Nangong Xianweng led him before a mirror.

"Step forward and stand there," Nangong Xianweng instructed.

Upon seeing the mirror, Lan Zhi—being quite knowledgeable—recognized it as something similar to a Heart-Viewing Mirror or Mind-Testing Stone.

He calmly stepped forward without hesitation.

After all, he harbored no ill intentions toward the Seven Stars Sect—he merely sought to learn its heritage. Wasn't that why everyone joined a sect?

However, the moment he stood before it, the mirror suddenly revealed the image of a blue-eyed octopus demon!

Lan Zhi's expression changed dramatically.

Inside the cave treasure, Yan Xinming was equally shocked and panicked.

Their true forms had been exposed!

Yet Lan Zhi soon noticed that Nangong Xianweng remained completely unfazed, showing no sign of surprise.

"Excellent. It seems your special bloodline has awakened—no wonder you possess a Heavenly Water Spirit Root. Could this be some kind of divine beast?" Nangong Xianweng studied the octopus form with interest.

Lan Zhi forced a dry laugh, though inwardly, he grew wary of the Seven Stars Sect. What kind of mirror could reveal his true form?

Fortunately, in the mortal realm, many humans carried traces of mixed bloodlines, so such a revelation wasn't too unusual.

The octopus image in the mirror gradually faded, replaced by lines of text:

[Earth-grade Immortal Beast Bloodline: Blue-Eyed Water-Avoiding Fish. Proficient in water-based laws. Its eyes can repel water and serve as the primary material for the immortal artifact, Water-Avoiding Spirit Pearl. Flaw: The fish eyes possess chaotic properties, which reduce bloodline intelligence and comprehension. Seven evolutionary paths exist, one of which leads to Xuan Immortal bloodline...]

"That's it?" Lan Zhi grew excited upon seeing the evolutionary paths, but his enthusiasm deflated when he noticed the trailing ellipsis.

"The rest requires contribution points to unlock," Nangong Xianweng explained. "Such bloodline evolution is still far beyond your reach—no need to dwell on it."

More text appeared in the mirror:

[Special Bloodline Ranking within Sect: 8,284th (Top 10,000). Eligible for Core Disciple nomination.]

Lan Zhi's eyes widened. "8,284th?"

To his surprise, Nangong Xianweng looked envious. "Your talent is remarkable! Bloodline gifts like yours manifest more easily than spirit roots. Your cultivation speed will skyrocket—congratulations!"

Lan Zhi's lips twitched as he nodded silently.

Internally, he marveled at the Seven Stars Sect's hidden depths. This was the mortal realm—how could there be so many bloodlines surpassing celestial immortals? A bloodline represented an entire race—was this ranking equivalent to a racial hierarchy?

Naturally, he had higher expectations for his own bloodline's standing.

"Next comes tests for temperament, comprehension, and the like. Pay attention," Nangong Xianweng suddenly announced.

Before Lan Zhi could react, a beam of light from the mirror enveloped him.

He felt momentarily dazed before regaining clarity.

"What just happened?" he mentally asked Yan Xinming.

"I don't know. Your consciousness blanked out briefly—even your soul couldn't withstand it. Truly bizarre," Yan Xinming replied gravely.

As they tensed, a dot appeared at the mirror's center.

Four lines extended from it, representing "Willpower," "Comprehension," "Temperament," and "Awareness," each scaled from 0 to 100.

Soon, four red dots traveled along the lines, stopping at:

37, 25, 45, and 18.

Nangong Xianweng nodded approvingly. "Not bad—your temperament is acceptable."

Lan Zhi stared at the numbers in disbelief. "How are my scores this low? Impossible!"

"You're actually above average. Most disciples score single digits," Nangong Xianweng remarked, raising an eyebrow.

The mirror displayed another line:

[Temperament: Passable. Overall New Disciple Ranking: 5,871st]

Lan Zhi bristled at the ranking. How could a mere mortal sect have so many elites?

"Outstanding! Top 6,000! Your future looks bright!" Nangong Xianweng gave him a thumbs-up.

Lan Zhi didn't know whether to thank him or curse—it sounded like praise, yet his pride smarted. How could his talents be so mediocre?

Three days later, he was led to a valley.

"This is Immortal Seed Valley. You'll train here for three months alongside this batch of a thousand seedlings. Aim for the top ten," Nangong Xianweng said, patting his shoulder before leaving.

Alone, Lan Zhi surveyed the valley square filled with youthful faces.

"Yan Xinming, can you sense these disciples' aptitudes?" he asked inwardly.

Silence.

"Hello? Cat got your tongue?" Lan Zhi frowned.

"Lan Zhi... we might have stumbled into an extraordinary sect," Yan Xinming finally whispered, voice trembling.

"What?"

"Every disciple here surpasses supreme-grade spirit roots. Some... might genuinely outmatch you," Yan Xinming admitted, swallowing hard.

"Impossible! How could a mortal realm host so many supreme talents?" Lan Zhi exclaimed.

In truth, these prodigies hailed from myriad worlds.

The Seven Stars Sect dispatched disciples across realms on unrestricted talent-gathering missions. With infinite worlds, exceptional geniuses inevitably congregated in the Seven Stars Realm, creating this staggering concentration.

A youth noticed Lan Zhi's blue eyes and approached. "Hi! I'm Zhang Zhi from Huangming Realm. Which realm are you from?"

"Realm? You mean continent?" Lan Zhi blinked.

"Ah! You're local?" Zhang Zhi grinned. "We elites come from countless worlds. Only those with immortal potential enter Immortal Seed Valley. Let's get acquainted—I wield a Heaven-grade Spirit Root!"

Lan Zhi's worldview shattered. Now he understood—the Seven Stars Sect recruited across the cosmos!

But how? Even Great Ascension cultivators like them needed immortal arks for inter-realm travel, which took ages. How did the sect gather so many geniuses?

The Seven Stars Sect's profundity stunned him.

No wonder Elder Nangong warned that the sect's waters ran deep—this was an abyss!

Yan Xinming fell silent, too awed to speak.

Suddenly, a radiant pillar descended from the sky, its light coalescing into a divine figure radiating boundless starlight and majesty over the thousand-odd disciples.

"A god!" Lan Zhi gasped internally.

This was no minor local deity but a true eternal celestial—the kind only seen in heavenly courts! What was such a being doing in the mortal realm?

Lan Si retracted his pressure and smiled. "I am Lan Si, Valley Master of Immortal Seed Valley, a Third-Rank Star Official—an eternal celestial. For three months, I'll guide you in Seven Stars Sect's supreme arts to broaden your horizons, temper your wills, and cultivate wisdom. I hope you'll advance through self-improvement, unlike me—limited by exchanging contribution points for a divine title."

Lan Zhi froze.

Did he hear correctly? Celestial titles could be requested from the sect?

This implied the Seven Stars Sect housed a being who controlled heavenly authority—someone at least at Immortal Emperor level!

Was the Seven Stars Ancestor such a figure? An actual Great Power?

Celestial titles granted immortality—yet here they were, casually obtainable through sect requests!

Even more shocking—the sect seemed to disdain such titles, whereas immortals begged to join heavenly courts!

Lan Si continued, "Now, receive your foundational cultivation technique." With a wave, divine light flooded the disciples' minds.

Lan Zhi's consciousness absorbed a manual: [Seven Stars Mystic Truth Qi Refining Art].

Skimming it, he gasped. Though only covering Qi Refining, its profundity surpassed anything he'd encountered!

"Using natural formations as spiritual apertures? Alchemy cauldrons as foundations? Dao insights as roots? Heaven-earth inscriptions as mana imprints? This is Qi Refining material?!"

These were Nascent Soul-level concepts! Yet the sect expected new disciples to master them immediately?

Absurd!

Awed, Lan Zhi grew increasingly reverent toward the Seven Stars Sect. Its founder must truly be a reincarnated Great Power!

Above him, Su Yuan's consciousness hovered unseen.

Finger-seals dancing, he calculated future developments.

Through Lan Zhi and Yan Xinming, he would propagate his "Great Power" persona across the immortal realm—a smokescreen to deter interference while he grew stronger.

Why? Preemptive deception.

His multiversal ventures would inevitably attract immortal scrutiny. By fabricating a supreme identity, he could stall opponents through doubt and caution, buying time while harvesting reputation points.

Two birds with one stone.

Essentially, a shell company.

If an actual Great Power exposed his ruse... well, he'd just have to flee.