"The feeling of security and achievement can be a double-edged weapon," William said, reading their minds like open books. He stepped to the edge of the stage to clarify his point.

"The sheer number of masters each faction has gained and the huge success you’ve achieved lately, can be intoxicating. It can lead to deterioration of the spirit and a softening of the will.

We cannot afford to be soft. So, instead of these bloated, independent factions, we will rebuild the entire concept into two primary streams: the Black and Golden Faction Tails."

He began to explain the new architecture of power. The Black Faction Tails would include any spirit master from any faction who had reached the absolute pinnacle of the Dark Gold spirit grade and was on the cusp of ascension.

These would be the strike force, the masters who would join the rigorous, high-intensity training with the Blue Purgators to overcome the final bottleneck.

"As for the Golden Faction Tails," William continued, "they will consist of the other high-tier masters above the Gold grade who are still consolidating their power. The rest of the guild will form the main body of the factions.

I don’t need to tell you the importance of each group; your position in these Tails will determine your priority for resources and your role when we finally ascend."

William had started the meeting speaking of training for ascension, moved to the harsh laws of the upper realm, and was now ending by carving his grandiose factions into organised, specialised inner groups. His message was piercingly clear: There is no time to waste.

If anyone wanted to achieve a grand state in the upper realm, if any of the newer members felt they had missed the early golden days of the Fox Guild, then this was their once-in-a-lifetime chance to make up for it.

Regardless of what any faction leader had achieved in the lower realm, the scoreboard would be wiped clean the moment they ascended. The race to secure a higher status in the guild started today, based on the metrics William was now laying down.

"And to organise everything even better," he added, his voice regaining that domineering edge, "and to properly absorb the grand pool of talents waiting for us in the smaller realms we’ve recently gained, we must establish the Major Factions."

He moved his eyes around, picking out his most trusted spirit masters and explaining his intentions for the new global hierarchy.

"Anjie will lead the Royalty Faction," he began, gesturing toward the girl who had performed with such staggering brilliance in the recent war.

"Any former royal family member, high-ranking noble, or affiliated master force from the conquered worlds will be placed under her banner. She knows the language of power and the weight of a crown."

Then he turned his eyes toward Berry and Sara. "For any academic institution or research-based group, Sara’s faction will absorb them. She will lead the Scholarly Faction.

For any big, ancient clans with deep bloodlines, Berry’s faction will absorb them into the Heritage Faction. As for any master groups focused on high-impact, frontline warfare, Ro’s faction will take them into the Vanguard Faction.

And Lara’s faction will accept the administrators, those masters who previously ruled the big towns and cities, forming the Governance Faction."

William turned toward Lang, his expression softening slightly with respect as he looked at the man who had been with him since the humblest of beginnings. "Any common master without power backing, without a strong clan or academy, and those solitary masters who have wandered the world alone, all will join under your banner. You will lead the Commoner Faction."

He was giving Lang the privilege he had truly earned through blood and absolute loyalty. In terms of sheer size alone, Lang’s faction would likely dwarf the others; the world was filled with masters who lacked noble lineages or prestigious schooling.

However, the main problem was the overall power level within such a group. Compared to the refined elites of the royalty, clan, or other big factions, Lang’s masters greatly paled in terms of power.

Yet, William didn’t mind that at all. He knew that in the middle of a massive, unrefined pool, gems must exist. It just took time and an incredible amount of patience to sift through the gravel to find the diamonds.

Those were two qualities Lang excelled at, precisely because of his own humble origins and his journey from the bottom to the inner circle of the Fox Guild.

Just as William finished speaking, a hush fell over the assembly as Fang stepped forward. The old, powerful master, who usually remained a silent pillar of strength, cleared his throat and asked to join Lang’s grand faction officially.

It was a totally unexpected move that sent ripples of surprise through the crowd. Before anyone could object, Fang explained his reasoning simply: he, too, had come from a humble origin. He had started as nothing, a nameless boy with a weak spirit, and had clawed his way to the pinnacle of his world.

Simply like that, Lang’s grand faction gained a legendary powerhouse in one go. The symbolic weight of Fang joining the Commoners Faction was immeasurable; it told every nameless master in the guild that their origin was not their destiny. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

It wasn’t just about Fang, either. William knew that every single lower realm attached to this Medium World possessed a wealth of secluded, high-end masters.

These were the old monsters who lived in caves and deep forests, avoiding the politics of empires, kingdoms, even academies and clans. While the lower worlds had taken a severe hit from the Fox’s scheme lately, they were far from void of top-tier talent.

In fact, William suspected the main reason humanity hadn’t perished entirely was the silent presence of these reclusive masters who had fought back from the shadows.

He knew that if a royal or a clan head tried to rope these top masters in, they would refuse out of pride and differences in viewpoints and beliefs. But if the invitation came from someone like Fang, they would eventually join.

The greatest trump card William held was the promise of fulfilling their lifelong dream: the chance to finally ascend to the Upper Realm.