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"Sir!" The Rank 6 warriors around them immediately bowed to the man who had descended from the sky. He merely nodded casually, then looked at Li Tingxiu.

Li Tingxiu gave a bitter smile. "I didn't expect him to break through so quickly. It seems he could have done it long ago, but kept holding back. This time, we're really in trouble!"

Li Zhen spoke quietly. "Uncle Li, Zhang Tao, when the time comes, you two run. I have a Mental Power Avatar inside me. It'll be enough to kill him!"

Zhang Tao rolled his eyes. You leave, and do you think the two of us can get away? Won't the Forbidden Sea's beasts tear us apart?

"What are you panicking for? Do you think he'll dare come over?" Zhang Tao said in a low voice.

Li Zhen sighed. We're standing here and we're fine. How could the man possibly be afraid to come over? Of course, it was also possible that the beasts in the Forbidden Sea were fishing for prey. Zhang Tao didn't know that, or he would have laughed at Li Zhen. Fishing? What the hell did the beasts in the Forbidden Sea know about fishing?

"It seems the beasts of the Forbidden Sea aren't around today. Did you think that would be enough to scare me?" The man sneered. If the beasts were here, how could these people still be alive? As for a Mental Power Avatar, heh. If they had one, they would have sent it out to deal with him already. Why would they still be wandering around out here?

A Mental Power Avatar could kill a Rank 9 warrior, after all. A man who had only just entered Rank 8 was nothing by comparison.

"Kill them all!" the man ordered coldly.

The Rank 6 warriors around them exchanged glances, but no one moved forward. The Forbidden Sea's fearsome reputation had long been etched into their bones.

"Kill them and you'll be richly rewarded. If you refuse, heh..." The man left the threat unfinished, but the meaning was clear: if they didn't go, they would die right there.

He believed there were no beasts on this stretch of the Forbidden Sea, but why risk himself when he could send others to test the waters? Now that he had reached Rank 8, he was destined to be someone important. How could he risk his life so easily?

The Rank 6 Catacombs warriors had no choice but to charge. But before they could get close, Li Tingxiu swung his sword and slaughtered six of them outright. The others were blasted away by the force of the strike.

"Heh! Worthless!" The man sneered and slashed with his sword. Li Tingxiu immediately grabbed Zhang Tao and the others, rolling aside. Seeing that the man still refused to come closer, Zhang Tao could only shake his head in resignation. The Catacombs warriors weren't fools either. Look at that—he was probably trying to drive them into the sea.

"We'll run along the coast!" Zhang Tao said at once. The man still didn't dare approach and could only attack from a distance. With Zhang Tao's Golden Bone, he could withstand those attacks. As long as they kept Li Zhen between them, the man probably wouldn't have any way to deal with them.

Sure enough, with Zhang Tao in front, Li Tingxiu behind, and Li Zhen between them, the man couldn't do anything to the three of them for the moment.

"So there really is something wrong with you!" The man gave a cold snort, then flew away without another word. Before he left, however, he called out a warning.

They had run more than ten kilometers along the coast without encountering a single beast. If he still couldn't see that something was wrong, he'd have lived for nothing. He had no idea how they'd managed it, but he no longer wanted to provoke people like them. All he needed to do was report the matter to his superiors.

"Should we leave too?" Li Zhen asked at once.

Zhang Tao rolled his eyes. "What if he hasn't left and is trying to trick us?"

So the three of them ran for another ten kilometers before finally leaving the coast and plunging into the dense forest.

"Zhang Tao, do you know where we are?" Li Zhen asked.

Zhang Tao looked around. "We're not far from the Forbidden City, probably a little over three hundred li."

Zhang Tao had already familiarized himself with all the terrain here. He only had to run it through his mind, and a rough map immediately appeared. Not everyone had an ability like that.

"I wonder how Old Han and the others are doing. Let's check on them while we're on the way," Zhang Tao said with a sigh. He meant the group of middle-aged men. He didn't know whether they'd made it through safely; there were still some dangers along their route.

"We'll leave it to fate," Li Zhen replied simply. That was how things went when you entered the Catacombs.

The three of them sped through the woods. This time, even when they ran into Catacombs warriors, Zhang Tao didn't bother killing them. It would only waste time. The Catacombs warriors sized up the three of them, then silently fled.

By the time people reached Rank 5 or 6, they were generally pretty attached to their lives.

"Over there!" Li Tingxiu suddenly pointed in one direction. Zhang Tao froze, and Li Tingxiu explained, "There are qi-and-blood fluctuations over there. They're our people!"

Zhang Tao immediately changed direction and raced toward the place Li Tingxiu had indicated. Before long, they spotted Old Han and the others surrounded by enemies.

They were all covered in blood and wounds. What was more, Zhang Tao saw that several people were being carried on others' backs. They looked seriously injured.

"Senior, save them!" Zhang Tao said at once, rushing out himself. Li Zhen still hadn't recovered and could only struggle to keep up. He couldn't fight, so he stayed off to the side.

With Zhang Tao and Li Tingxiu charging in, the Catacombs warriors were horrified. They had thought they were about to score big, only for these deadly fighters to suddenly appear. And there was even a Rank 7 expert among them. The Catacombs warriors scattered like frightened birds, showing no desire to fight to the death.

"Don't chase them too far!" Zhang Tao called, then went over to Old Han. "How are you?"

Old Han looked embarrassed. "I'm all right. You..."

He didn't know what to say. Comparing them with Zhang Tao and the others was humiliating. They had not only stayed behind to let his group escape, but his group hadn't even made it back safely. Now Zhang Tao had to come rescue them. No wonder he was a genius.

"Enough. Let's get back to the Forbidden City first!" Zhang Tao cut him off. Now wasn't the time to talk. The others might go back for reinforcements, and then they'd be in trouble.

Another hour passed before they finally returned to the Forbidden City. Those who had been seriously injured were carried away for treatment, while Guo Weicheng called Zhang Tao over to ask what had happened.

After learning they had narrowly escaped with their lives, Guo Weicheng scolded him. "You brat, don't be so reckless next time, all right?"

Guo Weicheng was exhausted. It wasn't easy for humanity to produce a promising talent, and Zhang Tao couldn't just go getting himself killed through recklessness.

"Heh, could you take care of these resources for me, Old Guo? I'll take some of the others with me," Zhang Tao said with a smile. He'd still be reckless, of course. Once he figured out how to use the Kongtong Seal inside him properly, he might even become more reckless than Fang Ping.

"Just like you'd expect from one of our geniuses. Zhang Tao and the others brought back a ton of Energy Mine this time."

"Yeah, they're incredible. I heard they even faced a high-rank fighter this time!"

When Zhang Tao stepped outside, he was met by a wave of discussion. Most of it was admiration and envy. The Kongtong Seal inside him stirred just then. Zhang Tao froze, then hurried away. He needed to see what was going on.