Unrest 3

The martial artists of this era were nothing like those who came later. They knew much more. The decades of peace that followed had been won through their own bloodshed, one blade at a time.

Zhang Tao nodded. "The Forbidden Zone's people? I never thought they'd send someone to fight, too. Looks like I really gave the Catacombs a thorough beating that time."

That made sense. Before Fang Ping came along, who had ever killed so many True King Descendants from the Forbidden Zones in the Catacombs? Zhang Tao was the one who feared no consequences, and that was what prompted the Catacombs to launch this war.

"Gentlemen, let's tear this place apart!" Wang Zanghai roared and charged forward. Zhang Tao followed close behind. Wang Zanghai swung his blade, and a golden flash appeared in an instant, cleaving straight toward the enemy.

The Rank 8 warrior facing Wang Zanghai was clearly no pushover. Golden light shimmered across his body as he thrust his spear forward. A small, strange vortex appeared on its tip. When the golden blade light struck, it twisted in an instant, then vanished.

Wang Zanghai wasn't surprised at all. They were both Rank 8, and judging by the other man's appearance, he was at the peak of Rank 8. If Wang Zanghai could take him down with one casual strike, the Catacombs wouldn't be much of a threat.

"Slash!" Zhang Tao had already drawn his Rank 7 Divine Weapon. He had been tempering the blade inside his Three Burner Gates for a long time—over two months, by his reckoning. Two months might not sound like much, but Zhang Tao's qi and blood were nothing like Li Changsheng's.

Li Changsheng had tempered his sword for ten years and could use it to cut down a Rank 8. Zhang Tao had tempered his for only two months, but when he unleashed it, it would be no less powerful than Li Changsheng's.

After all, Zhang Tao's qi and blood surpassed Li Changsheng's in both quality and strength.

With an opponent that powerful, Zhang Tao decided to take out the leader first. Perhaps that would make what came next easier.

"Heh!" The man sneered. Some upstart who had only just reached Rank 8 thought he could kill him? What a joke. Did he think the title of Rank 8 peak was for nothing? If he hadn't been reluctant to become a weak Rank 9, he would already have reached Rank 9.

Rank 9 was a curious realm. It was divided into weak and strong Rank 9s. Strong Rank 9s had forged their own path—the Origin Dao. Weak Rank 9s had merely discovered and sensed the Origin. They stood on the Origin Floating Island, but hadn't forged a path of their own.

Without the boost of the Origin Dao, there wasn't much difference between a weak Rank 9 and someone at the peak of Rank 8.

"What?" Just as the Rank 8 peak warrior thought his casual thrust would easily dispel the attack, he realized that his opponent's blood-red blade aura hadn't weakened at all. If anything, it had grown even more concentrated.

"Impossible!" the Rank 8 peak warrior cried out. The blood-red blade aura had already struck him, and his Golden Body was crumbling.

He had a Six-Forged Golden Body, one of the strongest in the Catacombs. Most people advanced to Rank 9 after achieving Five-Forged. But he had reached Six-Forged!

His ambitions were still unfulfilled. He hadn't yet reached the Divine General realm. How could he die so carelessly in the Outer Region?

His mental power erupted as he desperately tried to keep his Golden Body intact. But Wang Zanghai wasn't about to stand by and watch. He slashed at once. Wang Zanghai was already a match for the man, and now he was striking while his opponent was down. One could only imagine how bitterly aggrieved the Rank 8 powerhouse must have felt.

Together, the two of them killed the Rank 8 peak warrior in three strikes.

It was a tremendous boost to their side's morale. The Catacombs warriors, meanwhile, faltered. Their leader had been cut down in just three strikes. Were the martial artists from the Land of Rebirth really that formidable?

"You rabble are nothing but dogs and chickens! Follow me, gentlemen—kill!" Wang Zanghai wasn't about to let the opportunity slip by. He roared, rallying their spirits.

Of course, he knew what had happened just now. Zhang Tao could only unleash an attack like that once, but even so, it was a great start—far better than he'd expected.

"Stay close to me!" Wang Zanghai said quietly, then charged into the fray. Zhang Tao followed close behind, unleashing the Blood Blade Art again and again as if it cost him nothing. For a time, no Rank 8 dared approach them.

Wang Zanghai was surprised that Zhang Tao could recover his qi and blood so quickly, but he didn't ask. That was a personal stroke of fortune. Some people simply couldn't be judged by ordinary standards—especially Zhang Tao. In all the time he'd known him, who had ever seen anyone rank up so fast?

"What do we do?" Zhang Tao asked. The Rank 8s had surrounded the two of them, but none dared attack.

Wang Zanghai sent him a mental transmission. "That's a good thing. At least we've tied down more than ten Rank 8s. We can buy some time!"

Hearing Wang Zanghai's words, Zhang Tao smiled wryly. Sure, they'd tied down more than ten Rank 8s, but the enemy had a hundred. Losing that many didn't hurt them at all. Everyone else was going to be in trouble.

As if he'd guessed what Zhang Tao was thinking, Wang Zanghai continued through a mental transmission. "Zhang Tao, remember—we're not gods. Holding off more than ten Rank 8s is already the limit of what we can do!"

Zhang Tao looked over the battlefield. They had tied down more than ten enemies, but everyone else was in a bad spot. Each of them was under attack from four or five Rank 8s working together. He could already see a Grandmaster on their side whose Golden Body had shattered.

"What do we do?" Zhang Tao pondered. The more dire the situation, the more important it was to stay calm. Then it hit him. Right—he had Life Essence! How had he forgotten?

"Senior Wang, I've got an idea! I have Life Essence. Get me through the encirclement!" Zhang Tao sent a mental transmission at once.

He erupted with a powerful aura, gathering Indestructible Substance and coating his Divine Weapon with it. Then he swung his blade. Wang Zanghai heard his message and shuddered. He actually had Life Essence? Why the hell hadn't he said so sooner?

To be fair, Zhang Tao had been blinded by the situation and hadn't thought of it. Cat had given him resources, and he'd only thought about having enough to cultivate. He hadn't given it another thought and had simply overlooked them. Besides, he had transmigrated into Zhang Tao's body; he wasn't the real Zhang Tao. Compared with Zhang Tao's monstrous ability to plan ahead, he was still a bit of a novice.

Even with the original Zhang Tao's memories, he still lacked the ability to react to changing circumstances.

Of course, this wasn't the time for Zhang Tao to reflect on his shortcomings. He was still on the battlefield.

Once Wang Zanghai learned that Zhang Tao had Life Essence, he stopped holding back. He had no choice. His mission was to protect Zhang Tao. It was cruel, but there was no other option.

Watching his old comrade-in-arms caught in mortal danger, unable to help him—daring not even to try—this was the sorrow of their generation of martial artists.

But now that they had Life Essence, everything was different.