Chapter 1478 — Helpless; and Just Like That, Zhang Naipao's Name Resounded Far and Wide, As Disciples of the Other Hidden Families and Sects All Came to Court Him and Draw Close — Partly Because of the Halo of an Ancient Sect Above His Head, and Partly Because Zhang Naipao Was Formidable in His Own Right, Which Was Why These People Behaved As They Did

Wei Zhao truly had never heard of the so-called Chrysanthemum Treasure Manual that Zhang Naipao spoke of; he had no idea what it was. But that Zhang Naipao could absorb his true qi was plain fact, and even when Wei Zhao stopped circulating the mantra of his inner art, it did no good — the true qi inside his body was still draining away at a furious rate!

"No wonder your strength has grown so fast..." A cold, dark glint flashed across Wei Zhao's eyes. Zhang Naipao was a terrifying man, able to wield such an overbearing inner art, and it laid tremendous pressure on Wei Zhao's heart.

How was he to deal with him? Wei Zhao found that for the moment he had no way to handle Zhang Naipao at all: his palm could not move, and the true qi within him was flying out of him. At this rate, it would not be long before every last scrap of his true qi had run over to Zhang Naipao's side and he himself became an ordinary man with no strength at all.

Wei Zhao had lost his strength many times before, and he was not especially afraid. So long as his meridians remained unbroken, with the jade pendant space, that top-tier golden finger of his, restoring his strength would take no more than a single night. But the crux of the matter was this: once he recovered, if he crossed hands with Zhang Naipao again, would it not end the same way? It would be as though he had gone out of his way to deliver his true qi to Zhang Naipao for nothing!

"Well? Shocking, isn't it? Green with envy and sick with jealousy, aren't you? No use — who told me to be a disciple of an ancient sect while you are only an ordinary cultivator?" Watching the look on Wei Zhao's face, Zhang Naipao spoke with great relish: "My starting point is higher than yours, and the inner arts I cultivate are a cut above yours as well. Wahahaha! Wei Zhao, back on the road earlier, I drained dry an expert at the peak of late Profound Rank, and I already showed faint signs of breaking through. Once I finish draining your strength, I may well break through to late Profound Rank. Hahahaha, and to think — before I have even entered the trial, I will have become an expert of late Profound Rank!"

Wei Zhao looked at Zhang Naipao's smug, petty-villain face and did not bother to answer him. Words were of no use now; he had yet to find a way to deal with him — which was to say, he had yet to find Zhang Naipao's weakness. Whatever he said would change nothing.

And yet Wei Zhao refused to accept it! It had not been long at all, and already more than half the true qi in his body was gone. If this kept up, Zhang Naipao really would drain him dry!

Wei Zhao hesitated a moment, then abruptly lifted his leg and kicked at Zhang Naipao's crotch! What Wei Zhao had in mind was to catch him off guard: while Zhang Naipao was wholly absorbed in absorbing his true qi, he would land a groin kick meant to end his line, dealing Zhang Naipao a severe wound and so interrupting the circulation of that Chrysanthemum Treasure Manual's inner art — and in that gap, Wei Zhao would pull his palm free.

"Bang!" Wei Zhao's leg struck square into Zhang Naipao's crotch — and yet it was as though he had kicked nothing at all. There was none of the feeling of a solid hit he had expected.

"You dare try a sneak attack?" Zhang Naipao had not expected Wei Zhao to dare strike by surprise under such circumstances, but he did not mind. Instead he burst out laughing: "Perfect. Thank you! A single palm transmits far too slowly — so let's use your foot to transmit as well!"

The moment Zhang Naipao's words fell, Wei Zhao discovered to his shock that his foot, pressed against Zhang Naipao's crotch, could no longer be pulled away — and the true qi inside him was pouring endlessly into Zhang Naipao through that foot as well!

"Other parts of your body can absorb true qi too?" Wei Zhao was instantly stunned.

"Only just realized? Too late!" Zhang Naipao said. "So you see, sneak attacks are of no use against me whatsoever. Hahahaha, Wei Zhao, you can only stare wide-eyed as you become a cripple, with no other choice! Well? Doesn't that feel agonizing? Soon you will be an ordinary man. All the true qi you painstakingly cultivated will be sucked away by me, transformed into demonic qi within my body and used by me!"

Of course, Zhang Naipao did not know that Wei Zhao could recover. For an ordinary person in such a situation, recovery within a short time was impossible; they were all but crippled, and would have to start cultivating from scratch — how much effort would that take, how many miraculous elixirs compounded from heavenly treasures would they have to consume?

"Demonic qi? What you cultivate is not true qi?" Hearing Zhang Naipao's words, Wei Zhao understood. So it truly was not true qi inside Zhang Naipao — no wonder he had felt that Zhang Naipao was somewhat different from others!

"It is also a kind of true qi. Its ranks and strength are the same as true qi, only its attributes differ." Zhang Naipao was not the least bit impatient; instead he explained it to Wei Zhao in careful detail. In his view, Wei Zhao was about to become a cripple, so he might as well let him die with his eyes open.

"So that's how it is." Wei Zhao nodded. "You are formidable. This time, I concede..."

Wei Zhao had no choice but to concede. He did not want to, but that was the fact of the matter, and it left him no room to refuse — because to this moment he had still found no weakness in Zhang Naipao. He had originally thought that since Zhang Naipao's palms could absorb true qi, then once he recovered his strength he would avoid contact with those palms as much as possible and attack other parts of his body instead. But that notion had collapsed the instant he lashed out with that kick...

"Haha, this time? You think there will be a next time? Next time will be the day you die!" Zhang Naipao said, laughing loudly.

While the disciples of the hidden families around Zhang Naipao cheered and applauded, Yu Bing was frantic with worry. He had wanted to step in and join forces with Wei Zhao against Zhang Naipao, but after hearing the exchange between Zhang Naipao and Wei Zhao, he hesitated again!

Against a monster like Zhang Naipao, even if Yu Bing stepped in it would be of no use. He could absorb others' true qi; if Yu Bing went up, he too would not escape being drained. So Yu Bing did not dare act rashly — and what was more, Wei Zhao had already secretly signaled him with his eyes not to make any rash move!

But if, as Zhang Naipao said, Wei Zhao were crippled and turned into an ordinary man, then Wei Zhao certainly could not take part in this trial. What of his friend, then? Would it not become impossible for him to obtain the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit?

Thinking of this, Yu Bing secretly made up his mind: if Wei Zhao really was crippled and became an ordinary man, then in this trial he would surely help Wei Zhao find the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit and deliver it into his hands!

Meanwhile, on Zhang Naipao's side, he finished absorbing the last thread of true qi from Wei Zhao's body, then leapt up and flew to the open ground before the inn's entrance, shouting to the disciples of the hidden families: "All of you, come and guard the dharma for me! I am about to level up and charge for late Profound Rank!"

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