The Villain's Counterattack

Yang Kang briefly mentioned his situation, then said to Guo Jing, "Your martial arts skills are quite lacking right now. The Seven Freaks of Jiangnan traveled thousands of miles across the desert for you, enduring eighteen years of hardships. It would be hard to bear if you were to suffer a crushing defeat. However, if I were to deliberately lose to you and bring shame upon the Quanzhen Sect, I wouldn't be able to do it. So, I've come up with a plan. I'll work hard to improve your martial arts skills so that when we fight, the gap won't be too great."

Guo Jing scratched his head embarrassedly and said, "Brother Yang's martial arts are too powerful. I am no match for him. Even if I join forces with Rong'er, we can't defeat you. I heard from Taoist Qiu that your martial arts are not inferior to his in any way. I learned some of my martial arts from Taoist Ma. How can I compare with you?"

Yang Kang slapped him on the shoulder and said, "You were born and raised in Mongolia, full of blood and energy, but your martial arts training is too low. Now that you have met Senior Hong, your martial arts are destined to make rapid progress. I heard from Liang Ziweng that you drank the blood of his precious snake, so I thought of preparing a decoction to increase your internal strength, using the gallbladder of that precious snake. Liang Ziweng was blind and didn't recognize the treasure. He threw the gallbladder aside, and it got me for nothing."

"This decoction is quite effective, but you can't use it all by yourself. You and I will each take 40%, and the remaining 20% ​​will be Nianci's. Your lover is from a noble family, so I'm afraid he won't appreciate our folk remedy."

Guo Jing shook his head slightly after hearing this and said, "If Rong'er doesn't want to eat, I won't eat either. I'm afraid she'll be angry with me."

Yang Kang laughed heartily and said, "My silly brother, Huang Rong was born on Peach Blossom Island and is the only daughter of Huang Yaoshi, one of the Five Greatest Masters in the World. The martial arts of Peach Blossom Island are truly exceptional. Huang Yaoshi, apart from other things, is well versed in the art of Qimen Dunjia, the Five Elements, the Eight Trigrams, and medicine. Even Senior Hong would be in awe."

When Hong Qigong heard them mention him, and compared him to another of the Five Supremes, he nodded and said, "That Huang Lao Xie has always been arrogant, but he has the capital to be arrogant. He is a strange person, with a very complicated knowledge. He is a complete old freak."

Yang Kang had a large bag beside him, and he said, "You can ask Huang Rong yourself. The six points between Nian Ci and me will remain unchanged. If Huang Rong wants it, we can split the remaining forty percent with you. Nian Ci, do you know this old senior?"

Mu Nianci was very surprised to see Hong Qigong and hurriedly went up to kneel down. Hong Qigong looked at her carefully, and Mu Nianci stood up and performed Xiaoyaoyou again. Although it was not complete, it was what he had taught her correctly. "So it's you, girl. Back then, you saved my Beggar Gang disciples, and I saw that you were kind, so I taught you three days of boxing. I didn't expect that in the blink of an eye, you have grown so big. You saved my Beggar Gang disciples back then, and I taught you three days of kung fu, but now I will not teach you any new kung fu."

Hong Qigong thought Yang Kang wanted her to worship him in exchange for some favors, so he quickly blocked her path. Mu Nianci said hurriedly, "Senior, you have misunderstood. I sincerely thank you. Now I am learning martial arts from Brother Yang, whose martial arts skills are also excellent."

Hong Qigong curled his lips, thinking that no matter how high the martial arts skills of a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old were, it would be too arrogant for him to want to teach him. However, since he didn't have to do it himself, that was naturally the best.

Seeing Hong Qigong's reaction, Yang Kang couldn't help but sigh inwardly. If it weren't for the inconvenience of using the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, he would have really wanted to go up and fight him. Yang Kang asked Mu Nianci to go to town to buy some pots and pans, especially pots for boiling medicine. Then he asked about Guo Jing's recent experiences. Upon hearing that Guo Jing had learned the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, he nodded and said, "The Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms is quite good. It's one of the two most important martial arts of the Beggars' Sect. However, it's easy to learn but difficult to master, and it requires a lot of effort. And what you lack the most is perseverance. With hard work and practice, you will definitely be no worse than Senior Hong in time."

Hong Qigong felt something was wrong after hearing this. It sounded as if the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms was a skill specially prepared for stupid people. Even Wang Chongyang had praised this palm technique highly back then. If he had not practiced it incompletely and failed to grasp it, he might not be worse than Wang Chongyang.

"The Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, which are extremely strong and masculine, are not much different from my 'Turning the Sky Palm'. It's just that this palm technique has a very profound connotation, corresponding to the meaning of the Eight Trigrams in the Book of Changes. If you can integrate the strength and flexibility, it will be better than the 'Turning the Sky Palm' and can be compared to my 'Tai Chi Magic Skill'." There was not much problem with Yang Kang's words, but when Hong Qigong heard them, it sounded like this kid was bragging. He had never heard of 'Turning the Sky Palm' or 'Tai Chi Magic Skill'. The latter sounded like Taoist Kung Fu, but the former was a bit too boastful.

"Boy, what kind of magical skills are these "Turning Sky Palm" and "Tai Chi Magic Kung" of yours? Come on, show them to this old beggar." Hong Qigong was very unhappy.

Yang Kang laughed heartily and said, "How dare this junior show off my skills in front of Senior Hong? Now that Brother Guo has mastered the Dragon Subduing Palm, I'm really itching to try it out. I'd like to share a few moves with Brother Guo. Senior Hong, please give me some pointers."

"Guo kid, go up and fight him, let him see whether the Dragon Subduing Palm is really only about the same as the Sky-Flipping Palm." Hong Qigong felt that his attack was a bit of bullying, so he had to use Guo Jing's hand to teach this hateful Quanzhen disciple a lesson.

Guo Jing said with some embarrassment: "Seventh Master, I can't beat him."

Hong Qigong was furious. This kid was really disappointing. "Before you learned the Dragon Subduing Palm, you certainly couldn't beat him. But now that you've learned one and a half moves from the old beggar's Dragon Subduing Palm, you're definitely better than him. Don't hesitate to attack him."

Yang Kang couldn't help but laugh out loud, but quickly suppressed his smile and said, "Don't worry, Brother Guo. I only suppressed my internal strength, power, and speed to the same level as you. We were just competing purely for sparring. At that time, because there were outsiders present, many of my martial arts skills were difficult to display. Now, I want to let you see the basis of my martial arts journey."

Guo Jing only learned "Kang Long You Hui" and "Fei Long Zai Tian", and he had not yet learned the second move, so there was a saying that this was a move and a half. Yang Kang and Guo Jing stood opposite each other. Guo Jing knew that Yang Kang's martial arts was much higher than his, and he and Huang Rong could not even beat Liang Ziweng together. But after hearing what Taoist Qiu said, Yang Kang's martial arts was even better than Liang Ziweng, so he no longer held back and used "Kang Long You Hui" with all his strength.

Yang Kang, also well-versed in the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, stumbled back three feet, rendering Guo Jing's palm strike ineffective. He barely escaped the palm's reach, his dodge simple yet incredibly precise. Then, before Guo Jing could react, he struck back with a similar palm strike, this time a deceptive technique called "Seeing Flowers in the Mist." The technique was so precise and agile that Guo Jing was caught off guard and Yang Kang tapped him lightly on the forehead.

Guo Jing knew that Yang Kang was holding back. If he had used enough strength in that palm strike just now, his brains would have been smashed to pieces. Hong Qigong couldn't help but be moved. This kid had a very good eye.

"If you can't defend, then attack with all your strength." Hong Qigong couldn't bear to see his disciple lose in one move, so he couldn't help but remind him. At the same time, he was quite curious about the so-called "Turning Sky Palm". He had never seen this move before.

Guo Jing was delighted to hear this, as this was indeed more suitable for a reckless man like him. He used the move "The Dragon Will Regret If It Comes Too Strong" to attack. This time, Yang Kang did not dodge. He turned slightly to the left and struck out with the same palm, but it was "striking the water in the middle of the stream", which forced Guo Jing to retreat before he could fully accumulate strength.

A new trick might work for a novice, but it would definitely not work for a master like Yang Kang. What's more, Guo Jing has not yet mastered these moves to perfection, so he is naturally more restrained by Yang Kang. Yang Kang himself is much more powerful than Guo Jing when using the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.

"Flying Dragon in the Sky!" Hong Qigong roared, and Guo Jing instinctively used it, but this move was even more unfamiliar to him. Yang Kang smiled slightly and suppressed it with the "One Hand Flipping the Sky" move, saying, "It's not that easy to fly. Look at me flipping the sky with one hand!"

Guo Jing placed a palm on Yang Kang's shoulder, forcibly suppressing his feet three inches off the ground. However, Yang Kang's palm didn't have much power, so he used Tai Chi to neutralize his strength and then retreated five or six meters. "The Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms is indeed a rare martial arts skill, but a simple one or two palms can be restrained by those who are prepared, and it also requires strong internal strength. You are still far from it. The Dragon Subduing Palm has eighteen moves, but my 'Heaven-Turning Palm' is even more complex, with a total of 108 moves. I will wait until you have learned it all before we compete."

Guo Jing was quite frustrated. This time he really saw that Yang Kang had been giving him the upper hand. Otherwise, how could he have fought so many moves under his command? Hong Qigong suddenly asked, "Where did you learn this martial arts?"

Yang Kang shook his head and said, "Senior, if you want to test my martial arts, I will naturally be happy to do so. However, I apologize for not being able to reveal the origin of this martial arts."

The main reason is that it is not explained clearly. Hong Qigong could see that Yang Kang's martial arts was indeed much better than Guo Jing's, but Yang Kang deliberately concealed his weakness and defeated Guo Jing with cleverness, and did not reveal much that would interest Hong Qigong. Seeing that Yang Kang was unwilling to say anything, and knowing some rules of the martial arts world, he let him go.

Mu Nianci was gone for more than half an hour, and when she came back she was talking and laughing with Huang Rong, which made Guo Jing a little confused. Yang Kang understood after a little thought that they might have fought, and Mu Nianci must have revealed the relationship between her and Huang Rong to put her mind at ease.