The Legend of the Condor Heroes

"Dumb kid!" Hong Qigong scolded, "We are competing martial arts skill!" With his left hand he gave the flute back to Guo Jing, while with his right hand he tried to snatch it one more time. This time Guo Jing moved his flute to evade the attack. Huang Rong started counting, "First move!"

In the battle between experts, using weapon or being barehanded did not make too much difference. Hong Qigong used his '18-Dragon Subduing Palms' attacking ferociously; the gust of wind could be felt a 'zhang' [10 feet/3 meters] away. Even with the iron flute in his hand, how could Guo Jing get close to him? Moreover, Guo Jing was not used to use weapon until in the western region he was forced to battle Ouyang Feng on the stone cliff. It was then that he started improving his sword technique. Even then he did not put too much emphasis on the offense; his swordsmanship was 80% for defense, and only 20% for offense.

The weapon techniques he learned from the Six Freaks of Jiangnan were inadequate to battle an expert; it was after he learned the Nine Yin Manual that his weapon technique improved greatly. Actually it was inside that stone building in the west he started learning many defensive techniques in using a sword to defend against Ouyang Feng's snake staff. This time he was using an iron flute as a sword to ward off Hong Qigong's fierce palm attacks; and he was able to defend himself quite well.

Hong Qigong could see his strong defense line and was delighted, he thought, "This kid made a tremendous advancement; I did not teach him in vain. But it won't look good for the Old Heretic Huang if I defeat him in under 200 moves. I'd better wait until after 200 moves then I am going to increase my power." And so Hong Qigong kept using his '18-Dragon Subduing Palms', from the first variation to the ninth; with gusts of wind so strong surrounded Guo Jing completely.

This was where Hong Qigong made a mistake. Guo Jing's weapon skill had not reached perfection yet; if he kept pressing Guo Jing with a heavy hand, Guo Jing would not be able to withstand, but he wanted to wait until after the 200th move. Initially Guo Jing's strength was already profound; after completed the 'yi jin duan gu pian' [changing muscle forging bone chapter], his internal strength increased by leaps and bounds. On the other hand, Hong Qigong had advanced in age, plus he had suffered a heavy injury under Ouyang Feng's snake staff. It was true that he had completely recovered, but his stamina could not compete with Guo Jing's in an endurance race. To make matter worse for him, the '18-Dragon Subduing Palms' required a lot of energy; so after 9 rounds (or 162 stances) even if his attacks were still strong and fierce, but his stamina was gradually decreasing.

After about 200 moves not only the iron flute in Guo Jing's right hand increased in offensive power, but he was actually getting better in coordinating the right sword technique with his left hand palm technique. Hong Qigong was secretly groaning; realizing that he would not win relying on his brute force, he had to use strategy to defeat this dumb kid, so immediately he changed the way he fought. He opened his hands wide.

Guo Jing was startled, "Shifu has not taught me this stance yet," he thought. If it was a fight against an enemy, he would attack toward the chest since it was wide open, but the opponent he faced was his own benevolent master, how could he use a killer strike?

While he hesitated, Hong Qigong smiled and said, "You are tricked!" His left foot swiftly moved upward to knock the iron flute in Guo Jing's hand down, while his right palm slanting downward, attacking Guo Jing's shoulder. He only used 80% of his strength on this attack since he did not have any intention to hurt Guo Jing. He only wanted to knock Guo Jing down, and thus achieved victory.

Who would have thought that these past several years Guo Jing had endured wind and frost; his body became resilient. This heavy blow made him stagger and caused him to suffer a severe pain, but he did not fall down.

Hong Qigong was surprised Guo Jing was able to withstand his palm, he busily said, "Quickly spit three times and breathe in, breathe out; see if you suffer an internal injury."

Guo Jing followed his advice, and his chest was not constricted, anymore so he said, "Disciple has lost."

"No," Hong Qigong said, "We have to keep fighting. If you admit defeat, the Old Heretic Huang won't accept it. Come!" Immediately he sent his palm to attack.

Guo Jing did not have any weapon in his hand anymore, while the incoming attack was fierce, so he used Zhou Botong's Vacant Fist to parry the attack.

The Vacant Fist technique was the softest fist technique in the world; it was created by Zhou Botong based on the Taoist principles found in the 'Dao De Jing' [moral/virtue scripture – Taoist's holy scripture]. The 'Dao De Jing' said, 'A strong army can be decimated; a strong tree can be broken. Strength will fail; suppleness will prevail." Also, "The most flexible substance under the sky is water, but it is not easy to withstand its strong attack. Suppleness' victory is powerful; softness' victory is strong. No one in the world is unaware, no one can stand.'

On the other hand, '18-Dragon Subduing Palms' technique was the strongest/hardest martial art. There was a saying, 'Softness can overcome hardness.' However, if it was Hong Qigong's level of 'hardness,' then it would not be easy for Zhou Botong's 'softness' to overcome. Fortunately, Guo Jing had mastered the mutual hands combat technique, so with his right hand he launch the soft Vacant Fist, while with his left he employed the Dragon Subduing Palm; hard and soft worked together, yin and yang complemented each other. No matter how fierce Hong Qigong's attack was, he could not penetrate Guo Jing's defense.

On the side Huang Rong kept counting; it was almost 300 stances, and Guo Jing did not show any sign that he would be defeated soon. One move after another … Hong Qigong heard her calling out the number two hundred and ninety-nine; he became edgy, wanted to win the contest; so for the last move he launched the 'Proud Dragon Repents' full-strength, with earth-shattering power to back it up. But once it was launched, he began to feel regret; afraid that Guo Jing would not be able to withstand and suffer a heavy injury, so he shouted, "Watch out!"

Guo Jing understood his warning, but the gust of wind had already reached his face; he knew it was very strong. He also knew that his Vacant Fist wouldn't be able to parry this attack; so in this critical moment his right hand made a circle and with a loud shout launched the very same 'Proud Dragon Repents'.

Two palms collided with a deafening sound; both men felt their bodies shook violently. Huang Yaoshi and Huang Rong both cried out in shock, simultaneously they jumped toward the men, only to see both men stood still with their palms stuck together like they were glued to each other.

Guo Jing had a mind to yield, but knew very well that his master's overbearing power was still pushing his palm. If he let go and his master did not take his strength away, he might end up getting seriously injured. Hence he was forced to wait for his master to take the pressure away then he would admit defeat.

Seeing Guo Jing was able to block this palm, which he sent with his lifetime cultivation of energy, Hong Qigong could not help but feel pleasantly surprised. He regretted his proud thinking of wanting to be the number one; now he wanted his disciple to win this contest and build up a name for himself. Therefore, gradually he decreased his power to nothing.