The Almighty Dragon General

Upon seeing the beautiful young girl standing next to Emperor Yarden, James was momentarily stunned before he bowed respectfully and extended his hands toward the Emperor.
“Thank you for allowing me to enter the Yitro Daeclon Rank, sir," James expressed his gratitude.
Emperor Yarden calmly stroked his beard and inquired, "Are you sure it's the Yitro Daeclon Rank?"
Caught off guard, James raised his head and answered, "I'm not sure, but I assumed it is since I could see Mr. Yegor's rank."
Emperor Yarden pointed at Yegor and said, "He's indeed at the Yitro Daeclon Rank. After all, he cultivated Tirta Power. But what about you? Do you have at least eight physical clones at the Third Xaeclon Rank?"
Upon hearing Emperor Yarden's question, James hesitated briefly. Then, he quickly manifested sixteen physical clones. Each clone, however, displayed a cultivation rank that was noticeably low and was far from impressive.
Emperor Yarden and Lesia were baffled by the sight. It was unprecedented for someone to have eighteen physical clones.

James, on the other hand, felt disheartened. Embarrassed, he asked, "Does this mean I'm not even at the Xurxo Daeclon Rank?"
Observing James' awkward expression, Lesia, who stood next to Emperor Yarden, could not contain her laughter.
James was taken aback by her reaction and quickly asked, "Who's this, Sir?"
Emperor Yarden responded smilingly, "Do you not recognize your old acquaintance? Well, don't worry about her for now. Since you're questioning your rank, why don't you test your skills against Yegor, who is already at the Daeclon Rank?"
Encouraged by Emperor Yarden's suggestion, James' eyes sparkled with excitement. He turned to Yegor and asked, "Shall we spar?"
Yegor said warily, "Do you think I'd dare to take up the challenge? I couldn't even get close to you just now and was knocked tens of thousands of light-years away. That's all the proof you need."
Yegor patted James' shoulder and said, "It's just a rank, James. Regardless, with your strength, you're still capable of sending someone at the Yitro Daeclon Rank like me flying. So why fuss over whether it?"
Lesia clapped and chimed in, "Well said. Whether you're at the Xaeclon or Daeclon Rank, it's just classifations. Your true strength is what matters.
"Just think about it, Master. All this while, when have you won relying solely on cultivation strength? Haven't you defeated opponents at higher ranks than you? You shouldn't be too bothered about it."
Upon hearing this, James nodded in agreement. His eyes widened as he asked, “What did you just call me? Master? Is it you, Lesia?"
Yegor also stared at Lesia in shock.