Chapter 214: The Council's Rule System

Merlin Heavenly Principle looked at the gold and white dragons before him and got straight to the point.

"Both of you are newly appointed council members, so there are a few things I need to explain. First is the council's voting mechanism."

The two dragons listened closely as Merlin Heavenly Principle continued.

"As you know, major matters are resolved through voting to ensure fairness. A faction must possess a High-Tier Legend just to meet the threshold for voting rights."

"However, some factions have only one High-Tier Legend, while others have several. Furthermore, there is a disparity in strength even among High-Tier Legends."

"Therefore, absolute fairness is inherently unfair. For the sake of harmony, the council adopted a tier system for the factions."

"The council divides the major factions into three tiers based on overall strength. A tier-one faction has one vote, tier-two gets two votes, and tier-three gets three."

"A tier-one faction needs only a single High-Tier Legend. Tier-two requires five High-Tier Legends, or a supreme combatant capable of defeating five High-Tier Legends simultaneously. Snow Dragon City, backed by the Grand Duke Silver Dragon you are familiar with—Adrian Samaranch—became a tier-two faction for this very reason."

Merlin Heavenly Principle interlaced his fingers, rested his hands against his chest, and leaned back in his chair.

"As for tier-three factions, they must possess combat power comparable to a deity."

The White Dragon Lord couldn't help but glance at Merlin Heavenly Principle. After all, even the Dragon Race at the very top of the food chain needed to reach the Ancient Giant Dragon Stage to rival a deity.

Moreover, an Ancient Giant Dragon marked the absolute pinnacle of a dragon's natural growth. If they wanted to advance any further, they had to rely on their own efforts.

The gold dragon spoke up.

"So, in current Nordhill, which factions hold three votes?"

Merlin Heavenly Principle gave the gold dragon a meaningful look. "There are only two factions with three votes. One is my Emerald Tower, and the other is the Church of the God of Light and Justice on the Nordhill Plane, known to the public as the Holy Sanctuary."

Merlin Heavenly Principle shifted the subject.

"There is one other existence that holds three votes. However, they have been slumbering for over ten thousand years."

The gold dragon, Leopold Chodmartin, asked out of curiosity, "Nordhill has an existence like that? Why have I never heard of them?"

Merlin Heavenly Principle smiled.

"Never mind you, even I only learned this secret after taking over as council speaker."

Since it was a secret, Merlin Heavenly Principle clearly wasn't going to disclose it casually. The two dragons had no choice but to rein in their curiosity.

The White Dragon Lord suddenly thought of the Cult of the Dragon. "Speaker, how many High-Tier Legends and powerhouses Above High-Tier Legend exist in Nordhill outside the council?"

Merlin Heavenly Principle considered this for a moment before replying. "There are quite a few High-Tier Legends who do not belong to the council. As far as I know, the Cult of the Dragon definitely has them—more than one, in fact. In addition, deep within the Dark Lands, the ruler of the Evil Eye clan, the Eye of the Hive Mother, is also a High-Tier Legend. Finally, certain Churches of Evil Gods likely hide High-Tier Legends within their ranks."

"As for those Above High-Tier Legend..."

Merlin Heavenly Principle paused for a moment before continuing.

"There is one of those as well: the Sea King Beast residing deep within the ocean. This Sea King Beast has existed since ancient times. According to the ancient texts of the Mermaid Clan, it is the offspring of the Ocean Goddess."

The White Dragon Lord felt a bit puzzled.

Under normal circumstances, a true god would bring their offspring into their own Divine Kingdom. Doing so protected the child while also securing an ally with overwhelming combat power; once fully grown, most divine children became their mother's right-hand assistants.

Curious, the White Dragon Lord asked, "Since it's the child of the Ocean Goddess and possesses such formidable combat power, why didn't she take it to her Divine Kingdom?"

Merlin Heavenly Principle spread his hands.

"I don't know the answer to that either, but I suspect it has to do with its intellect. I went out of my way to see it for myself once. The Sea King Beast does carry the Divinity of the Ocean Goddess, and it truly possesses combat power comparable to a deity. However, its intelligence seems a bit..."

Merlin Heavenly Principle tapped his own head, then chuckled.

"But there's no need to worry. Once the Sea King Beast eats its fill, it just sleeps. It's even lazier than the Dragon Race. The last time it woke up was three thousand years ago."

The white dragon was rendered speechless.

The gold dragon was equally speechless.

"Alright, let's move on to the next topic. Now that you are High-Tier Legends, you have the capital to launch expeditions into other planes."

The White Dragon Lord nodded. Normally, a legendary practitioner had the qualifications to explore an alien plane, but to thoroughly conquer one, being a High-Tier Legend was much safer.

After all, many alien planes had Legendary Rank Level natives, and it was highly likely there was more than one.

Merlin Heavenly Principle continued, "However, exploring an alien plane is no small matter. There is the massive early-stage investment, the ever-present risks, and the resource extraction, transportation, and trade that follow an occupation."

Merlin Heavenly Principle smiled at the White Dragon Lord.

"For newly established organizations, even constructing an Interplanar Portal is a significant burden."

The White Dragon Lord's heart skipped a beat. It seemed the matter of the Madilan World had been exposed.

But that was to be expected. Since the White Dragon Lord had purchased a complete set of portal-related technologies, the council could easily guess what was happening.

Even so, Merlin Heavenly Principle could never imagine just how lucrative the Madilan World truly was.

"The council can help resolve those difficulties, but there is a rule. The major organizations must hand over twenty percent of the profits gained from exploring a plane to the council. Ten percent serves as operating funds, while the other ten percent is distributed as a dividend to the other council members."

"This dividend is issued once every ten years, meaning the two of you are about to receive a payout as well."

The gold dragon nodded. This was his primary reason for joining the council: gaining the right to participate in the distribution of interplanar profits.

The White Dragon Lord nodded in agreement.

The number of alien planes a major organization possessed usually came down to luck. No one knew how long it might take to encounter one.

The council's system firmly bound the major factions together, tremendously boosting unity within their own plane.

Merlin Heavenly Principle went on.

"However, there are cases where a discovered alien plane contains creatures that exceed the discoverer's capabilities, or a native civilization is already established. In those scenarios, the plane's coordinates can be handed over to the council. Whether the situation ends in violent conquest or open trade, the discoverer will receive thirty percent of the profits."

The gold dragon nodded.

"Mm, that is fair and reasonable."

For a powerful plane like Nordhill, discovering the alien plane was the hardest step. The subsequent conquest and development were merely a matter of time for the council.

Therefore, the discoverer earning a thirty-percent cut was perfectly justifiable.