They were all masters of the Heroic Body Realm.

How could they possibly back down over a few words from someone else?

Xu Jianzhu could issue a direct order forbidding the two from fighting, but at most, they would only obey on the surface. In secret, they would still clash.

Once someone at the level of a Demon-slaying Grand General made up their mind, no one could mediate.

Especially since they had already taken action!

"We don’t need to interfere, but the necessary message must still be delivered." Xu Jianzhu regained his composure and spoke slowly.

Hearing this, Elder Yang bowed and said, "Your orders, my lord!"

...

World Tower.

Even before the Celestial Change, it was the number one tower in the Martial World.

It had branches not only throughout Jing Country, but also in the countries of Kang, Yue, and Shang.

Rumor had it that a powerful figure backed them.

Gu Zheng hadn’t paid it much mind before, but now he was quite surprised.

"The powerful figure behind World Tower... is it your organization, The Gods?"

In the private room, Gu Zheng looked at Jin Yanzi, He Zheng, and a brawny, dark-skinned, well-built middle-aged man.

"It is The Gods, isn’t it? Or..."

"It is us," Jin Yanzi said with a smile. "Gu, you know a lot about us?"

"Not a lot, but not a little either." Gu Zheng calmly picked up his teacup and took a sip.

Outside the open window, less than two hundred meters away, the large compound of a Demon Slayer Bureau branch was clearly visible.

Luo Cheng was in that compound.

"I’m not sure how much you know, Gu, but I’d still like to mention that we, The Gods, are an enlightened organization dedicated to gathering the world’s finest talents, unbound by constraints and advocating for freedom."

Jin Yanzi explained slowly, "I know what others think of us. They say we’re arrogant, that we look down on others, and that we’re ambitious. We admit to some of that—we do look down on certain people. But that doesn’t include the common folk!"

Jin Yanzi’s expression turned serious as she said gravely, "Because we ourselves came from the common people; we were once among the lowest rungs of society. To look down on them would be to look down on ourselves."

"So who is it that we look down upon?"

"It’s those high and mighty Noble Families!"

"I’m sure you’ve had your share of dealings with the noble youth, Gu. You’ve seen what these members of the Noble Families are like. Even the more reasonable ones don’t give a damn about the lives of the common people below them, let alone the ones who kill commoners on a whim."

Gu Zheng remained silent.

"The Noble Families are like that, but the Medicine God organization is even crazier. The people in it are more depraved than the last. They not only eat people, but also Demon Fiends."

Jin Yanzi continued, "Once they target someone—man or woman, old or young, noble or beggar—they’ll do whatever it takes to capture and eat them!"

"As for the people from the Martial God organization, they’re a bit better than the Medicine God, but they’re all lunatics, every last one of them. That group lives for battle. They challenge anyone famous or powerful. During these challenges, they hold nothing back, completely disregarding their own lives and the lives of their opponents."

"In a fight with them, one side is guaranteed to die!"

"..." Gu Zheng remained silent.

Seeing his silence, Jin Yanzi went on, "The last one, the Celestial God organization, are the craziest of the crazy. They’ve been around the longest, but the things they do are the filthiest."

"You may or may not have heard, Gu, but the Celestial God organization is most famous for treating themselves as gods, making the common people believe in and worship them."

"The people’s lives, from birth to death, are all subject to their commands. They decide who gets to live and who has to die. Whoever they want to eat must obediently offer up their own flesh and blood."

"That’s right, the people of the Celestial God organization eat people too! But unlike the Medicine God, who refine people into pills before consuming them, the Celestial God members eat flesh, hearts, livers, and brains purely for enjoyment..."

"Compared to the eight Duke’s Families like the Zhong and Fu Families, that group from the Celestial God organization are nothing but a scourge, no different from Demon Fiends."

"For this reason, several thousand years ago, the Celestial God organization was driven out of the Great Zhou’s territory by a coalition of the major Noble Families. They fled into the Southern Wilderness, the Northern Wilderness, and to hidden islands overseas."

Celestial God, Martial God, Medicine God, and The Gods!

These were the renowned Four Divine Organizations.

They were not Noble Families, nor did they pledge allegiance to any imperial court.

Each organization had risen by taking advantage of the upheaval that comes once a millennium.

Among them, the Celestial God organization was the most ancient, with a history stretching back over ten thousand years.

Jin Yanzi’s description of this organization was not wrong; she was not intentionally trying to deceive Gu Zheng.

Because Gu Zheng had already heard about it from Chen Beihan.

...

"I came looking for you today for two reasons, Gu."

After her long speech, Jin Yanzi took a slight breath and said with a smile, "First, if you need it, Gu, we can help you take care of Luo Cheng."

"You’ll help me kill Luo Cheng?" Gu Zheng’s sharp brows rose.

"Yes." He Zheng, who had been silent, said in a low voice, "Luo Cheng may be a Heroic Body, and he’s hiding in the Demon Slayer Bureau branch, but if we want to, we can still kill him."

"There’s no need." Gu Zheng replied calmly.

"Alright," Jin Yanzi said with a smile. "The second matter is to invite you, Gu, to join us, The Gods, and become one of us."

"...I’m a member of the Demon Slayer Bureau. Can I still join you?" Gu Zheng was slightly surprised. "Don’t you refuse to pledge allegiance to any imperial court?"

"We don’t pledge allegiance to any court."

Jin Yanzi explained, "We normally wouldn’t accept an imperial official. But you, Gu, are no ordinary person!"

"Oh?" Gu Zheng’s interest was piqued. "How am I not ordinary?"

"Because Lord Gu cares about the lives of the common people."

The middle-aged man, who had been silent until now, chimed in, "The Demon Slayer Bureau, the Observatory, the Dragon Guard Bureau, the Divine Capture Bureau—although these official institutions of Jing Country are all rushing about, slaying Demon Fiends to maintain stability, they are all essentially serving the Zhong Family."

"And the Zhong Family, for the sake of their Dragon Struggle, has committed numerous bloody massacres in Yue Country and Kang Country. Among them, there have been no fewer than ten incidents that affected the common people and resulted in over a hundred thousand casualties."

"The ones carrying out these orders were from the Observatory, the Demon Slayer Bureau, and the Divine Capture Bureau."

"But I believe that if you, Lord Gu, were to receive such orders, you would absolutely not carry them out. You would simply leave them."

"Am I right, Lord Gu?" the middle-aged man asked, looking at Gu Zheng with a smile.

"And you are?" Gu Zheng asked in return, his expression unchanging.

"This is a senior from our organization, Jiang Hanshan, Inspector Jiang," Jin Yanzi introduced. "’Inspector’ is a mission codename. His main task is to patrol various regions and scout for promising talents to join us. Inspector Jiang has been observing you for some time, Gu. It’s just that we had no prior connection, so he sought out me and Old He to make the introduction."

"So it’s Inspector Jiang."

Gu Zheng nodded as a greeting. "Inspector Jiang, you’ve investigated me. Was it a thorough investigation?"

"Well..." Jin Yanzi’s expression grew anxious.

"Lord Gu, please don’t misunderstand." Jiang Hanshan raised a hand, stopping what Jin Yanzi was about to say. He spoke earnestly, "I absolutely meant no offense, Lord Gu. The information I gathered is all public and verifiable. Your great name, Lord Gu, is known by countless people in Fengzhou, Luozhou, Hongzhou, and now all over Guangzhou. In Fengzhou especially, no fewer than a million people have carved Longevity Tablets for you."

"..." Gu Zheng was silent.

Inside, however, he was astonished.

’So many people carved Longevity Tablets for me?’

KNOCK KNOCK.

A knock sounded at the door.

"My lord, someone is here to see Lord Gu."

"Please consider it carefully, Gu." Jin Yanzi immediately stood up and said sincerely, "Our organization, The Gods, may not have a long history—only three thousand years—but we are the most united, and we have always wanted to do right by the common people."

"If you want to join, Gu, just find any World Tower and speak to the shopkeeper," He Zheng added.

"We’ll take our leave now," Jiang Hanshan said finally. "I hope we can become like-minded partners with you soon, Lord Gu."

After speaking, the three of them clasped their fists in salute, turned, opened the door, and quickly departed.

Gu Zheng remained seated. He didn’t close the door, but slowly sipped his tea.

After not seeing them for many days, he noted that both Jin Yanzi and He Zheng had already stepped into the Super Body Realm.

As for Jiang Hanshan, although he had concealed his aura tightly, the life fluctuations of a Heroic Body Realm master could not be completely hidden.

For a Heroic Body Realm master to come forward and invite him to join The Gods was a respectable gesture.

Respectable or not, Gu Zheng had no intention of joining.

Jin Yanzi had mocked the Celestial God, detested the Medicine God, and scorned the Martial God.

It seemed as if only their organization, The Gods, was the sole option, the savior of the common people.

However, if they were truly saviors, Gu Zheng had never seen them take any real action or make any real sacrifices. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

When he first met Jin Yanzi, He Zheng, Yang Shouyun, and Zheng Xiting, all four of them were busy with their own affairs.

Perhaps they were a little better than the Noble Families, but in essence, they were much the same.

With a three-thousand-year history, having gone through three millennial upheavals, their original pursuits and ambitions had likely long since changed.

...

"Grand General Gu!"

Through the open doorway, Elder Yang entered the private room with a dark expression. He clasped his fist toward Gu Zheng and sighed, "Grand General Gu, our lord has said he will not interfere in your affair. However, the Third Prince’s wedding is fast approaching. His Lordship hopes you will not cause trouble during this period. Otherwise, he will personally step in and throw you in prison."

"Gu Zheng understands."

Clasping his fist in return, Gu Zheng replied, "Please inform Lord Xu that as long as Luo Cheng doesn’t start anything, I will not cause any trouble."

"...You people!" Elder Yang shook his head. "Forget it. I can’t be bothered to manage this. I’ll relay your words to His Lordship."

With that, he flicked his sleeve and left.

Gu Zheng watched him leave, lost in thought.

Previously, when people from the Demon Slayer Bureau came to ask him why he wanted to kill Luo Cheng, Gu Zheng had said nothing, all for the sake of the Divine Weapon Fragment.

However, after Luo Cheng failed to snatch the Divine Weapon Fragment and was chased into the Capital City, it seemed he hadn’t leaked the news that Gu Zheng possessed it.

If that news had spread, it wouldn’t just be The Gods looking for him, showing up in the form of two acquaintances like Jin Yanzi and He Zheng.

Elder Yang wouldn’t have left so easily either.

Gu Zheng would have ultimately had no choice but to give up the Divine Weapon Fragment to protect himself.

But Luo Cheng hadn’t leaked it...

’So, that man Luo still hasn’t given up?’

Gu Zheng narrowed his eyes, guessing at Luo Cheng’s motives.

’That guy didn’t tell anyone else because he still wants to take it all for himself?’

A Divine Weapon Fragment was something that even King’s Body Realm masters would covet.

If Luo Cheng were to leak the news, he would have absolutely no chance of ever getting his hands on it.

On the contrary, if he didn’t tell anyone else, and only Gu Zheng and Luo Cheng knew about it...

...then he would still have a chance!

As long as Gu Zheng was dead...

"Gu, long time no see!"