Chapter 1202: Ten Thousand Races' Pride — The Teacher

One after another, branches of the divine tree Shenmu Shenmu Futianrong spread forth, unfurling across the starry sky, crisscrossing in every direction to form a super teleportation array that covered the entire Dayang Dayang Tianchi.

Boundless spiritual energy of heaven and earth converged, and space churned without cease.

Hum!

Hum hum!

Amid a wave of world-covering teleportation light, Dayang Dayang Tianchi vanished from sight.

Soon, in a stretch of starry sky separated by an immense distance—nearly half the Nine Spirit Domain—Dayang Dayang Tianchi's dreamlike figure reappeared, stirring up a storm-like surge of spatial ripples.

Spatial runes flickered unsteadily. After a long while, they stabilized, and the illusory, warped Dayang Dayang Tianchi took on a real form. A terrifying, scorching pressure spread out in all directions, making every cultivator who witnessed the scene shudder.

Jiang Ding stepped down, with Teacher Gu Lin behind him, along with many strategist Zhenjuns of the Army Group's General Staff.

"Greetings, Vice Commander-in-Chief of the Second Expeditionary Army Group of Jiao Jiao Mingyu, Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun!"

Tao Qing Canghai Tianjun, along with the many Tianjuns and Zhenjuns of the Xiandao Sect stationed at the two-world passage, saluted in perfect unison.

"Greetings to you all."

Jiang Ding returned the courtesy.

The army is a place that values military discipline.

Because one must often face life and death head-on; being too lax, too relaxed will in the end bring great disaster, putting oneself and the Xiandao Sect in grave danger.

All camaraderie must be built upon military discipline.

After the salutes, the atmosphere between the two sides eased somewhat.

"Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun, please look—this is the three-million-strong Minor Thousand Worlds conscript force that the Xiandao Sect ordered us to train."

Tao Qing Canghai Tianjun and the others led Jiang Ding aside, pointed ahead, and transmitted: "Their training... can be considered passable. However, let me offer one word of caution: these men can only be used for military missions of holding a fixed position. Don't expect them to accomplish anything in open battle, especially against opponents of the Yiweixian Sect level."

"I understand."

Jiang Ding nodded.

He followed the direction Tao Qing Canghai Tianjun indicated and looked toward the distant starry sky.

Here too, there were several hundred thousand warships and millions of fighter craft spanning the sky, forming a massive stellar battle array. It looked imposing and orderly, with chaotic battle-array runes spread in every direction.

At first glance, there was no difference from a Xiandao Sect fleet.

If a Soul Transformation cultivator of the Weixian Sect saw this scene, he would burn his essence and blood and flee in mad panic without a second thought, terrified that a single moment's delay would reduce him to ash in an instant.

No—he would inevitably be reduced to ash.

By the time a Weixian Sect cultivator's divine sense brushed the hull of a Xiandao Sect fleet and actually saw the fleet, he should already be dead; survival would be the rarest of chances.

However, if the Weixian Sect cultivator were calmer, he would immediately notice something off.

This battle array, though massive in scale and strong in aura,

was in fact entirely hollow. The three million cultivators within could not merge their strength into one. It looked like three million, but in reality it was only several dozen independent entities.

Treating them as several dozen late-stage Soul Transformation cultivators or above would not be wrong at all.

Moreover, they carried the common weaknesses of battle arrays—slow mobility, insufficiently nimble reactions, short duration for sustained stellar marches, and many other shortcomings. They were nothing like the citizen fleets of a domain hegemon.

The cause of this enormous gap lay in two major factors: the cultivators' military quality and their equipment.

Xiandao Sect cultivators received top-tier domain-level immortal Dao education from childhood, with no shortage of resource cultivation, practical opportunities, or elder guidance.

This top-tier domain-level military quality could not be caught up by Minor Thousand Worlds conscripts no matter how many decades of special training—it's a world of difference.

The gap in equipment was even greater.

The warships and fighter craft of these Minor Thousand Worlds cultivators lagged behind the Xiandao Sect by at least one era, even three or four eras. Many warships were nothing more than big lumps of iron. Though they gleamed silver-bright, they were actually old relics from seven or eight thousand years ago, kept in shape only by later maintenance and a coat of paint.

As for fighting will, don't even mention it.

Xiandao Sect citizens can fight to the death—not as encouragement or intimidation, but as a statement of fact.

Correspondingly, don't expect these Minor Thousand Worlds conscript cultivators to remain unchanged and unshaken when facing overwhelming disadvantage.

This is the reason Tao Qing Canghai Tianjun said not to use these conscript forces as the main force in open battle.

"It's nothing."

"This is understandable, though..."

Jiang Ding murmured.

He walked forward step by step, into the massive Minor Thousand Worlds conscript army.

At first, Jiang Ding's figure was tiny and inconspicuous—this was due to his long-maintained concealment arts.

As Jiang Ding took a step forward, his body did not change at all, still the build of a sixteen-year-old human youth, yet his aura shifted little by little. A terrifying, scorching pressure, imbued with endless destructive will, spread across all of heaven and earth, filling the galaxy.

Clearly a small human, yet like an incomparably towering giant beast of the starry river, emanating a terrifying aura from the very top of the food chain.

Under this pressure, the minds of all Soul Transformation, Nascent Soul, and Jin Dan cultivators went blank, nearly suffocating.

A Weixian Sect powerhouse!

At this moment, a deep awe welled up in the hearts of all the Minor Thousand Worlds cultivators.

"We pay respects!"

"We pay respects to Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun!"

Millions of Minor Thousand Worlds cultivators bowed reverently, their thunderous roars like mountains collapsing and seas surging. Army morale soared, the military aura stern and awe-inspiring.

"Order: advance."

Jiang Ding gave a slight nod.

His gaze

settled upon the more than ten Soul Transformation cultivators such as Dong Xue He Wang, the Vine Blossom son of the Dried-Blood Vine Demon Emperor, the Fire Leopard Three of the Fire Spirit Dao Body, as well as several thousand Nascent Soul Zhenjuns.

They were naturally in awe—a Weixian Sect Canghai Tianjun's strength far surpassed theirs.

At the same time, the gazes of these many Soul Transformation cultivators and Zhenjuns held respect and admiration; within the awe between superior and subordinate, there was also much of the affection between teacher and student.

There was a reason for this.

In the Fire Spirit Realm, within the Fire Spirit Academy, Jiang Ding's avatar has been instructing the heroes of the Minor Thousand Worlds, placing particular emphasis on moral and ideological education, while also imparting some teachings on the Immortal Dao; this has continued for over a thousand years.

These Soul Transformation and Nascent Soul cultivators from the Minor Thousand Worlds were mostly taught by Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun, watched over as they grew, and deeply influenced by his Great Sun Soul Transformation Strategy.

"Advance!"

"Yes, Your Excellency, Vice Marshal!"

Hundreds of thousands of conscripted fleets from the Minor Thousand Worlds stood in solemn obedience; under the orders of Immortal Sect commanders, they piloted warships and fighter jets, flying one by one into the Great Sun Dayang Dayang Tianchi to settle in the designated camps.

"Greetings, Master!"

"Greetings, Master; it has been many years since we saw your true form, yet your bearing remains unchanged..."

While standing in solemn obedience, Huateng, Huobao San, and other Soul Transformation and Nascent Soul cultivators greeted him in succession; their voices were filled with trust, a genuine bond accumulated over more than a thousand years.

This was one of the considerations of the Immortal Sect Military Committee.

The conscripted legions of the Immortal Sects bear strong characteristics of feudal armies, requiring specific qualifications for their commanders; unlike the Immortal Sect fleets, where any authorized and competent subordinate could command smoothly, these legions demand more.

In Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun's hands, this conscripted legion from the Minor Thousand Worlds would be even stronger.

"Hahaha!"

"Seeing that all of you, fellow Daoists, are well brings me heartfelt joy."

Jiang Ding let out a hearty laugh.