The days had turned hot. Summer sunlight clung to the stone walls of the Zhen Estate like sticky oil, and Ah Yue wiped the sweat from his brow as he hauled another bucket of water across the courtyard.
The Five Poison Palm technique had stalled.
He'd already consumed the venom of the scorpion, toad bile, the fangs of a green snake, and even braved the rotten well for a centipede's acidic secretion. But the final poison—spider venom—remained elusive.
He'd searched every damp crevice of the estate, checked under firewood, scoured the rear gardens at dusk, even risked creeping near the outer medicinal hut—but no suitable spider had shown itself.
The venom of common spiders wouldn't do. He needed something potent. Something dangerous.
So for now, the Five Poison Palm was incomplete.
And then, a distraction came.
---
The young miss of the Zhen Family, Zhen Ruoxi, had been accepted into the Sword Sect—a rare honor. The whole estate was thrown into motion. Celebrations were being prepared. Paper lanterns, wine jars, silk hangings.
For the kitchen slaves like Ah Yue, it meant triple the work.
He spent two entire days peeling lotus roots, boiling duck bones, cleaning massive cauldrons until the fat under his fingernails ached. His back stiffened. But through it all, he held one thing in mind: he needed strength.
He had to climb.
On the third day, the steward ordered him to help dust the outer library. It wasn't a place slaves visited often—filled with rotting scrolls, abandoned records, and unkempt shelves. No one wanted to clean there. The books weren't valuable.
But to Ah Yue, who had once lived on the Blue Planet and read widely in his former life, even scraps were worth a glance.
---
The outer library was dim, lit only by small barred windows. Dust covered every surface. Mice scurried in the shadows. Ah Yue swept for hours.
While shifting a fallen shelf, he noticed a bundle of books stuffed between two boards—unlabeled, wrapped in faded red string.
Curious, he pried it open.
> Sunflower Manual
There was no author. No sect seal. The paper was thin, almost rotting. But the first page was clear:
> "Only by severing the root of desire may one cultivate pure Yang."
Ah Yue's eyes narrowed.
He flipped further. Diagrams of strange breathing methods, descriptions of inner channels focusing heat into the dantian, gathering masculine energy into a burning core. But it came with a warning:
> "To cultivate this art, one must become like the sun—bright, but barren. Sever the manhood. Let go of lust."
He sat back slowly, heart thudding.
> "A eunuch's art..." he muttered. "That's why it was thrown away."
He almost dropped it.
But the more he read, the more he realized—the Sunflower Manual was a Level 8 martial art. High-level. Far beyond the Five Poison Palm.
It was incomplete—only four of its eight stages were included—but even the first was a marvel.
Ah Yue clenched his fists.
> "I don't need to follow its drawbacks. I have the Drawback System."
---
That night, after lights-out, Ah Yue hid in the woodshed. He began the breathing cycle described in Chapter One.
Heat.
It surged like molten metal through his lower abdomen. His skin flushed. A sharp pain gathered below his navel, where the Sunflower technique forced Yang energy into the lower dantian.
His vision blurred.
Pain shot through his manhood—
Then:
> ✅[Drawback Detected] Sunflower Manual Stage 1 — "Root Severance" condition activated.
⚠️ Normal Effect: Permanent loss of reproductive function.
✅ System Conversion: Reversal activated.
New Effect: Yang Core Refinement. User's Yang energy stabilized and enhanced. Internal heat transformed into martial vigor.
A wave of intense clarity followed.
Ah Yue gasped.
It felt like he'd swallowed fire and it had melted into his veins, not to burn—but to empower.
His muscles tightened. His senses expanded. His skin glowed faintly under the moonlight, warm and dry despite the night chill.
> [Sunflower Manual — Level 1 Achieved]
---
Over the next few days, he continued practicing secretly.
Whenever he had a free moment—hauling firewood, scrubbing pans, even while walking—he circulated the Sunflower Manual's breathing pattern.
The Yang energy built quickly. He became more resistant to cold, could lift heavier sacks, move faster.
He didn't boast. He didn't show off.
In the servant quarters, Cui Lian still minded her own business. Others ignored him, lost in their exhaustion.
But Ah Yue knew.
He had changed.
He was no longer the same lowly kitchen slave.
He was stronger.
---
On the fifth night, he opened the manual again, checking the faded lines for the second stage.
> "Burn the marrow. The body shall shine."
His hands trembled.
If the first stage could raise him to Martial Arts Level 1 this quickly, what would the next do?
But something troubled him.
The manual was incomplete. He only had chapters up to Level 4.
He would need to find the rest someday.
But for now, it didn't matter.
> "Strength comes first," he whispered, clutching the scroll.
> "Then… everything else."
---
And in the distance, beyond the walls of the Zhen Estate, beyond the hills and forest and city gate…
In the Sword Sect where Zhen Ruoxi now trained, a sect elder received a quiet message.
> "A strange energy pulse has been detected near Kumu Town. Pure Yang. Unrestrained."
The elder frowned.
> "Keep watch."
Back in the Zhen Estate, Ah Yue lit a stolen candle and began breathing once more.