The number of disciples each major immortal sect would accept was limited, a mere few dozen people. Compared to the crowd of over a hundred thousand loose cultivators from various regions now packed into Moonwatch Immortal City, this number was pathetically small.

  "Make way, make way! Our young master of the Adler family is joining the Ancient Sword Sect today!"

  Many loose cultivators who hadn't yet completed their tasks and couldn't join the sects were still intensely curious and interested in the proceedings. The entire street was nearly overflowing with people. If not for their fear of the Foundation Establishment seniors at the sect recruitment points, and the risk of angering them, the square, which could hold several thousand, would likely have been completely packed.

  "Look, isn't that the young master of the Adler family? He's joining the Ancient Sword Sect, the number one ranked sect! His future prospects will surely be limitless."

  "Wow, those two brothers actually joined Verdant Pill Palace together. What remarkable immortal fortune!" The surrounding crowd buzzed with envious chatter.

  Leo rubbed his nose. He had originally been short a few types of spiritual herbs for Verdant Pill Palace, so he had sold off the ones he had. He hadn't expected to return and successfully refine a top-grade Qi Gathering Pill. With his alchemy skills, he could have been exempted from part of the herb requirement for Verdant Pill Palace. But cultivating a new batch of herbs from seeds using the boundary space was no longer a matter of a single day. This immortal path also depended on fate. It seemed his connection with Verdant Pill Palace was lacking; it was not something to be forced.

  Two disciples had already entered the Palace of the Heavenly Apex before him. Leo took a few steps forward, emerging from the crowd. Just then, a group of people rudely pushed the crowds aside on both sides.

  "Out of the way, out of the way! Our Gus family's young master is now going to the Palace of the Heavenly Apex to pay respects to the seniors and become a disciple. You loose cultivators, don't block the path!"

  Two late-stage Qi Refining cultivators and four mid-stage ones roughly shoved the loose cultivators aside, revealing their young master in the center—a pale-faced, somewhat arrogant young man with a dissipated look.

  "What's wrong with you, fellow? I said make way, so why are you still standing in front?" A middle-aged, late-stage Qi Refining cultivator frowned at Leo for not moving aside and stepped forward to shove him.

  "This is Moonwatch Immortal City, and moreover, it's the recruitment site for the Palace of the Heavenly Apex. Are you planning to start a fight here? Don't you know the rules of Moonwatch Immortal City?"

  Leo didn't even lift his eyelids, his voice cold. Under normal circumstances, whether inside the city or out, he would have deferred to a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator. But now that he was about to join the Palace of the Heavenly Apex, he would soon become a sect disciple and no longer needed to scrape by in Moonwatch Immortal City. Naturally, he didn't care if the other's cultivation was a level or two higher than his own.

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  "Well said! Who do you think you are? The Gus family's young master is joining the Palace of the Heavenly Apex, what gives you, a lackey, the right to be so arrogant?" A burly man with a flushed face, reeking of alcohol, strode over. A jade-white wine gourd hung from his waist, and he was also at the late-stage Qi Refining level. Glancing disdainfully at the group, he brushed past them and clapped Leo on the shoulder. "Come on, brother, let's go join the Palace of the Heavenly Apex together."

  "How do you know I'm joining the Palace of the Heavenly Apex?" Leo asked, startled.

  "You were selling Verdant Pill Palace herbs along the street yesterday, and you collected several types of herbs needed for the Palace of the Heavenly Apex. Now I run into you here, so naturally, you're joining the Palace of the Heavenly Apex." The red-faced man said in a low, conspiratorial tone.

  Realizing that both Leo and this man were also about to join a sect, the middle-aged, late-stage Qi Refining cultivator's aggressive demeanor faltered. He knew he couldn't intimidate them, and with their future sect backgrounds, they were not people a mere loose cultivator like him could afford to provoke. Recognizing this, he immediately fell silent and shut his mouth.

  "Hmph, so what? Once we're inside the Palace of the Heavenly Apex, I'll show you what this young master is capable of." The Gus family's young master flicked his sleeves, cold-faced, leaving his retinue behind. He brushed past Leo and the others and was the first to arrive at the Palace of the Heavenly Apex recruitment office.

  Each immortal sect had a small compound covering several acres on the other side of the square, with a small pavilion at its entrance. Inside the pavilion sat several cultivators of varying ages. A few disciples at the Qi Refining stage were serving tea and helping test the spiritual roots of enrolling disciples.

  But the four people seated around the wooden table within the pavilion sat as still as mountains. Occasionally, a wisp of their aura would inadvertently leak out, sending chills down one's spine. So this was how powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators were—just their aura alone made him, a sixth-layer Qi Refining cultivator, feel an irresistible sense of powerlessness.

  "Greetings, esteemed seniors. I, Van Gus, have completed the Palace of the Heavenly Apex sect task and have come specifically to enroll." The Gus family's young master shed his arrogant expression as he ascended the stairs of the quaint, antique pavilion and bowed to the few Foundation Establishment cultivators.

  "So young, yet already so ostentatious and undisciplined. Even if you join the Palace of the Heavenly Apex, you'll find it difficult to achieve much in the future." An elderly man seated at the head, with eyebrows as sharp as swords and a stern face, said coldly.

  Van Gus's face paled slightly. Though he had previously thrown his weight around Moonwatch Immortal City, looking down on ordinary people, these were Foundation Establishment seniors from the Palace of the Heavenly Apex. Even if he felt aggrieved internally, he dared not show the slightest hint of it. Offending a Foundation Establishment senior could not only undo all his previous efforts but might even cost him his life.

  "Get over there and hand over your spiritual items for registration!" The stern elder barked.

  Van Gus no longer had any of the arrogance of the Gus family's young master. Meekly, he retreated to the side, took the spiritual items from his storage pouch, and handed them one by one to the two menial Qi Refining disciples. He then underwent a spiritual root test.

  "Senior Brother Sam, why be so angry? A newly recruited disciple, don't scare him too much." A thin, forty-ish woman of ordinary appearance but elegant bearing sitting nearby said with a light smile.

  "Senior Brother Sam is renowned throughout the Palace of the Heavenly Apex for his strictness. This kid is young and arrogant; running afoul of Senior Brother Sam, he won't get off lightly." The golden-crowned, silver-robed youth chuckled.

  "I'm doing this for his own good. So young, yet so arrogant, and without any real skill. Later on, within the Palace of the Heavenly Apex, he might not even be able to take a single step. If he leaves the sect, he'll probably be dead in the wilderness within days." The elder named Sam shook his head.

  Leo, walking behind, overheard the elder's words and was inwardly startled. His speculation was correct. Even within an immortal sect, all was not peaceful.

  "Leo pays his respects to the esteemed seniors." After a brief moment of surprise, Leo quickly bowed. The four seated figures were chatting amiably without the slightest formality, suggesting they were all Foundation Establishment seniors. A Qi Refining cultivator couldn't interact with several Foundation Establishment cultivators as peers. Although they appeared to be of different ages, Foundation Establishment seniors had lifespans of nearly three hundred years. It was impossible to judge their age simply by appearance. Following Van Gus's example, addressing them as "seniors" was certainly the safest approach.