With a wave of his hand, he bid farewell, the gesture so casual, so unconcerned, as if nothing truly mattered. But who could ever be truly indifferent? In the end, however, all thoughts had to be suppressed. Within his heart lay a lingering reluctance to leave Mount Hua, yet there was also the soaring anticipation of entering the Central Dynasty. The Central Dynasty—the epicenter of this epoch. Just how vast was it? How spectacular would the lives within be? Involuntarily, he looked forward.

At this moment, Lu Yuan stood in a mysterious sector of Dayong City—a restricted area. To trespass here meant certain death. Dayong City held many such enigmatic forbidden zones; they weren't all individually named. Lu Yuan now stood within this desolate, barren expanse. Yet, across this wasteland lay thousands of teleportation arrays, each emanating a faint, ethereal glow. Thousands of arrays gathered together presented quite a magnificent spectacle. Standing alongside Lu Yuan were Shi Feixian, Huo Yibu, Leng Xue, Tan Yingshou, the Blood-robed Man, the White-robed Man, and Qiu Yun—the eight who were entering the Supreme Sword Sect, all gathered here, following the old man from the Supreme Sword Sect who carried a sword on his back. Oh yes—this sword-bearing elder was named Duan Shui Jian, Xuanyuan Shi’er, an elder of the Supreme Sword Sect.

“The Central Dynasty is infinitely vast. There are precisely nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine teleportation arrays here, each leading to one of the Ten Provinces within the hundred thousand Great Provinces of the Central Dynasty. Every Great Province has one teleportation array. A Great Province... is roughly ten times the size of your combined thousand nations plus several oceans, perhaps more,” Elder Xuanyuan Shi’er, the sword-bearer, stated calmly. Hearing this, Lu Yuan and the others were struck dumb. It was… it was incomprehensibly enormous!

Xuanyuan Shi’er walked to one of the nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine arrays. “This one. Make absolutely certain you do not confuse it or step onto the wrong one. If you end up in another Great Province, traversing ten Great Provinces with your current strength will be nearly impossible. Furthermore, during your previous tests, you should have already witnessed the flames, the lightning, and the mountain ranges of the Central Dynasty—they are far beyond what is found in the outside world.” There, the flames, the lightning, and even the mountains possessed the power to slay figures in the Great Dao Realm.

“Then, let’s go.” Xuanyuan Shi’er stepped into the teleportation array first, followed in succession by Lu Yuan and the other seven. They had always thought passing through a teleportation array was instantaneous, but this time, it felt as if a long period had elapsed within the transport. This transfer was likely to take a considerable amount of time. Lu Yuan silently counted in his mind. Only after he had counted to nine hundred and ninety-nine did the transfer finally conclude.

Was this the Fengyang Dynasty? Lu Yuan saw towering mountain ranges ahead. Back in the Jin Kingdom, a mountain reaching ten thousand zhang was considered top-tier, but the mountains here were not merely ten thousand zhang high—they soared hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions of zhang high! Peak upon peak of incomparably high mountains stood there, stretching endlessly. Even Mount Hua, placed here, would appear remarkably small, like a mere hillock. He cast a scrying spell and discovered that upon these mountain ranges flowed ethereal streams, vibrant spiritual springs, and clustered rare treasures and exotic fruits. Spirit beasts and mystical birds displayed every color imaginable, sights never before seen, sounds never before heard. Lu Yuan even noticed countless caves and stone platforms nestled between the peaks. Some caves were entwined with ancient, gnarled pines, lush and emerald green, dotted with elegant bamboo and blooming orchids—truly a sacred haven worthy of immortals. The so-called ‘Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands’ of the Jin Kingdom were scattered here like common weeds. Lu Yuan could even see a tree bearing Seven-Colored Longevity Fruits, which would fetch sky-high prices in the Jin Kingdom, yet here they were, simply wild fruits by the roadside, utterly ignored.

This was the Central Dynasty? [Hand-typed update from Baidu Mount Hua Immortal Sect Bar] The center of this epoch, truly worthy of its name! The spiritual energy here was overwhelmingly dense. Lu Yuan immediately sat down cross-legged. Too much spiritual energy poured into his body. The density was so high that the surrounding qi visibly condensed into individual white dragons, surging directly into his form. He didn't need to cultivate; the spiritual energy flooded his body inexorably. This was extravagant!

Lu Yuan settled down to absorb the surrounding energy, circulating the Cloud Dragon Ten Transformations within him. His internal mana continuously grew richer and more substantial. In no time at all, Lu Yuan let out a long breath. In that single instant, his mana had surged directly from the early stage of the fifth layer of the Great Dao Realm to the absolute peak of the fifth layer.

The spiritual energy here was indeed too profound, allowing him such a breakthrough. Upon awakening, he observed the other seven; clearly, they had also reaped considerable benefits from this environment.

Boom! A massive bolt of lightning struck. This lightning transformed into a thunder dragon in the void. However, how much fiercer was this thunder dragon compared to the one during the environmental test? Back then, the thunder dragon was only a few dozen zhang long, but this one now appearing was several hundred zhang long, a colossal dragon wielding terrifying might, blasting directly towards them, threatening to shatter everything.

Xuanyuan Shi’er lightly flicked a finger, shattering the several-hundred-zhang-long thunder dragon in the void. The motion was effortless, executed with relaxed mastery, showcasing the extraordinary nature of this Xuanyuan Shi’er. “Dragons have many tiers. Those you encountered in the environmental tests were only the most basic True Dragons. What you just met was Earth-Dragon grade. Above that are Sky-Dragon grade, and then Divine-Dragon grade, even Ancient Divine-Dragon grade, and Primordial Beginning Dragon grade. Furthermore, there is the legendary Ancestor of All Dragons.”

“Knowledge regarding dragons can be found once you enter the Sword Gate,” Xuanyuan Shi’er informed them. “The reason I tell you this now is because when you first entered the Central Dynasty, you only noticed the advantage of its rich spiritual energy without realizing its treachery.”

“Here, mountains kill, seas kill, lightning kills, and fire kills. Without the strength of the Hun Dong Realm, or being led by a responsible party, do not leave the sect’s designated territories, or you will be killed by all things born of heaven and earth. This is the Central Dynasty,” Xuanyuan Shi’er stated plainly. “Very well, follow me closely. We head to the Sword Gate.”

“I will not elaborate on the internal workings of the Sword Gate for now, as you will learn of it in due course,” Xuanyuan Shi’er said. Under the lead of Xuanyuan Shi’er, the eight of them flew swiftly. They flew for about seven or eight days. According to Xuanyuan Shi’er, this was merely a short segment. A single Great Province spanned a distance ten times greater from end to end, and the Central Dynasty boasted one hundred thousand Great Provinces, plus numerous barren territories—a testament to its scale.

One day, Xuanyuan Shi’er announced, “We have arrived.” Countless peaks appeared before them, each soaring hundreds of thousands of zhang high. However, the gazes of the group were involuntarily drawn upward—to the stars overhead.

Above them hung three immensely gigantic celestial bodies. These three stars were vast beyond comprehension; from their position, only one side of the stars was visible, their entirety obscured. The three stars were aligned in a triangular formation. These stars hovered at a height of two million zhang. To use stars as a base for a sect headquarters—what an audacious undertaking! Although they had heard tales, seeing it for the first time still deeply shocked them.

Xuanyuan Shi’er led the eight upward in a direct ascent. As they flew higher, they found an intermediate distance incredibly difficult to traverse. In this zone, thunder-fire rained down, accompanied by extremely fierce celestial winds. These thunder-fires transformed into dragons of thunder and fire, and the fierce winds coalesced into dragons of wind—and these were not the small, dozens of zhang-long True Dragons of the beginner level, but ones resembling the several-hundred-zhang-long Earth Dragons. Xuanyuan Shi’er easily shattered these with a mere flick of his finger. After finally passing through the zones of thunder-fire and turbulent wind, they landed somewhere on the first star. From a distance, it was unclear, but upon reaching the star, they discovered a gigantic sect gate, perhaps a thousand zhang tall. Engraved upon it were two magnificent characters written with soaring grandeur: “” (Jian Men – Sword Gate). Every stroke and dot of these two characters carried a profound sword aura.

“These words, ‘Jian Men,’ were written by the previous Sword Master. Our Master of the Sword Sect is referred to as the Sword Master,” Xuanyuan Shi’er explained, his voice tinged with faint pride. Even the master of a Supreme Great Sect achieving the Six Iron Principles was an extraordinary feat.

Just as Xuanyuan Shi’er was about to lead the eight into the sect gate, he noticed only seven figures following him. Huh? Where is Lu Yuan? Turning back, he saw Lu Yuan seated cross-legged, staring fixedly at the characters “” inscribed on the gate. His brow furrowed and smoothed as if deep in contemplation, wrestling with some profound thought.

This was! Enlightenment! Xuanyuan Shi’er, being an elder of the Sword Gate—and not an ordinary one at that—was accustomed to grand spectacles. He immediately realized Lu Yuan was experiencing Sword Dao Enlightenment. Merely seeing the two characters written by the former Sword Master had caused this profound realization in the youth. Such sword talent was truly extraordinary! Among the eight recruited from the nine hundred and ninety-nine nations outside, this one should undoubtedly be the leader.

In the history of the Sword Gate, many individuals had indeed achieved enlightenment upon viewing the characters "Jian Men," some remaining in that state longer than others. Of course, the most astonishing was the Son of the Sword, who sat there for merely one hour before grasping the former Sword Master’s Sword Intent of Life, instantly becoming the sect’s greatest miracle. Naturally, the Son of the Sword was regarded as the most talented figure in the younger generation of the Sword Gate, now having cultivated to the Hun Dong Realm and leading the younger cohort. Furthermore, the Son of the Sword was favored by the Son of the Ancient Civilization, who betrothed his daughter, the Spirit Empress Fa Ling, to him.

So, what realization would Lu Yuan attain? He naturally couldn't hope to match the Son of the Sword, but what tier of talent did his sword dao possess within the Sword Gate? Xuanyuan Shi’er was genuinely curious to know. Xuanyuan Shi’er did not rush them onward but chose to wait here instead.

(Second update delivered; there should be a third update today, provided the writing flows smoothly.) [Hand-typed update from Baidu Mount Hua Immortal Sect Bar] : If you enjoyed this, please copy this address to your friends. If you haven't had your fill, check out which chapters the hottest other novels have updated! ┊┊ ┊┊ ┊┊ ┊┊ ┊┊ ┊┊ ┊┊U