Based on what Wang Baole had learned from De Kunzi and what he had gathered on his own, he knew that the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect had thirty army fleets that were officially recognized!
Officially recognized fleets were seen as branches of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect. They fell under the sect's jurisdiction but were also given a great degree of autonomy. The sect provided these thirty fleets with vast resources on an annual basis but didn't require them to hand over the entirety of their loot acquired from expeditions. The armies weren't only self-sufficient but received additional support from the sect. Their only obligation was… to fight in the sect's name when the sect required!
That was why they had a ranking for the armies. The resources allocated to each army and the tribute each army was required to make to the sect was determined by their position in the ranking!