"Unify the South Domain?"
Hearing that Ian Song had such ambition, everyone couldn't help but have their pupils contract in shock.
But the people of the Thirty-Seven Sects immediately began to consider—should they agree or oppose?
If they agreed, they could survive, but their own sects would likely become puppets of the Pristine Way Sect. If they opposed, they'd lose their lives.
Is the sect more important, or is your own life more important?
Most chose the latter.
"The Heavensmite Sword Sect is willing to follow Sect Master Huang!" A white-robed middle-aged man knelt down, his tone respectful and devout.
"Swiftstep Sect also pledges allegiance to Sect Master Huang." Another elder promptly knelt down.
With these two leading the way, the voices in the great hall quickly joined together. Though the words differed, the meaning was the same: they were willing to accept Ian Song as their leader.
Yet over a hundred people still stood in place, faces and bodies tense with hesitation and fear.
What about you all?
Ian Song looked at them and asked.
An elder in blue robes said, "Sect Master Huang, please forgive us. Our sect master was unfortunately killed in battle just now, so none of us can make decisions for our sect."
Several others spoke up in turn, all for the same reason—their sect masters or leaders had died, so they lacked the authority to decide for their sects.
Just as this group nervously braced for Ian Song's anger, he simply waved his hand and said, "In that case, wait until you've chosen a new sect master and then give me your answer. Someone, take them down to rest!"
Soon, those who hadn't made their stance clear were escorted away.
Those who remained had all agreed. After counting, there were twenty-three sects in total.
Forming the South Domain Martial Alliance was an extremely complex matter. The South Domain had hundreds of sects, large and small. The strongest among them was the Rift-Heaven Sword Sect, with over ten thousand Grandmaster disciples, more than a thousand Great Grandmasters, and three Martial Saints overseeing the sect.
So even if Ian Song gathered the forces of Origin Return Sect and the Thirty-Seven Sects, they still wouldn't be able to match the Rift-Heaven Sword Sect.
Therefore, unifying the South Domain was only his idea; actually carrying it out would take a long time.
After three hours of discussion, Ian Song finally left the Sect Master Hall.
He arrived at a small courtyard.
There were nine people in the courtyard, all Martial Saints.
They were the Melody Empress, Venerable Dragon Sword, Tanner Nangong, and six Martial Saints from the Blood River Battlefield, including Fiona Li.
After learning that Vanessa Nangong brought six Martial Saints, Ian Song made trips to Sanctum Martial Academy and the Blood River Battlefield, quietly borrowing nine Martial Saints.
Of course, this wasn't without cost. For Sanctum, he paid three ordinary Martial Souls; for the Blood River Battlefield, he used a favor owed by Raymond Lei.
Once that favor was used, if he wanted to borrow people from Raymond Lei again, he'd have to pay a hefty price.
Still, the rewards this time were enormous. First, Vanessa Nangong and the six Martial Saints she brought were all slain.
A total of nine Martial Saints were lost. Even the military would find that hard to bear, so they should quiet down for a while.
Another benefit: Pristine Way Sect could use this opportunity to rise again.
As for Sea Emperor Sect, Divine Moon Sect, and Sky-Net Gate, he didn't plan to keep them. In the earlier meeting, he'd already reached agreements with the other sects to jointly send out troops and annex them. Pristine Way Sect would gain three states, Origin Return Sect one, and the rest would be divided among the other sects based on merit.
After chatting with the Melody Empress, Ian Song took out the prepared gifts.
Each person received a thousand top-grade spirit crystals.
Seeing the gifts, all nine Martial Saints' eyes lit up. These were rare treasures.
No one refused; all accepted, since it was their due. Though they had the numbers in this battle, the risk was high—one careless move could mean death. Accepting Ian Song's thanks was only natural.
Then Fiona Li and the others took their leave, since they were from the Blood River Battlefield. If the military found out they'd stayed too long, they'd be severely punished.
Knowing this, Ian Song didn't try to keep them.
After that, Venerable Dragon Sword and Tanner Nangong also left, but the Melody Empress stayed—because Ian Song was about to get engaged to Harriet Gu in three days, and as Harriet's master, the Melody Empress wanted to witness the ceremony.
Three days later, Ian Song and Harriet Gu held a small, private engagement ceremony.
After the engagement, Ian Song and Harriet Gu's relationship became fully legitimate.
But the Pristine Way Sect still had many matters waiting for Ian Song to handle.
Ten days later, Pristine Way Sect reclaimed all its territories.
Half a month later, an allied army of thirty-six sects led by Pristine Way Sect and Origin Return Sect began attacking the Sea Emperor Sect, Divine Moon Sect, and Sky-Net Gate.
After a month of war, all three sects were destroyed. Pristine Way Sect gained three more states, bringing its territory to nine states.
Origin Return Sect gained another state, reaching ten states in total.
With the subordinate stronger than the master, Jason Chen grew uneasy. After consulting with Pristine Way Sect, he transferred that state for ten thousand Grade-Three Breakthrough Pills, allowing Pristine Way Sect to reach ten states—surpassing its peak era—and raising Ian Song's prestige to unprecedented heights.
Meanwhile, the South Domain Martial Alliance continued to take shape.
After three months, Pristine Way Sect, Origin Return Sect, and thirty-four other sects formally established the South Domain Martial Alliance.
Ian Song was appointed Alliance Leader, with Jason Chen and Cole Chong Duan as Deputy Leaders.
Under the Alliance Leader, a Senate was formed with fifty members: Pristine Way Sect held ten seats, Origin Return Sect six, and each of the other thirty-four sects one seat.
After the South Domain Martial Alliance was founded, Ian Song, as Alliance Leader, immediately issued two orders.
First, to form an Alliance Army, temporarily set at one million soldiers.
Second, to establish the Alliance Chamber of Commerce, tasked mainly with exchanging pills among the sects. The main pills were Grade-Three Profound Pills and Grade-Two Breakthrough Pills.
Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion, and Pristine Way Sect entered a period of cultivation after the war.
With the Pill Condensation Technique in hand, as long as there were enough spirit herbs, Ian Song could refine pills.
So, as the entire Pristine Way Sect began mass pill consumption, by the time the Martial Alliance was established, its overall strength had more than doubled.
First, in these few months, five thousand Outer Sect disciples broke through to the sixth layer of Qi-Refining.
A thousand Inner Sect disciples reached the Grandmaster realm as well.
Almost every elite disciple made a breakthrough.
The remaining two core disciples, under Ian Song's full support, both reached the Great Grandmaster realm last month.
In addition, Ian Song formed a secret army. Though small in number, each member possessed unique abilities.
This army was modeled after the military's Martial Soul Army, since every member had fused a Martial Soul. Ethan Sun was made commander, as he was the only King-Rank Martial Soul fusion warrior besides Ian Song.
As for the military, they remained quiet these few months—whether plotting something bigger or simply laying low was unknown.
That day, after finishing his duties, Ian Song returned to his own courtyard. Lynn Ning greeted him eagerly, her eyes filled with hope, while Ian worried whether she could accept the disappointing news about Nate Moore.