Arthur escorted the three of them out of his house. Then he returned to Roar while still thinking about the things he heard.
He thought to himself, "I wonder why I was given the S-grade invitation."
Then he said to Roar, "The first thing I should do if I do join an alliance is to ask them to help me gather information about the other people in the S grade. Those will be my true competitors."
Roar didn't understand what he was saying, and the poor dog was too tired to care. Arthur chuckled when he saw his listless behavior. Then he went into the kitchen to grab some food for Roar.
His house has a storehouse that has been stocked with food. There is even a whole cow frozen in a container. He knew all of these by going through the information about his house on his identity card.
He took half of the cow and put it out in the sun to thaw. Then he roasted the half and gave the bulk of it to Roar.
As he ate the meat, he continued where he left off reading the rule book of the sect. This time, he was more interested in what the sect's attitude towards alliances was.
What he discovered was that there was no mention of alliances in the rule book. Apparently, alliances were not recognized as a separate entity within the sect.
At most, alliances were a group of disciples. There was no fundamental difference between an alliance and a group of sect members. There was no institutional support or framework for them.
This corroborated what Elder Bloodhound had said about alliances. They were just a club of sect disciples.
He changed his focus from alliances to the rules of the sect. What he read was more detailed than what was in the contract he signed earlier in the day.
For example, in the contract, it was stated that if he killed a fellow sect member, he had to report it to the sect. The murder would be investigated by the sect, and judgment would be made based on the results of the investigation.
But it didn't state in the contract who exactly he should report to. The rule book made this and many other things clear.
The rule book stated that, technically, he could report the murder to any elder, and if an elder is not available, he should report to any service hall. But the best place to report to is the law enforcement hall.
It is also the law enforcement hall that will perform the investigation. They wouldn't be the ones to judge him, as that would be the responsibility of the outer sect council of elders, but they would be the ones to execute the punishment if there is any.
There was more useful information like that. He spent the rest of his evening reading the rule book while Roar gnawed on bones. Then he went to bed.
The following morning, he woke up early and went to the lecture hall. He went without Roar because he didn't know what his day would entail, and he didn't want Roar to walk around all day.
By 6:30 am, he reached the lecture hall. The sun was already in the sky by this time, so the day was bright.
He went to the receptionist to find out where he should go. The receptionist directed him to the room in the lecture hall.
The lecture hall was a building with six floors. On each floor, there were many rooms with sizes ranging from basketball courts to small ones the size of volleyball courts.
The room he was assigned to was the smallest one. It was about the size of a volleyball court. He had to gain access to it with his identity card. When he entered it, he found someone waiting there for him.
The person waiting was a lady wearing a black robe. It indicated her identity as an elder. It was a good means of identification because he wouldn't have guessed that she was an elder due to her being so young.
She also had blue hair and blue eyes. Lightning was crackling in her hair, which made it stand on end.
She was sitting on a cushion with her eyes closed when he saw her. She opened her blue eyes and fixed them on him as soon as he entered the room.
He bowed to her quickly, "Good morning."
She nodded and said, "Sit."
He closed the door behind him and went to sit on one of the cushions arranged before her.
As soon as he sat down, she began speaking. She started with a question.
"Why do you think you were given an S-grade invitation?"
He thought about it and said, "I think it was because of divine strength."
Maybe he would have said it was because his performance was extraordinary in the regional sect examination before he came to the sect and learned a lot about the S-grade. But now he is certain that performance in the regional sect examination is a criterion for normal people.
He still remembers what Blood Root said yesterday, so he is certain that no matter how well normal people perform now, it is a fact that they cannot be the best of the best. So the only reason why he would be given an S-grade invitation is that he is extraordinary and special.
She nodded. "You are correct. You were determined to be special because of your extraordinary strength and physique, but that is not the entire reason."
She held up her hand to show three fingers and said, "You were given the S grade invitation for three reasons. A single reason is enough to be special. Three reasons have put a lot of burden on me to help you reach your full potential."
He was briefly distracted by the sight of blue lightning trailing her skin and flashing underneath her skin when she held up her hand, but he made sure to focus on her and hear what she was saying.