Jiang Ding passed through the Realm Passage.
He returned to the Tian Yuan Domain once more, bearing a severely wounded body.
The instant he appeared in the Tian Yuan Domain, an icy will surfaced in his mind.
"Reconnecting..."
"Welcome, Your Excellency the Field Army Supreme Commander."
The Ninth Field Army's Legion Formation Spirit immediately detected its highest commander. Authority was instantly transferred from True Venerable Mie Ri and the others, who had been acting in his stead, to Great Sun Heavenly Monarch.
At that moment, Jiang Ding's will merged into the will of the Ninth Field Army fleet.
He could clearly sense an immense Dao Integration Grade Military Formation around him, as well as the wills of more than five hundred million cultivators within it. Some were strong and some weak, but all possessed independent wills. None believed themselves to be in any way inferior, in terms of personhood, to the sun-like will hanging in the sky.
Equality, independence, autonomy.
Apart from differences in duty and strength, everyone was an equal individual.
At the same time, these mutually independent wills were linked by something they shared, forming a whole once more.
"Salute!"
"Your Excellency the Commander-in-Chief!"
Having noticed their commander's gaze, True Venerable Mie Ri, True Venerable Ping Yang, Heavenly Monarch Tian Ci, Huo Bao San Heavenly Monarch, Hua Teng Heavenly Monarch, and all the officers and soldiers of the Ninth Field Army saluted in perfect unison.
Unlike the Dao Soldier forces of any sect, these cultivators—from the most junior Foundation Establishment Cultivators to Void Refinement Cultivators—looked upon their commander with respect, reverence, and resolve, but not the slightest trace of fanaticism or loyalty. They did not pledge allegiance to their commander.
This was the Immortal Sect's army, a fleet of citizens, not the army of any individual.
"Greetings, fellow