Outside Iron Bone Town.

Thousands of young men and women gathered, their gazes fixed upward at Iron Bone Mountain as it seemed to hide within the clouds, their eyes flickering with excitement and fervor.

Today was the day the Eternal Sect recruited disciples. They had traveled from far and wide, hoping to pass the examination and become members of this sect.

“Iron Pillar!”

A middle-aged man whose face was covered in wrinkles said, “Your father believes you’ll definitely succeed!”

From his attire, he clearly wasn’t from a wealthy family.

Standing in the queue was a youth around seventeen or eighteen years old who took a deep breath, clenched his fists tightly, and thought to himself, “Father, your son won’t let you down!”

Zhou Tiezhu.

A native of East Hao Province.

Generation after generation of his ancestors had been ordinary people.

This time, accompanied by his father, he had traveled thousands of miles to the Eternal Sect, hoping to pass the examination, become a disciple, and bring glory to his ancestors!

There were many ordinary youths like him. They had no path to cultivation, and if they wanted to stand out in a world that revered martial prowess, their only choice was to join a sect.

However.

For many people, sects were beyond reach—only those with exceptional talent could enter.

But the Eternal Sect was different. As long as you had one skill, as long as you had accomplishments in some area, you had a chance to become a disciple.

So every recruitment day, vast numbers of youths gathered in Iron Bone Town. Even if they might not pass the examination, they were willing to give it a try.

“Tsk.”

A youth in brocade robes said coolly, “These poor wretches dare to apply? Who gave them the courage?”

As a direct descendant of a great family, participating in the examination with a bunch of country bumpkins made him feel like he was losing face.

Standing beside him, another family heir who had come with him said rather irritably, “The Eternal Sect should have divided things up beforehand—those with status should test with those who have status, those without status should test with those who lack status.”

“Exactly.”

Someone agreed.

Those youths born into poverty, upon hearing what these young masters said, though very angry, could only pretend they hadn’t heard.

“Whoosh!”

Just then, a stream of light flew down from Iron Bone Mountain and stopped at the foot of the mountain.

“He can fly!”

“That’s a Martial Emperor!”

The youths’ gazes erupted with intense worship, but when the light dispersed to reveal a jade-tree-like elegant young man in white robes, they all exclaimed in shock, “Sect Master Jun!”

That’s right.

It was none other than Jun Gou Sheng.

Perhaps because he was too idle, today’s disciple recruitment, which should have been handled by the Ning brothers, was being personally overseen by him.

“Swish!”

Jun Changxiao pointed at that youth in brocade robes and the other family heirs, beckoning with his hand. “You several, come out.”

The four examinees were stunned, but they still stepped out from the queue.

“Where are you from?”

“The He Family of Southeast Shi Province!”

“The Ling Family of Southeast Shi Province!”

“Southeast Shi Province…”

The four reported their identities one by one.

Other youths from Southeast Shi Province who heard this all turned pale, thinking to themselves, “They’re all direct descendants of great families.”

Jun Changxiao said, “Your identities are all quite significant. To distinguish you from ordinary participants, this seat has decided to give you a separate examination.”

“A separate examination?”

The four were first stunned, then their faces lit up with delight.

That’s right.

We’re all direct descendants of great families with status—when we come to the Eternal Sect to apply for examination, we should definitely be separated from a bunch of country bumpkins.

“Turn around!”

“Swish!”

The four turned around in unison.

Jun Changxiao pointed toward Iron Bone Town and said, “Walk straight along this road. When you reach the end, that’s the examination point.”

“Yes!”

The four began to walk.

The youth in brocade robes came to his senses and said with a face full of confusion, “Sect Master Jun, the end of this road goes all the way outside the borders of Southwest Yang Province!”

“That’s right.”

Jun Changxiao said, “It’s outside the borders.”

“Huh?”

The other three warriors were dumbfounded. This examination point was way too far!

The youth in brocade robes’ mouth twitched as he said, “Sect Master Jun…”

“Stop your nonsense.” Jun Changxiao forcibly interrupted and said with a stern face, “Hurry up and go. If you’re late, you’ll miss it.”

“Swish!”

“Swish!”

The four hurriedly got moving.

Jun Changxiao shouted, “Run as fast as you can!”

“Yes!”

The four stretched out their long legs and began wildly sprinting along the wide road that extended to the provincial border.

Jun Changxiao withdrew his gaze and looked at the examinees present, saying seriously, “My Eternal Sect doesn’t care about your status or position. Since you’ve come to participate in the examination, everyone will be treated equally.”

Some clever participants immediately understood that those family heirs sprinting along the road weren’t going to a separate examination—they had been directly disqualified.

“The examination begins!”

Jun Changxiao announced loudly, “Those who reach the mountain peak within the allotted time will pass the first stage of examination.”

As his voice fell, the participants’ gazes all burned with intensity.

They had prepared for this day for a long time. Only by reaching the mountain peak could they prove themselves!

“Sect Master Jun!”

Just as the participants were eager to try, a voice suddenly came from the back of the queue. “I’ve heard your sect’s disciples are formidable in strength. This humble one wishes to experience it for himself.”

“Oh?”

Jun Changxiao looked over and discovered the speaker was a burly man with somewhat developed muscles. He frowned and said, “So you’re saying you didn’t come to participate in the examination—you came to challenge my Eternal Sect?”

“You could say that.”

The man walked forward from the back of the queue. With each step he took, the dust scattered nearby would be swept up, showing he was a deeply concealed expert.

“This is getting interesting.” Jun Gou Sheng smiled.

Thinking about it carefully, it seemed like it had been quite a while since anyone dared to come challenge them.

The burly man smiled and said, “Today is your sect’s disciple recruitment day. This humble one has come to issue a challenge. Sect Master Jun wouldn’t refuse, would he?”

“How could that be?” Suddenly, another voice came from the side. “The Eternal Sect is at least a top-three power, and moreover won the championship at the Dragon-Tiger Contest. If they refused publicly, it would definitely damage their reputation.”

The speaker was a man with a slender build.

That’s right.

These two were Mangfu and Guimei, two of the four Protectors of the Demon Emperor Gate.

They couldn’t stand their Vice Sect Master being beaten up, so they snuck over to the Eternal Sect. Happening upon the disciple recruitment, they decided to issue a challenge openly and honorably.

If they could abuse the Eternal Sect’s disciples in front of everyone, and the news spread across the Star Meteorite Continent, it would definitely be quite interesting.

“That’s right.”

Jun Changxiao smiled and said, “My Eternal Sect warmly welcomes challengers from all quarters.”

Mangfu stopped in front of the crowd, grinned, and said, “Since that’s the case, please have Sect Master Jun quickly summon his disciples. This humble one will wait for them at…” He pointed to a distant arena. “That place.”

Jun Changxiao said, “This is a life-and-death arena established by my Eternal Sect. Once you step onto it, life and death are in heaven’s hands.”

“That’s even better—we can fight freely.” Guimei said.

Jun Changxiao immediately understood—these two guys didn’t come to challenge, they deliberately came to cause trouble.

Tsk tsk.

Had their brains been kicked by a donkey? They dared to come seeking abuse?

“Please wait a moment.”

Since someone came to challenge during recruitment day, Jun Changxiao naturally wouldn’t refuse.

Mangfu added, “Sect Master Jun had better summon more disciples. This humble one fears he won’t get enough of a fight.”

“Fine.”

Jun Changxiao said, “This seat will satisfy you!”

Sound transmission technique at all members: “Qingyang, Zui Ji, Xingchen, Wudi, Ziyang—come down the mountain to receive guests!”