The Martial Unity

"I accept that offer." Rui nodded.

Sian smiled in return. "We are pleased to hear that."

"But I do want to iron out the details of our agreement." Rui insisted. "I want to make sure that there is absolute clarity on precisely what the transaction is."

He did not want to end up in a situation where he inadvertently agreed to conditions that he would never have wanted to, all because he didn't pay attention.

Over the next few hours, the two of them dug deep into the details of their agreement, pouring over every detail, each side making sure that their interests were not disenfranchised.

It wasn't long before the deal was sealed, and the two of them signed an extensive contract detailing every clause that the two of them had come to agree to.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Senior Falken," She smiled at him, shaking his hand. "As long as you fulfill the payment of your commission, I can promise you that you will not find us lacking."

"I look forward to that day," Rui nodded. "Ah, one more thing. How much payment would it take for the Beggar's Sect to not sell any information on me to anybody?"

Rui was particularly concerned with this matter. Although their contract included a confidentiality clause that disallowed the sale of any information pertaining to the contract, they still had plenty of sensitive information on him that could be sold.

Just the fact that they were aware of his Falken alias was too much. If Master Uma ever chose to shop at the Beggar's Sect for information on Squire Falken, then she might end up acquiring information on him.

That was definitely an outcome that he needed to avoid allowing to unfold.

"That will add more time of additional service provision on your part and it will only apply to the information that we have gathered at this moment." She calmly replied. "If you want to prevent the sale of your information, and hamper our business, then you'll have to compensate us accordingly."

She didn't even bother hiding the fact that his information would be sold if someone commissioned it. That was something that could not be denied and not something they cared to deny in the first place.

"I accept that price." Rui nodded.

Another session of contract forming ensued before both sides were satisfied with the second auxiliary agreement.

"Well then," She remarked. "If you do not have any further matters of business with us, then we can conclude this meeting. I believe I have comprehensively explained the system by which you can begin fulfilling your commission payment."

Rui nodded.

Essentially, the Beggar's Sect had a system similar to the Martial Union, where he could pick and choose certain operations and missions to partake in. This system was quite effective and was universally adopted by many organizations in many ways. He would need to go to a particular complex establishment in the book section of the Derimont Bazaar where operations that he could choose to engage in were held.

Unlike the Martial Union, however, these operations were not commissions from other clientele but were operations from and for the Beggar's Sect itself. It gave him insight into what the Beggar's Sect's interests and agendas were, as well as what their needs were, so he wasn't averse to this arrangement.

The Beggar's Sect probably relied on the Martial Art services provided by Martial Artists who purchased information from them to fulfill operations that were too impractical and impossible for ordinary humans. It was a bit of a symbiotic relationship, he came to realize.

That was one of the reasons he wasn't too concerned about the sale of his information, this relationship was very valuable to the Beggar's Sect, they most likely would rather avoid alienating Martial Artists by selling their intelligence to foreign parties.

All in all, Rui was quite content with the arrangements that they had come to, the Beggar's Sect struck him as a no-nonsense highly competent organization that got straight to business.

"From now on, I will be your point of correspondence with our sect," Sian informed him. "I'll be responsible for providing you with updates on your commission, while also being responsible for ensuring that you fulfill your commission payment. I look forward to working with your, Senior Falken."

"As do I."

"You may begin your fulfillment of available operations and missions to undertake immediately if you wish." She remarked. "I can help guide you as you acclimatize to this system. You may let me know if there are any particular kinds of missions that you are interested in."

Rui considered her words for a few seconds. "I wanted to undertake some assassination operations. Particularly, assassination operations on targets that are protected by Martial Seniors."

These kinds of missions were relevant to taking Chairman Deacon down.

She narrowed her eyes. "Those kinds of missions are generally reserved for higher-grade Martial Artists who are able to overcome multiple Martial Seniors to assassinate those targets. I'm afraid we cannot entrust you with those yet."

Rui nodded. He was aware that he wasn't entirely qualified for more difficult Senior-level missions. He still needed to gather more experience and develop his Martial Art even more to become even stronger. It didn't help that his youth meant that his Martial Heart was certainly on the weaker side as well.

Training to grow stronger was just as important as experience. What he wanted was to balance both of them out from here on out. That automatically meant that he couldn't pick missions that would take away too much of his time. It was best to go for missions that he was most compatible with and that he could complete quicker than other Martial Seniors by relying on his many strengths.

He also had to pick a path forward in regard to the three choices he had when it came to developing his Martial Art.

He glanced at Sian. "How much can the Beggar's Sect help me with growing stronger and developing my Martial Art? Can you provide me with learning and growth resources when it comes to Martial Art techniques in specific fields like mental techniques, and assassination techniques? Can you procure information on powerful esoteric substances such as primordial seed?"