Chapter 1518 — Destruction Before Rebirth! "So Hatred Has Its Benefits Too?" Zhang Naipao Said in Surprise.

"Of course. Hatred has its good side and its bad. To spur yourself on with hatred, that is its good side!" The Sect Leader said: "Of course, hatred is only one part of it. Your own aptitude is indeed quite fine as well, which is why you have made such progress!"

"But... Master, now that every meridian in me is severed, what will become of me..." At the thought of his own condition, the light in Zhang Naipao's face dimmed once more.

"What does it matter that all your meridians are severed? This is a good thing!" The Sect Leader said: "Do you know why you have never been able to open the jade box holding the second-level cultivation method of the Chrysanthemum Manual?"

"This... could it have something to do with my meridians?" Zhang Naipao was no fool, and at once he saw the connection between the two.

"The true essence of the Chrysanthemum Manual lies in no establishment without destruction, rebirth through ruin!" The Sect Leader said: "It is a most wondrous cultivation heart technique. When you cultivated the first level, it demanded your self-castration, and that was what is meant by rebirth through ruin. The second level is the same. According to the annals of our Tomorrow After Tomorrow Sect, to cultivate the second level you must likewise be destroyed before you can be rebuilt!"

"Oh? Destroyed before rebuilt?" Zhang Naipao froze for a moment, and a flicker of hope flashed through his eyes.

"Exactly. To cultivate the second level, you must scatter all the strength in your body. Only when you have no strength left, when you have become an ordinary man, can you begin anew to cultivate the second level of the Chrysanthemum Manual!" The Sect Leader said.

"Truly!" Zhang Naipao sprang to his feet, at once startled and overjoyed: "Then by that account, my misfortune has turned into a blessing?"

"You could say that!" The Sect Leader nodded and said: "Before this, I had been racking my brains for a way to let you be destroyed before being rebuilt! Do you know? When you could not open the jade box of the second-level method, I was anxious to lend you a hand, and yet I could not!"

"Ah? Why? If that is so, why did you not, Master, destroy my meridians with your own hands and strip me of all my strength, to achieve this end of no rebirth without ruin?" Zhang Naipao asked, puzzled.

"If I had destroyed your meridians with my own hands, would you have hated me in your heart?" The Sect Leader did not answer Zhang Naipao's question, but asked one in return.

"How could that be? You would have been lending me your strength, Master. How could I hate you?" Zhang Naipao shook his head and said sincerely: "Even if you had struck without reason and crippled my strength, I would bear no grudge. After all, I am a disciple of the sect, and you, Master, are the Sect Leader. It was you who gave me the chance to cultivate and the strength I had. If you wished to take it back, you could do so at any time. How could I complain?"

"There you have it?" The Sect Leader said: "As I have already told you, to cultivate the Chrysanthemum Manual, the most important thing is to cultivate with hatred in your heart. If I had been the one to strike, where would the hatred be? Without hatred, how could the goal be reached?"

"So even this requires hatred?" After hearing this, Zhang Naipao was still somewhat perplexed: "But why did you not tell me sooner, Master? When I failed to open the jade box before, I was tormented in my heart!"

"Hatred is absolutely required!" The Sect Leader nodded and said: "If I had told you beforehand, you might have deliberately sought out a chance to let someone cripple you, and then the effect of hatred would never have been achieved! But now, even though you know, let me ask you, is there hatred in your heart? Do you want revenge?"

"I do! Of course I do!" Zhang Naipao nodded and said through gritted teeth: "I wish I could tear Wei Zhao limb from limb!"

"There you have it? If I had told you before, and you had gone and let yourself be crippled on purpose, you might even have thanked the man in your heart and laughed in secret. Where would the hatred be?" The Sect Leader said: "That is why I did not tell you, and instead let you join the trial and leave all to fate! Ah, you must know, in my heart I was even more anxious than you!"

"So that is how it is. I understand now!" Zhang Naipao said, somewhat moved: "Master, you have been too good to me!"

"You are my proudest disciple, the pride of my sect. Of course I must treat you well!" The Sect Leader said: "But if you wish to step onto a higher plane of martial arts, do not be hasty for revenge. To hold hatred in your heart will drive you to grow!"

"But I promised Brother Liang... to avenge him and wash away his shame as soon as possible!" Zhang Naipao said, suddenly torn.

"You may torment him often, but do not kill him. That way you will vent your anger, and the hatred in your heart will never fade." The Sect Leader said: "Do you know that once you step into the Heaven level, both your lifespan and your strength will rise greatly, and you will have the chance to enter the Heavenly Dao in pursuit of eternal life!"

"That is a fine idea!" Zhang Naipao pondered for a moment and nodded. Although avenging Zhong Yongliang was the purpose for which he had come to learn the arts, now that he belonged to his master's sect, his master's words carried as much weight as Brother Liang's. This was a fair compromise, one that would both vent Brother Liang's anger time and again and let him raise his strength. Surely Brother Liang would be glad to have a powerful man under him!

"Well, I have told you all that must be said. You may now go and open the second-level cultivation method in the jade box!" The Sect Leader said: "Then you may shut yourself away to cultivate. I will trouble you no further. I wish you swift mastery of the second-level method!"

"But... with all my strength gone, can I cultivate the second-level method directly?" Zhang Naipao asked, puzzled.

"What you have lost is only strength, not the heart method. Your heart method and your strength are separate!" The Sect Leader said: "Remember, your heart method is an ancient heart method, different from that of ordinary cultivators. Your present level in the Chrysanthemum Manual remains at the great perfection of the first level, so you may go directly to cultivate the second level!"

"I understand!" Zhang Naipao nodded, then rose to take his leave, and presently vanished from the Sect Leader's sight...

And the Sect Leader, gazing after Zhang Naipao's departing back, murmured to himself: "Naipao, I hope you will not disappoint me! You are the disciple of our Tomorrow After Tomorrow Sect most likely to break through the Heaven level and enter the Heavenly Dao. I hope that at the Heaven-level Gathering you can win a good place for us!"

On Ice Snow Spirit Mountain, the sky was gradually brightening, and Zhao Qitan stretched himself with a lazy yawn, having plainly slept well: "With Brother Ling, the number one Mystic at our side, I sleep soundly. Even back in my clan I never felt so at ease!"

"..." Yu Bing was left speechless. Was that flattery not laying it on a bit thick?

"Sycophant!" Yang Qiqi snorted, with some disdain for Zhao Qitan.

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