Chapter 1517 — Origins

Not only could he not take his revenge, he had even been wounded by Wei Zhao! Zhang Naipao was choking on his own bile! Why? Why! Why was it that he had cultivated the Chrysanthemum Manual, a supreme heart technique from the ancient era, and eaten bitterness no ordinary man could eat and suffered pain no ordinary man could suffer, and yet in the end he had still been defeated?

He was not resigned. He was utterly, utterly unreconciled! The Chrysanthemum Manual was, after all, one of the two supreme heart techniques of legend in the martial world. The Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art within it had vanished long ago; it was said that the man who had once cultivated that art had died by accident, leaving no heir to carry on his mantle, and so the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art had been borne down into the earth forever.

And so the Chrysanthemum Manual had become the loftiest existence in the martial world. Yet the loftiest existence could not even beat Wei Zhao? What kind of level was that?

"Is Naipao back?" A voice rose from the Sect Leader's courtyard, and at once a black-robed figure drifted out and came to a halt before Zhang Naipao.

"Master, it is I! Naipao has failed you!" The instant Zhang Naipao saw his master, the tears he had been holding back gave way at last. All the bitterness and hardship of his cultivation since the day he began surged up in his heart, vivid before his eyes: from the high spirits of his first trial to this present crushing grief. It was as though Zhang Naipao had lived through a whole century, like a single dream.

"You have been crippled?" The Sect Leader, his master, glanced at Zhang Naipao and saw at once where the trouble lay. "Someone actually shattered your Bee-Absorbing Divine Art?"

"Master, I am finished. Every meridian in me is ruined... I have become a cripple!" Zhang Naipao said, somewhat dejectedly. "I ran into Wei Zhao. My enemy. The very man who crippled Uncle-Master Black Panther..."

"Oh? Him? He actually shattered your Bee-Absorbing Divine Art?" The Sect Leader was startled.

"It was him! I wish I could hack him into ten thousand pieces... but... now that has become impossible..." Zhang Naipao said in utter agony.

"Hahahaha!" The Sect Leader suddenly burst into loud laughter, and he seemed, in fact, to be delighted.

"Master, you... what are you laughing at?" Zhang Naipao was stunned, and stared at his master in bewilderment.

"Naipao, you truly are the lucky star of my Tomorrow After Tomorrow Sect!" the Sect Leader said with a laugh. "It seems that junior brother of mine, Black Panther, did recommend me a talent after all!"

"What do you mean?" Zhang Naipao was stunned.

"Come inside, Naipao. Today let us, master and disciple, have a proper talk, and let your master clear away some of your doubts and speak to you of the Chrysanthemum Manual!" The Sect Leader helped Zhang Naipao to his feet and spoke to him earnestly, weighing every word.

"Yes, Master!" Zhang Naipao's heart surged with excitement. It seemed his master had not given up on him after all; there was something important he wished to tell him! Zhang Naipao rose hurriedly and walked into the courtyard with his master.

"Sit, Naipao!" The Sect Leader extended a hand and pointed to a chair beside a stone table in the courtyard.

"Yes!" Zhang Naipao sat down respectfully, while the Sect Leader seated himself opposite.

"Naipao, do you know why, back then, I let an outsider like you cultivate the Chrysanthemum Manual, that ancient heart technique?" the Sect Leader asked.

"This disciple does not know..." Zhang Naipao shook his head. He truly did not quite understand why his master had let him cultivate so formidable a heart technique and made him a Xuan-level expert in only a few short months.

"The Chrysanthemum Manual is the treasure that anchors our Tomorrow After Tomorrow Sect. I let you cultivate it, first, because you are my junior brother, a man recommended by Black Panther!" the Sect Leader said. "My bond with Black Panther was in truth a good one. I am ten years his senior, and I always looked on him as my own younger brother. It is only that he violated the sect rules and was driven down the mountain by my master of that time, who is the Old Ancestor of our sect today. That is one regret of mine! Even now, though I am honored as Sect Leader, I cannot go against the will of my master, the Old Ancestor!"

"So that is how it was..." Zhang Naipao nodded.

"Of course, that is only one reason!" the Sect Leader said. "Black Panther and I were close, but that does not mean I would accept on the spot any man he recommended! The chief reason I let you cultivate the Chrysanthemum Manual is in fact this: there is hatred in your heart! You came to learn the arts bearing hatred. That is your heaven-sent advantage!"

"Oh?" Zhang Naipao was rather startled to hear this. "Hatred?"

"Yes. To cultivate the Chrysanthemum Manual, one must have hatred in one's heart; only then can one succeed!" the Sect Leader said. "The Chrysanthemum Manual is a heart technique handed down from ancient times; legend says it was invented by the great god Chi You! In those years he would not submit to the Yellow Emperor, but it is said that the Yellow Emperor cultivated the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, which was exceedingly formidable, and Chi You was no match for him! So, after failing several times, he at last devoted himself to bitter cultivation and invented the Chrysanthemum Manual, a heart technique that could contend with the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art! And when he cultivated it, he bore hatred in his heart. Therefore those who come after him and wish to cultivate this heart technique must likewise have hatred in their hearts before they can succeed!"

"So that is it! Then it has nothing to do with my self-castration?" Zhang Naipao asked.

"Naturally it has something to do with it. After you castrated yourself, there was nothing left in your heart but hatred, no other desires or distracting thoughts, which only made it easier for you to cultivate!" the Sect Leader said. "At first, because there was hatred in your heart, the Old Ancestor and I discussed it and had you try cultivating the Chrysanthemum Manual. We never expected you to be so resolute a man: you castrated yourself without the slightest hesitation, which made the Old Ancestor and me regard you with new eyes!"

"So that is it!" Zhang Naipao suddenly understood. "Then the others... they did not cultivate this heart technique because there was no hatred in their hearts?"

"Yes. This heart technique is the treasure that anchors our sect; how could we let outsiders cultivate it at will?" the Sect Leader said. "We did once train several core disciples to cultivate the Chrysanthemum Manual, and they castrated themselves as well, of course, but because there was no hatred in their hearts, they ultimately suffered qi deviation and died when their bodies burst! This hatred must come from the true heart; it cannot be feigned. So, after those experiments failed in those years, no other disciple has attempted to cultivate this heart technique..."

"No wonder I thought my luck was so good! I even thought Uncle-Master Black Panther carried such weight!" Zhang Naipao said.

"Of course he carries weight. Otherwise, even if there were hatred in your heart, you are not a disciple of our sect whose background we know inside and out, and we would not have dared let you cultivate the Chrysanthemum Manual so lightly!" the Sect Leader said with a smile. "There is hatred in your heart, and that hatred will be remembered in your heart at every moment of your cultivation. Thus you will not fall into qi deviation over it!"

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