The Legend of the Condor Heroes

The five knew that their lives were at stake at this precise moment and didn't take his attacks lightly. They mobilized all their strength to defend themselves. But they could not approach the enemy too closely since he was so dangerous.

Han Baoju decided to attack, using the technique 'Whip at the Even Soil', rolling on the ground and delivering whip strokes from all sides at Chen Xuanfeng's legs. Chen, troubled by this unexpected attack, received a stroke on the back from Nan Xiren's stick that made him utter a scream of pain. He turned around and stretched his claws towards the 'Wood Chopper'.

Nan didn't have the time to retract his stick for defense because he sensed the claws coming at him. He fell backwards to escape. Then he heard popping sounds coming from the joints of 'Copper Corpse', whose arm suddenly stretched out an extra several inches. His hand was against the 'Wood Chopper's forehead. In a fight between experts, the murderous strokes were often avoided by one or two inches. Nan Xiren had thought that the extension of his adversary's arm had reached its extreme, yet it had stretched still farther! How would the 'Wood Chopper' escape this stroke? He soon felt the tips of Chen's nails on his forehead…

In panic, he raised his left arm and seized the enemy's wrist with a 'Catch and Control' technique, trying to block it. At that moment, Zhu Cong jumped on the back of 'Copper Corpse' and jammed his forearm onto the adversary's throat in order to strangle him. By doing that, he fully exposed his own chest, but to save the life of his sworn brother, he didn't worry about breaking the elementary precautionary rules of fighting.

At this moment, when the lives of the fighters were held by a thread, thunder sounded and the clouds covered the moon completely. It was total darkness; a person couldn't even see the fingers of his own hands and a heavy rain started to fall.

They heard the sound of two crunches and a plunk. Chen Xuanfeng had just broken the left arm of Nan Xiren and, at the same time, had given a stroke from his elbow to Zhu Cong's chest. Zhu Cong felt a terrible pain that forced him to stop the pressure on his enemy's neck and fall backwards. 'Copper Corpse', close to suffocating, stood to one side catching his breath.

"Move back everyone," Han Baoju shouted in the blackness. "Seventh sister, how do you feel?"

"Silence!" replied Han Xiaoying while moving several steps.

Astonished by the sounds of the movements made by his friends, Ke Zhen'E

asked, "Second brother, what's happened?"

"The darkness is total," Quan Jinfa answered, "no one can see anything!"

'So the Heavens come to help us," Ke Zhen'E thought, delighted.

The Seven Freaks, three of whom were severely injured, were thinking that they had just lost the first part; but now dark clouds had covered the sky and it was raining heavily. Each of them kept their breathing silent and no one dared move. The extremely fine hearing of Ke Zhen'E allowed him to recognize that the breathless man that was standing seven or eight steps away from him, on the left, was not one of his brothers. He immediately threw six poisoned projectiles in that direction.

Chen Xuanfeng sensed the arrival of the invisible projectiles and jumped into air. He was indeed very strong and because of it, he succeeded in avoiding all six while at the same time, determined their source. Without making a sound, he suddenly leapt, all claws extended, toward Ke Zhen'E. Ke heard him, briskly moved to the side, and attacked with a stroke from his staff. For him, there was no difference between day and night. Since Chen Xuanfeng couldn't see anything, his power was greatly impaired. The two men were now on an equal footing. After about ten exchanges, 'Copper Corpse' had the impression that his enemy was attacking from all directions, without knowing for sure if his own strokes were directed in the proper direction. It was like living in a nightmare.

Slowly probing around, Han Baoju, Han Xiaoying and Quan Jinfa were trying to help their injured brothers. The fate of Ke Zhen'E also preoccupied them, but they weren't able to help him in this darkness. Amid the sound of the rain, they heard the hisses produced by the hands of Chen Xuanfeng and the staff of Ke Zhen'E. The two fighters had hardly exchanged thirty strokes, but, to the other Freaks, it seemed to last for an eternity. Suddenly, they heard two strokes, and 'Copper Corpse' started screaming in pain; he had been struck by the staff. The Freaks were delighted just as lightning flashed in the sky, illuminating the summit of the hill.

"Watch out, Older Brother!" Quan Jinfa shouted.

Chen Xuanfeng had benefited from this instant of vision to orient

himself. He advanced, concentrating his energy in his left shoulder and suffered, without flinching, the staff's strokes. He then seized it with his left hand and his right hand grabbed at the blind man's chest. Ke Zhen'E, surprised, released his staff and leaped backwards. 'Copper Corpse' wasn't going to let such a great opportunity pass; the claw that had already torn his adversary's garment, turned suddenly into a fist. Without a single movement of his body, Chen's arm stretched and delivered a stroke loaded with internal energy, to the blind man's chest and he was propelled violently backward. At the same time, he threw the blind man's staff like a javelin. All these gestures were executed with smooth continuity; 'Copper Corpse' was very proud of it and issued a long howl of joy, accompanied by thunderous growls.

During another lightning flash that illuminated the area briefly, Han Baoju saw the staff flying towards his older Brother. Conscious of the danger, he lashed his 'Golden Dragon' whip, causing it to wrap around the projectile and make it fall.

"Now," Chen exclaimed, running towards him, "I'm going to take your dog life!" Carried away by his impetus, he stumbled on something that felt like a body; he bent over and grabbed it. It was a small boy, Guo Jing.

"Let me go!" the child shouted.

Then a new lightning flash illuminated the area. Guo Jing saw the face of the man that held him in air, a sallow face with a menacing look. He was so frightened that, instinctively, he drew his dagger and plunged it into the man's body, right in the middle of the navel, until he could push it no further.

Chen Xuanfeng let out a terrifying howl and fell backward. In the technique that he used to make his body invincible to the strokes, the vulnerable nodal location he'd chosen was situated precisely in his navel. Even though Guo Jing's dagger had an extremely sharp blade, even a simple knife, if it struck this place, would have been fatal to him. This was the reason that, during a fight, he took every precaution to protect this part of his body. When he seized the child, he didn't feel that he was a danger to him. After having caught him on the flank of the hill a little while ago, he knew that the youngster surely didn't know any martial arts. However, as the proverb says, "It is the good swimmer who drowns, and it is on flat land that the cart reverses itself". Who would have predicted that this dangerous expert was going to lose his life at the hand of a small, weak and ignorant boy!

After fatally injuring 'Copper Corpse', Guo Jing remained petrified, standing still without knowing what to do. He seemed on the verge of crying, but didn't dare let himself go.

Hearing her husband's long scream, Mei Chaofeng hurried, stumbled, fell and crawled to reach him. "My dear brother," she shouted, "how are you?"