Chapter 2830 — The Flaw of Martial Techniques
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
After Yang Qiqi left, the others remained in the safety of their refuge, and for a time nothing disturbed their peace. Zhang Naipao still wanted Feng Shihua to defect to his camp, but he made no threats — for threats would not wound Wei Zhao, and thus would be pointless. Besides, Zhang Naipao was hardly short of followers; the Tomorrow and Tomorrow Sect had no lack of underlings. Why would he need the likes of Feng Shihua as his subordinates? All he wanted was to strike at Wei Zhao.
In truth, Feng Shihua and Li Ciba had let slip a golden opportunity that comes but once in a lifetime. Zhang Naipao was at that moment utterly spent. After unleashing his Hell Yin Demon Fist, his whole body had gone slack, every ounce of physical strength and true qi drained away, and it would be some time before he recovered; he could not possibly fight again. He now stood completely undefended — even a Yellow-rank expert could have killed him with a single blow. This was the greatest flaw of his ultimate martial technique!
Unless absolutely necessary, he would never use it. Of course, this was a common failing of certain heaven-defying ancient martial arts; otherwise, if any single cultivator mastered such a technique, that one person could challenge a host of experts, and the balance of the cultivation world would be lost.
As things stood, Zhang Naipao had built his entire martial reputation upon an imbalance of information. Having slain Dongfang Bushu, he had struck terror into everyone present; no one dared raise a hand against him, which bought him exactly the time he needed to recover.
Had Young Hero Yang not struck him earlier, he would not have been in such a sorry state. At the very least, after using the Hell Yin Demon Fist he would have retained some strength — enough that a Yellow-rank cultivator could not have slain him, and only an expert of his own rank could have finished him off. But thanks to that one blow from Young Hero Yang, he had already squandered much of his physical strength and true qi. He had not fully recovered when Dongfang Bushu arrived, and that was what had brought about his present predicament.
Zhang Naipao's heart was pounding, yet in front of Yang Qiqi he showed not the slightest sign of weakness and remained as overbearing as ever, cowing Feng Shihua and Li Ciba into inaction. Otherwise, Zhang Naipao and Mo Ba would already be lying dead here.
Still, they were not to blame. They had no golden finger like Wei Zhao's; they could not tell whether Zhang Naipao's strength and true qi were at that moment abundant or spent.
It was only when Zhang Naipao had recovered a good measure of his physical strength and true qi — enough to unleash the Hell Yin Demon Fist once more — that a fleeting smile of relief crossed his face...
……………………
Yanjing City, in the president's office of the Liu family's corporate group.
Liu Tianli was reviewing the account reports. His craving for a cigarette struck, and he reached absently for the cigarette box at the corner of his desk, but his hand closed on empty air. Only then did he remember that this pack was already smoked out.
"Secretary Zhang," Liu Tianli said, pressing the call button to the secretarial office. "Bring me another pack of my cigarettes."
"President Liu, which brand?" Secretary Zhang asked hurriedly.
"The ones President Lang gave me before," Liu Tianli said. Ever since he had smoked the specially made cigarettes from President Lang, no other cigarette held any appeal for him. The others simply did not satisfy — they could not ease the craving. Only President Lang's cigarettes, once smoked, left him rested and comfortable.
"President Liu, President Lang's cigarettes are all gone. What I gave you before was the last pack. Would you like to see whether something else will do?" Secretary Zhang asked.