Chapter 90

Two days later.

Next to Taizhou Prefecture, there is a mountain called Yueqing Mountain.

The entrance to the Wushizong sect is located on this mountain.

It was noon, and at the foot of the mountain, quite a number of people had already gathered, waiting for the Wushizong entrance test to begin in the afternoon.

As the undisputed giant among the sects in Taizhou, the Wushizong entrance, every day, sees a varying number of people from all walks of life attempting to pass the test.

As long as they pass the test, they can join Wushizong and become one of its members.

For many wandering warriors who search for exotic beast meat, often going without a meal, this is undoubtedly a huge temptation.

At the Wushizong registration point at the foot of the mountain, a long queue wound around several times.

The people in the queue varied in age, with the oldest being in their thirties and the youngest only eleven or twelve years old, some accompanied by their parents.

It was noon, and the sun was scorching.

Beside the queue, a middle-aged Taoist priest with white robes and tied hair led five young men and women along the queue, moving forward.

This group stood out from the others, with a different aura.

The five people behind the old Taoist priest each had sharp eyes and abundant vitality, clearly accomplished martial artists.

Wei He was among them, walking in the third position.

The other four, like him, held tokens and were recommended by branch points.

In other words, the other four were also three-qi martial artists.

He could feel the unhidden powerful qi and blood from them up close.

However, the qi and blood of these people seemed to have just broken through, still somewhat lively, and their body transformations were not yet complete.

As soon as he entered Taizhou Prefecture, he quickly found an inn and temporarily settled Jiang Su, Wei Ying, and Zhang Qi. He then asked around and found the Wushizong entrance point.

Indeed, as Old Wang had said, Wushizong was quite famous in Taizhou Prefecture. When he asked about it, kind-hearted people immediately pointed out the location.

Wei He wasted no time, using gold notes to smooth the way, and headed straight to the registration point, then presented his token.

Seeing the token, the Taoist priests at the registration point did not waste words. One of them led him into a small group, heading to the mountain gate.

"Since you have the token, you are definitely admitted. You are exempt from the test, but..." the old Taoist priest said as he walked.

"You will first go to the outer courtyard. Then, based on your token, a senior will be assigned to you. If the senior decides to take you, everything will go smoothly, and you will be congratulated, directly crossing the outer courtyard to enter the inner courtyard, becoming my junior brother.

But if the senior does not want you, you will have to return to where you came from. Understand?"

The old Taoist priest explained slowly.

"Understood!"

The five people responded in unison.

Following the mountain path, the Taoist priest walked quickly, not waiting for the five people.

Fortunately, they were also three-qi martial artists. Even without leg training, they could still keep up by stimulating their qi and blood.

After about ten minutes, the old Taoist priest led the five people to a cluster of white-walled, black-tiled Taoist temples.

"This is the outer courtyard. You can go in by yourselves. Hold your tokens and go to your designated area, don't give them to others.

Different tokens represent different branch points, which are assigned to fixed courtyard heads." The old Taoist priest explained casually, leading the five people to the entrance.

"Thank you, Senior Brother, for showing us the way." One of the five, a bearded man with a bold demeanor, bowed to the old Taoist priest.

The others also reacted and quickly bowed.

"There's no need to thank me." The old Taoist priest said indifferently, "After you go in, wait. Since you all have tokens, the courtyard head will come to see you personally. Just perform well then."

These three-qi martial artists were different from the local candidates being tested. They had already passed the long-term tests at various branch points and were trained using the Wushizong's foundational cultivation techniques.

Therefore, they had already bypassed many of the initial reviews and only needed a final check to enter the inner courtyard, without the need to train in the outer courtyard.

Thus, the old Taoist priest's attitude was much gentler.

After leading them, he turned and left.

The remaining five people were guided by a young Taoist priest at the entrance.

This Taoist priest said nothing, leading the five people into the temple, winding through it, and soon arrived at a relatively spacious courtyard.

In the courtyard, an old man with white hair and beard sat on a stone, holding a duster, eyes closed in meditation.

The old man wore a light green Taoist robe, exuding a gentle and natural aura, clearly not an ordinary person.

"Senior Brother Han." The guiding Taoist priest bowed low. "Five more candidates recommended by branch points have arrived."

"Bring them in." The old man, Senior Brother Han, did not open his eyes, speaking indifferently.

"You five, hand over your tokens to me, then each of you will demonstrate the Wushizong Return Mountain Fist to Senior Brother Han. Use your full qi and blood, do not hide anything." The guiding Taoist priest carefully instructed Wei He and the others.

The five people responded, handed over their tokens to the guiding Taoist priest, and then began their demonstrations.

For a moment, the courtyard was filled with the sound of air being broken by punches, as the five people took turns, demonstrating their skills with full effort.

On the other side.

The guiding Taoist priest took the tokens and used a small pen to write down the registration information.

These tokens could not be faked. Each token came from a different source and had different hidden marks.

Therefore, the guiding Taoist priest could not fake or swap them.

He took the tokens, registered them, and then hurriedly left, presenting them to another Taoist priest who had been waiting for a long time.

This was followed by a series of complex verification procedures, and the tokens were reported to the corresponding courtyard heads based on their designated areas.

Three-qi martial artists were different from the initial candidates waiting in line outside. Reaching three-qi already represented a lot.

Therefore, many unnecessary tests were not needed.

Soon, among the five people, the first one, the bearded man, demonstrated the Wushizong Return Mountain Fist, which was essentially the Return Mountain Fist.

The old man sitting on the stone watched the bearded man with narrowed eyes.

"Stable qi and blood, good foundation and insight. According to the records, your family is in this city and has some wealth?"

The bearded man quickly replied, "Yes, my family has some assets. My father is the leader of a gang in the nearby city, with thousands of followers. Every month, he can provide me with a steady supply of gold notes."

"Alright. Next." The old man took out a red token from his pocket, drew a line on it, and threw it to the bearded man.

The token clearly read: "Average Bone Quality."

The second person was a tall, slightly thin man. He said nothing, stepped forward, and slowly demonstrated the Return Mountain Fist.

With his full three-qi, he performed the Return Mountain Fist as if on a battlefield, with a faintly bloody smell, looking even more powerful than the bearded man.

However, the old man frowned.

"Stop." He called out before the man finished.

"Go." He took out a token, drew a line on it, and threw it to the man.

The token read: "Below Average Bone Quality."

The tall man's face turned grim, but he did not say anything, only took the token and stepped back.

The old man did not mind. This was also part of the test.

Apart from him, there were three hidden evaluators who would give their assessments from different angles. Each person would receive four evaluations in total.

The evaluations on the tokens might be the same or different, but they were assessing different aspects.

Not telling the newcomers this was also a test of their mental fortitude.

Soon, the third and fourth people also stepped forward to demonstrate their skills.

However, their Return Mountain Fist was mediocre, and their qi and blood were average, just meeting the standards.

"All using powerful medicines to break through..." The old man shook his head in disappointment.

Three-qi could be achieved using powerful medicines, but these medicines were extremely rare and valuable, requiring a large amount of different exotic beast meats and having a time limit. People in small places could not even see or access them.

But what kind of place was Taizhou Prefecture? With abundant resources and a population of six million in the city, there were countless meat fields. What kind of powerful medicine could not be produced?

"Last one." The old man, disappointed, called out again.

Wei He deliberately came last, intending to observe the others first.

Now, it seemed that his Return Mountain Fist had the most abundant qi and blood, and the derived power was the strongest. He should perform well.

He stepped forward, determined.

He stimulated his qi and blood, his fists turning black, and nine nine-aura patterns appeared on his arms. He slowly began to demonstrate the Return Mountain Fist.

With a deep foundation, not being the oldest, and rich combat experience, his Return Mountain Fist was fierce and explosive, smooth and natural, surpassing the previous four.

"Enough." After finishing the fist technique, the old man, expressionless, searched his pocket and found no tokens.

He frowned and looked at the edge of the courtyard, where a servant soon ran over with a stack of red tokens.

The old man took a few, put them in his pocket, and quickly drew one, throwing it to Wei He.

His drawing motion was larger than the others, clearly writing something different.

He casually threw the token to Wei He.

"You three." The old man, with a hint of disappointment, pointed to Wei He and the other two.

These two were the two three-qi martial artists who had come before Wei He, a man and a woman, both looking anxious, clearly the type who had focused on training and lacked experience.

"You all used external forces to break through, right? I assume you are prepared for this?"

Wei He was fine, but the other two were shocked and lowered their heads in silence.

Wei He was also startled. He had used the breakthrough pearl to reach three-qi for the first time, and it was still detected by the old man.

He looked at the red token in his hand, which clearly read: "Below Average Bone Quality."

The old man, stroking his beard, continued, "Your qi and blood are mixed, and you will face difficulties in future breakthroughs. Even if you enter the sect, it will only waste money and resources. So, I'll ask again, do you really want to enter?"

"Yes!"

The three people, one after another, firmly responded. If they did not enter the sect, why would they travel so far?

"Alright, go in and wait. If you have anything that can add points, present it now, don't wait until it's too late." The old man said coldly.

This was a hint.

The three people immediately understood. They needed to offer something.

"This is not for me, but for the senior above. The courtyard head. Consider it carefully and act accordingly."

The three people paused for a moment, then quickly stepped forward, each placing something in the old man's hand.

Wei He saw the first two place large rolls of gold notes, which, at a glance, were worth no less than several thousand taels.

He gritted his teeth and took out a large portion of his gold notes, placing them in the old man's hand.

The old man quickly rolled up the gold notes, and they disappeared without a trace.

Wei He felt a pang of pain. A few hundred taels of gold notes had already strained Cheng Shaoyou's family, and now several thousand taels were gone in an instant. This money was not treated as money.

"Don't be upset. If your conditions are not good, you can only rely on external forces. Understand this?" The old man sneered. "Do you have anything else? Use your full strength now to avoid regret later."

The three people looked at each other. The woman gritted her teeth and took out a semi-transparent stone-like object.

The other person also gritted his teeth and took out a black short sword from his pocket, handing it over.

Wei He reached into his pocket and felt the most valuable thing he had left, the exotic seed given by his teacher.

This was used to produce meat fields, although it required capturing another intact exotic beast to create a meat field, it did not diminish its value.

But now...

Wei He gritted his teeth and took out the exotic seed. He would join Wushizong first. Once he obtained stronger cultivation techniques, he could earn the exotic seed back.

He handed the exotic seed to the old man, who was slightly surprised, picking up the unremarkable stone-like exotic seed.

"Good, a low-grade exotic seed, probably usable once, but still very valuable. Not something money can buy."

"Please take good care of us, Senior Brother." Wei He said humbly.

"Sure, sure." The old man waved his hand.

Wei He and the other two were then led by a servant and quickly left the courtyard.

The old man looked at the remaining two disciples and smiled.

"Every year, there are people who refuse to leave the sect, wasting time and resources until they are disappointed and return. You two, follow me."

He stood up and led the remaining two in another direction.

On the other side, Wei He and the other two were led to a separate courtyard, each given a room.

On the first day, food and drink were delivered, and the three did not rush. Those who could break through to three-qi had basic perseverance.

But on the second, third, and fourth days...

Time passed, and the three seemed to be forgotten in the courtyard, with no one notifying them.

Wei He could only practice his techniques and refine his power at fixed times each day.

However, as time passed, the exotic beast meat he brought was quickly running out, and the gold notes he carried were not used for anything.