"A Middle-Grade Spiritual Soldier?"
Xie Bisheng scoffed, "And here I thought you were so generous, ng the Big Nose. Turns out it’s just a Middle-Grade Spiritual Soldier for the disciple who will inherit your legacy. How can you even bring yourself to offer sothing so paltry?"
With a wave of his hand, he turned to Gu Zheng and declared in a deep voice, "Gu Ping’an, take as your master. I’ll give you a Fourth-Turn Treasure Pill to help you pass through the Super Body·Vajra stage as quickly as possible and build the most solid foundation."
"I will also teach you the Asura Heaven-Questioning Slash, a Half-Worldly True Skill I created myself, and gift you a High-Grade Spiritual Soldier. Blade or sword, the choice is yours!"
"Whoa, what a generous reward! Old Scoundrel Xie, stop trying to fool people!"
ng Taiqi shouted in exasperation, "Why don’t you ntion that your Asura Heaven-Questioning Slash isn’t even finished yet? Or that the Fourth-Turn Body Shaping Pill is still on backorder, and who knows when you’ll get it?"
"And that High-Grade Spiritual Soldier... Heh. It’s been sent back to be reforged. Who knows if it’ll even retain its high-grade Spiritual nature after it’s remade!"
"Gu Ping’an, Old Scoundrel Xie loves to make empty promises. Don’t you fall for it."
"I..." Gu Zheng blinked, wanting to ask what was going on.
Xie Bisheng spoke again, his voice cold. "Empty promises? This ’promise’ of mine already exists; it just takes a little ti to obtain. There’s no need to promise anything. You, on the other hand, ng the Big Nose... so cheap, offering a re Middle-Grade Spiritual Soldier. Who are you looking down on?"
"Who’s cheap? Old Scoundrel Xie, watch your mouth!"
ng Taiqi’s face flushed slightly as he retorted, "My Middle-Grade Spiritual Soldier is available imdiately, unlike your items that require a wait! Besides, you think you’re the only one who can create a True Skill? Let tell you, I also have a True Skill that will soon be revealed."
"Oh? Then tell us about it. Let everyone judge for themselves just what this True Skill of yours is all about," Xie Bisheng replied coolly.
"What’s it all about? You think I’m like you? Bragging about it everywhere before it’s even complete, afraid that people won’t know."
"That’s still better than you, hiding it away. Who knows if you’re just bluffing?"
"..."
The two of them were Demon-slaying Grand Generals—n of prominent status and peerless standing, whose power was among the best in all of Fengzhou. Yet here they were, in front of everyone on the Weapon Foundry’s main street, bickering endlessly over a single disciple.
Everyone was dumbfounded!
Shocked and bewildered, they all couldn’t help but shift their gazes to the person at the center of it all, Gu Zheng. Their eyes filled with confusion, disbelief, envy, and jealousy...
Little did they know, Gu Zheng himself was completely baffled.
ng Taiqi and Xie Bisheng. These were two of the four great Demon-slaying Grand Generals of the Fengzhou Demon Slayer Bureau, second only to the Commander himself. They were cultivators at the Heroic Body Realm.
The other two Demon-slaying Grand Generals were away on a mission, currently garrisoning the north.
When the Commander wasn’t at headquarters, ng Taiqi and Xie Bisheng were the highest-ranking authorities in the Demon Slayer Bureau.
All decisions were made through their consultation.
These two were usually as elusive as divine dragons; you could never catch a glimpse of them.
But now, here they were, appearing together in the Weapon Foundry, grabbing Gu Zheng and demanding he take one of them as his master.
It would be a lie to say Gu Zheng wasn’t tempted.
But sothing about this was clearly strange.
He was talented, yes. Relying on his panel, he had essentially cheated his way up, joining the Demon Slayer Bureau and getting promoted to a Hundred Households after only two missions.
However, cultivators at the Super Body Realm were not uncommon in the Demon Slayer Bureau, and there were several other young ones as well.
Why would ng Taiqi and Xie Bisheng take such an interest in him?
Fighting and wheedling to take him as their disciple?
Was it just because Gu Zheng had cleared out the Demon Fiends at Jinshan Temple and lifted the siege on the State City?
That didn’t seem realistic.
There had to be another reason why ng Taiqi and Xie Bisheng were fighting to make him their disciple.
The key to this puzzle lay with Gu Zheng himself, yet he either didn’t know what it was or hadn’t noticed it.
At this thought, Gu Zheng fell into contemplation.
’Did they find out about my equipnt’s abilities? Unlikely.’
’The ability to add points is even more impossible for them to discover.’
’Could it be the Qing King’s bloodline, triggered by my Bronze Elephant Body? Have they mistaken my fake King’s Body for the real thing?’
’Or is it about Pang Hu? Does the Little Fatty Cat have so extraordinary background?’
Gu Zheng pondered.
Beside him, Ke Juzhen seized the mont to poke Gu Zheng and whisper, "Which one are you going to choose?"
Ke Juzhen had also been deeply shocked, but he had now regained his composure. "You have to think this through carefully," he reminded him.
Think what through?
Naturally, it was the fact that becoming the disciple of one would inevitably earn him the dislike of the other.
But that was a situation Gu Zheng didn’t want either.
These were two Demon-slaying Grand Generals. Even a refusal had to be delivered with the utmost tact.
His mind raced as he searched for a solution.
ng Taiqi and Xie Bisheng had stopped their bickering, and both pairs of eyes were now fixed on Gu Zheng.
"Gu Ping’an, who will you take as your master?"
"Ping’an, my boy, who do you prefer?"
ng Taiqi and Xie Bisheng spoke almost in unison.
They had thrown the decision to Gu Zheng.
"Well..." Gu Zheng’s eyes darted around before he bowed respectfully. "I admire both of you, Teachers."
"Hm?" Xie Bisheng raised an eyebrow.
"Ha!" ng Taiqi laughed out loud. "Good, you’re a clever one!"
Hearing this, Ke Juzhen, who was standing to the side, looked confused at first, then understanding dawned on him. He gave Gu Zheng a thumbs-up.
Teacher!
Not ’Master,’ just ’Teacher.’
A single word made a world of difference in terms of treatnt, but it still connected them through status.
Gu Zheng’s aning was simple. He was willing to study under the tutelage of both Demon-slaying Grand Generals, much like a scholar who respects a certain civil official as his ntor.
This gave both sides so leeway.
The status of a student, taken one step back, was just a common student-teacher relationship based on tutelage, not even qualifying as a faction allegiance.
But taken a step forward, it could evolve into him becoming a formal disciple—a core disciple who could inherit their legacy.
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