Free Web NovelChapter 392: Chapter 226: The World is Shaken
The chaos of the Evil God’s invasion, which had thrown the various states into turmoil, had not yet subsided.
Gu Zheng remained vigilant, keeping a part of his mind focused on it just in case.
The entire plum blossom tree floated in mid-air before him. Gu Zheng sat quietly on the mountaintop, his consciousness connected to the tree, comprehending the natural laws and the great Dao of heaven and earth it embodied, experiencing their profound workings.
Elsewhere.
News that the Xie Family had invaded the Xiao Family, only to be completely slaughtered by Gu Zheng—whom the Xiao Family had called for aid—and that Gu Zheng had then turned around and annihilated the entire Xie Family, spread like wildfire. As Xiao Zhaoxue, Xiao Duming, and the others hunted down the remaining members of the Xie family, the report sent shockwaves through all the major Noble Families.
「In the Royal Palace of Yue Country.」 ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
"What? The Xie Family was wiped out?"
After hearing the report, the King of Yue and Yong Xingzhen shot to their feet. "The Xie Family had two King’s Bodies!" the king exclaimed. "Xie Hongye had even reached the second stage of the King’s Body Realm. How is this possible..."
"Xie Hongye is dead too."
The speaker was a man in a white robe. His beard reached his chest and his eyebrows were thick, but his head was completely bald.
"The Xiao Family has put the bodies of Xie Tianyin and Xie Hongye on display."
The bald old man said in a low voice, "I went to see for myself. The corpses are genuine, and they were indeed King’s Bodies!"
"But this..." Yong Xingzhen’s mouth hung open in disbelief. "This is too outrageous, isn’t it? Didn’t Gu Zheng just break through to the King’s Body Realm a short while ago? Perhaps Xie Tianyin was no match for him; if Gu Zheng launched a sneak attack, it’s possible he could have killed him. But Xie Hongye! She was an old monster who had lived for centuries and had been a King’s Body for over two hundred years. How could she have been killed by Gu Zheng too?"
"This only goes to show that Gu Zheng’s strength is growing faster than any of us could have imagined," Yong Xingzhou said calmly.
He had been to Jing Country, where he triggered the Corpse Puppet uprising in the Royal Capital, leading to the descent of the Evil God.
He had heard of Gu Zheng before; after all, he was one of the Seven Demon Slayers.
But what truly made him take notice was Gu Zheng’s recent breakthrough to the King’s Body Realm.
Once someone achieved the King’s Body Realm, they were on the same level as him.
No matter how arrogant or disdainful Yong Xingzhou was, he had to stop looking down on him.
And now, after such a short time, Gu Zheng’s power had increased again, to the point where he could even kill Xie Hongye!
Yong Xingzhou knew how formidable that woman, Xie Hongye, was. He himself could, at best, fight her to a draw.
And yet Gu Zheng had actually killed her...
"Yes, his strength increased again, but how did he do it?"
Yong Xingzhen still couldn’t accept it. "A King’s Body isn’t a Super Body, much less an Alien Body. In all these years, no one has ever improved this fast..."
"Now there is one."
The bald old man interrupted in a low voice, "There’s something unnatural about this Gu Zheng. He’s hiding significant secrets. But he’s already a force to be reckoned with, so it would be best for you not to provoke him."
"...I’m not provoking him," Yong Xingzhen protested. "Who would dare provoke him now? Not even Zhong Yi or Zhong Zhengqiong. They’re too busy trying to curry favor with him. I’m just curious, aren’t I? How did he do it? How did his strength improve so quickly?"
"Curiosity is pointless. It will only cause you grief."
"Compared to Gu Zheng’s power," Yong Xingzhou said calmly, "I’m more interested in how the Xiao Family managed to get on his side. Not long ago, Xiao Xing almost made a move to suppress Gu Zheng!"
"That is indeed strange," the bald old man mused.
"..." Yong Xingzhen opened his mouth, then sighed. "Fine. We’ll just leave the Xiao Family and Gu Zheng alone, then!"
His tone was one of resignation, but it was laced with intense unwillingness.
However, faced with the corpses of two King’s Bodies—Xie Tianyin and Xie Hongye—he had no choice but to accept it, no matter how unwilling he was.
...
「At the same time.」
「Jing Country.」
In the Royal Palace, Zhong Yi, Zhong Zhengqiong, Zhong Zhengao, and the others were also discussing Gu Zheng’s annihilation of the Xie Family.
"When did Gu Zheng get on such good terms with the Xiao Family? He personally rushed over to rescue them when the Xie Family invaded. Their relationship must be more complicated than it seems!"
Zhong Yi said gravely, his eyes glinting.
"Yes, logically, Gu Zheng and the Xiao Family should be enemies. For him to rescue them now... something is definitely wrong," Zhong Zhengao agreed. "Especially with Xiao Xing missing."
As far as outsiders were concerned, Xiao Xing had disappeared because Zhong Zhengqiong had taken care of him.
But as core members of the Zhong Family, they knew very well that Zhong Zhengqiong had never killed Xiao Xing. In fact, he had never even found him.
’So where did Xiao Xing go?’
"Xiao Xing... we can be almost certain he’s dead."
Zhong Zhengqiong said in a low voice, "And the one who killed him... was likely Gu Zheng!"
"What?"
"Impossible."
"How is that possible?"
Zhong Yi, Zhong Zhengao, and the others were stunned.
"Gu Zheng killed Xiao Xing? But Gu Zheng broke through to the King’s Body Realm in Wind Kingdom, and Xiao Xing had already been missing with no news before then," Zhong Yi said quickly. "If Gu Zheng really did kill him, wouldn’t that mean he’s been hiding his true strength all along?"
"That’s not right!"
Zhong Zhengao retorted, "If Gu Zheng killed Xiao Xing, why would he then go and rescue the Xiao Family? Since they were enemies, wouldn’t it have been better for him to sit back and watch the Xie Family destroy them?"
"The issue is that the Xiao Family has plenty of good things," Zhong Yi said with a small smile. "With such a long lineage, the Xiao Family is bound to have a sizable private collection. Gu Zheng rescued them, and now that collection is wide open for him to choose from."
"And then there’s the Xie Family!"
Zhong Yi’s thoughts grew clearer as he spoke. "Gu Zheng has now destroyed the Xie Family as well, so their private collection has also fallen into his hands. With the resources of two great families, Gu Zheng won’t be lacking Cultivation Resources for a while. Who knows, his strength might increase again in a short time!"
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Zhong Zhengao opened his mouth, but it was a long moment before he spoke, finally letting out a sigh. "That possibility... is indeed very high. If that’s true, should we still let Gu Zheng have access to the Divine Weapon?"
"I believe it won’t be long before Gu Zheng achieves True Mastery in the *Ten Thousand Blades Heaven Slaughter* True Skill. When that time comes, are we still going to let him enter the Ancestral Land, access the Divine Weapon, and awaken its Artifact Spirit?"
A tense silence fell.
It was a genuine problem.
Originally, they wouldn’t have been worried. If Gu Zheng were still just a Grand General of the Demon Slayer Bureau at the Heroic Body Realm—even at the peak of the Heroic Body Realm, a being known as a Half-King—they would have had no misgivings. They would have simply waited for him to achieve True Mastery, then let him enter the Ancestral Land to awaken the Divine Weapon Spirit.
But who could have imagined that Gu Zheng would improve so quickly?
In such a short amount of time, he had actually advanced to the King’s Body Realm!
Breaking through was one thing, but he had even gone on to kill Xie Tianyin and Xie Hongye.
Especially Xie Hongye. She was at the second stage of the King’s Body Realm. The fact that Gu Zheng could kill her was more than enough to prove his terrifying strength.
Under these circumstances, allowing Gu Zheng to enter the Zhong Family’s Ancestral Land was no small risk.
’What if...’
"Let him do it!"
Zhong Zhengqiong said in a low voice, "We’ve already made a promise. If we go back on our word now, it will only arouse Gu Zheng’s suspicion. As of now, Gu Zheng is still one of Jing Country’s own. His father is our country’s Marquis Qingshi!"
"Er, we all know the story behind that Marquis Qingshi title," Zhong Zhengao said with a shrug. "At Gu Zheng’s current realm, he probably couldn’t care less about a title like Marquis."
"No, Gu Zheng is a smart man."
Zhong Yi shook his head and said seriously, "He knows how to manage his relationship with us for the greatest mutual benefit. Not only should we let him access the Divine Weapon, but we should also select a few people and send them to Qingshi County."
"I recall that Gu Zheng has an older sister who is still unmarried. He also has a younger sister who has reached marriageable age."
"What are you planning?" Zhong Zhengao asked nervously. "Don’t you go and provoke Gu Zheng! According to our past investigations, as long as you don’t mess with the people close to him, he’s reasonable. But if you do..."
"Relax. What are you panicking for?"
Zhong Yi interrupted irritably, "Did I say I wanted to provoke Gu Zheng? Am I that foolish? It’s only natural for unmarried men to pursue unmarried women. Even if Gu Zheng finds out, he probably won’t say anything. And if they happen to fall for each other and one of our Zhong Family scions marries his sister, then he’ll be one of our own!"
As he finished speaking, a smile spread across Zhong Yi’s face.
This was his plan—an open and aboveboard scheme!
If not for the fact that Gu Zheng’s power had grown so rapidly and he was already at the King’s Body Realm, Zhong Yi would have loved nothing more than to parade out every unmarried, eligible woman of the Zhong Family for Gu Zheng to choose from.
Even if Gu Zheng wanted all of them, forcing the women of the Zhong Family to share one husband, it would still be a massive gain for the Zhong Family!
As members of a Noble Family, Zhong Yi and Zhong Zhengqiong knew better than anyone what a newly ascended master of the King’s Body Realm represented!
