Zhang Tao made a few preparations, then said to Grey Cat, who was watching TV, "Brother Cat, I'm heading to the Kyoto Catacombs. I might be gone for a while. Will you be all right on your own?"
Grey Cat impatiently waved a paw, as if to say, Who did he think he was? Hadn't Cat been looking after himself these past few days? Had Zhang Tao ever called to order takeout?
Once they were outside, Li Zhen asked, "Will the cat be all right? Shouldn't we bring him along?"
Zhang Tao shook his head. "You said you wanted to challenge yourself. How are you supposed to do that with the cat along?"
Li Zhen let out a dry laugh, still a little annoyed. Last time, the cat had pinned him underground.
This time, the two of them came to the Kyoto Catacombs. After registering, Li Zhen asked, "So, what's the plan?"
Zhang Tao grabbed Li Zhen and headed out of the city. "We're both Rank 7 now, so naturally, we should focus on increasing our mental power. Let's check out the coast first!"
Li Zhen froze, then hurriedly said, "Are you crazy? You want to go into the sea? There are tons of Rank 9s in there. The Mental Power Avatar inside me might not be able to protect us!"
On land, they might have been fine, but once they went into the sea, things would get dicey.
Then Li Zhen sent him a mental transmission. "Besides, mental power cultivation..."
Before he could finish, Zhang Tao cut him off. "Don't say that out loud!"
There were far too many experts in the Catacombs. A Rank 7's mental transmission couldn't keep them from hearing, and saying the wrong thing could get them into trouble.
Li Zhen was taken aback. He'd been transmitting mentally, but he didn't press the point. The meaning was clear: Zhang Tao must know what he was doing. After all, he was the one who'd come up with the method for cultivating mental power. There was no need to take a huge risk just to speed up their cultivation.
"I've thought it through." Zhang Tao said no more and continued on his way, ignoring Li Zhen. Li Zhen was helpless. What else could he say? Zhang Tao had made up his mind, so he could only choose to trust him.
At that moment, back on Water Blue Star, Nan Yunyue finally located the Three Burner Gates and successfully stepped into Rank 6. Just as she was celebrating, her sister told her that Li Zhen had also broken through to Rank 7. Nan Yunyue was stunned. Zhang Tao was one thing, but how had Li Zhen advanced so quickly too?
That made no sense. Li Zhen had said ages ago that he wouldn't keep using Zhenxing City's resources.
"Damn it, something's definitely up! That Li Hanhan must've gone back to sponge off his family." Nan Yunyue grumbled. There was nothing she could do about it. All her friends were Grandmasters now, while she'd only just reached Rank 6. She was falling behind badly. To be honest, she was mostly envious. She wanted to sponge off her family too, but then she thought of her sister. Never mind—her sister was only Rank 5.
In truth, reaching Rank 6 at Nan Yunyue's age already made her a prodigy. Unfortunately, with Zhang Tao and Li Zhen setting the bar so high, she didn't seem nearly as impressive.
"Yunyue, don't put so much pressure on yourself." Nan Yunping sighed. She could tell her younger sister was pushing herself too hard. Zhang Tao and Li Zhen weren't ordinary people: one had somehow managed to pick up a Rank 9, and the other was a second-generation martial artist. There was no way to compete with them.
"Hmph! I'm going to catch up with them!" Nan Yunyue clenched her fist and dashed off. She was going to find Zhang Tao. He'd promised to help her once she reached Rank 6.
Nan Yunping watched her younger sister rush out and shook her head. Some people were simply impossible to catch up with. Nan Yunping had long since made peace with that.
When Nan Yunyue got to Zhang Tao's house, only Grey Cat was there. Zhang Tao and Li Zhen had already gone to the Catacombs together. Nan Yunyue was speechless. They were going to the Catacombs without even asking her now? So those two jerks really did think she was dead weight and didn't belong with them.
Grey Cat stared at Nan Yunyue in bewilderment. What was this woman doing, standing there grinding her teeth?
In the end, Nan Yunyue headed to the Kyoto Catacombs too. She was Rank 6 now and needed to get used to her new strength as soon as possible. Going to the Catacombs was undoubtedly the best choice.
At the edge of the Forbidden Sea, Zhang Tao and Li Zhen looked at each other. Honestly, neither of them felt confident.
Zhang Tao had been confident at first. He'd even asked the cat for a Mental Power Avatar, only for the Kongtong Seal to suppress it. Who could he complain to about that?
He didn't know whether the cat had been right. As for Li Zhen, he felt even less certain. The Old Ancestor's avatar was sealed inside him, and he had no idea what it could do.
Testing things out along the shore might have been all right, but Zhang Tao wanted to go into the Forbidden Sea. That was where Li Zhen wasn't so sure.
"Li Laoer, go in and test it out!" Zhang Tao said, blinking at him.
Li Zhen's nose practically twisted with anger. Why didn't Zhang Tao go test it himself? He wanted Li Zhen to try? That was how you tried something and died trying.
"You go!" Li Zhen snorted.
Zhang Tao rolled his eyes and tried to talk him into it. "I can't. The Old Ancestor's Mental Power Avatar is inside you, not me!"
"Heh." Li Zhen ignored him. He'd have to be crazy to go into the Forbidden Sea alone.
"Ahem. The cat said there are plenty of Heavenly Gold Lotuses in the Forbidden Sea. If we want to reach Rank 8 quickly, eating Heavenly Treasures is undoubtedly the fastest way." Zhang Tao tried to reason with him.
Li Zhen wouldn't even look at Zhang Tao. If they were going, they'd go together. There was no way he'd be Zhang Tao's guinea pig.
Zhang Tao was at a loss. Li Hanhan was getting harder to fool. But if he wanted to reach Rank 8 faster, he had to grit his teeth and say, "Let's go take a look together!"
As he spoke, Zhang Tao jumped straight onto Li Zhen's back. Li Zhen staggered and nearly fell, then roared, "Get off me! Why should I have to carry you?"
No matter how hard Li Zhen shook him, Zhang Tao wouldn't let go. He clung tightly to Li Zhen's neck, making Li Zhen curse him out. He'd never seen anyone so shameless.
In the end, Li Zhen hesitated, then concealed his aura and flew toward the sea. He might as well risk it. If he survived, he'd live forever.
Li Zhen frantically tried to reassure himself. After flying a short distance without anything happening, he was overjoyed. It really worked? "The Heaven Suppressing King is awesome!" he silently praised the Old Ancestor.
Zhang Tao raised an eyebrow. He didn't know whether the Heaven Suppressing King's Mental Power Avatar was working or whether the Kongtong Seal inside him was helping. Either way, he didn't dare test it himself. He'd brought Li Zhen along, and at least if things went wrong, the avatar inside Li Zhen could save them.
"Zhang Tao, I can't believe the Old Ancestor's avatar is this powerful. We're going to make a fortune!" Li Zhen excitedly sent him a mental transmission.
Zhang Tao gave him a perfunctory reply and kept scanning the surroundings. He hadn't come to the Forbidden Sea for a sightseeing trip. He was looking for Heavenly Gold Lotuses.
"Damn deadbeat, you..." Li Zhen cursed inwardly. Zhang Tao was being so dismissive. He shouldn't have brought that deadbeat along. He should've searched the Forbidden Sea by himself.
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