Chapter 989: Magic Net Turbulence, A Glimmer of Light

At the same time, at the ceremony site, the commendation had reached its end. Following the master of ceremonies' guidance, Xia Duo arrived at the center of the venue, facing the viewing stand to the south and the dense crowd of onlookers further south.

In the viewing stand, Xia Duo saw Niya, Beilaila, and a man sitting beside Beilaila who seemed to be her father, sternly lecturing her from time to time.

There were also many familiar faces, all High Mages of the Seven Towers, though naturally, there were even more unfamiliar ones.

With so many gazes focused on him, Xia Duo felt an itching sensation all over, yet he could not reach out to scratch. Instead, he maintained a calm and easygoing smile, standing motionless, allowing himself to be baptized by these gazes, each carrying different meanings.

This made him even more uncomfortable, and it was only when the Magic Image regarding the exploration of Daxia Territory began to play that he felt the gazes upon him diminish slightly.

"Xia Duo, having performed excellently in the Arcane Competition of the Nanjing Sawier Ling in the year 834 of the Netheril Calendar, is hereby granted the title of 【Pioneer】, and subsequently opened up new lands in the Green Pearl Forest of the South. In the process of this exploration, he—"

Although these Magic Images were mostly "great achievements" of a laudatory nature, having them displayed in front of so many people still gave Xia Duo the feeling of being "publicly executed."

Of course, hearing countless people calling his name, and even hearing them collectively shout "Daxia" after seeing the recent state of Daxia Territory, he felt that this sensation was actually quite good.

But at this moment, as the ceremony reached this point, while ordinary people might not have sensed anything, Spellcasters—even the most inept ones—could see that the Magic Net environment around them had changed significantly from the norm.

Even if they did not know the true meaning behind these changes, they knew that something major was about to happen.

……

As the Magic Image regarding the exploration process of Daxia Territory "finished playing," Xia Duo returned to the ranks, and the atmosphere in the plaza had become polarized.

The most enthusiastic were, of course, the ordinary people who knew nothing and were still immersed in the environment of Daxia Territory just shown in the Magic Image.

Even though Xia Duo had retreated into the ranks, they still stretched their necks and strained their voices, shouting Xia Duo's name with all their might.

Such a fanatical scene made Xia Duo feel a strong sense of unreality; he had no doubt that if he were to step out of the ranks now and wave at the crowd a few times, it would trigger even more intense screams, shouts, and even more fanatical behavior.

But compared to the fanaticism of the ordinary people, the Spellcasters appeared much calmer, though that was all.

Situated in the now rapidly changing, nearly turbulent Magic Net environment, to say they were truly calm would be almost impossible.

According to general rules, with the Magic Net changing to such an extent, it should have already triggered random wild magic, but now, there seemed to be an invisible force regulating it from behind.

This was also the real reason why the many Spellcasters present had not yet fled in large numbers.

People live in the Magic Net environment, and every bit of themselves is connected to and mutually influenced by the Magic Net; it is just that those with stronger influence are called "Spellcasters," while those with weaker influence are ordinary people.

In such a turbulent yet strangely balanced state of the Magic Net, most Spellcasters understood that moving at will and interfering with the balance of the Magic Net was the greatest risk.

Therefore, as long as no substantial threat had appeared, the group of Spellcasters maintained a relatively calm surface state for the time being.

Not to mention others, even Xia Duo was the same.

Especially since he was in the midst of the ceremony, passively participating in the process, he could feel the threatening sensation of the Magic Net's turbulence, which was nearly a riot, even more keenly.

But behind this seemingly meaningless turbulence, he also felt a different kind of order brewing and growing.

During the rehearsal, they were supposed to have dispersed by this point in the ceremony, but in today's actual celebration, the ceremony did not stop here; instead, it felt as if it were intensifying.

It was not at all the experience from the rehearsal!

……

And from a perspective Xia Duo could not see, a torrent of immense power was pouring outward from Princess Xiya as the center, along dozens of invisible links.

Piercing through the void, it extended all the way into the territories corresponding to the dozens of Pioneers, then transformed into something invisible.

Seemingly vanished, yet it was reflected in every aspect; with time as a thread, endless immense power rose up above each territory once more, returning to the Princess along the links.

After undergoing subtle changes, it poured out again, repeating this cycle over and over.

In such a cycle, the invisible force continuously grew, gradually giving rise to influence, not just in the Arcane Plaza area centered on the Princess, but in all spaces containing the dozens of Pioneer Territories reached by the links.

Even after multiple cycles, it permeated toward other regions of Netheril.

At this time, in a secret chamber in the Nether Palace of the Old City District, filled with Protection, shielding, and interference Magic.

Above the altar, a life-sized Statue, identical to the Xiya currently in the plaza and with a material that was almost impossible to discern, began to shine with a faint spiritual light, growing stronger as time passed.

So much so that a glimmer of light appeared in this dark secret chamber.

This was a real, tangible light, not a light of Perception; once this light appeared, it expanded rapidly, filling the entire secret chamber and submerging the Statue on the altar from view.

But being unseen did not mean it had disappeared; rather, the Statue became omnipresent because of this light, or perhaps, the Statue itself had turned into light.

……

"Boom—"

A sound of impact that touched the soul appeared very abruptly in the Arcane Plaza, Seventon, and even all time and space that could be affected.

Hearing this sound, endless joy suddenly arose in Xia Duo's heart, as if everything had found its place; such an unprovoked emotion should not have appeared in him.

Especially with the Pioneer Scepter currently held in his hand.

The Pioneer Scepter could immunize against the vast majority of mental Spells, and even if it could not, it would react; but now, the Pioneer Scepter had no reaction at all.

This meant that this was not an attack originating from a mental Spell.

Yet this unprovoked, suddenly rising emotion had appeared, and everything was so natural, so natural that Xia Duo could not feel even the slightest abnormality.

He remained immersed in this joy.

Even while feeling this joy, he could still normally contemplate what the result of the Princess's ceremony would be, as well as his series of scheduled arrangements in Seventon after the celebration.

It was as if this feeling of joy was entirely being performed by some external force using his body.

This phenomenon was not happening to Xia Duo alone; the Pioneers around him, one and all, had been affected, each with a smile on their face, their entire beings overflowing with a strange feeling of joy.