"Lu Fang, let's settle the score later, perhaps when you enter the Central Celestial Dynasty," Shuoshui mentioned from the side.

In the recent match between Gu Qiushui and Lu Yuan during the five-into-three elimination round, the two exchanged hundreds of blows. Ultimately, Gu Qiushui prevailed, leveraging his eighth-level Great Dao Realm magical power to defeat Lu Yuan. Gu Qiushui found the fight immensely stimulating and beneficial, gaining significant insights from Lu Yuan's swordsmanship.

"Then let's cross swords again when we are inside the Central Celestial Dynasty," Lu Yuan nodded. Throughout those hundreds of exchanges, the greatest pressure had come from the eighth-level Great Dao Realm power, not the Sword Intent of Heaven. However, as his path was fundamentally the sword, the Sword Intent of Heaven left the deepest impression—a truly fascinating concept. He had grasped much from this bout with Gu Qiushui.

For now, though, everything paused.

It was time to listen to Grand Lord Zhou Zhongyong introduce the powers within the Central Celestial Dynasty.

Zhou Zhongyong stood with his hands clasped behind his back and spoke loudly, his voice ringing clearly across the assembly: "First, you must grasp a concept: all our nations reside on the continent, but the Central Celestial Dynasty does not. That is correct. The base of the Central Celestial Dynasty rests upon an endless expanse of earth, without boundary. Our nations are not the edge of the Central Celestial Dynasty; we are merely a corner of its periphery. The Central Celestial Dynasty itself is vast and boundless, far beyond what we can imagine."

"Furthermore, the powers established within the Central Celestial Dynasty are not built on mountains or in valleys like ours. Instead, they are founded within Minor Thousand Worlds, or they directly harness stars as the bases for their sects."

"Now, to put it more simply," he continued, "what I am about to describe concerns the powers at the very core of the Central Celestial Dynasty. In the Barbarian regions, there are forces whose nature remains unclear, making it difficult to list them all. In the center of the Central Celestial Dynasty reside five major powers—the five most formidable Ancient Civilizations. Oh, and I must first explain the hierarchy of civilizations." "Civilizations are divided into Large Civilizations and Minor Civilizations." "Large Civilizations will customarily have the prefix 'Ancient' added, for instance, the Ancient Immortal Civilization." "Minor Civilizations will not carry the 'Ancient' prefix, such as the Civilization of Thunder." "In the central region of the Central Celestial Dynasty, there is a Heavenly Court. This Heavenly Court is fundamentally controlled by the five great Ancient Civilizations. These five Ancient Civilizations are: the Ancient Immortal Civilization, the Ancient Law Civilization, the Ancient Martial Civilization, the Ancient Buddhist Civilization, and the Ancient Desolate Civilization." "Of these five, the Ancient Immortal Civilization was founded by its own Civilization Lord, and all manner of techniques and spells can be found within it. The Civilization Lord of the Ancient Immortal Civilization has lived through several epochs of civilization, surviving the collapse of eras when others perished. Within the Ancient Immortal Civilization dwell numerous legendary Daoist figures and Sages."

"The Ancient Law Civilization is a Civilization of Law, centered on magical arts. This is the birthplace of all magical arts in this epoch, and its Civilization Lord has also survived multiple eras, remaining unbroken through the collapse of epochs and indestructible even as heaven and earth perish."

"The Ancient Martial Civilization is a Civilization of Martial Arts, the origin point for all martial techniques in this epoch. Its Civilization Lord has also endured several eras. While it cannot be said to be eternally existent, they are certainly the most powerful figures under the Epoch Lords."

"The Ancient Buddhist Civilization is the origin point of the Buddhist path, continuing for several epochs. Within it reside countless ancient Buddhas. Figures like Shakyamuni Buddha, Mahavairocana, and Maitreya, revered in our nations, all hail from the Ancient Buddhist Civilization. Its Civilization Lord is reputed to be the closest being to an Epoch Lord; should a Buddhist Epoch arise, this Lord could instantly establish it."

"The Ancient Desolate Civilization is one born in this current epoch. When this era first broke open, in the time of primordial desolation, the strongest person to emerge was the Lord of the Ancient Desolate Civilization—the only Civilization Lord achieved within this epoch."

"This current epoch has lasted for at least tens of millions of years, yet only one Civilization Lord has been achieved at the moment of its inception; no one has achieved that status since."

"Achieving the rank of Civilization Lord requires immense destiny, great effort, unwavering perseverance, and supreme fortune."

"Having introduced the five Ancient Civilizations, let me speak of the ten general civilizations. Though they are merely 'general,' they are still far more powerful than the common sects." "Among the ten general civilizations are the Civilization of Thunder, representing lightning. Its leader can only be called the Vice-Lord of the Civilization of Thunder—they are vastly superior to ordinary Immortals but are worlds apart from a Civilization Lord." "There is also the Civilization of Wind; its Vice-Lord is reputed to be the fastest person in the entire Central Celestial Dynasty." "The Civilization of Confucianism has authored countless texts on the Dao of Confucianism, enlightening the populace."

"The Artifact Civilization specializes in magical artifacts and uses them as their primary means of combat."

"The Elixir Civilization excels in the art of alchemy." "..."

"After concluding the ten Minor Civilizations, we come to the sects."

"Sects are divided into Supreme Great Sects and General Sects."

"Supreme Great Sects possess considerable power. While not as strong as Minor Civilizations, they can still influence a vast region—and here, a 'region' is immense, far larger than all nine hundred and ninety-nine of our nations combined. There are thirty Supreme Great Sects in the Central Celestial Dynasty, and I will not list them all here."

"Below the Supreme Great Sects are the General Sects; there are far too many of these to count, and people generally do not join them." "This, then, is the basic structure of the Central Celestial Dynasty." "For today, you will rest and make your individual choices. Tomorrow, the formal recruitment for the Central Celestial Dynasty begins. Tomorrow is the day you decide your future." With that, the four hundred-plus individuals departed, presumably to engage in endless deliberation. Only Lu Yuan, having already made his resolution, remained unconcerned, intending only to enjoy a hearty drink today.

The next day, within the Imperial Palace of the Great Yong Kingdom.

Preparations had long been made here.

Dominating the most central positions were five distinct booths. Each booth bore a banner inscribed with the ancient script of the Ancient Law Civilization, Ancient Martial Civilization, Ancient Buddhist Civilization, Ancient Immortal Civilization, and Ancient Desolate Civilization, respectively. Seated beneath the banner of the Ancient Immortal Civilization was an elder with white hair and a white beard—possessing an aura of transcendent wisdom. He held a whisk, his eyes seeming perpetually half-closed. Even more astonishing was the complete lack of discernible aura; if not for sight, one would think no one was there.

Beneath the banner of the Ancient Desolate Civilization sat an elder with an ancient, rugged appearance. He was enveloped by an aura of Primal! Desolation! Lu Yuan could feel his own spirit being suppressed by this figure from the Ancient Desolate Civilization—the aura of primal desolation was inherently antagonistic to Lu Yuan's sword. The rugged elder of the Ancient Desolate Civilization glanced at Lu Yuan, and in that look was a faint trace of killing intent. All who wield swords are deemed monstrous prodigies.

Seated beneath the banner of the Ancient Buddhist Civilization was a Great Virtuous Monk, behind whom shone endless rays of Buddha-light and auspicious clouds, radiating boundless compassion.

The representative of the Ancient Law Civilization was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man. He seemed utterly plain, yet the ambient spiritual energy around him moved with vibrant, dynamic life.

And seated beneath the banner of the Ancient Martial Civilization was a powerfully built, strapping middle-aged man whose imposing presence seemed capable of rupturing the heavens. It was clear that with a slight exertion of strength, he could shatter the entire city of Great Yong. This robust man observed the crowd with a distinct interest.

These five Ancient Civilizations, each represented by one person, claimed their distinct territories, each possessing their unique aura.

In contrast, the ten Minor Civilizations, the thirty Supreme Great Sects, and the numerous General Sects lacked the sheer imposing presence of these five.

Now, the time for selection had arrived.

The top twenty ranked individuals would choose first; only they held this privilege. Fu Ying was the first to choose, selecting the Ancient Martial Civilization almost without hesitation. The second, Xiao Fengxiong, also chose the Ancient Martial Civilization. The third, Gu Qiushui, selected the Ancient Immortal Civilization, as his Sky-Severing Sutra aligned more with the Dao of Immortality than the Martial Dao. The fourth, Li Qiuhuan, chose the Ancient Buddhist Civilization; his Sword Intent of Life held resonance with the Buddhist path, and he sought spiritual solace there. The fifth, Guo Kan, and the seventh, Wang Shitou, both chose the Ancient Martial Civilization. The sixth, the Flying Sword Guest, followed Li Qiuhuan to the Ancient Buddhist Civilization. The eighth, Fu Chong, selected the Ancient Law Civilization.

Everyone was quickly choosing their affiliations. Since there were only twenty people, the process accelerated rapidly; most had largely settled their decisions the day before. Lu Yuan looked around and walked toward a secluded spot where a single banner was displayed, inscribed with the words: "Sword Gate."

Sword Gate!

Indeed, it was the Sword Gate, one of the thirty Supreme Great Sects.

This was the sect he intended to join.

Beneath the Sword Gate's banner sat a sword-bearing elder. This elder had been dozing off. The top twenty were all choosing the Civilizations, usually the Ancient Civilizations; they never chose the Sword Gate. Thus, he held no great expectation, mostly waiting for those ranked from fiftieth to one hundredth, hoping someone might choose the Sword Gate.

To his surprise, he suddenly noticed a young man in green robes standing before him.

The young man in green carried an air of slight languor, yet within that laziness danced an imposing, soaring sword energy.

"I wish to join the Sword Gate," the young man in green stated.

"What!" The sword-bearing elder responsible for Sword Gate recruitment jolted in surprise.

"What!" he asked again, for with his cultivation, he should not have missed the words, yet he couldn't believe what he heard.

"I wish to join the Sword Gate," the young man in green repeated, these six words delivered with absolute finality.

The sword-bearing elder could not help but feel a surge of joy. How could he fail to recognize this as Lu Yuan, ranked fifth in combat prowess? Such a genius joining the Sword Gate would be an immeasurable boon. He had never imagined such a talent would choose the Sword Gate; a figure like this should join an Ancient Civilization, which was immeasurably superior to the Sword Gate, by a measure too vast to contemplate.

"I would be delighted for you to join the Sword Gate; you are an unparalleled genius, and your presence would greatly benefit a Supreme Great Sect such as ours. However, I must advise you that you would find greater development within an Ancient Civilization," the sword-bearing elder cautioned.

"I wish to join the Sword Gate," Lu Yuan confirmed once more.

Yes, he knew that the Ancient Civilizations surpassed the general Civilizations, and the Civilizations surpassed the Supreme Great Sects. He was not ignorant of this reality.

But his path was the Way of the Sword.

If he betrayed his sword, he would never progress in this lifetime.

Therefore, he chose the Sword Gate.

Since he chose the way of the sword, he would never regret it, for all his days.

If his sword incurs the envy of Heaven, then with that very sword, he shall carve out a new heaven and earth.