After hesitating for two seconds, Guo Weicheng said, "Zhang Tao, since you've already obtained the Heart Core and Brain Core of a Rank 7 monster beast, and you've gotten quite a few Energy Fruits too, let's call it a day!"
There was no other choice. Humanity was too weak right now and couldn't withstand a major war, so Guo Weicheng didn't dare take any risks or send people to seize the vein. If anything went wrong and sparked a war between the Catacombs and humanity, he would bear a grave responsibility.
After hearing this, Zhang Tao sighed too. He understood Guo Weicheng's predicament, but he also knew this was an opportunity. Still, each person had to do the job that came with his position. Guo Weicheng clearly had a lot to consider. At a time like this, humanity barely had any Rank 9s. How could they fight the Catacombs?
If not for the Heaven Suppressing King holding the line and the schemes of many hidden old monsters, humanity would have been wiped out long ago. Zhang Tao picked up his Snake-skin Pouch and carried it out of the Catacombs.
He still had to distribute some of the Energy Stones inside to the families of Wang Feng and the others.
Brother Li, who was standing at the entrance, stared at Zhang Tao with wide eyes. He knew Zhang Tao was a prodigy, but was going down to the Catacombs and bringing back resources really this easy for him?
How long had it even been, and he was already carrying out a whole sack?
Plenty of people coming and going stared at Zhang Tao too, their eyes full of envy. Just look at him, then look at themselves. They'd lived all those years for nothing.
"You shameless bastard..." someone called from a distance.
Zhang Tao looked over and saw Li Zhen flying toward him at a brisk pace. Li Zhen stared at him, his face full of disbelief.
"What happened to you? A moment ago, you looked like you were about to die. How come you're—wait, are you Rank 6 now? And what's all this..." Li Zhen pointed at the sack on Zhang Tao's back and was at a loss for words.
Seeing that everyone nearby was watching him, Zhang Tao had a thought and opened the Snake-skin Pouch. A wave of spiritual energy surged out. Inside were high-grade Energy Stones, Energy Fruits, and even the Heart Core and Brain Core of a Rank 7 monster beast. Everyone around him was stunned; quite a few even had bloodshot eyes.
Even Li Zhen sucked in a sharp breath when he saw it. What the hell, had this guy gotten lucky again? It wouldn't have been the first time.
Zhang Tao had done this because he'd thought of the Fang Ping of the future. That kid had taken the Human Emperor Path step by step, only to refuse the title in the end and pass the Dao to Zhang Tao. Clearly, Fang Ping's method had been the right one. Zhang Tao had walked his path for so long, only to end up on a fake Human Emperor Path. The difference was obvious.
Now Zhang Tao wanted to imitate him. Maybe then he'd be able to get onto the right Human Emperor Path himself.
"You..." Once Li Zhen came to his senses, he immediately sealed Zhang Tao's Snake-skin Pouch and dragged him away. They couldn't stay here.
Zhang Tao rolled his eyes. He'd been hoping to show off a little.
"Explain yourself. What's with you, and what's all this stuff?" Li Zhen demanded, grabbing Zhang Tao by the neck. He'd only turned away for a moment, and Zhang Tao had already recovered—and become Rank 6 too. Not only that, he'd gone around the Catacombs and brought back all this stuff. Was any of this normal?
Zhang Tao didn't hide anything and told him what had happened. After all, some of the things in the pouch belonged to Wang Feng and the others.
After hearing Zhang Tao out, Li Zhen sighed. Thinking of that Small Mineral Vein, he realized that if Great Grandmaster Guo Weicheng didn't dare go, they could go instead. The only question was whether there were any high-ranked fighters there. If there were, things would get difficult.
"Li Zhen, how about we pull a job?" Zhang Tao said at once. Li Zhen was from Zhenxing City, and that fifty-fifty Heaven Suppressing King had surely made arrangements for him. Otherwise, so many people who followed Zhang Tao on his crazy adventures had died, yet Li Zhen had always survived. Who would believe there was no protection in place?
Li Zhen's eyebrows shot up. A job, huh? He really was broke lately. If he could, he'd definitely be up for it. But he also knew Zhang Tao was too reckless. Wang Feng and the others were a cautionary tale. Besides, the people from the Catacombs had already discovered what was going on over there. Going back now would be like delivering themselves on a platter.
What's more, they didn't have any storage equipment. The two of them couldn't carry everything back by themselves!
"What, are you scared?" Zhang Tao teased.
Li Zhen curled his lip. "You can forget about provoking me, you shameless bastard. It's just that there are only two of us. You said there were a bunch of people over there, and there might even be high-ranked fighters. The two of us won't be enough."
Zhang Tao chuckled. "You've got plenty of experts in Zhenxing City. Just bring along one of the experts from your Li Family, and we'll be set."
Li Zhen snorted, but he was tempted.
"Move it, or the people from the Catacombs will have carried off the whole vein!" Zhang Tao said, rolling his eyes. The round trip had already taken him three hours.
"Let's go!" Li Zhen said at once. There were experts from the Li Family in the Forbidden City.
"Wait. Do you have one of those... Old Ancestor's Avatars?" Zhang Tao stopped Li Zhen and asked. That thing was a real treasure, so naturally he had to make sure.
"What do you want it for?" Li Zhen asked warily.
Zhang Tao smiled and slung an arm around Li Zhen's shoulder. "Nothing. Let's go!"
From Li Zhen's reaction, Zhang Tao could tell the guy was carrying one. From now on, he'd have to bring Li Zhen along whenever he went out to do anything. At the very least, the Heaven Suppressing King could protect them in the early stages.
And just like that, the two hurried back to the Forbidden City. Guo Weicheng frowned as he watched Zhang Tao return yet again. Not only that, he'd brought Li Zhen from the Li Family with him. What the hell were they planning?
Sure enough, Zhang Tao didn't waste a word. He dumped the contents of the Snake-skin Pouch in front of Guo Weicheng and said, "Old Guo, sorry for the trouble. Could you keep an eye on this for me?"
Guo Weicheng's beard twitched. This guy really didn't treat him like an outsider. Li Zhen could now see what was inside too, and he couldn't help swallowing. He'd seen sights like this before—in Zhenxing City, he'd seen even bigger hauls. But now he was serving in the Military Department and rarely asked his family for anything. His subordinates and fellow soldiers in the Military Department were all still hungry for resources.
"You... Forget it. Be careful!" Guo Weicheng sighed. He knew he couldn't talk them out of it. And with the eldest son of Zhenxing City going along, they had at least some measure of safety. As a Rank 9 Great Grandmaster, Guo Weicheng knew a few things.
Zhang Tao stuffed the Snake-skin Pouch into his clothes, then said to Li Zhen, "Meet me at the Forbidden City gates in ten minutes!"
He also had to find some people willing to go. Naturally, he would explain the dangers to them.
Soon, five people had gathered on Li Zhen's side at the Forbidden City gates. Zhang Tao recognized one of them as a Rank 7 Grandmaster from the city. He didn't know the other four.
There were ten people on Zhang Tao's side. When they heard he was going to look for a mineral vein, they'd followed him on their own.
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