Ever since he had heard about this issue from Liu Mei, back inside the 'Vermilion realm', Shun Long had always kept this question in his mind.

If Fu Li and Lu Wen really knew about this matter and didn't tell him, then they could no longer be called brother. It would simply mean that they had only approached him in order to rope him into their families.

As for lying to him? Shun Long was confident that even without Little Black's help of sensing the soul fluctuations of someone, he could determine by himself whether fatty Fu was saying the truth or not.

Fu Li's eyes instantly widened when he heard Shun Long's question, and for a moment, absolute silence filled the air around the 2 of them.

Looking at Shun Long's serious eyes, Fu Li took a deep breath before he shook his head and responded in a solemn tone

''Brother, I know about this matter now, but believe me, I had no idea about this when I first met you.

I only found out about it the day before we set off for the 'Vermilion realm'.

... Once a disciple advanced to the Heaven grade and starts comprehending their Dao, the sect would make them swear a Dao oath that they would listen to the orders of the family they have joined.

Back then, I even argued with my grandfather when I learned about it, but in the end, he refused to discuss this matter any further.

He told me that this was how the sect worked, and that it was impossible for me to change it.

After all, this wasn't a matter that involved just our Fu family, but every single one of the 5 strong families of the sect, including the Liu family of the sect master.

Even if my grandfather who is the head of our family wanted to change this, he said that he would also be powerless.

Only the Grand Elder could possibly bring up such a topic to the sect master... but the sect has already been working like this for many years, that my grandfather said that there was no chance for this to change...

Of course, many inner disciples would be dissatisfied. Some would surely think that they are peerless talents that would manage to make their name known throughout the entire continent in the future, so why should they be 'trapped' in one sect for their entire lives?

However, this is the secret rule of the sect.

Once you enter the sect, then you are practically a bird within a cage...''

After a brief moment of pause, a mocking look also appeared in fatty Fu's eyes as he continued

''Hehe, perhaps this is why our sect will never become stronger than it already is.

This is also why the sect master is staking everything in nurturing his own son, hoping that he will lead the sect to a new era in the future.

Hahaha! Originally, I had thought that our sect was really powerful, but it was only until we arrived at the 'Lightning Wasteland' that I understood the real strength of the other sects in the 'Desolate East'.

As for the reason why I didn't tell you about this once we left the sect brother... it was because I had no chance to do so.

That day, when we arrived in the 'Lightning Wasteland', I had planned to silently let you know about this matter once I finished explaining everything about Liu Changpun and his plan regarding the 'Vermilion realm', but after the head priest of the 'Golden Buddha temple' arrived, the Elders of my family watched me tightly so that I wouldn't accidentally cause any issues...''

Shun Long stayed silent for a while, but he seemed to have understood what fatty Fu was trying to tell him.

Since there wasn't a chance for him to inform Shun Long discreetly about the inner matters of the sect that he had learned from his grandfather, fatty Fu couldn't explain it unless it was just the 2 of them left.

After all, even he, as the heir of the Fu family, would be punished heavily if he dared to openly disclose this secret of the sect.

If this became known, the consequences of this matter would throw the entire 'Floating Cloud sect' in a turmoil.

Although this wouldn't affect the inner disciples who had already sworn their allegiance to the big families of the sect, the outer disciples however, would definitely go crazy in the process.

Even though one stone can't cause ripples if it's thrown into a lake by itself, but millions of stones can definitely empty the lake of its water.

After all, the entire sect itself had to count on the outer disciples to continue operating.

The outer disciples were the ones who were working in the mines to bring spirit stones to the sect, and they were also the ones who were working in the shops like the 'Treasure Pavilion' and the 'Mystifying Fragrance pavilion'.

Although a single outer disciple couldn't do anything if he fought against the sect, but if every single outer disciple learned of this issue, their dreams about the future would crumble.

After all, they were only working in the mines and the shops of the sect to get enough sect points to become stronger in the future.

How could they accept the fact that even as inner disciples or Elders, they would have no freedom?!

Of course, even without fatty Fu's explanation, Shun Long had already guessed that this was how the sect was forcing its inner disciples to constantly obey the families that they belonged to;

A Dao oath was the only way for the big families of the 'Floating Cloud sect' to completely control everyone.

A serious look flashed through Shun Long's eyes for a moment, before he turned his eyes back to fatty Fu.

At the same time, Little Black's voice sounded in Shun Long's head, as the black dragon nodded his head and said seriously

''Master, according to his soul fluctuations, he isn't lying to master.''

Nodding his head, Shun Long felt a feeling of relief inwardly.

Even without Little Black confirming it, he could feel that Fatty Fu was sincere to him.

This was also the person that he had the closest relations with, in the 'Cultivation world', so knowing that Fu Li was sincere towards him also made Shun Long feel joy as well as relief.

In the 'Cultivation world' where everyone would try to backstab others, Fatty Fu was a real friend.

Seeing that Shun Long's expression had somewhat eased up, Fatty Fu also let out a sigh of relief.

He didn't have many friends in the sect, but Shun Long was definitely an important one.

Just like Shun Long, Fu Li had also kept this matter in his heart since he had no way to inform Shun Long about it, bringing him endless pressure in the process.

As he looked at Fu Li, the look in Shun Long's eyes however once again turned serious as he then continued

''Fatty, did Lu Wen know about this?''

Fu Li's expression changed when he heard Shun Long's question, and after a moment of deliberation, he nodded his head with a serious look in his eyes.