Sect Leader's Rise to the top!

Kai looked at the Northern area on the map with interest. It spanned a fairly large portion of their territory but only had three villages whereas the other regions within their territory had upwards of ten villages each. Kai became suspicious the more he thought about it. As exciting as the proposal was, there had to be a catch.

"Why only the villages on the Northern border?...", Kai asked carefully.

The Sect Leader sighed and looked towards Wu Minglai. When she noticed this, she turned back to Kai to explain.

"The Western region is ruled by the Iron Hands Sect. We're on neutral terms with them, however, if we suddenly bestow a village on this border to an unfamiliar power, they may see this as a threat. The South is currently a battleground between ourselves and the Roaring Sands Sect, and there is nothing but rough coasts towards the east. The main reason why we offered the Northern region is that there is currently no ruling sect or power towards our North..."

Kai nodded his head in understanding but was still suspicious. "I am new to these parts so forgive my ignorance, but if there isn't a ruling sect in the North, why hasn't the Twin-Lions Sect or any others claimed this region yet?..."

Wu Minglai walked forward. "Truthfully, the land up north is completely barren of Qi. You will find neither beast nor plant in that region as it is not conducive to growing crops. Cultivation is also impossible there so both mortals and cultivators are not interested in it."

Just as Kai was about to complain about how they wanted to give him a village in a useless place, Wu Minglai spoke up. "However, the villages in question are still within our territory, they're just close to the northern border, but the land there is still fertile and Qi does flow in that place..."

"The North is not strategic in any way, nor does it have any special or particularly useful resources. However, they do have a bandit problem that I hope you can resolve during your stay. Of course, all proceeds from the village would go to you as the Master of the Village.". Said the Sect leader with an enticing tone.

Kai immediately understood what was going on. Instead of wasting their time and resources on defending these northern villages, they would rather just make it Kai's problem under the guise of giving it to him as a reward. This way, they would get a free enforcer without actually having to do any work or spend any money. Kai was impressed by how thought out their plan was. They likely knew that he would reject their invitation to join them and had come up with this as a way of keeping him around indirectly. 

"What legitimate claim will I have over the village and its land?. Also, what are their annual proceeds like?.", Kai asked seriously. It didn't seem like such a bad idea, but he still wanted to get as much information as possible.

The Sect Leader looked at Kai curiously, then he responded with a smile. "I am the one who has bestowed it to you. However, the village and its lands will be yours to do with as you wish. As for the annual proceeds, you can discuss this with Wu Minglai. Lastly, any who challenges your authority or ownership will be viewed as indirectly challenging my authority...", As he spoke, the air in the room shook and his voice became deeper.

Kai gulped and decided not to ask any more questions. This was a decent deal for him as well. Not only would he gain land to start up his sect, but he would also have the indirect protection of the Twin Lions Sect without having to fight in their wars or teach their students.

Kai accepted the deal and was given the paperwork for the village transfer. 

Later that evening, Kai was seated in a dimly lit room with papers strewn all over the large desk.

"So you say I can't claim full ownership over the Village", Kai asked Wu Minglai who was quietly seated across from him. The two of them had moved over to a private meeting room where they were discussing the finer details of the village transfer.

Wu Minglai placed the new stack of papers on the table with a smile then spoke, "That's right, but we can get around it if we just register the land under a sect that has you as the leader".

"Is it that easy to start up a sect?", Kai asked curiously. This was indeed his goal, but he didn't know if he was ready to start up a sect yet.

However, Wu Minglai chuckled when she noticed his worried face. 

"Starting a sect isn't that big of a deal. I've started three different sects in my life..."

"Three?!", Kai was dumbstruck, he had a million questions flowing through his mind but didn't know which one to ask first.

. 

Wu Minglai smiled when she noticed his confused face and decided to explain more. "Once you reach the Foundation Establishment Stage, you are entitled to establish a sect. It is as easy as paying the fees and picking a name. The real difficulty is meeting the growth targets needed to remain registered as a sect".

"Mrs. Wu, I have not yet heard this from my Master. Do you think you could explain it to me in detail?", Kai said while perpetuating his lie.

Wu Minglai grinned while nodding her head. "Certainly, it's no problem. Before you can register a sect, you must have a piece of an unoccupied or conquered land. Proof of this claim is then sent to the continent's rulers, the Golden Arhat Sect. Once they have accepted your claim, you must register at least two disciples at Qi-Condensation Stage or higher as well as start paying an annual tribute. This is enough to have your sect running for the first year."

Kai nodded his head while taking mental notes of everything she was saying. "What about the second year?", Kai asked curiously.

Wu Minglai was surprised by the question. 'Wasn't he just looking for a way to get the village into his name? or does he genuinely intend on starting a sect?'. Wu Minglai wasn't sure but decided to entertain his questions and see where this went.

"In the second year, your sect must participate in the annual Regional Sect tournament. You must do this for a minimum of five straight years. During this time, your Sect must not miss or place the last two years in a row. If you do, the sect will be immediately disbanded. By the end of the five years, you must have trained or acquired a total of twenty or more disciples at the Qi-Condensation stage or higher. This is the bare minimum required to keep a sect registered as a small sect".

"If your sect falls below the minimum member requirement for more than five years, it will be immediately disbanded. If you also fail to pay the tribute for more than a year, the sect will be disbanded, and depending on the reason, may face even harsher punishment. Did you get all of that?..."

Kai nodded his head. "I did, but I'm still not sure what benefits there are for registering...", Kai said curiously. He was wondering why he should even bother registering a sect in the first place if all it entailed was paying tributes and having to follow rules.

"The registration rules are only there to weed out the useless sects. For any competent sect that is built on a strong foundation, the rules and tributes are not even worth mentioning. However, to answer your question, being registered gives you a legitimate claim over the lands you conquer, as well as other more attractive benefits such as entry into special markets and sect-only expeditions that could reward you with unimaginably powerful treasures". 

"However, unregistered groups or sects that try to claim land and resources on this continent will be considered as foreign invaders and can be severely dealt with by the Golden Arhat Sect...". Wu Minglai said the last few words with visible fear on her face.

Kai nodded his head in understanding. In short, it's because the continent's owners said so and they'd beat the asses of those who didn't comply. 

"Why don't they deal with the bandit problems then? aren't they considered as foreign invaders?", Kai asked with some suspicion. If the Golden Arhat sect was so powerful, why were there still regions where bandits did as they pleased?".

Wu Minglai shook her head softly.

"The Golden Arhat sect takes a passive stance when it comes to territorial disputes and banditry. Some of the larger bandit groups are even registered as official sects and pay the very same tributes. There are quite a few stories of powerful bandits turned sect leaders, so it's not as rare as one might think."

Kai felt that he understood the continent's power dynamics a lot better after listening.

The Golden Arhat Sect essentially ruled everything but allowed any sect registered under them the ability to fight for land in exchange for tributes. The ruling sects can also govern the lands in any way they see fit without the worry of the Golden Arhat Sect ever getting involved in their business. It was a pretty good deal considering the circumstances.

Kai nodded his head again then looked down at the documents he had been handed. When his eyes fell on the annual tribute amount, Kai almost fell off his chair. To his complete surprise, they were both in Qi-Crystals!. 

"Do they only accept Qi-Crystals for the tribute?", Kai asked worriedly. He only had three Qi-Crystals to his name yet the registration fee alone needed ten. As if that wasn't bad enough, Kai would also have to pay 240 Qi-Crystals for the first year. That was a whopping 20 Qi-Crystals a month.

Just as Kai was thinking about canceling their agreement, Wu Minglai clapped her hands once and handed Kai another stack of papers. "We will handle the registration fee and the first year's tribute as a favor to you, so you don't have to worry about that".

Kai sighed in relief and thanked her when he heard this. They had at least bought him a year to figure out his Qi-Crystal problems. Kai wasn't worried about gold, but Qi-Crystals was a completely different issue. 

One couldn't just buy Qi-Crystals with gold in this remote region of the continent, so Kai tried to ask Wu Minglai how the Twin Lions Sect made their Qi-Crystals. Unsurprisingly, Wu Minglai simply refused to share that information. It turned out that the information was a classified sect secret that she couldn't share with him, so Kai could only accept it.

"However, what I can give you is general information that everyone knows... Once your sect had been registered, you can head over to this location and you'll find a way to make some Qi-Crystals.", Wu Minglai spoke in a quiet voice while handing Kai a small, handwritten note. Kai thanked her and quickly put the note away.

Kai picked up the brush and gave it some thought. He was not very creative when it came to naming things, but he had the name of his sect in mind for a long time now".

Kai moved the brush over the paper and drew the necessary characters. When he was done, Kai handed it over to Wu Minglai who read it out loud curiously.

"Heavy Cloud Sect?...". Wu Minglai questioned with some interest.

Kai nodded his head wisely and explained with his eyes closed. "Heavy Clouds can represent either life-giving rains...Or devastating storms that leave nothing but mayhem and destruction in their wake."

Wu Minglai couldn't tell if Kai was serious or joking, but decided to be a lot warier of this mysterious young man.