He went straight for the sect. It wasn't too far, only a few hours away from the capital on foot. The sect was situated on a plateau. It was surrounded by a giant wall encasing it entirely. The wall was of pure white with orange designs of suns all over it. It was very clean too. Even the wall was a grandiose masterpiece.

As he reached the gates, he was taken aback once again. They were bright red and yellow in colors and shaped like a half-circle. Probably to imitate a setting sun. It was an amazing sight. As he walked to the front of the gates, he was stopped by a dozen men wearing white robes with twenty-two suns engraved on them. They asked him why a kid like him was here and he said he wanted to join the sect. They laughed at him and said that the selection would only start in two months.

Two months wasn't much of a wait considering that he spent around three years to get here. Obviously, he chose to wait. And so, the kid that had the mind of an older man went back into the forest. He had no money and even if he did have some, it would have likely been far from enough to even pay for a night at the capital. So, he decided to live in the forest for a few weeks. He was more than used to it.

...

And finally, two months later, he came back to the doors of the Twenty-two Suns Pavillion. There were thousands of other kids around. Maybe even tens of thousands. As he looked around with eyes full of excitement at the prospect of so many new rivals, Jin grinned. The path towards the top of one’s arts could only be meaningful if there were walls on your path!

Soon, many men in robes appeared after the gates opened, walking leisurely to stand in front of the sea of kids. The one at the lead had a different robe. It wasn't white but silver colored. He was likely someone with a higher standing. And as if to prove that such a guess was right, the man spoke: "Thank you for coming all the way here. We are very grateful to see so many young geniuses coming today to tackle on our tests and hopefully join us!"

Even though he spoke to kids, he spoke humbly and respectfully. He wasn't degrading them for their youths but considered them for their potential future instead. A true man doesn't see just what is in front of him but strive to see beyond. With this single sentence, he gave a very powerful impression to Jin. He wasn't the only one impressed though. The wave of cheers from the sea of kids was deafening to say the least. Whether they were cheering for the same reasons as Jin was a different matter though...

Not for a second did Jin consider ow the man’s voice could be heard by everyone and at such an average volume. To him, loudspeakers were common enough that it did not seem out of place. He was clueless about most of this world and had not tried to learn much about it. It was arrogance but could he be blamed? After all, he was the strongest back then…

A few moments later, the same man spoke again once silence came back: "Now, our basic entrance requirement is for you to have reached the second stage of body refinement and I believe most of you have done so! If you did, please walk calmly through the gates! There is no need to hurry or push each other, the gates won’t close any time soon!"

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As he finished his words, the opened gate revealed the inside of the Sect. It was filled with many beautifully crafted pavilions of white marbles with red and yellow rooftops. There were statues depicting great warriors that one could even see from here, a testimony to their imposing size. Jin's blood boiled. However, he had no idea what the second stage of body refinement meant. He guessed that it was likely a way to categorize someone’s might and believed he had long reached it and gone beyond.

Kids began to walk towards the gate and one by one, they crossed the threshold. However, some seemed to be stuck by an invisible wall at the entrance. The sect's men laughed about it. The man in silver robes spoke once more:

"Young friends who have not reached the second stage of body refinement will not be able to cross our gates. However, don't be discouraged for a different test will be used for those who still wish to prove their qualifications"

Many youths who were stuck at the gates began to leave for the side dejectedly. They had been stopped at the gates. They could only hope the other test would be easy...

It soon came Jin's turn to walk through the gates. He had followed the crowd along while in his own bubble of thoughts. He could already picture himself fighting dozens of rivals... And ended up colliding face first into the invisible wall, much to the amusement of the other kids. This kid who had been in his own world got face slapped by the gates, hilarious.

Many pointed at him chuckling, especially those beyond the gates, they didn't hide their laughter. Still, instead of being humiliated and ashamed, Jin laughed as he got up. Then, he went to the side to wait for the different test. Of course, he hadn't reached the second stage. He didn't even know what it meant! Clearly, it was not something that had to do with true might and martial arts comprehension. Then again, how could they have analyzed that? As for how there could be an invisible wall blocking only some kids from entering the sect, he did not think it too weird. In fact, he did not think of it at all. His thoughts were elsewhere. It was to the point that he was not noticing many of the incoherencies surrounding him.

He could only patiently wait until all those who could cross over had. And it turned out that there were many, many, many less than expected. Out of the tens of thousands of kids who tried, only a few thousands had crossed over. In the end, there was still a sea of kids outside. And that's when the gates closed. Under the anxious gazes of all the remaining kids.

The sect’s men then went in front of the kids and one of them spoke: "We cultivators respect strength above all. You young friends have yet to reach the strength required to join us but you still have a chance to prove yourselves. Defeat one of the examiners and prove your own might!"

As he said so, three dozen kids in robes were brought from beyond the gates by another silver robed elder. They were standing on a thin floating disk. As the disk came down, the three-dozen youth in robes stood behind it and the disk got up once more, floating around five meters in the air. Jin appreciated this incredible technological item. It seemed like he would need to reconsider his view on this world. They actually had such advanced technology beyond even what was in his previous world! How unexpected!

Of course, it had nothing to do with technology as he knew it. But he did not know that. His mind tried and succeeded in making him link things to what he knew from his previous life. After having lived for so many years, it was difficult to admit that you knew nothing and started rebuilding your world views from the ground up. As such, his attention was elsewhere.

The second silver robed man who just arrived spoke next: "This batch of second stage disciples will be your opponents!"

While many kids shivered at the idea for they knew what it meant, Jin was filled with excitement.