High Martial Arts: Gains one point of health per second, sweeping across the heavens.

Xuancheng Daoist nodded slightly to Su Jie, a hint of appreciation flashing in his eyes: "Su Jie, come with me!"

After saying that, he flicked his sleeve, and a gentle force enveloped Su Jie.

Transforming into a beam of clear light, it vanished from its original spot in an instant, leaping directly towards a palace shrouded in clouds and mist on the mountainside of Wendao Mountain.

The square was left filled with proud young people, each with their own thoughts and mixed feelings.

……

As the light faded, Su Jie found himself in a spacious, anciently furnished hall.

The air in the secret hall was filled with a purer and richer innate Daoist energy than the outside world, making one's soul feel comfortable with every breath.

Mysterious array patterns flowed faintly on the walls, isolating all internal and external probes.

Nine figures, some sitting and some standing, were scattered throughout the hall.

Although they all restrained their aura, the invisible energy unique to the Sovereign Realm still made the entire secret chamber feel somewhat stagnant.

After bringing Su Jie to the palace, Xuan Cheng Daoist bowed slightly to the nine representatives of the Holy Sects and said, "Esteemed Holy Sects' New Envoys, Su Jie has been brought here."

After saying that, he stepped aside, looking down at his nose and mind, as if he were just a guide.

Su Jie's gaze swept over the nine figures.

There were men and women, young and old, dressed in different ways, but all of them had unique emblems on their clothes, clearly representing the nine holy sects.

"Tsk, what a grand display," Su Jie thought to himself, but his face remained calm as he bowed respectfully, saying, "Junior Su Jie greets all the seniors."

Nine pairs of eyes fell on him simultaneously, scrutinizing him from head to toe as if they were real.

Their memories were not altered; they all knew Su Jie's true assessment results.

The meanings behind these gazes are complex: curiosity, scrutiny, inquiry, calculation, and undisguised fervor.

Su Jie instantly felt as if he were being pressed down by nine invisible mountains at the same time, or as if he were being thoroughly scanned from the inside out by nine pairs of eyes that could see through his soul.

He was as if he were a walking, rare, divine medicine, or a key that could unlock some forbidden treasure.

The hall was silent, save for the gazes that met and clashed, emanating a pressure that seemed to solidify into a tangible form.

Just as Su Jie felt a chill run down his spine and was about to break the silence—

"Oh……"

A soft laugh, tinged with a hint of cynicism, came from the right.

Su Jie turned his gaze slightly and saw a young man leaning against a jade pillar, wearing a brightly colored robe and with a string of strange jade pendants jingling around his waist.

His appearance was so handsome it was almost otherworldly. He was playing with a jade slip in his hand, his eyes lingering on Su Jie with great interest.

"Wanxiang Tianzong, Hua Wuqi," the young man introduced himself, his tone languid.

"Little guy, your 'Supreme' Dharma form looks familiar...tsk, it's a bit like a variant of our sect's long-lost 'Return to Truth' Dharma form? And it's mixed with some other indescribable things. Interesting."

No sooner had he finished speaking than an old man opposite him, dressed in a Taoist robe with a stern and solemn face, said in a deep voice: "Hua Wuqi, stop talking nonsense. How can you lightly discuss variants of a supreme Dharma form?"

"Young friend Su Jie's profound foundation and boundless energy seem to resonate with the 'Primordial Chaos' Dao of my Yin-Yang Sacred Palace."

"What a joke." On the left, a cold-looking middle-aged envoy with a sword case on his back, whose entire body seemed like a drawn sword, spoke in a voice like the clash of metal.

"Sword energy soars to the heavens, and all manifestations of the laws are extensions of sword intent. This boy possesses ten divine rings, their sharpness concealed yet pure, his killing intent hidden—clearly a born swordsman! He deserves to join my Tongtian Sword Sect to temper his supreme sword soul!"

"Sword cultivators who kill mere pawns, what do they know about the Great Dao of the Physical Body!" A deep, booming voice, like muffled thunder, rang out. The speaker was a burly, bald man with a metallic sheen and an iron tower-like build.

He stared with his big, round eyes, "Kid, look at your physique, your energy, your strength! I can smell it from eight feet away!"

"Come to my Primordial Immortal Sect! Break through all laws with brute force, shatter the world with a single punch—that's the true path! What are you doing hanging out with those cowards who play with spirits, swords, and yin-yang orbs?!"

"Barbarians are barbarians." A woman with a graceful figure, shrouded in a hazy fairy light, spoke in a clear, cold voice.

"Young friend Su Jie has a noble bloodline, which is in harmony with the creation of chaos. He should enter my Jade Void Palace to cultivate the supreme immortal path and nurture his noble spirit, so as not to waste such a talent."

As she spoke, a faint radiance rippled, as if accompanied by the sounds of the Great Dao.

"The Jade Void Palace's tranquil and inactive lifestyle may have dampened your enthusiasm, young friend," another middle-aged man, dressed in a purple-gold Taoist robe, wearing a star-studded crown, and with a dignified face, slowly spoke.

His aura was the most magnificent, as if he were one with the rules of the entire hall. "My Supreme Dao Palace holds the reins of the Daoist clan, with the oldest lineage and the richest resources. Young friend, if you join my sect, you can receive the true teachings of the Great Dao and wield the power over the universe."

"The true teachings of the Great Dao may not be suitable for everyone." A refined man dressed as a Confucian scholar, holding a scroll, said with a gentle smile, "Our Wanfa Tianzong embraces all things and has thoroughly studied all methods."

Young friend, you possess the rudiments of several supreme laws, and you need to learn from them extensively and integrate them. Our sect's scripture library contains diagrams illustrating the origins of all laws, which may be of assistance to you.

"Only in the cycle of reincarnation can one see one's true self." A faint voice came from the shadowy corner.

"Su Jie, you bear faint traces of the 'past,' yet have no certainty about the 'future.' Interesting. Join my Samsara Immortal Sect, and you can observe your past and present lives, and see the path to your future."

Finally, the gazes of all the envoys, intentionally or unintentionally, fell upon the old man dressed in a simple gray robe, who remained with his eyes closed in meditation, seemingly uninterested in anything. He was the representative of the Wuji Immortal Sect.

The old man in the gray robe slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was cloudy, yet it seemed to devour all light.

He didn't look at Su Jie, but slowly said, "From the Wuji comes the Taiji, from the Taiji comes the Yin and Yang... What's the point of fighting? What belongs to someone else will belong to them."

The nine representatives of the Holy Sect exchanged words, and although they did not directly take action, the collision of their Daoist principles and the clash of their ideas had already slightly distorted the space inside the hall, making the invisible pressure even greater.

They were all releasing their own "Dao," showcasing the depth of their sects, and trying to attract or, rather... influence Su Jie's choices.

Su Jie stood in the center, bearing it all. His face was calm, but his mind was perfectly clear.

These old foxes, on the surface, are arguing about which path he's suited for, but in reality, they're probing his background and applying pressure to see his reaction and character.

If it were an ordinary prodigy, being "snatched up" by the nine great sects in this way, they would probably be overwhelmed with excitement and unable to control themselves.

But Su Jie was different; he knew that the origin of his cultivation was too terrifying.

The supreme Dharma form, fragments of the ten most powerful laws, the tenth-order holy soul... each one is enough to cause a huge upheaval.

P.S.: This chapter mainly introduces the setting of the Nine Great Holy Sects.