The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 309 The Northern Beggar is Nothing More Than This
Frosty autumn dawn, yellow clouds and withered grass.

The chill in the air seeped into his bones, but Zhou Yan felt as if his body was encased in boiling water, steaming hot, forcing him to circulate his internal energy and blood to resist the burning sensation brought by the yang energy.

While Huang Rong was setting up formations on Tongbai Mountain, he used his rare few days of leisure to cultivate the Nine Yang Manual. He used the method of generating Yang energy to stimulate his blood and qi, and then used his meridian energy to transport his blood and qi to stimulate his internal strength and improve his cultivation.

By noon, Zhou Yan's face turned red, his blood and qi suddenly became wild and uncontrollable, the dryness stimulated his meridians, and his internal force surged like a mountain torrent, swift and unparalleled.

Zhou Yan raised his palms to the sky above his head, then slowly pressed them down in front of his chest, drawing the cultivation method from the second volume of the "Nine Yang Manual." He then circulated his internal energy to intercept the warm and pure Qi of the Jade Guanyin, relaxing his muscles and tendons.

Half an hour later, the pain caused by the dryness in his meridians disappeared completely, and Zhou Yan felt refreshed. He got up and drew his sword. With a "clang", the sword energy that was originally half a foot long increased by three inches, becoming nearly a foot long.

“Cultivating the Nine Yang Manual really requires caution. In the first volume, the body generates Yang energy, which is abundant but does not harm the meridians. In the second volume, the generated Yang energy surges like fire. Fortunately, I have the Jade Guanyin.” Zhou Yan sighed and drew his sword to descend the perilous peak of Funiu Mountain where he had been cultivating for four days.

Huang Rong was still busy setting up the magic array when Zhou Yan arrived. She said, "The magic array will be completed before sunset. After a night's rest, we can set off for Jingzhou tomorrow."

"it is good."

"You seem to have changed a bit again?"

"How to say."

"His complexion is radiant, and his spirit is outstanding." After saying this, Huang Rong gazed at Zhou Yan for a few moments and said, "There is also an inexplicable aura about him."

Upon hearing Huang Rong's words, Zhou Yan thought to himself, "I am now full of yang energy, and what you are feeling is the yang energy generated by cultivating the Nine Yang Manual."

The little leopard was playing, occasionally darting into the forest and startling the birds. Zhou Yan helped out. By evening, the magic array at the foot of Tongbai Mountain was set up, and the two rode their horses straight to the mountain stronghold.

After resting overnight, the next morning, after breakfast, Zhou Yan and Huang Rong bid farewell to Yang Miaozhen, Han Dang, and Lu Beihe, and headed straight for Jingzhou.

Mei Chaofeng did not accompany them. After the trip to Jingzhou, Zhou Yan returned to Funiu Mountain and would go to Zhongdu with Lu Beihe, the bodyguards and escorts of Zhenwei Escort Agency.

Huang Rong will reunite with Mei Chaofeng later.

Nothing happened along the way, but being with Huang Rong meant not only enjoying delicious food but also a feast for the ears, as she could often sing songs and lyrics, which was quite carefree.

When they arrived in Jingzhou, it was already early winter. Zhou Yan knew the way well and led Huang Rong straight to the academy.

……

As the afternoon sun dipped below the horizon, Zhang Sanqiang leaped and bounded, punching and kicking at Hong Qigong.

"Well come."

Hong Qigong countered with seven moves in the blink of an eye, his speed unparalleled. Zhang Sanqiang dodged and parried, avoiding all seven moves, and then launched another rapid attack. In this exchange, fists and palm shadows danced through the bamboo forest of the academy, each imbued with profound martial arts techniques.

After a hundred or so moves, Hong Qigong admired Zhang Sanqiang more and more. After arriving at the academy in Jingzhou according to the address given by Zhou Yan, he met Zhang Sanqiang, resolved the dispute between the Beggars' Sect and the Manichaeism, and became familiar with him.

Zhang Sanqiang invited him for drinks, and after a while, they started exchanging martial arts techniques.

The contest was purely a display of martial arts skills, without involving internal energy. They drank and sparred for many days. However, the opponent's martial arts skills were endless and profound, and most of the techniques he had never seen before were unfamiliar to him.

This sparked Hong Qigong's curiosity and also inspired him to do a lot of things.

Zhang Sanqiang held Hong Qigong in the highest esteem. The Manichaeism rarely interacted with people in the martial arts world. Many of its martial arts techniques were either inherited from within the sect or created by itself, including many Persian techniques that evolved from them.

Using these techniques against Hong Qigong, not only did he fail to catch his opponent off guard, but he was also countered by the most ordinary moves. Afterwards, while drinking, when discussing the many ingenious moves his opponent had used during the sparring, Hong Qigong was often bewildered. Clearly, those moves were flashes of inspiration during the exchange, which his opponent had then forgotten. Hong Qigong himself was far inferior in this ability to improvise martial arts moves.
The more the two sparred, the more they appreciated each other. Hong Qigong had been staying at the academy for nearly ten days.

Suddenly, Zhang Sanqiang's left arm extended and retracted like a snake's tongue, striking Hong Qigong's "Zhongfu" and "Yunmen" points on the Taiyin Lung Meridian two steps away, while his right palm struck down his throat and ribs with lightning speed.

The speed of the attack was like a rainbow soaring through the sky, with two moves executed almost simultaneously.

Seeing that Zhang Sanqiang's moves were difficult to counter with ordinary techniques, Hong Qigong quickly pondered for a moment and then suddenly used the "Green Pearl Falls from the Building" move from the "Beauty Fist" to knock Zhang Sanqiang's lower body to the ground.

Zhang Sanqiang was taken aback and leaped up to dodge Hong Qigong's left palm strike. He landed and said, "Chief Hong's techniques are unpredictable; I admire him."

Hong Qigong laughed heartily, secretly feeling fortunate that he had used Mo Chou's girl's technique. He took the wine gourd, took a few big gulps, and was about to recover when he suddenly looked into the distance.

Zhang Sanqiang also looked over. In the warm winter sun, a loud voice came: "Chief Hong's martial arts are profound, I admire you, I admire you."

As the voice faded, two handsome men dressed in brocade robes, with fair complexions, took a step and moved from the rooftop into the courtyard. Their movements were as if they were riding the wind, demonstrating their extremely high level of martial arts skills.

Zhang Sanqiang's face darkened, and he said, "How can you be so repulsive?"

"Master Zhang, what is this?" Hong Qigong narrowed his eyes and asked Zhang Sanqiang.

Before Zhang Sanqiang could reply, the fair-skinned man in brocade robes said, "My surname is Li, my given name is Taiping, and I am the Chief of the Imperial City Guard."

Hong Qigong, a man from the government, took a gourd and drank heavily.

Li Taiping cupped his hands and smiled, "The Manichaeism has repeatedly caused trouble and is an enemy of the imperial court. Zhang Sanqiang is a wanted criminal by the Imperial City Guard. However, the Beggars' Sect acts uprightly, and Chief Hong is chivalrous. The Beggars' Sect disciples often resist the Jin in the north, which is truly admirable."

Hong Qigong laughed heartily, "You know how to speak frankly."

Li Taiping said, "Chief Hong, could you please step aside for a moment so that we can arrest Zhang Sanqiang and bring him to justice?"

Zhang Sanqiang said in a deep voice, "My relationship with Chief Hong was merely a martial arts exchange. The Manichaeism's actions have nothing to do with the Beggars' Sect."

Li Taiping laughed and said, "Master Zhang is a real man."

"Chief Hong, please go ahead. I'll be right behind you," Zhang Sanqiang said.

Hong Qigong said, "This old beggar only seeks to act without shame. Leader Zhang, please come with me."

Li Taiping sighed, "Chief Hong's behavior is really difficult to deal with."

"Is Chief Hong about to interfere in court affairs?" the handsome scholar asked. As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of people in brocade robes appeared among the rows of buildings in the academy.

Seeing that Hong Qigong was unwilling to go first, Zhang Sanqiang guessed that the Imperial City Guard had no intention of targeting the Beggars' Sect or Hong Qigong. He made a quick decision and dashed away.

"Where to go!"

The clang of the sword echoed through the night. Li Taiping moved like lightning, swirling towards Zhang Sanqiang like a whirlwind. Along with him came a glint of icy, snow-white light.

Zhang Sanqiang's sleeves, which were originally soft and fluttering, became as hard as iron the moment the longsword arrived, and slammed into the longsword with a heavy gust of wind.

Li Taiping moved with ghostly grace to Zhang Sanqiang's side, his sharp, gleaming sword tip swaying slightly, the blade's edge flashing with lightning speed as he attacked once more.

Hong Qigong was secretly astonished. When Ouyang Feng and others stole the "Wumu's Legacy" while eating imperial food in the Lin'an Imperial Palace, it alarmed the entire Imperial Guard. But even then, he had never seen such a skilled person. The strange and unpredictable swordsmanship was truly no less than Zhou Yan's.

As he thought this, more than a dozen skilled guards from the Imperial City Guard, each armed with a weapon, surrounded Zhang Sanqiang.

"I'll experience the martial arts of the Imperial City Guard firsthand." Hong Qigong took a step forward and reached out to grab the Imperial City Guard expert who had already revealed a flaw in his technique as he moved forward.

"I'll experience Chief Hong's ultimate skills." The handsome man, who hadn't made a move yet, swirled around with an ethereal and unpredictable movement, his palms unleashing a sharp force as they struck Hong Qigong.

Hong Qigong slightly bent his left leg, bent his right arm inward, drew a circle with his right palm, and with a whoosh, pushed it outward.

With a loud "bang," a violent palm wind swept in all directions, shattering the smoke and mist. Hong Qigong lost his balance and staggered back several steps.

"The Northern Beggar is nothing special." The handsome man smiled slightly and continued, "Chief Hong, be careful."

As soon as he finished speaking, he unleashed a flurry of seven punches in an instant. These seven punches struck seven different parts of Hong Qigong's body: his forehead, jaw, neck, shoulders, arms, chest, and back, with speed that was beyond description.

Hong Qigong, whose internal strength had not yet recovered, immediately used the "Free and Easy Wandering" fist technique to fight back. However, he was inwardly shocked to find that the opponent was actually using the Shaolin Temple's ultimate technique, the "Great Vajra Fist." The skill level of this fist technique even surpassed that of the Vajra Sect monk Bao Shou, who used this martial art in the Battle of Shaoshi Mountain.

“You are a Shaolin disciple,” Hong Qigong asked.

"Heh!" Na Duzhi chuckled softly, and his fist technique changed again. One punch after another pushed forward the next punch and the next move. The fist technique became the thirty-two-style "Taizu Changquan" that combined hardness and softness, and the postures were extremely elegant and graceful.

(End of this chapter)