I Have 10 Equipment Slots-Chapter 91 - 85: I Got to Pet It, I Got to Pet It

"With these little helpers, the Night Demon Race can’t escape."

Gu Zheng smiled.

The Mist Shadow Celestial Dragon and the Divine Leech had been waiting in his pocket.

He’d even brought the entire nest of Spirit-Eating Ants, carrying it in his hand.

"Is that so? That’s great."

Hearing this, Cheng Zong’s face also lit up. "Looks like you had a good haul in the Domain, Gu."

"It was alright." Gu Zheng reached out and used Absorption to retrieve the Cyan Jade Pendant that had fallen to the ground.

’I’ll decide whether or not to cultivate the Heaven-Striking Hand later.’

’But I obviously can’t just leave it lying on the ground.’

"Commander Gu is too modest. Setting aside everything else, just this Upper Grade True Skill and that Spirit Beast from earlier are enough to make us incredibly envious," Zhang Tieli said with a sigh.

"Hahaha!" Cheng Zong laughed loudly but didn’t add to it.

Tao Liu and Zhang Ning exchanged a glance, sharing a tacit understanding to remain silent.

The others couldn’t get a word in, their faces filled with nothing but envy.

’It’s not just the Upper Grade True Skill and the Spirit Beast! There must have been a Source Fruit, or some Marvel, that let him break through to the Super Body Realm!’

Everyone, including Cheng Zong, was convinced that Gu Zheng could only have broken through to the Super Body Realm so quickly with the help of a special external object.

A Source Fruit, a Marvel, or some other item that existed within the Domain.

The truth wasn’t far off.

Gu Zheng had relied on allocating points, leveling himself directly to the Super Body Realm.

There’s a bottleneck when breaking through from the peak of the Alien Body to the Super Body Realm, one that not everyone can overcome.

One way is to bury your head in arduous cultivation of a True Skill, spending years, decades, or even longer to finally make the step.

Once a breakthrough to the Super Body Realm is achieved, one’s lifespan immediately extends to a maximum of 180 years.

Therefore, spending a great deal of time to break through the bottleneck at the peak of the Alien Body Realm is the choice most people make. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

The second method is to use a special external object, commonly known as a treasure.

Source Fruits, Marvels, high-grade Treasure Pills...

Outside, to obtain these items from organizations like the Demon Slayer Bureau or the Observatory, one would have to accumulate a massive amount of merit points.

Gu Zheng breaking through directly inside the Domain actually saved him the trouble.

No one would suspect he was allocating points; they would only assume he consumed a Source Fruit or used a Marvel.

A Source Fruit was the more likely possibility, as there were more examples of that happening.

This way, the crowd would only be envious, not harbor any ill intentions or greedy thoughts.

...

On the way back to Daping County Town, Gu Zheng mulled over his relationship with the Qing King’s family.

Although he had never admitted to possessing the Qing King’s bloodline, his abilities spoke for themselves. In the eyes of others, unlocking the Bronze Elephant Body and unleashing the King’s Body—which could suppress a Tier 2 Steel Bone Purgatory Bone Demon—was undeniable proof that he was of the Qing King’s lineage!

People like Yuan Qianjun, Xiao Dutian, and Hai Qingshu regarded him in a different light. While his own strength was a factor, his perceived Qing King bloodline played no small part.

From this perspective, the Qing King’s family had an excellent reputation, and everyone was willing to get close to them.

There was no harm in Gu Zheng accepting this favor.

But Qing Yixiao directly gifting him the Upper Grade True Skill, the Heaven-Striking Hand, was a bit of a headache.

Cheng Zong had told him about the power of the Heaven-Striking Hand. Among offensive skills, it ranked near the top and was one of the Qing King family’s greatest True Skills, second only to their Ultimate Skills.

If he cultivated it, he would become inextricably tangled with the Qing King’s family.

However, the thought of having an Upper Grade True Skill—especially one that perfectly complemented his Bronze Elephant Body—and not cultivating it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

When Gu Zheng fought using his unlocked Bronze Elephant Body, he had always relied on Barbaric Force and explosive power, crushing his opponents with absolute strength.

He really didn’t have any technique to speak of.

Now that he had the Heaven-Striking Hand, his hands were itching to try it!

"Hooo..."

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Gu Zheng took out the conch shell and placed it to his ear.

SWISH~

SPLASH!

The sound of gently lapping waves instantly filled his ears.

Faintly, Gu Zheng could even feel a sea breeze caressing him.

His mood gradually calmed, and his tension slowly eased.

’A neat little gadget!’

’It could barely be considered a Marvel. Does the Hai Family have a lot of these little things?’

Gu Zheng mused that the next time he saw Hai Qingshu, he’d see if he could ask for a few more.

SWOOSH!

A blur flashed past.

A sky-blue Little Fatty Cat appeared on Gu Zheng’s shoulder. Its weight of three or four pounds was practically nonexistent to him.

"You’re back... Huh? You changed color again?"

Glancing at Pang Hu, Gu Zheng was speechless.

’I can’t believe this little thing can change its fur color at will.’

"Mmmph~"

Pang Hu, still holding the Wooden Fish in its mouth, gave a muffled reply. Its azure eyes examined the conch shell with curiosity.

"You can hear the sound of the ocean with this. Want to give it a try?"

Gu Zheng said, placing the conch shell next to one of Pang Hu’s ears.

"Mrow!"

Pang Hu’s azure eyes instantly went wide, and a look of shock appeared on its small, round face.

"Mreeow~ Mroooow!"

Waving its little short legs, Pang Hu grew inexplicably excited.

"Haha, alright, you can play with it. It’s yours."

Gu Zheng chuckled, tucking the conch shell between Pang Hu’s two short legs.

But unfortunately, short legs were short legs. It could hold the conch, but it couldn’t lift it to its ear. It could only lie down, lower its head, and press its ear against it.

However, by lying down like that, it couldn’t keep holding the Wooden Fish in its mouth.

After a muffled "mroow," Pang Hu patted Gu Zheng’s cheek.

When a confused Gu Zheng held out his hand, it spat the Wooden Fish from its mouth into his palm, letting out a couple of "mreeow mreeows."

"...Alright, I’ll hold it for you for now."

Suppressing a laugh, Gu Zheng put the Wooden Fish into his pocket, though in reality, he transferred it into his Storage Leaf.

The Wooden Fish was a Marvel, not a living creature, so it could be placed in the Storage Leaf.

The Spiritual Object Pouches found on the bodies of the Mo Jiaxin brothers, however, could hold living things.

These Spiritual Object Pouches were a special type of Storage Pouch.

They were modified by Noble Families based on certain Marvels.

Of the two Spiritual Object Pouches, Gu Zheng kept the broken one. When he scanned its interior with his Spirit, he found the space completely empty; everything that had been inside was either lost or had been swallowed by the void.

He gave the intact one to Zheng Xiting, Jin Yanzi, and the other two as a thank you gift. Whatever was inside the pouch, his debt to the four of them for their help was now settled.

Speaking of which.

’Zheng Xiting, Jin Yanzi, He Zheng, and Yang Shouyun... who exactly are those four?’

’They’re not from a Noble Family, nor are they loyal to the imperial court.’

’Yet they can cultivate a Divine Wondrous and knew when the Domain would open.’

’What are their origins?’

’A sect from the Martial World? Some mysterious faction?’

’A sect lasting one or two hundred years is already pushing it.’

’A century-old Demon Sect like the Blood Drop Sect is considered ancient in the grand scheme of things.’

’It feels like ever since the Celestial Change began, all sorts of people have been popping out of the woodwork.’

Of course.

’The crucial thing is that Zheng Xiting, Jin Yanzi, He Zheng, and Yang Shouyun don’t seem to harbor any malice.’

...

Shaking his head slightly to clear his stray thoughts, Gu Zheng casually stroked Pang Hu’s head.

Pang Hu, who was lying down to listen to the conch shell, just let out a little "mew" without resisting or getting angry.

Seeing this, Gu Zheng gave it another pat before naturally pulling his hand away.

The Little Fatty Cat still didn’t react.

Gu Zheng gave it one more stroke before finally retracting his hand, secretly delighted.

’I got to pet it! I actually got to pet it!’

’And it feels unbelievably good, too.’

’This Little Fatty Cat’s color-changing fur is silky smooth, even more pleasant to the touch than the finest satin.’

’Its small body isn’t all bones; on the contrary, it’s a little chubby.’

’Combine the two, and of course it feels amazing to pet!’