Chapter 6

The *Nine Yang Manual* is the same as the *Nine Yang Divine Skill*, first appearing in the later stages of *The Return of the Condor Heroes*. At that time, the great hero Yang Guo had already reunited with Xiaolongnü, and after defeating the Golden Wheel Dharma King, they were preparing to retire to the Living Dead Tomb. On the way, they encountered the monk Jueyuan and Zhang Sanfeng, who were chasing Ikesi and Xiaoxiangzi to retrieve the *Lengjia Sutra*.

This was the first time the *Nine Yang Divine Skill* appeared in the martial world, and from then on, everyone knew that besides the *Nine Yin Manual*, there was another scripture that could rival it, the *Nine Yang Manual*. In *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*, the *Nine Yang Divine Skill* shone even more, implicitly becoming the ultimate skill in the world.

First, let's look at the wonders of the *Nine Yang Divine Skill*. To understand the excellence of the *Nine Yang Divine Skill*, one only needs to look at those who practiced it.

There were five people who practiced the *Nine Yang Manual*: besides Master Jueyuan, there were also the founder of Wudang, Zhang Sanfeng, the Shaolin monk Wuse, the founder of Emei, Guo Xiang, and the leader of the Ming Cult, Zhang Wujie. Master Jueyuan and Zhang Wujie mastered the complete skill, while the other three only practiced parts of it. Master Jueyuan could be described as a martial arts fanatic, a true martial arts fanatic, a martial arts novice. Apart from having supreme internal strength, he had no other skills, yet he could still defeat the Three Saints of Kunlun, He Zudao. Zhang Sanfeng created many Wudang skills based on the *Nine Yang Divine Skill* (Tai Chi is not included), Wuse created the *Nine Yang Finger* by transforming the *Nine Yang Divine Skill* he learned, and Emei also had the *Emei Nine Yang Skill*.

Let's focus on Zhang Wujie. After mastering the *Nine Yang Divine Skill*, Zhang Wujie learned the Ming Cult's supreme skill, the *Heavenly Shift*, in just half a day. Do not think that the *Heavenly Shift* is easy to learn. Here is how the original text describes it:

"The sheepskin scroll reads: This first level of the technique can be mastered in seven years by those with high insight, and in fourteen years by those with lesser insight. The second level of the technique can be mastered in seven years by those with high insight, and in fourteen years by those with lesser insight. If there is no progress after twenty-one years, one should not practice the third level to avoid the risk of going astray and being beyond redemption."

However, Zhang Wujie, following the method, quickly connected his true energy, and in just half a day, he reached the fifth level. He then practiced the sixth level, and after a little over an hour, he had reached the seventh level. The famous cult leader Yang Dingtian of the Ming Cult spent several decades and only managed to reach the fourth level of the *Heavenly Shift*.

One of the two immortals of the Ming Cult, the Left Envoy Yang Xiao, when injured by Cheng Kun at the Bright Peak, said to Zhou Dian, "I have practiced for over ten years and only reached the second level. If I continue, my true energy will burst out of my head, and I cannot control it. The cult leader Yang once said that among the leaders of our cult, the eighth-generation leader Zhong had the highest martial arts, and it is said that he could practice the *Heavenly Shift* to the fifth level, but he died of going astray on the day he completed it. Since then, no one has ever reached the fourth level."

From this, we can see how difficult it is to practice the *Heavenly Shift* and the excellence of the *Nine Yang Divine Skill*.

In the battle of the six major sects attacking the Bright Peak, Zhang Wujie learned the *Dragon Claw Hand*, one of the seventy-two Shaolin skills, during his fight with the Shaolin monk Kong Xing, and used the *Dragon Claw Hand* to defeat Kong Xing. This is truly "using their own methods against them."

When facing the three elders of Kunlun, he only relied on the *Seven Injuries Fist* he remembered from childhood, and with one punch, he unleashed the full power of the *Seven Injuries Fist*, astonishing everyone. The original text describes this part most vividly, and I will quote it for you to enjoy.

"Zhang Wujie looked around and saw a large pine tree over three zhang tall on the east side of the square, with branches spreading out like a canopy. He slowly walked over and loudly recited: 'The five elements regulate yin and yang, damaging the heart, lungs, and liver, causing the spirit to wander and the soul to fly!' After reciting loudly, he stepped forward and hit the tree with a punch. Suddenly, the upper half of the pine tree flew out flat and landed two zhang away with a loud thud, leaving only a four-foot-long trunk on the ground, with a very smooth cut. Chang Jingzhi muttered, 'This... this is not the *Seven Injuries Fist*!' The *Seven Injuries Fist* combines hardness and softness, and although the punch that broke the tree was powerful, it was clearly pure hardness. He walked closer and saw that the tree trunk's fibers were all shattered, which was the highest level of the *Seven Injuries Fist*."

After mastering the *Nine Yang Divine Skill*, Zhang Wujie's speed of learning martial arts became faster and faster. It took him half a day to practice the *Heavenly Shift*, and it took him about an incense stick's time to learn the *Dragon Claw Hand* in a fight. The *Dragon Claw Hand* has thirty-six moves, and after Kong Xing finished one set, Zhang Wujie had already memorized the *Dragon Claw Hand*. In the next fight, in less than ten moves, he used the *Dragon Claw Hand* to defeat Kong Xing. In total, it took only a few dozen moves, and in the lightning-fast exchange of moves, an incense stick's time was already quite long. When using the *Seven Injuries Fist*, he mastered it in a moment. In a few steps and a few words, he achieved success, just like Cao Zhi composing a poem in seven steps.

The *Dragon Claw Hand* is one of the seventy-two Shaolin skills, and its excellence is self-evident. The *Seven Injuries Fist* is the treasure of the Kunlun Sect, and no one except the founder, Mulingzi, has ever mastered it. Although these two martial arts manuals may not surpass the *Heavenly Shift*, they are not much inferior to it. The reason Zhang Wujie learned faster and faster is that after mastering the *Nine Yang Divine Skill*, his understanding of martial arts became stronger.

Indeed, once one skill is mastered, all skills are mastered. The *Heavenly Shift* is said to be the foundation of all martial arts, but I don't think so. At least, the *Nine Yang Divine Skill* is superior to it.

The original text states, "All internal skills in the world do not surpass the *Nine Yang Divine Skill*."

This means that in internal skills, the *Nine Yang Divine Skill* is the best in the world. This statement is not exaggerated. After mastering the *Nine Yang Divine Skill*, Zhang Wujie's true energy was like the surging waves of the sea, endless and extremely powerful, and the strength he had accumulated was unmatched in the world.

In the original text, when the Ming Cult and the imperial court's experts fought on Wudang Mountain, Zhang Sanfeng was injured by a sneak attack. Before Zhang Wujie fought the imperial court's experts, there was this passage:

"Zhang Wujie held the corner of Zhang Sanfeng's robe with his left hand and gently shook his left hand, saying, 'Grandmaster, I have never used the Tai Chi technique you taught me. I don't know if it works. It's a good opportunity to test the method of using softness to overcome hardness and using emptiness to control reality with this external expert.' As he spoke, he transmitted a very thick and very soft *Nine Yang Divine Skill* from his palm into Zhang Sanfeng's body. In an instant, Zhang Sanfeng felt a powerful force coming from his palm, although it was far less refined and pure than his own internal strength, it was continuous and endless. Surprised, he looked at Zhang Wujie's face and saw that his eyes did not reveal any light, but there was a layer of warm and clear light, indicating that his internal skills had reached the highest level. In his life, he had only met a few people, such as Master Jueyuan and the great hero Guo Jing, who had this level of cultivation. As for the high-level experts of the present, besides himself, he could not think of anyone else who could reach this level."

Zhang Sanfeng's words should be convincing. In addition, the *Nine Yang Divine Skill* also has the effect of protecting the body.

When the Golden-Haired Lion King Xie Xun used the *Seven Injuries Fist* to break the *Adamantine Body* of the monk Kong Jian, he hit him with thirteen punches and killed him. Although there was some trickery involved, it also shows the power of the *Seven Injuries Fist*.

"Among the four great monks, the first, Kong Jian, could not withstand the *Seven Injuries Fist* with his *Adamantine Body*. Could Zhang Wujie's *Nine Yang Divine Skill* withstand the *Seven Injuries Fist*? You will see. On the Bright Peak, the fourth of the five elders of Kunlun, Chang Jingzhi, sneak-attacked Zhang Wujie. A punch hit Zhang Wujie's back, right on the Lingtai acupoint, but Zhang Wujie seemed to feel nothing.

The original text says, 'Chang Jingzhi hit the vital point with his punch and was greatly surprised to see that Zhang Wujie seemed to feel nothing. He blurted out, "Have you practiced the *Adamantine Body* skill, so you are from the Shaolin Sect?" Zhang Wujie replied, "I am not a disciple of the Shaolin Sect..." Chang Jingzhi knew that all protective skills rely on a concentration of true energy, and speaking would dissipate the energy. Before he could stop, he punched again, hitting Zhang Wujie's chest. Zhang Wujie smiled and said, "I said that the *Seven Injuries Fist* is useless without a foundation in internal skills. If you don't believe me, try another punch." Chang Jingzhi's punches were like the wind, and he hit Zhang Wujie twice more. These four punches clearly hit Zhang Wujie, but he smiled and seemed to feel nothing. The four powerful punches that could break stones and split rocks felt like a gentle breeze or a soft touch to him. Chang Jingzhi's nickname was 'One Punch Breaks the Mountain,' which was an exaggeration, but his punch was well-known among the older generation of martial artists. Everyone was shocked to see that his four punches were in vain."

Origins:

Version 1: Both the *Nine Yin Manual* and the *Nine Yang Manual* were created by Bodhidharma. They are a set. The *Nine Yin Manual* focuses on attack techniques, while the *Nine Yang Manual* focuses on survival and protection.

Version 2: The *Nine Yin Manual* was created by Huang Shang. The creator of the *Nine Yang Manual* is unknown. The two manuals are unrelated.

New Revised Version: The *Nine Yin Manual* was created by Huang Shang. Wang Chongyang obtained the *Nine Yin Manual* and lost it in a bet. The person who read it was very dismissive. This person was originally a Confucian scholar, then a Taoist, and finally a Buddhist monk. After becoming a Buddhist monk, he combined his knowledge of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism with his martial arts skills to create a skill that balances yin and yang, which he believed was superior to the *Nine Yin Manual*. Since this skill focuses on the yin aspect of the *Nine Yin Manual*, he named it the *Nine Yang Manual*.

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