In truth, Meng Zhao had begun to suspect that Beitang Gong might have some connection to that man who Calculates All Beings. Otherwise, how could the two possibly possess such similar ideals, even such similar methods?
One had severed Martial Dao Fortune; the other had restricted the height future martial artists could attain. This was fundamentally not something that could be explained away by merely having formidable martial arts. It was not a matter of martial arts at all, but some crucial secret technique or essential formula.
Could such secret techniques and essential formulas truly have been created out of thin air?
Thus, Meng Zhao's suspicion that the two were connected was not groundless speculation. On the contrary, it was an exceedingly reliable conjecture.
Of course, setting aside Beitang Gong's arrangements, the present era truly was an Age of Great Strife. Martial Dao Fortune was surging, a golden age was about to arrive, and rebellion had erupted throughout the Divine Continent, with armies at the height of their strength. One could foresee that this would be another era in which heroes emerged in endless succession.
As for those old monsters hidden away in the shadows, it was difficult to predict how many had reached a realm equal to Hui Kong's.
It was not as though anyone who cultivated to Great Grandmaster status would necessarily forge a Primordial Spirit and entrust it to the Heavenly Dao. People like Meng Zhao were merely exceptions.
And Meng Zhao's earlier question—why the Nine Surnames and Thirteen Families had been able to stand unshaken—had now become quite clear as well.
First, until just a few years ago, the martial path of the Divine Continent had indeed been suppressed to an especially miserable state. Those able to become Grandmasters were few among the few. With their