Chapter 2114: Supreme Solar Dao Court

Jiang Ding stood up.

He and the Fusang Holy Maiden walked together toward the starry sky where strange phenomena kept appearing in the distance.

The next moment, the two figures appeared above the Wuji Qingse Jianzong.

They watched in silence as an Eighth Tribulation Supreme walked toward an unavoidable death—body collapsing, soul withering—forming a vast wave of spiritual Qi rules that rippled outward in all directions, the body once again returning to heaven and earth.

Within that blood-red death-spirit dispersion, Lei Gao Jie thundered into being, dark clouds rolling in from afar, blotting out the sky.

Amid death, a new generation's Wuji Sword Lord was born!

Within the heaven-reaching, earth-connecting Lei Ting, the figure of the Wuji Sword Son appeared. His face bore a sorrowful expression, and the aura on his body underwent a leaping transformation in an instant—advancing from the peak of Heaven and Man toward Supreme—shaping his own Supreme body upon the remains of his master's collapsed corpse.

At roughly the same time, in the distant starry sky, the Zhenjun He Huan Dao Son, the Huanghuo Sword Son, the Zangtian Sword Son, and others likewise began crossing tribulation one after another.

Jiang Ding and the Fusang Holy Maiden waited in silence.

This was a farewell to the old predecessors and likewise an act of dharma-protection, intimidating those with sinister intentions while displaying genuine sentiment.

No one knew how long it had been before the Lei Ting in the starry sky vanished one after another.

The starry sky fell quiet.

A Supreme of solemn bearing, carrying an aura of beginningless and endless, came before the two and bowed deeply: "Sword Son, I have already ascended to Supreme. From now on I can support the sect."

This was the Wuji Sword Son.

This was the Wuji Supreme of the future.

"Good."

"Stabilize your cultivation for a while, then prepare to march out."

Jiang Ding nodded slightly: "Sword cultivators must always grow through war—this has been so since ancient times. May Daoist Wuji achieve further breakthroughs in war, surpassing the former Wuji predecessors, with each generation stronger than the last."

"Yes, Sword Son!"

Wuji Supreme replied solemnly.

All around, the starry sky was hazy, space rising and falling unsteadily, as Supreme after Supreme descended from afar—each person's aura fluctuating up and down, having just broken through their realm before immediately coming here.

"Greetings, Sword Son!"

The Zangtian Sword Son, the Huanghuo Sword Son, the Tanlang Dao Son, the Pojun Dao Son, and others spoke in unison.

In the past, they had been sect Sword Sons.

From today onward, they were the Supremes who would support their sects—the great generals who would in the future fight for the Supreme Solar Sword Immortal across endless starry skies, struggling unto death to become Sovereigns and Immortals.

"Good."

"All of you are the backbone of the human race."

"With people like you in the human race, why worry it will not flourish again?"

Jiang Ding offered encouragement and comfort: "Come with me to pay respects to the various predecessors, to bid them farewell. If the spirits of those predecessors in heaven can see your heroic bearing, they will surely be gratified even in the netherworld."

"Our generation after generation of inheritance is precisely this; in the future it will likewise be how we bid farewell to our own disciples. Why be sorrowful?"

"But walking the Great Dao, without regret or complaint—that is all."

"Yes!"

"We obey the Sword Son's command!"

Wuji Supreme, Zangtian Supreme, and others, their eyes somewhat reddened, replied solemnly.

Qingfeng Qingfeng Beidou Supreme, Qisha Supreme, and others also hurried over. Together, the group began at the Wuji Qingse Jianzong, paying respects one by one to the previous generation's Wuji Sword Lord and others, erecting spirit tablets for them, setting up incense and merit halls, reciting scriptures for the deliverance of the deceased, and so on.

They visited every sect in turn, paying respects at each.

Jiang Ding repeatedly comforted these newly-ascended Supremes, expounded the Dao for them, accompanied them through the several hundred years following their masters' departure—confirming their grief had eased, that they harbored no inner demons, and that their cultivation had stabilized—before ceasing to disturb them and taking his leave.

Supremes are steadfast.

But Supremes are likewise living beings, likewise needing emotional sustenance.

The two traveled through the starry sky.

The Fusang Holy Maiden's mind was filled with scattered thoughts.

The person before her was cold and ruthless, possessing a naturally keen instinct toward his subordinates. After this turn of events, his position would undoubtedly grow even more secure. In the future, the risk of these future Eighth Tribulation Supremes rebelling would be greatly reduced; even if temporarily defeated in battle, they would not abandon him, and short of a certain-death situation, there would be little risk of collapse.

Of course, this was icing on the cake.

The most important thing was, and always would be, the Supreme Solar Sword Immortal's own strength.

So long as one possessed sufficient strength, even the most brutal subordinates would not betray—this was the foundation of a true Immortal.

However, the loyalty of these subordinates was also meaningful—it increased the margin for error. Investing a little yielded great benefits; it was necessary.

The Fusang Holy Maiden thought idly about these matters.

She always considered many things from a utilitarian angle.

This was a flaw she herself knew about. She knew even more clearly that all of the Supreme Solar Sword Immortal's actions came from the heart, which was why the Supremes were willing to serve loyally. The same methods, if employed by herself, would likely have little effect—earning only flattery and perfunctory compliance, not true sincerity.

The Sword Immortal was sentimental, yet also heartless.

"Pushover—"

"In a thousand years, initiate the reforms."

Jiang Ding said calmly: "In seven thousand years, we will dispatch troops to the Tianma Star Domain Cluster. In theory, multiple Eighth Tribulation Supreme-level powers should exist there. The newly established Dao Soldier troops must be tempered through blood and fire, continuously drawing experience and growing through the process, until they finally become a great army capable of dominating the world."

These armies must possess the ability to defeat other True Immortal's armies on the open battlefield!

Jiang Ding did not expect these armies to assist him in participating in True Immortal battlefields, but they must possess the ability to equally contain other True Immortal's armies.

Only in war would Immortal Dao science and technology be tested and advance.

Always remaining isolated and closed off would never work in the end.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"The new reform draft has already been reviewed by the Supreme Solar Dao Court and is about to be implemented…"

The Fusang Holy Maiden gathered her thoughts and reported: "The Supreme Solar Dao Court—this is the name of our future administrative hub. All kinds of strict etiquette have been abolished, the hierarchy between superior and subordinate has been blurred, and greater emphasis is placed on the carefree nature of the Immortal Dao. Every Gedaxian Sect will undergo mandatory internal reform, forming institutional organizations resembling Immortal Gate universities."

"For example, the Bliss Holy Land will, in the future, become a university devoted to researching the Grand Dao of Yin and Yang. Its main function will be to study various Yin-Yang subjects and to admit students of all levels for further study… but the name will still be Bliss Holy Land, and the ancestral rites to the successive patriarchs of Bliss Holy Land will never be discontinued.

Various comparatively evil traditions—such as Gong Fa that drain others of their essence, qi, and spirit to cultivate—will be banned, and repeat offenders will be put to death."

"It is not only Bliss Holy Land. Limitless Qingse Jianzong, Burial Heaven Holy Land, Seven Kill Divine Dynasty… every sect, clan, and any organizational entity whatsoever will undergo reforms of this kind."

"Each sect and holy land will no longer concentrate all powers—military, political, civil, and financial—in itself. These powers belong to the Supreme Solar Dao Court; these sects will retain only the functions of research and teaching."

"Your Majesty,"

"To speak frankly, if it were not for the fact that your power can suppress everyone, even escape would be a luxury for them. By now, the whole world would have risen in rebellion."

The Holy Maiden of Fusang remarked.

This completely overturns every tradition, shatters every institutional inertia—it is extremely thorough.

Once the Sword Immortal Lady falls in battle, the Supreme Solar Dao Court will collapse in an instant.

Nevertheless, one must admit that such a system can unleash creativity, productivity, and— in theory— combat effectiveness to the greatest degree. The integration of the Seven Great Star Domains—each within the other, each containing the other—will cause the internal estrangements among sects to vanish.

(End of Chapter)