures than the real Arcane Plaza outside, distributed along the edge of the plaza.

It looked like the temporary residence for Xia Duo and the others for the next few days.

Earlier, Wensen and the others had been greeting Xia Duo in front of one of the temporary buildings, and further away, there were others from the Green Field Plane.

However, Angelin was not there, and since the others were not familiar with Xia Duo, they did not offer any greetings.

Xia Duo returned a greeting to Wensen and the others, and at this moment, Archmage Wohuaide also turned around, glanced at Wensen's side, and then said with a smile:

"Catching up can wait for later; now I must fulfill my duties."

"Please give your instructions, Archmage!" Xia Duo said solemnly.

"No need to be so serious; I am just telling you about the festival's procedures, and later there will be people specifically assigned to lead you through a rehearsal."

As he spoke, Wohuaide began to explain in a rigid, step-by-step manner, while Xia Duo and Niya listened attentively as if they were students in a lecture.

……

Xia Duo actually knew quite a bit about this New Year Festival; at the very least, he knew there would be an award segment, and there would also be elves, especially Cormanthor Elves, appearing.

Now, listening to Archmage Wohuaide explain the specific procedures, it was explicitly stated that the Cormanthor Ambassador would attend this festival, while the award segment was not as important as Xia Duo had previously guessed, being glossed over by the Archmage in a single sentence.

The real focus was instead on the Pioneers like Xia Duo and Wensen!

The New Year Festival would first hold the Award Ceremony, followed by the appearance of the ten Pioneer Lords who had finally been confirmed, and they would showcase their territorial achievements to all participants.

This was something Xia Duo had not expected at all, though perhaps the fact that Archmage Greta had instructed him to update his Territory Document as soon as he arrived in Seventon was already a hint.

"Lord Xia Duo, among these ten Pioneer Lords, Her Highness the Princess intends for you to appear last; you should be able to understand her intentions, right!"

When saying this, Wohuaide looked at Xia Duo with an expression that said 'I think highly of you,' almost stating it outright.

How could Xia Duo not understand? Not only had his actions in the Green Field Plane been used as a model for propaganda, but it seemed even his status as a Pioneer Lord was going to be used to make a point.

Overall, it was not a bad thing; after all, he had long been prepared for this!

But this also made Xia Duo suspicious of the true purpose of this New Year Festival.

Previously, he suspected this was about flexing muscles at the elves, and perhaps they would even bring out the captured elf mages during the festival to provoke Cormanthor.

But in reality, that was not the case; although the awards were scheduled early, there was indeed no segment similar to "presenting captives before the ancestral temple" on Earth, and the entire award ceremony was arranged somewhat briefly.

Archmage Wohuaide almost glossed over it in one sentence, simply stating it was a normal award ceremony.

Now that the focus was placed on the Pioneer Lord appearance segment, the true purpose of the festival might not necessarily be to provoke Cormanthor.

Could it be to emphasize that Netheril is restoring its tradition of expansion?

Recalling the history of Netheril's expansion that the Princess spoke about at the Council Expansion Hall in Seventon not long ago, could this be another hint?

Xia Duo did not think so, but it was very possible.

After all, in the past, the official Netheril government had never organized any New Year Festival; now that they were suddenly putting one together, saying it was to restore the past tradition of expansion was not impossible.

But Xia Duo felt more that there was some conspiracy behind this.

Of course, using the word "conspiracy" might be inappropriate for his own side, but now that he was in the middle of it and unable to see the full picture, calling it a conspiracy was not an exaggeration.

……

"After the Pioneer Lords showcase their expansion achievements, it will be the final celebration segment!"

A festival is a festival; in Xia Duo's view, this celebration segment was the main point, but Archmage Wohuaide, in the end, just like the previous award segment, glossed over it in one sentence.

This made Xia Duo even more certain that there was a "conspiracy" behind this festival, and it had something to do with them, the Pioneer Lords!

"That is the general procedure; specific details will be guided by someone later. The rehearsal will last for three days; during these three days, Lord Xia Duo, please stay within the semi-plane!"

Are they detaining people?

Xia Duo could not help but have this thought; of course, the situation would not be that serious, as there were still five days until the official festival!

After the rehearsal ends in three days, aren't there still two days to be let out?

If they really wanted to detain people, why not just detain them until the last day?

It is not good to overthink, but this New Year Festival, clearly carrying the scent of a "conspiracy," forced Xia Duo to overthink.

"I understand; is the Archmage leaving now?" Xia Duo asked.

"Yes, not everyone has arrived yet; I need to go and receive them." Wohuaide did not hide this point; his main duty was indeed to send people into the semi-plane.

Xia Duo nodded slightly, then watched the Archmage depart.