"Cough cough, buddy, where's the invitation?"

Lu Datou awkwardly reminded him.

Lao Tie slapped his forehead and finally remembered, "I almost forgot the main thing!"

Then he tore a few pages from the magazine, took out a seal from his body, and stamped it a few times on the pages.

"Done!"

Lao Tie handed over the pages, then went back to reading the magazine, swallowing as he read.

Chen Xiao and the others were speechless. What was this? An invitation?

Chen Xiao took the pages and saw that the seal on them had three ancient characters, which translated to 'Iron Fist Sect'.

What the hell was the Iron Fist Sect? Could a seal really be used as an invitation?

He couldn't help but ask, "Uncle Lu, will this work? Is it reliable?"

Lu Datou told the truth, "I don't know. Anyway, you can't get in either way, so just try it."

"..."

Everyone was speechless. This whole thing was unreliable, mainly because of these two people, especially unreliable.

But the truth was beyond their expectations. The envoys of the Pantheon took the stamped pages and, not only became more polite to them, but also let them pass immediately.

Chen Xiao and the others were stunned. Who exactly was this Lao Tie? And what kind of sect was this Iron Fist Sect that could make the faces of the Pantheon envoys change upon seeing it?

"Not bad, Lao Tie. I didn't expect you to be so capable. I thought you were just bragging to me!"

Lu Datou patted Lao Tie on the shoulder and said with a look of admiration.

"Of course, I never brag!"

Lao Tie said seriously, but his eyes never left the magazine in his hand.

"Alright, Lao Tie, stop reading for now. Let me introduce you to some friends."

Lu Datou said, reaching for the magazine in his hand.

"Brother Datou, what's the rush? I'll give it back to you when I'm done!"

Lao Tie grabbed the magazine and moved it to the other side like a child.

Lu Datou was dumbfounded, "What 'give it back'? If you like it, I'll just give it to you. You can read it slowly later!"

"Really, Brother Datou? You're too kind! No wonder we're brothers who've been through life and death together!"

Lao Tie immediately looked excited and carefully put away the magazine.

"Uncle Lu, your friend is very interesting. Please introduce him to us."

Chen Xiao became very interested in this Lao Tie, not only because of the Iron Fist Sect, but also because of his unfathomable strength.

He could participate in the Martial Arts Tournament, which meant he was a martial artist, but Chen Xiao couldn't feel any martial artist's aura on him.

There were only two possibilities: either he had no inner force at all and was just an external martial artist, or his strength was so profound that he had completely concealed his aura.

Chen Xiao was more inclined to the second possibility.

"Actually, I only met Lao Tie yesterday. How about this, let's all introduce ourselves."

Lu Datou suggested. He knew Chen Xiao and Gongsun Yi well, but he didn't know Qi Qingfei and Lin Zicong.

The group walked up the steps towards the top of the mountain, introducing themselves in turn as they walked.

When it was Lao Tie's turn, he said, "Hello everyone, my name is Tie Xue, from the Iron Fist Sect."

No wonder Lu Datou called him Lao Tie so affectionately; it turned out his surname was Tie!

However, his self-introduction was like no introduction at all. Apart from his name, he didn't provide any useful information.

"Brother Tie, I have a question. What is the relationship between your sect and the Pantheon? Why did they let us in as soon as they saw the seal with your sect's name on it?"

Chen Xiao didn't bother to beat around the bush and directly asked his question.

"Uh, this... actually, I shouldn't be telling you these things, but since you're Brother Datou's friends, I might as well tell you!"

A trace of hesitation flashed across Tie Xue's stern face. "Actually, the Iron Fist Sect and the Pantheon are both ancient martial arts sects, and they're both top-tier ancient martial arts sects. On the surface, they're even equal, so the disciples of the Pantheon let you in immediately when they saw the Iron Fist Sect seal."

"When I heard you say this yesterday, I just thought you were bragging. I didn't expect it to be true."

Lu Datou shook his head and sighed.

Chen Xiao asked again, "Brother Tie, what exactly are ancient martial arts sects? Is it convenient for you to talk about it?"

Chen Xiao's question also represented everyone's doubts, and everyone looked at Tie Xue, waiting for his answer.

Tie Xue pondered for a moment, and finally said, "The origins of ancient martial arts sects are complicated. It's not that it's inconvenient for me to talk about it, but it's a long story. Simply put, you can understand that ancient martial arts sects are sects that are far away from the mundane world. For example, the Pantheon. You also know that the disciples of the Pantheon are very powerful, but they are rarely seen in the martial world."

"As far as I know, there are still more than seventy existing ancient martial arts sects, of which the top-tier sects are the Two Palaces, Three Sects, and One Valley."

"The Two Palaces are the Pantheon and the Lingxiao Palace, the Three Sects are the Iron Fist Sect, the Broadsword Sect, and the Misty Rain Sect, and the One Valley is the逍遥谷 (Xiaoyao Valley)."

"It's enough for you to know these things. For ordinary people, it's difficult to come into contact with them..."

When Tie Xue said these things, he seemed much more reliable.

But Lu Datou directly retorted after hearing his words, "That's not necessarily true. Lao Tie, my nephew Chen Xiao is very powerful. Don't be arrogant!"

Tie Xue wasn't angry and said with a smile, "Brother Datou, I know I may seem a little arrogant when I say this, but that's just the way it is. We are people from two different worlds!"

Lu Datou snorted unhappily, "What do you mean, people from two different worlds? If you say that kind of nonsense again, I won't take you to the massage parlor!"

"No way, Brother Datou! You promised me! How can you go back on your word!"

Tie Xue switched back to his obsessed state in a second when he heard Lu Datou's words.

Chen Xiao was speechless. He quickly asked again, "Brother Tie, I don't know if you've heard of the Imperial City's Embroidered Uniform Guard. Do they also belong to the ancient martial arts sects?"

Chen Xiao had finally found someone who knew a lot about ancient martial arts sects, so he naturally had to ask clearly.

"Oh? You even know about the Imperial City's Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Tie Xue immediately looked at Chen Xiao with new eyes. "That's right, the Imperial City's Embroidered Uniform Guard does belong to the ancient martial arts sects, but their strength is very weak. They can only be considered a third-rate sect. Otherwise, they wouldn't be stuck in a place like the Imperial City."

Qi Qingfei asked in confusion, "Isn't the Imperial City good? If the Imperial City isn't good, why did the emperors of the previous dynasty establish their capital there?"

Tie Xue smiled slightly and explained.

"Young lady, you don't know this, but it's precisely because the Imperial City is where the emperor is that the ancient martial arts sects don't like it. Because the emperor is the Son of Heaven, and all the spiritual energy of the Imperial City revolves around him. All that others can get are just leftovers."

"So, in the ancient martial arts world, the Imperial City's Embroidered Uniform Guard has always been unpopular and is regarded as a group of stray dogs eating leftovers!"

"Of course, even leftovers are better than most other cities. The truly powerful ancient martial arts sects like to build their sects in famous mountains and rivers, because these places are the real places to store qi!"