Chapter 1134: Civilization and the Wings of Civilization Grow

Within the Sword Realm, the frozen heaven and earth spread out once more across the Great Sun's resting place; many plants adapted to the radiance of the Great Sun's Destruction Sword Intent began to grow again, and the Immortal Dao ecosystem began to cycle.

Unlike before, no consciousness appeared within the Heavenly Dao.

He was still in light slumber, not having truly merged his consciousness into the world; this would require much time—decades or even a century were possible—and there was even the terrible danger of completely losing the ability to merge with the world.

Fortunately, the sword arts of the Sword Realm, which bordered the Fifth Realm of the Sword Dao, and his powerful sword intent gave him an extremely high margin for error, so such a mistake did not occur. After several decades of orderly slumber, an omnipresent consciousness once again appeared among all things in heaven and earth and began to take over the world.

The world began to evolve once more.

Under his indestructible will, all manner of plants in heaven and earth grew and evolved without cease, continuing to nurture something…

……

Fire Spirit Realm.

Fire Spirit Academy.

A youth in blue robes opened his eyes within a fire-red palace and looked toward his classroom.

It was a simple classroom, unremarkable save for its height. Hundreds of students were listening attentively; they came from various Minor Thousand Worlds of the Immortal Sect, all beings of exceptional talent whose ideological character inclined toward the Immortal Sect.

If the Immortal Sect's resource problems were resolved in the future and talent could no longer sustain the rule of its power, then these students might, after assessment in three areas—merit, ideological character, and scientific creativity—become citizens of the Immortal Sect.

Of course, this was under the assumption that everything went smoothly.

If the Immortal Sect's war situation turned unfavorable and it had to hold fast to its existing territory—or even less—then all the efforts of these students would be for nothing.

This was the relationship between the great tide of the times and individual fate.

"Teacher, will the Immortal Sect conscript us to the battlefield?"

Fire Leopard Three raised his hand to ask.

He was born with a Fire Spirit Dao Body; in just over three hundred years he had already cultivated to the peak of the Jin Dan realm. His talent was extremely high, his ideological character grades were also good, and he had accumulated some merit through many public security incidents after numerous Immortal Sect citizens had gone to the battlefield—suppressing internal rebellion cases.

However, this was almost his limit.

There was a definite cap on the battle merit that could be accumulated from public security incidents; it could not be tallied indefinitely, and beyond a certain standard the merit gained would slowly diminish.

Relying on public security cases alone, it was impossible to meet the merit requirements for becoming an Immortal Sect citizen.

Therefore, Fire Leopard Three longed to set foot on the battlefield, establish merit, and make sufficient contribution to the Immortal Sect—just as the countless ancestors of Immortal Sect citizens had done—to prove he possessed the qualifications to become an Immortal Sect citizen.

"Not for the time being."

Jiang Ding shook his head slightly: "The premise for all of this is that the Immortal Sect achieves victory and its territory expands as never before; otherwise, the Immortal Sect will lose

its bold, enterprising spirit of embracing all rivers."

"Everything is rooted in the most basic survival; the interests of Immortal Sect citizens are satisfied first."

He spoke bluntly, without any concealment, saying nothing about division of labor being different or that they were all equal—empty words that would go against his original intentions.

"Oh…"

Students like Fire Leopard Three and Flower Vine showed strong disappointment.

Some felt indignant and resentful in their hearts, thinking it unfair—why should citizens' interests come first?

Some felt the utmost envy yet thought it perfectly natural. The Immortal Sect had been founded by the ancestors of its citizens; if citizens' interests were not prioritized, should those of outsiders be?

In their hearts, their longing and desire to become Immortal Sect citizens only grew stronger.

A thousand faces, a thousand thoughts.

These were the freedoms of living beings.

Ideological character scores would naturally fluctuate because of this; nothing could be hidden. There would always be those eliminated. Even though the Immortal Sect embraced all rivers, it would not absorb every genius—it had to seek fellow travelers on the same path.

"The great tide of history influences everyone."

"All we can do is study hard and make our lives better."

Jiang Ding did not scold anyone.

Everything was a matter of personal choice. He actually had little patience for cultivators who were not Immortal Sect citizens; he tended to select rather than cultivate, and did not wish to correct anyone.

"Students, even if you cannot become citizens, the knowledge you gain and higher ideological character scores can still earn you higher positions in the various Minor Thousand Worlds, and a better life. All effort is rewarded…"

Jiang Ding said gently.

For these three hundred years, he had been cultivating the strong of the Immortal Sect's affiliated forces.

Thanks to the education they received in childhood, they tended to feel a sense of belonging toward the Immortal Sect and could more accurately understand its policies. Many disturbances nearby—such as the rebellion of the Li Yun Sect in the Master Canghai Minor Realm back then—were often reported and jointly crushed by surrounding native experts while still in their infancy, raising subjective initiative by more than one level.

What native experts often needed was simply a hope.

During this period when the vast majority of the Immortal Sect's elite citizens had been dispatched to the battlefield, the twenty-six Minor Thousand Worlds remained as steady as Taishan, with no disturbances adding to the cost of rear-area governance. The various resource production sites and primary processing factories for heavenly materials and earthly treasures maintained stable order, continuously providing the Immortal Sect with all manner of resources.

All of this was the achievement of three hundred years of teaching by Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun.

The strength, execution efficiency, and productivity of the Immortal Sect's affiliated forces were all rising, boosting the Immortal Sect's overall resources by roughly two to three percent over several centuries—bringing it considerable benefit.

This

These cultivators once taught by Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun were scattered across the various Minor Thousand Worlds, each in turn teaching their own children and disciples. Though educational levels varied, they all knew the direction clearly—they knew what this hegemonic power of the realm, the Immortal Sect, needed, and were all striving to guide their children and disciples in that direction.

Passed down generation after generation, the affiliated forces' sense of belonging to the Immortal Sect steadily grew.

All of this was noted by the Immortal Sect's administrative and taxation departments, who instinctively felt much goodwill toward it.

Because it made their work easier, merit easier to obtain, and opportunities for cultivation increased, they naturally offered tacit support.

"This is,"

"Civilization and the wings of civilization…"

Jiang Ding murmured inwardly.

In his conception, the Immortal Sect was the source of civilization, and the various affiliated forces were its wings, assisting the Immortal Sect in ruling the vast star domain.

The geniuses of the affiliated civilizations—those with outstanding talent, ideological character, and scientific creativity—could be absorbed as citizens, ensuring the Immortal Sect remained forever the center of talent, technology, and openness within the realm, always representing the most advanced productive forces within it.

How could the Immortal Sect's ruling position be perpetually secured?

The geniuses continually plucked from these affiliated civilizations were the answer.

They would become the cornerstone of the Immortal Sect, bringing an endless stream of wisdom, bearing it aloft, sharing its honor and disgrace, living together in the starry sky of the realm, advancing together toward the path of the True Immortal, never falling behind other civilizations—at least in potential.