Last time, he hadn't eaten many Heavenly Gold Lotuses before his mental power had already reached 3,000 hertz. It might have been because he'd crossed over with a powerful soul, which had caused his mental power to rise along with it.
So Zhang Tao still had quite a few Heavenly Gold Lotuses. Now was the perfect time to give them to Nan Yunyue. That way, she could soon manifest her mental power. With the effects of the Heavenly Gold Lotus and a method for cultivating mental power, he was sure that someone as talented as Nan Yunyue would reach Rank 8 before long.
It would probably be difficult for her to advance any faster after reaching Rank 8, though. After all, no one would give her any Indestructible Substance.
Hearing Zhang Tao's words, Nan Yunyue was overjoyed and hurriedly got to her feet. It was a fact that the others had reached Rank 8. Since she couldn't change that, all she could do was work hard to catch up.
With a treasure like the Heavenly Gold Lotus, she was sure she'd reach Rank 8 soon, too. When that happened, she'd still have a chance of keeping up with those two.
After all, those two had stopped bringing her along when they went down to the Catacombs.
Zhang Tao took out a Heavenly Gold Lotus and handed it to Nan Yunyue. Without even saying goodbye, she left. She simply had no interest in fighting anymore. She'd originally wanted to show off that she would soon catch up to those two, but it turned out they had already reached Rank 8 and left her in the dust.
Of course Nan Yunyue wasn't going to waste any more time here.
"Heh, that woman..." Li Zhen rolled his eyes. Zhang Tao just shrugged without saying anything.
After all, there weren't many people who dared to try to keep up with them now.
"Then I'll head back and cultivate, too. I was going to share some resources with you, but it looks like there's no need!" Li Zhen waved and prepared to return to his cultivation. Everything else was empty talk. Only strength was real.
"Sure. I won't see you off, then!" Zhang Tao waved as well.
Just as Li Zhen went downstairs, Nan Yunyue came running back and shouted, "Zhang Tao, hurry! The Academy Head wants you. There's a riot in the Catacombs!"
Zhang Tao froze, then hurriedly flew downstairs. Li Zhen quickly caught up with him and asked, "A Catacombs riot? Could it be...?"
Li Zhen thought of what they had done in the Land of King Battles. Could this be the Catacombs' retaliation?
Zhang Tao shook his head. He wasn't sure either, though it was certainly possible.
When Nan Yunyue saw Zhang Tao and Li Zhen fly off without even saying goodbye, she cursed under her breath. But this clearly wasn't the time to complain, so she hurried toward the Culture Academy as well.
Once he arrived, Zhang Tao went straight to Li Xianling and asked, "Academy Head, what happened? Where's the turmoil?"
Li Xianling was on the phone, clearly mobilizing people. "The Catacombs are in turmoil everywhere, but the situation is worst in the Forbidden City Catacombs. Zhang Tao, you two go reinforce them first. If you can't hold out, I authorize you to retreat!"
"Understood!" Zhang Tao answered at once.
Without another word, he headed to the Forbidden City Catacombs with the God-Slaying Blade in hand. Li Zhen followed behind him. When Nan Yunyue saw the two of them come out, she hurriedly left the Heavenly Gold Lotus at the Culture Academy and chased after them.
The Forbidden City Catacombs had already been placed under martial law. The Rank 9 Great Grandmaster Guo Weicheng stood atop the city wall with a grave expression, radiating a powerful aura.
Zhang Tao and Li Zhen went to find the Rank 8 squad. Sure enough, quite a few Rank 8 experts had already gathered together.
When Nan Yunyue saw Li Zhen and Zhang Tao heading toward the Rank 8 group, she didn't hesitate. She went to find the Rank 6 squad instead. Once war began, that was how things worked: everyone had to quickly find their place so that the forces could be deployed more effectively.
"Holy crap, Zhang, you've reached Rank 8?" Wang Zanghai stared at him with his dead-fish eyes and exclaimed in disbelief.
"Tao, have you really reached Rank 8?" Xie Zhaoyang asked, equally astonished.
He'd been stuck at Rank 7 for over a decade. Only recently had Li Xianling found him and taught him a mental cultivation method, allowing him to break through to Rank 8. And now his little brother had reached Rank 8, too—catching up to him so quickly that it left Xie Zhaoyang feeling rather stifled.
It was too fast. It had only been a few days!
Zhang Tao smiled, showing off a row of pearly white teeth. Surprised? That was just how fast he was!
Li Zhen followed behind Zhang Tao, looking displeased. I've reached Rank 8, too. Why hasn't anyone asked me?
There was no helping it. That was the power of charisma. Zhang Tao simply outshone Li Zhen.
"Zhang, lend me that blade. Your big brother will carry you to victory today!" Wang Zanghai hurried over and whispered to Zhang Tao.
He'd gotten a taste for using the God-Slaying Blade in the Kyoto Catacombs last time, so naturally he wanted to borrow it. Zhang Tao curled his lip. Keep dreaming! What am I supposed to use if I give it to you?
Now that Zhang Tao had reached Rank 8, his divine weapon was only Rank 7 and no longer suited him very well. The God-Slaying Blade had no such drawback. He could use it all the way to Apex—and if he found someone to repair it, he might even be able to use it until he became an Emperor.
The God-Slaying Blade had originally belonged to the Western Emperor.
Thinking about getting the God-Slaying Blade repaired, Zhang Tao's eyes lit up. The God Forger was still being held in Zhenxing City. Once Zhang Tao reached Apex, there was nothing stopping him from paying a visit.
Of course, if he went, he would bring the Cat along. After all, he didn't know the God Forger well. The Cat's Divine Artifacts had all been made by the God Forger, which showed they must have been on very close terms.
"Tao, lend me that blade!" Xu Yingcang spoke up as well. He thought he could kill more enemies with it in hand. He still remembered using it in Kyoto last time, though after his opponent self-destructed, he'd lost the ability to fight.
"Get lost!" Wang Zanghai kicked Xu Yingcang and sent him flying. "I haven't even gotten my hands on it yet, and you're already asking for it? Keep dreaming!"
Xu Yingcang glared resentfully at Wang Zanghai. You old geezer, so much for playing fair!
"Senior Wang, I need to use it this time, too," Zhang Tao said with a helpless smile.
Wang Zanghai sighed. Wasn't that the truth? Zhang Tao had reached Rank 8 as well. At the rate he was advancing, he might become a Rank 9 Great Grandmaster any day now.
"By the way, Senior Wang, what's going on this time?" Zhang Tao quickly changed the subject.
Wang Zanghai shook his head. "I don't know. All I know is that the Catacombs are serious this time. They're in turmoil everywhere, and our Forbidden City Catacombs are the worst off. It seems all the cities have joined forces. I have no idea what they're planning!"
Zhang Tao froze. All the cities in the Forbidden City Catacombs had joined forces? This was bad.
As far as he knew, there were only two Rank 9 Great Grandmasters in the Forbidden City Catacombs. Zhang Tao knew one of them: Great Grandmaster Guo Weicheng. He had never met the other.
Clearly, no one had introduced Zhang Tao to the other Rank 9 yet!
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