The Legend of the Condor Heroes

Ouyang Feng's snake staff was also unique in that he combined the cudgel, stick, and spear techniques; the movements were complicated. The staff head was carved in the form of a human head; its mouth grinned ferociously, looked very scary. Two rows of sharp teeth inside its mouth were covered with poison. The head danced around like a ghost ready to strike its victim. On top of that, there was a secret button on the staff that when pressed the head would shoot some poison toward the enemy. If those weren't enough, fiercer still were the two snakes wrapped around the staff. They were alive and able to make unpredictable moves; very difficult to guard against.

Two people exchanged palms and weapons, unfolding their respective unique skill. Ouyang Feng had a slight advantage in term of weaponry, but Hong Qigong was the leader of beggars everywhere, and beggars were experts in catching snakes. His bamboo stick danced amidst the snake staff movements, parried every move that came his way but also took advantage of any opening in the opponent's offensive line; striking the snake staff's vital point. Ouyang Feng moved his staff very fast, to make it difficult for the opponent to have an accurate aim; he knew Hong Qigong meant to kill the snakes on his staff. He did not activate the secret device on his staff for fear that his reputation would be ruined.

Hong Qigong still had a unique skill set belonging to the Beggar Clan, namely the 'da gou bang' [Dog Beating Stick technique]; its changes were subtle yet marvelous, a very sophisticated stick technique. However, Hong Qigong did not want to use this special skill of his unless in an emergency situation. He was planning on using it on the second Sword Meet of Mount Hua the following year; so he did not want to let his would-be-contender to have an advantage by watching his moves beforehand.

Guo Jing was standing on the bow of his small boat; several times he wanted to jump on board to help his master, but those two combatants were fighting closely. He realized his own skill was too far below theirs; it would be very difficult to even get close to them. All he could do was staring blankly, unable to do anything.