Four figures entered the command tent. Jiang Zhongtian walked over to the cowhide map laid out in its center.
The other two experts, Chu Tiankuo and Lu Zui, sat on either side. Lu Qinglan stood behind her grandfather, looking straight ahead.
Once all the stronghold's important figures had arrived, the tent fell silent.
After taking his place, Jiang Zhongtian surveyed the seventy or eighty people present. Dispensing with pleasantries, he went straight to the business at hand:
"I imagine everyone here still remembers-and personally experienced-the chaos three days ago."
"The Shaman Kingdom martial artists and members of the Nine Evil Sect who infiltrated the city struck under cover of night, setting fires, killing people, and sowing chaos. Over the course of that night, dozens within the city were killed or injured, including three Profound Connection Realm martial artists, as well as fellow disciples and colleagues of those present."
A few tightly restrained breaths sounded inside the tent.
Some people lowered their heads.
Yi Yang noticed a young man in grayish-white martial robes in the front row, his fists resting on his knees, his knuckles clenched tight. The seat beside him was empty, with a sheathed saber laid across it.
The weapon of someone who had died.
Jiang Zhongtian did not linger on the subject. He turned and pointed to the cowhide map behind him.
"I have already reported this incident to Qing Province. Following Commissioner Cao Wenyuan's review, we have confirmed that all the Shaman Kingdom martial artists involved in the unrest came from the far side of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains."
His finger landed on a city marked in black.
"Tooth-Copper City."
"One of the gateways in the southwestern Shaman Kingdom, this city guards the first mountain pass leading from the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains into the kingdom's