Yanzhou, Yongning City.
Thirty miles outside the city there is Xingyun Mountain, which is a branch of the Yanxing Mountains. The famous Xingyun Sect Gate is located here.
On the fifth day of the seventh lunar month, the sun rose three poles high.
Hundreds of people gathered in front of the mountain gate, and the procession snaked down like a long snake until it reached the foot of the mountain.
Martial arts are popular in Yanzhou, and both men and women, old and young, know how to use fists and kicks, and families with good conditions will also let their children enter martial arts schools to practice martial arts.
Xingyun Sect recruits disciples on the fifth day of every month.
Despite the strict entry requirements, there is an endless stream of young people coming to register every day on this day, many of whom come from out of state.
Most of the people in the team are between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, which is a good age for practicing martial arts. The younger ones are accompanied by their elders.
There are also adult men and women who come to sign up. Most of them are people with strong physiques and sufficient energy and blood. They can tell that they are cultivated.
Most of these people come from small sects and have encountered bottlenecks in their practice and want to come to a larger sect to study martial arts.
There are three tables in the square in front of the mountain gate, with an old man and a young man sitting behind each table.
The young ones dress up as ordinary disciples, while the old ones wear crimson robes. They are the deacons of the Xingyun Sect and are responsible for checking the talent and cultivation of young people who apply and conducting preliminary screening.
Those who pass the conditions will be led to the mountain gate to wait for the next round of selection. Those who fail will be persuaded to leave on the spot.
"The threshold for Xingyun Sect is really high. Some people's qualifications are in Qinghe County, and they can enter any sect, but here they can't even pass the first round."
Zhao Lin stood in the middle of the crowd, looking at the disappointed faces of the young people who were persuaded to quit, and even burst into tears, and he couldn't help but think to himself.
He came to Yongning City three days ago, spent a lot of money to buy a house, and settled his family in it.
Zhao's father and Zhao's mother didn't want to leave Yingzhou at first. After all, it was hard to leave their homeland. However, under the persuasion of Zhao Lin and Zhao Shan, they finally agreed and traveled across mountains and rivers to this frontier place.
Zhu Huaishan originally accompanied Zhao Lin to register, but was invited by the reception disciple of Xingyun Sect to rest in the dormitory in front of the mountain gate.
Most of the young masters and elders who signed up are Qi realm or even blood realm warriors, and they are also very old. It would be degrading to stand in the bright sun.
Before leaving, Zhu Huaishan told Zhao Lin: "Don't be nervous, just perform normally. Even if you can't get into the Dance Elephant Courtyard, the outer court is good."
"Don't be nervous!"
"Master, I understand."
Zhao Lin saw sweat on his master's forehead and thought to himself, which one of us is nervous?
However, he understood the master's mood very well. It felt like parents sending their children into the examination room. The person involved might not be okay, but the people accompanying him were extremely nervous.
"Senior brother, the person in front of you is at the first level of Qi Realm, right? He looks younger than us, how did he get there?"
"Why are you worried about other people's cultivation level? Besides, a large sect like Xingyun Sect likes to recruit young people with a blank sheet of paper. The key is to look at the bones!"
"As for cultivation, if the numbers are different, it will actually be a drag. Maybe someone with a baby face is actually in his mid-twenties!"
There were whispers behind him, and Zhao Lin didn't need to look back to know that they were talking about him, and he didn't take it to heart.
The number of roads does not match?
What I practice is the authentic Xingyun Sect technique!
However, most people here sign up because they want to enter the outer courtyard of the Xingyun Sect, and their goal is the Dancing Elephant Courtyard.
Less than half an hour later, it was finally Zhao Lin's turn.
"Come here, stand here and don't move, and don't use your strength to resist." The old man waved to Zhao Lin and pointed in front of him.
Zhao Lin knew that the other party wanted to check his bones and cultivation, so he calmly stepped forward and faced the old man.
The old man stretched out two fingers, the tips of which were slightly red, and tapped Zhao Lin's shoulder.
Zhao Lin suddenly felt several strands of energy as thin as hair rushing into his body, traveling between his chest and abdomen, then staying at his ribs for a while, and then returning to his shoulders.
The old man's brows jumped sharply, he looked at Zhao Lin in shock, and asked: "How old are you?"
"Seventeen." Zhao Lin replied honestly.
He once asked his master, how does Xingyun Sect determine the age of applicants?
After all, one is eighteen years old and the other is twenty-eight years old, with the same Qi level one cultivation level. Their talents are not at the same level at all.
How to identify someone if they falsely report their age?
You can't go through the old story for everyone. How much effort would it take?
I'm afraid it's not accurate to look at the teeth and facial features.
Zhu Huaishan laughed at that time, "Do you think your age can be faked?"
"The Xingyun Sect has a skill called Zhaoyu Gong. The jade here refers to the human skeleton."
"This technique can only be used by Yuanjing warriors. It was originally used to check for hidden injuries and diseases in the body. Later, it was unexpectedly discovered that it can identify age."
"There are many fine lines on the surface of human bones, called growth lines. Every year, the growth lines will have an additional fine line, similar to the growth rings of a tree."
"You can tell whether your age is true or false by looking at the Jade Skill. So no one dares to falsely report their age. Otherwise, if it is found to be inconsistent with the reported age during entry, that person and his clan will never be hired!"
Zhao Lin was greatly surprised after hearing this. Such a technique was no longer a simple martial arts, but closer to the legendary magic.
"Are you really seventeen?"
The old man still seemed uneasy, and tapped Zhao Lin on the shoulder again, causing him to experience exactly the same thing as before.
"Write it down." The old man said to the disciple who was recording on the side.
The disciple took out a rectangular wooden sign, raised his pen and asked Zhao Lin: "Name, age, where did the teacher come from."
Zhao Lin said without thinking: "Zhao Lin, seventeen years old, studied under the Liuhe Sect from Qinghe County, Yingzhou."
He bowed in the air and said softly, "My master's name is Zhu Huaishan."
The old man was startled and asked: "Zhu Huaishan is your master? He was also a member of the Xingyun Sect before, right?"
"Exactly." Zhao Lin said calmly.
The old man was silent for a while, with an expression on his face that seemed to be filled with emotion and envy, "He actually taught a good apprentice."
After the disciple finished recording, he turned to look at the old man.
The old man said in a deep voice: "The cultivation level is at the first level of Qi, with the upper and middle bones."
On the?
Zhao Lin was a little surprised. There were nine levels of qualifications, with Shangzhong ranked second.
My body has been transformed by the spirit beast map and is far superior to ordinary people. However, I can only be ranked second in the Xingyun Sect. Is there anyone more powerful than me?
In fact, he didn't know that although the Xingyun Sect had criteria for judging each level of qualifications, the determination of root bones was inherently mixed with subjective factors, and the result of going to the middle school was already a good result.
Unless the old man knows Zhao Lin's cultivation progress as clearly as Zhu Huaishan did, he would dare to draw a conclusion.
After recording Zhao Lin's information, the young disciple raised his head and said, "Your conditions are very good. You can enter the outer courtyard directly without taking the exam. If you agree, I will give you a stamp."
As he spoke, he picked up a red letter seal at hand.
"Wait a minute."
A big hand pressed the seal, "I signed up to enter the Dancing Elephant House."
(End of chapter)
