Two days later, still in the early morning, the central open space in Shuiyun Town was already thronged with people, gathered in small clusters, chatting excitedly in low voices, their gazes flicking every so often towards the opposite inn, hope and anticipation gleaming in their eyes.

At the edge of the clearing, Nie Yu casually sat down on the ground.

After two days of adjustment, he was now virtually indistinguishable from an ordinary person.

His spiritual energy was concealed within his avatar, while the death aura was condensed inside his hidden acupoints. The only remaining trace of his cultivation was Nie Kong’s Spiritual God Acupoint. However, unless activated by his own spiritual energy, the acupoint would remain completely dormant, undetectable even by a Heavenly Spirit expert conducting a personal probe.

Now, the only thing that worried Nie Kong was his age.

In the Netherworld, the ideal age to begin cultivation was between ten and fifteen, though it could stretch to eighteen for those with exceptional aptitude. Past eighteen, even the most gifted were seldom sought after by sects because the golden age of initiation had passed. Nie Kong had initially planned to hide his age, but Huo Yan’s words made him abandon that notion. These Black Spirit Masters in the Netherworld possessed a method to accurately determine a person's true age; concealing it was impossible.

His only recourse now was to take things one step at a time.

“They’re out, they’re out…” A subtle stir rippled through the surrounding crowd, and nearly every eye immediately fixed on the inn opposite.

Nie Kong glanced over just as four young men calmly walked out of the inn’s main door, followed by two waiters from the establishment, each cradling a wooden box. Nie Kong recognized the four men in front—they were the disciples from Wind Chasing Valley.

Not long after, four more emerged—two men and two women—clad in robes as red as blood, all hailing from the Heart Devouring Sect. Behind them, two more waiters, also carrying wooden cases, trailed. Following the Heart Devouring Sect, the disciples of the Yin Soul Sect soon appeared in everyone’s sight.

Soon, the disciples from the Heart Devouring Sect, Wind Chasing Valley, and Yin Soul Sect had all selected their spots. They instructed the inn waiters to open the wooden boxes and remove their contents—they were all dark, round orbs, seeming like stone yet not stone, like jade yet not jade, their material utterly unknown.

These objects were called “Ink Nether…” and were used to test innate talent and aptitude.

Almost the instant they appeared, the waiting children and their parents or elders clustered toward them.

Seeing this scene, Nie Kong felt a pang of emotion.

Up until now, only Fubo Mountain had come to Shuiyun Town to recruit disciples. To join the Heart Devouring Sect, Wind Chasing Valley, or Yin Soul Sect, one had to travel to their respective mountain gates, which required paying hefty sums for registration and had an extremely low pass rate for the assessment.

It could be said that the youths gathered in Shuiyun Town today had originally come solely for Fubo Mountain.

But upon hearing that the Heart Devouring Sect, Wind Chasing Valley, and Yin Soul Sect were also recruiting here, they immediately shifted their focus. This was because these three sects had relaxed their requirements this year. First, no black armor fee was required for registration; second, anyone whose aptitude met the standard and whose age did not exceed eighteen could join. Naturally, they flocked to this opportunity.

At this moment, three more figures emerged from the inn entrance. Leading them was a bald old man over fifty, followed by two young men in their mid-twenties. They were the Black Spirit Masters dispatched by Fubo Mountain for recruitment this time.

Though they were all Black Spirit Masters, compared to the Heart Devouring Sect, Wind Chasing Valley, and Yin Soul Sect, their reception was pitiful. Upon appearing, they attracted almost no attention. Everyone outside the inn surrounded the three major sects.

In the past, gaining entry to the Heart Devouring Sect and the other two had been extremely difficult, allowing Fubo Mountain to still attract many youths to register. But now that the other three sects had lowered their recruitment standards, the weakest among them, Fubo Mountain, held little appeal. Unless they were rejected successively by the Heart Devouring Sect, Wind Chasing Valley, and Yin Soul Sect, Fubo Mountain would only serve as the last resort.

“Hmph!”

Although he had anticipated this situation when he learned the three sects were challenging Fubo Mountain head-on, seeing it firsthand made the bald old man unable to conceal the rage boiling in his chest; his face instantly turned grim.

The handsome young man behind him stole a glance at the old man, speaking cautiously, “Elder, what should we do now? I fear Fubo Mountain won't recruit a single disciple today. Those three sects—the Heart Devouring Sect, Wind Chasing Valley, and Yin Soul Sect—are truly despicable…”

“Right! They clearly don’t hold Fubo Mountain in any regard…” the slender young man beside him gritted his teeth in anger, “Uncle, perhaps we should return to Fubo Mountain first and come back in a month. I refuse to believe they’ll disrupt our recruitment every time…”

“Idiot,” the bald old man shot him a fierce glare and snapped, “If we retreat like this, won’t we become an even bigger laughingstock! Lin Jun, you and Yan Xiong find a spot and set out the ‘Ink Nether Beads.’ I refuse to believe Fubo Mountain won't secure a single disciple…”

The last statement was directed at the handsome young man behind him. “Yes, Elder.”

Lin Jun had no choice but to agree. Yan Xiong dared not argue further; within Fubo Mountain, he feared his Uncle Yan Luo the most. Still simmering with indignation, he muttered curses under his breath as he walked down the steps in front of the inn with Lin Jun.

Yan Luo followed behind them, his brow furrowing deeper. The loss of disciples to the Heart Devouring Sect, Wind Chasing Valley, and Yin Soul Sect was a minor issue. What concerned him more was what lay hidden behind this incident. Fubo Mountain, the Heart Devouring Sect, Wind Chasing Valley, and the Yin Soul Sect were all subordinate sects to the "Black God Universe." Logically, the "Black God Sect," as their superior sect, should know that the Heart Devouring Sect and the others were causing such a disturbance, yet it remained indifferent and made no move to intervene. This warranted serious consideration!

Could it be that the "Black God Sect" deemed Fubo Mountain unnecessary and thus allowed the Heart Devouring Sect, Wind Chasing Valley, and Yin Soul Sect to suppress them? If that were the case, Fubo Mountain, with its two-hundred-year legacy, might well be carved up within a few years!

This was no baseless alarm. The abandonment of a subordinate sect by a superior sect due to dissatisfaction was not uncommon in the history of the Netherworld.

“I pray things haven't deteriorated to that extent…”

Yan Luo sighed inwardly, pushing his concerns aside. His gaze swept over the dozen or so disciples from the Heart Devouring Sect and the other two, a flicker of coldness flashing in his eyes… The scene of recruitment for the Heart Devouring Sect, Wind Chasing Valley, and Yin Soul Sect was bustling, punctuated by occasional bursts of excited cheering from the crowd. Meanwhile, Fubo Mountain remained cold and deserted. After fifteen minutes, only about ten youths had approached Yan Luo and the other two, all of whom had been filtered out by the other three sects due to poor aptitude.

Yan Luo’s expression grew increasingly grim. He certainly couldn't accept these flawed specimens. Although Fubo Mountain was weak, it was no place to shelter trash. Consequently, without even touching the "Ink Nether Beads," Yan Luo waved them away.

This action only made the number of people approaching them even scarcer. Lin Jun and Yan Xiong felt deeply stifled. Every time they glanced toward the Heart Devouring Sect and the others, they felt they could sense mocking gazes drifting over.

“Uncle, the cultivation of the disciples sent by those three sects isn’t great. Why don't I go over and drive them all away…” Yan Xiong finally couldn't contain himself, glaring viciously at the noisy three groups with malevolence gleaming in his eyes.

“Shut up!” Yan Luo commanded sternly.

“Huh? Someone’s coming over… This person hasn't been over there…”

Lin Jun’s voice suddenly broke the tension. Yan Luo and Yan Xiong turned in surprise. They saw a handsome man in black walking toward them with an unhurried, relaxed gait, showing none of the nervousness displayed by the other children.

Yan Luo frowned almost imperceptibly. This person’s age… might be a bit advanced. Furthermore, although he hadn't registered with the Heart Devouring Sect, Wind Chasing Valley, or Yin Soul Sect, it was likely because his aptitude was too poor and he knew he wouldn't meet their standards.

However, no matter what, this young man was better than those who came to Fubo Mountain only after being rejected by the other three sects. Unconsciously, the tense expressions on Yan Luo, Yan Xiong, and Lin Jun's faces relaxed slightly.

As soon as the man in black drew near, Lin Jun eagerly asked, “Brother, are you here to register?”

“Indeed.” The man in black was Nie Kong. Nie Kong had noticed the three of them the moment they stepped out of the inn.

After secretly observing the registration situation of the four sects for a while, Nie Kong had made his decision. In terms of sect strength, the Heart Devouring Sect, Wind Chasing Valley, and Yin Soul Sect were naturally superior to Fubo Mountain. But for him now, the most important thing was not which sect he entered, but entering a sect. Since his sole purpose here was cultivation, everything else was irrelevant.

With this consideration, choosing where to register became easy.

The three sects—Heart Devouring Sect and the others—had significantly lowered their aptitude requirements this time but were very strict about age; once past eighteen, even good aptitude was useless. During that previous period, several people had already been rejected for being too old.

It wasn't that those individuals waited until such an advanced age to register; it was just that some showed excellent aptitude early, while others manifested it very late—they undoubtedly belonged to the latter category, just as it was on the Heavenly Spirit Continent.

Nie Kong couldn't be certain if he would successfully join the Heart Devouring Sect or the others. If rejected by them and then applying to Fubo Mountain, the final outcome might be nothing gained, whereas choosing Fubo Mountain from the start offered a much higher probability of success.

Most importantly, Fubo Mountain desperately needed someone to salvage its honor, and this presented an opportunity for Nie Kong to exploit!

“Here, place your hand on the ‘Ink Nether Bead.’ Then, do nothing else,” Lin Jun said, his face instantly breaking into a warm smile while inwardly offering a bitter laugh. In the past, youths had begged tearfully to join Fubo Mountain, but now, the roles had been reversed.

Nie Kong smiled faintly and gently placed his right palm upon the “Ink Nether…”