Promoted to Deputy General!

"What's going on? Why aren't you registering?"

"That woman seems to have gone into the inner room?"

"Who is this person? Why must we alarm the inner chambers?"

The Captain queuing around noticed this scene and cast curious glances at it.

Only a few senior Deputy General, upon witnessing this scene, said little, but merely glanced at Yang Xiao's face a few more times.

A murmur arose, but Yang Xiao stood calmly in front of the counter.

A moment later, the door to the inner room was pushed open.

Several Demon Suppression Division filed out, each carrying a tray.

The tray was covered with red silk, obscuring its contents, but judging from its weight and the official's cautious movements, it was clearly no ordinary item.

The group walked to the counter and placed the trays down one by one.

On the first tray was a neatly folded, azure-blue demon-suppressing robe, its surface embroidered with cloud patterns and the emblem of the Demon Suppression Division in silver thread, gleaming faintly in the sunlight of the hall.

On the second tray was a black cloak with silver trim at the corners, giving it a heavy feel.

On the third tray was a delicately crafted, openwork silver hair crown.

On the fourth tray lay a brand new waist tag.

The waist badge is entirely silver-white, engraved with intricate runes and the emblem of the Demon Suppression Division, with two large characters in the center: "Deputy General".

This scene immediately drew the attention of the surrounding Captain.

The Merit Hall, which had been buzzing with discussion, suddenly fell silent.

All eyes were on the trays, on the demon-suppressing robe and the waist token.

The Deputy General's waist badge!

The woman behind the counter returned to her seat, cleared her throat, and her voice carried clearly throughout the Merit Hall.

"In the battle of the Guanlan River, Demon-Suppressing Captain Yang Xiao slew the Blackwater Mystic Flood Dragon at the Perfected Liquid Condensation stage, assisted in capturing the traitorous River Patrol Envoy Jiang Chen, and killed the severely wounded Flood Dragon Lord at night, thus making the greatest contribution."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over everyone in the hall.

"Upon General Pei Xuance's recommendation, Yang Xiao of the Qingzhou Demon Suppression Division was appointed as Deputy General."

After he finished speaking, all around him fell silent.

Yang Xiao stood still, his expression calm, but his heart was slightly shaken.

Although I already knew that Pei Xuance had promised me the position of Deputy General, hearing it announced to the public still felt different.

After a moment of silence, the Captain gradually came to their senses and clasped their hands in congratulations.

"Congratulations, Deputy General Yang!"

"Deputy General Yang is young and promising; his future is limitless!"

Congratulations!

Congratulations rose and fell; some were genuinely admiring, some were just following the crowd, and some had complex expressions in their eyes.

Fatty Sun stood at the back of the line, smiling even more happily than Yang Xiao, his round face covered with wrinkles.

"Haha! Deputy General Yang! I knew you weren't simple!"

He strode forward, patted Yang Xiao on the shoulder, and said in a low voice, "Don't forget Fatty Sun later."

Yuantong also stepped forward, unusually serious, and clasped his hands in greeting to Yang Xiao.

"Deputy General Yang."

Zhou Zheng, standing to the side, also offered his heartfelt congratulations. "Deputy General Yang, congratulations!"

He recalled how long it took him to become Deputy General, and then he remembered that Yang Xiao had only been in the company for a month.

This speed of promotion is unbelievable.

The woman behind the counter continued, "Deputy General Yang, from today onwards, you may use your Deputy General's token to command your Demon-Suppressing Demon Suppression Guard."

"When there is a mission, the Demon Suppression Division will assign you a team of several hundred Captain, who can be deployed as needed in battle."

"We will have your Deputy General robes, cloak, hair ornament, waist token, and the necessary precious medicines and rewards delivered to your new residence."

After everyone offered their congratulations, Yang Xiao became more concerned about something else.

He looked at the woman behind the counter and asked, "How do I obtain the martial arts techniques mentioned in this mission?"

Upon hearing this, the woman looked down and flipped through the account books.

After a moment, she raised her head and replied, "You can enter the Technique Pavilion and choose a cultivation technique for the Liquid Condensation Realm, regardless of its grade."

"Furthermore, based on this merit, you can receive an internal energy cultivation method to break through to the Aperture-Opening Realm."

Yang Xiao's eyes lit up slightly after hearing this.

Liquid Condensation Realm cultivation technique with no grade limit.

The internal energy cultivation method for breaking through to the Aperture-Penetration Realm.

Compared to official robes and waist tokens, the most practical thing we urgently need right now is martial arts techniques.

Official robes are merely symbols of status, and waist tokens are simply proof of power, but martial arts techniques provide a real boost to one's strength.

His current realm is the Perfected Liquid Condensation, just one step away from the Aperture-Opening Realm.

The internal energy cultivation method for breaking through to the Aperture-Opening Realm can come in handy right now.

Thank you.

Yang Xiao nodded to the woman, put the Deputy General's waist token into his pocket, and turned to head towards the Technique Pavilion. The rest of the items would be sent back to his courtyard by someone else.

Behind him, the Captain who remained in the Merit Hall watched his retreating figure, and whispers began to rise.

"To go from Captain to Deputy General at such a young age, that's too fast!"

"If they're so capable, they can slay the Flood Dragon Lord. If you're so good, why don't you try it yourself?"

"Tch, Flood Dragon Lord only got away with it because General Pei was seriously injured first."

"Picking up a bargain? You try picking one up yourself! A great demon at the peak of the Aperture-Penetration Realm can scare people to death with a single roar, and even if it's on its deathbed, no one in the Liquid Condensation Realm would dare to touch it."

"No matter what, he's now Deputy General, so we still have to call him Deputy General Yang."

The murmurs rang out quietly; some were admiring, while others felt a pang of envy.

In the corner, a Captain lowered his voice, his tone tinged with jealousy.

"The position of Deputy General isn't something you can secure just by picking off stragglers and killing demons."

Someone nearby chimed in, "Exactly, just wait and see, this spot's burning hot."

The Technique Pavilion was still the same red-lacquered building, with carved railings and painted beams, and upturned eaves, bathed in a warm golden light under the afterglow of the setting sun.

Yang Xiao walked to the door, took out a brand-new Deputy General's badge from his pocket, and handed it over.

The two guards standing at the door took the waist token, looked at it for a moment, and then looked up at Yang Xiao.

The last time he came here, he was a newly recruited Captain. The guards only glanced at him and let him pass, their eyes showing a hint of indifference.

This time is different.

After the two men saw the words "Deputy General" on the waist tag, their expressions changed visibly, and their attitude became much more polite than before.

"Deputy General Yang, please."

The waist token was returned with both hands, and one of the people even stepped aside to make way for the other.

Yang Xiao took the waist token, nodded, and stepped into the pavilion.

The air was filled with a faint scent of ink and the dry aroma of paper.

The main hall on the first floor remained unchanged, with bookshelves densely packed together, and various cultivation techniques arranged according to their realm and category.

Last time he came, he could only choose from the first floor, and only those below the Liquid Condensation Realm.

This time, with the Deputy General's token in hand, the restrictions were greatly reduced.

Yang Xiao strolled slowly along the bookshelf, his gaze sweeping over the cultivation manuals on the shelves. The section on the Liquid Condensation Realm cultivation manuals had many more new books than when he last came, clearly indicating that the Demon Suppression Division's Cultivation Manual Archive was constantly being replenished.

He was flipping through the pages when a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Brother Yang? It really is you!"

Yang Xiao turned his head, a slight smile on his face.

We hadn't seen Xu Qingshan along the way during the Battle of the Guanlan River, but now we have.

Xu Qingshan stood between two rows of bookshelves, a smile of surprise and delight on his face, but beneath the smile lay a hint of hesitation that was hard to detect.