I Have 10 Equipment Slots-Chapter 37 - 31: Fighting a Super Body!
"I’m looking for Gu Zheng."
A raspy voice came from outside. "Chief Gu, please come out and see me."
’Looking for me?’
Gu Zheng raised an eyebrow.
After a moment’s thought, he turned his head and said to Tao Qi, "Don’t go outside. Stay in the room."
With that, he opened the door and stepped out.
In the courtyard stood a large, expressionless man with a square face, dark, rough skin, and messy hair.
"You’re Gu Zheng?"
The large man’s cold eyes stared intently at Gu Zheng as he spoke in his raspy voice, "Have you been to Great Dragon Mountain?"
"I have."
Gu Zheng responded calmly, "May I ask who you are? What brings you to my door so late at night...?"
VMMMM!
He was halfway through his sentence when his mind suddenly jolted, as if struck by a heavy hammer. His consciousness trembled, his soul on the verge of collapse, and he instantly fell into a daze, losing his sense of self.
Driven by instinct, his spiritual altar burst with light, unlocking the Bronze Elephant Body.
Instantly, Gu Zheng’s muscles swelled and his skin took on a bronze hue. However, under the dim candlelight from the room behind him, which had a limited reach in the darkness of the night, Tao Qi, who was peeking outside, didn’t notice.
The large man opposite him, however, saw it clearly and was slightly surprised.
But by this point, Gu Zheng had already seized back control of himself.
The Bronze Elephant Body unlocked to 30%. As his body grew taller and larger, the instantaneous boost to his Spiritual Power shattered the invading Secret Technique.
That’s right. Gu Zheng had just been ambushed.
The rough, expressionless man had invaded his mind with Spiritual Secret Techniques. This formless power, which interfered with one’s consciousness and Spirit, had caused Gu Zheng to fall prey to it in an instant.
Only now, with the Bronze Elephant Body unlocked, did he regain control.
Wearing the Stretchable Clothing gifted to him by Nangong Yaoyue, Gu Zheng’s heart pounded with fear and rage. He immediately pushed the unlock further, ramping it up to 50%.
BOOM!
A storm seemed to brew out of thin air.
As Gu Zheng’s physique grew, a vast and heavy aura unfurled from him. It swept outward across the small courtyard, kicking up dust that was carried far away by the night wind.
Behind him, Tao Qi, still in the room, fell to the floor with a THUD. Her face was deathly pale, her heart pounded like a drum, and she struggled to breathe.
The burly man, who had been focused on Gu Zheng the entire time, showed a flicker of astonishment on his expressionless face. Disbelief filled his eyes.
"How could you..."
VMMMM!
The very air seemed to vibrate.
An invisible Spiritual Power interfered with reality. Ripples appeared in the distorted space, spreading out wave after wave like disturbances on the surface of water.
Gu Zheng followed the spiritual link the burly man had established when invading his mind and launched a counterattack.
No, to be precise, he was branding him.
The Nether Heart Slave Seal!
After waiting for several days in Qingshi County, Gu Zheng had successfully forged a Nether Heart Slave Seal but had kept it unused.
It would be a waste to use such a high-level mark, condensed from Spiritual Power, on an ordinary person or even someone at the Alien Body Realm.
This burly man before him was the perfect target.
Although Gu Zheng didn’t know who the man was, the sheer arrogance of trying to psychically invade and control him from the outset was reason enough for Gu Zheng to brand him with the Slave Seal.
A Super Body!
The burly man was undoubtedly a master of the Super Body Realm.
On his own, Gu Zheng would naturally be no match for him.
But with the buff from his Equipment Effect and 50% of his Bronze Elephant Body unlocked, his own Spiritual Power, combined with the boost, had already reached the level of a Super Body Realm’s Spirit.
And a clash between Spirits, while invisible, was tangible, deadly, and far more perilous.
A silent battle unfolded in the small courtyard.
Gu Zheng stood motionless, the hem of his robes fluttering and his long hair dancing wildly. His eyes shone brightly, like twinkling stars.
The burly man’s face was filled with terror. His eyes were wide with fury, and his eyeballs were shot with blood. His body trembled uncontrollably as a beast-like growl rumbled in his throat, threatening to become a roar.
But...
VMMMMM!!
The void seemed to collapse. An immense Spiritual Power surged through, sweeping over the burly man’s body while simultaneously creating a dull roar as it tore through space.
Bronze Elephant Body unlocked: 60%.
CREAK~ CRACK~
Gu Zheng’s physique swelled again, growing another size taller and larger. The augmented Spiritual Power shattered the burly man’s dam of resistance, and the Nether Heart Slave Seal was successfully implanted into his body, his soul, and even his Sea of Consciousness!
WHOOSH~
WHOOSH!
The night wind gusted, sending fallen leaves dancing through the air.
The invisible, surging power, which had felt like an impending volcanic eruption, vanished in an instant without a trace.
SWISH!
SWOOSH~
The sound of tearing wind cut through the air as four figures flew over the courtyard wall and off the rooftop at high speed, landing in the small yard one after another.
"What just happened here?"
The moment Tao Liu landed, his eyes scanned the scene before locking onto the burly man with a wary expression. "Gu, who is he?"
"What business do you have here so late at night?"
Yan Hongxue was more direct. Her hand tightened slightly on her sword hilt, her body ramrod straight as she stared at the burly man with caution and apprehension.
"A misunderstanding."
Gu Zheng, now back to normal, chuckled and explained, "This is a friend of mine. We were just playing a little prank. Sorry to have disturbed everyone."
"A prank?"
Wu Kun’s mouth twitched. If he wasn’t mistaken, that powerful aura just now was definitely the explosive power of someone in the Super Body Realm.
Gu Zheng obviously couldn’t be a Super Body, which meant it had to be this burly man.
For a Super Body Realm master to show up at the Demon Slayer Bureau’s residence in the middle of the night... it was hard not to be suspicious.
"It’s really a misunderstanding."
Gu Zheng cupped his fist and said apologetically to the group, "My friend’s always like this. He loves to joke around with me."
"Didn’t you ask for it yourself?" The burly man’s expressionless face suddenly changed. He shot Gu Zheng a disdainful look and rolled his eyes. "If you’re going to blame someone, blame Ping’an. He’s the one who insisted on sparring with me, said he wanted to know what defeat tastes like."
"Bullshit! When did I ever say that? You’re clearly the one trying to bully the weak, getting revenge for all those miserable times you lost to me in the past," Gu Zheng retorted, flipping him the bird.
"I was just letting you win back then! You actually took it seriously?"
Not to be outdone, the large man turned to Tao Liu, Wu Kun, Yan Hongxue, and An Xiaoxue. "You all be the judge. With my power, how could I possibly lose to him? Tell me, doesn’t that make sense?"
"Heh heh." Tao Liu gave a dry laugh.
Wu Kun also grinned but didn’t take the bait.
An Xiaoxue remained silent. Yan Hongxue, her expression cold, let her suspicious gaze sweep back and forth between Gu Zheng and the burly man.
’Strange.’
Yan Hongxue could sense that something was off between Gu Zheng and the large man.
But she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.
However, the banter between them was clearly something that could only flow so naturally from a very deep-seated relationship.
That part couldn’t be faked.
The problem was, the burly man was obviously in the Super Body Realm.
’When did Gu Zheng get to know a Super Body Realm master?’
It doesn’t take just a few months to train and develop into the Super Body Realm.
Only the Noble Families...
’Right, I remember now!’
Yan Hongxue’s gaze shifted, and she asked softly,
"...Gu, is this a friend you met on Great Dragon Mountain?"
