278: The distinction between superior and inferior

"Dinner's ready!"

Xu Le took out the pot of big-foot mushroom chicken stew and called everyone over to eat.

Wang Xueting saw the familiar bowls and chopsticks, and a flash of realization crossed her mind: As expected of the man I chose!

Xiong Jingxiang also noticed, and her evaluation of Xu Le rose another notch.

Originally, she thought Xu Le was similar to her, capable of being a three-digit squad leader and serving as a teacher for freshmen.

Now it seemed that even a top two-digit squad leader position wasn't out of reach.

It had to be said that while Xiao Meng was a bit of a letdown in terms of combat power, the food he made was indeed excellent. Even for a stomach spoiled by top-tier chefs since childhood, eating it was a pleasure.

Xu Le downed three big bowls in a row. The only regret was the lack of staple food, and there weren't many ingredients left inside.

After eating and drinking their fill, Xu Le began picking leaves. The others also ran over to help, and they soon picked several hundred leaves.

The group began their journey back.

Xu Le swapped his motorcycle for a horse, crafting "paper figurines" while riding.

Two days later.

Xuanwu Outpost.

Xu Le was led inside.

This didn't look like an outpost; it was more like a city.

The pitch-black, towering walls were a full thirty meters high. Spiritual Qi flowed across the walls, clearly indicating the presence of defensive Formations.

The outpost where Xu Huan and the others were located was at the outermost edge. After giving a few instructions, Xiong Jingxiang hurriedly left to hand in the mission.

Xu Huan pulled at Xu Le's sleeve, introducing the outpost to him.

In the afternoon.

A group of four walked into the Xuanwu Legion's freshmen outpost.

All the freshmen and teachers gathered around.

Many people didn't know the identities of the three people in front, but they all recognized Xiong Jingxiang. Seeing one of the freshmen teachers standing politely at the very back and introducing things to the trio, they knew their status was extraordinary.

Teachers who recognized them gasped in surprise.

Leading them was Li Yuan, the right-hand man of the Xuanwu Legion Commander. He was the Legion's chief of staff, and many strategies were finalized by him. In terms of status, he was half a step higher than the three Vice Commanders.

The four didn't linger and walked straight into the office.

Li Yuan glanced at the layout and requested to change to a large conference room. Yu Gang directed the staff to rearrange it.

Soon, the conference room was completely refreshed.

The three's desks were pushed together, with their nameplates placed on top.

From left to right, they were Yu Gang, Captain of the 11th Squad of the Xuanwu Legion; Li Yuan, chief of staff of the Xuanwu Legion; and Zhao Shanhe, Vice Captain of the 96th Squad of the Xuanwu Legion.

Xiong Jingxiang wanted to say something, but the three didn't even look at her properly. She was just a captain with a three-digit ranking.

Yu Gang beckoned: "Go call that... Le guy over!"

"His name is Xu Le," Xiong Jingxiang reminded him again before turning to leave.

Soon.

Xu Le pushed open the doors to the conference room.

In a conference room that could seat a thousand people, there were only three individuals, making it feel empty and desolate.

The three sat high above, like kings looking down on ants.

This didn't look like an exchange, or even a recruitment; it looked more like charity given to a beggar.

Facing these idiots, Xu Le's first thought was to turn around and leave, not even bothering to speak with them.

However, thinking of Xiong Jingxiang's earnest persuasion on the way here, he ultimately softened his heart slightly.

But being looked down upon from a height was not his preference. If one is blindly submissive, the other party will only take advantage of it.

Xu Le directly grabbed a chair, walked onto the rostrum, and sat down behind the three of them.

There was no other way; the three desks were aligned with the edge of the rostrum.

A flash of surprise crossed Li Yuan's eyes.

He had heard that this eighteen-year-old youth was suspected to be Scorching Sun rank, highly experienced, and sophisticated in his dealings, but he hadn't quite believed it.

He hadn't expected the first wave of intimidation to be so easily neutralized by the boy, who didn't turn away in anger. He truly had some depth.

A flash of disappointment crossed Yu Gang's eyes, and then he began the second wave of attack.

"Student Xu Le, didn't your mother teach you that when communicating with people, you should do it Face-to-Face?"

He had checked the records and knew the boy had been without a mother since childhood. He didn't believe that after this move, the boy could keep his composure.

Xu Le replied, "My mom didn't teach me, and since your mom is dead too, did she not teach you that when communicating with people, you should do it Face-to-Face?"

"What did you say?" Yu Gang slammed the table hard, his voice rising more than tenfold. However, a hint of disdain was hidden in his eyes.

A youngster is just a youngster; no matter how much depth they pretend to have, they are only so-so.

By trading insults with him, the boy would at least gain a reputation for being disrespectful to superiors.

More importantly, that last sentence didn't just insult him.

Sure enough, he saw Li Yuan's Face turn visibly dark.

Having offended Li Yuan, even if the Legion Commander's son came, he could forget about taking over as Captain of the 96th Squad.

Xu Le knew Yu Gang's scheme, but he didn't care.

Humanity had five major legions: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Xuanwu, and Qilin.

Besides Xuanwu, there were four other legions.

Even without the five major legions, he had Xiao Meng's assistance. With Xiao Meng's experience wandering the Spirit Realm for several hundred years, it was enough for him to obtain even more evil spirits.

When one seeks nothing, one fears nothing.

"Since you're deaf, I'll say it again. Your mom is dead, so no one can treat your ears. How about I lend you three hundred to see a specialist?" Xu Le said another sentence, completely unafraid.

"Enough!" Li Yuan turned around with a majestic air. "Xu Le, as a freshman, it's one thing to disregard the hierarchy, but why do you have to bring parents into your insults? Is this how your teachers taught you?"

With the chief of staff speaking, Yu Gang and Zhao Shanhe immediately acted like children in a kindergarten, listening with full attention and even nodding in agreement.

Xu Le, however, burst out laughing.

"Who decided the hierarchy? Even if we don't talk about everyone being equal, if there is a hierarchy, I am the superior one. What is he? Is he even worthy of being compared to me?

Was I the one who brought up parents first? Is there something wrong with your ears too, or are you trying to scam me out of a 300-yuan consultation fee?

Finally, what kind of double-standard dog are you? You tell others not to bring up parents, yet you bring up my teachers?"

"You..." Li Yuan was so angry his head was buzzing, and his blood pressure almost spiked. He clutched his chest, panting continuously.

How many years?

How many years had it been since someone dared to speak to him like this!

He remembered the last person who spoke to him like that was torn to pieces by evil spirits. His wife had cried her heart out; it was truly tragic.

Yu Gang was someone who could endure insults without reacting, but he sensed trouble. He only wanted to start a small fire, but the youngster across from him didn't play by the rules; he wanted to burn down the whole city.

This was the chief of staff of one of the five major legions, one of the ten most powerful people in the world, and he had been provoked to this state. As a witness, Yu Gang probably wouldn't have a good outcome either.

He somewhat regretted accepting those three paintings and calligraphies. Something worth a mere 8,000 contribution points actually made him feel like he was walking on a tightrope.

Damn it, he had to take three more vases when he got back!

Yu Gang thought to himself and realized the priority was to regain Face for the chief of staff. He shouted harshly, "Xu Le, you disrespectful thing who disregards hierarchy and speaks so arrogantly.

Since you don't know what hierarchy means, let me tell you: the strong are superior, and the weak are inferior!"