Dongye Zhizun felt like spitting blood; he had been striving to break through to the World Realm, yet he remained stuck, unlike Lu Yuan, who had passed through it in a flash, as if the so-called greatest hurdle held no meaning for him at all.
As for Jian Xiong, he was utterly speechless. The first time he had heard of Lu Yuan, the man was at the Great Dao Realm. His master had mentioned a remarkably formidable newcomer. The first time Jian Xiong actually saw Lu Yuan, the latter had only just reached the Chaos Cauldron Realm. Yet, Lu Yuan had ascended relentlessly, his power constantly surging, until he now stood at the World Realm!
The World Realm! A figure capable of dominating a vast region, even within the Central Heaven!
And Lu Yuan had reached it just like that!
Xuanyuan Wang was dead, just like that.
It was truly, ridiculously simple.
After a long pause, everyone finally accepted the reality of Lu Yuan achieving the World Realm.
Taishi Kong remarked, “It seems your position as Supreme won’t last long.”
Lu Yuan frowned in confusion.
Taishi Kong explained, “That’s how it is in the Sword Sect. Once you reach the World Realm, you automatically become a Grand Elder of the Sword Sect. You can proceed to the Sword Ancestor Star to be congratulated. Now that you’ve reached the World Realm, you’ll be promoted to Grand Elder in a matter of days.”
Lu Yuan finally understood the system. As they spoke, the conversation turned to the increasingly arrogant behavior of the disciples left behind by the recently deceased Xuanyuan Wang. Lu Yuan inquired out of curiosity.
“It’s simple, because of the Child of the Sword,” Zhuge Zhishang stated. Seeing Lu Yuan’s perplexed look,
The former Sword Master, Zhuge Zhishang, elaborated, “As you should already know, we now effectively control the Sword Sect areas outside the Sword Ancestor Star. However, the Sword Ancestor Star itself is different. There are three main factions operating there. One is the faction represented by Xuanyuan Wang’s lineage, which aligns itself primarily with surrendering to the Bronze Civilization.”
“There is another faction led by the Child of the Sword. Although the Child of the Sword leads this group, he is solely focused on his own cultivation and has no interest in managing this faction. Thus, he entrusted its governance to his master, Zhang Daosheng,” Zhuge Zhishang continued. “His master, Zhang Daosheng, is a Grand Elder of the Sword Sect, roughly at the second heaven of the World Realm. This man was lucky and perceptive early on; he took the Child of the Sword as a disciple quite early. While his own inherent strength isn’t exceptional, his managerial skills are superb—he has managed the Child of the Sword’s faction remarkably well.”
“The third faction, naturally, is ours, which needs no further explanation.”
“I forgot something; you might not fully grasp the structure of our Sword Sect,” Taishi Kong interjected. “Our Sword Sect is considered a mid-tier sect among the Supreme Great Sects. We owe our reputation across all civilizations in this era to the Era of the Sword. Many Supreme Great Sects far stronger than us are utterly unknown outside of this epoch.”
“But our true strength isn't excessively overwhelming. On our Sword Ancestor Star, there resides an Ancestor of the Sword Sect, a figure at the fifth heaven of the World Realm, named Ancestor Jian Ying.”
“Below him are those at the fourth heaven of the World Realm. Before I was injured, I belonged to that tier. Besides me, there are only a few others at the fourth heaven. Currently, there are three individuals at the World Realm fourth heaven: Ancestor Jian Feng, Ancestor Jian Xu, and Ancestor Jian Yun. I used to count towards that strength level, but that no longer applies to me.”
“Further down, most are in the first, second, or third heavens of the World Realm. This level has the largest contingent, though ‘largest’ is relative—there are still only a few dozen of them.”
“That covers the entirety of the Sword Sect’s known combat power.”
“Among these individuals, Ancestor Jian Feng is a staunch member of the Surrender Faction, seemingly determined to submit to the Steel Civilization no matter what.”
“Ancestor Jian Xu sides with the Child of the Sword’s faction, a firm supporter of the Child of the Sword.”
“And the final one, Ancestor Jian Yun, belongs to our faction.”
“As for Ancestor Jian Mie, he has been in perpetual seclusion for ages, never appearing publicly or involving himself in governance. In truth, the three Ancestors rarely manage affairs; generally, they let those in the second and third heavens handle the administration. Their duty is simply to become stronger.”
“That is the situation on the Sword Ancestor Star within our Sword Sect.”
After hearing the comprehensive introduction from the former Sword Master, Zhuge Zhishang, Lu Yuan finally understood the internal dynamics of the Sword Sect; he had grasped the general layout.
Zhuge Zhishang continued, “As for why the disciples outside, those from Xuanyuan’s faction, dare to be so arrogant, the reason is also straightforward: the faction led by the Child of the Sword has now formed an alliance with Jian Feng’s Surrender Faction. This means that what was previously a tripartite stalemate dividing control of the Sword Ancestor Star has shifted; now, two factions have allied against our group, giving them a substantial advantage.”
“The situation upstream dictates the situation downstream; hence, the disciples of the former Xuanyuan faction have become significantly more brazen.”
Lu Yuan nodded upon hearing this. So that was it.
He had hoped that resolving the coup attempt by Xuanyuan’s faction would bring stability to the Sword Sect, but it proved useless. It was still riddled with the same pointless internal politics, which was profoundly vexing.
But there was no escaping it. Leaving aside the fact that he was now a member of the Sword Sect, the Child of the Sword alone was a formidable adversary.
“Of course, the individuals I introduced earlier do not include the Child of the Sword. We don’t know precisely how far his strength has progressed,” Zhuge Zhishang admitted. “Like you, the Child of the Sword is unpredictable. His cultivation level today might jump to an entirely different state tomorrow.”
Lu Yuan nodded. “I see.”
“Speaking of which, there’s another matter,” Zhuge Zhishang said. “This relates to something we discussed earlier—the Ten-Year Memorial is approaching.” The Ten-Year Memorial, in simple terms, was a gathering held every ten years for the entire Sword Sect, attended by a significant number of members.
During this memorial, those who had contributed meritorious service to the sect over the past decade were honored.
Zhuge Zhishang added, “The Child of the Sword’s faction has publicly declared their intention to make things difficult for our side during this Ten-Year Memorial.” Hearing this, Lu Yuan was momentarily stunned. He knew about the upcoming memorial, but he hadn't realized the Child of the Sword's faction planned to cause trouble for his allies there.
Taishi Kong and Zhuge Zhishang, among others, began strategizing how to counter the anticipated confrontation at the memorial.
Lu Yuan remained quiet for a while before returning to Wine Spring Mountain to brood. He wasn't ready to go to the Sword Ancestor Star yet; he needed some real downtime.
Inevitably, during his cultivation, Lu Yuan pondered the concept of Order.
According to Yan Cang’s surface teachings, to truly master Order, one needed to understand the composition of the world in this epoch.
Because the very structure of this epoch was Order itself.
Once grasped and comprehended, one could forge the Iron Rule of Order.
If the comprehension failed, the Iron Rule could not be forged.
Since the Iron Rule of Karma was currently unavailable for practice, and the Iron Rules of Time, Space, Reincarnation, and Yin-Yang had already been mastered, Lu Yuan could only focus on contemplating the Order Iron Rule.
What exactly was Order?
Lu Yuan sat cross-legged, deep in contemplation.
Order, he reasoned, should be divided into two categories.
One was the Order of Heaven and Earth and all things.
The other was the Order of Sentient Beings.
These two forms of Order were vastly different.
Let’s consider the Order of Heaven and Earth and all things first. Water flows east—that is the order of water. Fire burns its surroundings—that is the order of fire. The sun hangs in the sky, the stars hang in the sky—that is the order of the celestial bodies. Stones remain on the ground and do not float—that is the order of stone. Mountains stand firm on the earth, blocking the wind—that is the order of mountains. Every single thing possesses its own specific order.
But what is the fundamental nature of this order of all things?
Lu Yuan sank deeper into thought, and then, suddenly, it struck him: the so-called Order of all things could be summarized in four characters: All Things Return to Origin!
Where everything ought to be, that is where it belongs.
This meant he needed to comprehend four Heavenly Laws: the Law of All, the Law of Things, the Law of Return, and the Law of Origin!
Of course, this covered the Order of Heaven and Earth and all things. There was also the Order of Sentient Beings. At this moment, Lu Yuan felt a spark of divine inspiration. Yan Cangtian had, in fact, imprinted some initial concepts related to the Order Iron Rule into Lu Yuan’s mind back then, though he hadn't stated them outright, leaving them for Lu Yuan to deduce.
Combined with Lu Yuan’s exceptional natural talent, and aided by the residual imprints from Yan Cangtian’s past efforts, he began to grasp the concepts rapidly.
What is the Order of Sentient Beings? Sentient beings exist individually, seemingly without any discernible order. However, if one shifts focus from the individual to the collective whole, an order can still be found. Sentient beings are perpetually caught within the cycle of these eight concepts: War! Conflict! Peace! Prosperity! Decline! They cannot escape these eight words.
The order of sentient beings resides within these eight concepts.
And so, Lu Yuan essentially formed his summation.
The Order Iron Rule is split into two main categories. The first is the Order of Things, requiring four Heavenly Laws, namely: All, Things, Return, and Origin.
The second category is the Order of Sentient Beings, requiring eight Heavenly Laws: War! Conflict! Peace! Prosperity! Decline! These eight.
This meant mastering the Order Iron Rule required a total of twelve Heavenly Laws: All! Things! Return! Origin! War! Conflict! Peace! Prosperity! Decline! Twelve in total. Despite his mastery of over 140 sword intents, Lu Yuan understood none of these twelve specific laws previously.
He supposed he would cultivate slowly; after all, he wasn't in a hurry.
Lu Yuan took a swig of wine. The liquor in his hand was Fiery Wine he had cunningly coaxed from his master, Taishi Kong. It packed a tremendous punch and was exhilaratingly potent.
While Lu Yuan practiced and rested, time flowed onward, bringing the Sword Sect’s Ten-Year Memorial ever closer.
In the blink of an eye, the time for the Ten-Year Memorial had arrived.