Chapter 1517 — Origins
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Not only could he not take his revenge, he had even been wounded by Wei Zhao! Zhang Naipao was choking on his own bile! Why? Why! Why was it that he had cultivated the Chrysanthemum Manual, a supreme heart technique from the ancient era, and eaten bitterness no ordinary man could eat and suffered pain no ordinary man could suffer, and yet in the end he had still been defeated?
He was not resigned. He was utterly, utterly unreconciled! The Chrysanthemum Manual was, after all, one of the two supreme heart techniques of legend in the martial world. The Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art within it had vanished long ago; it was said that the man who had once cultivated that art had died by accident, leaving no heir to carry on his mantle, and so the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art had been borne down into the earth forever.
And so the Chrysanthemum Manual had become the loftiest existence in the martial world. Yet the loftiest existence could not even beat Wei Zhao? What kind of level was that?
"Is Naipao back?" A voice rose from the Sect Leader's courtyard, and at once a black-robed figure drifted out and came to a halt before Zhang Naipao.
"Master, it is I! Naipao has failed you!" The instant Zhang Naipao saw his master, the tears he had been holding back gave way at last. All the bitterness and hardship of his cultivation since the day he began surged up in his heart, vivid before his eyes: from the high spirits of his first trial to this present crushing grief. It was as though Zhang Naipao had lived through a whole century, like a single dream.
"You have been crippled?" The Sect Leader, his master, glanced at Zhang Naipao and saw at once where the trouble lay. "Someone actually shattered your Bee-Absorbing Divine Art?"
"Master, I am finished. Every meridian in me is ruined... I have become a cripple!" Zhang Naipao said, somewhat dejectedly. "I ran into Wei Zhao. My enemy. The very man who crippled Uncle-Master Black Panther..."
"Oh? Him? He actually shattered your Bee-Absorbing Divine Art?" The Sect Leader was startled.
"It was him! I wish I could hack him into ten thousand pieces... but... now that has become impossible..." Zhang Naipao said in utter agony.
"Hahahaha!" The Sect Leader suddenly burst into loud laughter, and he seemed, in fact, to be delighted.
"Master, you... what are you laughing at?" Zhang Naipao was stunned, and stared at his master in bewilderment.
"Naipao, you truly are the lucky star of my Tomorrow After Tomorrow Sect!" the Sect Leader said with a laugh. "It seems that junior brother of mine, Black Panther, did recommend me a talent after all!"
"What do you mean?" Zhang Naipao was stunned.
"Come inside, Naipao. Today let us, master and disciple, have a proper talk, and let your master clear away some of your doubts and speak to you of the Chrysanthemum Manual!" The Sect Leader helped Zhang Naipao to his feet and spoke to him earnestly, weighing every word.
"Yes, Master!" Zhang Naipao's heart surged with excitement. It seemed his master had not given up on him after all; there was something important he wished to tell him! Zhang Naipao rose hurriedly and walked into the courtyard with his master.
"Sit, Naipao!" The Sect Leader extended a hand and pointed to a chair beside a stone table in the courtyard.
"Yes!" Zhang Naipao sat down respectfully, while the Sect Leader seated himself opposite.
"Naipao, do you know why, back then, I let an outsider like you cultivate the Chrysanthemum Manual, that ancient heart technique?" the Sect Leader asked.
"This disciple does not know..." Zhang Naipao shook his head. He truly did not quite understand why his master had let him cultivate so formidable a heart technique and made him a Xuan-level expert in only a few short months.