Establishing Authority

Zhou Zheng pointed Yang Xiao in the right direction, then left.

As he went, though, he looked troubled and sighed, as if he had handed Yang Xiao a hot potato.

Yang Xiao gave it no further thought and walked alone to the Martial Arts Arena.

Before him lay a broad bluestone square. Weapon racks stood along its edges, stocked with sabers, spears, swords, and halberds.

More than a hundred Captains had gathered in the yard. Some stood, others sat, their expressions varied.

Yang Xiao entered at an unhurried pace.

The Captains noticed someone coming in and glanced up.

To them, Yang Xiao was merely a young man in his early twenties, dressed in the ordinary fighting clothes of a Demon-Suppressing Captain. Nothing about him stood out.

They looked away and went back to what they were doing.

Yang Xiao said nothing. He walked to the front of the arena's center, clasped his hands behind his back, and swept his gaze over everyone present.

That made quite a few of them take notice again.

The Captains gradually stopped talking and turned their eyes on the young man standing in the middle of the arena.

Some frowned, some looked puzzled, and others appeared thoughtful.

"Who's that kid?"

"What's he standing there for?"

"New here? Never seen him before..."

Low murmurs rose and fell.

On the other side of the arena, a burly veteran Captain stood and walked toward Yang Xiao.

He looked to be in his fifties, with a dark face and gray at his temples, but his eyes were clear and his presence steady.

His name was Zhao Kui. Half a step from the Aperture-Opening Realm, he was well known among the Captains. Rumor had it he had nearly been promoted to Deputy General, but bad luck had left him stuck