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Guy perused the contract in great detail, from top to bottom and noted down the key points of interest.

The first part of the contract dealt with the sovereignty of a sect in the grand scheme of things. Essentially it could be boiled down to four statements.

A sect that is part of the Solar Sect Alliance must not interfere with Imperial business just as the Crown cannot interfere with the Alliance's interests. Doing so will result in the ex-communication of the sect from the Alliance, and the handover of all belligerent parties to the Empire's Authorities.

Sects registered under the Solar Sect Alliance cannot act against the Alliance's interests. Doing so will result in the sect's ex-communication followed by appropriate repercussions, determined on a case-by-case basis.

Members of a sect registered under the Solar Sect Alliance cannot act against the Alliance's interests. Doing so will result in the immediate ex-communication of the members' sect from the Alliance, with the member set to face the appropriate repercussions determined on a case-by-case basis.

The Alliance or the Empire cannot interfere with a sect's internal affairs as long as the aforementioned regulations aren't contradicted.

Following that, the contract delved into the expectations and requirements of a sect.

While a sect is part of the Alliance, it may not have a say in the Alliance's decision-making body. To gain access to that a donation is required. The contract didn't expand beyond this.

"Don't bother," the woman said with a shake of her head. "Do you think you can compete with sects like Cloudstrider and Whispering Dusk?"

"There doesn't seem to be anything detailing how conflicts between sects are to be handled," Guy pointed out a glaring fault.

"Conflicts between sects always have and will be handled the same way." The woman wrapped her fingers into a tight fist and flexed it. "The Solar Sect Alliance is held together by the Four Great Sects: the Cloudstrider Sect, the Whispering Dusk Sect, the Soaring Sword Sect, and the Red Dawn Sect. The origins of these sects predate the Empire and are thus unshakeable. Any new sects forming within the Alliance will ultimately fall under the shade of one, or multiple of these sects. However, not just any upstart sect can secure such a position. For that, they will need to set themselves apart from the rest - show that they are special."

The woman brought her index fingers together and rested her elbows on the table. "Conflict between major sects can have far-reaching consequences. However, conflicts between minor sects leave nary a ripple. So, if such issues do pop up, the Alliance believes it best that the feuding parties handle their business by themselves. However, you can see that there is a clause restricting collateral damage caused by a sect. Be mindful of that if you happen to get into a tussle with a competitor."

Guy frowned at the implications of that statement. "The Alliance intends to filter our the so-called 'dregs' by having us fight amongst ourselves?"

"Yes," the woman affirmed without hesitation. "As you already know, just about anyone can start a sect. But there are limited resources to go around. The Alliance can only offer so many subsidies and opportunities to its members. The more mouths there are to feed, the less each person gets. Instead, why not create an environment where only the strongest get to eat? Those that starve will be forced to eat those that are weaker than them, and over time only the strongest, most desperate will remain."

"Brutal!" Markus blurted out in disgust.

"That is the way of the world," the woman droned.

"I don't believe the other guys outside will be told any of this?" Guy probed cautiously.

"As I said, I was asked to do a favour, and I am obliging," she reiterated with a snort. "People think that forming and maintaining a sect is trivial. It sure is on paper, but everyone conveniently forgets that a sect, just like any organisation, does not exist in a vacuum. Many factors come into play, some foreseeable others not so much. I'm only preparing you for the worst. Do you think those nitwits outside would take as long as you have to scrutinise the contract before signing it?"

She rested her back on her chair and said, "There is nothing more I can tell you. Though I will leave you with this one thought: you happen to have a fortunate starting position with the presence of such a powerful figure backing you. If I were in your place, I would prostrate myself and do everything within my power to keep them in the fold."

With that, the woman closed her eyes and awaited Guy's decision. After another quick scan of the contract, Guy brought his brush to the paper and signed it.

"I thought there would be something more magical than this," Guy said with a disappointed expression.

"We don't need magic to enforce a contract," the woman said with a hearty laugh. "That being said, don't even think about skirting the clauses. I'd prefer to not have to take your life the next time we meet."

Guy sputtered and let out a strained laugh.

"Since all the formalities are covered. The True World Sect is now officially part of the Solar Sect Alliance. All that is left for you is to fill up the minimum member quota within one year."

Guy nodded. "We are planning to join in on the Recruitment Event taking place over the coming days."

The woman halted in her steps, turned, and hinted, "Do you know how spots are assigned?"

"We have to register our Sect for a stall, is it not?" Guy responded with a confused intonation.

"Registering is one thing, but actually holding the stall is a whole another matter," the woman hinted with a raised pitch as she disappeared into the shadows.

"What did she mean, Master?" Markus asked worriedly.

Guy let out a hum while processing the statement and retraced his steps out of the registration hall. He was so involved in his thoughts that the many insults, jeers and scowls sent his way by the long line of grumbling, prospective Sect Leaders flew right past him. He remained in a thoughtful trance and kept walking forward, causing Markus to intervene and alter his Master's trajectory to avoid hitting a wall or making a wrong turn. The boy knew the direction to where they needed to be to book a stall for themselves for the Recruitment Event, and so he gently guided his Master in that direction.

Right as they reached the location, Guy snapped his fingers and halted in his steps. "Shit!"

"Master?"

"How did I miss it? It was practically right up against my face!" Guy groaned. He immediately noticed that he was in front of his destination and took a few hurried steps forward.

The Recruitment Event, as its name suggested, was an event held during the Conference in which the Sects present could openly recruit members into their fold on a much larger scale. It is one of the most anticipated segments of the Conference since it is the only time that sects have truly open recruitment. Otherwise, to become part of a sect, some form of connection or a fortuitous encounter is necessary. Sects aren't strictly prohibited from having open recruitments of their own, but location and logistics often prohibit their effectiveness.

As a result, the Event is the only way the minor sects can effectively pull in a lot of members in one go. After digging through his memories of what he'd read at the Cloudstrider Sect's Archives, Guy remembered one key detail. Rather than selecting a few members, unearthing their talents and training them up to be extraordinary, sects preferred to cast a wide net, hoping that the incoming horde of ordinaries would contain a few individuals with talents at the cusp of breaking into the extraordinary. Because of this mentality, the competition to secure the most visible stall location would be brutal.

Upon stepping foot into the Event's location, the first thing Guy took note of was the palpable tension hanging in the air. Everything was just too quiet, eerily so, even with the large crowd of people moving back and forth. People eyed each other as though they were evaluating their next meal.

The next thing that Guy noticed was how people would approach one of the skeletal setups of stalls and write down the name of the sect they were representing with the others already on the list. As they did so, the scrutinising gazes they received would multiply in intensity. This was enough for Guy to surmise exactly how the whole stall assignment debacle would be settled.

"Damn it!" Guy spat out as he saw the heads of fifteen groups turn when a person walked up to the very first stand, right in front of the entrance, and put down a name.

"Do you want that stall, Master?" Markus asked.

"Are you kidding me? This location is too visible and will likely become too crowded. We need a spot where we can evaluate our applicants without being rushed, and a place that has just enough foot traffic to avoid hitting a slump. Besides, it's already taken," Guy said with a shake of his head.

Markus nodded along and followed Guy as he waded through the crowd of frozen people all waging a mental war. If Guy could draw a heatmap of the tension in the atmosphere, the highest density was right up front. Everyone wanted the prime spot. Things started to get cooler moving away from it, but it then grew warmer at locations where there were crossroads and junctions. The more well-established sects had their own guaranteed stalls near the centre (these would remain uncontested for obvious reasons), and the density grew warmer in those areas since people generally swarmed there first to try their luck.

Guy paused in front of a location near the second junction from the entrance, which was also close to the Cloudstrider Sect's stand, and evaluated the stall. It wasn't too far from the entrance, and it wasn't smack dab in the middle of the junction like the ones a few sects were fighting over nearby. It would work perfectly. Unfortunately...

"It's booked pretty heavily..." Guy sighed. There were already five sects eying the location. Right as he was about to move away, Markus briskly walked forward, picked up the charcoal writing utensil hanging off the stall's signboard, wrote down 'True World Sect' on it and took a step back to admire his work.

The moment his hands touched the charcoal, seven groups of eyes turned simultaneously and targeted Guy and him with enough force to bore a hole through them.

Guy gulped audibly, 'I have a bad feeling about this...'