(Bu Cai POV)

After regaining consciousness, I looked outside and realised that the sun just started to rise again.

Shit.

I swiftly jump out of bed and do my routine extra thoroughly as I may not be able to do it here for a while.

I then get to the hall and sit down at the dining table, both my father and mother were already there hence we began to eat.

We talked about a large range of topics however the thing that made me most happy was the fact that father praised me for the good fight I had with Chang Wu, and my mother was also surprised by my victory and looked very proud of me.

After breakfast my parents and I make our way to Nero who is my 'plane' to the royal capital which is called 'Grand Sword City'.

The trip will be around 2 months of travelling, however I will be fine as an experienced servant will be with me. He will act as a guard as well as a teacher on how to survive in the outside world to make sure I don't get into trouble.

Said guard was a bulky man with quite a scary face. He had a short black beard and scruffy hair.

Although he looked intimidating, he was actually very kind and was one of my father's most trusted subordinates.

His name is Hou.

Hou used to be a slave, however my father saved him and gave him a new life.

To repay this favour, he swore eternal loyalty.

He values that favour so much that he only has a first name, and he refused to get a second one in order to remind himself of it.

Before we both went to get on, my father stopped me and gave me a talisman.

It looked like a piece of paper with some scribbles on it if I'm being honest.

But although it didn't look impressive, they could be very useful for saving your life.

He said to me,

"Son, although i'm sure you will be fine, this talisman is called the 10,000 mile transferring talisman. It is incredibly useful for escaping from a dangerous situation, so don't hesitate to use it if you are in one."

After looking at the talisman which was definitely costly.

I couldn't help but feel touched and gave both my parents one last heartfelt hug before going on Nero and leaving with Hou.

I didn't look back as I was afraid I'd change my mind if I saw their faces again.

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'Divine Sword Empire'

The Empire which has dominated half this world for hundreds of thousands of years.

Although the royal family's power oppresses almost all living beings. Even they cannot completely control the immense area of land that they hold.

The founder knew this, therefore he split the land with his close friends and subordinates which then caused the rise of the five Great Families.

The ancestors of these great families were all incredibly powerful figures alongside the founder.

They all had titles of Dukes granted by the king which gave them great glory.

They had a plentiful amount of cultivation and mystique techniques, as well as martial arts and treasures which could be shared amongst their descendants. Hence, land was the only thing that they required to build a stronghold for them and their family.

Once they had gotten that as well, they all grew stronger and stronger. Until eventually, disagreements after generations of prosperity had arose.

And the families began to stray away from their roots of co-operation and trust.

The current situation is such that they all hold immense pride for their bloodline and nobility. Therefore the once respected and admired families who looked out for the common people had now become power hungry.

They also looked down on the commoners and refused to help them. Other than the required amount which left mortals and commoners to barely survive, they had made sure to invest a lot more into their own family through corrupting the people.

These five great families are...

The Xu family.

This family mostly had members who were talented and focused on the Ice Dao. This family was also the only family that had a purely matriarchal system. They usually did not participate in conflict too much and are currently third place in strength out of the five families.

The Long family.

This family was one that pursued purely the Sword Dao.

This family is very strict on requirements for sword talent of members before they are actually acknowledged as a true member. If an individual is shown to not meet their standards, they will be abandoned, or if it is a female member then they will be destined to be used as a political tool.

Long Tian's father is the younger brother of current head of the Long family, therefore Long Tian is naturally the nephew of the Clan head.

The Long family is considered the second strongest due to them having quality over quantity, which means they have less people than the other families. However that isn't a small number.

The Chi family.

This was one known for it's members who pursued the the Fire Dao.

They were quite powerful but they also had quite short tempers, which lead to them being in many conflicts. Hence causing them to be the fourth strongest family.

The Song family

The Song family was known for their medicinal and healing skills. Due to this, they have a large network of connections due to people always going to them for any huge injuries.

Although they are labelled to be the 'Weakest', they are still incredibly powerful and most families would never dare to offend them. As they are not only proficient with medicine, but their members are also very skilled in areas such as alchemy and poison... so it wasn't a good idea to look down on them, otherwise you may just die in agony without even knowing what killed you. .

Last but definitely not least...

The Chen family.

This family was created by the founder of the Empire's right hand man. Although the relationship is quite tense between the royal family and the great families nowadays; the Chen family is an exception.

They have been loyal to the royal family for a long time, and have had received great support because of it. The Chen family and royal family have also been able to maintain this trust due to the multiple generations of intermarriage.

The Chen family predominantly has members talented in the Sword Dao and Wind Dao. This allows them to be swift and agile fighters, and currently the Chen family is the strongest family out of the five great families.

...

However, this is not the end to all the powerhouse factions within the Divine Sword Empire...

The three supreme sects also exist, each of which have principles that directly oppose the five great family's...

They all allow everyone to join.

Whether it be a beggar, commoner or nobleman.

The only factor they consider is talent.

Naturally, this would lead to conflict between the sects and clans whether they want to or not. Sects are, by principle, places which give chances to commoners to rise above nobles.

But due to sect systems being incredible rich in history and the possible public backlash, the clans can't and won't wipe them out.

These three supreme sects are...

The Buddhist Sect.

This one only has the requirement of following Buddha's teachings and becoming a Buddhist. It is in fact very powerful, however monks are usually peaceful and do not fight. So if you don't act outrageously in front of them, they will not impose too much on you.

The Sky Sword Sect.

This sect pursues the pinnacle of the sword, just like the Long family. In fact, most abandoned Long Family members attempt to go to the Sky Sword Sect as even though they may be unworthy of the Long family's standards the Sky Sword Sect will have lower requirements.

The Extreme Yin Palace.

Like the Xu family, this is also a female orientated place where the members cultivate the Ice Dao or Darkness Dao.

It is relatively strong, however it is slightly weaker than other factions. The only reason is hasn't been bullied and oppressed by the other forces is due to them having an incredible ancient mighty figure still alive, their Grand Elder.

Plus, there are rumours that they now have an incredibly talented member of the younger generation. If everything goes right with her spirit root grade, she will be the next leader of the Extreme Yin Palace.

It is also good to keep in mind, that the great families also have branch families.

Although they are primarily for cultivating one particular field of the Dao, they also have members who cultivate different Daos.

Sects also have subsidiaries, like the Spirit Sword Sect. This is where less talented cultivators gather, or where commoners go to if they want to start their journey of cultivation.

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(Third Person Pov)

(East Entrance, Grand Sword Sect)

In the evening when the light sky was starting to transition into dark.

An eight year old boy in clean white robes, could be seen walking through the large gates alongside a large man with a huge physique and casual clothes. The boy looked incredibly tired, yet that still couldn't mask the awe on his face when he had seen how grand this place was.

The boy looked around and took in everything.

The bustle of the all the people who were there to...

See, or participate in, the upcoming youth tournament.

The ones who came here to trade or travel had their carriages or sacks full of their possessions.

Or even the ones that were just living their lives by either going into various normal or bizarre shops or going into bars with friends and getting wasted.

...

It was just an incredible sight to Bu Cai, something he would never have seen, or imagined seeing, in his previous society of technological advancement.

As they passed through the crowds, they eventually arrived at their destination... It was a large wooden building with a sign above the door saying, 'The Cultivator's Abode' on it.

This was an inn which Hou recommended to Bu Cai, as it was in a decently quiet location and had rooms of high quality.

As Bu Cai and Hou entered the establishment they immediately went to the counter and asked for a room.

Once they had booked one. One of the employees behind the counter led them to their rooms.

Bu Cai then said goodnight to Hou and proceeded to enter his room. But after going in he instantly charged towards the bath before anything else.

He had a nice refreshing shower which he had dearly missed. After finishing, he dried himself then took out another white robe from his spacial ring and put it on.

Yes... he is a perma white robed individual if you were curious.

He made a bee-line towards the bed that was tempting him. And plopped down.

After getting comfortable, he then lets out a weary sigh and shuts his eyes.

As he tries to fall asleep, memories start to flood him as he recalls all his torturous experiences throughout those two months of travel...