Chapter 282: Chapter 173: The New Commander

Because they were the powerhouses the Zhong Family had spent the last two or three hundred years cultivating.

Unlike Gu Zheng, Zuo Lingfeng, Huang Dajin, and the others, who were all recent additions.

Even after breaking through to the Heroic Body Realm, their combat prowess was limited.

Therefore, the internal selection for Commander would only be from among their ranks.

"Right, the new Commander. How should this be handled?"

"Even though our Fengzhou branch can operate smoothly without a Commander, we really can’t leave the position empty."

"If you ask me, why not just pick one from between Grand General Xie and Grand General Meng?"

"..."

Following Gu Zheng’s lead, the group of Thousand Households began to discuss the matter.

As they spoke, a few of them winked at Gu Zheng.

This was not the first time Meng Taiqi and Xie Bisheng had argued.

Before Gu Zheng had even joined the Demon Slayer Bureau, their arguments had escalated into full-blown fights.

With Ji Tianping absent, they didn’t dare to intervene, let alone get a word in.

But now, Gu Zheng had both the status and the strength to get involved.

"The position of Commander?"

Meng Taiqi exhaled, sat back down, and shook his head. "I don’t want it. It’s exhausting."

"As if you could get the position even if you wanted it," Xie Bisheng retorted coolly.

"You Old Scoundrel Xie!"

"Master Meng, Master Meng!" Gu Zheng placated him, suppressing a laugh. "I think your chances of being chosen as Commander are quite high, Master Meng. Of course, Master Xie’s chances aren’t low either."

"You brat." Xie Bisheng glanced at Gu Zheng and chided him with a smile. "You’ve said all the good and bad things, haven’t you?"

"It’s the truth."

Gu Zheng spread his hands. "A Commander needs prestige, and even more so, seniority. When it comes to seniority, neither Grand General Jiang nor Grand General Sun can compare to you two."

"Right, right!"

"I believe the new Commander will be chosen from between Grand General Meng and Grand General Xie."

"Haha, I believe it too!"

"..."

The group of Thousand Households chimed in, agreeing.

"There’s no point in talking about this." Meng Taiqi couldn’t be bothered to look at Xie Bisheng and said seriously, "No matter what..."

BZZZ~

BZZZZZ!

A buzzing sound suddenly rang out, one after another.

It came from Meng Taiqi, Xie Bisheng, and Gu Zheng.

The vibration was from their Demon-Slaying Seals!

Gu Zheng was the first to take his out and read the message.

In the next moment, his eyes lit up and he laughed. "Haha, I guessed right! Lord Xu sent a message announcing the new Commander for our Fengzhou branch. It’s Master Meng!"

"Really?"

"Lord Xu? Is that Lord Xu Jianzhu from headquarters?"

"I knew it! It had to be one of the two, either Grand General Meng or Grand General Xie!"

"Congratulations, Grand General Meng!"

"..."

Upon hearing the news, the group of Thousand Households were overjoyed and spoke up one by one.

In the next instant, they all rose to their feet, faced Meng Taiqi, and bowed respectfully.

SHH~

Gu Zheng joined the line and knelt on one knee.

"Greetings, Commander!"

"..." With a cold expression, Xie Bisheng stood up and gave Meng Taiqi a stiff bow.

Meng Taiqi, who had been feeling a bit embarrassed, couldn’t help but burst into hearty laughter upon seeing Xie Bisheng’s posture.

"Hahaha, Old Scoundrel Xie, you’d better watch your tone from now on!"

"Hmph!" Xie Bisheng snorted coldly, flicked his sleeve, and turned to leave.

"Hahaha!" Meng Taiqi roared with laughter.

"..." The group of Thousand Households struggled to keep from laughing out loud.

Gu Zheng couldn’t help but chuckle as well. As he stood up, he cleared his throat and said, "Congratulations, Master Meng! An occasion this joyous calls for a big drink."

As he spoke, he took out a jar of wine he had stored previously and three cups from his Storage Pouch.

He placed the cups on the table, unsealed the jar, and filled each one to the brim.

"Gentlemen..."

"I have cups here." Before Gu Zheng could finish, one of the Thousand Households took several empty cups from his own Storage Pouch and placed them on the table.

"Good."

Gu Zheng laughed heartily and filled those cups with wine as well.

Then, he set down the jar, picked up the first cup, and offered it to Meng Taiqi as a sign of respect.

The latter took it, laughing freely. "Hahaha, come, bottoms up!"

"Cheers!"

The group clinked their cups together, toasting Meng Taiqi.

"Congratulations, my lord!"

"To our lord!"

...

After the lively round of toasts.

At a meaningful glance from Meng Taiqi, Gu Zheng picked up the wine jar and went to find Xie Bisheng.

Xie Bisheng was still a bit annoyed. It wasn’t that he was jealous of Meng Taiqi being chosen as Commander, but rather that from now on, he would be outranked by him.

After so many years of bickering and squabbling, having to take orders from Meng Taiqi now left a sour taste in Old Xie’s mouth.

Gu Zheng wasn’t sure how to comfort him about something like this, so he could only keep pouring wine and let Xie Bisheng drink his fill.

This wine was brewed by the Gu Family themselves. Gu Zheng carried it with him to satisfy the occasional craving.

Once Xie Bisheng had had a fair amount to drink and his anger had mostly subsided, Gu Zheng asked Old Xie for guidance on how to create a Sealing Sword Talisman.

Sealing Sword Gang, Sword Qi, Fist Seals, and so on into a Jade Talisman wasn’t something you could succeed at just by talking about it; it required a specific method.

To this, Xie Bisheng readily shared the Secret Technique.

He also repeatedly reminded him of the key points to pay attention to during the sealing process.

Gu Zheng committed it all to memory.

Before leaving, he left two jars of wine for Xie Bisheng to enjoy by himself.

...

The message Xu Jianzhu sent from the Royal Capital regarding the new Commanders for the various state Demon Slayer Bureaus included not only Meng Taiqi’s appointment but also the appointment of a new Commander for the Guangzhou Demon Slayer Bureau!

Jin Pang’s death had also been confirmed.

Therefore, the Guangzhou Demon Slayer Bureau was also getting a new Commander.

Perhaps some people might suspect Gu Zheng was involved in Jin Pang’s death.

For example, Huang Hongyuan at the Dahuashan passage.

But for one, there was no evidence. For another, Gu Zheng’s publicly known realm was far too different from Jin Pang’s.

Aside from confirming it through Deduction or Divination, there was no other logical way to explain it.

Besides, Jin Pang was already dead, while Gu Zheng was only growing stronger. Even if Huang Hongyuan had his suspicions, he wouldn’t voice them.

The fact that only two pieces of the Heaven-Covering Leaf were used before it stopped was proof that the matter was now closed.

Jin Pang and Ji Tianping would simply be considered to have died in the Demon Realm.

...

Creating the Sealing Sword Talismans was a bit harder than Gu Zheng had imagined.

The Sword Gang he condensed was simply too powerful.

The quality of the Jade Talismans wasn’t the issue, but even the slightest mistake during the imbuing process would cause the talisman to shatter.

Gu Zheng destroyed ten Jade Talismans in a row before he barely managed to successfully seal one.

The reason he wanted to make the Jade Talismans was that the King Runan had now set his sights on Qingshi County Town, on the Gu Family.

If the King Runan successfully brought over five hundred Divine Slaves into Qingshi County Town, it would be like planting over five hundred hidden explosives, ready to detonate at any moment.

He didn’t go anywhere else, only to Qingshi County. His target was Gu Zheng.

Whether to win him over or to threaten him.

The safety of the Gu family could no longer be guaranteed by Zhang Meiyuan alone.

But if they had Sealing Sword Talismans for protection at all times, things would be different.

He had two of the Sealing Sword Talismans from Xie Bisheng left. That wasn’t even enough for one per person in the Gu Family.

But if Gu Zheng made them himself, giving ten to each person would be no problem at all.

And so he set to work, breaking another seven or eight Jade Talismans before he finally got the hang of it and could stably seal the Sword Gang inside.

There were two types of Sword Gang.

One type, when crushed, would release a single stream of Sword Gang.

The other was the large-scale area-of-effect attack from the Golden Thousand Blades, which would release dozens or even hundreds of streams of Sword Gang.

Both types of Sealing Sword Talismans contained the full power of Gu Zheng’s current explosive strength.

Gu Zheng made over a dozen of them in one go.

Then, he returned to Qingshi County and gave two to each of the following: Gu Sihai, Gu Pan’Er, Gu Xue’Er, Gu Wan’Er, Gu Feng, and Zhou Dingding.

One was for a single-target attack, and the other was for a wide-area attack.

After teaching them how to use the talismans, Gu Zheng was greatly relieved.

After delivering the finished Sealing Sword Talismans, just as he was about to make more, Qing Yichan suddenly sent a message: it was time to leave.

The Nine Heavens Shadow Realm was about to open!

「That very day.」

Gu Zheng set off to meet up with Qing Yichan and head north.

Within the Ten Dao of Great Zhou, Jing Country belonged to the Southern Mountain Dao.

The "Mountain" in the name referred to the Celestial Gate Mountain Range!

The mountain range was located in the far north of Fengzhou, just across the Mian River.

Traveling with them, besides Qing Yichan, was a Heroic Body Realm expert from the Qing King’s family named Qing Yuanfeng.

This Qing Liu was quite interested in Gu Zheng and talked nonstop along the way.

Gu Zheng mostly just responded with a smile.

He didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until they finally reached the entrance to the Nine Heavens Shadow Realm.

And right at that moment, Gu Zheng was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar face!