The special forces troops' hushed murmurs halted immediately. It was a clear sign of respect toward Governor Xiao that they wouldn't question any of his decisions, even this questionable one; this was why Zhou Liao had dared to announce that the unusual order was Governor Xiao's doing.
Of course, just because the troops respected Xiao Zhengyang didn't mean that they would do the same to Zhang Lie.
After all, they were the most elite troops of Qi.
In the second realm, because of mankind's relative inferiority in numbers, and because the native inhabitants of the realm tended to congregate in groups, mankind also largely moved around in teams; those hunters who paraded as lone wolves were generally thought to be idiotic, and most perished by the first month. If they were to go out hunting alone, they could easily be overwhelmed by a horde of beasts.
Thus, essentially all successful hunters belonged to a team, whose strength would be evaluated based on its members' strength, genetic armor, framework and techniques, and even soulshards. There were five such ranks: low, medium, high, superior, and special. Naturally, the special forces troops were all part of special-rank teams, and every hunter within such a team possessed extraordinary ability.
They were proud of their skills and abilities, of the experience that had qualified them as special-rank hunters, and this made them look down on Zhang Lie all the more.
They all stared stonily at Zhang Lie, as though trying to provoke him or question his skills. If they had been direct about it, Zhang Lie wouldn't have minded, but their sullen behavior left him rather uncomfortable.
Zhang Lie strode forward. "Team Leader Zhou, these are the drill grounds, aren't they?"
Zhang Lie's intentions were clear. Zhou Liao nodded and motioned for Zhang Lie to continue speaking.
"I know none of you are happy with this turn of events, but I've chosen to accept Governor Xiao's orders. If any of you think yourselves stronger than I am, step forward. We'll have a match right here on these grounds. If any of you can defeat me, you can have my position—but if I am to win, then I expect that you'll submit to my authority."
Zhang Lie's tone was serious, but the troops couldn't help smirking at each other. contemporary romance
A match? Did Zhang Lie really think that, as a newcomer to the second realm, he could take on and defeat the elites who had been here for years? Each of them had ascended from the first realm after maxing out their gene fragments, and they were almost finished with the same in the second realm!
It seemed blatantly obvious that Zhang Lie had no measure of his strength, nor of theirs.
Zhou Liao, selectively forgetting that he had been much the same way, couldn't help but think that the troops were still too inexperienced. He hadn't seen Zhang Lie fight himself, but given Governor Xiao's superlative evaluation, he didn't doubt Zhang Lie's skills. He was rather looking forward to the upcoming fights, and somewhat concerned for those hunters that were about to stride forward.
After Zhang Lie spoke, the troops all turned to Zhou Liao, as though trying to confirm Zhang Lie's authority.
"From today onwards, Deputy Leader Zhang's authority is equal to my own. As long as you can beat him, I'll even hand over my position as troop leader!" Zhou Liao announced.
Indeed, a show of strength would quell any unrest. The reason Zhou Liao himself had been able to become the troop leader was because of his surpassing administrative ability as well as personal strength.
"I don't want to be a team leader, but I'd consider becoming a deputy leader!" The first challenger stepped forward, one that Zhang Lie actually recognized—the second team leader, Xia Na. The moment she stepped forward, the other troops began to do so as well.
"Nana, you're too fast! I'll join you as well!"
"I have to say, I like this kid's personality. Count me in!"
"I don't want to be troop leader, but deputy troop leader, well..."
"Well, I want to see just how strong this kid really is! Champion of the Void Cup, Dragonlord General of China, the pride of humanity, leader of the Zenith Dojo... I'm quite curious just what the person lying behind all these titles really is like."
"Lad, you're only in your twenties, aren't you? Given your performance in the Void Cup, I have to admit you're strong, and your development of these limit fragments is truly impressive, but you're still too young to be our deputy leader!"
Six team leaders stepped forward, each of them expecting to give Zhang Lie a good trouncing. They reached an agreement almost immediately. "We won't bully you. Choose any one of us six; if you can defeat any of us, we'll submit to your authority."
Zhang Lie smirked. "Interesting. Why don't you all come at me together? I'd like to test my limits after my advancement."
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