Return of condor heroes, p.67
Return of Condor Heroes, page 67
Huo Dou stretched out his fan and supported it against the stick and used the force to move faraway from Xiao Longnu. He couldn’t stop himself from glancing over at her, thinking, “Indeed there are many able people in the central plains, that boy and girl are still in their teens, how come they are so good?”
With the advantage of an extra stance, Yang Guo kept on attacking with the stick technique, he used three critical stances in a row, and Huo Dou was scrambling about, using all his strength to repel the attack. However, Yang Guo did not have an ingenious fourth attack to continue the chain, he slowed down momentarily and allowed Huo Dou to counterattack, and was on the receiving end again.
The onlookers did not understand the stick technique and it went by them, Huang Rong however kept on calling out “What a pity” in secret, she couldn’t hold in her thoughts and said, “The stick returns across the ground under the clever hand, striking the twin dogs without return.” This was one of the formulae of the “Dog Beating Stick Technique”, though Yang Guo knew the stances and formulae, he didn’t know when to use them; when he heard Huang Rong recite this, he immediately brushed the stick across the ground and attacked forward without returning.
The direction and force of this stick was weird, though he used it, he didn’t know what use it had. How could it be that as soon as the stick attacked forward, it happened just at the same time as the opponent raised his fan? Huo Dou had not finished using this stance but knew something was wrong, he hurriedly jumped up and moved away.
Huang Rong continued, “When the dog leaps over the wall how can it be beaten? Quickly hit its backside and chop its tail.” This stick technique had been passed from generation to generation in the Beggar Clan. Beggars aren’t the most elegant and cultured, the words of course would be vulgar.
The bystanders thought that Huang Rong was ridiculing him by calling him a dog; they didn’t know that she was giving martial arts advice to Yang Guo. Though the “Dog Beating Stick Technique” wasn’t taught to anyone other than the chief; but firstly, Yang Guo had already learned it, and secondly, this match was extremely important, victory was needed. Huang Rong couldn’t care about the clan’s rules anymore, when she saw the two of them advancing and retreating, attacking and defending, she kept on calling out pieces of advice.
Every phrase she called out was ingenious and what was needed, and along with Yang Guo’s intelligence, he was able to unleash the stances power. After he gained the upper hand many times, he didn’t wait for Huang Rong to finish the line before he continued, he just needed the first few words and was immediately able to use right technique. The power of the “Dog Beating Stick Technique” was indeed strong, even with Huo Dou’s level of martial arts, a bamboo stick was able to run circles around him, and he had no chance to attack. Everyone saw that after a few more moves, the skilled Prince of the other nation would lose. The heroes’ surprise and delight rose. The hall was filled with cheers.
Huo Dou quickly unleashed two stances with his fan forcing Yang Guo away a few steps and then called out, “Hold it!”
Yang Guo laughed and said, “What? My Grandson admits defeat?”
Huo Dou’s face was angry and said firmly; “You said you are challenging for the position of Chancellor for your master, why are you using the martial arts of Hong Qigong? If you say you are representing Hong Qigong, we’ve just had two rounds. Are you people trying to cause confusion, deny it or not?”
Huang Rong didn’t think wrongly, these words were difficult to refute, she was about to argue with him when Yang Guo interrupted, “This time you are speaking like a person, indeed this stick technique is not my Master’s, even if I beat you, you won’t take it. If you want to test out my skills, it’s not hard. Just know I used another sect’s kung fu because I was afraid that when I unleash my own sect’s kung fu, you’d lose even more tragically.” When he heard Huo Dou’s words, he looked over towards Xiao Longnu and realized something, “Luckily that Prince woke me up. If I use the “Dog Beating Stick Technique” to beat him, how will I be able to show off Gu Gu’s abilities? How could Gu Gu not be offended if I’ve forgotten her great kindness in teaching me martial arts?” In reality, Xiao Longnu was really innocent and naïve, her heart was filled with love and passion for Yang Guo. As long as she could see him, she was fulfilled; she didn’t care about anything else. If he wins that’s great, if he loses there’s no harm, it doesn’t matter. And when it comes to whether he uses their sect’s kung fu or not, or whether he’d listen to Huang Rong’s advice, she didn’t take any of that to heart.
Huo Dou thought, “If you don’t use the “Dog Beating Stick Technique”, how hard will it be to take your life?” So he chuckled and said, “Fine, I’ll experience your Master’s great stances.”
The most refined techniques that Yang Guo had learned under Xiao Longnu were swordplay, so he faced the crowd and said, “Please can I borrow one of you Senior’s sword.” Within the two thousand or so people in the hall, three hundred of them carried a sword, when they heard Yang Guo’s request, they all agreed and offered their swords.
Before Hao Datong and Sun Bu’Er entered the tutelage of Wang Chongyang, they were patriotic people; after they were nurtured by Wang Chongyang; their desire to repel the barbarian invaders was even stronger.
They were of course angry with Yang Guo, who expelled himself from the Quanzhen sect, but now when they saw that he was helping China to fend off the enemy, they flung their sect’s feud with him to one side.
Sun Bu’Er was the weakest of the Quanzhen Seven Masters, before Wang Chongyang died, he gave her Quanzhen’s sharpest and most precious sword to help compensate for her weak kung fu. She saw that Yang Guo was requesting a sword to fight off the enemy so she dashed forward to the front, her hands holding a glittering, precious sword and said, “Use this sword!”
Yang Guo saw that the sword was like a clear autumn river, he knew that it was a weapon which could cut through gold and jade, if he used it to fight Huo Dou, he would definitely be able to gain some advantage. But as soon as he saw the Taoist gown that Sun Bu’Er was wearing, he immediately thought about the suffering that he had in Quanzhen, and also remembered how Grandma Sun died under the palm of Hao Datong. He rolled his eyes and didn’t take the sword, he instead turned around and borrowed a dark and rusted iron sword from a Beggar Clan member and said, “I’ll borrow this brother’s sword.” He left Sun Bu’Er standing there like a corpse; she couldn’t advance forward or go back. Though she practiced Taoism, it is hard to cleanse the fiery nature of martial artist; this young man dared to throw back her good intentions of lending her sword, she couldn’t stop herself from getting angry. She wanted to scold and curse him but the enemy was here, it wasn’t convenient to start another argument, she forced herself to endure her anger and returned to the crowd.
Yang Guo’s character was too determined and stubborn, he loved and hated in the extreme; originally he would have taken this opportunity to repair some of the damage between him and Quanzhen, but his reaction deepened the hatred between the two sides.
When Huo Dou saw that Yang Guo didn’t take the precious sword but chose a rusty iron sword instead, he was worried. When one reaches an extremely high level in martial arts, flowers and leaves can be used to harm people, not needing the sharpness of weaponry. He pondered about the opponent taking such a blunt sword, was he really that strong? He opened his fan and fluttered it twice; he was about to open his mouth to signal the start of the battle.
Yang Guo’s sword pointed to the four words written by Zhu Ziliu on his fan, he laughed and said, “You are hence a barbarian, everyone knows that, there’s no need to spread it everywhere.”
Huo Dou’s face went red, a ‘pai’ sound was heard as the fan close and became a short stick, he pointed the fan towards Yang Guo’s ‘Shoulder Well’ pressure point, his left palm came chopping out with the force of a strong wind, ruthless and swift. Yang Guo’s iron sword moved as he used the “Jade Maiden Sword Technique” in response.
Year ago when Lin Chaoying studied bitterly in the stone tomb, she didn’t leave the tomb again after she developed the “Jade Heart Manual” kung fu. She passed this skill onto her maid, who imparted it to Xiao Longnu who in turn passed it onto Yang Guo. Not only did the maid not take a step into the world of Wulin, she never took a step off Mount Zhongnan. Though Li Mochou is Xiao Longnu’s senior apprentice sister, she was not taught the advanced and profound sword techniques of her master. She gained fame throughout the Jianghu world through the use of her projectiles, fly whisk and palm techniques. Right now, he used the Ancient Tomb sect’s sword techniques, many skilled fighters from various schools and sects were amassed in the hall today, but apart from Xiao Longnu, no one knew this sword technique.
The martial arts of the Ancient Tomb sect was developed by a woman, the next two generations were also women, it was unavoidable that the martial arts developed too much lightness and softness, and there wasn’t enough power and fierceness. When Xiao Longnu taught him these stances, the stances carried thirty percent of this gracefulness and elegance. After he understood it completely, automatically he removed the femininity from the stances and turned its nature into a swift, at ease and airy style. The Ancient Tomb’s lightness kung fu is unparalleled; Yang Guo was now moving around the main hall, before a stance was finished, a second stance arrived.
When the sword stances were first unleashed, the body was on the left, when the stances were repelling the enemy the body had turned to the right, it was as if the sword and user were completely separated. The two of them had nothing to do with each other; he only used around ten stances of this sword technique. Everyone was startled and watched in admiration.
Huo Dou’s fan techniques were also a great skill; it had swipes, strikes, thrusts and pierces, and this too relied on swiftness, lightness and softness to overcome the enemy. But now it had met up with the Ancient Tomb’s matchless lightness kung fu and he was unable to unleash his moves. Plus, he was ridiculed by Yang Guo because of the four words written by Zhu Ziliu, he didn’t want to open his fan again and so the ‘swiping’ aspect of his fan technique could not be used.
When Guo Fu and the Wu brothers saw how excellent Yang Guo’s sword techniques were, their six eyes were opened widely and they didn’t have anything more to say.
The happiest person in the crowd was Guo Jing, he saw that the son of Yang Kang had learned such a good level of martial arts; even he couldn’t see what the origins of these techniques were. When he remembered the deep ties between the Guo and Yang families, he couldn’t stop sadness and joy from stirring in his heart. Huang Rong glanced over at her husband, she saw that his eyes were red, a smile was on his lips; she knew what he was thinking and stretched out her hand and took his right hand.
When Huo Dou saw that he couldn’t handle his enemy, he began to get impatient; he thought that if he loses to this young punk today, his name will be in ruins, how could he make his name in the central plains? He saw Yang Guo’s sword pointed at an angle, the sword tip dispersed and he attacked three places in quick succession; if he only was able to dodge them, he would be on his way to losing, so he opened his fan and blocked these three attacks. He called out again and used the “Ferocious Wind Rapid Thunder Skill” again to counterattack. With his status as a skilled fighter of Wulin, he should not use all his abilities and effort in fighting a young man. He’ll lose all face if he wins in such a manner. But all he cared about right now was winning, how could he care about such things? He kept on calling out; a ruthless stance followed by an even more ruthless stance.
Yang Guo’s sword was light and lively, the stances kept on coming without stopping, and it really was graceful, elegant and leisurely. This set of “Beautiful Maiden Sword” overcomes the opponent through grace and subtlety, and in contrast with the opponent’s calls and shouts, Yang Guo’s gracefulness and exquisiteness was even more emphasized. Though Yang Guo was wearing a torn and ragged garment, the sword technique’s elegance and grace became clear in the eyes of the crowd; they felt that he was handsome and striking, and must be a fine son of a well to do family.
However, as Yang Guo prioritized in achieving the elegance and gracefulness of the stances, the power of the sword technique became difficult to unleash. Huo Dou fought without care for his life, he fought more and more fiercely; Yang Guo’s strength gradually started to drain away.
Guo Jing and Huang Rong saw that he was on his way to losing and their eyebrows creased. They then saw the gusts of wind created by Huo Dou’s sleeve and fan becoming stronger and stronger, they couldn’t stop themselves from calling out in their hearts, “Oh no!”
Suddenly Yang Guo held his sword up and called out, “Careful! I’m going to use a projectile!”
Huo Dou had used his fan’s poison nails to injure Zhu Ziliu; when he heard Yang Guo say this, he knew that the iron sword was like his fan, there is a secret weapon hidden within. No wonder he didn’t pick the sharp sword and instead chose the rusty one. Since he used such a method to gain victory, the opponent could do so too. When he saw Yang Guo’s sword pointing to his front, he quickly leapt away. But all he saw was Yang Guo’s left hand leading the sword, thrusting forward; what projectile?
Huo Dou knew he had fallen into Yang Guo’s trap and cursed him; “Little bastard!”
Yang Guo asked, “Little bastard curses who?”
Huo Dou didn’t reply and pressed forward with his palm.
Yang Guo’s left hand rose up and he called out, “The projectile is coming!”
Huo Dou quickly dodged to the right, the opponent’s sword was coming in exactly from the right; Huo Dou quickly pulled back and turned his waist, the sword tip brushed past his ribs from the right. This sword was extremely vicious, when it missed; the crowd all called out, “What a pity!”
The Mongolian warriors secretly thought, “Shameful!”
Though Huo Dou managed to escape from death, his back had broken out in a cold sweat due to fright; he saw Yang Guo’s left hand rise up again and call out, “Projectile!” He didn’t take notice of him anymore and advanced forwards with his palms, indeed, the opponent was using a trick again.
Yang Guo’s sword pierced thin air as he attacked forwards, his left hand rose up a fourth time and loudly called out, “Projectile!”
Huo Dou scolded, “Little….”
Before the second word was said, a flash of gold suddenly appeared in his eyes; he was now close to his opponent and after all the false calls by his opponent, he was completely off guard. He quickly leapt up but felt his leg pricked by a very small and fine projectile. Although a projectile hit him, he thought it was small and wouldn’t do much; furiously, his fan slashed forward and his palm chopped out, he wanted to kill that crafty kid right there and then.
Yang Guo had now achieved his aim, why should he continue to fight so hard; he just used his sword to defend, he laughed as he said, “I warned you on many occasions about launching a projectile, and you didn’t believe me. I didn’t lie, did I?”
Huo Duo was about to attack with his palm when he suddenly felt his leg go numb and itchy as if a large mosquito had bitten him. He tried to endure it and finish attacking but the numbness and itchiness became stronger and stronger. He was alarmed, “Damn, that little bastard’s projectile has poison on it!” After this quick thought, the numbness and itchiness became unbearable, he didn’t care about the situation he was in and stretched out his arm to scratch it. But after only one scratch, he felt his heart starting to feel itchy and irritated, he couldn’t’ stop himself from calling out and falling down onto the floor.
The potency of the poison on the Ancient Tomb’s Jade Bee Needles was rarely seen in the world, just one little needle would cause unbearable pain. Never mind the fact that in the middle of battle, his blood was flowing around quickly and he was struck by several needles.
Da’erba took a large step forward and picked up his apprentice brother and placed him in his master’s arms. He turned around to Yang Guo and said, “Little kid, I’ve come to fight you!”
The golden rod swept forwards, aiming towards Yang Guo’s waist.
A golden light was carried forward with this sweeping rod. The golden rod was extremely heavy, as soon he used it, the golden light could be seen; his natural strength was great, his movements were quick. Yang Guo’s legs didn’t move, he bent his waist in a few inches and the golden rod brushed past him. Who could have known that Da’erba wouldn’t wait for the golden rod to finish the sweep, his wrist used some force, and the sweeping force of the golden rod turned into a thrusting one, moving towards Yang Guo’s waist. With such a heavy weapon and such heavy and fierce stances, the ability to suddenly change direction midway was completely unexpected by everyone, Yang Guo too was shocked, he quickly pushed his sword against the rod and used its force to fly away.
Da’erba didn’t wait for him to land, he followed up with another attack; Yang Guo’s sword landed on the rod again and he flew away for a second time. Da’erba called out, “Where can you run?” The golden rod attacked again. Yang Guo’s body was in midair, it was not convenient for him to do anything; he saw that he was in an extremely dangerous situation and decided to test his luck and take a risk. He stretched out his arm and grabbed the golden rod, hacking down with his sword at the same time. If he had the strength of Diancang Yuyin, then the opponent would have definitely let go. The reality was that Da’erba was much stronger than him; he pulled back and quickly retreated. Yang Guo took a chance and landed lightly on the ground. He was forced into the air three times in succession; his life really was within a space of a breath, though he didn’t manage to take away the opponent’s weapon, he had escaped the danger. The crowd all breathed out a sigh of relief.
