Chapter 373: Priorities.
The elder that spoke didn't care that few people were willing to sell what they got to thr sect. He only cared that they had made the oath and that no one would do anything stupid like selling the things they got from the secret realm to others.
Selling those precious plants to outsiders is a bad idea because there is no place to buy them outside of thr sect. The only place to acquire them is within the sect, so it makes sense to maintain the circulation within the sect.
What's worse than selling to outsiders is giving those things away for free to outsiders. As ridiculous as it sounds, it has happened before.
Some people gave their things to family members outside of the sect. This might sound reasonable, but the elder doesn't think so.
The elder thinks it is an insult to give away things that many people died for. He thinks it is an insult to those people who risked their lives and died in the secret realm.
These are his thoughts, but as long as everyone prioritizes themselves first and use up what they gain on themselves, then he and the sect will be satisfied. So after speaking and seeing only two people out of 986 present came forward to sell, he didn't get angry.
But he did sneer at them and said, "14 of you died in the secret realm. What an embarrassment."
"Now the people that managed to kill disciples of our sect won't fear us as much. You might not be embarrassed, but I am embarrassed for you."
He snorted at them and turned away. Then the airship took off.
The Blood Skull sect didn't leave until morning. By that time, some people who came from nearby the area were already about to get home.
One of the people that were about to return to their home was the Dyson family. They came late to the intersect competition, but they left for home early.
Because the Dyson family was in the territory of the Sword Way sect, just like the Dyson family, the trip back home was short. The trip was also uneventful.
The airship was carrying the people from the Dyson family and the few loose cultivators who survived the trip. These survivors were talking about their experience in the secret realm.
The Dyson came with 40 people at the second mortal coil. Now there were 22 alive. This number was far above what was expected, so the survivors were talking about it and why it happened.
Usually, out of the 40 people who enter a secret realm, less than 10 manage to survive. This would have been the case if the group that was being hunted by Strait didn't encounter Arthur.
If Arthur hadn't been there, the group of 17 people would have been forced to escape in various directions after failing to repel Strait. So not all of them would have been killed by Strait.
About half of them might not survive Strait. But regardless of their survival, by choosing to scatter like that, they would become separated and be easy pickings for the other people in the secret realm.
Without the strength of numbers to rely on, it would be very difficult for the survivors to return to the gate safely. Eventually, less than ten of the people who entered the secret realm would return alive.
But they encountered Arthur, and Arthur was able to deter Strait. So the group of people that he saved were able to return to the gate relatively intact and survive.
All of these were understood by the people of the Dyson family, whom Arthur saved, and they were grateful for his help. But what most of them don't understand is why Arthur saved them.
They don't know Arthur, so it looked like a stranger with a golden bow similar to theirs saved them. Even what Arthur said only slightly shed some light on the situation. What he said also confused them a little.
He had said to them, "You may go. Extend my greetings to Elder Calcetti. Tell him that Arthur likes the bow very much and is still looking forward to touching him all over."
They were discussing what he said intently. The members of the Dyson family sat in a dining room to chat.
There were 19 of them in the room. The other 3 that survived are loose cultivators, so they are not allowed to take part in the ongoing conversation.
The mood is generally good because there were 29 people from the Dyson family who entered the secret realm. Only 10 of them died, which is something to be happy about.
Someone said, "Based on what he said, he should know Elder Calcetti, which is why he saved us. But who is Arthur, and why does he want to touch the elder all over? Is that a fetish? Will the elder get angry with us for bringing such a weird message to him?"
Someone who knew Arthur spoke up. She said, "He is Arthur. I think the elder gave him the bow, which is why he saved us."
The people listening finally understood. But they had even more questions. "How does he know Elder Calcetti? Why did the elder give him the bow? Was the bow payment to save us?"
Another person added, "Also, what's with the touching fetish?"
The lady who replied earlier rolled her eyes and said with some exasperation. "He is Augustus' son. Didn't you guys read that dossier sent to you after the regional sect examination? If you read it, how come you didn't recognize a descendant of the family? Shame on all of you."
They were surprised to hear that Arthur was a descendant of the family. Some of them had read the dossier about the children of the family who gained admission to various sects and should have been able to recognize him, but Arthur has changed since he entered the Blood Skull sect.