Turmoil 2

But Zhang Tao knew that if they only had two Rank 9 Great Grandmasters, the Forbidden City Catacombs probably wouldn't hold.

No matter how powerful Rank 7 or Rank 8 experts were, they were still weaklings compared to Rank 9s who had embarked on the Origin Dao. The only exception was a newly advanced, weaker Rank 9—but even one of those would take several Rank 8s to handle.

This time, the Twelve Cities of the Forbidden City Catacombs could send at least a dozen city lords if they joined forces. With only two Rank 9s on their side, the defensive line would probably collapse in an instant.

Faced with this situation, Zhang Tao's eyes flickered with uncertainty. He was only a rookie who had just entered Rank 8. Even though he knew humanity would be fine, he still had no idea how many people would die in this battle.

"Academy Head Li is here!" someone shouted. Sure enough, Zhang Tao saw Li Xianling arrive in person, with two Rank 9 Great Grandmasters following behind him.

He recognized one of them: Li Wujie of Zhenxing City, the Rank 9 who had taken him to the Land of King Battles.

But that still only made five Rank 9s altogether.

The Rank 9s discussed something among themselves. Then Li Xianling sent Zhang Tao a voice transmission. "Come here!"

Zhang Tao was taken aback. He was calling him? Still, he hurried over.

The others saw Zhang Tao joining the Rank 9s and stared at him in surprise.

"Academy Head, you wanted to see me?" Zhang Tao asked when he arrived. He also greeted Li Wujie and Guo Weicheng, though he didn't know the others.

"Yes. Zhang Tao, this battle will be perilous. If—if I die in the Catacombs, you'll take over as head of the Culture Academy. Understood?" Li Xianling spoke bluntly. It seemed he had prepared for the worst.

"Ah. Oh, I understand!" Zhang Tao was surprised, but quickly regained his composure and nodded.

Li Xianling patted Zhang Tao on the shoulder, satisfied. "I've always felt you were the only one suited for this position, and the only one who could hold up the sky for our New Martial."

He paused, then continued, "Don't let this weigh on you. I've already spoken to those old fellows. You can rest easy."

Zhang Tao could only nod. He could see how perilous this battle would be.

"Academy Head, are these the only Rank 9s we have?" Zhang Tao asked bitterly. Did humanity really have so few Rank 9s?

"The others have to guard the Catacombs. For now, we're the only ones who can be sent out." Li Xianling didn't hide the truth. Facing so many Rank 9s, even he thought they would probably lose this battle. But even if they did, they would make the Catacombs pay dearly. Only then could they stabilize the passage and minimize their losses.

Though he had already guessed as much, Zhang Tao still sighed. Then a thought struck him. Could the God-Slaying Blade in his hands turn the tide? Even an Apex could wield it, and it boosted power by twenty percent. Wouldn't a Rank 9 be able to bring out even more of its might?

With that thought, Zhang Tao immediately handed the God-Slaying Blade to Li Xianling. "Academy Head, take this. It might give us a chance."

Li Xianling frowned. Of course he knew about the Divine Artifact in Zhang Tao's hands. But if he took it, what would Zhang Tao use? And could a single blade really resolve the crisis?

"This blade boosts power by at least twenty percent, and it's exceptionally sharp. It might really work," Zhang Tao said. In the future, Fang Ping would go on a killing spree with this blade.

"In that case, take this sword," Li Xianling said, bringing out his Rank 9 Divine Weapon long sword. Zhang Tao shook his head and smiled. "Academy Head, this is a Rank 9 Divine Weapon. I'd have a hard time using it, and I'm not very good with swords anyway."

With that, Zhang Tao flew off. He still had the Rank 7 Divine Weapon long saber stored inside his Three Burner Gates.

Now that he was Rank 8, the Rank 7 Divine Weapon didn't quite suit him. Still, as long as the Rank 9s didn't fall, they had a chance in this battle.

When he returned to the Rank 8 group, Wang Zanghai noticed Zhang Tao no longer had his blade and raised an eyebrow. Then he said, "Kid, stay by my side later. Got it?"

Xie Zhaoyang opened his mouth. He had been about to say the same thing, but then he remembered that his cultivation was about on par with Zhang Tao's—and Zhang Tao might even be stronger—so he kept quiet.

Zhang Tao readily replied, "Sure!"

He didn't hesitate at all. If he got a chance to land a finishing blow, all the better.

Wang Zanghai was momentarily stunned by how quickly Zhang Tao agreed. He had expected him to put up at least a token protest. He hadn't expected such an immediate answer.

But this was for the best. Zhang Tao was their hope for the future, and Wang Zanghai certainly didn't want him to fall on the battlefield so soon.

Before long, more than a dozen powerful auras approached the Forbidden City.

Standing atop the city wall, Li Xianling immediately shouted, "Rank 9s, follow me into battle!"

Since the enemy Rank 9s had made their move, there was nothing more to discuss. They would fight. At the same time, the clash between Rank 9s was too destructive, so they needed to draw the battlefield farther away. This was also why corpses were rarely left behind once experts reached the upper ranks. When faced with certain death, most human Grandmasters chose to self-destruct and take their enemies with them.

Zhang Tao and the others were still on the city wall. Though the enemy was far away, Zhang Tao could sense that they had fifteen Rank 9s—ten more than his side!

Zhang Tao wasn't the only one who sensed it. The Grandmasters present could all feel it, since the Catacombs' Rank 9 city lords weren't hiding their auras at all.

"Fifteen..." an old Grandmaster sighed. Fifteen against five—that was three to one. Who could withstand that?

As soon as the old Grandmaster finished speaking, they sensed the Rank 8 auras as well. Wang Zanghai let out a roar. "Follow me into battle!"

The Rank 8s, including Zhang Tao and Li Zhen, followed Wang Zanghai toward the enemy.

Zhang Tao sped up and reached the spot behind Wang Zanghai. Wang Zanghai said nothing at first, then instructed him, "When you see an opening, land a finishing blow. I don't need to teach you that, do I?"

Zhang Tao immediately replied, "I know!"

Wang Zanghai paid him no more attention. Far ahead, he had already sensed how many Rank 8s the enemy had. His side had only a little over twenty, even counting everyone. But the enemy had five times as many—over a hundred. It was unbelievable. Even if all the Rank 8s from the Twelve Cities of the Forbidden City Catacombs had come out, they should have had only four or five per city at most. How could there be so many?

"The Forbidden Zones!" Wang Zanghai had clearly noticed the problem as well. His voice turned grave.