I Have 10 Equipment Slots

To be promoted to Commander in the Demon Suppression Guard, two conditions must be met.

First, one must accumulate ten Great Merits.

Ten Minor Merits are equal to one Great Merit.

A Riding Patrol on a month-long tour would, under normal circumstances, earn five Minor Merits at most.

Therefore, merits are not that easy to obtain.

The reason Gu Zheng accumulated ten Great Merits so quickly was partly because clearing out the Demon Fiends inside and outside Qingshi County had also counted toward his merits.

Of course, the bulk of it came from Baishui County this time, from saving people via surgery. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

The calculation of merits is linked to the number of Demon Fiends slain, but that is not the main factor.

What’s more important is the impact.

Take the Lizard Demon Eggs in Baishui County, for example. They were implanted in human bodies. If not for Gu Zheng, once all the Demon Eggs hatched, not only would the entire county have been annihilated, but the Lizard Demon population would have grown stronger.

It would have led to endless trouble.

The second condition is to break through to the Alien Body: Shadow realm.

Only by satisfying both conditions can one be promoted to Commander.

Yan Hongxue had accumulated ten Great Merits, but her cultivation realm wasn’t high enough yet. Thus, she could only be considered a reserve; the number of stars on her Copper Star Armor did not exceed ten, and her Cloak was still pitch-black.

A true Commander’s gear—the armor, Cloak, helmet, and leather gloves—all have star engravings, and they are all in a ’sky full of stars’ state.

Gu Zheng followed someone to a courtyard behind the main hall to verify his cultivation realm.

Upon his return, the complete set of Commander’s gear was handed to him.

He changed into the new armor on the spot and returned his old set.

Besides the armor, there were also five Anomalous Pills and two hundred taels of silver. These were the basic monthly benefits.

However, what Gu Zheng wanted more was a Spiritual Soldier.

"To exchange for a Spiritual Soldier, you need fifteen Great Merits," the attendant replied.

’Fifteen Great Merits?’

Gu Zheng frowned.

"Gu." Seeing this, Zhang Ning leaned in and whispered, "Don’t exchange for a complete Spiritual Soldier. A complete one costs too many merits. Just exchange for Magic Gold. Given the size of your blade, infusing three taels of Magic Gold will be enough to reforge it into a Spiritual Soldier. Factoring in some loss, exchanging for five taels of Magic Gold will be plenty."

’So that’s how it is.’

"...Thanks."

It dawned on Gu Zheng. After thanking him, he immediately turned to the Internal Affairs staff. "In that case, I’ll exchange for five taels of Magic Gold."

"One tael of Magic Gold costs one Great Merit. A Commander can exchange for a maximum of twenty taels per year. Are you sure you want to make the exchange?" the Internal Affairs staff member asked.

Gu Zheng replied, "I’m sure!"

"Alright, please wait a moment." The Internal Affairs staff member nodded and turned to retrieve the Magic Gold.

"Can’t be helped. Magic Gold is rare, so there’s a limit on how much you can exchange," Zhang Ning said with a shrug.

"I see." Gu Zheng nodded and asked, "Once I have the Magic Gold, I’ll need to find a Weapon Master to reforge the blade. Zhang, do you know anyone?"

"I do," Zhang Ning replied. "I know Ke Juzhen, Master Ke. I just don’t know if he’s free recently or if he’s busy with other work."

"Ke Juzhen?"

Hearing this, Gu Zheng raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I know Master Ke too. I never expected him to have joined the Demon Slayer Bureau."

"Oh?" Zhang Ning was surprised. "Gu, you and Master Ke are old acquaintances?"

"That’s right. For my blade, I originally sought out Master Ke to forge it. Unfortunately, he was injured at the time and needed half a year to recover, so he recommended I go to the Famous Sword Manor."

Mentioning Ke Juzhen, Gu Zheng’s eyes flickered as he recalled, "You can’t go see Master Ke empty-handed if you want his help."

"Ha, Master Ke loves fine wine. If we bring him some, he’ll agree to help," Zhang Ning said with a laugh. "We might even be able to cut in line."

"Master Ke does love fine wine, but ordinary wine won’t get you to the front of the line," Gu Zheng chuckled.

’Hm?’

Zhang Ning was confused.

Gu Zheng didn’t explain. He waited for the Internal Affairs staff to bring over a Jade Box and confirmed the five taels of Magic Gold inside. The two then left the Internal Affairs hall and headed straight for the most high-end restaurant in the city.

"Shopkeeper, do you have any Daughter’s Red here? A thirty-year vintage."

"My apologies, sir. We don’t have a thirty-year Daughter’s Red. Would a ten-year vintage do?"

"Ten years isn’t old enough."

"..."

’Daughter’s Red?’

Zhang Ning was taken aback.

"Master Ke’s favorite wine is Daughter’s Red, specifically the thirty-year vintage," Gu Zheng explained.

"I see." Zhang Ning understood now.

It turned out Gu Zheng knew Ke Juzhen even better than he did.

...

The two of them spent the better part of the day searching, visiting seven or eight restaurants. As evening fell, they finally found a thirty-year Daughter’s Red.

Zhang Ning immediately led the way back to the Demon Slayer Bureau headquarters, finding Ke Juzhen in the Weapon Foundry on the northernmost side.

"Ha! Gu Zheng, Gu Ping’an?"

Ke Juzhen was short and stocky with a scruffy beard and messy, graying hair. His arms were corded with muscle, and his small, shrewdly bright eyes darted about, making him look like a lecherous little old man at first glance.

Upon seeing Gu Zheng, his small eyes lit up with unusual brilliance. "Gu Ping’an, you’re doing well for yourself! How long have you been in? Promoted to Commander already?"

"Master Ke, care to guess how many days Gu has been in?" Zhang Ning chimed in from the side, raising an eyebrow with a smile.

"It’s been a while."

Gu Zheng glanced at Zhang Ning, then cupped his fists toward Ke Juzhen. "Master Ke, it’s been two years since we last met. You’re as vigorous as ever, even more so than before."

"Hah, just making a living. I’m doing alright, I suppose."

Ke Juzhen stroked his beard, sizing up Gu Zheng with great interest. "Gu Zheng, you’ve come looking for this old man because you want a weapon forged?"

"Yes."

Gu Zheng brought out the broken Celestial Frost Blade and placed it on the ground. He then took out the Daughter’s Red, opened the lid, and handed it to Ke Juzhen. "Master Ke, can you reforge this blade, add Magic Gold, and turn it into a Spiritual Soldier?"

SNIFF SNIFF~

"Thirty-year Daughter’s Red?"

Ke Juzhen sniffed the air, then snatched the wine jar and poured several large gulps straight into his mouth.

"Ahh, satisfying!"

Wiping his mouth, Ke Juzhen set down the wine jar. Meeting Gu Zheng’s gaze, he said seriously, "Reforging it is no problem. This old man can start tonight. I won’t even charge you any merits, as long as you, Ping’an, promise me one thing. Don’t worry, it’s nothing difficult."

"Master Ke, you..."

"It’s fine." Gu Zheng stopped Zhang Ning from speaking, looked at Ke Juzhen, and gestured with his hand. "Master Ke, please tell me what it is first."

"I have a grandnephew who has also joined the Demon Slayer Bureau. He’s currently a Warrior, but he just broke through to the Grandmaster realm last month."

Ke Juzhen explained, "The thing I’m asking is this: the next time you go on a mission, Ping’an, if you need a Warrior, I hope you’ll take him with you."

"...That’s all?"

Before Gu Zheng could respond, Zhang Ning laughed. "Ha! I was wondering what it could be. That’s a simple matter."

With that, he looked at Gu Zheng and asked, "What do you think, Gu?"

"I can do that." Gu Zheng nodded and chuckled. "Rest assured, Master Ke. If I ever need a Warrior, your grandnephew will be my first choice."

’After all, I have to choose someone, don’t I?’

"Good!"

Ke Juzhen laughed heartily. "This old man trusts Gu Ping’an’s character. I’ll fire up the furnace tonight and reforge your broken blade. By the way, is this the Celestial Frost Blade forged at the Famous Sword Manor?"

"Yes."

Gu Zheng sighed. "On my very first mission, this blade was ruined. When facing Demon Fiends, ordinary weapons..."

"Wait!"

Ke Juzhen suddenly raised a hand to interrupt, staring at Gu Zheng in astonishment.

"What did you just say? Your first mission? You were promoted to Commander after only one mission!?"