"Naipao!" Zhong Yongliang had never expected that a whole layer of venomous bees was clinging to Zhang Naipao's body. His heart gave a jolt, and at the same time it raced with excitement — it seemed the martial art Zhang Naipao practiced was no ordinary thing!

Seeing that Junior Brother Naipao knew the newcomers, the young man tactfully stepped back and took his leave. Though he called Zhang Naipao "junior brother" inside the sect, Zhang Naipao's standing and strength had long since surpassed his own; apart from sharing the same generation in the disciples' ranks, everything else about the two of them was entirely different.

"Brother Liang, I never thought you'd come all this way to see me!" Zhang Naipao was every bit as thrilled. He had assumed that once he went up the mountain, the only time he would ever see Zhong Yongliang again was when he went back down — at no other moment. That Zhong Yongliang had actually taken time out to climb the mountain and visit him moved him deeply.

"You're my brother, and you came here to suffer through your training because of me — naturally I must come and see you often!" Zhong Yongliang said with great solemnity. He had long since learned how to win men's hearts; he knew Zhang Naipao would be of great use to him in the future, and so he was naturally very warm toward him.

"Brother Liang, don't talk like that! You are my leader — you always will be. If it weren't for you, my family would have been ruined long ago, so this life of yours is yours to command! Tell me to go east and I will never go west!" Zhang Naipao declared gravely.

"Good! Very good, Paozi — I wasn't wrong about you!" Zhong Yongliang said, patting Zhang Naipao's shoulder in excitement. "By the way, Paozi, what art are you practicing? How can it be so terrifying? There's a murderous, baleful energy hanging over this whole place!"

"I cultivate the Bee-Sucking Great Art!" Zhang Naipao hid nothing, telling Zhong Yongliang straight out the technique he practiced.

"The Bee-Sucking Great Art?" Zhong Yongliang stared blankly. "Does that have anything to do with the Star-Sucking Great Art?"

"No. The Bee-Sucking Great Art is a method for absorbing bee venom — I depend on the venom to raise my strength!" Zhang Naipao explained. "Right now the spiritual energy between heaven and earth is far too sparse; go about it the normal way and you'd stand almost no chance of making progress. Our Tomorrow and Tomorrow Sect is a demonic sect — we achieve rapid gains in strength by absorbing baleful poisons, which works to much the same effect as absorbing true qi, only our process is far more bitter and arduous."

"So that's how it is!" Zhong Yongliang nodded, thinking to himself that no wonder that Patriarch Mad Bull was so formidable — he had actually been able to slay a Heaven-tier expert. There was a reason for it, after all. The arts they cultivated were all heterodox, nothing like those of the famous orthodox schools.

"Then, since you belong to a demonic school, do the orthodox sects ever come looking for trouble with you?" Zhong Yongliang asked on instinct. Before Zhang Naipao he had no need to conceal his thoughts; he could see that Zhang Naipao genuinely took him for his leader, so Zhong Yongliang held nothing back.

"Orthodox sects?" Zhang Naipao laughed. "Brother Liang, you've been reading too many wuxia novels. In reality, those sects put profit above everything else — why on earth would they come pick fights with us out of the blue? Are they insane? They can't even finish dealing with their own business, and they'd go trouble somebody else's? Besides, the so-called proper sects have plenty of sordid business of their own. As far as I know, the illustrious Mysterious Elixir Sect built its fortune on burning, looting and killing — they specialize in wicked deeds."

"Is that so..." Zhong Yongliang did not know the ins and outs of the matter, but hearing Zhang Naipao explain it, he realized he had worried for nothing — the demonic sects were a formidable existence in their own right. What he had feared was that once Zhang Naipao came down from the mountain he would become the common enemy of all those sects, and then, if Wei Zhao could not beat them, they would join forces with the orthodox schools to exterminate the demonic sect's disciples and the like — that would have been a fine mess. Now, it seemed, there would be no such trouble.

"Then what you're practicing right now is the Bee-Sucking Great Art? And what level has your strength reached?" Zhong Yongliang asked hurriedly.

"Brother Liang, the Bee-Sucking Great Art is only an auxiliary mental method. The art I chiefly cultivate is called the Chrysanthemum Manual — the exclusive secret book of the Tomorrow and Tomorrow Sect. Once I bring it to perfection, I'll be invincible under heaven!" Zhang Naipao kept not a thing from Zhong Yongliang.

"The Chrysanthemum Manual?" Zhong Yongliang blinked. The name of the art was rather unusual, and it sounded terribly impressive. He was tempted. "Paozi, could I practice it too?"

"Of course you could — though the process is brutally hard. Here's the manual; why don't you have a look at it first." Zhang Naipao handed a thread-bound book to Zhong Yongliang. Should Zhong Yongliang genuinely wish to practice, with Zhang Naipao's present standing in the sect it would be no more than the matter of a single word.

Zhong Yongliang had not expected Zhang Naipao to be so forthright as to hand over even the secret manual. He took it quickly, opened it and began to read — but he had got no further than the first page when he jumped half out of his skin.

On that first page were written eight bold characters: "To master this art, one must first castrate oneself!"

Sweat broke out and ran down Zhong Yongliang's forehead. Surely not? You had to castrate yourself to practice it? Wouldn't that make you a eunuch?

"Paozi... don't tell me you've already..." Zhong Yongliang pointed at the eight bold characters on the manual and asked carefully.

"You're right." Zhang Naipao sighed and nodded. "I am a eunuch now."

"Ah? Then I'd better not practice it..." At Zhang Naipao's words, dark lines instantly spread across Zhong Yongliang's face. Frightened, he shook his head at once. "It's enough that a good brother like you practices it — from now on I'll be counting on you!"

"No, Brother Liang — I was simply too hasty back then. You can read on a little further..." Zhang Naipao pointed at the Chrysanthemum Manual and said to Zhong Yongliang.

"Mm... very well..." Zhong Yongliang nodded, picked up the Chrysanthemum Manual and turned another page. Sure enough, the page beyond bore another line of eight characters: "Even if you castrate yourself, success is not guaranteed."

"This..." Zhong Yongliang was dumbstruck. So the thing actually had a chance of failure? Even after castrating yourself you might not succeed — in which case he had all the more reason not to practice. What if he castrated himself and still failed to master the divine art? Wouldn't that be an even worse disaster?

"There's more!" Zhang Naipao pointed at the Chrysanthemum Manual and went on.

"Uh..." Zhong Yongliang blinked and turned another page. On the third page were eight bold characters: "No castration needed — you can still succeed." Zhong Yongliang's eyes went wide. "No way. Paozi — you got scammed?"