I Have 10 Equipment Slots-Chapter 107 - 94: The Divine Weapon Pact

"But the basics are easy to learn and hard to master. Plenty of people have achieved Great Success in the *Frenzy Battle Saber Technique*, but very few have perfected it. It took them anywhere from half a year to several years."

"How could someone with that kind of Sword Dao Talent possibly keep ascending?"

"Only those who perfect the *Frenzy Battle Saber Technique* within three months have any hope of awakening a Divine Weapon."

’I understand now!’

Awakening a Divine Weapon—that was Meng Taiqi and Xie Bisheng’s true goal.

They were so excited because Gu Zheng had a chance to achieve it.

"Ping’an, if you can awaken a Divine Weapon, setting aside the other benefits for a moment, just getting a ’Divine Weapon Mark’ on your body is a huge trump card! It will allow you to borrow the Divine Weapon’s Power from vast distances away!"

Meng Taiqi smiled. "Of course, as your sponsors, we also stand to gain a few things. For example, a Sixth-Turn True Pill!"

"The Fengzhou Demon Slayer Bureau doesn’t have the *Golden Thousand Blades*. You need a recommendation to go to the Capital City and enter the Demon Slayer Bureau’s main repository to get it," Xie Bisheng added. "The same goes for *Ten Thousand Blades Heaven Slaughter*."

"That’s right."

Meng Taiqi chimed in, "So, Ping’an, you don’t have to worry about us scheming to get something from you. Our superiors have already arranged our reward. All you need to do is practice your Saber Technique and grasp Sword Intent as quickly as you can."

"I will do my best."

Gu Zheng cupped his fist in a salute.

’Only a fool would turn down an opportunity this good.’

Setting aside the final goal of awakening a Divine Weapon and obtaining the "Divine Weapon Mark," just the chance to learn the *Golden Thousand Blades*, the advanced version of the *Nine Luminaries Golden Saber*, was enough to get Gu Zheng excited.

Why?

Because the *Nine Luminaries Golden Saber* was already an Upper Grade True Skill.

Its advanced version was, without a doubt, an Ultimate Level True Skill!

For the major Noble Families, Ultimate Skills were their most closely guarded treasures. Even members of the family couldn’t access them without sufficient contribution and strength.

Now, Gu Zheng had a chance to learn one. He was beyond happy.

...

Though excited, Gu Zheng kept a calm exterior. After agreeing, he voiced a question. "May I ask you two Generals, is the Divine Weapon we’re meant to awaken from the royal Zhong Family?"

"I mean, is the Zhong Family a Divine Weapon Family?"

"No," Xie Bisheng replied. "The Sovereign’s lineage is of the Royal Blood. The Divine Weapon that needs awakening was obtained from elsewhere by an expert of the royal clan."

"Thank you for the explanation, General." Gu Zheng cupped his hands.

"Haha, Ping’an, no need to be so formal with us. We’re partners in this arrangement now. If you need anything in the future, don’t hesitate to find us."

Meng Taiqi smiled. "To the public, how about we use what you said yesterday and go with a teacher-student relationship?"

"Perfect," Xie Bisheng chimed in. "We will both be your teachers."

"Ping’an pays his respects to his two masters!"

Gu Zheng immediately took two steps back and gave Meng Taiqi and Xie Bisheng a deep, formal bow.

"Hahaha!"

Meng Taiqi stood up with a booming laugh. "Having a student like you, Ping’an, me and that Old Scoundrel Xie have really lucked out. From now on, if you run into any trouble with your cultivation, come find us anytime."

As he spoke, he pulled an entirely purple bamboo token from his pocket and handed it to Gu Zheng.

"This is a little gadget made from Tongxin Bamboo. You can use it to send messages to each other within a five-hundred-li radius. Just infuse it with Divine Wondrous energy and trace the characters to make them appear."

"Your student thanks you, Master Meng!" Gu Zheng accepted the Bamboo Token with both hands.

"Here’s mine."

Xie Bisheng handed him a Bamboo Token as well.

Gu Zheng took it.

Afterward, he walked the two of them to the mouth of the alley.

Meng Taiqi also left behind the Crystal Ball that isolated sound and aura, telling Gu Zheng how to use it.

Gu Zheng tested it once before putting it away in his Storage Leaf.

He marked the two Communication Bamboo Tokens to tell them apart and stored them as well.

Gu Zheng was content just to form an ordinary teacher-student relationship with Meng Taiqi and Xie Bisheng.

’To be blunt, with my panel, it’s only a matter of time before I surpass both of them.’

’For now, this relationship will serve as the perfect cover.’

...

Gu Zheng’s own Sword Dao Talent was, at best, passable.

But he could add points!

By spending Demon Points, he could ignore bottlenecks, natural talent, and other barriers, improving his skills directly.

And with the foundation he’d built with the *Frenzy Battle Saber Technique*, it didn’t take many Demon Points to upgrade the *Nine Luminaries Golden Saber*.

From entry-level to Mastery cost him 18 points.

From Mastery to Minor Achievement cost him 27 points.

He didn’t have enough Demon Points to go any higher, so Gu Zheng paused. As he carefully savored the Minor Achievement stage of the *Nine Luminaries Golden Saber*, he could faintly sense a unique kind of aura.

Just as he was about to explore it further, a mental message suddenly arrived from Qingshi County.

It was from Zhang Meiyuan!

Gu Zheng received and read the message, his eyes instantly turning cold.

"You’re courting death!"

WHOOSH!

With a flicker, Gu Zheng stopped his cultivation and shot out of his room.

SWISH!

He tapped his toes and leaped into the air.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

He bounded through the air at incredible speed, gliding toward the city outskirts. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

"Who goes there?"

On the ground, a patrolling Demon Suppression Guard noticed the commotion. A Hundred Households from the disciplinary division rushed onto a rooftop, his expression grim. "How dare you violate the regulations! After him—"

"Wait."

A deep voice called out. A Thousand Households clad in Silver Moon Armor shouted from the ground, "That was Gu Zheng. He must have urgent business..."

"It doesn’t matter who it is or how urgent their business is! That’s no excuse to break the rules!"

The Hundred Households cut in, his voice stern. "The regulations state that no one is to fly or leap across the headquarters’ rooftops. That rule must be obeyed! I know of this Gu Zheng. He’s a newly promoted Hundred Households, and he eliminated the Demon Fiends in Jinshan Temple. He’s riding high right now, but no matter his merits, he can’t just act with impunity!"

"Then you can report it to Grand General Meng and Grand General Xie," the Thousand Households replied coolly. "Gu Zheng is their student now."

"...Fine, I’ll do just that!"

The Hundred Households faltered for a moment. Then, with a taut expression, he leaped down from the roof and headed for the Command Headquarters.

He went to Xie Bisheng first, reporting Gu Zheng’s flagrant disregard for the regulations.

Xie Bisheng remained silent.

The Hundred Households waited for a moment. Seeing no response, he couldn’t help but press, "Grand General Xie, while Gu Zheng’s contributions are many, this sort of behavior..."

"Two words."

Xie Bisheng abruptly raised his hand, pointed to the door, and barked, "Get out!"

"Y-Yes, sir."

The Hundred Households’ face went pale, and he scurried out of the hall in disgrace.

Gritting his teeth, he went to find Meng Taiqi and repeated his report.

"He did what?"

Meng Taiqi frowned after hearing the story. "That is indeed unacceptable. He can’t get arrogant just because of his achievements. Let’s do this: forfeit his salary of silver taels for next month. That should teach him a lesson."

"...Yes, sir!"

The Hundred Households opened his mouth, but ultimately just accepted the command.

Breaking the rules requires punishment.

A fine is still a result.

No matter how reluctant he was, the Hundred Households had no choice but to accept it.

After the man left, Meng Taiqi shook his head and muttered, "That kid... what was he in such a rush for?"

...

...

「Qingshi County.」

"BOOM!"

Somewhere in the mountain forests, Mo Jiateng lost control of his body and slammed headfirst into a gully, gouging out a crater and sending dirt and rubble flying.

Without a second to spare, Mo Jiateng scrambled wretchedly from the crater, unleashed his Bloodline Power, and pushed onward with his Divine Wondrous energy, leaving a turbulent wake through the trees.

SWOOSH!

WHOOSH!

The sharp, piercing sound of something tearing through the air came from behind him.

As Mo Jiateng pushed himself into a desperate sprint, he cursed inwardly.

’Damn it! Damn it all!’

’Why is there a Super Body Realm expert ambushing me in Gu’s hometown? And someone from the Zhang Family, no less?’

’When the hell did Zhang Meiyuan start taking orders from that bastard Gu?!’

’He’s a noble youth, yet he’s obeying a mere Demon Suppression Guard! He...’

VMMMM!

The air suddenly vibrated.

A figure wrapped in a ferocious aura tore through the air, descending from the heavens.

BANG!

Mo Jiateng let out a pained cry as his mind went blank. His body felt like it was being torn apart as he lost his balance and was sent smashing into the ground. He rolled three times, becoming covered in leaves and dirt.

Before he could react, a foot slammed down on his chest, cracking his ribs and forcing him back to consciousness. His face was pale, and sweat poured down like rain.

"You... Who are you?" Mo Jiateng managed to gasp, trying to find an opening. "I... I’m from the Mo Family—AARGH!"

With another scream, Mo Jiateng’s eyes shot wide, filled with a mixture of horror, shock, defiance, and madness as his body thrashed.

But soon, all resistance vanished. It was replaced by respect, submission, and clarity.

The foot on his chest lifted.

Mo Jiateng, covered in dirt and grime, scrambled to his feet and bowed deeply.

"Greetings, Master!"