At those words, Xu Taiping met the burly man's gaze without servility or arrogance, then smiled and cupped his hands.
"How should I address you, Senior Sergeant?"
Without another word, the burly man leaped up from where he stood and landed heavily in the center of the arena with a bang.
The burly man raised his head and cupped his hands toward Xu Taiping, his expression defiant.
"Lü Du, Senior Sergeant of the Heavenly Thunder Division!"
Xu Taiping calmly returned the salute.
"Xu Taiping of Zhenwu Qingxuan greets you, junior soldier Lü Du."
Then he turned toward the ranking spirit.
"Honored ranking spirit, this disciple wishes to challenge three Senior Sergeants of the Heavenly Thunder Division at once, to gain an additional qualification to challenge the Heavenly Thunder commandant."
The ranking spirit nodded in acknowledgment.
But as he prepared to turn and summon the others, he did not forget to remind Xu Taiping:
"If you lose, you will only be able to take one soldier-grade Thunder Sound Banner."
Already prepared for this, Xu Taiping immediately nodded.
"Thank you for the reminder, honored ranking spirit."
Seeing that Xu Taiping insisted, the ranking spirit offered no further persuasion. He immediately turned toward the Senior Sergeants of the Heavenly Thunder Division standing in a row behind him. "Peng Fei, Yuan Hong, step forward!"
"Your subordinates obey!"
The chosen Peng Fei and Yuan Hong immediately stepped forward, excitement on their faces.
The Senior Sergeants who had not been chosen all looked disappointed.
Then Peng Fei and Yuan Hong stepped forward together and cupped their fists toward Xu Taiping.
"Peng Fei, Senior Sergeant of the Heavenly Thunder Division."
"Yuan Hong, Senior Sergeant of the Heavenly Thunder Division."
"We have come to seek instruction in your superior skills, Lord Sword Champion!"
Like Lu Xiao before them,