The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 237 The镖人 (bodyguard/escort) forces the 頭陀 (monk/monk), the 東邪 (Eastern Heretic) settles a new grudge.

Bao Xiang suddenly sprang up, his voice reaching the people, his left hand resting on the back of his right palm.

The Qi flows through the Sanjiao Meridian of Hand-Shaoyang and the Pericardium Meridian of Hand-Jueyin. A surge of internal Qi emerges from the "Zhongzhu" and "Laogong" acupoints on the left hand, urging the right hand forward. In addition, a surging palm force is contained in the palm of the right hand. The seemingly earth-shattering palm strike does not cause any disturbance in the world, as if all the power is concentrated in a small space.

“‘Diamond Palm’, young hero, be careful.” Abbot Tianming of the Bodhidharma Hall of Shaolin Temple warned.

Zhou Yan was not afraid of Bao Xiang. A year ago, they had fought in Zhongdu. At that time, their cultivation levels were roughly equal, but now the gap between them had widened. Even if Bao Xiang practiced diligently, he could not match the improvement in his power after obtaining opportunities one after another.

The events unfolded even more perfectly than I had anticipated. Bao Xian and Bao Shu were able to remain calm, but Bao Xiang, burning with anger, was provoked out—perfect timing.

Zhou Yan spread his palms apart, left hand facing up and right hand facing down, as if to open up the heavens and the earth.

Hong Qigong's eyes lit up as he stood in the crowd.

Zhou Yan used the "Wild Goose Approaching the Land" move from the "Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms".

This move is all about skill; it conceals its cleverness within its apparent clumsiness, making it a technique to repel the enemy. By using the palm, it makes it difficult for the enemy to close in. If the opponent gets close, this move can be broken down into three parts: first, protect the upper, middle, and lower body respectively, and then use the palm force to strike the opponent's wrist, forcing the opponent to withdraw.

Zhou Yan's palm strike rose swiftly, his defense flawless. He had mastered the art of using the "antelope hanging its horns" technique, leaving his opponent no opening. This young man's talent was increasingly surprising to the old beggar. Alas, alas, he wasn't a disciple of the Beggars' Sect, not one of his own. This was the first time Hong Qigong had felt regret over Zhou Yan's refusal to become his disciple.

Bao Xiang felt a chill run down his spine, but he felt that no matter how he changed his palm technique, it would be difficult to break through the opponent's airtight defense. Just as this thought crossed his mind, Zhou Yan's palm suddenly fell and pressed down on Bao Xiang's wrists.

Zhou Yan and Bao Xiang's bodies sank simultaneously. To the onlookers, it appeared as if Zhou Yan was pressing down on Bao Xiang with his palms, channeling the force downwards. The bluestone beneath their feet first stirred up ripples of dust, then cracked with a "crack." Before the onlookers with lower cultivation levels could even see the movement clearly, Zhou Yan used the "collapsing force" contained in the "Wild Goose Approaching the Land" move to deflect the force, then his body shot up, and with a boom, the surging power of the "Iron Mountain Lean" directly slammed Bao Xiang away.

A buzzing sound arose, and a martial artist muttered to himself, "It's 'Iron Mountain Lean' again."

Every martial artist practicing external styles at the scene knew the "Iron Mountain Lean," but only Zhou Yan could use it repeatedly and even successfully repel powerful enemies.

This was the wealth of experience he had accumulated from hundreds of battles, large and small, enabling him to seize any fleeting opportunity in the blink of an eye. With Bao Xiang's strength, he could easily have lasted dozens of moves, but Zhou Yan used his grasp of the opportunity to seize the initiative in one move.

The powerful energy that permeated Bao Xiang's body was scattered by the impact, and he staggered backward. As Zhou Yan moved forward, he grabbed Bao Xiang's shoulder and tore off half of his monk's sleeve with a whoosh. Bao Xiang used the "Vajra Finger" to grab him with his claws. Zhou Yan punched away his claws with one punch and then landed another punch on his waist and ribs, breaking several of his ribs.

In the ensuing punch, Zhou Yan used the "Flipping Fist" to strike Bao Xiang's heart first, then his waist, ribs, and face. Afterward, Zhou Yan grabbed Bao Xiang's shoulder with one hand and dragged him around half a circle.

This series of attacks actually happened in an instant. Seeing that Zhou Yan was going to kill, Uncle Bao and Bao Xian roared and rushed towards Zhou Yan. As they approached the two fighting, they saw the two figures of Tianxin and Zen Master Tianming blocking their way like angry arrows.

Zhou Yan kicked Bao Xiang in the groin, followed by a knee strike to his face. This series of attacks was as swift and fierce as described in the "Fanziquan" boxing manual: "The punches are like a torrential rain, as crisp as a whip."

Huang Rong was overjoyed. She had already recognized Bao Xiang from his figure as the masked giant she had fought after assassinating the Jin Emperor in Zhongdu. She had almost been injured by him back then. Zhou Yan had used a heavy hand, so how could she not be happy?

Suddenly, Huang Rong felt something fly out beside her. She glanced around and saw that the Fire-Worker Monk had already appeared several feet away.

"Be careful."

Huang Rong darted into the woods and immediately raised a loud warning in a female voice.

In that space, Zhou Yan smashed Bao Xiang's head onto the ground.

The Zen Masters Tianxin and Tianming, who were fighting Baoshu and Baoxian, had retreated step by step. Kucheng's figure stirred up a thunderous roar. He activated his inner strength, and his kasaya suddenly flew out and landed on another figure in the air.

Using the kasaya as a weapon is the "Kasaya Subduing Demon Skill" among the 72 Shaolin Arts.

The kasaya was flying, and Ku Cheng's palm strike was graceful and unleashed. Halfway through the strike, it suddenly swayed slightly, instantly turning one palm into two, two into four, and so on, until it transformed into thirty-two palm prints on the kasaya. In the audience's view, the kasaya suddenly seemed to turn into an iron plate.

The figure in the air had hands like giant claws stirring up the clouds. In the blink of an eye, it tore apart the kasaya that was blocking its way. The bright yellow kasaya exploded and was then swept up by the force of the energy, whistling and fluttering like countless fluttering butterflies.

Immediately afterwards, Ku Cheng and the newcomer exchanged a palm strike. With a "bang," an arc-shaped curtain of air burst open in the air, and the two figures fell to the ground separately.

The abbot of Shaolin Temple took several large steps back, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, before landing beside Zhou Yan.

When Huang Rong warned him, Zhou Yan had already gathered all his strength. As soon as he landed, he struck first with "The Dragon Regrets" before his opponent could make a move.

The man raised his palm and struck out with a light yet heavy force. The moment his palm touched Zhou Yan, he felt a tyrannical palm force rushing through his meridians, domineering and unparalleled.

The dragon that soars too high will regret it, and fullness cannot last. Several waves of hidden energy, which Zhou Yan had suddenly realized during his training, surged forward like the tide, dissolving the palm force that was about to destroy his heart and lungs. The other person also retreated several large steps during this process.

The man darted forward, when suddenly a sharp, piercing sound, followed by human voices, rang out. "Swoosh!"

"Look at the palm."

The figure swung his fist, and with a "bang," pebbles flew everywhere in the air. In an instant, that person clashed palms with Hong Qigong, who had just entered.

The dust around them swirled like a collapsing vortex. Hong Qigong swayed, but the figure steadied himself after taking a couple of steps. Then, a sinister smile appeared on his face. "Chief Hong, are you trying to bully the weak with numbers?"

Hong Qigong saw an old monk, around seventy or eighty years old, whose expression was fierce and even his smile contained a strong sense of malevolence. He was also surprised by the other party's cultivation level. Back in Zhongdu, he had exchanged blows with the Golden Wheel Monk, and from the direct comparison, the old monk's cultivation was superior to the Monk's, and his internal strength was incomparably domineering.

Hong Qigong quickly guessed the other party's identity: the leader of the Vajra Sect in the Western Regions. Thinking about it this way, it made sense. His cultivation level and years of experience were obvious, so it was normal for him to have such a level.

Hong Qigong laughed heartily, "Could you be the leader of the Vajra Sect? It's not the old beggar who bullies the weak with numbers, it's your disciple who broke the promise and you who launched the sneak attack first."

Uncle Bao, Bao Xian, Bao Lei, and others had already answered on behalf of Hong Qigong. The group, along with the Vajra Sect warrior monks, stepped forward to pay their respects.

The fire-working monk flicked his sleeve and said, "Step back!"

Hong Qigong inwardly scoffed, thinking that this arrogance was comparable to that of Huang Yaoshi and Ouyang Feng.

Zhou Yan exhaled a breath of turbid air to calm his blood and qi. He also made a comparison: Huo Gong Toutuo's cultivation was below Ouyang Feng's, but his internal energy and "Toad Stance" belonged to the same category, domineering and powerful. Ku Cheng was inferior to Huo Gong Toutuo, actually because of his age. Not everyone is like Zhang Sanfeng in the world of Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, whose internal energy became more refined and advanced to a higher level when he reached a hundred years old.

He secretly felt lucky. Before fighting Gongsun Zhi and the others, he looked around and saw Huang Rong. He also noticed the monk wearing a bamboo hat next to her. He originally intended to use a heavy hand to force Baoshu to make a move, but unexpectedly, the person next to Huang Rong was Huogong Toutuo. He wondered how she had encountered the other party.

Zhou Yan looked towards the spot where Huang Rong had stood, but there was no sign of her.

He turned his gaze back to the Fire-Worker Monk.

The Fire-Worker Monk happened to turn his gaze over as well, and smiled arrogantly, "Kid, not bad."

"I can withstand a few of your blows," Zhou Yan chuckled in a low voice.

"You've injured several of my disciples. How are you going to settle this score?"

"That depends on whether you're being reasonable or unreasonable."

The Fire-Worker Monk laughed loudly, "A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger."

Huang Rong warned him, and Huang Yaoshi used his "Finger Flicking Divine Skill" to stop the Fire-Worker Monk for a moment. Then he found Huang Rong and leaped into the forest.

"After I separated from my father, I met the Fire-Worker Monk on Mount Song. He was the head of the Vajra Sect, formerly a fire-tending monk at Shaolin Temple. He stole martial arts, betrayed his master, and ran away to the Western Regions. He tried to coerce me into becoming his disciple." Her voice was urgent and rapid.
"and after?"

Huang Rong chuckled and said, "I tricked them out of a set of boxing techniques and a plaster that can heal bones. Father studied it and said it can reconnect broken bones."

"You didn't suffer any other grievances?"

"If the镖头 (bodyguard/escort) hadn't lured the monk away, things might have been very different; he might have even been taken to the Western Regions by the monk."

Huang Yaoshi snorted coldly, his anger rising suddenly.

Coercing his daughter was an act of hatred, and secretly learning martial arts and betraying his master and ancestors reminded Huang Yaoshi of Mei Chaofeng and Chen Xuanfeng. He swayed and landed in the arena.

The Fire-Worker Monk asked Zhou Yan how he wanted to settle accounts, and Zhou Yan replied that he wanted to reason with him or resort to violence. Huang Yaoshi coldly said, "I have an account to settle with you as well."

“The Vajra Gate and Peach Blossom Island have absolutely no connection.”

Huang Yaoshi stood with his arm around his shoulder, his expression aloof and arrogant.

There's no need to explain what the Eastern Heretic does.

"Haha..." The Fire-Worker Monk was also an arrogant man. He laughed strangely, "Do you think the Vajra Sect is afraid of your Peach Blossom Island?"

(End of this chapter)