News

Amid vast, boundless mountain mists stood a colossal city, towering and majestic. It lay at the heart of encircling mountains, while a great river resembling a sky-piercing dragon ran straight through its center. City gates dozens of zhang tall rose on either side of the river, and from time to time, streaks of light flashed past them and shot inside like falling meteors.

At the very center of the city, a grand and magnificent palace floated in midair, like an immortal palace descended into the mortal world.

Inside the palace was a hall spanning a hundred zhang in every direction. At its center rested an enormous stone disk covered in densely packed, immensely intricate runes. Without warning, a white barrier suddenly appeared. The entire stone disk then flashed with white light, and seven figures materialized atop it.

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

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

He found himself standing atop a massive Teleportation Array. Its array patterns were tangled and complex, dazzling the eye.

Four enormous statues stood around the Teleportation Array: the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, the four divine beasts. Zhang Tie had once glimpsed a mention in a miscellaneous record that this seemed to be a Four Symbols Array, presumably set up to safeguard the Teleportation Array.

"Welcome, fellow Daoists, to Hundred Skills City. Please hand your teleportation tokens to me, and then you may follow me out." A voice suddenly interrupted Zhang Tie's musings. Everyone instinctively looked toward the source and saw a long-haired old man in white robes standing there.

The group stepped down from the stone disk, handed their teleportation tokens to the old man one by one, then followed him outside.

Before long, they arrived at a great hall. A mysterious star map was painted across its vaulted ceiling. Countless stars glittered as if arranged according to some profound law. At the center of the star map hung a bright moon, casting down a cold radiance and lending the entire hall a mysterious yet captivating atmosphere.

The white-haired old man stopped and pointed ahead. "Proceed straight in this direction, fellow Daoists, and you will leave Hundred Skills Hall."

After thanking him, the group headed straight ahead. Before long, they left Hundred Skills Hall. Only then did Zhang Tie realize that the palace was actually suspended above the city. Looking down at the enormous city below, bustling with people, he could not help clicking his tongue in amazement. The scale of it was truly beyond ordinary imagination.

After recovering from the shock, they took an elevator down to the city streets. Then everyone dispersed in different directions. Before leaving, the scarred man cast Zhang Tie a vicious glare over his shoulder. Zhang Tie merely curled his lips faintly, not taking him seriously at all.

Zhang Tie first found a shop called Hundred Skills Pavilion and bought a map. He then asked the shopkeeper when Hundred Skills Sect would be recruiting disciples. Sure enough, it would be at the beginning of next month, exactly matching the information he had gathered in Violet Flame City. After thanking the shopkeeper, Zhang Tie prepared to head directly for Hundred Skills Sect.

After several days of travel without incident, Zhang Tie arrived at Hundred Skills Town at the foot of Hundred Skills Sect's mountain. This so-called town was actually far larger than Phoenix Crown City in the Black Phoenix Kingdom. With such a massive sect established here, the common people naturally lived in greater safety and did not have to worry about attacks from wild beasts or demon beasts.

Zhang Tie first found an inn to stay at, then went out to inquire about the details of Hundred Skills Sect's disciple recruitment.

At noon the next day, Zhang Tie had spent the entire morning wandering around town. He had broadened his horizons considerably, but had not learned anything new. So he decided to visit a restaurant called Hundred Flavors Immortal Pavilion and enjoy a proper meal. It was said to be the finest restaurant in town, serving only Immortal Cultivators and refusing ordinary mortals. Many of its dishes were made from demon beast meat developed by Hundred Skills Sect.

Having not felt such an appetite in a long time, Zhang Tie decided to come here and broaden his horizons.

The moment he entered, a waiter greeted him. "Sir, are you alone? Would you prefer the first floor or the second?" This waiter was actually a third-layer Qi Refining Immortal Cultivator. Zhang Tie clicked his tongue. This truly was a big city, beyond the imagination of someone from a small place like him.

"The second floor. Find me a seat by the window," Zhang Tie replied.

"Yes, sir. This way, please." The waiter hurriedly led Zhang Tie upstairs and found him a table by the window.

"Sir, please see what you would like to order. Here is the menu." The waiter handed Zhang Tie a wooden menu, which listed dozens of dishes in dense rows.

"Bring me any five of your signature dishes. All meat, no vegetables," Zhang Tie said, setting down the menu.

"Certainly, sir. 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 needed to stroll around and gather information after eating. As the saying went, don't shop after drinking, and don't drink while shopping.

"Certainly, sir. Please wait a moment. It will be ready shortly." The waiter answered before quickly turning and heading downstairs.

Before long, about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, all five dishes and the tea were brought up together. The food was bright and glossy in color, with aromas that filled the air, immediately stirring Zhang Tie's appetite.

Delicious. This truly is fine food. And after this meat enters my stomach, traces of warm Spiritual Qi even nourish my body. It may be minuscule, but it is definitely there. Good stuff. Zhang Tie ate as he thought.

As Zhang Tie immersed himself in the feast before him, three more people came up to the second floor and happened to sit at the table behind him.

"Big Brother, do you think Little Sister and I can enter Hundred Skills Sect during this recruitment?" asked a young man in a blue Daoist robe.

"Little Sister should have no problem, but your age may be troublesome. Your aptitude meets the requirements, but you are still two years over the limit. When they test your bone age, we will see whether we can pull some strings." The middle-aged man opposite him wore fitted martial attire, and a trace of worry showed unnaturally on his face.

"If Brother cannot get in, then I will not go either," said the girl in a goose-yellow dress.

"Nonsense! If you can enter Hundred Skills Sect, achieve Foundation Establishment early, and become an Inner Sect disciple, then our Lin family will finally have a firm foothold here." The middle-aged man spoke bluntly. The girl said nothing more and merely lowered her head.

Hearing this conversation, Zhang Tie was immediately intrigued. This was the first time he had heard of a bone-age test. His Body Refining cultivation had already reached the Meridian Casting Realm, yet he was only twelve years old. How was he supposed to explain that? He needed to think it over carefully.

With that in mind, Zhang Tie rose, turned toward the three people behind him, and cupped his hands. "Fellow Daoists, I unintentionally overheard your conversation just now. Zhang has a few questions to ask. Would that be all right?"

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

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

"There is indeed such a requirement. Applicants must be over six and under thirteen years old," the man replied.

"What are the requirements for Spiritual Root aptitude?" Zhang Tie asked again.

"Those with Triple Spiritual Roots may enter the Outer Sect, while those with Dual Spiritual Roots or better may enter the Inner Sect." The man answered with some surprise, as though Zhang Tie should have known this already.

"What about Quadruple Spiritual Roots and Mixed Spiritual Roots?" Zhang Tie asked.

"Those with Quadruple Spiritual Roots and Mixed Spiritual Roots are not accepted," the man replied. "But that is not absolute. If you possess exceptional talent in another area, you may still be admitted as an exception—for example, alchemy talent, Array Formation talent, talisman-making talent, or even Body Cultivation talent." He added this afterward.

"Body Refining talent? Why does Hundred Skills Sect value Body Refining talent so highly? In today's Immortal Cultivation World, aren't there already very few people cultivating the body?" Zhang Tie asked in confusion.

"You are right, fellow Daoist. Body Refining is indeed a difficult path. But Hundred Skills Sect seems to recruit those with Body Refining talent for the Secret Realm Grand Competition among the major sects of the Crimson Fire Nation. The competition rankings concern the distribution of resources, though I do not know the specific details." Just then, the waiter brought the man's dishes to the table. Zhang Tie cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for clearing up my doubts, fellow Daoist." "It is nothing. These are matters everyone knows," the man replied.

Zhang Tie turned back around, called the waiter over, and paid his bill. The food was not only excellent, but also quite expensive. Five dishes had cost thirteen Low-grade Spirit Stones. Back when he had been in the Outer Sect of Flowing Cloud Sect, his monthly cultivation resources had amounted to only two Low-grade Spirit Stones.

After paying, Zhang Tie returned directly to the inn. He needed to carefully consider exactly how to enter Hundred Skills Sect.

Can't find it by searching the book title? Try searching for the author instead—it may simply have been renamed!

At the request of many readers, VIP membership with ad-free access is now available.

Click to view