"Do you know about the Eastern Domain School Joint Conference?"
Xiling asked.
"Joint Conference?" Leilin repeated the name. In the Dark Domain, parliamentary systems were prevalent — in truth, these were the products of compromise between forces large and small.
Just from the literal meaning, one could roughly grasp what it entailed, and there had been some mention of it among the memories he'd absorbed from Ailin.
"Sorry, I've been wandering around the border regions of various domains and wasn't very clear on these matters. But I have heard vague things — it's a joint conference where multiple schools come together to rank themselves and divide up interests, right?" Leilin replied.
"Exactly!" The wry smile on Xiling's face deepened. "The Joint Conference! It's a grand event for the entire Eastern Domain wizard world. Every twenty years, all the schools in the Eastern Domain gather together, presided over by nine Executive Committee members, to mediate conflicts, re-elect seats, divide territories, and so on..."
"Even the school rankings are determined at the Joint Conference! Any school that isn't a major one can submit an application for evaluation. As long as it passes verification, territories will be redistributed, bringing enormous benefits... And schools that no longer meet their current ranking will be demoted, forced to hand over most of their territories and profits to rising schools..."
"So, the thing you wanted my help with is this evaluation!" Leilin looked at Xiling thoughtfully.
"Yes, my lord!" Xiling bit her lip. "Because of my former mentor, our Nature's Alliance was ranked as a small school at the last Joint Conference. But my strength is far inferior to my mentor's, so our ranking might drop to the unrated tier at this conference. If that happens, we'd have to surrender most of our profits, and we wouldn't be able to sustain the education of so many apprentices. Nature's Alliance would gradually wither away..."
Through Xiling's explanation, Leilin gained a basic understanding of the ranking system.
Generally speaking, rankings were divided into four tiers: unrated, small school, medium school, and major school!
By Leilin's own estimation, any school with even a single official Wizard could be called unrated — these were also the most common wizard factions in the Dark Domain.
The tier above that, small schools, referred to factions like Nature's Alliance that possessed fixed profit-generating locations such as the Frost Cavern. These typically had several official Wizards or semi-elementalized Wizards presiding over them.
One step higher, medium schools were required to possess, at minimum, the combat strength of a peak First-level Wizard, to say nothing of other foundations.
As for major schools, those were the top-tier factions that boasted Second-level Wizards in their ranks. Since the establishment of the Joint Conference, the number of schools evaluated as major could be counted on one's fingers. Each such event brought massive upheaval and was fraught with Wizard casualties.
Moreover, evaluation wasn't strictly determined by cultivation realm, since a Wizard's combat strength didn't always align with their actual level.
Therefore, the evaluation was based entirely on real combat capability! It often required battles against opponents of equal standing, and the scenes were invariably bloody!
Of course, there was another method: submitting academic research materials that earned the approval of all nine committee members could also complete the evaluation. But this path was exceedingly difficult, and very few had succeeded through it.
Xiling's former mentor, it was said, possessed formidable combat power. Though he hadn't yet reached semi-elementalization, he had fought an actual semi-elementalized Wizard to a draw, so he was considered to possess semi-elementalized strength. Nature's Alliance was thus recognized as a small school, gaining mining rights over several small mineral veins and parcels of land.
If they were demoted in this year's evaluation, all of those resources would naturally be reclaimed. Without that support, Xiling alone certainly couldn't sustain the entire operation of Nature's Alliance. She had no choice but to seek outside help.
But semi-elementalized strength was considered elite even among First-level Wizards. Those who possessed it were mostly cultivated by other factions.
Though Xiling could rely on her personal charm to attract a few official Wizards, some of them weren't even as capable as she was — what use were they? And the rest had ulterior motives, like Streggley, which Xiling was wary of accepting.
Leilin's appearance had been a glimmer of hope for her.
"As long as my lord agrees to lead us to the Joint Conference! Everything of Nature's Alliance belongs to my lord — including me!" Xiling slowly removed her outer coat, revealing her alluring figure clad only in undergarments.
At this moment, her fair and delicate skin, partially concealed beneath translucent lingerie, appeared even more captivating. Combined with the expression of a martyr on her face, it inspired a powerful desire to ravage her.
"But why me? If that's the offer, I'm sure there are plenty of Wizards who'd be willing — that Streggley fellow, for example," Leilin said, his expression unchanged. For him, female company was merely a form of recreation, and after enjoying it often enough, he had long grown accustomed to it.
"If I'm going to sell myself regardless, I'd naturally sell to the stronger one! Streggley was also a candidate before, but he already had obligations to another school, and besides, his appearance is far too hideous!" Xiling answered bluntly and pragmatically.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Leilin applauded. "Smart! Rational! Pragmatic! Very well — I agree. I'll attend the School Joint Conference with you."
"Then, my lord! I am yours!"
Only now did a hint of blush finally appear on Xiling's face...
...
The next day, led by Xiling, Leilin toured the entirety of Nature's Alliance's headquarters. After that, he threw himself into the alliance's library and refused to come out.