In a room at the top of the massive pyramid-like structure at the very center of Xuanyuan Fortress, Zhang Tie met Zuo Qiu Mingyue and Ye Qingcheng. The two were together, seemingly waiting for Zhang Tie's arrival.
Through the enormous floor-to-ceiling crystal windows, steeped in a powerful alchemical aura, one could overlook the entirety of Xuanyuan Fortress from this highest room. The eleven forward bases surrounding Xuanyuan Fortress were also all within view.
White clouds drifted leisurely outside the windows, layer upon layer of cloud sea spread beneath their feet. Inside, however, from the moment Zhang Tie entered, Ye Qingcheng's and Zuo Qiu Mingyue's eyes had fallen upon him.
"Zhang Tie greets the Commander, greets the Grand Marshal..." Upon entering, Zhang Tie swept his gaze around the room and calmly, neither humbly nor arrogantly, paid his respects to the two men. Regardless of their status, cultivation, or achievements, both deserved Zhang Tie's respect. Though their character was still unclear to him, Zhang Tie felt they had to be better than Feng Yexiao.
As he saluted, Zhang Tie carefully sized up Zuo Qiu Mingyue, known as Great Xia's God of War. Outwardly, Zuo Qiu Mingyue appeared to be merely a refined, lean old man with an air of immortal grace. His entire presence was tranquil and serene. Were it not for the divine-grade robes of the Three Excellencies he wore—garments that only three people in all Great Xia could wear—ordinary people would never have imagined that this man was Great Xia's God of War, the supreme commander of Great Xia's countless armies beneath the Emperor Xuanyuan.
Of course, Zhang Tie knew this was only an outward appearance. Or rather, the Grand Marshal's cultivation had already reached a profound realm of returning to simplicity, where he had no need for outward trappings