Kangzhou was divided into nine commanderies, with a population of thirty-eight million. Its martial world forces were too numerous to count, yet looking across the realm, not many could truly be called first-rate.
The Daoist Green Ram Palace, Xuanji Temple, the Buddhist Kasyapa Temple, the Blade and Sword Flowing Open Edge Gate, the ancient Xia Family, and the War King Pavilion—the foremost gang whose influence spanned six commanderies—had all displayed Heavenly Man-level combat power after the Spiritual Energy Flux revived.
Xuanji Temple had only a scant few members. Though they lived amid the mortal world, their hearts dwelled beyond it. They sat watching the winds and clouds of the realm shift, never stirring, devoted wholly to quiet cultivation. Even though its master, Xuanji Zi, possessed the cultivation of a Heavenly Man, the temple could basically be ignored.
Kasyapa Temple's former Kasyapa Venerable had attained the Heavenly Man Realm. His combat power had been formidable, and he cultivated the peerless move Nian Hua Yi Xiao as well as the Pure World Buddha Disc. Unfortunately, he had been too old, his lifespan exhausted, and had already passed away.
Then Eight Leaves, another top-tier combatant, had betrayed the temple and died at Xiang Yang's hands. The temple was basically finished unless Yuanbao could cultivate to Eight Leaves's level and then activate the Pure World Mantra within the Buddha Disc. Only then would there be a chance to restore Kasyapa Temple to glory.
The Blade and Sword Flowing Open Edge Gate was a martial holy land much like Great Snow Ridge. It was filled with masters obsessed with blades and swords, all from different backgrounds and origins. Yet they were all fanatics single-mindedly devoted to martial arts. Experts gathered there like clouds, making it the most terrifying force of all.
Its two gate masters,