At that moment, James regained consciousness. Hearing Tobias’ words, he spoke in a feeble voice, “W-Will I die?” Tobias looked at him and said, “Yes.” Then, he left. Only Maxine and James remained in the room. James spoke with great difficulty, “Where’s the Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside’s Edge?” Maxine said, “It’s still in the basement.” “I-Is there anything peculiar about it?” “Huh?” Maxine froze. Then, she said, “No, not at all.” “That can’t be.” James shook his head. “Something must’ve happened. Bring me back to the basement. Maybe the secret of the painting has been revealed.” “But, your condition…” “It’s alright.” Maxine had no choice but to carry James, whose life was hanging by a thread, back into the basement. Before they could approach the courtyard, a handsome-looking man in a white shirt walked over to them. “What are you doing, Maxine?” Seeing that Maxine was carrying a bloodied man in her arms, the man frowned. “Bobby,” Maxine greeted. Upon s
“Why are you sighing?” “It’s nothing.” Maxine did not say much. Carrying James in her arms, she swiftly made her way into the basement. Since she remained silent, James did not question her further. “By the way, Bobby’s actually a rather nice guy. Don’t take it to heart.” Worried that James might plot his revenge, she added this remark. “Hmph…” James grunted. Bobby had been creating trouble for him since day one. If given the opportunity, he would definitely teach him a lesson. Soon, they arrived at the basement. The ancient scroll and the Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside’s Edge were still on the floor. Though the ancient scroll was stained with blood, the painting was completely fine. Maxine put James in the wheelchair and picked the items up from the floor. James ordered, “Let me have a look.” Maxine handed them over to him. After scrutinizing the painting, he realized that it did not undergo any changes at all. However, he was sure that something changed just bef
Then, realization dawned on her. She asked, “A-Are you thinking of revealing the secret of the painting to grandpa in exchange for protection?” “Yes.” James nodded. He was now caught in a crossfire. Only Tobias could save him. However, Tobias would only willingly do so if James gave him the secret of the painting. “Alright.” Maxine did not say much. Then, James put the Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside’s Edge and the ancient scroll into the box. Maxine pushed James’ wheelchair, and they both left the basement to find Tobias. In the library of the Cadens’ courtyard… Tobias was reading a book. Knock! Knock! Knocks came from the other side of the door. “Grandpa, James would like to see you.” Putting his book aside, Tobias walked out of the room. James was sitting in a wheelchair, while Maxine stood beside him. Looking at James, Tobias asked, “What’s the matter?” James whispered, “I’ve discovered the secret of the Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside’s Edge.” “What?” Tobias
Maxine stared at the Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside's Edge.She would never have imagined the painting to change when it encountered blood. On top of that, it only happened with James’ blood.“That’s the secret of the Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside's Edge.” James looked at the excited Tobias and said, “I’ve told you the secret. From now onward, you have to protect me.”“That won’t be a problem. You’re a Caden. As the head of our family, how could I not offer you protection?”He picked up the painting and cackled with laughter. “Haha! The Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside's Edge’s mystery has finally been solved!”Suddenly, the picture returned to its original state.He asked anxiously, “What happened?”James answered, “How would I know? Maybe it needs more blood.”“Why did it work with your blood but not mine?”James shrugged. He had no idea as well.‘Why does it have to be mine?‘We’re both Cadens, so why does my blood change the painting, but his doesn’t?’ Thought James.“I need
Knocks came from the other side of the door.“Come in,” James answered weakly.The door was pushed open, and Maxine, dressed in a white dress, walked in.She did not have time to change her clothes, which had been stained red by James’ blood.“James,” She called out his name sweetly while walking toward him.“Mhm,” James responded gently. He asked, “Is your True Energy restored? I need you to circulate your True Energy and help me heal my wounds.”“I’ve recovered a little but not fully,” Maxine replied.James uttered softly, “I think the cultivation method in the Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside's Edge requires two people.”Maxine asked, “Why do you think so?”James said, “I’m guessing what we did previously was correct. It just didn’t work because we lacked the cultivation method. After the painting encountered blood, the bright moon disappeared, and a scorching sun appeared. According to my understanding, the moon should represent Yin, while the sun represents Yang. Yang repres
Governor Vessels, Conception Vessels, and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians were crucial for martial artists. Those with low cultivation bases would not be able to regulate them.One would have to step into the fifth rank and have a solid cultivation base to activate them.Initially, Tobias was unsure about how James intended to heal his wounds.However, he was a grandmaster and a doctor, so he quickly spotted some clues.Healing his wounds was a bluff. His true intentions were to regulate his vessels and meridians.James had used him to insert acupuncture needles into his meridian and acupuncture points throughout his body to protect his heart meridian.Thus, no matter how much pain the body suffered, he would not die.Even so, his body was already in horrible condition and could not sustain more injuries.The layout of the acupuncture needles enabled the True Energy that was transfused into James’ body to gather rather quickly. Tobias’ True Energy accumulated inside James’ bo
Maxine quickly ran away from the force.However, she was not fast enough and was injured by the needles that came flying out.James’ body collapsed to the bed.Tobias was sweating profusely. He wiped the sweat beads off his face, looking at James with relief. “This young man is incredibly courageous. I can’t believe he came up with something so dangerous,” said Tobias.“Grandpa, how is he?”Maxine could not be bothered by the injuries on her body and quickly inquired about James, who was lying lifelessly on the bed, covered in blood.With a smile, Tobias stroked his white beard and said, “It was a success. His Governor Vessel, Conception Vessel, Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and every single vessel in his body were opened up. In theory, he should’ve entered the fifth rank.”“Really?” Maxine was shocked.“Does that mean we’ll be able to create more martial grandmasters of the fifth rank using this method?”Tobias shook his head and said, exhausted, “It’s not going to be easy
After leaving, Maxine headed to the closed-door meditation sanctuary in Tobias’ backyard.She knew that Tobias’ True Energy was depleted and that he would need to meditate to recover them.There was an independent wooden house in the backyard of the Cadens’ mansion. Maxine came to the wooden house and knocked lightly on the door.“Come in,” A voice sounded from inside the room.Maxine pushed the door open and walked inside the wooden house. She looked at Tobias. He was sitting in a lotus position, circulating his energy to replenish his depleted strength. “Grandpa,” She called out for him.“Yeah? What’s the matter?”“Grandpa, I’d like to request some rejuvenation pills.“Tobias turned to Maxine and questioned, “You didn’t exhaust your True Energy, so why do you need rejuvenation pills?”Maxine lowered her head and uttered embarrassedly, “I forcibly tried to exercise the meridian diagram, and my True Energy retrograded, causing a severe depletion.”Tobias did not pursue the