That year's Sains Continent Magic Industry Sector Forum was once again a grand gathering that drew the attention of every country on the continent, and even of everyone living there.
According to the previously published list, the Xinfei Merchant Guild had publicly invited a total of fifty-seven countries and as many as three hundred and twenty-six merchant guild delegations to attend. Those alone brought the number of participants to over two thousand.
The number of people who had not received a public invitation from the Xinfei Merchant Guild and did not appear on the published list far exceeded even that figure.
Meanwhile, newspapers everywhere sent reporters to cover the forum, drawing everyone's attention to it all the more.
With so much attention focused on the event, an announcement issued by the Xinfei Merchant Guild's Industry Forum Organizing Committee the day before the forum officially opened naturally spread swiftly and caught everyone's notice.
The Xinfei Merchant Guild's Industry Forum Organizing Committee announced that the Ashur Duchy's eligibility to attend the forum had been revoked, and that it would be barred from all future industry forums held by the Xinfei Merchant Guild.
The moment this news spread, it caused an uproar.
The Sains Continent Magic Industry Sector Forum was now in its fifth year. Since the Xinfei Merchant Guild's aim had always been to use the Industry Forum to exchange ideas and promote the magic industry sector, it had expanded its invitation list each year and consistently welcomed the active participation of any country or merchant guild that wished to enter the sector.
Under that guiding principle, the Industry Forum had attracted more and more delegates, and naturally grown ever larger. Everything could be said to be moving in a very promising direction.
Yet this year, the Xinfei Merchant Guild had suddenly