Winter gave way to spring, time flowed like water, and cultivation knew no years. In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.
Far to the east of the Phantom Sect, tens of millions of miles away, stood a vast imperial city spanning several hundred li. It was exceptionally prosperous, its clustered buildings grand and sacred. Yet the most exquisite and sprawling structure was not the imperial palace, but a Sword Sect in the eastern part of the city. Pavilions, towers, and enormous halls filled its grounds. To travel from the entrance of the Sword Sect to its rear required riding at full gallop along its main road for half a day. The Sword Sect was divided into the Outer Sword Academy and the Inner Sword Pavilion, a gathering place for sword cultivators renowned across the land. It bore the name Ten-Step Academy and was one of the Desolate Moon Continent's Four Mountain Immortal Sects.
At this moment, three people sat together inside a massive hall within Ten-Step Academy: a middle-aged cultivator in green robes, a young monk, and an elderly Daoist in purple robes. Each faintly radiated a formidable aura. They were, astonishingly, all great Golden Core Realm cultivators.
The middle-aged cultivator in green was around forty, with a square face and swordlike brows. He possessed an upright air, while faint, sharp sword qi rippled around him. Seated at the head of the gathering, he was actually a late-stage Golden Core Realm cultivator. He spoke, "I did not expect Master Yiye and Daoist Hanglin to be the ones coming to our academy. That truly surprised me. Hehe."
Upon hearing this, the young monk pressed his palms together and gave a slight nod. "Yiye of the Pure Land Sect greets the Sword King of Lower Spring." The monk's face