Questions about sects

[Shrimp]

I got the game recently and since day 1 I started the game with hard difficulty. I got my butt kicked a couple of times but I got the hang of it. I earned several achievements and restarted the game several times to take advantage of the added character creation points, this led me to know more of the first stages of the game and to achieve things like being able to complete the timed quests to join the crime bureau and the sword pavillion.

I am a sword fighter, so my question is about which one should I join first if I want to get stronger with the sword? I don´t know much about sects in regards to using them to get stronger so more advice about them would be nice too.

Also, there is no old man sect? I keep hearing in some guides about this tutorial sect I am able to join in nameless village but I never found such a thing. It seems I am never offered this sect no matter how strong I get or how many quests I do. I wouldn't want to miss on it since I heard it has unique stuff that can make you OP.

[Shrimp]

After some experimentation, it seems the old man sect only appears if you don´t get involved in the initial conflict between the two girls. For everyone that is starting I would recommend leaving that conflict because the tutorial the old man gives you is very structured and easy to follow. You don't get tangled in the timed quests for the other sects and is overall a better experience for starting up.

Joining the crime bureau gives you some blade stuff instead of actual sword stuff so it doesn't seem that optimal for a sword build. And if joining the sword pavillion you have to be careful because they teleport you to the headquarters and if you don't have enough money you are practically stuck there and can't return to the nameless region easily.

[The Guy]

The Old Man's Sect is, in fact, the best sect for a first playthrough. It's basically the tutorial sect.

However, you need to go into the village before level 10 or so. You can help one of the girls to get an early revitalization manual, then go into the village ASAP.

[Nether]

I just tested it with a level 100 start - old man has no level limit.
It probably has a time-based one, but unless you go out of the way to avoid the nameless village (like by beelining for the river kidnapping?) it should be impossible to miss him.

Also, get a pet if you want cheap region travel.

For a sword run you're going to want stuff from Langya Sword Pavillion, the Taoists and the Confucians. Up to you in which order to juggle them - I'd do them in the order I wrote.

You also might want the techniques you get on the tail end of the Old Man questline, but that would be a much more convoluted playthrough (Old Man - fail to rescue the prisoner > Langya > Confucius - leave via longevity tomb option > Taoist), and I honestly don't think it's worth it to cram everything in a single run.