Chapter 43

At this moment, although Luo Fan had only recently entered the innate realm, he had been through numerous battles, and had a deep understanding of controlling his inner energy. Therefore, he picked up a wooden stick, controlled his inner energy, and separated the two.

Sure enough, after the two were separated, they had almost no inner energy left, but they had not suffered any internal injuries! Luo Fan was overjoyed, thinking that there was a chance!

"Have the two of you been fighting for a long time? Would you like to eat something?" Then he helped Ou Yangfeng up and said to Xiaolongnü and Lu Wushuang, "Xiaolongnü, Sister Wushuang, please help support Senior Hong to rest over there." Ou Yangfeng's clothes were very messy, and although Hong Qigong was a beggar, he was usually very clean. Luo Fan knew that the two women were both clean, so naturally, the two women would help support Hong Qigong.

The two women nodded, and then Luo Fan prepared a large table of delicious food, calling it a magic trick. Hong Qigong, who had seen many things, naturally did not believe it much, but he was only focused on eating and did not ask much. Ou Yangfeng, who was crazy, did not understand the subtleties either. After eating a few bites, Ou Yangfeng suddenly said, "Little boy, I saw your skills were quite good the other day. Ou Yangfeng, this old man, can't fight anymore. Let's fight."

Just as Luo Fan was about to speak, Hong Qigong suddenly shouted, "Stinky toad, you know you're not my match, so you're looking for someone else?" Ou Yangfeng said, "Nonsense, I still have many martial arts I haven't used. If I use them all, I will surely defeat you." Hong Qigong laughed and said, "I also have many martial arts I haven't used. Have you heard of the Beggar Sect's Dog Beating Staff Technique?" Ou Yangfeng was startled, thinking, "I've heard of the Dog Beating Staff Technique. It seems to be very powerful. Could this old man actually know it? But he and I fought so fiercely, why didn't he use it? Maybe he has already used it. Or maybe he doesn't know it at all." He said, "What's so great about the Dog Beating Staff Technique?"

Hong Qigong had already deeply regretted not using the Dog Beating Staff Technique in their previous fight. If he had used it, he could have easily subdued Ou Yangfeng. However, he felt that Ou Yangfeng was not in his right mind, and he had already taken advantage of him, so using the Beggar Sect's greatest treasure, the Dog Beating Staff Technique, would not be a fair victory. Little did he know that although Ou Yangfeng was crazy, his martial arts were not diminished, and in the end, they both ended up severely injured. Now, he no longer had the strength to use the Dog Beating Staff Technique.

Seeing that the two had not finished eating and were about to fight again, Luo Fan said, "Can the two of you take a break?" He quickly thought about the plot. At the time, Hong Qigong had indeed died from severe injuries, and Ou Yangfeng's mental exhaustion from deciphering the Dog Beating Staff Technique was also a factor. Therefore, to prevent both from dying, he needed to stop them from deciphering the techniques. In the original story, Hong Qigong's Dog Beating Staff Technique was eventually deciphered, and he was convinced. This meant that deciphering their strongest techniques could make them convinced. If he could make them convinced, perhaps he could even turn them from enemies to friends. After all, such martial arts masters were extremely proud and not easily convinced. If he could make such masters convinced, his words would carry great weight in their hearts. Luo Fan then said, "I have observed that both of your techniques are excellent, but they are all within the realm of having form. I have a formless sword technique that can defeat techniques with form, surpassing both of you."

"Nonsense!" Both were martial arts masters and could not tolerate a young boy looking down on them. As soon as Luo Fan finished speaking, Ou Yangfeng shouted, "What formless sword technique? How can you fight without form? Nonsense." Hong Qigong also nodded in agreement, saying, "I agree with the stinky toad on this."

"Oh?" Seeing that the two were hooked, Luo Fan smiled and said, "Would the two of you like to test it? I see that your inner energy has not fully recovered. Let Lu Wushuang demonstrate the techniques for me, and I will use the formless sword technique to break your techniques. If I break all of your techniques, I win. If I cannot break them, you win. And the winner can be determined by whose technique I cannot break first, achieving two goals at once."

"Three goals, actually. This girl will also learn some excellent techniques. You're a clever one, aren't you?" Hong Qigong smiled and looked at Luo Fan. Thinking that it was indeed difficult to determine a winner between them, he nodded and said, "I, the old beggar, will agree."

Ou Yangfeng glanced at Hong Qigong. They had been unable to determine a winner in their fights with fists, weapons, and inner energy. He was thinking about how to determine a winner next when he heard Luo Fan's suggestion and immediately said, "I agree too. It's just a few techniques. Without the secret techniques, they are useless anyway."

Seeing that the two had agreed, Luo Fan nodded and tentatively said, "If I win, will the two of you stop fighting?"

"Nonsense, how can a little boy like you win against me?" This immediately caused Ou Yangfeng to shout again. Hong Qigong, however, looked at Luo Fan intently and said, "Luo boy, this is your true intention, isn't it? But I can't figure out why you're doing this."

Luo Fan replied, "Senior Hong's token helped me a lot, and I owe him a favor. And this one..." Luo Fan glanced at Ou Yangfeng, knowing that Hong Qigong deliberately called him a stinky toad, so he did not point it out. He paused and said, "This one is my disciple Yang Guo's adoptive father. I don't want to see either of you get hurt."

At this moment, the two women finally realized why Luo Fan had braved the snow to come to Huashan. Of course, Luo Fan would not tell them that he also had the intention of making up for his regrets.

"You are my child's master?" Ou Yangfeng's interest was piqued, and he shouted, "Come, come, come! Let me see what you can teach my child."

Luo Fan said, "If I win, will you agree to my terms?" Ou Yangfeng said, "Nonsense, how can you win against me!" Luo Fan provoked him, "Since you think I can't win, why not agree to my terms? Are you afraid?"

Ou Yangfeng, hearing this provocation, his beard twitched, and he stood up, glaring at Luo Fan and said, "Nonsense! I don't believe a little boy like you can break my lifetime skills. If you are really better, I will agree."

"Good." Seeing that Ou Yangfeng had agreed, Luo Fan turned to Hong Qigong and said, "Senior Hong, what do you think?"

Hong Qigong, being older, had less temper. Seeing that Ou Yangfeng was crazy, he did not need to argue with a madman. If this Luo boy could make him lose convincingly, he would agree. He nodded and agreed. Then, Hong Qigong called Lu Wushuang over. Lu Wushuang, seeing that Northern Beggar Hong Qigong was going to teach her martial arts, even though it was just the basic movements of the techniques, was very happy and listened attentively.

Hong Qigong asked her to fetch a branch and explained the technique "Staff Beating Two Dogs" in detail. Lu Wushuang's low martial arts level was due to Li Mochou's refusal to teach her advanced skills, but she had good talent. Since this was just a simple technique from the Dog Beating Staff Technique, Lu Wushuang learned it quickly and demonstrated it.

Seeing the staff technique, Luo Fan found it indeed powerful, but it did not faze him, who was nearly proficient in the Nine Swords of Dugu. He immediately thought of a way to break it. He stepped forward and said, "Senior Hong, the essence of my formless sword technique is to anticipate the enemy's moves, attack their weaknesses, and use formlessness to defeat form. Watch carefully!" He then demonstrated how to break the "Staff Beating Two Dogs" technique with the Nine Swords of Dugu.

Hong Qigong, hearing Luo Fan's words, already felt uneasy. Seeing Luo Fan's technique, he realized that the theory of using formlessness to defeat form was indeed profound. However, he knew that the last move of the Dog Beating Staff Technique, "No Dogs in the World," created a wall of staffs with no weaknesses. Although he was impressed by Luo Fan's sword technique, he still did not believe he could win.

Next, Ou Yangfeng also demonstrated a staff technique, which was quickly broken by Luo Fan. With the help of the Nine Swords of Dugu, Luo Fan broke the techniques very quickly. In just half a day, he had broken over ten techniques from each of them, without much effort. The two then completely put aside their contempt and became serious.

However, as the time of the competition extended, the techniques became more advanced, with both offensive and defensive moves, and great power. Luo Fan's speed in breaking the techniques gradually slowed down. By the next half day, he had only broken less than ten more techniques, and he was already sweating slightly.

By the evening of the second day, Hong Qigong finally explained the sixth variation of the thirty-sixth move, "No Dogs in the World," the ultimate move of the Dog Beating Staff Technique. This move created a wall of staffs in all directions, with no gaps, and no weaknesses. The power of the move could kill dozens of fierce dogs, hence the name "No Dogs in the World." The technique was so exquisite that it was a masterpiece of martial arts.

That night, Luo Fan thought for an hour without sleeping, finally coming up with a way to break the move by using the Pursuit Sword, Illusion Sword, and the Nine Swords of Dugu to predict and avoid all the staff shadows, finding a path through the gaps to attack the hand holding the staff. He then spent another half the night calculating the trajectories of the staff shadows and the landing points of the hand holding the staff, finally breaking the move.

The next morning, Luo Fan woke Hong Qigong and demonstrated the breaking method to him. Seeing it, Hong Qigong's face changed, and he shouted, "I never thought there would be such a sword technique in the world, and I never thought the Dog Beating Staff Technique could be broken like this. The old beggar is convinced!"

On that day, Ou Yangfeng also demonstrated his strongest skill, the Toad Skill. The Toad Skill was a very powerful technique. When using it, he squatted on the ground, his hands bent to shoulder level, and made croaking sounds, resembling a large frog ready to pounce. The skill was purely reactive, storing energy and waiting for the opponent to attack, then countering with immense power. As everyone knows, toads have dynamic vision, and when hunting, they only attack when the prey moves. The Toad Skill's attack method was inspired by this, with a flavor similar to the Nine Swords of Dugu's reactive nature.

This hit the weakness of the Nine Swords of Dugu, which lacked proactive techniques! If Luo Fan used the Illusion Sword to feint and then attack the weakness, and then clashed with the Toad Skill, the feint turning real in a hurry, the outcome of the clash would be obvious!

If Luo Fan had the Six Pulse Sword Technique for long-range attacks, he could force Ou Yangfeng to attack first, revealing a weakness. However, he had only said he would use the formless sword technique, which was the Nine Swords of Dugu, to break the techniques. Luo Fan believed that with time, there was no technique in the world that the Nine Swords of Dugu could not break, so he did not anticipate this situation, leading to the current awkward situation. Even if he used the Six Pulse Sword Technique, the two masters would recognize that the two sword techniques were not the same, and he would be accused of cheating.