After sending the message, he thought of Chen Beihan’s strength.

Gu Zheng added another line.

"Go to Fengzhou State City!"

It would be a waste of time to have Chen Beihan rush to the Capital City; it was better for Gu Zheng to return to Fengzhou himself.

After sending the message, Gu Zheng left the inn and headed for the Dragon Guard Bureau.

The Dragon Guard Bureau was an organization dedicated to protecting the royal family of Jing Country and a number of high-ranking Cabinet officials.

Its number of experts and overall personnel couldn’t compare to the Demon Slayer Bureau.

However, its headquarters in the Capital City occupied an even larger area than the Demon Slayer Bureau’s.

It was heavily guarded.

Layer upon layer of security began right at the main gate.

Gu Zheng, a newly promoted Demon-slaying Grand General, received no preferential treatment here.

The reception staff reported his arrival up through the chain of command.

After more than a quarter of an hour, Gu Zheng finally met the person he had come to see.

It was Chen Wuji, one of the four Vice Directors of the Dragon Guard Bureau whom Meng Taiqi had instructed him to find.

"Greetings, Lord Chen!"

Gu Zheng cupped his fist in a salute and handed over the letters of recommendation from Meng Taiqi and Xie Bisheng.

Once Chen Wuji had accepted them, Gu Zheng took out his Token.

"There’s no need to see the Token."

Chen Wuji said as he read the letters, "I’ve long heard of the great name of Gu Zheng from Fengzhou. As long as the letters check out, that’s all I need."

"Excellent."

After reading the letters, Chen Wuji sent a jolt of energy through his hand, instantly turning the two pages to dust.

Sizing up Gu Zheng with an appreciative gaze, Chen Wuji nodded and said, "No wonder Meng Taiqi and Xie Bisheng took you as their disciple. You are indeed impressive."

"Follow me."

With that, he turned and led the way.

Gu Zheng immediately followed.

The two of them weaved their way through one palace after another.

A moment later, Chen Wuji led him into a heavily guarded, secret chamber underground.

After walking for several more minutes through an underground tunnel, they stopped before a tall stone gate.

Chen Wuji took out one half of a key and combined it with the other half held by a guard to open the stone gate.

"Go on in."

With his hands clasped behind his back, Chen Wuji said gravely, "The *Golden Thousand Blades* is inside. Whether or not you can learn it is up to you. However, I imagine there shouldn’t be any problem."

"Lord Xie!" Gu Zheng cupped his fist.

Chen Wuji raised a hand. "By the way, there’s a time limit for viewing—one month at most."

’One month?’

Gu Zheng didn’t understand the reason for the limit, but he nodded to show he understood.

Then, he stepped into the dim, spacious secret chamber.

RUMBLE~

THUD!

The stone gate behind him rumbled shut but was not sealed.

The chamber grew even darker.

However, the darkness had no effect on Gu Zheng.

After about twenty paces, Gu Zheng stopped before a hard, jet-black stone wall, five meters high and about seven or eight meters wide.

The face of this stone wall was covered in a multitude of deep blade marks.

There was nothing else besides these marks.

As Gu Zheng stared, an Illusion suddenly appeared before him. One after another, sharp longswords, short swords, greatswords, broadswords, daggers... all manner of Sword Artifacts came swarming toward him.

VMMMM!

Sensing the intrusion, the Reversed Soul Scale automatically began to spin, nullifying and shattering the assault.

SHING!

The Illusion before his eyes instantly vanished.

The stone wall was just a stone wall, and the blade marks on it were unchanged.

’But what about the *Golden Thousand Blades*?’

’Where is this Ultimate Level True Skill?’

’Could it be...’

Gu Zheng narrowed his eyes, a thoughtful expression on his face as he stared at the blade marks on the wall.

The next moment, he retracted the Reversed Soul Scale into his Storage Leaf and once again focused his gaze on the marks.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~

The Illusion reappeared. Longswords, greatswords, short swords...

All manner of Sword Artifacts danced through the air, swarming to attack him.

Gu Zheng activated the Divine Wondrous path of his *Nine Luminaries Golden Saber* technique and simultaneously unleashed his Sword Intent.

VMMM VMMM!

Space vibrated.

In that instant, two different waves of energy connected.

A torrent of information about a Saber Technique began to surge from the stone wall, pouring into Gu Zheng’s mind.

*Golden Thousand Blades*!

Just as he’d suspected, the method for learning this Ultimate Skill was through a Spirit imprint transmitted directly into the mind.

It was stored within the stone wall by means of Sword Intent.

To obtain it, one had to connect with their own Sword Intent and then read the information.

During this process, anyone whose Spirit was not powerful enough would not only fail to obtain the *Golden Thousand Blades*, but would also be assaulted and wounded by the Sword Intent. In severe cases, they could die on the spot!

In other words, if this wall were placed out in the open, it would only bring death to people.

The only ones who could withstand the assault of the Sword Intent were those with outstanding talent or those who had broken through to the Heroic Body Realm.

Gu Zheng absorbed wave after wave of information about the *Golden Thousand Blades*.

After an unknown amount of time, the Spirit link was severed.

Gu Zheng slowly returned to his senses, comprehending the new True Skill he had acquired.

On his status panel, a new option had successfully appeared: *Golden Thousand Blades* (entry-level).

’I got it!’

An Ultimate Level Saber Technique True Skill.

’The panel shows that it’s still at entry-level. I just need to add points to it later!’

Gu Zheng nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave.

Arriving at the stone gate, he channeled his Divine Wondrous energy and gave it a forceful push.

RUMBLE~

A trembling sound echoed.

The stone gate slid open.

"You’re out already?" The guard, who had hurried over at the noise, stared wide-eyed at Gu Zheng. "You’re giving up so soon?" he asked in astonishment.

"Give up?"

Gu Zheng raised an eyebrow. "I’ve already learned the True Skill. Why would I give up?"

"Impossible!"

The guard blurted out, "It’s only been half a day! You’ve already obtained the *Golden Thousand Blades*?"

"It is what it is." Gu Zheng offered a cupped-fist salute and turned to walk away.

"Wait, you need an escort to leave,"

the guard called out hastily. As he spoke, he first closed the stone gate again, sealing it completely this time.

Then, he began to lead Gu Zheng out.

Along the way, he peppered Gu Zheng with questions, finding it hard to believe he had truly learned the *Golden Thousand Blades*.

There was no way to prove it, unless Gu Zheng added points on the spot to bring the *Golden Thousand Blades* to the Mastery level and then demonstrated it.

The entry-level *Golden Thousand Blades* wasn’t much different from the *Nine Luminaries Golden Saber*.

But to reach entry-level one moment and Mastery the next—even a fool would know something was amiss.

Naturally, Gu Zheng wouldn’t reveal such a secret.

So, he simply let the guard ask his questions and stew in his disbelief, offering no further comment.

...

After leaving the Dragon Guard Bureau, Gu Zheng first went to a main street to call back Pang Hu.

As soon as the Little Fatty Cat had entered the Capital City, he had run off on his own to find acrobatic shows to watch and, incidentally, to get a whiff of secondhand smoke.

Ever since the Celestial Change, the Capital City had never once been invaded by Demon Fiends.

Not a single Demon Fiend had appeared even in the surrounding regions, for dozens of miles around.

As a result, in terms of safety, stability, and public entertainment, there was little difference from before the Celestial Change.

The city was filled with song, dance, and joyous laughter.

While Gu Zheng was busy with his own affairs, Pang Hu had been enjoying the sights to his heart’s content.

Now that Gu Zheng was calling for him to leave, he was quite reluctant.

"You can stay here, then. I’m going back to Fengzhou."

Gu Zheng stroked Pang Hu’s furry head and chuckled. "There are quite a few people here who could catch you, you know."

"Mrow~!"

Pang Hu raised his head and patted his fleshy paws, as if to say he didn’t believe it.

"You’ll believe me when you get caught, but by then it’ll be too late."

Gu Zheng placed Pang Hu on his shoulder, exited the city gates, and with a tap of his toes, leaped into the air, speeding back toward Fengzhou.

"Meeoow~!"

...

...

「Fengzhou.」

In a mountain forest outside the State City.

Gu Zheng met with Chen Beihan, who had rushed down from the north.

"Greetings, Master!"

The blind-looking Chen Beihan knelt respectfully on the ground and called out in greeting.

"Rise."

Gu Zheng raised a hand, took out the Great Sun Armor, and placed it on the ground. "Take a look. Tell me what’s wrong with it."

"Yes, Master!"

Chen Beihan rose, approached the individual plates of the armor, and examined them closely.

Of course, his eyes could not see; he used his "Shadow" ability to sense the changes in aura, power, and fluctuations within the armor plates.

After a full ten minutes, he finally set down a plate, stood up, and said with a small smile, "There’s no mistake. When this armor was forged, ’Ten Thousand Souls Spider Silk’ was added to it."

"Ten Thousand Souls Spider Silk?" Gu Zheng mused. "Explain."

"Yes, Master!"

Chen Beihan replied respectfully, "The Ten Thousand Souls Spider is a special type of Exotic Insect that has not been seen for several thousand years. It is unknown if they still exist, or if they have gone extinct."

"Since the Ten Thousand Souls Spider is nearly extinct, even fewer people have seen its silk. Knowledge of the Ten Thousand Souls Spider Silk is rarer still."

"On its own, the properties of the Ten Thousand Souls Spider Silk are actually quite excellent. It can enhance toughness, defensive power, and the conduction of Divine Wondrous energy. When integrated into armor, it can even cause the power that the armor bestows upon the wearer’s physical body to increase slowly over time."

"But if there is a large quantity of the silk, and someone possesses the Relic Pearl of a Ten Thousand Souls Spider, they can sense one another. It’s even possible to remotely control the silk and pinpoint its location."

"Just like this Great Sun Armor!"

Chen Beihan pointed to the pile of plates on the ground and continued, "Because the Ten Thousand Souls Spider Silk has been woven into it, whoever wears the Great Sun Armor—no matter where they are—can be located by the person holding the Relic Pearl."

"Furthermore, the one holding the Relic Pearl can use it to remotely constrict the Great Sun Armor, trapping the wearer inside!"

"Given the quality of this Great Sun Armor, the constricting force it would exert is terrifying. Even an expert at the peak of the Heroic Body Realm might not be able to break free."

"This is because the more one struggles against the Ten Thousand Souls Spider Silk, the stronger its constricting force becomes."

"Therefore, even if one manages to break free by force, the physical trauma would be immense."

"The Zhong Family has played its hand masterfully."

Chen Beihan said with a sigh, "Ostensibly, they give a suit of Great Sun Armor to every Demon-slaying Grand General and state Commander, but secretly, they are monitoring the movements of every single one of them."

"If any of the state’s Demon-slaying Grand Generals or Commanders were to disobey an order or rebel, they could be instantly trapped by the Great Sun Armor!"

"Impressive. Truly impressive. No wonder a single family can hold an entire country in its palm!"

Gu Zheng fell silent.

The mystery of the threat posed by the Great Sun Armor was finally solved.

He had now experienced the Zhong Family’s methods of control firsthand.

To monitor every single Commander and Demon-slaying Grand General in the various states without any of them knowing...

One had to admire such a method.

Unfortunately, for someone on the receiving end of that control, it was far from a pleasant feeling.

’Ten Thousand Souls Spider Silk... Ten Thousand Souls Spider...’

This Exotic Insect was also within the Spirit Binder range of Gu Zheng’s "Lord of Hundred Insects" Equipment Effect.

However, he could only use Spirit Binder on living, intact Exotic Insects; the Relic Pearl and the silk were beyond his control.

The so-called Relic Pearl was the concentrated essence of power and energy left behind after a Ten Thousand Souls Spider’s death.

Gu Zheng couldn’t use Spirit Binder on them, but he knew of two things that could counter them!

Among Exotic Insects, as well as among Anomalous Fires, there often existed a wondrous relationship of natural counters—one kind countering another.

And the Ten Thousand Souls Spider also had such a rival!