Second Best

"No, Sir Caelus, simply an issue of this young man trying to join our Dabang Sect with a forged letter of recommendation."

Elder Jiang gestured towards Hu Long with a disdainful look, to which Hu Long grit his teeth and shouted.

"I got that letter directly from the master of the Heavenly Jade Pavilion! If you had checked the seal there's no way you would say that it's fake!"

"Hmph, well it's too late to make your case, now!" Elder Jiang said with a smirk.

Caelus just looked at Ryker, who gave him a pointed look and a nod, motioning towards the ripped up remains of the letter on the ground. Sighing, he snapped his fingers, causing the tiny fragments of the letter to be wrapped up in a soft blue glow and float towards him slowly.

"Not necessarily. Fixing the letter won't be an issue, here," he said, and with another snap of his fingers, the torn fragments gradually shuffled and slid into place like a jigsaw puzzle, the torn paper mending itself until it was once again whole.

Elder Jiang could only watch the entire process with wide eyes, staring at the restored letter in disbelief. He had known that Caelus was a practitioner of strange magics, but he didn't think his abilities would include something so mundane as repairing a piece of paper...

"Shall we get a second opinion on the legitimacy of the letter, Elder Jiang?"

The elder grimaced as Caelus posed his question in a low monotone. He was never able to tell what the young man was thinking, with his unreadable face and a voice that never betrayed any emotion.

"Ahem, that won't be necessary, Sir Caelus," Elder Jiang said, deciding to concede, here. If this guest that the sect master himself had invited wanted Hu Long to enter the sect, then he should spare himself any embarrassment and step back; the letter *was* legitimate, after all.

"If Sir Caelus is so interested in letting this young man join the sect, who am I to stop him? However, he will be subject to the usual entry proccesses, including the aptitude test. If he's deemed unsuitable, then..."

He glanced sideways at Hu Long with narrowed eyes, before letting out a low "hmph" and turning to leave.

"You, lead them to the Attainment Hall for an inital assessment," he said, beating a hasty retreat.

The gate disciple he pointed at gave a quick bow, turning to Hu Long and gesturing for him to follow with an awkward expression.

"Uh, please, right this way."

Hu Long just snorted softly, his arms crossed. He glanced over at Ryker, before looking away with an annoyed grimace.

"Well, it seems like I owe you, again," he said, absentmindedly rubbing the back of his neck. Ryker just laughed and clapped him on the back, causing him to wince as a shock of pain ran up his spine, once more.

"Haha, no worries. C's the one throwing all his clout around, anyway."

At the mention of him, Hu Long turned to Caelus and saluted, thanking him, as well.

"Sir Caelus, thank you for your help. I take it that you're Ryker's friend that he'd spoken of?"

"Mm."

Although Caelus politely returned the salute, he didn't say much save for a grunt of affirmation to Hu Long's question, an awkward silence descending as he put his attentions elsewhere, waiting for Ryker to be done.

Hu Long could only give Ryker a confused look, wondering if he had done something wrong.

"Don't worry about it, he's like this with everybody he doesn't know that well," Ryker said, scratching his head embarrassedly, "He, uh, doesn't really like speaking unless it's necessary."

"I-I see..."

Why did it seem like everything related to Ryker was so troublesome! Still, it was a fact that he had done a lot to help, so Hu Long couldn't hold it against him... too much. He sighed, saluting Ryker and Caelus, once more.

"Well, I should be going, then. Ryker, Sir Caelus, take care. And thank you, again."

Hu Long proceeded to follow the Dabang Sect disciple towards the Attainment Hall, leaving Ryker and Caelus to their own devices.

"Sooo... That Elder Jiang guy wasn't anybody important, right?" Ryker asked, as he and Caelus moved to go back to Caelus's quarters in the sect.

"I believe he's the chief of the Justice Enforcement Hall. So expect some animosity, while you're here."

"Uh, I see... Well, I'm sure it'll be fine."

--

Deep in the Justice Enforcement Hall, Elder Jiang stomped through the hallways with a stormy frown, causing the disciples working there to hurriedly get out of his way lest they become the next subject of his wrath. He continued on until he reached his private office, where his servants quickly attended to him as he sat at his desk to try and get some paperwork done.

One of his servants, a young woman who carried herself with a timid demeanor, walked up to him with a bow, handing him the day's influx of documents that needed to be looked over.

"Um, shall I bring you some tea, sir?" she asked with a nervous smile, flinching slightly at Elder Jiang's sharp gaze. Elder Jiang simply regarded her for a moment before nodding with a sigh. As much as he wanted to, there was no point in lashing out at these servant disciples.

"Inform Han Qiuyue to come see me, as well," he said, waving the servant away.

It was a few minutes of mindlessly going over the many documents that he needed to approve before a knock came at his door.

"Come in."

At his beckon, a tall, well-toned woman entered the office, bowing to Elder Jiang respectfully.

"You called for me, Master?" she asked. This was Han Qiuyue, Elder Jiang's chief disciple and a deputy of the Justice Enforcement Hall. Elder Jiang stopped his work for a moment as she entered, motioning for her to come closer.

"Yue'er, there's something I need your help with."

Han Qiuyue's eyes widened slightly at Elder Jiang's words, but she immediately lowered her head in obedience, kneeling in salute.

"Yes! If there's anything I can do to help, please, just give the word!"

Elder Jiang nodded with an embarrassed cough, closing his eyes in an attempt to put on a more distinguished look. He had never abused his authority like this until now, which made him feel a little guilty; however, this matter involved Liu Chao!

The master of the Heavenly Jade Pavilion, Liu Chao, was once part of the Dabang Sect, same as Elder Jiang. However, the two had always been at odds, competing with each other at every given opportunity since they were mere disciples.

At first, they had been evenly matched, but as the years went on, Liu Chao pulled further and further ahead of him, causing Elder Jiang to despair at the thought of never catching up. But one day, he had gotten hold of a wondrous opportunity, pushing his cultivation through the roof and giving him the confidence to compete with Liu Chao, once more.

He decided to have one more deciding fight with him at the trials for selecting new sect elders. However, as fate would have it, Liu Chao left the Dabang Sect before the competition, leaving Elder Jiang forever wondering if he had truly caught up to him, or not.

This issue had become a thorn in Elder Jiang's side ever since, and he obsessed over it almost to the point of it becoming a heart devil. Now that Hu Long had been sent here with Liu Chao's recommendation, he couldn't help but have his temper flare up!

"Yue'er, there is a newcomer named Hu Long. Although he was able to get in to the sect due to a dirty trick, I don't believe he has an aptitude befitting our Dabang Sect," Elder Jiang said as casually as he could. There was a high chance Hu Long would only be allowed to join as a servant disciple, but even that irked him to no end.

"Yes, I understand. I'll be sure to make things hard for this newcomer," Han Qiuyue replied. Although it was strange for Elder Jiang to be involved in something petty like this, many of the other sect elders called in for similar favors, so she had a lot of experience in handling such a matter.

"Ahem, of course. I'll leave it to you."

Elder Jiang paused for a moment, before continuing.

"Also, it seems the sect master's guest has brought in a strange friend to the sect. If you have an opportunity..."

"Yes, of course. I'll handle that, as well."

He nodded appreciatively at Han Qiuyue's unquestioning attitude, dismissing her with a wave of his hand. Getting back to his paperwork, Elder Jiang let out a deep breath. That damnable Liu Chao... Even this small situation was enough of a reminder to put his mind in disarray.

One day... One day he would get a chance to prove his superiority!