Jiang Ding flew in the sky, looking down at Qingfeng University.
It had been who knows how many years since he last returned to his hometown in Rongcheng City. His family's home in the residential area was covered in dust, and the people there had long forgotten that a boy had once grown up there. In a crowd of hundreds of thousands, not a single person knew him; he had become part of history.
Qingfeng University was taking up an increasingly significant role in his life, gradually beginning to surpass his hometown in importance.
Once, he had only a dim understanding of Immortal Baimei's feelings for Qiyu Sect.
Now, he was experiencing this new kind of attachment for himself.
In the seemingly ordinary gate entrance, the grass, trees, and rocks bore the emotions of a lifetime for a Golden Pill Monk, all the life's past, the laughter, and the tears, all taking place right here, too precious to give up except in life or death.
"The little ones are getting nervous too, huh…"
Jiang Ding glanced down and readily noticed something different about the campus.
The once carefree and lively atmosphere of the campus was gone. The passing students, from the newly enrolled first-year students to the juniors and seniors, all had tight faces and hurried expressions, with hardly any laughter or playfulness.
Before graduation, they didn't have the pressure of military service.
Education is fundamental.
As long as the Xianmen Sect's homeland is not under attack, schooling must continue, of course, this only applies to those below the Golden Pill level.
But their parents, family members, friends, and classmates were probably already conscripted into the military, becoming soldiers and officers of all ranks.
Various reserve and skeleton divisions were being rapidly filled and were urgently resuming past Army Formation training.
The serving troops included ground tank troops, Air-Space Troops, and Starry Sky Troops.
Everyone, from Immortals of Nascent Soul to ordinary humans manning heavy machine guns, had received conscription orders, beginning to fulfill their citizen's duty, whether on the battlefield or in rear-area military factories.
No one could be exempted; this was the other side of enjoying generous citizen rights.
This was still just a preliminary mobilization.
If the battlefield turns unfavorable, more troops can be assembled instantly, providing reinforcements.
"In this war, who knows how many will be buried in foreign soil…"
Jiang Ding looked away.
He sped up, traveling through the air above the city, and soon arrived at the Immortal Sect Military Assembly Hall located in the center of Xiandu.
People were entering and exiting; without exception, all were dressed in various military uniforms.
The Starry Sky Troops wore white, the Air-Space Troops blue, and the ground troops pine green; ranks varied from major to general, and so did their cultivation bases.
The ground troops' commanders had the weakest cultivation base, while the Starry Sky Troops' commanders were the strongest, often held by Nascent Soul Huashen Cultivators.
Generally speaking, junior officers typically demote themselves by two ranks when facing senior troops.
For example, a major of the ground troops would not have the authority to command the Air-Space Troops, and if encountering a school-level officer of the Starry Sky Troops, he would have to obey his command.
Jiang Ding landed and found that Immortal Dinghai, Immortal Luling, and Zhang Junsheng had also arrived; the group gathered.
Immortal Dinghai and the others had not worn their usual favorite robes but had donned the Starry Sky Troops' white officer uniforms. They lost their scholarly elegance, appearing more sharp and resolute, with a bit more sternness.
"Hasn't the teacher entered slumber yet?"
Jiang Ding asked casually.
These individuals were Nascent Soul Immortals close to retirement and succession, who would have entered the Sleeping Hidden Realm to slow the passage of time if not for the war.
Zhang Junsheng, with a face full of killing intent, said, "If we really went to slumber, we wouldn't wake for thousands of years, better to fight now, and even if we die, so be it. When you're dead, you're dead."
Immortal Luling said casually.
Compared to the killing intent-ridden Zhang Junsheng, he and Immortal Dinghai were much calmer, having long grown accustomed to war, with not too much fluctuation in their mood.
"Right, you can't enter the Military Assembly Hall if your dress is not in order, quickly change into your military uniform," Immortal Dinghai reminded.
They were usually civil servants, but now they were dressed in the military uniforms of generals, having been promoted to the rank of Major General in the Starry Sky Troops.
Such considerations stemmed from practical combat experience. In case an established order scattered, having a clear standard would enable a much faster reorganization.
Only then did Jiang Ding remember.
He took the blue admiral's uniform of the Air-Space Troops from his Storage Jade Pendant, infused it with mana, and it spread over his body like ripples of water, with complex array patterns spreading outward.
This was a special premium Nascent Treasure, capable of providing Nascent Soul Peak-level defense, as well as affinity with Formation Methods, enhancing the ability to control Army Formations.
At Jiang Ding's request, its defensive capabilities had been removed, replaced with enhancements to concealment and speed instead.
Using magic, he conjured a mirror.
In the mirror was a young admiral, spirited and elegant, yet with an air of youthful naivety – he lacked any real sense of authority, resembling a child playing dress-up.
Many Immortals of Nascent Soul cast strange looks in his direction.
Jiang Ding straightened his expression, trying to make himself look more serious.
"Stop wasting your effort, it's no use."
Zhang Junsheng rolled his eyes: "Look around, each one of us is a mature, reliable, and steady middle-aged man, a pillar of his family and the Immortal Sect. And then there's you, just a small youngster.
To the uninformed, it looks as if I brought my relative's child with me."
"That doesn't seem incorrect."
Immortal Dinghai thought for a moment, then smiled slightly.
To him, this two-hundred-something-year-old youngster didn't seem much different from a child at home.
Jiang Ding showed a look of confusion.
After all, the Divine Crow Immortal, Immortal Burning Bone – none of them had ever shown any surprise at his appearance; it was always just ordinary to them, and he thought that this was the norm for Nascent Soul Monks.
Jiang Ding touched the back of his head, revealing an embarrassed expression, and quickly followed the three men, Immortal Dinghai and his companions, as they walked briskly towards the Military Assembly Hall.
Up ahead, people were gathering, engaged in enthusiastic discussion.
"It's too early, far too premature. I disagree. The Immortal Sect has not yet accumulated strength to its optimal state... "
"This isn't rational. We must prevent the outbreak of war."
"Gentlemen, this meeting is our last chance..."
Immortal Luling and Immortal Dinghai's eyes immediately filled with a ferocious light as they looked towards the source of the voices.
There too was a group of Immortals of Nascent Soul, who had quickly set up a platform and were loudly delivering a speech before the military conference began.
Around them gathered many Nascent Soul Immortals with slightly red eyes and an air of murderous intent. The vicinity instantly turned into a bitterly cold polar ice field, and even groups of Golden Pill Monks would find their Divine Souls frozen here.
"Diplomat True Monarch Bo Ming..."
Jiang Ding recognized the older, plump man delivering the speech.
He was the head of the Immortal Sects' diplomatic corps and Jiang Ding had met him once before. At that time, Bo Ming had criticized Jiang Ding for killing a Swordsman from the Shangqing Lingbao Sect, offending neutral Immortal Sects, and ruining the hard-earned diplomatic results of the Immortal Sects.
"Now is really not an opportune time to wage war! If we fail, the Immortal Sect will immediately face a crisis of collapse!"
True Monarch Bo Ming, undeterred by the menacing glares from many older Immortals below, shouted, "We could wait for thousands more years, allowing the Xuanwu Heavenly Palace to continue to expand, seize Small Worlds from other Immortal Sects, and further widen the rifts between them until the contradictions can no longer be resolved."
"That would be the best time for war!"
"Now, it's simply too soon!"