Chapter 315: Preparing for the Selection

Everyone stared at Zhuo Yihong as though he were the fool, at which point he immediately exclaimed, "What, not this again? Surely you all aren't thinking of doing just that?!"

"On what grounds do you think that Deputy Leader Zhang isn't strong? How can you be so certain when you haven't seen him fight for yourself? Do you think we're all fools?

"Did you know that Zhang Lie managed to take down the head of the Tianji Council, Wang Yanyi, with a single area-of-effect technique? Just one blow, and Wang Yanyi was rendered immobile on the ground!" Zhou Liao's voice rose into a crescendo.

"What? Surely you must be joking, Troop Leader Zhou?"

"Enough, Team Leader Zhuo! It's clear this meeting won't benefit you. Go learn about what Deputy Leader Zhang did today first, and I'll send you the meeting minutes later." Zhuo Yihong's repeated interruptions caused Zhou Liao to lose his patience.

"Yes, Troop Leader!" Zhuo Yihong hesitated for a moment, realized the truth of Zhou Liao's words, and walked out with a belly full of questions. The meeting resumed without him.

All seven remaining troop leaders motioned that they would participate in the selection process, which implied that the three openings in Zhang Lie's team would likely go to three among them, Compared to most of the recruits, the team leaders were overwhelmingly strong—though there were always one or two recruits that were at the same level of strength, so it wasn't impossible that some of the team leaders might lose out to other promising candidates who weren't yet part of the special forces.

The selection process would take place in an external training ground outside the barracks, in a squat black building. There would infrequently be announcements that a new recruitment session was about to occur, and there had been a wave of hunters flocking to the area because of Governor Xiao's declaration that he wanted to expand the size of the special forces.

Of course, even under usual circumstances, hunters went in and out of the building all the time. There were often injuries and casualties among the special forces, and additional hunters would be needed to fill the gaps in each team.

When Zhou Liao and the others arrived at the building, all the recruits let out excited grins. Troop Leader Zhou Liao was a famous name in Qi, and every one of the recruits knew his face. Many of the recruits felt as though something might be amiss; this wasn't their first time participating in the selection process, and the team leaders hadn't appeared in force the past few times.

Soon after the team leaders appeared, a notice regarding special recruitment for a team for Deputy Leader Zhang Lie appeared on the digital noticeboard, causing a huge fuss in the examination hall.

"What's going on? Who's this?"

"Is this the same Zhang Lie who was the champion of the Void Cup? How did he become the deputy leader of the special forces in Qi?"

"Something must be wrong—I've never heard of the special forces having such a position!"

"Wait, look at the end of the message—'Team leaders of the special forces are likewise eligible to participate in the selection process.' Would those team leaders be willing to give up their high-ranking positions just to join Zhang Lie's team?"

"It's a farce, I'm sure of it! I bet they're only doing it because Zhang Lie hasn't made a name for himself in the second realm yet, so they're trying to attract more hunters to his team! In that case, I expect the weakest team in the special forces to be Deputy Leader Zhang's!"

"The weakest team? Are you crazy? Didn't you see Zhang Lie's performance during the Void Cup? He even withstood a blow from the white-winged emperor, and you still doubt his strength?"

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Oh, I watched that footage—but there was no way he would have been able to survive that blow if not for the timely arrival of Martial Sage Hao Tianqi!"

"Who's to say that he didn't have anything up his sleeve? Furthermore, what you're saying is only conjecture."

"Is no one else paying attention to the fact that he became a deputy leader of the special forces so quickly? Surely he can't have ascended for long—how could he already be a deputy leader?"

"Are you a fool? Don't you know just how much he's done for humanity by winning the Void Throne? Making him the deputy leader of the special forces is the least they could do—he's being treated like a god on Earth! Given his accolades with the Void Cup and with the theory of limit fragments, I wouldn't be surprised if he even took over Troop Leader Zhou Liao's position!"

Rapid debate and hushed conversations sprung up among the hunters gathered in the examination hall. In the end, a large majority of the hunters present applied to take part, attracted by the limited nature of the opportunity and Zhang Lie's fame.