The Price of Divine Power

If one were to rank the most widely circulated martial arts rumors at Tianwu University, approximately three would qualify for the list. The third-ranked would likely be: “The Way of Heaven diminishes the excessive and supplements the insufficient.”

The second would be: “Supreme in the martial world, the treasured saber Dragon Slaying, commands all under heaven, none dare disobey. If Heaven Sword does not appear, who can contend?” The first, far surpassing these two, seemed to be: “To cultivate divine power, wield the blade and self-castrate.”

The first legend refers to the core principles of the supreme martial art, the ‘Nine Yin Manual’, which was fiercely contested by the Five Greats of the martial world during the Mount Hua Sword Conference in the Southern Song Dynasty. The second describes the Dragon Slaying Saber and Heaven Sword, two peerless divine weapons forged from the Profound Iron Heavy Sword left by the Western Lunatic, the Condor Hero Yang Guo.

These weapons also contained astonishing secrets. As for the last phrase, it was the necessary prerequisite for cultivating the legendary supreme martial arts manual, the ‘Sunflower Manual’, and its derivative, the ‘Evil Warding Swordplay’.

The most iconic figure representing these martial arts was Dongfang Bubai, a peerless martial artist who was considered a match for the Sword Demon Dugu Qiubai in his time.

‘Self-castration’ is the more elegant term. In common parlance, it refers to ritual emasculation, or more crudely, ‘cutting off one’s balls’ or ‘that thing.’ The standard medical description is a painless surgical removal, effectively rendering one infertile.

The reason Dongfang Bubai, a martial arts legend, could not, unlike his senior Dugu Qiubai, expand his lineage and develop into the world’s foremost martial arts family, was precisely because he suffered from infertility.

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Then, the shadowy senior spoke calmly: “This old senior is Dongfang Bubai.”

Upon first hearing the name, I didn’t pay it much mind. I merely tried to recall my memories of the ‘Records of the Jianghu’ to figure out who this new, exceptionally skilled master of mine could be.

However, as I savored the name again, I realized something was amiss. “Master, you, you, you, you said you are Dongfang Bubai? The Dongfang Bubai, the former number one under heaven?”

At that moment, those four characters exploded in my mind like a bolt from the blue, like thunder striking flat ground, leaving me utterly shell-shocked.

“Indeed. Although this old senior bears the name Dongfang Bubai, strictly speaking, this old senior is the twelfth to inherit this name. My dear disciple, you shall be the thirteenth!” He suddenly smiled sinisterly, gazing at my reaction with a cackle, seemingly amused.

“I, I, you, you… So, the martial art you want to teach me is, is the ‘Sunf—'” The news was too terrifying; I stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

He smiled chillingly again, his voice shrill and thin: “Precisely, it is the treasure of the martial world, the ‘Sunflower Manual’. My dear disciple, I presume you have heard of the ‘Sunflower Manual’s’ reputation?”

“I, I…” Suddenly, that phrase came to mind. Without caring if I would offend my newly acknowledged master, I timidly recited, “‘To cultivate divine power, wield the blade and self-castrate…’

Upon hearing this, the other party let out a loud, sinister laugh that pierced my ears, seeming even more brutal than before.

“Hahahaha, to cultivate divine power, wield the blade and self-castrate! Hahahaha, hahahaha!” His laughter then almost turned into a mix of crying and laughing. Through the dim light, I couldn’t discern the expression on his face.

“Indeed, to cultivate divine power, wield the blade and self-castrate! This is the very first line at the beginning of the ‘Sunflower Manual’! So, my dear disciple, will you learn this divine art or not?” This time, he didn’t laugh until he coughed blood.

Instead, his laughter, filled with inexpressible sorrow, abruptly ceased. Then, I heard him ask me in that sinister tone.

My head buzzed again. This phrase, which had merely been a campus rumor and common gossip, was now an undeniable fact, authoritatively verified by what was likely the only person in the world to have truly read the ‘Sunflower Manual’—this contemporary Dongfang Bubai.

‘It’s over, it’s over. My worst fear has come true. No, it’s even worse than my worst fear!’ Originally, I had only thought of becoming a monk, but even then, one can still return to secular life, can’t one?

‘Now, this is great; self-castration with a blade solves all impulses at once. And once it’s cut, you can’t reattach it! I’m completely ruined!’

“I, I, I don’t… ah, no… I… I still… hmm, I…” I stammered for a long time, unable to articulate anything. Thinking that agreeing to him was certainly impossible, putting aside my yearning and desire for certain special activities.

If I, an only child, were to self-castrate, my family line would end. From that perspective alone, I couldn’t face my father. However, not agreeing seemed equally improper. After all, I had already formally acknowledged him as my master.

As the saying goes, “A teacher for a day is a father for life.” This meant that at this very moment, this contemporary Senior Dongfang Bubai was essentially half my father. Of course, considering his neither-male-nor-female gender issue, perhaps a quarter father plus a quarter mother would be the correct address.

But setting that aside for now, I simply couldn’t defy his words.

Hearing my prolonged hesitation and stammering, my newly acknowledged master, Senior Dongfang Bubai, let out another cackle. “You’ve hesitated for so long; it truly is difficult for you. Very well, very well, your master shall not tease you any further! After all, you are not like your master in those days…”

“Back then, when your master practiced this divine art, I had already resolved to dedicate my life to martial arts, never to marry. Furthermore, the eleventh generation Dongfang Bubai, who was my master and your grand-master, had nurtured and recreated me, an orphan from childhood.”

“Naturally, I couldn’t stand by and watch his martial art disappear from the world. Thus, by both reason and sentiment, your master had to self-castrate to cultivate. But you, my young one, are different.”

“Your parents are both alive, and you have many attachments. If you were decisive and brave in this matter without any hesitation, your master would actually be greatly surprised!”

“Master, I… I’m sorry…” I was stunned. I had expected him to be furious or at least quite displeased by my hesitation, but I never imagined he would speak such words. I found myself at a loss for how to respond.

“No matter. Your master had already thought this through clearly; my dear disciple, you need not be too concerned.” He smiled faintly again, then his profound eyes once more scrutinized me from head to toe.

“Master, what are you looking at?” Feeling guilty and deeply afraid of the so-called self-castration cultivation, I remembered that although he had spoken magnanimously, the matter of whether or not to practice the ‘Sunflower Manual’, which required cutting off one’s lineage, was still unresolved. Therefore, being stared at by him made me quite uncomfortable, and I couldn’t help but ask.