Which ones of your conductors are joined in order to form a single conductor?
all of them.
If you had 2 sets of wires run to every outlet mentioned in the OP (recep-light-recep-light-recep) and then back to breaker, I would agree that these are in parallel. But that's not the case. Simply put, you have a parallel circuit but not parallel conductors.
You have segments of conductors but electrically they are joined together and are essentially one. You don't join them with resistors do you, and you try to make good connections so there is no resistance don't you?
What are basic electrical circuit components. Conductors, insulators, resistors, inductors, capacitors.
Put devices in the circuit and what you have is conductors surrounded by insulator. You do not have resistors, inductors, or capacitors.
Everyone is getting stuck on calling an individual length of 'wire' a conductor. When connecting it to other individual conductive components you are extending the conductor.
When making a 310.4 compliant parallel conductor you are just being more particular at making the resistance of the two parts of the 'conductor' the same.
You must also remember that whatever you join the two 'wires' together with are part of the 'parallel conductor', otherwise they will never become 'one conductor'.