In the vicinity of several cities nearby, inns were bursting at their seams, their rooms all booked with no vacancy.

Some martial artists of privileged backgrounds even went as far as to directly purchase residences within the city for their stay, causing property prices in the cities near Shenxiao Mountain to skyrocket overnight.

Martial artists traversed the city streets, carrying a variety of weapons. There were young talents fresh into Jianghu, respected masters who have long made their names, average folks who had achieved little in their lives, as well as those with great Qi Luck.

Atop a loft, a middle-aged man stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the experts walking to and fro in the city. Though he did not speak, his determined countenance radiated an intimidating aura.

Zi Tianxiong, the Master of Heavenly King's Pavilion, a renowned overlord of significant power. Even in the current global dynamics, where several alliances have formed, the Heavenly King's Pavilion remains a force to be reckined with.

Particularly impressive is the fact that Zi Tianxiong's Heavenly King's Pavilion was not inherited from predecessors. Every achievement was obtained through his own hard work, which astonishes everyone.

While some have paralleled him with Tie Qianshan of Northwest Dao, many others believe that Zi Tianxiong is actually superior.

Prior to the revival of Heaven and Earth, the rapid expansion of the Heavenly King's Pavilion had already reached a bottleneck, subtly subject to the constraints of several surrounding dominant forces.

However, after the revival of Heaven and Earth and his breakthrough into the Spirit Realm, he absorbed several surrounding forces. This significantly elevated the strength of the Heavenly King's Pavilion, practically qualifying it as one of the top powers just below the large alliances.

"Master, according to our sources, representatives from every faction have arrived, even from Divine Sword Villa." A scholar appeared behind Zi Tianxiong and reported respectfully.

The man, named Wen Feng, was not well-known in Jianghu, but those aware of Heavenly King's Pavilion knew that he was Zi Tianxiong's right-hand man. Wen Feng was responsible for handling all significant intelligence affairs, and many foreign strategies stemmed from him.

"Divine Sword Villa? Even they have sent representatives?" Zi Tianxiong raised an eyebrow, asking gravely, "Has the Sword Emperor come himself?"

The Sword Emperor, the king among swords, was not just any ordinary individual. In Jianghu, only the head of Divine Sword Villa could be rightfully titled the Emperor of Swords!

"Not really, I heard the Sword Emperor is in retreat. The one who came is the master of Divine Sword Villa," Wen Feng explained.

When he spoke of this, he could not help but sigh. The Spirit Realm was indeed a deep chasm that blocked countless individuals. Who could have thought that the renowned Sword Emperor had not genuinely stepped into the Spirit Realm yet?

Seemingly discerning Wen Feng's thoughts, Zi Tianxiong warned, "Do not underestimate him. The reason he has not emerged yet might not be as simple as you think!"

He would never belittle the Sword Emperor. He had had an encounter with him before. Although they hadn't fought, the experience had left him deeply shocked.

Therefore, Zi Tianxiong didn't believe that the Spirit Realm could still be hindering the Sword Emperor. There might be some hidden factor at play.

"Now that people from Divine Sword Villa have arrived, we should set off too." Zi Tianxiong asked Wen Feng, "Are you going to ascend the mountain with me?"

Wen Feng shook his head. "I am not suited for such gatherings; I'll give it a pass."

He had always avoided the limelight, and thus was quick to refuse.

Zi Tianxiong nodded, not insisting.

Perhaps it was Wen Feng's low-profile demeanor that made Zi Tianxiong all the more assured and trusting in him.

The next day, Zi Tianxiong led a group of experts from Heavenly King's Pavilion to ascend Shenxiao Mountain.

As the appointed time drew near, every faction arrived one after another, being greeted and attended to by Pang Hong and Zhang Jie respectively.

Pei Xuanjing remained in retreat, entrusting a junior member of his sect with receiving the guests. Some were dissatisfied, while others were indifferent. However, even if some were unhappy about it, all kept their displeasure concealed, not letting it show on their faces.

The prestige of being the world's number one martial artist wasn't inflated by others, but truly earned by swordpoint. With the passage of only a few years, nobody had forgotten the Slayer Taoist's notorious title.

...

The peak of Shenxiao Mountain was filled with heroes from every corner of the world. Famous forces of the world gathered here, where third-grade masters of the Upper Three Realms were commonplace, second-class martial artists were not scarce, and even the presence of first-class martial artists wasn't unusual.

Representatives from the Taoist School, Buddhism School, Demonic Cult, Alliance of Aristocratic Families, the imperial court of Great Ming, and the newly formed Heresy Alliance, which had enough power to shake the world, all gathered here.

Even as Zi Tianxiong's Heavenly King's Pavilion's power surged tremendously following the revival of Heaven and Earth, it faced dissatisfaction when compared with these large alliances, which induced an inexplicable drop in his spirits.

The ambition within Zi Tianxiong made him sigh at the lack of depth in his Heavenly King's Pavilion's foundation. Although his personal strength had reached the peak in Jianghu, compared to these organizations that have been passed down for hundreds or even thousands of years, there's still much lacking.

Jianghu was never a harmonious place. As long as there were interests, disputes were inevitable,

After all, the grievances among the Buddhism School, Taoist School, and Demonic Cult were deep-rooted. While both the Buddhism School and Taoist School were righteous sects and had some restraints against each other, no matter if it was the Buddhism School against the Demonic Cult or the Taoist School against the Demonic Cult, they were never harmonious.

The disputes among them had always been ongoing.

Furthermore, it was difficult for the Great Ming Imperial Court and Heresy Alliance to maintain a peaceful coexistence. After all, everybody knew that the Heresy Alliance's change of name was ultimately composed of the previous Mire Sect, Diamond Gate, and Yinsi.

Please login again. Which of the aforementioned forces didn't have irreconcilable differences with the Great Ming Imperial Court?

Moreover, the killers of Yinsi had notorious reputations. Wasn't it only due to Yinsi losing the protection of the Fengdu Ghost Emperor and suffering attacks from all sides in Jianghu that they had no choice but to ally with Zhao Baiyang?

The peaceful gathering of all these forces was a sight that left many bewildered and astonished.

Of course, this was only on the surface. If one looked carefully, they would find that although the people did not express any opinions, their eyes were filled with chilly lights, hiding murderous intentions. Had it not been for the improper location, they would have already drawn their swords against each other.

The reason they were so restrained was due to Pei Xuanjing's emergence from seclusion shortly beforehand, inviting the decision-makers from all the forces to another location.

There was a beautiful cloud platform on the back mountain of Shenxiao Mountain.

The platform was arranged with a massive round table made of white marble. Around the table were exquisitely carved chairs. Each chair exuded a mysterious aura, rendering it extraordinary.

Pei Xuanjing stood in front of the round table, clad in his usual green attire. With a smile on his face, he quietly waited for the arrival of the leaders of each faction.

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