I Have 10 Equipment Slots-Chapter 52 - 46: Mr. Gu

"Ha! I was just about to say it. Gu goes out on his first mission and comes back a Commander."

Zhang Ning clapped, winking. "Master Ke, you’re shocked, aren’t you?"

"Shocked is an understatement."

Ke Juzhen clicked his tongue in admiration, his small eyes fixed on Gu Zheng. He sighed, "When I first met Ping’an, I knew your future would be limitless. As expected, my judgment has never been wrong. A capable person can always get back on their feet quickly, no matter the circumstances, and make people see them in a new light. This Celestial Change may be a great disaster, but is it not also a great opportunity?"

"You praise me too much, Master Ke."

Gu Zheng smiled and returned to the previous topic. "About reforging the blade into a Spiritual Soldier, is there anything I need to do?"

"You don’t need to do much. Just come here every day and offer a drop of your Essence Blood to the Magic Gold."

After his moment of admiration, Ke Juzhen explained, "Why is a Spiritual Soldier called ’spiritual’? It’s because it possesses a certain spirituality! And where does that spirituality come from? First, the Magic Gold. Second, human Essence Blood or purified Demon Blood or Exotic Beast Blood."

"If you want to gain control of the Spiritual Soldier faster, you can also nourish the Artifact Embryo with your own Divine Wondrous for more than two hours a day during the forging process."

"Ping’an, are you busy for the next few days?"

"I’m actually on break," Gu Zheng said seriously. "I’ll be at headquarters for the next few days, available anytime."

"Good!"

Ke Juzhen stroked his beard, took a large gulp of Nu’er Hong wine, and drained half the jar in one go. He then exhaled a puff of white vapor, capped the jar, and cradled it as he walked toward the forging platform. "Since you’re free," he announced, "we’ll fire up the furnace now and melt down the broken blade first."

Clearly, Ke Juzhen was a man of action, one to get started right away.

Gu Zheng had nothing else to do, so he stayed to help, working the bellows and handing over tools.

Zhang Ning watched from the side for a while, but grew bored and took his leave.

The furnace roared, and molten iron rippled.

Two hours later, the pieces of the Celestial Frost Blade had been melted down and reformed.

Three of the five taels of Magic Gold were added.

During the fusion, Gu Zheng produced a drop of his Essence Blood and mixed it in.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The hammer was raised high and brought down hard, sending sparks flying everywhere.

Ke Juzhen, bare-armed with muscles bulging, swung the great hammer and began to forge the blade with a steady rhythm.

The forging continued for seven days.

Every day, Gu Zheng would come to offer a drop of his Essence Blood and then release his Divine Wondrous to nourish the cooled Artifact Embryo for two hours.

That evening, Gu Zheng had just left the Weapon Foundry and was heading back to his quarters.

He ran into Zhang Ning.

"Gu, Ba Xingyu is dead." Seeing Gu Zheng, Zhang Ning jogged over and informed him quietly, "The guy actually died in a woman’s bed..."

"Wait, who’s Ba Xingyu?" Gu Zheng interrupted, confused. "Do I know him?"

"He’s the dark-faced Demon Suppression Guard who went with us on the mission to Baishui County," Zhang Ning said, looking at Gu Zheng speechlessly.

"Oh, him..." Gu Zheng nodded, indicating that he remembered.

On the last trip to Baishui County, besides Yan Hongxue, Tao Liu, Wu Kun, Chen Zhizhen, and An Xiaoxue, there were also Gu Zheng, Zhang Ning, Zhang Boshong, and Ba Xingyu.

It was just that Ba Xingyu had a very low presence. He barely spoke the entire trip and was silent even when they were killing the Lizard Demon.

Gu Zheng remembered his build and face, but he had never really paid attention to his name.

"Ba Xingyu died in a woman’s bed? With the body of someone in the Alien Body Realm, he could die from sleeping with a few women?"

"Sleeping with a few would be nothing, even if he went at it for a whole day and night." Zhang Ning’s mouth twitched, unsure whether to laugh or cry. "The problem is that ever since he got back, that guy Ba Xingyu has been living at the brothel, going at it day and night without stopping. Gu, tell me, who parties like that? Even someone in the Super Body Realm couldn’t handle going at it nonstop!"

"..."

Gu Zheng was speechless. After a moment, he remarked, "He definitely couldn’t handle that. Ba Xingyu was so quiet and taciturn on the mission. I never would have thought he was so... voracious in private."

"It just goes to show you can know a person’s face but not their heart." Zhang Ning sighed. "Ba Xingyu must have lost his mind. He didn’t die fighting Demon Fiends, but in a woman’s bed. It’s a good thing he was all alone, with no family. Otherwise, how could his family still show their faces at the Demon Slayer Bureau?"

Gu Zheng fell silent.

A moment later, he changed the subject, asking Zhang Ning curiously, "Zhang, why haven’t you been out on a mission?"

"Me? Well, for one thing, I was running around for over a month straight. Before going to Baishui County with you, Gu, I’d already completed another mission, so I wanted to rest for a few more days. For another, going on that last mission with you was a blast, so I was hoping we could team up again next time."

Zhang Ning smiled candidly. "I don’t know if Commander Gu has picked his team for the next mission yet. If not, how about considering me?"

"Of course."

Gu Zheng smiled as well. "I don’t know many people in the Demon Slayer Bureau anyway. If you’re willing to join, Zhang, that would be great."

"Then thank you in advance, Mr. Gu!"

Zhang Ning stood up straight and bowed respectfully.

’Mr. Gu?’

’A familiar form of address.’

’Back in Qingshi County, Han Ming, Wang Meng, and the others used to call me that too.’

’Now here at the Demon Slayer Bureau, someone’s calling me it again.’

’Not bad, not bad at all.’

...

For the next few days, Gu Zheng continued his daily trips to the Weapon Foundry to offer a drop of his Essence Blood and nourish the Artifact Embryo.

In his spare time, he was either carving a second Nether Heart Slave Seal or cultivating the All Heaven Jade Void Skill Alien Body Chapter, taking Anomalous Pills to condense and produce Divine Wondrous.

He didn’t use the newly generated Divine Wondrous to temper his physique or push the limits of his Alien Body; instead, he continuously accumulated it.

Executing his Saber Technique and Demon Techniques both consumed Divine Wondrous.

No amount of Divine Wondrous ever seemed to be enough.

He accumulated it for eight days.

That night, in the Weapon Foundry, Ke Juzhen finally completed the reforging of the Celestial Frost Blade.

This Divine Weapon, which Gu Zheng knew so well, had been infused with Magic Gold and his Essence Blood, completing its transformation into a newborn Spiritual Soldier.

Although it was only a Lower-Grade Spiritual Soldier, the lowest rank, it was enough to make Gu Zheng ecstatic.

Thanks to the daily infusions of his Essence Blood, as Gu Zheng held the Celestial Frost Blade now, he felt a mysterious connection to it without needing to channel his Divine Wondrous.

It was a wondrous sensation of his Spirit being linked directly to the Celestial Frost Blade.

Even without holding the hilt, from ten paces away, Gu Zheng could sense the Celestial Frost Blade’s presence.

’A Spiritual Soldier, a weapon with spirituality... truly extraordinary!’

...

With his Spiritual Soldier in hand, Gu Zheng accepted a Demon Extermination mission early the next morning.

In Qiayu Prefecture’s Daping County, there had been multiple cases of the dead rising.

It was confirmed to be the work of Demon Fiends!

That same day, Gu Zheng sought out Zhang Ning and also asked if Zhang Boshong wanted to join, only to find out that Zhang Boshong had also been waiting for his own Spiritual Soldier to be forged.

Like Zhang Ning, Zhang Boshong also wanted to go on another mission with Gu Zheng.

It wasn’t just Zhang Boshong. Tao Liu and An Xiaoxue, who had less severe injuries, had just finished recuperating. When they heard Gu Zheng was taking a mission, they also ran over to volunteer.

Even Yan Hongxue came over to request to join.

"...Yan Tou, you’re not joking, are you?"

"Do I look like I’m joking?" At the main gate of the Demon Slayer Bureau, Yan Hongxue asked in return, her expression resolute.

"...Alright then." Gu Zheng said seriously, "Welcome to the team."

"Thanks, Mr. Gu!"