Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

"This imperial edict, is it for me?"

Gu Chen's expression was taken aback. At that moment, he suddenly remembered the mysterious and inscrutable smile on Chen Yu's face earlier at the Jing Tian Department.

"Aren't you going to accept the edict quickly!" Gu Chengfeng, his second uncle, pushed Gu Chen forward.

Gu Chen suddenly realized. To be honest, this was his first time dealing with such a matter, so the entire family hurriedly came forward, standing by to listen to the decree.

The chief eunuch nodded slightly, holding the imperial edict, and began to read out its content slowly. As he reached the end, the Gu family heard that Gu Chen had been conferred the title of a viscount and their eyes widened in shock.

Especially Gu Chengfeng, who had never imagined that Gu Chen could receive such a reward; his heart thumped uncontrollably.

"To bring honor to the ancestors, to bring honor to the ancestors!" Gu Chengfeng murmured to himself in a daze.

The current emperor was in seclusion, with King Huai and the Crown Prince acting as regents. Since it was a seclusion of life and death, the emperor gave the Crown Prince considerable authority, including the deployment of troops and the bestowal of noble titles.

However, these decisions couldn't be made by the Crown Prince alone; they also required the consent of King Huai. Once both agreed, their decision was no different from that of the emperor himself.

However, at the end of the imperial edict, it was noted that it was issued on the Crown Prince's behalf, and the actual implementation of the noble title would still have to wait for the emperor to come out of seclusion.

But even so, the matter was as good as settled, and from then on, Gu Chen was no longer just anybody; he was now part of the influential elite of Da Xia.

"Gu Chen accepts the edict." Finally, Gu Chen took the imperial edict from the hands of the chief eunuch.

"Since the imperial edict has been announced, our household will take our leave," said the supervisor of internal affairs, his face rosy and smiling.

Gu Chengfeng, very shrewd, stepped forward and from his chest took out several silver banknotes, handing them to the chief eunuch, saying, "Your hard work is appreciated."

Seeing this, the chief eunuch smiled even more broadly and said, "Not at all laborious, not at all, who could be more hardworking than Lord Gu, who single-handedly held back a thousand enemies and saved the entirety of Xu'an County; Lord Gu is now famous throughout Da Xia."

"A thousand enemies? Wasn't it ten thousand?" Gu Chengfeng was full of doubts but still saw the group off.

However, in the face of Gu Chen's title, those small discrepancies were quickly forgotten by Gu Chengfeng.

"A title has been conferred, the first son has been titled!" Gu Chengfeng was extremely excited, his face turning red as if it were he who had been ennobled.

Beyond the title, the court also rewarded fine silk fabrics and numerous gold pieces.

"From now on, our Gu Family is also a distinguished and reputable household!" Gu Chengfeng shouted to the heavens, overjoyed.

Aunt Xu Qinge was also in a daze, feeling like she was dreaming; she never thought that Gu Chen could one day become one of the powerful elite of Da Xia.

"Does that mean, from now on, I will be the aunt of a viscount?" Xu Qinge's eyes widened as she stared unblinkingly at Gu Chen.

"Yes, aunt," Gu Chen smiled and nodded; he didn't really care much about these things.

"Big brother, you're now Lord Viscount." Gu Qingyan looked at Gu Chen with admiration.

With this title and the protection of the Jing Tian Department, Gu Mansion will be untouchable from now on.

Becoming an elite of Da Xia, he was no longer an ordinary citizen; he could bless his descendants, which was why people like Liang Xu were so arrogant.

Gu Chen had no parents, so naturally, it was his second uncle's family that benefited. However, he didn't mind, for Gu Chengfeng and his family had indeed been very good to Gu Chen.

The numerous servants of the Gu Mansion also looked at Gu Chen with admiration, unable to imagine that the eldest son, who always wore a gloomy face and rarely spoke, could have achieved what he had today.

"Second Uncle, you don't have to keep holding the imperial edict, put it down," Gu Chen said with a laugh upon seeing Gu Chengfeng still embracing the edict.

"No, I need to have the edict framed and find a good place for it so that everyone can see it as soon as they enter," Gu Chengfeng said as he looked around, really intending to do so.

"Second Uncle, let it be," said Gu Chen.

Xu Qinge chuckled and said, "Big brother, just let your second uncle be happy."

As expected, Gu Chengfeng drank heavily yet again that evening.

Reeking of alcohol, he began rambling to Gu Chen again, saying those things he always said when drunk.

Xu Qinge and Gu Qingyan eventually grew impatient with listening and, yawning, they left.

Late into the night, Gu Chengfeng was still talking to Gu Chen, who was growing impatient, almost wanting to knock his second uncle out cold.

Helplessly, Gu Chengfeng was just too talkative.

In the end, out of necessity, Gu Chen did just that; a gentle touch to his second uncle's neck and Gu Chengfeng passed out.

"Phew..."

Gu Chen sighed in relief, now free from dealing with his second uncle's spittle.

Afterward, he carried his second uncle to a guest room, then he went back to his room to rest.

Gu Chen was truly exhausted. Returning to bed, he fell into a deep sleep, not awakening until the sun was three poles high the next day.

The people of the Gu Mansion were considerate, not disturbing him, knowing he was utterly spent.

When Gu Chen awoke the next day, his second uncle Gu Chengfeng was not at home, presumably off boasting to his colleagues.

Having slept until that time, Gu Chen felt refreshed and clear-headed. Then, at the agreed time, he went to a tavern in the inner city and met with Xu Qing, Song Yu, and Wang Yan.

They had agreed to drink there that day.

Having gone through the events in Xu'an County, though Xu Qing held the position of a first-rank Metropolitan Procurator, he had forged a profound friendship with Gu Chen and the other two, having experienced life and death together, and Xu Qing did not put on airs when dealing with them.

"Oh, isn't this Lord Gu Chen, the Viscount?" Song Yu teased with a chuckle. Their sources were very well-informed, and they had already heard about Gu Chen's ennoblement as Viscount overnight.

Xu Qing and Wang Yan also looked at Gu Chen with smiling faces and said, "Do you know that you've already become famous in Tiandu?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Chen's eyebrows twitched, thinking they were joking.

But soon after, as the three of them began to drink, the storyteller from the restaurant arrived and started telling tales.

The first story he recounted was how Gu Chen, with a single sword strike, killed tens of thousands of people in Xu'an County, causing Gu Chen to shake his head and smile wistfully, finally understanding why his uncle's family had spoken so the day before.

Xu Qing, Song Yu, and Wang Yan immediately looked at Gu Chen with faces full of glee, obviously having known about it beforehand.

After drinking with Xu Qing and the others, Gu Chen went to the Jing Tian Department in the inner city. He had earned considerable merits for this mission and after exchanging these for corresponding rewards in the Jing Tian Department, Gu Chen returned to Gu Mansion by evening.

That night, his uncle had not returned home, clearly having gone out to treat his colleagues to a drink. Xu Qinge and her daughter Gu Qingyan did not mind, knowing Gu Chengfeng was happy and let him be.

Moreover, the Gu Family's wealth was actually quite substantial now, so they did not concern themselves with Gu Chengfeng's expenditures.

At this stage, a hundred and eighty taels of silver were no longer a significant amount in the Gu Mansion.

After having dinner with his aunt Xu Qinge and his sister Gu Qingyan, Gu Chen returned to his room and, with a thought, summoned his status panel.

Name: Gu Chen

Martial Arts: Golden Bell Shield (Glanced), Burning Vein Finger (Complete), Phantom Traceless Step (Complete), Astonishing Swan Swordsmanship Skills (Complete), Great Vajra Fist (Elementary), Condensing Pulse Sword Wave (Elementary), Four Extremes Propping Heaven Fist

Inner Strength: Pure Yang Wuji Gong

Cultivation: 414 years

Realm: Late-stage External Qi Stage

Merit Points: 202

For the first time, the merit points on Gu Chen's panel had broken through the two-hundred mark.

That was mainly because Gu Chen had visited the Jing Tian Department during the day and exchanged most of his merits for soul crystals, in addition to the kills of the three martial practitioners fused with demonic spirits in Xu'an County, allowing him to reach such a high number of merit points.

This time, Gu Chen planned to first advance his cultivation to the Vajra Stage, for he had already remained in the External Qi Stage long enough.

Along with a thought from Gu Chen, fifty merit points vanished from the panel, and immediately turned into fifty years of cultivation, flowing into his body.

Now that Gu Chen's physical body had reached the first level of the Vajra Stage, impervious to fire and water, he could absorb even more inner breath.

Whoosh!

The majestic inner breath circulated within Gu Chen's body. At this moment, his hundred meridians were all connected, and every acupoint throughout his body was opened up, allowing his inner breath to pass unimpeded, instantly moving from one side of his body to the other.

At the same time, Gu Chen's body, clear and lustrous like polished glaze, was faintly shimmering with a pale golden glow.

Vajra Stage!

Without a doubt, even without looking at the panel, Gu Chen knew he had reached the Vajra Stage.

Because, in addition to his body which had already reached the stage of being impervious to fire and water, another sign of reaching the Vajra Stage was having one's hundred meridians fully connected with unhindered circulation of inner breath.

"Hundred meridians" is a figurative expression; only by opening up all the meridians in one's body can one fulfill one of the requirements to enter the Vajra Stage.

The other requirement is achieving a body impervious to fire and water.

At this stage, Gu Chen had met both criteria, hence he naturally reached the Vajra Stage as a matter of course.

And his cultivation also reached an astonishing 464 years.

Looking at the remaining 152 merit points on the panel, Gu Chen chose not to further increase his cultivation this time; instead, with a thought, twenty-four merit points disappeared, and the Superior Martial Skill, Golden Bell Shield, advanced from Glanced to Entry-level.

The reason for choosing to enhance martial skills rather than cultivation was mainly that the cultivation at the Vajra Stage places more emphasis on the physical body, while cultivation level is secondary.

Moreover, Gu Chen's current cultivation was already sufficient, and even warriors at the Vajra Stage Full Mastery could not surpass him. Combining the two, Gu Chen chose to first upgrade his martial skills, especially the Superior Martial Skills.

Hum!

An ancient bell of protection materialized on its own, enveloping Gu Chen, radiating golden light within and making him appear like a living Buddha.

At the same time, the strength of Gu Chen's physical body soared once again. However, it did not meet his expectations to reach the second level of the Vajra Stage, Cast Iron and Poured Bronze.

"It seems that because my body's foundation is stronger than others, it's also more difficult to achieve Cast Iron and Poured Bronze," Gu Chen thought silently to himself.

This was something he had anticipated, for each individual's bodily condition varies, and so do their bottlenecks.

Just like how Gu Chen's possession of the panel allows him to have such profound cultivation, which would be impossible for others.

Yet, it's also because of the panel that Gu Chen's physical body far exceeds those at the same stage by a significant margin. Therefore, to achieve a major enhancement and transformation of his physical body to reach the second level of the Vajra Stage, Cast Iron and Poured Bronze, is much more challenging for him compared to others at the same realm.

Correspondingly though, once he does break through, Gu Chen's combat prowess at the Cast Iron and Poured Bronze level will be far superior to others.

Just as Gu Chen had engaged in battle with Wulna only with a body at the stage of being impervious to fire and water, and was not outmatched merely in physical strength.

Looking at the remaining merit points on the panel, Gu Chen did not hesitate, his mind made up, and once again chose to elevate the Superior Martial Skill, Golden Bell Shield.