The Master’s Assessment and a Surprising Revelation

“I am examining your bone structure and innate talent, my dear disciple, to ascertain if you are truly suited to cultivate the ‘Sunflower Manual’.” He chuckled softly. “While your current martial arts are rather mediocre and unremarkable, your natural aptitude is quite impressive. What’s more, your innate development is not yet complete, which is a truly rare advantage!”

‘My heart sank. As expected, Master had not yet abandoned the idea of forcing me to cultivate that detrimental technique.’

“Master, I… didn’t you say you had thought things through?” I began, my voice laced with a plea. “Are you truly still intent on forcing your disciple to cultivate this ‘Sunflower Manual’?” I harbored a faint hope that he would perceive the reluctance in my words.

To my surprise, he simply waved a hand in the shadows, speaking with a marked indifference. “My dear disciple, your willingness to cultivate it is one matter; your capability to do so is entirely another. I am merely assessing you first, to see if your physique can indeed withstand the cultivation of this divine art, as I intend!”

Having spoken, he resumed his meticulous scrutiny of me, his eyes as profound as the deep sea beneath a night sky. After a prolonged silence, I heard him speak once more. “Disciple, approach. Let your master examine your internal energy cultivation!”

Despite my profound reluctance, a master’s command was absolute, and as a disciple, I had no choice but to comply. With a heavy heart, I steeled myself, stepped forward, and offered my right hand.

From the oppressive darkness, a left hand emerged—gaunt, rough, and strangely ancient. Two fingers settled upon my wrist, and a profound silence descended once more.

“Hmm, you cultivate the Six Void Force of the Autumn Water lineage,” he murmured. “Though it is a vigorous internal force and belongs to an orthodox Xuanmen sect, your cultivation is thankfully still shallow. Yes, not bad, not bad at all!” In the darkness, he channeled a stream of internal energy through the pulse gate on my wrist, using this subtle flow to scrutinize the eight extraordinary meridians within my body.

‘Upon hearing the words “cultivation is still shallow,” I couldn’t help but feel my cheeks flush with embarrassment.’ My nature was inherently restless and active, which meant my martial arts techniques were passable, but internal energy cultivation was far from my strong suit. In terms of actual power, it was undeniably subpar. My father had lectured and urged me countless times about this deficiency.

Yet, whenever such a moment arose, my mother would invariably step forward. “Cultivating internal energy demands gradual progress and a methodical approach,” she would assert. “Even a tiger won’t devour its cub! Old Liu, if you push our son too hard, what if he suffers a qi deviation? Hmph!”

In our household, it was an undeniable truth: the sky and earth might be vast, but Mother reigned supreme. The moment she spoke, Father would immediately fall silent, and I, in turn, was only too happy to slack off. This complacency ultimately led to my current, rather awkward, level of internal energy cultivation.

That being said, if my ‘cultivation was still shallow,’ why did Master, of all people, still declare it ‘not bad’? A flicker of confusion stirred within me.

Before I could voice this burgeoning doubt, the gaunt hand had already retreated into the enveloping darkness. In the dim, murky light, I saw a subtle glimmer flash within Master’s fathomless eyes. Then, his voice, calm and detached, drifted to me. “My dear disciple, have you made up your mind? Do you wish to inherit your master’s mantle and cultivate this ‘Sunflower Manual,’ which is truly unmatched under heaven?”

“I… Master, I…” I started, then gritted my teeth, forcing myself to speak honestly. “As you know, this disciple has parents, and I am the only child in our family. Both my father and mother still hope for me to carry on the family line. Your disciple, your disciple truly…”

“Truly what?” he interjected, his voice sharp and detached, as if my response had been precisely what he expected.

“Truly unable to inherit your mantle, and truly unable to wield the blade upon myself!” I blurted out, the words tumbling from my lips. “Your disciple, your disciple simply cannot do it!” By the end, my mind, as if cramping, had recalled a certain television drama my mother had watched countless times, and this classic line had simply slipped out.

Upon hearing my words, Master’s face remained shrouded in darkness, his emotions utterly indiscernible. I, timid and apprehensive, dared not utter another sound. After a prolonged silence, he suddenly spoke. “You claim you cannot wield the blade upon yourself. But what if I told you that I, your master, possess a method for you to cultivate the ‘Sunflower Manual’ without the need for self-castration? What would your intentions be then, my disciple?”

I froze, my mind reeling as his words finally registered. “Really?” I blurted out, unable to contain my excitement. “As long as I don’t have to be castrated, anything is negotiable!”

The words had barely left my mouth when a wave of embarrassment washed over me. I stammered awkwardly, “Disciple, disciple… if that is truly the case, then your disciple would be willing to cultivate this ‘Sunflower Manual’…” Yet, even as I spoke, I felt as if I was changing my stance too quickly, like turning a page in a book. When I glanced up at Master, through the hazy light, I saw him watching me with a peculiar half-smile, which only intensified my mortification.

“You’re an honest lad,” he remarked, his voice sharp and laced with a subtle sarcasm. “It’s just a pity you’ve somewhat inherited that girl Qing’s temperament, making you a bit too indecisive. Since you’ve already spoken your mind, what is there to be embarrassed about?”

“Master is right,” I replied softly, my face still burning. “It’s merely that your disciple feels I shouldn’t be so unrestrained with my words.”

“If your mouth is unrestrained, then your heart is also unrestrained. To be open and honest, with heart and words aligned—that is indeed a rare quality!” he cackled, a chilling sound. “However, my dear disciple, the words you just spoke must count. As long as I do not make you suffer that blade, preventing you from having descendants, you are willing to follow your master and cultivate this great art. Is that not so?”

“If I don’t have to… castrate myself, your disciple would naturally be overjoyed!” I exclaimed. “However, is it truly as Master says? Can one truly cultivate this great art without the need for self-castration?” After several moments of hesitation, I finally voiced the question that weighed heavily on my mind.

“Hmph, you keep fretting over this matter,” Master snorted coldly, a clear note of displeasure in his voice. “Would your master truly deceive you?”

“Your disciple spoke out of turn, Master; please do not blame me,” I said, my voice tinged with fear, yet I pressed on with courage. “It’s merely that your disciple recalls a record in the ‘Records of Jianghu.’ It states that the ‘Sunflower Manual’ cultivates pure Yin energy, leading to extreme coldness. Consequently, if one does not castrate oneself to damage the Yang meridians, rashly cultivating this art will inevitably lead to qi deviation and the complete destruction of all meridians…”

“I wouldn’t have guessed it; it’s rare for you, my good disciple, to be so knowledgeable about these jianghu rumors. Not bad at all,” he acknowledged. “Tracing back to its origins, the ‘Sunflower Manual’ was initially created by eunuchs. As eunuchs are inherently incomplete individuals, the divine art they forged naturally aligned with the heavenly principle of damaging Yang to nourish Yin. Later cultivators, when grappling with the conflict of Yin and Yang and struggling to break through their inner demons, found their only recourse was to castrate themselves, thereby destroying their Yang energy. The phrase, ‘To cultivate this divine art, one must castrate oneself,’ was, in fact, added by later generations.”

As he spoke these historical anecdotes, his previously somewhat vexed gaze softened, and I found myself utterly captivated. “However,” he continued, “this rumor is incomplete. My dear disciple, consider this: since the ‘Sunflower Manual’ is a pure Yin internal art, and men must damage their Yang meridians to cultivate it, what if a woman were to cultivate it?”