The Rebirth of Humanity

The recruitment process continued throughout Zeta.

After the announcement of the formation of the unified human army, the number of applicants did not decline. Instead, it continued to grow with each passing day.

In the major cities, thousands of people lined up outside recruitment centers from the early hours of the morning.

In the newly established cities, the squares were filled with warriors and cultivators.

Even the villages and agricultural regions were no exception.

Farmers who possessed a certain degree of combat strength began making their way to the registration centers. Some were driven by the desire to protect their families, while others had realized that the new era that had begun in Zeta would be nothing like the past.

The registration process was carried out with strict organization.

Everyone who entered a recruitment center underwent a series of examinations.

Name.

Age.

Cultivation realm.

Combat experience.

Preferred weapon.

Special abilities.

Then came tests of physical strength and energy.

And after that...

A combat test.

The Council no longer judged a person solely by their strength.

A powerful warrior who did not know how to fight as part of a group could be less useful than a weaker warrior who knew how to move with others and follow orders precisely.

For this reason, the army began dividing recruits according to their cultivation realms.

The cultivation levels recognized for ordinary recruits were:

Energy Sensing.

Foundation Establishment.

Energy Core.

Nascent Soul.

Divine Transformation.

Void Shattering.

Nirvana.

Tribulation.

Transcendence.

Bronze Immortal.

Silver Immortal.

The Silver Immortal Realm was the highest level permitted within the classification of ordinary recruits at this stage.

Those who had surpassed this level would not be treated as ordinary recruits. Their strength would instead be handled through special arrangements to be determined by the Council at a later time.

In this manner, the military strength of humanity began to take a definite shape.

As the days passed...

The appearance of Zeta began to change.

The recruitment centers were no longer the only places overflowing with people.

New facilities began appearing throughout human territory.

Training grounds.

Weapon storage facilities.

Medical centers.

Special-ability testing facilities.

And areas dedicated to military formation training.

These facilities were being constructed at astonishing speed.

Huge numbers of people had been mobilized for the construction effort, from craftsmen and farmers to powerful cultivators capable of accelerating the work through their abilities.

At the same time, the army continued receiving new batches of recruits every day.

Tens of thousands...

Then hundreds of thousands...

And the numbers continued to rise.

Yet the Council refused to allow such enormous numbers to descend into chaos.

Once the initial registration phase had been completed...

The next stage began.

Training.

In one of the largest training grounds in Zeta...

Thousands of recruits stood in orderly ranks.

The training ground was enormous, stretching across such a vast distance that its far end seemed almost beyond sight.

The recruits stood according to their cultivation realms.

At the front were those who had reached the higher levels.

At the rear stood those who were still in the early stages of the cultivation path.

Among them were cultivators at the Energy Sensing level.

Warriors at Foundation Establishment.

Trainees who had reached the Energy Core Realm.

And even cultivators at the Nascent Soul Realm and beyond.

In other sections of the training grounds stood those at the higher levels.

Bronze Immortals.

And then...

Silver Immortals.

Their numbers were far smaller.

Yet their mere presence among the army was enough to make many of the recruits feel an invisible pressure.

One of the officers stood before them.

He wore the new army's armor, with an emblem representing the unified military authority of humanity resting upon his shoulder.

His eyes swept across the endless ranks before him.

Then he spoke in a clear voice.

"From this day onward, you are no longer soldiers of a city."

Silence descended.

"Nor are you soldiers of a family."

His voice grew slightly louder.

"Nor are you followers of a local ruler."

Then he spoke firmly.

"You are soldiers of the Human Army."

Another silence followed.

"From this moment onward, your loyalty will belong neither to a city, nor to a family, nor to any individual."

His eyes lingered for a moment on the faces before him.

"Your loyalty belongs to humanity."

The words were simple.

Yet they left a profound impression on many of those present.

For this was something humanity had not known for a very long time.

One army.

One banner.

One military authority.

The training began.

At first, the training had nothing to do with cultivation.

It was about discipline.

Formations.

Movement.

Following orders.

Changing formations.

Retreating.

Advancing.

Protecting the flanks.

Protecting the commanders.

And carrying out orders at the exact moment they were given.

Some of the stronger warriors felt dissatisfied.

They were accustomed to fighting alone.

To them, it was only natural for a warrior to rely upon their own strength.

But the army did not care.

Its purpose was different.

To turn thousands of warriors into a single force.

One of the instructors stood before a group of recruits and said:

"If you are strong on your own, that's good."

He then pointed toward the ranks behind him.

"But in war..."

"You will not fight alone."

"You will fight alongside ten."

"Then a hundred."

"Then a thousand."

He paused for a moment.

"And if you do not learn how to move with them..."

"Your strength may become a weakness."

The combat training began.

Small groups trained in offensive maneuvers.

Then defense.

Then organized retreats.

Then the reformation of their ranks.

As for the higher-level groups, they began training to use their energy in coordination with one another.

In the Bronze Immortal and Silver Immortal training grounds, the exercises became even more demanding.

It was no longer simply a matter of physical strength.

It involved control over energy.

Speed.

Precision.

Reaction speed.

The ability to fight under pressure.

And most importantly...

The ability to follow orders in the midst of battle.

After several days of training...

The differences between the recruits began to emerge clearly.

Some excelled at individual combat.

Others demonstrated exceptional skill with weapons.

There were those who possessed healing abilities.

Others specialized in formations.

And some possessed long-range sensing abilities.

With every test...

The army continued redistributing the recruits.

The goal was not to place all the strongest warriors in one place.

It was to create balanced units.

Fighters.

Scouts.

Healers.

Formation specialists.

Heavy-weapon users.

And warriors specialized in long-range combat.

The commanders began to realize something important.

Humanity possessed an enormous number of talents.

But those talents had remained scattered for countless years.

And now...

For the first time in thousands of years...

They were beginning to gather beneath a single banner.

At the same time, the recruitment process continued.

Every new batch entering the army underwent another round of examinations.

Reports continuously reached the Council.

"The number of recruits has surpassed several hundred thousand."

"The number of former soldiers being reintegrated into the army continues to increase."

"The forces belonging to the old families have begun undergoing reclassification."

"Additional Bronze Immortals and Silver Immortals have been registered."

The numbers continued to rise day after day.

But the Council did not look at the numbers alone.

It knew that an army of one million fighters without genuine training...

Could be weaker than an organized army of one hundred thousand.

And so...

The training continued.

Day after day.

Week after week.

The training grounds never fell silent.

The clash of weapons.

Explosions of energy.

The shouts of instructors.

The commands of officers.

And the footsteps of thousands of soldiers.

All of it became part of the new landscape of Zeta.

Humanity was changing.

Not merely in its system.

Nor in its territories.

Nor in its authority.

But in its strength as well.

And once the foundations of the initial training had been established...

The most important stage began.

The leadership examinations.

The focus was no longer solely on a recruit's ability to fight.

It was now on their ability to make others fight alongside them.

In a massive training ground, thousands of recruits were divided into different units.

Each commander was given a group of soldiers, after which they were presented with a series of sudden orders and unexpected situations.

Attack.

Retreat.

Change direction.

Protect another unit.

Rescue the wounded.

And confront a simulated enemy that outnumbered them.

The objective was clear.

To discover those who possessed the mind of a commander.

Strength alone could not make a leader.

Nor could cultivation realm.

Nor fame.

What mattered was the ability to make the right decision in the moment when a single mistake could mean death.

As the examinations continued...

New names began to emerge.

Warriors who demonstrated exceptional leadership abilities.

Veterans who possessed genuine experience from past wars.

And individuals who had never been known before, yet proved themselves to possess rare military talent.

The Council began recording these names.

Then classifying them.

Then granting the strongest performers greater responsibilities.

Squad leaders.

Battalion commanders.

Combat unit commanders.

And in this way...

The true structure of the Human Army began to emerge.

It was no longer merely a vast gathering of fighters.

Units with commanders, missions, formations, and a clear system were beginning to take shape.

And yet...

This was still only the beginning.

For training a soldier to fight was one thing...

But training an entire army to wage a war as a single, unified entity...

Was something else entirely.

In the days to come...

Humanity would begin testing the true strength of its new army.

Not merely on training grounds...

But through battles designed to simulate real warfare.

Only then...

Would the difference between a fighter...

And a soldier...

Become clear.

And between strength...

And an army.

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