It didn't take long for Rean's group to arrive at the Iron and Blood district of the Outer Sect. As for Hulian, he left a long time ago. It would be too weird to have him showing the twins' rooms, after all. The rooms were pretty simple, but more than enough for each of the kids.
Rean and Roan didn't spend too long in there. As soon as they were familiarized with the place, they went to the sect entrance, where Alanda was waiting together with all the other adults.
Alanda noticed the two coming his way.
"So, how is it?"
Roan nodded.
"Except for some crazy girls of the blue whatever district, the rest is pretty much fine."
Rean then took out a token from his waist and passed it to Alanda.
"This token is the proof that the Varen Tribe has at least one of its members in the Dalamu Sect. As long as you have it, none of the tribes will dare to touch it. This should be more than enough deterrence to the Big Tribe that controls the area where our Varen Tribe is located."
Alanda took the token from Rean's hands as if it was some kind of treasure.
"This is great!"
Rean then continued.
"However, it is only valid for a period of three years. After that, someone from the Tribe has to come back and ask for another one. That's because the Sect can't guarantee that we will be alive after this period. In case we are dead, they won't need to look out for the Varen Tribe anymore."
Alanda didn't mind.
"That's okay, considering your strength, I don't think you will die anytime soon. Not to mention, we have three members in the Damalu Sect. You, Roan, and Malaka. How unluck do we need to be for all three of you to die?"
Rean agreed with Alanda. With this, their parents and the Tribe should be safe for the time being. With the steel business running in the Astreg city, the Tribe will have a lot of time to grow until it reaches a point to defend itself.
"Anyway, what about Malaka?"
Rean then explained the Blue Orchid Faction issue.
"I see, so she will probably stay there for a while. Anyway, that might be something good as well."
Rean and Roan then talked with Alanda for a while longer.
"Alright. I guess this is all for now. I'll go back to the Tribe to tell everyone the good news. If anything happens, just send us a letter. I doubt it will be a problem considering the Dalamu Sect resources. Also, make sure to take care of that sunny girl."
The twins nodded, and they bid their farewell.
It was still early, so they decided to check what the Iron and Blood District and other places had to offer. Rean and Roan went in different directions to cover a bigger area too. After all, they could simply talk through their soul connection with the Soul Gem System. In the end, it offered an array of benefits. However, to use them, you would need Sect Points. They could be earned in a plethora of ways. Completing missions, helping with the Sect's affairs, etc.
"They even have energy gathering formation rooms. I heard from the guy taking care of the place that it is almost the same as using Rank two or even Rank three Spirit Stones depending on the room you select. However, a single hour inside costs quite a lot. The cheapest one goes for 10 points/hour with the most expensive being 100/hour."
Roan nodded.
"From what I found, the fastest way to get Sect Points is to complete missions. Obviously, the more dangerous, the more points you get. The tasks go by ranks. Rank One missions give 50 to 100 points, Rank Two gives 100 to 200, Rank Three 200 to 400, and so on."
"There are higher ranks, but our level is far from that. Rank Four Missions, for example, would need cultivation at the Advanced Foundation Establishment, at least. Rank Five can only be taken after you enter the Core Formation. This would be things with danger level similar or higher to that Inferno Wolf."
"At our level, Rank three would be the available choices. Of course, with our strength, there wouldn't be a problem taking Rank Four missions. But it seems like we need some kind of permissions from the elders to apply for those. That is to prevent low-level sect members from killing themselves because they think they are stronger than they really are."
Rean agreed with the Sect's rule.
Roan then continued.
"The Sect gets most of its income from those missions. Other than points, you also receive Spirit Stones from the employers. The Sect then takes 30% of it. That's how they keep all the formations and other things running."
Rean nodded.
"That's okay. We don't need to worry much about Spirit Stones. Once I get free time, I'll go back to Majorias City to deal with this problem."
"That aside, there are also cultivation techniques and skills repository. As you can guess, to have access to their manuals, you will need Sect Points. The manuals can't be brought outside. You need to read and memorize without leaving the place. The number of points required depends on what you read too."
Roan wasn't surprised by that.
"That's fine. Oh, right! I found something you might be interested in. There is a place outside the districts where you can learn side occupations. Alchemy, Blacksmith, Formations, Talismans, etc..."
Rean's eyes lit up!
"Really? I'm going to take a look at the Blacksmith one later. I want to see what a sect of this size can do."
Roan then continued.
"Another good thing you can find here is the arenas. That is also the place you must go if you want to ascend to the Inner Sect. The Sect seems to have a battle score system that is used to find who is worthy of going up. From the looks of it, only cultivation is not enough. The Inner Sect has a predetermined number of cultivators. So if you want to go up, you will need to defeat one of them."
"You can challenge anyone in there. However, it seems like the Inner Sect has only 1000 members. So you can imagine that they are not easy to deal with. Also, to challenge them, you need to pay an enormous number of Sect Points."
"Those two girls guarding the Blue Orchid District's entrance had cultivations at the Advanced Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. As you probably noticed, those two were definitely stronger than ordinary Advanced Stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. Still, they are only outer sect disciples."
"That's not all. To prevent unfairness, you can not challenge anyone more than 1 year younger than you. Otherwise, there would be 19 to 20 years old cultivators challenging 10 to 12 years old kids. That can not happen. They are not stronger, they just had more time to cultivate."
Rean had to admit that such a system was necessary.
"That's good enough. Technically, we are 12 years old. Or at least, that's what we registered in the Sect as. Have you checked those at 12 or higher? Or, right! There are no restrictions if a younger Outer Sect cultivator wants to challenge an older Inner Sect one, yea?"
Roan confirmed.
"Exactly. Only the opposite is prohibited, the other way around is okay."
Roan continued.
"As for the other question, there is no one under 14 years old in the Inner Sect at the moment. Also, their cultivation is already at the Late Stage of the Foundation Establishment at the very least."
Rean couldn't help but sigh.
"As expected of a cultivators sect. From what I can see, the outer Sect definitely has tens of thousands of disciples. I found it weird considering how many passed the last Sect Entrance. But after asking around, that was because elder Hulian's tests are usually the hardest ones and rarely rely on the kid's cultivation. During other elders' tests, it is not uncommon to see over 3000 kids entering the Sect at once."
Roan didn't mind that, though.
"Anyway. There is one last thing about the Inner Sect. Those outer sect disciples above 20 years old can't enter the Inner Sect anymore. If you fail and go past this age, you only have two options. You can leave the Sect or try to become an outer sect elder. Either way, your future in the Dalamu Sect is pretty much over at that point. Well, it's not like it matters to us anyhow."
Rean agreed with Roan. If they couldn't become simple Inner Sect Disciples by the age of 20, then forget about joining the Universe's two halves.
The day quickly passed. The first day in the Sect was pretty much free so that the new disciples could go around to learn more about it. But starting from the next day, all new Iron and Blood disciples would understand why it is called the hardest faction. It is to the point that it became the faction with the least number of disciples after the Blue Orchid.