"Esteemed Grand Generals, if you please."

Watching Gu Zheng, Xiao Xianya, and the other four don their Great Sun Armor, Elder Yang smiled and gestured, "This way, please."

"Let’s go!"

Zhao Danv took a step forward.

Jiang Hao, Huang Dajin, and the others followed.

Gu Zheng brought up the rear.

The group passed through a long corridor, winding their way through spacious passageways.

At the head of the group, Elder Yang pushed open a large door, revealing a vast plaza bathed in sunlight.

SHUFFLE!

In the plaza, several thousand Demon Suppression Guards, who had been standing in silent formation, immediately knelt as one.

"We greet the Grand Generals!"

Their armor gleamed, and their voices shook the heavens.

"WOOOOOO~"

On a high platform to the right, a great horn sounded.

"Grand Generals, if you please!"

Elder Yang gestured for Xiao Xianya, Jiang Hao, and the other four to step forward. He then moved aside and also knelt on one knee.

"This..."

Huang Dajin was about to reach out and help him up, but Jiang Hao grabbed him. "This is part of the ceremony," he whispered. "Don’t interrupt. Go!"

With that, his eyes shining and his face flushed with excitement, Jiang Hao strode forward and descended the steps.

Huang Dajin’s mouth fell open, but then his face also flushed with excitement. He clenched his fists and followed at a measured pace.

It was much the same for Zhao Danv; her face was beet red as she followed behind.

Xiao Xianya swung her arms forcefully and strode after them.

Zuo Lingfeng followed silently.

Gu Zheng was still last.

The six of them descended the steps one by one.

Accompanied by the deep, heavy drone of the horn, they set foot onto the plaza.

SHUFFLE!

The thousands of kneeling Demon Suppression Guards rose swiftly in unison.

The two rows in the center fell back, clearing a path.

At the same time, they all began to beat their own armor, chanting in unison.

"Slay!"

"Slay!"

"Slay!"

...

The chant of "Slay!" from several thousand people pushed the atmosphere to a fever pitch.

Jiang Hao, Huang Dajin, Zhao Danv, and Xiao Xianya felt their blood boil as they listened, their steps feeling impossibly light as they advanced. Even Zuo Lingfeng found himself subconsciously clenching his fists, his lips pressed into a tight line.

Gu Zheng mimicked them, clenching his fists and channeling his qi and blood to make his face flush slightly, feigning excitement.

Inwardly, however, he was perfectly calm.

"Slay!"

"Slay!"

"Slay!"

...

The unified shouts of thousands, like a thunderous tsunami, swept across the grounds.

Jiang Hao, Xiao Xianya, and the other four, resplendent in their gleaming golden Great Sun Armor, walked under the adoring gazes of thousands, crossing the plaza and exiting through a tall gatehouse.

"They’re out, they’re out."

Outside the plaza, a group of about twenty people was waiting.

Seeing Gu Zheng’s group of six emerge, a Demon Suppression Guard in Silver Moon Armor stepped forward to make introductions.

"Honored Grand Generals, this is the Fifth Prince, this is the Ninth Princess, this is the Heir of King Hanshan..."

The Thousand Households introduced seven members of the Jing Country’s royal family to Gu Zheng’s group of six.

They were all either princes, princesses, commandery princesses, or heirs.

"Greetings to Your Highnesses!"

Jiang Hao, his face wreathed in smiles, bowed slightly in salute to the seven of them.

"Greetings, Your Highnesses."

Huang Dajin and Zhao Danv followed suit.

Xiao Xianya, Zuo Lingfeng, and Gu Zheng saluted in turn.

However, they were not nearly as reverent as Jiang Hao.

"No need for formalities, no need."

The Fifth Prince, who led the group, took a step forward. With his hands clasped behind his back and his chin held high, an amused look appeared on his impeccably handsome face. His gaze swept over Jiang Hao, Xiao Xianya, Gu Zheng, and the rest of the six. "The six Grand Generals are all heroes of our Jing Country," he said with a clear laugh. "It is I who should be saluting you."

"However, I’ve heard that the six of you, along with Luo Cheng, are known as the ’Seven Demon Slayers.’ This Prince is quite curious... of the seven of you, who is the strongest?"

"Yes, yes. Among the Seven Demon Slayers, there must be a strongest and a weakest, right?" the Ninth Princess added.

"Well..." Jiang Hao gave an awkward smile. "This is the first time we’ve all met; we haven’t had a chance to spar."

Huang Dajin and Zhao Danv remained silent.

The smile on Xiao Xianya’s face had vanished.

"Well, that’s simple. Why don’t you have a match right here, then you’ll know?" the Heir of King Hanshan proposed, raising his hand. "Whoever is the last one standing, I, the Young Master, will reward them with a Fourth-Turn Treasure Pill!"

"Who cares about your damn Treasure Pill?"

Xiao Xianya blurted out, her brows shooting up in anger. "We are Demon-slaying Grand Generals, not performing monkeys for your amusement!"

"Gu, Zuo, Sister Zhao, we’re leaving!"

Xiao Xianya waved her hand and strode off, fuming.

Zuo Lingfeng immediately followed.

Gu Zheng was the second to follow.

Zhao Danv was right behind.

Huang Dajin looked from one group to the other, gave an awkward smile, offered a quick fist-and-palm salute, and hurried after Gu Zheng.

This left Jiang Hao standing alone, his face a mixture of pale and livid.

"Who do they think they are!"

The Heir of King Hanshan was fuming. "Demon-slaying Grand Generals? Aren’t they just using the resources of our Zhong Family? Without us, they couldn’t promote for shit!"

"Exactly. So ungrateful."

"They’ll get eaten by a Great Demon sooner or later. A total waste of resources."

"..."

The others chimed in with their own mutters and curses.

They completely ignored the fact that Jiang Hao and the Thousand Households who had made the introductions were still present.

"Heh~"

The Fifth Prince let out a small laugh. "Well, they’re not wrong. The Demon-slaying Grand Generals are hardly monkeys."

"At best, they’re just slightly bigger monkeys!" The Heir of King Hanshan sneered, turning to Jiang Hao. "Isn’t that right, Grand General Jiang?"

"...Yes, yes." Jiang Hao’s face was wreathed in a smile. "The others just don’t appreciate the Young Master’s good intentions, but I understand!"

"Good intentions?"

Hearing this, the Heir of King Hanshan burst out laughing. "That’s right! We were only doing it for your own good. Grand General Jiang is absolutely correct. Now this is one of our own!"

"Hahaha..." The others laughed loudly.

Jiang Hao laughed along with them.

...

...

"What kind of people are they? And they call themselves a Prince and a Young Master?"

Walking down the street, Xiao Xianya angrily kicked a loose stone.

"They’re treating us like performing monkeys," Zhao Danv said, her face taut.

Huang Dajin pressed his lips together tightly, his expression grim.

"Aren’t all the Noble Families like that?"

Zuo Lingfeng said coolly, "When have they ever respected those beneath them? It’s the same for the Super Body and the Heroic Body. The only way to change that is to break through to the King’s Body!"

Hearing this, Gu Zheng glanced at him.

’Zuo Lingfeng really hit the nail on the head.’

A Heroic Body is certainly powerful, an honored guest in any country, but it’s not enough to command the respect of all.

Only by breaking through to the King’s Body Realm can one truly stand at the apex of the world, where no one would dare to provoke them.

No matter how much they might hate you, they wouldn’t dare let it show.

The Royal Bloodline of the Noble Families is formed when one reaches the King’s Body realm, purifies themself, and infuses that power into their blood to be passed down through generations.

In other words, a single person at the King’s Body realm can found an entire Noble Family!

The Demon Slayer Bureau’s Grand Director, Xu Jianzhu, is a King’s Body.

People like the Fifth Prince dared to provoke Gu Zheng and Xiao Xianya’s group, but they wouldn’t dare utter a single word of disrespect in front of Xu Jianzhu.

This was a testament to true power. In the face of overwhelming strength, status is a distant second!

...

"Where’s Jiang Hao? Why isn’t he out yet?"

Zhao Danv turned to look behind them, but there was no sign of Jiang Hao.

"He’s made his choice."

Gu Zheng spoke calmly, offering a fist-and-palm salute. "Everyone, I have other business to attend to, so I must take my leave. Farewell!"

"Wait."

Xiao Xianya called out, "Gu, let’s establish contact with our Demon-Slaying Seals first."

"Oh, right." Zhao Danv reacted, taking out her Grand General’s Seal.

This Grand General’s Seal had many functions. One was that it acted as a long-range communicator, capable of sending messages across thousands of miles.

By dripping in a bit of Essence Blood and infusing it with Divine Wondrous power, one could activate an internal, independent contact point, creating a unique signal that served as a symbol of their identity.

"You’re right, I almost forgot."

Realization dawned on Gu Zheng. He took out his Grand General’s Seal and dripped his Essence Blood onto it.

By now, they had all taken off their Great Sun Armor.

The Grand General’s Seal was about the size of a fist, made of a dark brown, jade-like material.

After absorbing the Essence Blood, it turned a brilliant gold.

One by one, they each completed their identity verification.

Then, they added each other’s contact points to facilitate future communication.

Once that was settled, Gu Zheng said his goodbyes and left.

He still had to make a trip to the Dragon Guard Bureau.

However, before that, Gu Zheng found an inn and rented a private room.

In the room, he carefully peeled off the Substitute Death Paperman.

Then, he put on the Great Sun Armor.

The sense of threat vanished!

He took off the armor, and the Substitute Death Paperman merged back into his body.

The faint sense of threat returned.

Without the Substitute Death Paperman, he was unable to sense this threat!

This was also indirect proof that the threat from the Great Sun Armor wasn’t aimed at Gu Zheng alone.

Previously, at the Demon Slayer Bureau headquarters, Gu Zheng had assumed someone was specifically trying to harm him.

Now he understood.

Every single suit of Great Sun Armor was like this! They all possessed this ability to pose a threat.

But that raised another question.

Meng Taiqi, Zhao Xiangqian, Yuanqian Mountain, Ji Tianping...

All of these cultivators, at the Heroic Body Realm or even its peak, had worn the Great Sun Armor.

And not a single one of them had discovered the armor’s hidden defect.

They were clearly all unaware!

The odds of obtaining a Marvel like the Substitute Death Paperman were astronomically low.

Meng Taiqi and the others didn’t know, and Gu Zheng couldn’t ask them even if he wanted to.

Because this was clearly the work of the Zhong Family!

If Gu Zheng were to expose this, he would be the only one to die.

The key was, Gu Zheng had no proof.

He only had one Substitute Death Paperman, and only he could use it.

How could he prove the Great Sun Armor was a threat?

He couldn’t!

"Wait."

’Does Xu Jianzhu know about this?’

Thinking of the Demon Slayer Bureau’s Grand Director, Gu Zheng’s brows furrowed.

This Grand Director had a peaceful, unassuming air. With his faint smile, he seemed like a friendly uncle-next-door.

His surname wasn’t Zhong, yet he was in charge of the entire Demon Slayer Bureau, a massive organization.

Even if he wasn’t a Zhong family member by blood, he had to be a trusted confidant of the Zhong Family Patriarch.

’Not only can I not ask him, I can’t even get too close to him.’

’What if Xu Jianzhu knows about the issue with the Great Sun Armor, but chooses to turn a blind eye...?’

Tsk!

Gu Zheng shook his head, took off the Great Sun Armor, and put it away.

’I can’t ask Meng Taiqi, I can’t ask Xu Jianzhu, and I certainly can’t ask anyone else.’

Fortunately, Gu Zheng had Seal Slaves who came from Noble Families!

Immediately, Gu Zheng sent out a mental message, sending inquiries to Mo Jiateng, Fu Changying, Jia Shisan, and Chen Beihan of the "Medicine God" organization.

After his breakthrough to the Heroic Body Realm, the range of the connection between Gu Zheng and his Seal Slaves had expanded severalfold.

In terms of long-distance communication, it was even more powerful than the Demon-Slaying General Seal.

After the messages were sent,

The fastest response came from Mo Jiateng. He said he didn’t know and had never heard of such a thing, but he would go and ask around.

Jia Shisan didn’t know either, but said he would inquire with his family.

Fu Changying had also never heard of it.

Only Chen Beihan replied:

"I’ve heard of it, but I need to see it for myself."

Gu Zheng immediately sent another message.

"Get to the Capital City. Immediately!"