The elder from the Blood Skull sect said false sorrow, "It is a pity that not everyone of you are strong enough to take a bite out of the benefits that the mana tide will bring."
Someone from the Sword Way sect said with a sneer, "Maybe one day you bloodsuckers will bite off more than you can chew."
The elder from the Blood Skull sect looked at the elder from the Sword Way sect and said, "I'm telling you now. This is the last time I will hear you call us that."
"We are not bloodsuckers. We are predators, not parasites. What we gain, we earn with our strength. If you call us parasites again, I will show you how we came by so much wealth and control of the region."
The elder from the Sword Way sect refused to back down. He was about to open his mouth to argue and call the people from the Blood Skull sect bloodsuckers again. But an elder from his sect covered his mouth and held him down.
The elder from the Sword Way sect who just interfered in the argument smiled and said, "Don't mind my stupid brother. He can't control his emotions."
The elder from the Blood Skull sect said sternly, "I don't care if he can control his emotions or not. I spared his life in the secret realm. I won't do it again if he dares to challenge me."
The elder from the Sword Way sect continued to hold down his companion and continued to smile as he said, "Yes, yes. I'll tell him to be smart. If he has an issue with how things are done, he should become strong enough to change the status quo instead of mounting off and dragging his sect into trouble with him."
The elder from the Blood Skull sect didn't say anything more. He just snorted and looked away.
Someone from the Black Bone sect who was mostly bones chuckled dryly and said, "The meeting hasn't even lasted more than a minute, and you're already at each other's throats. How interesting."
The five sects are not in harmony. Apart from the competition they have with each other on the surface, there are also years of grudges between them that simmer beneath the surface.
In general, everyone hates the Black Bones sect for their willingness to do anything to get corpses, and everyone, including the Black Bones sect, hates the Blood Skull sect for taking up most of the resources in the region.
This situation is an extension of the general disgruntlement with the Blood Skull sect. The hostility was caused by the elder from the Blood Skull sect stealing something that the elder from the Sword Way sect wanted in the secret realm.
The Blood Skull sect has a large appetite. No one likes this quality of theirs. It is why some people have decided to call the people of the Blood Skull sect bloodsuckers.
The derogatory name of "bloodsuckers" is supposed to be because the Blood Skull sect feeds on the lifeblood of the region and hinders other sects from growing well.
If it were any other name, like "killers" and "cannibals," the elder from the Blood Skull sect wouldn't have minded. But the elder didn't like being referred to as a parasite when it is a fact that the other sects are still existing because the Blood Skull sect has determined that it isn't worth the effort to get rid of them.
Of course, not many people can openly call people from the Blood Skull sect bloodsuckers to their face. If they are not strong enough, anyone who does this has to be stupid or suicidal.
The elder from the Sword Way sect who did so falls securely within the category of stupid and partially within the category of suicidal. Others from the Sword Way sect would call him passionate, but it doesn't change that the elder from the Blood Skull sect was truly going to kill him if he demeaned the Blood Skull sect again.
After the argument, the atmosphere became a little tense. Only someone from the Black Bones sect, who always carries an army of corpses with him, would joke about the argument at the risk of offending the elder from the Blood Skull sect.
But the elder from the Blood Skull sect didn't mind the joke because he didn't care that the other sects didn't like the Blood Skull sect.
The elder from the Blood Skull sect can't care too much about what people think about him and his sect, or he will be busy all day with it. He can only care about what they say to his face, as only something like that counts as a challenge to his power and authority.
Since the black skeleton from the Black Bones sect didn't insult the Blood Skull sect to his face, the elder from the Blood Skull sect didn't care about the joke.
The elder from the Black Bones decided to speak next. He said, "The matter of the mana tide is a serious matter. Large beast tides are only a small repercussion of the temporary increase in the concentration of the ambient mana in the world."
"As we know, in times past, this is usually the time when sects fall and new ones rise. Power changes hands during mana tides, and if we are lucky, maybe this time this region will become the Six Veins region."
He turned to the elder from the Sword Way sect who was complaining earlier and said meaningfully, "All in all, I recommend that you tighten the security of your sect and increase your vigilance. No matter what you do, you should not offend the strongest sect in this region at this point in time. At least wait until the mana ride is over."
The voice of the elder was harsh and raspy. From the way he sounded, it was as if he was using beehives and a leaking flute to speak, not lungs and a larynx.