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Amidst a vast and boundless expanse of mountain mist, a majestic and imposing great city stood tall. It was situated in a core area surrounded by mountains, with a river, like a colossal dragon reaching the heavens, passing right through the city's center. City gates tens of feet high stood on either side of the great river, and occasionally, beams of light would flash past the gates, shooting inward like falling meteors.

And at the very heart of this city, a magnificent and spectacular palace floated in mid-air, resembling an immortal palace descending to the mortal realm.

Within this palace, in a great hall a hundred feet square, there was a massive stone disk in the center, covered with dense, extremely intricate runes. At this moment, without any warning, a white light shield suddenly appeared, followed by the entire stone disk flashing with white light, and seven figures materialized upon it.

These seven people were none other than Zhang Tie and his companions, who had just been teleported from Violet Flame City.

Zhang Tie felt a slight dizziness, but he quickly adjusted and recovered.

He found himself standing on a massive teleportation array. The array patterns were intricate and dizzying.

Around the teleportation array stood four colossal statues, representing the Four Divine Beasts: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise. Zhang Tie had vaguely glimpsed in miscellaneous records that this seemed to be the Four Symbols Array, likely set up to protect the teleportation array's safety.

"Welcome, fellow cultivators, to Hundred Skills City. Please hand over your teleportation tokens to me, and you may leave with me," a voice suddenly came, interrupting Zhang Tie's thoughts. Instinctively, everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a long-haired old man in a white robe standing there.

The group descended from the stone disk, handed their teleportation tokens to the old man one by one, and then followed him out.

They soon arrived at a great hall. The dome of the hall was painted with a mysterious and unfathomable starry sky map. Countless stars twinkled, seemingly arranged according to some profound pattern. In the center of the starry sky map, a bright moon hung high, casting a cool radiance, adding a mysterious and captivating atmosphere to the entire hall.

The white-haired old man stopped, pointed forward with his finger, and said, "Fellow cultivators, walk straight in this direction, and you will exit the Hundred Skills Hall."

After thanking him, the group walked straight ahead. Before long, they emerged from the Hundred Skills Hall. It turned out that this palace was suspended in the sky above the city, overlooking the bustling scene of the great city below with people coming and going. Zhang Tie couldn't help but marvel inwardly, lamenting the immense scale of the undertaking, far beyond ordinary imagination.

After the shock wore off, the group took a lift elevator down to the ground level of the city. Afterward, they dispersed in different directions. Before leaving, the scarred big man cast a fierce glance back at Zhang Tie, but Zhang Tie's lips curved slightly, not taking him to heart at all.

Zhang Tie first found a shop called "Hundred Skills Pavilion" and bought a map. He then inquired with the shopkeeper about the time for Hundred Skills Sect's disciple recruitment. As expected, it was at the beginning of next month, which was consistent with the information he had gathered in Violet Flame City. After thanking the shopkeeper, Zhang Tie prepared to head directly to Hundred Skills Sect.

There was no incident along the way. After several days of travel, Zhang Tie arrived at Hundred Skills Town at the foot of Hundred Skills Sect's mountain. This so-called town was actually much larger than Phoenix Crown City in the Black Phoenix Kingdom. After all, with such a massive sect located here, the common folk naturally lived more securely, without fear of beast or demonic beast incursions.

Zhang Tie first found an inn to stay in and then went to inquire about the detailed information regarding Hundred Skills Sect's disciple recruitment this time.

The next day at noon, Zhang Tie wandered around the town for the entire morning. His knowledge had certainly increased, but he hadn't gathered any new information. Therefore, he decided to go to a restaurant called "Hundred Flavors Immortal Pavilion" to enjoy a good meal. It was said that this restaurant was the premier establishment in town, exclusively catering to cultivators and not accepting mortals. Moreover, many of the dishes served were made from the meat of demonic beasts developed by Hundred Skills Sect.

Having not had such an appetite for a long time, Zhang Tie decided to broaden his horizons here.

As soon as he entered, a waiter greeted him: "Guest, are you dining alone? Would you prefer to be seated on the first or second floor?" The waiter before him was actually a cultivator at the third layer of Qi Refining. Tsk, truly a big city, nothing like what someone from a small place like himself could imagine.

"Second floor, by the window," Zhang Tie replied.

"Very well, guest. Please follow me upstairs." The waiter quickly led Zhang Tie to a table by the window on the second floor.

"Guest, please take a look at what you'd like to order. Here is the menu," the waiter said, handing Zhang Tie a wooden menu. Zhang Tie took the menu and saw dozens of dish names listed densely.

"Just bring me five of your signature dishes, all meat dishes, no vegetables," Zhang Tie said, putting down the menu.

"Very well, guest. And what would you like to drink? We have excellent Drunken Immortal Brew, as well as this year's new tea," the waiter said.

"A pot of tea," Zhang Tie replied. After all, he still had to go out and gather information after eating. As the saying goes, drinking without sightseeing is a waste, and sightseeing without drinking is also a waste.

"Very well, guest. Please wait a moment, it will be ready shortly," the waiter responded, then quickly turned and went downstairs.

Before long, in about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, five dishes and the tea were served together. Looking at these dishes, which were bright red and exuded a rich aroma, Zhang Tie's appetite immediately increased.

"Delicious, truly a delicacy. And after consuming this meat, there's a faint warmth of spiritual energy nourishing the body. Although it's minuscule, it's definitely there. Truly good stuff," Zhang Tie thought as he ate.

Just as Zhang Tie was engrossed in this table of delicacies, three more people arrived on the second floor and happened to sit at the table behind him.

"Big brother, do you think my sister and I can get into Hundred Skills Sect this time?" a young man in a blue daoist robe asked.

"Little sister should be fine, but your age might be a bit tricky. Although your aptitude meets the requirements, you're two years over the age limit. When they test your bone age, let's see if we can smooth things over," the middle-aged man in a fitted outfit, sitting opposite the young man, said, his expression revealing a hint of worry.

"If brother can't get in, then I won't go either," said the young girl in the goose-yellow dress.

"Nonsense! If you can enter Hundred Skills Sect and reach Foundation Establishment early, becoming an inner sect disciple, our Lin family will have a firm foothold here," the middle-aged man said directly. The young girl stopped speaking, lowering her head.

Hearing this conversation, Zhang Tie's interest was piqued. This was the first time he had heard of a bone age test. His Body Cultivation realm had reached Meridian Casting Realm, and he was only seventeen years old. How should he explain this? He needed to think carefully.

With these thoughts, Zhang Tie stood up, turned around, cupped his hands towards the three, and said, "Fellow cultivators, I unintentionally overheard your conversation just now. Zhang Tie would like to ask a few questions. Is that alright?"

The middle-aged man was slightly taken aback at first. Then, seeing that Zhang Tie's cultivation was the same as his, both at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, he said, "Please ask, fellow cultivator. If I know, I will certainly tell you."

"I just heard that Hundred Skills Sect has an age requirement for recruiting disciples. Could you explain it in detail?" Zhang Tie asked.

"There is indeed such a requirement. The age must be between six years old and thirteen years old," the man replied.

"What are the requirements for spiritual root aptitude?" Zhang Tie asked again.

"A three-element spiritual root can enter the Outer Sect, while a dual spiritual root or higher can enter the inner sect," the man replied, somewhat surprised, as if Zhang Tie should have known this information.

"What about four-element spiritual roots and mixed spiritual roots?" Zhang Tie asked.

"Four-element spiritual roots and mixed spiritual roots are not accepted," the man replied. "However, it's not absolute. If you have extremely strong talent in other areas, you can still be admitted exceptionally, such as: Alchemy talent, Array Formation talent, Talisman Crafting talent, or even Body Cultivation talent." the man added again.

"Body Cultivation talent? Why does Hundred Skills Sect pay special attention to Body Cultivation talent? In the current cultivation world, aren't there very few people who practice Body Cultivation anymore?" Zhang Tie asked doubtfully.

"What fellow cultivator says is correct. Body Cultivation is indeed a difficult path, but Hundred Skills Sect recruits those with Body Cultivation talent, seemingly for the Secret Realm Grand Competition of the major sects in the Crimson Fire Nation. The ranking in the competition concerns the allocation of resources. I don't know the specifics," the man said. Just then, the waiter brought the food to the man's table. Zhang Tie cupped his hands and thanked him, "Thank you, fellow cultivator, for clearing my doubts." "It's nothing, this is all common knowledge," the man replied.

Zhang Tie turned and sat down, calling the waiter to settle the bill. Not only was the food delicious, but the price was also quite steep. Five dishes cost thirteen low-grade spirit stones. He knew that when he was in the Outer Sect of Flowing Cloud Sect, his monthly cultivation resources were only two low-grade spirit stones.

After settling the bill, Zhang Tie returned directly to the inn. He needed to think carefully about how to enter Hundred Skills Sect.