Of these four junior elders sent to accompany him on the mission, two of them were acquaintances of Arthur.
These two were the Blood Spider Daoist and Daoist Battle Furnace. These two were his partners in the fishing game they had with the Milton family.
They had helped him acquire a lot of resources for cultivation by sharing the loot from that fishing game with him equally even though they were stronger than him at that time. So he was willing to shift his focus from his research for a little bit to chat with them.
Even though they used to be his seniors, they didn't dare act overly familiar with him. But they felt appreciated that Arthur didn't snub them and took some time to talk with them.
From their short chat, he learned that they too had reached the limit in terms of cultivation and the mastery of the host technique. If the conditions were right, they would try to break through right now.
The conditions haven't exactly been right, though. That's why they haven't made the attempt to advance to the fourth mortal coil yet.
They need more resources in order to create the perfect conditions for advancement. In order to gain those resources, they signed up to participate in this exchange program.
After their conversation, Arthur couldn't help but think about how prosperous the Blood Skull sect was to have many talented people trying to advance to the fourth mortal coil.
There were already 26 golden core cultivators in the sect before Storm Hawk and he advanced. Because of the two of them, the number of golden core cultivators in the sect increased to 28.
If these two junior elders at the peak of the third mortal coil also succeed in advancing to the fourth mortal coil, the number of golden core cultivators in the sect will increase to 30. And this won't even be the peak of what the Blood Skull sect is capable of.
According to what he had learned about the Blood Sect, the peak number of golden core cultivators they've had at a time was 33. In comparison, the peak number of golden core cultivators in the other sects is 6.
This vast difference in the peak amount of golden core cultivators shows and affects the difference in the number of nascent soul cultivators between the Blood Skull sect and other sects.
From what Elder Thunder Drake said, the chances of advancing to the fifth mortal coil are 1 in 10 for a 10% chance of success. If taken literally, with 30 people at the golden core, the Blood Skull will be able to easily produce 3 nascent soul patriarchs.
In fact, the Blood Skull sect should be able to produce more nascent soul patriarchs because their golden core cultivators are more talented and stronger than those of other sects. What is limiting the Blood Skull sect in producing more nascent soul patriarchs is the availability of resources to advance.
If the Blood Skull sect had more resources, Arthur is sure that they would be able to produce more than three nascent soul patriarchs. But he can't say the same for the other sects.
For one reason or another, whether because of a lack of talent or unavailability of resources, the other sects can only produce 6 golden core cultivators at a time. When Arthur learned this, he understood why it was difficult for them to find replacements for their nascent soul patriarchs.
While he was thinking about this, more people arrived for the mission. Their cultivation ranged from the ninth transformation of the third mortal coil to the fourth transformation of the second mortal coil.
In total, there were one golden core cultivator, four peak foundation establishment cultivators, 100 other foundation establishment cultivators, 100 peak energy refining stage cultivators, and 300 other energy refining stage cultivators in attendance.
This made for a total of 505 people. All of these people arrived before the time for the mission.
When it was time to leave, Arthur decided to pause his research and address everyone.
He stood up from his sitting posture in the air and said to them, "We are leaving the sect now to serve as representatives and ambassadors of the sect. So your performance in this mission will determine how people view us."
"In order to put the Blood Skull sect in the best light, you must act right. I have some rules of conduct here that you must adhere to. So listen attentively as I list them."
"The first rule is that there will be no fishing games, as we will be going to the Purple Flower sect as their allies. We are not going there to fleece them. We are only going there to train them, and you will act with that in mind."
"Secondly, if any conflict arises, you will report it to the elders, and they will report it to me. You mustn't try to fight your battles on your own. I promise you that if you need to fight, we will fight together with you. But care must be taken not to escalate any unnecessary conflict."
"The third rule is that you can walk around anywhere and do anything you want in the Purple Flower sect. You can't say whatever you want when you feel like it either. You must be polite to the disciples of the Purple Flower sect because their territory is not our territory. We will be guests there and such must act like one."
"Finally, you must obey every order of your superiors in this team pertaining to our mission. Starting from me, orders must be obeyed so that we can complete our mission objectives quickly and without problems."
"That is all. If there are more rules, I will pass them across to you. So make sure that you keep your identity card on you at all times."
As he was about to stop, he remembered something. It was so important that he felt that he had to mention it.