William was right in his prediction that they would arrive by the next morning. It wasn't really too difficult or complicated to predict such a thing, he was intimately familiar with the way home, but it was still a game they used to play whenever they assaulted an enemy stronghold.
"We should have their heads by tomorrow." was a common phrase in their planning sessions, often used as a benchmark for their progress. If they killed them today they went too fast and didn't have enough time to enjoy it. If they took too long they would incur punishments on themselves, like no meat for a week or having to run around without clothes for an hour. They were an odd bunch but there was no denying their power.
They were greeted at the front gates by some of the lower level disciples assigned to greeting and guarding.
"Uncle Will! How was your trip? I take it you had no issues negotiating."
"There were a few issues at the start, but nothing that couldn't be smoothed out. How has your progress been in recent months Nephew?"
Unlike other sects which used terms like 'brother', 'sister', and 'master' to describe their relationships, the blood ties of this sect made it so they preferred terms like 'cousin'. It seemed odd to those more public sects, but they never had much reason to make a fuss. They were technically related in that way.
"It's been rough trying to break through to Bone Strengthening, but I should be able to finish the Muscle Infusing stage by the end of next year!"
Most other sects would view this rate of progress as terrifying, but it was honestly rather slow in comparison to the rest of the sect. They all knew at least one of their stellar names after all.
"Keep it up. Soon you might be upgraded to a regular."
-----
Once they were in the sect, Jamie and William split up. Jamie went to the assembly hall to get some rest and sleep while William went to gather the head figures of the sect. The meeting would be held in the evening, so he was going to head to his house to see his wife and kids first. He had been out on a mission for a few weeks.
"Jess! Guess who's here!" Will called out as he entered the door. He never felt the need to announce his presence to her, she was aware of his presence before he even got through the door.
His wife 'awoke' from her cultivation session, making her way across to greet him. "You shouldn't play these types of games with me 'Mister Foreign Uncle'. You are well aware of just how many people could be here."
"Foreign Uncle, huh. I take it those elders have been giving you hell while I was away? Do I need to beat them up again?" Will was not originally from the sect, making his presence somewhat contentious amongst some of the older crowd.
"No need, I took care of it." She moved gently into his embrace. "How did it go? You know I don't like it when you aren't here to protect me~" She teased him with a kiss.
"It went well, we shouldn't be having problems getting materials in the future." He almost added 'It isn't like you need protecting anyway' but he decided that he liked having skin.
Due to the unique nature of the star Sanguechi, the Bloodied Star sect placed a huge emphasis on protecting their female cultivators, with each one being assigned 'protectors' in order to make sure that their bloodline continues. At the same time they forbid them from marrying other sects, all to keep their blood from 'escaping'. Independent cultivators were still allowed so long as they joined the sect, but many 'purists' viewed this as dirtying the bloodline. They were loud but few in number.
Most people actually encouraged bringing in outside talent and blood, they viewed that sort of incestuous relationship as disgusting, even if they were barely even related at all. Still, this condition of bloodline inheritance meant that their sect was very small in comparison to others, especially when one factors in the fact that cultivators have a very low chance of reproducing.
Their embrace was ended by Jessica's curiosity. "So who is it? Who could make you so excited?"
"It's Jamie! Jamie has returned and he has something to tell all of us! I was just stopping by to drop off my bags and clean myself before heading to inform everyone else."