The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 134 Ten Strengths, Gift of a Sword

Dark clouds resembled dragon claws, while white rain fell like pieces of chess.

Zhou Yan pulled hard on the rope, his figure like a waterbird leaping over the waves and landing on the shore. He was drenched in the rain, but he was oblivious. In his mind, he saw the scene in the palace where Ouyang Feng's sleeves were like an iron fan being opened, and the palace guards who touched them were smashed away.

The scene shifted abruptly, and he recalled the moment when Huang Rong was struck by the sedan chair pole and seriously injured during the Lantern Festival.

Huang Rong's cultivation level at that time was not comparable to that of Sha Tongtian, Peng Lianhu and others, but she practiced the martial arts of Peach Blossom Island and her internal energy was extremely pure, which was incomparable to A'Zhu in the world of Tian Long Ba Bu.

However, the injuries that fell on Huang Rong were not much different from those on A Zhu. The reason why the sedan chair pole was so powerful was that it was like a strong bow shooting an iron arrow, it was "bursted" out, containing a "bursting" force.

The essence of the "Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms" lies entirely in the application of force. The true meaning of the move "Dense Clouds Without Rain" lies in "collapse."

"Beng Jin" emphasizes instantaneous explosive power. According to the annotations in "Yue Family Boxing Manual", "Yue Family Spear", and "Quanzhen Swordplay", the force can be divided into straight Beng, flat Beng, horizontal Beng, and vertical Beng. The left and right thrusting of the spear in spear techniques uses horizontal Beng, while "Sorrowful Song Striking the Zither" and "Frosty Waves Rolling Snow" in Quanzhen Swordplay use vertical Beng.

In an instant, Zhou Yan combined all the martial arts he had learned, and thoroughly understood the essence of the "Dense Clouds but No Rain" move of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms.

Practicing martial arts in the Hongliu style is like fighting against one powerful enemy after another, which naturally consumes a great deal of energy.

Zhou Yan sat cross-legged, using the Quanzhen Heart Sutra to guide the gentle energy of the Jade Guanyin to relax his muscles and relieve fatigue. After a short while, he leaped up and plunged into the rapids, channeling his strength into his legs and landing steadily on them.

Zhou Yan's body trembled, and he was about to unleash the "Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms" to continue practicing his skills in the surging torrent. He had already mastered the moves of these eighteen palms to the extreme, and he could control his qi with his mind when making moves. What he needed to do was to comprehend the many subtle uses of "jin".

From a distance, one could see that his movements were powerful and vigorous, with continuous and unbroken techniques like clouds and rainbows.

Suddenly, Zhou Yan pulled on the rope and fell back onto the shore, pacing back and forth while muttering to himself.

The move "Sudden Strike" lives up to its name, its speed is astounding, striking unexpectedly and most likely to achieve a surprise victory. It delivers a fatal blow before the opponent can react, hence the saying: "Sudden strike, leaving no room for error." However, it would be a grave mistake to interpret the "sudden" in this move as mere footwork. In the palace, I faced Sha Tongtian, who possessed the "Shifting Positions" lightness skill. Even when I concealed my true abilities and unleashed a sudden killing move with my "Rain of Pear Blossoms Spear," Sha Tongtian still dodged six of my attacks. Ouyang Ke also possessed the "Instant Thousand Miles" lightness skill of White Camel Mountain. Against such masters of exceptional martial arts and outstanding footwork, it would be extremely difficult to achieve a "sudden strike." Every move of the Dragon Subduing Palm emphasizes power, therefore, this "sudden strike" refers to power. But what kind of power is this?

Zhou Yan's current problem is like Mei Chaofeng's cultivation of the "Nine Yin Manual". The text contains the phrase "Five Qi Converge at the Origin", which has no further explanation and requires the cultivator to have a sudden enlightenment on their own.

Hong Qigong taught fourteen palm techniques, explaining the moves and the method of guiding the qi. As for the application of force, one had to figure it out on one's own. Therefore, in the world of the Condor Heroes, Condor Heroes, and Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber trilogy, Guo Jing, Yelü Qi, and Shi Huolong all practiced the same palm techniques. However, when comparing the same moves, their power was worlds apart. The key to this was the understanding and mastery of the force.

Zhou Yan paced back and forth, suddenly recalling a line from the "Eight Methods of Yue Family Boxing": "...Observe the opponent's strength and weakness, never use force first, just like drawing a bow and releasing an arrow, intending to hit the bottom first..."

This mantra refers to "squeezing force," which involves squeezing the opponent's foundation, exposing their weaknesses, and then launching a fatal attack.

Zhou Yan beamed, “Wonderful! The steps should be low, the legs should be squeezed. The hands should push, the body should embrace, the movements should be synchronized, and the legs should squeeze like a towering tree.”

He laughed loudly, and as he was about to leap into the torrent, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his "Guanchong" acupoint.

He was quite startled. This acupoint is located on the Jing-Well point of the Hand Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian, at the ulnar end of the ring finger. It is the Jing-Well point of the Hand Shaoyang Meridian and receives the Qi of the Hand Jueyin Meridian.

The acupoint pain just now was due to the backflow of meridian energy. Meridian energy can transport qi and blood, but improper transport can damage the meridians. This time, the meridian energy was moving automatically, which means that I was practicing in a torrent. Each palm strike was against the enormous force carried by the flood, which was equivalent to a constant fierce battle with a master. I had not fully mastered the application of the "Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms", and I was in danger of damaging my meridians.

Zhou Yan shivered and immediately abandoned the idea of ​​continuing to practice in the torrent. He guided his internal energy with his mind and circulated it. Sure enough, the meridians that had not yet been tempered and opened up were faintly painful, and the acupoints on his palms and arms that often needed to release internal energy felt like being pricked by needles.

He dared not be careless and finished his work, heading towards the thatched hut.

Silly Girl listened to Zhou Yan and practiced her skills without slacking off.

In the pouring rain, the girl used the "Azure Wave Palm Technique" of Peach Blossom Island. She had eaten snake gall, which greatly increased her strength. When she pushed out her palm, the raindrops that landed on her palm seemed to linger in the air for a moment before forming an arc of rain. The water sprayed out for five or six feet, and it looked like a streak of light was being unleashed in the heavy rain.

"it is good."

Zhou Yan praised her. In fact, Silly Girl could only make a few moves, but with her current strength, she could easily catch ordinary martial artists off guard and make them stumble.

When the silly girl heard Zhou Yan's praise, she giggled and said, "Silly girl is amazing, silly girl is hungry."

"cooked rice"

Zhou Yan chuckled.

The shed contained wild rabbits and pheasants he had hunted, as well as a large snake that had failed in his experiments.

While skinning the snake, Zhou Yan sighed. The original owner's ancestors were from the Zhou Tong lineage. He himself had transmigrated, his mind and body now combined. Was all his talent concentrated in martial arts? Why couldn't he raise snakes properly? Perhaps he should consult Mei Chaofeng and have the medicine boy raise the snakes. Or maybe he could find an opportunity to capture a snake slave from Ouyang Ke's side.

He smiled as he regained consciousness, cooked snake soup, and gave the silly girl two purple snake gallbladders.

The silly girl painfully bit through the snake's gall and swallowed it.

Zhou Yan also ate three snake gallbladders one after another, sat quietly to regulate his breathing, and used the Quanzhen Heart Sutra to guide the warm and pure Qi of the Jade Guanyin to relax his muscles and tendons, repair his internal ailments, and then transform the effects of the snake gallbladders into blood and Qi, which he then transported through his meridians to stimulate his internal strength.

An hour later, the snake soup was cooked to perfection.

Zhou Yan and Sha Gu ate their fill.

With nothing to play on a rainy day, Sha Gu started practicing her sword skills, while Zhou Yan continued to regulate his breathing and relax his muscles. By evening, he had once again focused his energy, and the stinging pain in his meridians and acupoints had completely disappeared.

"call!"

Zhou Yan was lucky; if he had forced himself to cultivate at midday, he would have inevitably suffered damage to his meridians. Without the Jade Guanyin and the snake gall, even though it was discovered in time, it would have been difficult to recover in less than ten days or half a month. The flash flood came and went in an instant, and Zhou Yan had already recovered completely. He could even obtain snake gall from Snake Valley to strengthen his muscles and bones, and to circulate his qi and blood to generate internal strength. How could he miss this opportunity to practice?

After letting the silly girl practice her knife skills, he rested on his own and then went to the valley again.

In the hazy rain and mist, the giant eagle was still on the hillside.

The eagle now looks at me as if I were Dugu Qiubai practicing his sword amidst the raging waves.

Zhou Yan smiled and leaped onto the boulder.

As the floodwaters rose and surged, he was swept out of the water in an instant, but he used his "Destroying Claws" to grab the rock wall and steady himself. When he stood up, the torrents were up to his chest.

He focused his energy and stood firmly on his feet, while the huge waves in his vision swept down like an iron fan.

"Dense clouds but no rain," the palm strike was executed, and a curtain of water exploded.

Zhou Yan practiced diligently amidst the raging torrents. He further grasped the essence of "collapsed force" from the move "Fish Leaping from the Abyss," sinking his energy and taking steps like a plow, with the momentum to devour wolves and tigers.

The "Riding the Six Dragons" move from the "Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms" is described as: "Riding the six dragons to rule the heavens." This move is majestic and its power is so great that it covers the earth and the sky. It is the most righteous and powerful move in the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms.

At midnight, Zhou Yan emerged from the water to regulate his breathing, then re-entered the water to comprehend the essence of this move, "harmonizing strength." He unified his internal and external forces, bringing his limbs together from the outside in, and simultaneously merging his external power and internal energy, unleashing a palm strike as powerful as a sudden storm.

……

The heavy rain has just stopped, and the sky is clear and blue.

As the floodwaters receded in the valley, two jets of water suddenly rose from the deepest part of the accumulated water. Under the bright sunshine, a double rainbow appeared in the valley from a distance.

Zhou Yan laughed loudly and leaped ashore from the water.

The "Double Dragons Taking Water" attack of the "Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms" was divided into two, and he comprehended the "lu jin" (a technique of applying force) from it.

The torrential rain lasted for five days. Zhou Yan practiced his kung fu in the water and eventually comprehended ten wonderful methods of applying force from the "Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms", including "Beng Jin", "Ji Jin", "Chan Jin" and "Ta Jin".

His mastery of the "Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms" was already quite remarkable.

Furthermore, the mastery of techniques such as "Beng Jin" and "Chan Jin" can enhance the power of the boxing and free fighting styles he has learned.

Through this training, Zhou Yan's understanding of "strength" was no less than that of a sudden enlightenment achieved in ordinary environments over several years.

The giant eagle guarded it relentlessly, rain or shine.

He leaped ashore, and the eagle let out a few low cries. It tugged at Zhou Yan's clothes a few times, then released them and strode away.

Zhou Yan understood his meaning and followed suit.

The eagle and the man traversed the entire valley, then turned into a deep ravine. They arrived at a cave. The eagle nodded three times, cried out three times, and turned back to look at Zhou Yan.

He entered the cave and found nothing but a stone table and a stone bench. In one corner of the cave, a pile of jumbled rocks rose up, resembling a tomb.

The giant eagle let out a few low cries towards the rocks.

Zhou Yan stepped forward. Behind the rocks, on the wall, were dozens of characters, signed "Sword Demon Dugu Qiubai".

"Brother Eagle, are you protecting this Senior Dugu?"

The great eagle let out a low cry.

Zhou Yan took two steps back, bowed three times to the pile of rocks, and then said, "Brother Diao, I must return to Zhongdu. I will come to visit you and Senior Dugu another day when I have free time or when I am on a delivery mission through Xiangyang."

The eagle let out a few soft hisses.

The man and the sculpture parted ways, and Zhou Yan and the silly girl reunited.

He went back into Snake Valley, several miles deep, and retrieved more than ten snake gallbladders, and captured two venomous snakes with golden glitter all over their bodies.

Once he left the valley, he saw the silly girl and the giant eagle together.

"Big brother, the eagle has brought the sword."

Zhou Yan was stunned for a moment, and the Divine Eagle, with a sword in its mouth, rushed over.

But then one could see the long sword in the eagle's mouth revealing a flowing white blade, which shone with a blue light as the sunlight poured in.

Zhou Yan smiled. This was the sword that Dugu Qiubai used before he came of age to compete with the heroes of Hebei.

Brother Eagle, you're being unfair!

(End of this chapter)