"I am inner sect elder Belial. I am once more truly sorry, my bloodline gift tends to act on its own and I have yet to truly master it."

He bowed, which was very awkward given his unique shape and precarious position.

This was the third time he had apologized and it took the wind out of Samuel's sails. For most elders, even to a certain extent him as well, one's pride was very important with no small relevance to one's cultivation path. After all, one's mental state was also a factor in their path to godhood and pride is an easy emotion to choose as one got more confident in their power. Samuel had very little pride compared to his peers mostly because his interaction boiled down to brief meet-and-greets and Lucia.

He had no reason to believe the man in front of him was any different so his initial anger cooled quite a bit. If he was willing to make concessions on his pride, there had to be some merit.

He still replied with heat in his voice.

"I accept your apology. But next time I shall not be so lenient."

There were some shocked gasps at his arrogant reply as some of the living clothing on the opulent man had stopped their worship and stared at the exchange. The medal on Samuel designated him as an outer sect master, an elder in only but name. Even in that category, there were subcategories and Samuel's medal was designated at the lowest meaning he had barely in fame or powerful disciples to his name.

To arrogantly argue with someone with such a difference in status was just asking for trouble.

"I thank you for your forgiveness, may we move on from this?" He asked.

Samuel only huffed as he crossed his arms giving him the stink eye. The blinding radiance of all the artifacts on the man prevented his soul sight from verifying his legitimacy but he guessed his word would have to be enough. The man gained nothing from lying.

The bystanders looked at their leader with pride before diving back into what they were doing.

"Very well," Samuel said his tone much more even now.

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Elizabeth for her part looked very out of place and resorted to clutching Samuel's robes and hiding behind him. Her absolute faith in him made her immediately become wary of the man in front of them.

"Perfect! Now let us get to the main topic of discussion. Namely, inducting into our pleasant family." Belial said, still being very pleasant.

Samuel's mind now came back to the main topic at hand, the very reason why he had come to the man in the first place.

"Yes. I have some questions about that. What is this all about?"

Belial looked at him as though he had grown another head. For the first time, his pleasant demeanor had changed and it was replaced with confusion.

"Are you not a cauldron master?"

"Yes."

He had changed his medal from open to the cauldron. Open meant any form of a disciple was accepted but he had changed it just the other day to make it so that he would only accept those who were willing to become a cauldron. This rapidly reduced the number of disciples approaching him. After all, there were only two ways one could become a cauldron, be a virgin or practice a special cultivation method to change one's constitution. None of these were common, especially in this sect. That was why he had even come here in the first place. His knowledge was very cursory and he needed to deepen his understanding of the subject.

What Samuel did not figure out was that he was unique, normally those who wanted cauldrons to go into it with eyes wide upon and a lot of knowledge on the subject. After all, if you become a social outcast for taking this path you needed to have a good reason for doing so. Especially as sex was a way of life, not a hard-to-procure commodity.

Belial had assumed Samuel knew about their sect group and had come to join for solidarity. Also, to make future 'disciples' easier to procure. So he asked further.

"Then why do you not know of this organization?"

Samuel did not know what was happening and was not socially adept enough to realize there had been a miscommunication. So he answered honestly with an even tone.

"My dabbling into the path of a cauldron was not one I intended. It simply fell onto my lap. I have no deeper knowledge on this path and have come for guidance."

Funnily enough, his words helped Belial understand what was going on. After all, he had run this organization for long enough to understand even deeply hidden meanings, an open answer like this was merely child's play. He smiled as he said.

"I understand. Very well. I am completely at your leisure. Speak. What is it do you learn of this old master?"

Thus Samuel took his first steps into a deeper understanding of the path he had chosen for himself. One filled with much more romance and emotion than the average path but a path laden with thorns. After all, he did not see the malicious smile Belial had hidden behind his pleasant one. Unlike most, he could see the medicinal treasure trove that was Elizabeth and to him giving Samuel some face was an easy ask if he could get his hands on such a fortune.