“That's the Outer Affairs Hall ahead, Junior Brother Lin. Someone will naturally arrange things for you when you go there.”
In a flat courtyard halfway up the mountain, a man in a green robe smiled faintly at Lin Sheng.
“In that case, thank you, Senior Brother Zhang.”
Lin Sheng cupped his hands towards the green-robed man to express his thanks.
The green-robed man before him, named Zhang Yuanshan, was the first Seven Forms Sect Disciple he had encountered on the way up the mountain. After stating his purpose, the other party had quite straightforwardly brought him up.
Along the way, the two of them also chatted, and Lin Sheng understood why he hadn't seen many people on the path up the mountain.
Although the Seven Forms Sect had been much more low-key in recent years, it was still a large, long-standing power in Wanhua City. The number of Disciples within the Sect was not small, and there were many who wished to join.
However, the Seven Forms Sect primarily recruited Disciples at their station in Wanhua City, arranging for them to enter the mountain after passing the assessment.
Furthermore, most of the Seven Forms Sect Disciples were in Wanhua City. As for the mountain headquarters, the number of Disciples was not large; most Disciples were only on the mountain when they were in seclusion for cultivation.
Of course, most of the high-ranking members of the Sect were also within the mountain headquarters.
“Junior Brother Lin, no need to be polite. You've come a long way, and at such a young age, you've already entered the Forging Tendons Realm. You will definitely pass the assessment.”
Zhang Yuanshan smiled and waved his hand, being quite friendly towards Lin Sheng, with a warm attitude.
The reason he was so warm and friendly towards Lin Sheng was not just because of his personality; it was also because he could see that Lin Sheng, at such a young age, had reached Forging Tendons Completion, indicating excellent talent. Becoming an inner Disciple of the Seven Forms Sect was a certainty.
Moreover, if he was lucky, he might even be valued by one of the courtyard masters. Establishing a good relationship beforehand was undoubtedly very worthwhile.
“Brother Lin, what kind of martial arts are you skilled in, and which courtyard do you wish to join?”
“To be honest, I haven't been in Linjiang Prefecture for long and only know the name of the Seven Forms Sect. I don't have a detailed understanding of the specific situation.”
Lin Sheng said truthfully.
He only had a general idea of the Seven Forms Sect's situation and was indeed unclear about the specific information regarding each courtyard.
“Is that so? In that case, since I have some time, I'll tell Lin Xiong about it.”
“In that case, thank you, Senior Brother Zhang.”
Hearing this, Lin Sheng's eyes lit up, and he spoke his thanks.
“We are all fellow Disciples, no need to be polite. Apart from the Sect Leader's lineage, our Seven Forms Sect is divided into seven courtyards. Among them, the Jin Yuan Yard is skilled in leg techniques, with its core technique being the Leopard Transformation Three Absolute Legs, focusing on explosive power.”
“The White Elephant Courtyard is known for strength and defense, with its core technique being the Bai Xiang Zhen Yue Gong (White Elephant Mountain-Suppressing Skill). With some success in cultivation, the strength is extremely powerful. It is said that upon reaching the pinnacle, one can possess the strength of a hundred elephants. Although there may be exaggeration, it shows its might.”
“Additionally, there is the Spirit Snake Courtyard, whose techniques are the most agile, the Spiritual Snake Vein Transformation Hand, which is extremely exquisite…”
Zhang Yuanshan simply introduced the situation of the seven courtyards to Lin Sheng before stopping.
“This is the situation of the seven courtyards. Junior Brother Lin can choose the courtyard that suits him based on his own circumstances, but it also depends on the situation of each courtyard. Some courtyards have many Disciples under their courtyard master and have basically suspended recruitment. It's quite difficult to get in. Someone in the Outer Affairs Hall will tell you about this, so I won't elaborate further.”
“Thank you, Senior Brother, for clarifying.”
After listening to Zhang Yuanshan's words, Lin Sheng cupped his hands again, expressing his sincere thanks.
Regardless, the treatment he received at the Seven Forms Sect was much better than what he experienced at the Yuanyang Beast Sect and the Tianxiang Sword Sect.
Therefore, his impression of the Seven Forms Sect was quite good.
After bidding farewell to Zhang Yuanshan, he stepped into the Outer Affairs Hall.
Although it was called the Outer Affairs Hall, the space within was not very large, and the furnishings were all quite old, with a rather simple decorative style.
“Friend, what brings you to our Seven Forms Sect?”
Upon entering the hall, a female Disciple with an ordinary appearance, around twenty years old, spoke up to ask.
She had already seen Zhang Yuanshan bring someone over but didn't know what they were there for.
“I wish to join your Sect and have come to participate in the assessment.”
Lin Sheng stated his purpose directly.
“You want to join the Sect?”
Hearing Lin Sheng's words, the woman's brow furrowed slightly, but it quickly relaxed.
“Listening to your accent, you must be from out of town, otherwise you wouldn't have come directly here. But since you're here, prepare yourself. The assessment fee is one hundred taels of silver.”
As the woman spoke, she seemed to think of something and emphasized a reminder.
“Seeing that you're from out of town, I'll tell you the rules beforehand. This one hundred taels of silver assessment fee will not be refunded, regardless of whether you pass in the end.”
“I understand.”
Lin Sheng nodded. It was incredibly cost-effective to be able to participate in the assessment for just one hundred taels of silver.
“Also, one more thing. Because most of the assessment Senior Brothers are at the station in Wanhua City, there are no Senior Brothers specifically responsible for assessments on the mountain. Therefore, the Senior Brother responsible for your assessment is a Senior Brother cultivating on the mountain, and the difficulty will be somewhat higher than below the mountain. So don't say I didn't warn you.”
The woman added.
Lin Sheng only pondered for a moment before nodding decisively. He took out a hundred taels of silver notes from his Pregnant and placed them in front of the woman.
Seeing this, the woman didn't say anything more. She put away the silver notes and told Lin Sheng to wait here for a while before leaving in a hurry.
However, after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the woman returned, followed by a tall, burly man.
The man was over 1.9 meters tall and, due to his dark skin, looked like an iron tower. He was clearly a strength-based Martial Artist.
“This is Senior Brother Lu Tie from the White Elephant Courtyard. Senior Brother Lu will be your assessment officer this time.”
The woman said faintly to Lin Sheng.
“Greetings, Senior Brother Lu.”
Lin Sheng cupped his hands towards the iron tower of a man.
Lu Tie, however, waved his hand and sized Lin Sheng up before speaking.
“It's too early to call me Senior Brother. Say that after you pass. I'm not like those useless people below the mountain who take money; I won't go easy at all.”
Lin Sheng nodded in response. As Lu Tie was sizing him up, he was also observing the other party.
“Blood Transportation Warrior, with powerful and vigorous Qi and blood. He is not comparable to the likes of Black Bear. Even among Blood Transportation Warriors, he is among the extremely powerful ones. He should also have Bloodline Power, but I wonder about its intensity?”
This was the information he gleaned. The final conclusion was that the iron tower of a man before him was very strong, even stronger than his current full-power state.
“As expected of a Fu City, the quality of Martial Artist is far from what small County Towns like Tongzhi and Lin'an can compare to.”
As he sighed inwardly, the opposite Lu Tie seemed to be getting impatient.
“Alright, since you have no objections, let's begin. Be careful, use your full strength.”
After Lu Tie finished speaking, he raised his arm and reached out to grab Lin Sheng.
Lin Sheng also didn't dare to be careless. He raised his palm and met the other party's hand.
One black and one white, one large and one small, the two palms collided, emitting a muffled sound. Lin Sheng only felt a powerful Giant Strength coming from his palm, and the other party's palm felt not like human flesh but like iron, extremely hard.
He immediately lost control of his body and retreated two steps backward.
“Use your full strength.”
Lu Tie frowned and shouted, extending his large hand to grab him again.
“Ape Demon Transformation.”
This time, Lin Sheng didn't hold back. He took a deep breath and raised his hand to meet the attack again.
“Bull Rushing Horn.”
His extended palm suddenly swelled a size. This time, when their hands collided, Lin Sheng still staggered back several steps, while Lu Tie remained motionless.
“Not bad. Although your body doesn't look strong, your strength is indeed good.”
Lu Tie didn't attack again. He looked at Lin Sheng with a smile on his face.
“Compared to strength, you should be more skilled in speed. Attack me with your full strength and let me see how strong you are.”
“Senior Brother, be careful.”
Lin Sheng lightly shouted and rushed towards the other party like an extremely agile ape.
The beasts he had integrated were still the Black Tiger Ape and the White Ape. With the addition of two ape-like exotic beasts, his agility was greatly enhanced, reaching an extremely swift level.
Seeing the speed Lin Sheng displayed, Lu Tie's face showed a hint of surprise. However, he was experienced in combat, and the difference in their Realms was vast, so he naturally didn't take this point seriously.
He spread his arms wide, his body like a giant bear, and met the attack.
Two figures, one large and one small, became entangled. A few breaths later.
“White Ape Hook Moon.”
With a low shout, Lin Sheng's leg swept towards the opponent's lower body.
But at the same time, a large hand had already grabbed his arm.
Both of them stopped their movements simultaneously. Lin Sheng's heart was filled with shock.
But he hadn't expected this strong man before him to be so fast. With the enhancement of his secret technique and integrated exotic beasts, he was not inferior at all.
“Is this the combat power of experts in large powers? As expected, they are formidable.”
He had to admit that the Lu Tie before him was the strongest person he had ever seen, apart from Qi Ning and Huang Quan.
“As expected, your speed and reaction are extremely fast, not comparable to those useless people below the mountain.”
Lu Tie withdrew his hand and patted his shoulder heavily, laughing heartily, seemingly very satisfied with Lin Sheng.
In his opinion, the other party's performance could be considered top-tier.
“Thank you, Senior Brother, for showing mercy.” Lin Sheng cupped his hands in thanks.
“What mercy? I didn't go easy on you at all. At the same Realm, you Kid are not much worse than me.”
“Alright, you've passed the assessment. Next, it's time to test your blood.”
Lu Tie said with a smile, his attitude clearly much better than when they first met.
“As expected, I can't escape this process.” Hearing this, Lin Sheng's face showed no surprise, only a slight nod.
Seemingly seeing something, Lu Tie smiled and spoke.
“Don't worry, no matter what the blood test result is, you will be able to enter the Seven Forms Sect. An inner Disciple is a certainty.”
Just like that, under Lu Tie's guidance, Lin Sheng walked towards the back of the main hall and entered a small room.
“Steward Wang, please help this Junior Brother test his blood.”
In the room, there was a middle-aged elder. Seeing Lu Tie bring Lin Sheng in, he nodded slightly to the former and then greeted Lin Sheng.
“Okay, come with me.”
Lin Sheng cooperatively walked towards the elder.
“Take a drop of blood.”
The elder spoke faintly. Lin Sheng extended his finger and gently squeezed out a drop of bright red blood, which fell into the small bottle the elder had prepared.
“This method of blood testing is more accurate.”
Lu Tie explained from the side.
Lin Sheng understood. He was quite curious about this method of blood testing. After all, the blood tests at the Yuanyang Beast Sect and Tianxiang Sect were very simple. This method of blood testing reminded him of blood tests at the hospital in his previous life.
It didn't take too long, only the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and the elder came out again holding the porcelain bottle.
“There is a trace of ape-like Bloodline, but the Bloodline concentration is quite weak, barely considered lower-lower grade.”
The elder said faintly to Lu Tie, throwing out a token that landed in Lu Tie's hand. Lin Sheng clearly saw that two characters for 'lower' were written on the token in red ink.
He wasn't surprised, after all, he was already very clear about this point.
In fact, he had considered testing his blood after integrating the Silver-patterned Black Crocodile, but after thinking about it, he dismissed the idea. One reason was the certain physical changes brought by the Silver-patterned Black Crocodile, and the other was that a Spirit Beast cub might not be much stronger than the combination of the Black Tiger Ape and White Ape, which provided layered defense.
The result would likely also be lower-lower grade.
“Lower-lower grade?”
Hearing the elder's words, Lu Tie nodded slightly and was not too surprised. After all, the richness of the Bloodline could generally be seen from the external appearance.
Lin Sheng obviously had nothing unusual about his appearance, so in his opinion, the other party's Bloodline talent should not be very good.
The situation was indeed like this now.
“Let's go, Junior Brother Lin. Don't be discouraged by the lower-lower grade Bloodline talent. It's already much better than those without Bloodline talent.”
As if afraid that Lin Sheng would be disheartened, Lu Tie patted Lin Sheng's shoulder and said with a smile.
“And the biggest advantage of our Seven Forms Sect is that it doesn't place as much importance on Bloodline talent as other Sects.”
“Senior Brother Lu, what do you mean?”
Hearing this, Lin Sheng was startled and looked at the other party.
The importance of Bloodline was undeniable; this was the first time he had heard this statement.
It sounded like the Seven Forms Sect was somewhat different from other Sects.
“Bloodline talent is indeed extremely important, but our Seven Forms Sect's requirements for this point are not considered high. The Eastern Gate is divided into seven courtyards, and each courtyard has its own core martial arts, but these core martial arts are not considered true ultimate techniques.”
Seeing that Lin Sheng was very interested, Lu Tie didn't keep him in suspense and spoke directly.
“And the true ultimate technique in our Sect is formed by combining the core martial arts of the seven courtyards. Achieving the unity of the seven martial arts, the unity of the seven forms, is the true ultimate technique, the Seven Forms True Martial.”
Hearing what Lu Tie said, Lin Sheng couldn't help but be shocked. He really hadn't expected the Seven Forms Sect to have such a concept.
However, he soon felt something was wrong. After all, if one cultivated all seven martial arts, one's Qi and blood would be fixed, making it difficult to reach completion. How could there be a final unity of the seven forms?
As if knowing what Lin Sheng was thinking, Lu Tie chuckled.
“You should know that the seven martial arts of the seven courtyards each correspond to an exotic beast. You must be wondering how anyone in the world could have seven types of Bloodlines? Moreover, Martial Artists all understand one principle, which is that techniques are about refinement, not quantity. Cultivating multiple martial arts can lead to mixed Qi and blood, making it difficult to achieve success.”
“Indeed.” Lin Sheng nodded.
“This is where we have to talk about the founding ancestor of our Seven Forms Sect.”
Lu Tie said with some emotion, a trace of reverence in his words.
Lin Sheng pricked up his ears and paid attention. He knew that the other party was about to reveal the secrets of the Seven Forms Sect.