In the Great Wilderness Dynasty's Golden Throne Hall, a young man in dragon robes sat on the dragon throne. Below him, the court officials on either side were noisily discussing the Demon Sect's destruction of Golden Mountain Temple. Some officials proposed sending troops to attack the Demon Sect.
Suddenly, a cry announcing an urgent report came from outside.
"Report!" A man wearing a fish-and-dragon uniform, with an embroidered spring saber at his waist, hurried into the hall and dropped to one knee. He was the commander of the Great Wilderness Dynasty's Brocade Guard.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, news has come from Hanging Void Mountain. The Demon Sect led an attack on Hanging Void Hall, leaving not a single survivor in the entire sect. Ximen Tian, the sect master of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, went to their aid and was killed by a single palm strike from Zhou Qiong."
"What? Is what you said true?" The young emperor on the dragon throne sprang to his feet in fright.
"Every word your subordinate has spoken is true. The bodies of Ximen Tian and Daoist Chongxu are still nailed to the stone stele on Hanging Void Mountain!"
The young emperor sank limply back onto the dragon throne in terror. The Great Wilderness Dynasty had only ever had one Martial Emperor Realm expert: his father, the previous Wilderness Emperor, who had died last year. Now the strongest person in the entire Great Wilderness Dynasty was his teacher, the Grand Tutor, whose cultivation was only at peak Martial Emperor.
The emperor looked at the Grand Tutor standing at the head of the officials below and asked, "Grand Tutor, what should we do now? Surely the Demon Sect won't attack our Great Wilderness Dynasty?"
The old man in purple official robes stepped forward. "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. Our Great Wilderness Dynasty has never particularly targeted the Demon Sect throughout its history, nor have we ever spoken of subduing fiends and eliminating demons. The Demon Sect will not attack us."
"That's good, that's good!" The young emperor breathed a sigh of relief.
Yet a trace of worry flashed through the Grand Tutor's eyes below. He was not very confident himself about whether the Demon Sect would attack the Great Wilderness Dynasty.
In the council hall on Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, a weakened Ximen Di sat in the sect master's seat. The elders below all wore deeply troubled expressions, ever since news had reached Ten Thousand Swords Mountain that Sect Master Ximen Tian had been killed by a single palm strike from Zhou Qiong.
None of them could believe it. Had the news not already spread throughout the world, they would have thought someone was joking. After reluctantly accepting the truth, the elders had finally agreed to appoint Ximen Di, whose severe injuries had yet to heal, as sect master.
"Sect Master, what should we do now? The Demon Sect surely won't spare us," the elders asked Ximen Di in the seat above.
Ximen Di straightened. "Everyone, in my capacity as the seventeenth sect master of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, I hereby announce that, as of today, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect is officially disbanded."
"What? Ximen Di, have you gone mad?"
"You wolf-hearted schemer! You've only just become sect master, and you already want to disband the sect? Our Ten Thousand Swords Sect has stood for over a thousand years. It isn't yours to disband on a whim!"
The elders below immediately pointed at Ximen Di's nose and began cursing him. Had they not retained a little reason, they would have attacked him.
"Then may I ask what brilliant plans you elders have?" Ximen Di cast a disdainful glance at the elders before him.
In truth, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect had already withered by their generation. Once one of the illustrious five great sects, it had actually been pushed to the fringes over the years. It did not have a single Martial Emperor Realm expert. Of the elders before him, even the strongest only had mid Martial Emperor cultivation, and one was merely a peak Martial King. He had only become an elder thanks to his seniority.
All these years, the two brothers had barely managed to hold it together. Ximen Tian had finally broken through to the Martial Emperor Realm, only to be killed by a single palm strike from Zhou Qiong before he could even display his strength. Now Ximen Di could no longer keep it going alone.
Besides, the Demon Sect would not let them off easily.
Watching the elders mutter without answering, Ximen Di scoffed, picked up the longsword on the table, and turned to leave. "I've said my piece. The Demon Sect could come to our Ten Thousand Swords Mountain at any moment. I'm leaving first. If fate allows, we'll meet again."
The elders watched Ximen Di leave. Several times they wanted to speak, but no words came out. Looking toward where Ximen Di had disappeared, the First Elder, whose cultivation was at mid Martial Emperor, sighed and said, "Enough, enough. Let it disband. Go out and tell the disciples. Those who wish to stay may stay, and those who don't may leave."
"First Elder, what about you?" the only Martial King Realm elder asked quietly.
"I was born here. Now that I'm old, I don't want to go anywhere else. I'll stay on Ten Thousand Swords Mountain and live or die with it. Will you stay too?"
No one answered, and an awkward atmosphere settled over them. One elder sighed, turned, and walked out of the hall. Seeing him leave, the other elders hurried away as well. In the end, only the First Elder remained in the hall.
"Alas, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect is truly gone. Hahaha!" His laughter was filled with endless sorrow.
At the Demon Sect's headquarters, a dark figure knelt before Zhou Qiong.
"Reporting to the Sect Master, the Profound Division has sent word that Ximen Di disbanded the Ten Thousand Swords Sect after becoming sect master. Aside from the First Elder and a scattered handful of disciples unwilling to leave, Ten Thousand Swords Mountain is now deserted."
Zhou Qiong chuckled. "Oh, this Ximen Di is quite clever!"
"Has there been any progress regarding the spatial turbulence the Profound Division discovered in the far west last time?"
"Reporting to the Sect Master, we still haven't found anything. It vanished after its last appearance. Xuan San and Xuan Si are still searching there."
"Good. You may leave!"
"System, are you certain the spatial turbulence is a spacetime passage?"
"Yes. Every continent has a spacetime passage leading to the Upper Realm. Some change may have occurred on this continent, causing the passage to become hidden, but it will not disappear."
"System, there are realms above the Martial God Realm, aren't there?"
"Of course. Strictly speaking, there is no Martial God Realm. The Profound Understanding Realm comes directly after the Martial Emperor Realm, and it has ten levels in total. The early, middle, late, and peak stages of the Martial God Realm correspond to the first four levels of the Profound Understanding Realm.
"People on lower continents automatically ascend to the Upper Realm once their cultivation reaches the fifth level of the Profound Understanding Realm. Everyone else needs to use a spacetime passage. Those in the Martial Emperor Realm can go to the Upper Realm."
"System, how big is the Upper Realm?"
"Boundless. With your cultivation, Host, you could fly for ten thousand years and still not reach its end."
"Host, are you planning to go to the Upper Realm now?"
"Of course! Not. According to what you've said, System, how could a minor Martial Emperor Realm figure like me live freely in the Upper Realm? I'd better build up here first, then take my subordinates to the Upper Realm."