Chapter 49 of 100

Chapter 49

16 min read3,956 words

Now, the Old Naughty Boy's kung fu is not very strong, on par with Bai Xiaosheng. Even if he performs exceptionally, he cannot possibly defeat Hong Qigong. In "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," when Old Naughty Boy Zhou Botong recounted past events to Guo Jing, he mentioned that he was defeated by Ouyang Feng in forty-five moves. From this, it can be seen that the current Old Naughty Boy is far from what he will become in the future.

Or perhaps, the Four Greats—Hong Qigong, Huang Yaoshi, Ouyang Feng, and Duan Zhixing—are just too strong.

Wang Chongyang is the first under heaven, there is no doubt about that, but don't forget his age. He is almost a generation older than the youngest of the four, Duan Zhixing, being in his sixties, while the others are only in their forties or early fifties. Yet, the people who competed with Wang Chongyang for the Nine Yin Manual and the title of the first under heaven were these four. This shows how extraordinary their talents are.

In the arena, Old Naughty Boy flew around, and Hong Qigong accompanied him, using the Free and Easy Roaming technique, his speed not a bit slower, and his moves quite exquisite. After fifty to sixty moves, Ouyang Feng suddenly said coldly, "Old Beggar, if you can't even deal with Old Naughty Boy, you might as well go down the mountain."

Provoked, Hong Qigong naturally retaliated, saying, "Old Poison, I may not be able to deal with Old Naughty Boy, but I can deal with you, Old Poison. What can you do about it!" With that, Hong Qigong's palm technique suddenly changed, and he struck out with a palm. This palm seemed extremely simple, just a straightforward strike, but the agile Old Naughty Boy could not avoid it and had to hastily meet it with a palm.

With a thud, Hong Qigong stood firm, feet unmoving, while Old Naughty Boy was sent flying and landed far away on the ground.

"Old Beggar, is this the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms of your Beggar Sect..." Old Naughty Boy looked at Hong Qigong in amazement. Hong Qigong nodded and said, "Yes, it is the ultimate skill of our Beggar Sect, the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms!"

"Such a powerful palm technique!" Old Naughty Boy praised, his eyes brightening. Hearing this, Hong Qigong, still young, was visibly pleased, but his face fell at the next words. "Will you teach me? I'll be your disciple." This move from Old Naughty Boy surprised everyone on the mountain peak, and Wang Chongyang's face darkened as he shouted, "Botong, don't be ridiculous."

Old Naughty Boy was very afraid of his senior, and at these words, he immediately ran over obediently and fell silent. Wang Chongyang then bowed to everyone and said, "Everyone, I apologize. My junior has a childlike heart. If he has offended anyone, please forgive him."

"Haha... Master Chongyang is too polite. Zhou Brother truly lives up to the name Old Naughty Boy!" Hong Qigong waved his hand, not minding at all.

"Good!" Wang Chongyang praised him, "Master Hong truly has a great heart, worthy of being the leader of the first sect under heaven." With that, he surveyed the crowd and said, "Everyone, I, Wang Chongyang, set up this arena again today. If anyone is confident in their martial arts, they may come forward to challenge us five."

Everyone listened and slowly retreated. Just now, the four had each shown their skills, and although Wang Chongyang had not acted, he was known as the first under heaven, and naturally, he would not be inferior to these four. Everyone was not foolish and knew that the final competition would be among these five. Challenging them further would be seeking trouble. So, everyone remained silent and slowly retreated from the peak, standing below to watch.

Seeing everyone retreat, Wang Chongyang turned to the four and said, "Four friends, now it's just the five of us. How do you wish to compete?"

The four looked at each other, none speaking, and Wang Chongyang also surveyed them. Suddenly, Ouyang Feng leaped forward and struck at Hong Qigong, shouting, "Old Beggar, I've had it with you. Give me your life!"

Hong Qigong's reaction was not slow. He leaned forward and struck with a palm. The two palms met with a loud thud, and everyone saw that Hong Qigong's feet had sunk into the ground.

"Ouyang Feng, truly worthy of the name Old Poison, you are indeed despicable!" Hong Qigong said, then exerted more force. With a light slap, Ouyang Feng was forced back. "Old Poison, take this move, Dragon Soaring in the Sky!" Hong Qigong leaped into the air, his hands exerting force, and a dragon-like roar sounded between his palms as he struck at Ouyang Feng. Ouyang Feng used his feet to counter the palm, borrowing the force to leap, and in mid-air, he bent his legs and extended his hands downward, resembling a frog jumping in the air.

"Ribbit..." As Ouyang Feng's belly rose and fell, a frog-like croak came from his mouth, surprising everyone, and Hong Qigong laughed heartily, mocking, "Old Poison, I didn't expect you to be a toad."

Ouyang Feng's face was icy, and he did not respond. Without landing, he exerted force with his feet and charged at Hong Qigong. This strike was powerful, the surrounding air swirling with force, making many people change color. Even Wang Chongyang and the other three remained serious, exchanging glances, their eyes showing concern.

Toad Technique! This was Ouyang Feng's ultimate skill!

"Come!" Hong Qigong thrust his bamboo staff, his palms bending, and instantly struck with a palm. The two palms met in mid-air, and a tremendous force erupted, blowing up the snow on the ground.

"Ribbit..." Ouyang Feng's mouth emitted a frog-like croak, his belly rising and falling, gradually swelling. Hong Qigong's face remained unchanged. Without waiting for Ouyang Feng to exert force, he suddenly leaped and kicked horizontally, which was the Dragon Tail move from the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. This move interrupted Ouyang Feng's momentum, and he quickly retreated, landing on the ground, then leaped up again, striking at Hong Qigong with both palms.

Hong Qigong was not to be outdone. He slightly bent his left leg, his right palm drawing a circle and pushing out. This was the essence of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, "Repentant Dragon." This move seemed ordinary but was an unparalleled palm technique, with layers of force building up, seemingly endless. Most importantly, when this palm technique was used, the force exerted seemed to be ten, but the user retained twenty times that force, which could be released or reined in at will.

With a loud boom, the surrounding snow splattered like projectiles, hitting the surrounding stones with a hissing sound, and the two were pushed back by the tremendous force.

"Old Beggar, you have some skills!" Ouyang Feng said with a grim face, then extended his hand and took out his snake staff, saying, "Let me see your weapon skills!"

"More than happy to!" Hong Qigong was not to be outdone. He formed a claw with his hand, grabbed the Beggar's Staff from a distance, and met Ouyang Feng.

To be honest, although the current Old Beggar Hong Qigong is powerful, he is far from what he will become in the future. For one, he has only learned fifteen of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, the last three having been lost, and Hong Qigong has not made up for them. If they were to compete in palm techniques for a long time, he might not be a match for Ouyang Feng. However, in terms of weapons, Hong Qigong is not weak. His Beggar's Staff technique is something Ouyang Feng cannot break.

The clash of the snake staff and the Beggar's Staff produced a continuous sound, the silver and green colors intertwining, neither giving way. The crowd watched with wide eyes, and even Wang Chongyang and the other three showed serious and concerned expressions, watching the battle intently.

None of them were proud, each believing themselves to be the best under heaven, but after watching the two fight, they all knew that these two were not inferior to them. In a real fight, no one could win.

Any small thoughts of superiority were naturally put aside.

In the crowd, Bai Xiaosheng was also watching intently. Watching such a high-level battle was not a common occurrence. His main focus was on Hong Qigong's Beggar's Staff technique, which Huang Rong had said was the best weapon technique. Such a technique, Bai Xiaosheng did not want to miss, and he also wanted to see if this nearly perfect technique had any weaknesses.

In fact, he already knew the answer. This technique was later completely broken by Ouyang Feng, but that was Ouyang Feng's achievement. Bai Xiaosheng wanted to see if he could spot the weaknesses in the technique.

In the arena, Ouyang Feng and Hong Qigong fought for half a day. Unconsciously, it was already noon, but their moves did not slow down; instead, they became even more fierce and rapid. After watching for a long time, Bai Xiaosheng could only smile bitterly. Hong Qigong's thirty-six moves of the Beggar's Staff were probably memorized by everyone in the arena, but if it came to breaking them, well...

In terms of moves, it could be broken, but in Hong Qigong's hands, Bai Xiaosheng found no way to break it. Of course, Ouyang Feng occasionally struck at the weak points, but Hong Qigong immediately countered, and the fleeting moments of brilliance made Bai Xiaosheng both delighted and somewhat frustrated, feeling a bit inadequate.

Seeing the two still fighting, Wang Chongyang suddenly said, "The two of you have been fighting for half a day without a clear winner. Why not take a break, have some food, and continue in the afternoon? What do you think?"

Ouyang Feng was naturally unwilling, but Hong Qigong suddenly withdrew from the fight, laughing loudly, "Good, good, good. As long as there's food, I'm fine with anything."

"No way, Old Beggar, don't think you can run away! Since we are even with weapons, let's change to palm techniques!" With that, Ouyang Feng struck with a palm. Hong Qigong sidestepped and shouted, "Old Poison, you're not hungry, but I am. What, are you trying to take advantage of me?"

"Enough nonsense, take this!"

Ouyang Feng ignored everything and continued to strike at Hong Qigong. Seeing this, the Old Beggar thrust his bamboo staff and met the palm, and they fought again.

---