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

Chapter 131 The Gap in Realms
To be able to withstand Hong Qigong's Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms without getting injured is to be considered a top-tier master.

At least when Wu Chengyu fought Hong Qigong, once Hong Qigong unleashed his Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, Wu Chengyu could only dodge and walk away. After a few punches and kicks, he was covered in injuries.

Wu Chengyu analyzed the situation on the field and knew that the martial arts skills, or rather, internal strength, of these two people far surpassed his own.

Hong Qigong unleashed his Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms in quick succession, forcing the two masters back. He looked at the masked man and said, "I didn't expect it to be you. Are you acting on behalf of the Jin Kingdom, or have you defected to the imperial court? Aren't you afraid that your master, Chief Shangguan, will not rest in peace?"

Wu Chengyu also guessed who the masked man was. His palm technique was exquisite and fierce, his internal strength could rival that of Hong Qigong, and his lightness skill was excellent. There are not many people in the martial arts world with such martial arts skills.

That monk Lingfeng, judging from his name, is likely a fellow disciple of Master Lingzhi. However, Master Lingzhi's martial arts skills are not even worthy of carrying his shoes. In such a vast Western Region, there are many Tantric masters, and they even play with reincarnated spirit children. It is understandable that a monk like Lingfeng would suddenly appear.

But this masked man was dressed entirely as a Han Chinese, and there are only a handful of top-level Han Chinese experts known to exist.

This person is none other than Qiu Qianren, the Iron Palm Water-Drifter. What use is a mask? Once he makes a move, his martial arts style will be impossible to hide from Hong Qigong.

Therefore, based on the original text, it is surprising that Qiu Qianren had already defected to the Jin Dynasty at this time.

When Hong Qigong exposed Qiu Qianren's identity, he remained silent and did not remove the black cloth from his face, showing an attitude of "even if you can tell, I will resolutely not admit it."

The two sides attacked again. Monk Lingfeng took the brunt of Hong Qigong's attacks head-on. Although he was forced to retreat and roared in anger, he was not seriously injured by Hong Qigong's palms and still had some strength left.

Qiu Qianren, on the other hand, avoided Hong Qigong's sharp edge and instead engaged in a fierce battle with Lingfeng Monk, using ruthless and vicious moves to target Hong Qigong's vital points.

His palm technique was not as fierce as the Dragon Subduing Palm, but it was exquisite. The black energy on his palm grew thicker and thicker, like a black mist, and the black mist grew larger and larger, gradually enveloping a few feet around Hong Qigong.

Hong Qigong was, after all, distracted by two things, and neither of them could be dealt with by him in just a few palm strikes. His range of movement was gradually confined to a small area by the black mist.

The three exchanged dozens of blows in the blink of an eye. Lingfeng and Qiu Qianren's attacks became increasingly fierce, while Hong Qigong defended his own position tightly, not giving an inch. To onlookers, although the fight was dazzling, Lingfeng and Qiu Qianren seemed to have the upper hand.

However, Wu Chengyu saw things differently. Although the two attacked with great force, Lingfeng was already suppressed by Hong Qigong when they clashed head-on. With the continuous exchange of blows, the monk Lingfeng must have already suffered a loss, and his offensive could not possibly be sustained for long.

After all, the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms is the most powerful and fierce in the world. Apart from the deceased Wang Chongyang, among the other three of the Five Greats, only Ouyang Feng dared to fight Hong Qigong head-on when he used the Toad Stance. Huang Yaoshi also had to avoid its sharp edge. Lingfeng was at most close to the Five Greats. Even if it was only by a hair's breadth, it was still a world of difference.

Although Qiu Qianren took advantage of Lingfeng taking the brunt of Hong Qigong's attacks and constantly engaged in hit-and-run tactics, he still couldn't achieve any results.

His palm strikes far surpassed Wu Chengyu's, but his lightness skill was far inferior. All his attacks came with great force, but they were all blocked by Hong Qigong's seemingly casual palm strikes. Occasionally, he would counterattack with a palm strike that was aimed directly at Qiu Qianren's weakness, forcing him to turn around and save himself.

This is somewhat similar to how Wu Chengyu dealt with Hong Qigong. Whether it was a hit-and-run or a close-quarters fight using the "hundred families' meals" method, no matter how many unexpected moves he made, they were all unwittingly neutralized by Hong Qigong, and Wu Chengyu became more and more hesitant as the fight progressed.

The difference is that Qiu Qianren could withstand Hong Qigong's counterattack head-on, while Wu Chengyu dared not touch it at all and could only immediately dodge it with his superb lightness skill.

Let him be strong, the breeze still caresses the mountain. The attacks of Lingfeng Monk and Qiu Qianren were not a gentle breeze, but rather like endless waves crashing into towering boulders. Though their momentum was fierce, they crumbled upon contact, shattering into pieces.

According to Wu Chengyu's understanding, this is subtle and preemptive, requiring no reaction at all, making it impossible for Qiu Qianren to respond.

This may be the fundamental difference between the Five Greats and masters of Qiu Qianren's caliber.

Qiu Qianren and Hong Qigong were not that far apart in age, so there couldn't be a significant gap in their internal strength accumulation. In terms of martial arts, the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms would definitely surpass Qiu Qianren's Iron Palm of the Mountain, which is just one reason why Qiu Qianren was inferior to the Five Greats.

Throughout his life, Qiu Qianren was always a step below the Five Greats, and every time he fought against someone of the Five Greats' level, he was beaten so badly that he had no chance to fight back.

Later, Zhou Botong's martial arts skills caught up with the Five Greats, and he was able to chase Qiu Qianren for thousands of miles. If it weren't for his excellent lightness skills and the fact that the Old Urchin was too playful, he wouldn't have been able to escape at all.

The biggest difference lies in the level of subtlety.

Once you reach the level of "microscopic awareness," you can anticipate all of your opponent's attacks and deliver the most appropriate counterattack, unless your opponent has also reached that level.

To achieve a level of subtlety, besides a wealth of combat experience and a profound understanding of martial arts, talent and aptitude are fundamental. The Five Greats all possessed top-tier talent and aptitude in their time.

Qiu Qianren's only shortcoming was that his talent and aptitude were not as good as the Five Greats, and he was never able to break through to the realm of subtlety, which is why he was suppressed for life.

On the scene, it was clear that the swordsman was gradually losing ground to both Lingfeng Monk and Qiu Qianren.

As planned, they chased Yue Fei's army like cats and mice, constantly inflicting casualties, but always kept a few alive until Hong Qigong appeared. Then, the imperial guards swarmed in to attack, at least to deplete Hong Qigong's power, before letting Lingfeng Monk and Qiu Qianren make a sudden move.

In Shi Shunhe's eyes, no matter how high Hong Qigong's martial arts skills were, he was no match for him.

Who could have imagined that Yue Fei's army would be so formidable, and that they possessed such a wondrous battle formation? By the time Hong Qigong appeared, the imperial guards had been almost entirely wiped out, and the few remaining were also suddenly killed by Hong Qigong.

Of the experts sent by the Song Dynasty court, only the swordsman remains; that damned Huyan Moluo still hasn't arrived.

In the eyes of the swordsman, the Yue Family Army was no match for Huyan Moluo. If Huyan Moluo were present and joined forces with the Lingfeng Monk, he would surely be able to withstand Hong Qigong's frontal attack.

But now only the swordsman could lend a hand. He turned to look at the Yue family army and others who were still barely holding on and unable to escape, guessing that even if they ran, they wouldn't get very far.

The swordsman raised his sword and said, "I am Zhao Feng, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards. Chief Hong is indeed the best in the world, and no ordinary person can defeat him. Now I can only shamelessly bully the few with the many. Please forgive me, Chief Hong."

His lightness skill was extraordinary; he transformed into a white blur and forcefully joined the battle.

(End of this chapter)