"Junior Brother, the Venerable Master has given an order..."
Duobao Tathagata entered the Rear Hall of Jade Purity Palace, preparing to deliver Sect Master Tongtian's command.
But then he was dumbfounded.
He'd thought that as soon as he entered the Rear Hall, he would see Lin Chuan practicing with all his might. After all, anyone who had the chance to cultivate in a place like this would surely never hesitate for even a moment.
Anyone at all.
They would cultivate without stopping for even a second!
Even he sometimes yearned for such a chance, but he'd never had one. It was a considerable regret.
Still, he'd never once complained!
But now...
Now he had a little complaint.
Lin Chuan wasn't cultivating at all in the Rear Hall of Jade Purity Palace. He was fast asleep!
Duobao was certain of it. Lin Chuan was absolutely sleeping.
His breathing was so steady that he looked just like a mortal enjoying a peaceful night's sleep.
A faint trace of resentment slowly appeared in Duobao's eyes.
He'd longed so much to cultivate in this place, but he simply hadn't been allowed to. At most, he'd occasionally come in when reporting something.
He could cultivate here only if the Venerable Master gave his permission.
Yet Lin Chuan could not only enter and cultivate here, he'd even brought someone else along.
That alone was enough to leave anyone feeling a little unbalanced. But if Lin Chuan had been diligently cultivating here, perhaps it would have been understandable.
But Lin Chuan was sleeping!
Sleeping!
Asleep!
Sleep!
Duobao Tathagata felt his negative emotions surging. After all, he wanted so badly to cultivate here!
Still, he took a deep breath.
"Junior Brother only recently became a Personal Disciple. Perhaps he doesn't yet know much about cultivating the Dao. It's understandable that he might slack off a little."
"He hasn't truly grasped the meaning of cultivating the Dao."
"If he understood, he definitely wouldn't act like this."
"The Venerable Master is so busy every day. It falls to me, his Chief Disciple Brother, to guide him from time to time."
"Otherwise, he might stray down the wrong path, and that would be a disaster."
Duobao Tathagata thought this over and slowly calmed his resentment. But just as he was about to speak, he noticed Zhao Gongming off to the side.
He'd been about to scold him.
But then he saw that Zhao Gongming was cultivating, the energy around him surging wildly. Now that was more like it.
Duobao nodded silently.
Such diligence in cultivation was an admirable quality, whatever the circumstances.
It was hardly something to dislike.
By comparison, Lin Chuan was wasting resources. This was such a wonderful cultivation ground, yet he wasn't cultivating—he was using it to sleep! What a waste!
Without comparison, there was no hurt. After making a brief comparison,
Duobao Tathagata decided that Zhao Gongming was the sort of disciple who truly yearned to grow stronger.
But as soon as the thought crossed his mind,
he sensed something was wrong.
"Wait..."
"Why is there an aura of a top-tier technique circulating around Zhao Gongming?"
"Is he cultivating a top-tier technique? But where did he get one?"
"No... No, that's the Eight-Nine Profound Art!"
The Eight-Nine Profound Art was famous, after all. It was merely a simplified version of the cultivation method used by Great God Pangu.
Even so, it was still a top-tier technique in the Great Desolation. Anyone who cultivated it to the peak would possess unimaginable power.
But techniques like this were exceedingly rare.
Everyone had heard of it, but no one had ever seen the technique itself.
And yet now, Duobao had seen Zhao Gongming cultivating a top-tier technique. He began to question everything.
He was stunned on the spot!
Even he coveted it, which showed just how precious this top-tier technique was. And yet it had somehow fallen into Zhao Gongming's hands.
Zhao Gongming had originally been no more than an Outer Sect Disciple. He'd only been promoted to an Inner Sect Disciple as an exception after drawing attention. And now, in such a short time, he already had a top-tier technique.
How could this be?
Duobao decided he needed to ask Zhao Gongming about it. Otherwise, he wouldn't feel at ease.
Time passed.
Duobao had already forgotten why he'd come here. He only wanted to wait for Zhao Gongming to finish cultivating, then question him thoroughly.
As if sensing someone watching him,
Zhao Gongming slowly opened his eyes. This time, the feeling was familiar, so he'd already been prepared. When he opened his eyes and saw the Chief Disciple Brother,
he breathed a little easier, though he also felt somewhat guilty.
He knew he'd only been able to enter Jade Purity Palace because of Senior Brother Lin.
Now the Chief Disciple Brother had caught him red-handed. How could he not be nervous?
"C-Chief Disciple Brother!"
Zhao Gongming greeted him, then felt so guilty that he didn't dare say another word.
Duobao Tathagata, meanwhile, continued to study Zhao Gongming.
Although he hadn't fully mastered it yet, there was already a faint trace of the Eight-Nine Profound Art's aura around him. That meant he really had been cultivating it just now.
He simply hadn't found the knack for mastering it yet.
Duobao's expression darkened.
"Were you just cultivating the Eight-Nine Profound Art?"
"Y-Yes!" Zhao Gongming was mortified. He'd been caught red-handed inside Jade Purity Palace, and now he'd been caught red-handed cultivating a top-tier technique as well.
He felt incredibly guilty.
Then he tried to explain. "Chief Disciple Brother, please let me explain..."
Duobao gave him a look that said, Go ahead.
He wanted to find out where Zhao Gongming had gotten the technique.
Zhao Gongming breathed a little easier.
It was good that he had a chance to explain. If he wasn't allowed to, things would truly be disastrous. As long as he had the chance, it wouldn't be too difficult to handle.
"Actually..."
"Actually, Senior Brother Lin taught me this top-tier technique. He said the Venerable Master had taught it to him..."
Well, then.
As soon as Zhao Gongming said that, Duobao Tathagata immediately understood where the top-tier technique had come from!
But right at that moment,
Duobao's mindset crumbled a little.
His Dao Heart was about to crumble!
Why was there such a huge disparity?
Not only was he unable to cultivate in Jade Purity Palace, but now he'd seen Zhao Gongming cultivating this top-tier technique—and then learned it had been taught by the Venerable Master.
Even an Inner Sect Disciple could cultivate a top-tier technique now.
But he couldn't...
Just thinking about it made him feel as though his Dao Heart were crumbling!
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