I Have 10 Equipment Slots

Gu Zheng was speechless.

The northern part of Fengzhou was indeed in a tragic state.

The first third-rank passageway had appeared there.

The second third-rank passageway was there, too.

In the four prefectures to the north, the previous passageways already totaled seventeen.

Now, with the addition of two second-rank ones, the total was nineteen.

Across four prefectures and twenty-three counties, that meant almost every single county had a passageway.

No wonder Lu Guangbei had said it was impossible to survive in the north, that everyone outside the cities was dead.

With so many passageways, it was already quite an achievement that the north was still holding on.

But they had no choice but to defend it.

If they truly abandoned the north, the Demon Fiends pouring out of the passageways would only grow in number.

Eventually, the Demon Fiend armies they formed would march south, and destroying cities would be a trivial matter for them.

...

"What is this ’guerrilla plan’ you mentioned, Master Xie?"

After composing himself, Gu Zheng inquired.

"It means the headquarters is dispatching three Thousand Households to the north to employ guerrilla tactics."

Xie Bisheng explained, "You will primarily be responsible for seven second-rank passageways. Whichever one needs reinforcements, you’ll rush over to support them."

"So, no fixed garrison, and we’ll have to be constantly on the move?" Gu Zheng pressed.

"Correct."

Xie Bisheng nodded. "Besides you, Li Shangjia and Xing Zhilong are also part of this plan. They’ve both already agreed."

"One word." Xie Bisheng’s eyes were calm as he watched Gu Zheng. "Are you willing?"

"If you’re not..."

"I’m willing to go!"

Gu Zheng grinned. "Guerrilla warfare and all that... it’s my favorite."

"???"

Xie Bisheng didn’t understand why, but he couldn’t be bothered to ask.

"Since you’re willing, come here tomorrow to collect your Guerrilla General Token. Through the Guerrilla General Order, you’ll be able to communicate with each other. Requests for aid from other passageways will also be visible on the Guerrilla General Token."

"Yes, sir!" Gu Zheng saluted, then took his leave.

’A token for communicating with each other and receiving messages?’

’Is this the fantasy version of a group chat?’

Gu Zheng felt a flicker of anticipation.

He really did like the idea of guerrilla warfare.

After all, it would allow him to kill far more Demon Fiends than simply being stationed in one place.

And killing Demon Fiends was the only way to get Demon Points!

...

Since he wasn’t leaving until tomorrow, Gu Zheng went to the Weapon Foundry that evening to find Ke Juzhen and talk about high-grade Spiritual Soldiers.

"A high-grade Spiritual Soldier?"

Ke Juzhen shook his head and sighed. "Ah, Ping’an, you think too highly of me. Forget the fact that I don’t have the skill—even if I did, you can’t forge a high-grade weapon without Golden Essence Strange Iron."

Golden Essence Strange Iron refers to metallic ores that possess their own Divine Wondrous properties.

This special type of ore couldn’t even exist before the Celestial Change.

The Thousand-Year Cold Iron that Gu Zheng had used to forge the Celestial Frost Blade, despite having "cold" in its name, was actually just normal iron that had been placed in a place of frigid yin, or even within ice, for a thousand years, undergoing a slight mutation over time.

True Thousand-Year Cold Iron possesses a thousand years’ worth of Ice Cold Power from the moment it is formed.

An ordinary person couldn’t even get near such Cold Iron, let alone forge it into a weapon.

"For a high-grade Spiritual Soldier, you need Magic Gold, Essence Blood, a Divine Wondrous property, and Golden Essence Strange Iron. Not one can be missing."

Ke Juzhen continued, "On top of that, you need to use an Anomalous Fire to smelt it and an Anomalous Water to set its form. You also need immense Spiritual Power to control the distribution of every single material throughout the process. Swinging the great hammer is the least important part."

"...I believe that you, Master Ke, will definitely become a Forging Master capable of creating high-grade Spiritual Soldiers one day," Gu Zheng said with a smile.

"Hah. I’m already this old. What’s the point of thinking about it? I’ve given up."

Ke Juzhen raised a hand and sighed, his gaze growing distant. "It’s not happening~"

Seeing this, Gu Zheng didn’t say anything more.

The Fengzhou Demon Slayer Bureau didn’t have any high-grade Spiritual Soldiers. To exchange merit for one, he would have to go to the Capital City.

And having one forged here by Ke Juzhen was also out of the question.

’Looks like upgrading the Celestial Frost Blade to a high-grade weapon is off the table for now.’

"Huh? Old Tao, what’s with this little cat?"

A cry of surprise suddenly came from outside. "Is it inhaling the smoke you’re puffing out? Pigs are flying! A cat actually likes smoke?"

’A little cat?’

The moment Gu Zheng heard this, he quickly stood up and went outside the break room.

He saw several Forging Masters and their apprentices gathered around an old man who was as short and stout as Ke Juzhen. They were all staring at a small blue cat squatting by the old man’s feet, shaking its head as it eagerly inhaled his pipe smoke, clicking their tongues in amazement.

The old man was also quite surprised. Holding his long-stemmed pipe, he took a deep drag and blew the smoke toward the little blue cat.

"Meeeoow~~!"

The little blue cat let out a cry of comfort, its small, round face filled with an expression of pure bliss.

"This..."

Ke Juzhen, who had followed Gu Zheng out, stared at the scene with his mouth agape. He said in astonishment, "Isn’t that your Spirit Beast, Ping’an?"

’A Spirit Beast that likes pipe smoke? Secondhand smoke, at that?’

"Ahem~"

Gu Zheng gave a light cough. "It’s probably just curious and inhaling it for fun."

As he spoke, he made a gesture, using Absorption to pull Pang Hu through the air and into his arms.

"Mrow!"

Pang Hu struggled, its small, round face filled with annoyance. It batted its fleshy paws against the back of Gu Zheng’s hand. "Mrow~ Mrow~!"

SMACK!

Gu Zheng gave its bottom a light, but firm, swat.

"Inhaling secondhand pipe smoke, have you no shame?"

"..." Pang Hu’s struggles paused. Its azure eyes gradually regained their clarity. The next moment, with a solemn "Wraow!", its figure vanished.

"Haha, that little thing is quite interesting."

Ke Juzhen, who had watched the whole thing, couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

"He’s alright."

Gu Zheng was also a bit speechless.

The more time he spent with this Little Fatty Cat, the more eccentric it seemed to become.

Of course, it was also growing more and more fond of the mortal world.

In the Demon Realm, where would it find acrobatic performances? Where would it find pipe smoke?

...

「The next day.」

First thing in the morning, Gu Zheng went to find Xie Bisheng to receive his Guerrilla General Token.

"Drip a drop of your Essence Blood on it, then activate it with your Divine Wondrous power. You’ll then be able to use the Guerrilla General Order."

Xie Bisheng said calmly, "It’s the same when sending and receiving messages. You must infuse it with your Divine Wondrous power for others to see them."

"Oh, right."

As he spoke, he flicked his hand, and a Jade Talisman appeared, which he tossed through the air to Gu Zheng.

TAP.