The examiner didn’t like this either. An intermediate Mortal Shell could still join the sect.

To do otherwise would be rude towards Fuyou because they have discussed this prior. Fuyou had given the sect so many seeds so Eight Zhang Peak was definitely on his side.

Both Divine Black and Eight Zhang Peak wouldn’t mind taking in one or two pieces of trash along.

Thus, this whole examination was only a formality. Now, Yang Si had brought too much attention to this deal.

“An intermediate Mortal Shell is fine, the start of cultivation. He can still join.” The examiner said.

“With all due respect, Junior Uncle, our sect is looking to recruit some talents today. An intermediate Mortal Shell is simply the lowest requirement. In my opinion, he has a mortal fate, mortal palace, and mortal body on top of being too old. It’s not worth it.” Yang Si purposely raised his voice so that everyone could hear. The other potential recruits started paying attention right away.

“Yang Si, I can make my own decision.” The examiner frowned, not wanting to make a big deal out of this.

“Junior Uncle, this pertains to the reputation of our sect, it’s not fair for others if a piece of trash like him can join.” Yang Si had no intention of letting this die down.

Many eyes turned towards the examiner with skepticism. His expression soured, thinking that Yang Si was trying to force his hand.

“Hmm?” Fuyou’s brows furrowed. Normally, the hierarchy was respected in Divine Black. In this case, Yang Si was being too aggressive and overstepping his bounds.

“You’ve been gone for too long.” Huang Jie shook his head: “This Yang Si kid is not bad among the first-generation disciples. Most importantly, he has been chosen by Furious Tiger Peak, that’s why he’s so haughty.”

Fuyou understood right away and snorted.

Furious Tiger was the demon branch among the five while Fuyou and Huang Ji came from Eight Zhang ruled by humans.

The competition between the five peaks has never stopped; they were locked in constant strife.

Though Yang Si was a human, he has been picked by Furious Tiger. This decision stemmed from his dislike towards Li Qiye on top of wanting to cause trouble for Eight Zhang.

“True, Divine Black is one of the most prestigious powers in northern West King, no way it’ll do something like this.” Someone in the line whispered.

“A few intermediate Mortal Shell cultivators earlier got denied.” Another added.

“I’m at grand Mortal Shell, so it should be no problem for me to join if he can, right?” One demon said loudly.

“Yeah! We want fairness!” The crowd became agitated.

“Silence!” The examiner roared thunderously.

He was quite powerful so the roar was enough to intimidate and make people dizzy. A few nearly fell down.

The place became quiet once more, only soft whispers could be heard: “Even the recruitment process is unfair, how can this first-rate sect keep its reputation?”

“I’m sure Divine Black will be partial.” Another said.

The crowd only spoke quietly among themselves now while staring at the examiner.

He was in a tough spot. Not dealing with this wisely would affect his personal reputation and the sect’s.

If he were to let Li Qiye in, he would be the one receiving all the criticisms from the terrible optics.

He glanced at Yang Si but Yang Si wasn’t afraid. The latter had his own backings.

He shifted his focus over to Fuyou and Huang Jie. He wanted to help them out but everyone in line knew about the potential unfair recruitment now.

“Change the assessment.” Fuyou said.

The examiner agreed. Divine Black also recruited disciples for other reasons - such as potential alchemists or knowledgeable scholars...

“What are you good at?” The examiner asked.

Li Qiye was still sitting lazily in his carriage to the examiner’s chagrin. He didn’t know why the other two wanted to help this unsavory fella. He would have kicked the guy down long ago without this special circumstance.

“I can eat and sleep.” Li Qiye responded.

The examiner nearly vomited blood. The other disciples from Divine Black naturally didn’t like this answer either, the same for those waiting in line.

They started becoming rowdy again, looking down on Li Qiye.

“Anything else?” The examiner’s patience was running thin. He has never seen someone coming to join the sect in this manner before.

“Try stone placing.” Huang Jie told the examiner his idea.

“Stone placing?” Fuyou turned his sight towards the turtle statue near the gaze, stopping at the runes.

“Really?” The examiner hesitated and asked Fuyou for his input.

“Not many new recruits can do this.” The other disciples became surprised.

“Only the truly gifted can do so.” An older disciple quietly said: “The last person to do this was Senior Sister Qianyue.”

“Yes, nearly everyone would rather do something else than stone placing.” A younger disciple nodded: “Senior Sister’s talents are peerless because of her inborn true fate. That’s why she wanted a challenge.”

Those in the known have turned their attention towards their patriarch’s statue.

They knew that it consisted of numerous ancient runes. They were part of a dao chapter unknown by all.

The sect had a special stone. If one were to correctly press this stone against the corresponding rune, the latter would light up. They could then move up to the next.

There were a total of thirteen runic sections for thirteen stones. Activating the embedded runes in all the thirteen sections meant winning an unthinkable reward.

“So how about it?” Fuyou asked Li Qiye.

“Over there?” Li Qiye glanced at the turtle and its runes with a smirk.

“Yes, use an ancestral stone to activate the first rune. If you pick the right one, the rune will flash and you’ll have another try.” The examiner elaborated.

“Is this a joke? He has no chance because doing so requires extreme comprehension. Someone with extreme comprehension wouldn’t have such a low cultivation.” A disciple on the sideline commented.

“So why does Junior Uncle Huang Jie want him to try?” Another became confused.

“So that he would get the hell out of here instead of acting like a young master. I think Junior Uncle is very annoyed at him.” A friend answered.

This was naturally not the case. Huang Jie simply wanted to see if Fuyou was right about Li Qiye’s abilities.