At this point, Austin had already successfully returned to the Five Elements City.
With Elder Sharp at the helm of the Flame Holy Land's headquarters, he was sure that no one would dare stir up any kind of trouble there.
The three elders and four stewards, on the other hand, took care of the daily, mundane affairs that kept the Flame Holy Land alive.
Everything was going well. Now, all they needed to do was to expand their territory and to recruit more disciples.
Earth Hermit had already left the headquarters of the Flame Holy Land.
According to him, he was going to find a quiet and secluded place in order to cultivate alone and in peace. He was planning on reaching higher realms.
Over the past year, he had helped Elder Sharp in repairing the Sect-protecting Array of the Flame Holy Land. During that period, he learned a lot about ancient arrays.
Also, with the help and guidance from Elder Sharp, he was about to make a breakthrough.
The moment Austin returned to the Five Elements City, he began to cultivate in seclusion.
In the castellan mansion, a piece of dust was in the corner of his secret room.
This dust was Austin's City model.
Austin sat silently, cross-legged in the middle of a deserted street in his City model. His eyes were closed, and he was focused on running the Golden Sun Scripture.
Streaks of golden light were coming out of his body, effectively making him look like some kind of a deity.
In his elixir field, the Fire Stela was busy refining one of the natural vessels of dragon energy.
A strong spiritual energy was continuously gushing out of the said natural vessel, flowing through all the energy meridians that could be found on Austin's body.
Austin had four other natural vessels of dragon energy inside of him.
After ten days of strenuous cultivation, a low rumble suddenly manifested from Austin's body.
Apparently, immense amounts of golden vital energy was flowing through his energy meridians.
Because of this, all of his energy meridians were expanding rapidly.
"A sign of a breakthrough..." Austin whispered to himself, smiling.
"Brat," a disembodied voice echoed in Austin's Soul Sea. It was the Flame Emperor's. "Based on my observations, it's clear that you'll be going through the Thunderstroke Doom as go to your next breakthrough.
So you better start getting out of your City model and find a place far from any civilization to stage your breakthrough.
Because if you don't..." the voice trailed off, making his reminder ominous.
"No one knows what will happen next."
"Really?" Austin asked, not fully comprehending what had just been said to him.
"Do you really think that I might experience the Thunderstroke Doom this time?"
The possibility of that happening stunned him.
"Yes," the Flame Emperor answered firmly. "The rules of heaven and earth here are diffe
ful and contained sword intent.
Austin was sure that they could destroy anything in this world.
After observing the behaviors of the sword light for a few minutes, Austin found himself realizing that their direction, trajectory, and speed were following some set rules.
Several beams of sword light worked together and locked down an area in order to block it. He was sure that no living thing would be able to survive in that area.
Then, it dawned on him.
"It's a sword array!" he exclaimed, surprised and excited. He could not help but be shocked by what he had just discovered.
For a normal person, everything that was happening was random and chaotic. But for him, it all made sense.
Five beams of sword light soared into the sky at the same time.
Each sword light was of a different color.
The five beams of sword light contained different energies, and they gathered together to become a more powerful force. As they did that, they created distorted realities. 'A proof of their power, ' Austin thought.
To him, these sword lights perfectly explain what true swordsmanship was.
Austin was totally immersed thinking about the sword light.
"What? What's going on?"
As Austin concentrated all his attention on sword light, the lower bottom of the cliff began to light up. The flashing was making up figures, but he couldn't understand what they were.
Austin turned to look at the spot where these flashes were occurring.
There, words start to become more and more prominent. Slowly, Austin was able to read what it was saying:
"I am here to study the sword skills. I have finally completed the Dominant Spiritual Sense Swordsmanship. After I mastered this sword skill, I also had made great progress in my swordsmanship! I'm the Sword Emperor from the Prime Martial World!"
Austin's eyes widened in astonishment.
"The Sword Emperor of the Prime Martial World?" he whispered.