"Daoist Wang, what's going on with this kid? He broke through so fast! This is unbelievable!" A Rank 8 Golden Body expert with a face full of stubble asked the man beside him.
Beside him stood a man with an otherworldly air about him. He looked to be in his forties and wore a Daoist robe, as though he belonged to the Daoist sect. After studying the scene carefully, he shook his head, fell silent for a moment, then said, "I've heard of a kind of martial artist who can be reborn. Do you think Zhang Tao might be one?"
Another middle-aged man, holding a spear, rumbled, "It's possible!"
Li Xianling glanced at them. "What are you all guessing for? Zhang Tao isn't a Reborn Martial Artist!"
At Li Xianling's words, the others shrugged. They had only been making conversation.
Li Xianling looked at the seal in the sky and raised an eyebrow. He had never heard of a manifestation like that. People usually manifested ordinary things like knives, spears, swords, halberds, or even houses.
A manifestation was probably an obsession deep in one's heart. For example, someone who loved swordsmanship all his life would most likely manifest a long sword. But what did this seal mean?
"In ancient times, a seal like that was a symbol of royal authority. Chief Overseer Li, congratulations—you've got yourself a fine successor!" Daoist Wang stepped forward and said.
Who didn't know that Zhang Tao had Li Xianling's backing? Li Xianling also intended for Zhang Tao to take over his position. All the experts here knew it.
"Heh." Li Xianling smiled, though he wasn't convinced. Zhang Tao had no real sense of authority, after all.
"What incredible mental power! The seal is so detailed! Wait, look!" the scruffy-bearded man cried.
Everyone turned to look. Five figures wearing imperial crowns had appeared on the seal: Taihao, the Flame Emperor, Shaohao, Zhuanxu, and the Yellow Emperor, representing the east, south, west, north, and center. Nine golden dragons coiled around one another across the rest of the seal, forming a magnificent scene.
The others had no idea who the Five Emperors were, but they thought the sight was imposing.
The vivid manifestation of the Kongtong Seal appeared, but it wasn't over yet. Figures emerged around the seal, as if they were standing guard over it.
Just as everyone thought it was about to end, something glowing gold shot out of the house below. Then it and the manifestation were taken back together. Even with Li Xianling's strength as a Rank 9 Great Grandmaster, he hadn't seen what the thing was.
Zhang Tao flew out of the room and cupped his hands toward the people in the sky. Then he came to Li Xianling's side and said, "Chief Overseer, I've broken through!"
Li Xianling smiled and nodded. He glanced at the Heavenly Gold Lotus in Zhang Tao's hand and raised an eyebrow. So he hadn't used it?
Zhang Tao returned the Heavenly Gold Lotus to Li Xianling. Li Xianling considered it for a moment before saying, "Keep it for yourself. Reaching Rank 7 means increasing your mental power and tempering your skull. Either way, you need mental power. With the Heavenly Gold Lotus, you can finish tempering your skull years ahead of schedule."
Zhang Tao didn't refuse. To be honest, he felt he didn't need the thing at all. The Kongtong Seal was better than any Heavenly Treasure.
"Zhang Tao—no, Grandmaster Zhang, when are you holding your Grandmaster banquet? This old man's been waiting!" the scruffy-bearded man said with a laugh.
Zhang Tao wasn't interested in holding a Grandmaster banquet, so he said, "Senior Wang, let's skip the banquet. I'll hold one when I become a Rank 9 Great Grandmaster!"
"Tsk, tsk. I believe you can do it. It's just that these old bones of mine might not last that long!" The scruffy-bearded man shook his head. No one knew when the Catacombs would erupt. Men like them stood on the front lines, and dying in battle was all too common. He had made it this far through sheer luck.
"You'll definitely live to see it, Senior!" Zhang Tao said at once.
"Haha, all right. I'll take you at your word, then. I'll be waiting!" The bearded man laughed and said no more.
Zhang Tao swept his gaze around. Nearly all the Grandmasters from Kyoto had arrived, and plenty of Rank 7 Grandmasters were watching from outside.
When Zhang Tao spotted one man, his eyes narrowed. That was the man who had secretly waited to ambush him when he went to Magic City.
Since so many people were here, Zhang Tao wanted to find out whether, after reaching Rank 7, he could take down an old hand like that.
"Honored seniors, I've disturbed you all with my breakthrough, and I'm sorry for the trouble. Now that I've reached Rank 7, inspiration suddenly struck, and I created a divine ability. Please come with me and help me refine it!" Zhang Tao called out to the people around him.
The Grandmasters, who had been about to leave, paused in surprise. Then curiosity took hold. A divine ability? Had this Zhang kid gotten carried away? What was a divine ability? How could a Rank 7 create one?
Even Li Xianling was stunned. A divine ability? He knew the kid was unreliable, but he couldn't just make things up! Did the brat even know what a divine ability was? Even he, a Rank 9 Great Grandmaster, didn't have one.
"Zhang Tao, don't mess around!" Li Xianling sent him a voice transmission. Zhang Tao was the leading figure of the younger generation. At just twenty, he had become a Grandmaster—a feat no one had achieved before and no one would achieve again. That gave him immense prestige. He couldn't go around making a fool of himself. Leaving people with the impression that he was unreliable would be a disaster.
At Li Xianling's voice transmission, Zhang Tao merely blinked and said nothing.
Li Xianling raised an eyebrow. This kid really was planning something. He wasn't sure what it was, but he decided to trust Zhang Tao and play along. "Since Zhang Tao is willing, and everyone's free today, let's go take a look."
They couldn't test a divine ability inside the city, so Li Xianling led the way, flying toward the woods outside.
The others naturally followed. Seeing that the Rank 7 Grandmaster hadn't left, Zhang Tao let out a quiet sigh of relief and began thinking about how to deal with him.
When they reached the woods, Zhang Tao smiled. "Grandmaster Zhao, could you give me a hand?"
Zhao Changfeng paused, glanced around, then said, "Grandmaster Zhang... what is it? What do you need help with?"
Zhang Tao smiled. "Just spar with me for a bit. We'll stop before anyone gets hurt."
Zhao Changfeng hesitated. He didn't really want to draw attention to himself, and he didn't know why Zhang Tao had singled him out. Had Zhang Tao realized something was off about that incident?
But when he thought it over, nothing seemed out of place.
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