The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 104 Inside Story
After their parting at Gushan, Wu Chengyu and Hong Qigong never saw each other again, and Wu Chengyu also had no further dealings with the Beggars' Clan.

At this moment, Wu Chengyu was still in the state of shrinking his bones, and his face was also disguised. In addition, he was no longer the child he was five years ago, so Hong Qigong could not recognize him. Most importantly, Hong Qigong's attitude was completely different now.

Wu Chengyu could clearly sense that Hong Qigong harbored some subtle hostility towards him. Where did it come from?

Hong Qigong should have seen everything he did to Shi Tong and the others.

The problem is that Wu Chengyu absolutely does not believe that Hong Qigong would serve as a bodyguard for a playboy like Shi Tong. Even his uncle Shi Miyuan is not qualified, so this hostility is completely unreasonable.

"Junior greets Chief Hong of the Beggars' Sect."

"You actually recognize me. It seems you're not without background. What exactly is the purpose of your actions tonight?"

"This junior also wants to know why Chief Hong is here. It's impossible that we just happened to meet. I don't think Chief Hong would bother me for the sake of Shi Tong."

"That pampered brat surnamed Shi, I'm lucky he didn't personally deal with him. I just arrived in Suzhou this afternoon, intending to follow this Shi Tong for a few days."

I ignored the fact that you killed that guy surnamed Cheng earlier; he wasn't a good person anyway.

But I never expected your methods to be so insidious.

If you had killed Shi Tong directly just now, I would have stopped you. It's not time to kill him yet.

You could have easily killed them with a single blow, but instead you went to great lengths, putting all three of them in the same room and feeding them some kind of drug. I thought you were just teaching them a lesson, not trying to kill them, so I didn't stop you.

I never expected your methods to be so insidious. By the time I realized something was wrong, it was too late.

Although I don't know why you did this, these three people still died, and died such a wretched death.

"Young man, you've ruined my grand plan, and it seems your motives are far from pure. Now, this old beggar demands an explanation."

Wu Chengyu understood that Shi Tong must have attracted Hong Qigong's attention for something, which was why Hong Qigong went to the trouble of personally following him. It must have been no trivial matter.

"I was just eliminating a few scoundrels; I never intended to oppose Chief Hong."

"Chief Hong, could you please state clearly what value Shi Tong holds that warrants your personal visit to Suzhou?"

"It's alright to tell you. My Beggars' Sect has received news that Shi Miyuan is going to make peace with the Jin Kingdom. The Jin Kingdom has sent an envoy to the south in secret, and this Shi Tong was sent by Shi Miyuan to welcome the Jin envoy. The two sides will meet in Suzhou and then secretly head to Hangzhou."

I originally intended to wait for the Jin envoy to arrive, figure out their conspiracy, and then take action. Who would have thought that before the envoy even arrived, Shi Tong would be killed by you?

Young man, this is a matter of great importance. I don't believe your actions tonight are simply about eliminating scoundrels.

Wu Chengyu was a little helpless. How did the Jin Kingdom get involved again? However, Shi Tong had just mentioned in the room that Shi Miyuan had sent him to Suzhou on business. He was just taking advantage of Shi Miyuan's power to seize the property in Suzhou.

Wu Chengyu didn't pay attention at the time, but now it seems that he was right in line with Hong Qigong's words.

"This junior was merely eliminating a scourge and had no intention of interfering with Chief Hong's important matters. Chief Hong, please do not overthink it."

"I didn't think much of it at first, but the skill you used just now has made me reconsider." Wu Chengyu was somewhat surprised, and before he could figure it out, Hong Qigong struck again with his palm, preemptively making his move.

Wu Chengyu never expected to encounter Hong Qigong tonight, but he was eager to try his luck. He had now achieved a minor level of martial arts prowess. If he had won against Chen Xuanfeng three years ago by using his techniques, his skill was slightly inferior.

Three years later, he has mastered the Ox and Horse Stance, and although the Nameless Divine Skill is not perfect, it can be considered a minor achievement. He has also learned many other unique skills, so it is inevitable that he is complacent and self-satisfied.

In Wu Chengyu's view, his current martial arts skills should be roughly on par with those of the Black Wind Duo who had just encountered the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan after years of hard training in the desert in the original work, Qu Lingfeng before his leg was broken, and Qiu Chuji, the strongest among the Seven Masters of Quanzhen.

However, with the added benefits of various body-refining techniques and unique skills such as the Star Shift, Wu Chengyu would definitely be able to easily overpower them.

Above him, only the Five Greats, Zhou Botong, and Qiu Qianren could surpass him, perhaps including Lin Chaoying's disciple, Li Mochou and Xiaolongnu's master, and the current head of the Ancient Tomb Sect who once fought the insane Ouyang Feng three times.

However, according to the original work, Qiu Chuji and his six disciples, even using the Big Dipper Formation, could only fight Huang Yaoshi to a draw, indicating a huge gap between the two levels.

Therefore, Wu Chengyu always wanted to know how big the gap was between himself and the Five Greats. He knew he would never know without a fight.

Seeing Hong Qigong's palm strike coming at him with immense power, Wu Chengyu knew that he had no choice but to make a move tonight. It would be a good opportunity to test his current level.

"Well done." Wu Chengyu took two steps back, and with both hands outstretched, he drew a semicircle in the air, using the "Shifting Stars" technique to its fullest extent. An invisible force field met Hong Qigong's palm force. This time, he used all the skills he had learned in his life and barely managed to reverse the palm.

"Just as I thought!" Hong Qigong shouted, first using his palm to neutralize his own palm force, then leaping into the air and striking again.

"Try this move of mine, 'The Dragon Regrets'!" This time, the palm strike was no ordinary one. The previous one was just a test, but now Hong Qigong was serious.

The palm strike was extremely solid, yet it made no sound of breaking through the air. However, one could feel as if a mountain was pressing down on them, and the air in front of them seemed to solidify.

Wu Chengyu wanted to test his current level, so he tried to use the "Shifting Stars" technique to forcibly move, but this time he couldn't move an inch. The invisible force field collapsed at the first touch, and the palm strike still landed on his chest.

Wu Chengyu quickly used his cat-like steps to move aside, barely managing to dodge the palm strike. The force of the palm grazed past him, and a tree at least twenty centimeters tall behind him snapped in two.

Not only that, after the invisible force field clashed with the palm force, Wu Chengyu only felt his internal energy surge. At this moment, his throat tasted slightly sweet, indicating that he had suffered a minor internal injury.

With a single palm strike, the difference in skill was immediately apparent. Wu Chengyu boasted that he had learned a divine skill and that the quality of his internal energy was far superior to other techniques, but when he actually fought against the Five Greats, he was still a step behind. Not only was the quality of his internal energy insufficient, but his accumulation of internal energy was also far inferior.

Most importantly, this palm strike, "The Dragon Regrets," seems to somewhat restrain the "Shifting Stars" technique.

When Hong Qigong taught Guo Jing, he said that the key to the "Regretful Dragon" technique lies in the word "regret." He said that he should use seven-tenths of his strength and reserve three-tenths. It seems that it is this three-tenths of his reserved strength that allows him to still have control after the palm strike is delivered. The "Shifting Stars" technique is completely ineffective against Hong Qigong's palm strike.

Wu Chengyu changed his position, but Hong Qigong did not press his advantage. Instead, he stared intently at Wu Chengyu and questioned him.

"Using their own methods against them, this is the long-lost 'Star Shift,' you brat, your surname is Murong."

　To live up to everyone's support, I'd like to try updating 10,000 words a day, which is quite challenging for me. Give me two days to revise the outline and see if I can manage it. I'll start updating five times a day the day after tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)