Conflict

The arrival of the new students had injected vitality into the entire Northern Heavens Soul Academy, and organizations of all sizes were recruiting.

Joining an organization required regular payment of "membership fees," which amounted to the members' offerings to their organization's leader.

For new students, membership fees were no small expense, enough to make their hearts ache.

Of course, there were benefits as well.

Since the powerful older students in an organization enjoyed the offerings of its members, they naturally had an obligation to protect them.

If a junior was bullied and they did not help him recover his pride, the organization's cohesion would decline, making it harder to recruit people. That would reduce the offerings received by the older students and harm their interests.

Moreover, after joining an organization, it was easier to find partners to complete missions with.

A healthy organization was never merely the oppression of those below by those above. Such organizations could not last long. A balance of gains and losses was the norm.

Of course, overall, it was the stronger older students oppressing and exploiting the weaker new students. The existence of organizations merely made this exploitation and oppression more orderly, keeping it within certain limits.

Outside the Spirit Value Hall, groups of older students wandered about. They sought out new students who had yet to join an organization and "borrowed" Spirit Value from them.

Distinguishing older students from new ones was simple: they only needed to see whether there was a badge on their chest representing an "organization."

After the new students had been enrolled for some time, wearing an organization badge on one's chest had become an unwritten rule among the older students.

Without a badge, it was easy to attract trouble—unless your face alone was enough to make older students back