For a moment, everyone showered him with praise again.
Xiao Zhang felt neither embarrassed nor flushed. He calmly accepted their flattery, nodded, and said, "All right, all right. Give it some thought."
"If you want to take part, stand behind me. If you don't, you can leave right now. I won't stop you."
At those words, not a single person backed away. Instead, they all scrambled to rush forward.
Was he kidding?
All they had to do was cooperate, and a tremendous achievement would fall into their laps. Only an idiot would refuse!
"Good!" Xiao Zhang nodded in satisfaction.
"In that case, everyone should get ready."
He looked up at the sky and began issuing instructions with an air of great importance.
"It's dusk now. Once night has fully fallen, we'll set out immediately for the first ambush site I've chosen and lay our traps!"
"Agreed!" The captains all nodded.
Just then, however, Fang Yuan eagerly squeezed out of the crowd, wearing a fawning smile.
"Um... Senior Brother Xiao, could I join in too?"
"Don't worry. I might not have much else going for me, but when it comes to cooperation, I'm absolutely top-notch!"
"I've helped Golden Core elders refine pills in the Sect, and I've swept floors alongside junior brothers from the Outer Sect. I guarantee I'll strike wherever you point, without hesitation!"
He was praising himself so lavishly that flowers might have rained from the heavens, only to discover that Xiao Zhang wasn't looking at him at all. Instead, his gaze was fixed squarely on Bai Jin'er behind him.
"Hiss... This junior sister's looks... tsk, tsk, tsk. What a fresh-faced beauty!"
If I brought her back as a gift for the Great King, wouldn't his dragon heart rejoice? He'd reward me with a whole pile of good things!