Book 9: Chapter 91: Spirit (2)
Back within Star Quadrant, the parliament gathering the Mortal Plane Federation were still going strong. It had already been several weeks of daily meetings, but there always seemed to be numerous more small details to sort.Several laws had to be put in place, loopholes had to be sealed, and viewpoints had to be configured such that everyone was on the same page. One had to remember that this Federation would eventually become the board that pieced the territories of the tower quadrants, it was impossible for them to not be diligent.First, the point system had to be created and vetted.As the point of the Federation was essentially to train up youthful geniuses, the missions had to be chosen as such. However, at the same time, there was little point in completing empty missions. There had to be a balance of safety and difficulty that cultivated better geniuses for the sake of their future. In addition, the completed missions also had to benefit the Federation as a whole.There was no surprise with the fact that the Star Clan’s constructed point system had many holes shot through it. Yet, despite being the target of scrutiny, King Star simply smiled and nodded, making his own opinions clear but also accepting that of others.In the end, the parliament decided on what they called the Golden Formula. This formula calculated the value of a universe based on its age, resources, potential for growth and energy density.The result gained from this Golden Formula was then multiplied by unit distance. This distance represented the gap between a Clan or Sect’s outer boundary and this universe in question. Of course, the shortest distance possible was taken.A universe that was directly adjacent and within the same quadrant received a value of 1. A universe that was directly adjacent but within a separate quadrant received a value of 10. Like this, every quadrant boundary represented a 10 times multiplier while every common universe boundary was a jump of a single fold.Simply put, if the shortest distance between two universes was a path crossing 3 universes, then the value of the Golden Formula would be multiplied by 4. Like this, Clans were forced to ‘conquer’ universes closest to them before approaching other universes. This gave those of the Federation ample time to focus on protecting their own territories before thinking of expanding.Once one gets into the complexities of such things, it became very obvious why the meetings would continue for so long. In fact, the second task was even more complex.After setting the point calculation as a foundation, the Laws of the Federation had to be set.What were the violations? What would happen if a Clan or Sect refused to give up territory bought with points by another Clan or Sect? In the case they needed to go to war with this Clan or Sect, who would send warriors? How many needed to send warriors? How would they decide who and how many?There were other considerations as well. For example, a Federation was by definition a group of territories that allied themselves, but also governed under their own rules. So, how much freedom should each territory receive? Would they have overarching rules everyone needed to follow? Or would there be absolute freedom?Then came the most important aspect of the meeting: when the Ancient Battlefield descended, how would they work together? When others were on the verge of collapse, would they help? How would they punish those who took advantage of the Federation when it was convenient, but ignored their brotherhood after the fact?For such matters, concepts such as embassies and ambassadors were floated around. One of the main decisions made within the parliament was to allow free exchange of information and free travel between their territories, a matter that was made extremely convenient thanks the Epistemic Tower.Of course, it was very obvious to Amphorae and Luna, even without Lyla having to tell them, that everyone was just curious about the Sacharro Clan. Just what kind of place was their territory?They remembered a few days ago that King Star had tried to introduce an amendment that would state that universes such as the 99th and 100th which were uninhabited shouldn’t be privy to the distance multiplier.But, that was when Amphorae surprisingly rebutted and said the 99th universe was actually territory of the Sacharro Clan. Of course, her explanation made sense. The strongest members here knew that the former 20th ranked Universe was once Celestial Deer Sect territory. In fact, King Star was clearly aware of this as well. It was obvious he was simply testing the Sacharro Clan to find out more about them.These matters only made those in attendance even more curious about the Sacharro Clan.“Now I believe we’ve combed through the most important aspects of our Federation, so I think it’s time I tell you all about something incredibly important.” King Star suddenly said during the third week.“I will be transparent with you all. Much like we are doing our best to prepare for the descent of the Ancient Battlefield, so too are the outer powers trying their best.“I promise you all that your territories here will remain untouched by those of the outside world, but I believe it would be foolish to ignore them completely. Remember, it is also in their best interest that we grow stronger… After all, the battle against those Clans is a war against our entire Mortal Plane…”The eyes of the Heads narrowed.“The Sprite Alliance is willing to take in some top geniuses who perform well and provide them extra opportunities. What do you all think about this?”