Years passed, and the sun and moon rose and set.
A full month of preparations went by in the blink of an eye.
During that month, all of Spirit City was renovated. Lanterns and decorations filled the streets, red carpets covered the ground, and colorful silk hung from the walls. Ceremonial music was prepared, and imperial guards stood in formation. The entire city looked renewed, alive with the festive solemnity of a nation about to be born.
Spirit City's already vast square had been expanded and restored until it was grander than ever, with room for millions to gather and witness the ceremony.
Today, the sky was clear and cloudless. Holy Light Illumination bathed a world at peace.
Spirit City was packed to bursting. Millions filled the square and surrounding streets, a sea of people stretching beyond sight.
Every major power on the continent had arrived.
Heavenly God City, the Eternal Commerce Alliance, the Seven Great Sects, and reclusive sects from every quarter had all sent their core leaders to attend and pay their respects. None dared miss this ceremony.
Sunlight poured down, holy light shimmered, ceremonial music rang out, and bells pealed to the Nine Heavens.
Before the eyes of the multitude, the founding ceremony began!
Rumble—
Ceremonial music thundered overhead. Golden bells and jade chimes sounded together, and a solemn, sacred anthem of founding echoed across heaven and earth.
A magnificent white-jade platform, rising in tier upon tier, slowly emerged from the center of the square. Built for the rites to Heaven and the imperial accession, it stood towering, majestic, and sacred.
Ranks of Spirit Hall imperial guards in gilded sacred armor lined both sides of the platform. Their armor gleamed, their presence was formidable, and they stood watch over the hallowed ground.
Under countless eager, reverent gazes,