Bone Measurement

Zheng Dahai rebuked him heartlessly.

Fu Hanchuan's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Yet, he dared not make a sound; after all, he was also an Internal Strengthening martial artist, so how could he fail to sense the terror of this man?

In the end, he sullenly offered a farewell and led the others away from the Qin Mansion.

Watching this scene.

Qin Jiu remained silent.

In his heart, he was pondering the first sentence the other party had spoken, which was somewhat intriguing.

"Stop thinking about it."

Zheng Dahai smiled faintly at this moment: "The reason this old man came to the Qin Family first was to repay a favor to Li Yuan."

"Him?"

Qin Jiu was somewhat surprised.

He had not expected that the "fostering of good karma" Li Yuan spoke of that day.

Actually referred to the Mystic Firmament Sect.

He pondered for a moment, then asked: "Elder Zheng, this junior dares to ask, what are the requirements for your sect to recruit disciples?"

"Requirements?"

Zheng Dahai coughed and said: "This old man has been traveling for days with my disciples."

"At this moment, I am both thirsty and hungry."

"Where would I have the strength to tell you so much?"

Hearing this.

Qin Jiu raised an eyebrow and immediately clapped his hands: "Xuanzhou, serve tea, and immediately order a banquet to be prepared to welcome the honored guests from the Mystic Firmament Sect."

A moment later.

Zheng Dahai held a teacup and let out a long sigh of relief.

"In this freezing weather, having a cup of hot tea is truly wonderful. You lad are good at reading the room; no wonder Li Yuan speaks so highly of you. At such a young age, you have already broken through to the Three Refinements; in this small place, you can be considered a crane among chickens."

As he spoke.

He set down the teacup in his hand, his expression suddenly turning serious.

Qin Jiu sat up straight.

He did not speak.

"Currently, the Mystic Firmament Sect is recruiting disciples."

"There are only two requirements: first, martial cultivation; second, natural talent."

"First, for the first requirement: those with inferior bone structure who break through to the Three Refinements before the age of thirty may enter the outer sect; those with medium bone structure who reach Internal Strengthening before the age of thirty may enter the inner sect; those with superior bone structure who reach Internal Strengthening before the age of twenty-five may become inner sect true disciples."

"As for the second, with your current realm, you have already reached the standard for entering the sect, so this old man cannot be bothered to waste my breath. Of course, if others in your Qin Family also wish to join the Mystic Firmament Sect, they can go and have their bone structure measured along with the others when the time comes."

Listening to these words.

Qin Jiu nodded silently.

In fact, if he were to join the Mystic Firmament Sect, based solely on his martial realm, becoming an inner sect true disciple before the age of twenty-five was a certainty.

"However..."

At this moment.

Zheng Dahai changed the subject and added: "Although this is at Li Yuan's request, the sect's rules cannot be broken. I still need to examine your bone structure to ensure nothing is missed. Rest assured, regardless of the result, it will not affect your entry into the sect."

Qin Jiu readily agreed to this.

After all, his own physique, tempered by talents like Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone, must possess extraordinary bone structure.

How could he possibly hide his abilities now?

Zheng Dahai stood up from his chair, came before Qin Jiu, and flicked his hand to grip the latter's shoulder.

"What a thick and heavy bone structure..."

The moment he made contact, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

Immediately, he pressed his fingers together into a sword gesture.

He quickly swept across Qin Jiu's shoulders, arms, spine, waist, and hips.

"Excellent endowment."

"It is no wonder that at your age, without the cultivation of a great sect, you have broken through to the level of Three Refinements Meridian Clearing."

Zheng Dahai's face showed joy.

Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, he felt Qin Jiu's entire body tremble.

An internal energy like an extremely yin Cold Sha.

It was immediately transmitted to his palm.

Although he was measuring Qin Jiu's bone structure and talent, he generally would not touch upon a martial artist's taboo by probing the internal conditions of the other party.

Therefore, when Zheng Dahai came into contact with this internal energy.

His expression changed abruptly.

"Good lad, this is... Secret Power?!"

"Secret Power?"

The other two figures stood up abruptly upon hearing this, their gazes instantly locking onto Qin Jiu.

They had not spoken a single word since arriving at the Qin Mansion.

Their expressions had appeared very indifferent.

Yet at this moment, they simultaneously revealed smiles of goodwill.

"Truly, one cannot judge a book by its cover."

"For Junior Brother Qin to have cultivated Secret Power at the Three Refinements stage at such an age, you are far more outstanding than most inner sect disciples."

"You two senior brothers are too kind."

"In my early years, this humble one obtained some fortuitous encounters, which is how I came to possess such internal energy."

Qin Jiu nodded modestly.

This served as his response to them.

Zheng Dahai, standing to the side, pondered for a moment before taking out a token and saying, "Your bone structure is excellent, and coupled with such internal energy, this old man can recommend you for the inner sect. Once you return to the sect, you may take this identity token and explain the situation to the Sect Master."

"Thank you, Elder Zheng."

Qin Jiu was overjoyed.

Not long after.

A table of wine and dishes was set in the reception hall.

"Junior brother, as someone who has walked this path before, let me offer you a piece of advice: the sect contribution points issued upon entering the sect, aside from what is necessary for cultivating martial arts, must be saved and not spent recklessly. Keep them to exchange for the secret technique of converting internal energy into true qi after breaking through to Internal Strengthening."

"Do not waste your precious time."

"On earning contribution points."

"Our peak period only lasts a few years. If you cannot convert all your internal energy into true qi during this time, even if you break through to the Willow Tendon level above Internal Strengthening in the future, I fear you will lack the stamina to continue climbing higher."

At the wine table.

A young man offered this counsel.

The speaker was named Qi Yuan, and the other was named Xu Jinghua.

Recalling their self-introductions earlier, Qin Jiu nodded and said, "I will keep Senior Brother Qi's advice in mind. However, I wonder, aside from what the sect issues, where else can one obtain these contribution points?"

"Once you enter the sect, someone will naturally inform you..."

Qi Yuan said, taking a sip of wine before continuing, "However, since we have nothing else to do, it is no harm for me to tell you now."

"There are two sources of sect contribution points: first, sect missions; second, exchanging various heavenly treasures. The latter also includes gold and silver, though there is a limited quota for exchanging gold and silver each year, so one cannot obtain too many contribution points that way."

"As for heavenly treasures, it goes without saying."

"Which martial artist would ever think they have enough of those? Therefore, the missions issued by the sect have become the most stable source of contribution points."

"To be honest."

"Junior Brother Xu and I followed Elder Zheng here precisely for the sake of contribution points."

Listening to these words.

Qin Jiu nodded slightly.

He immediately continued to exchange toasts with them, probing for other information until the banquet dispersed. He had Qin Xuanzhou arrange rooms for the three of them, while he himself returned to the East Wing.

"The Great Zhou intends to share the world with the sects."

"The Mystic Firmament Sect established the Divine Guard Army and has successively recruited disciples in two other counties; Songshan County is the final stop..."

In the East Wing courtyard.

Qin Jiu sat alone in the pavilion.

He closed his eyes slightly, digesting the information he had just obtained.

This information was quite startling.

According to Qi Yuan, the Mystic Firmament Sect's Divine Guard Army was currently traveling from another county and would escort them away after the selection in Songshan County. However, the primary purpose of these Divine Guard Army troops was not merely to escort the disciples back to the sect, but to station troops in this area.

"Whether this information is true or false."

"Using Ghost Illumination to take a look should allow me to judge the general truth of it."