Chapter 1423: Still Working Late, Just a Little Bit Left, Update Around 1 AM
Ma Baoli chased Liu Zheng around the yard several times before being stopped by Ma Fuguo.
"Next time you bully me, I’ll whip your backside with the Lightning Five-Chain Whip!"
She glared at Liu Zheng, angrily declaring.
Martial arts practitioners can be quite fierce when needed.
"What does it have to do with me? I didn’t draw the painting. You need to find Timor Layman; grudges should be settled with their rightful owner."
Liu Zheng argued defiantly.
"Then you’re an accomplice!"
Ma Baoli glared at him again, then turned her attention back to the drawing paper.
She looked at the fingerprint for a while, then pressed her index finger on the fingerprint.
"Hmm?!"
A spine-chilling sensation shot from Liu Zheng’s tailbone straight to his skull.
He immediately activated full power mode and swiftly grabbed Ma Fuguo, retreating rapidly.
In his and Ma Fuguo’s shocked gaze, five-colored thunder light emerged like saplings from Ma Baoli’s apertures, then quickly grew into Five-Colored Thunder Lotus.
Meanwhile, Ma Baoli’s Essence Qi rapidly depleted with the leaking Five Elements Divine Thunder, turning the originally vibrant young girl into a ghostly form, like a tree drained of sap.
"Lili!"
Ma Fuguo’s heart ached as he watched, desperately struggling to reach Ma Baoli’s side.
"Bang!"
Liu Zheng struck him with a knife hand to knock him out.
There was no choice, the Five-Colored Thunder Lotus was terrifying even to look at, and Ma Fuguo, an empty shell of an old man, would become a tragic ethics disaster by being accidentally killed by his own daughter.
It wasn’t the time for persuasion; there was only the choice to knock him out directly.
Liu Zheng placed Ma Fuguo farther away and returned to Ma Baoli.
She looked even worse now, nearing a state akin to a dried corpse.
Without breaking the stalemate, Ma Baoli would surely die.
But how to break it?
Liu Zheng was also at a loss.
If he attacked with full power mode and used tools, it might work, but destroying those Five-Colored Thunder Lotus might not save Ma Baoli and could hasten her Essence Qi depletion.
If he tried using items to replenish Ma Baoli’s strength, as she’s not a player, the items might not breach the thunder lotus’s defense.
If all else fails, he might have to wait for Ma Baoli to die and then try to resurrect her with "Life, Old Age, Illness, and Death Stew."
"Slap!"
Liu Zheng slapped himself hard, forcing himself to calm down.
Timor Layman and Ma Baoli have no grudges, no motive to harm her.
Moreover, he was about to engage in a battle with the cashier, and to plot against an unseen woman at that time would be classless.
If Timor Layman wasn’t trying to harm Ma Baoli...
Liu Zheng carefully observed Ma Baoli, noticing the thunder light between her organs was nearly extinguished.
"Could it be?"
A flash of insight struck his mind.
Ma Baoli once said she initially could practice a higher level of Thunder Skill but settled on Five Elements Divine Thunder due to concerns about insufficient Qi-Blood.
He promised Ma Baoli that once he regenerated his body, he’d trade Innate Qi for her practiced Five Elements Divine Thunder.
Now, if Timor Layman wanted to help her advance to a higher Thunder Skill...
"A painting’s meaning is determined by its spectators. A viewer sees it leading to war, while another sees it as an inspiration to give charity."
Timor Layman’s words echoed in his mind.
"Layman, who exactly are you testing here?"
Liu Zheng gritted his teeth as he drove the "Anger" knife into his brow.
His skull split like tofu, revealing beneath softer brain tissue.
"Asura, lend me a hand."
Liu Zheng spoke to his Artificial Body.
On his own, he couldn’t manifest Innate Qi.
"Roar!"
The Artificial Body responded, a thin veil of anger enveloped the spark of spiritual light drifting from his brain.
"Thanks."
Liu Zheng grasped the spiritual light and extended it toward Ma Baoli.
The Five-Colored Thunder Lotus around Ma Baoli instinctively prepared to strike back, but the fingerprint on the drawing paper emitted golden light, immobilizing them.
Liu Zheng, realizing a truth, let his palm hover over the Innate Qi.
The fingerprint flew from the painting, morphing into a golden hand, pinched the Innate Qi, and placed it in Ma Baoli’s brow.
Then the golden hand pinched each Five-Colored Thunder Lotus, placing them into the drawing paper, grabbing the paper and heading toward the gallery.
"Promised fiery nature, unpracticed divine skills, none fit the contest."
Liu Zheng muttered.
Though, it’s fortunate none matched.
If they had, he might’ve already perished for stepping into the gallery left-foot-first.
With no Five-Colored Thunder Lotus siphoning Ma Baoli’s Essence Qi, her condition quickly stabilized, she groaned and fell back.
Liu Zheng swiftly caught her; she weighed no more than a husky.
He packed both Ma Baoli and Ma Fuguo into the spirit car and rushed towards the clinic.
"Doctor! Doctor!"
Liu Zheng shouted while holding Ma Baoli.
"Here, stop yelling."
Doctor Nile walked out.
"Where did you find my compatriot? Where are the bandages?"
He asked, surprised at Ma Baoli’s mummy-like appearance.
"Now is not the time for jokes. Hurry and save her."
Liu Zheng rolled his eyes.
"Why be so anxious? She merely depleted much life energy, a little replenishment will suffice."
