41, 42: Hong Qigong's Reward Combined into One

Though Hong Qigong was pleased with himself, he had not lost his head.

What if little Rong'er is merely sweet-talking this old beggar to make me happy?

The little girl looked innocent and well-behaved, but she was Old Heretic Huang's daughter after all. Who knew whether she might be a "little Eastern Heretic"?

Hong Qigong smiled at Huang Rong and said, "What reward does little Rong'er want? Let me make this clear first: this old beggar is only the head of a bunch of beggars. I own nothing of value and have no fine things to reward you with."

Huang Rong smiled. "Seventh Master, don't worry. As children of the martial world, how could we covet worldly possessions? May I ask what Martial Arts you are most proud of?"

At her question, Hong Qigong thought, Just as I expected. This little girl really is a little Eastern Heretic, shrewd as a ghost. She baited this old beggar with her words earlier because she wanted to take the chance to probe my Martial Arts, so she could help Old Heretic Huang gain the upper hand over me at the next Mount Hua Sword Conference!

Though he thought this, Hong Qigong gave nothing away, still smiling as he said, "The Martial Arts this old beggar is most proud of are naturally the Beggars' Sect's supreme art, the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. Didn't your father tell you about them?"

Huang Rong's expression did not change either. She answered with a grin, "He did. But Rong'er was young and loved to play, so I forgot!"

Hong Qigong snorted. "You little girl, don't tell me you want me to teach you the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms?"

Back at the Mount Hua Sword Conference, he had not yet mastered all the forms of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, and his palm force was still far from perfection. Yet even then, it had already been tremendously formidable, winning considerable praise even from Wang Chongyang.

Thus, Hong Qigong believed that Huang Yaoshi must have taken the might of his Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms to heart and specifically instructed his daughter to inquire into its progress if she ever had the chance, all in preparation for the next Mount Hua Sword Conference.

Unfortunately, little girl, your skill is not seasoned enough. You are far less cunning than Old Heretic Huang, and you exposed your intentions far too soon. This old beggar will not fall for your trick.

Just as he was thinking this, Huang Rong exchanged a glance with Lu Chen and said with a smile, "Since the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms are the Beggars' Sect's sect-defending supreme art, of course we would not dare ask for them as a reward."

Hm?

They were not trying to inquire about the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms?

Had he misunderstood little Rong'er?

Hong Qigong was completely at a loss. "Then what do you want?"

Huang Rong asked, "Seventh Master, do you know any swordsmanship you excel at?"

"Swordsmanship?" Hong Qigong froze. "Why ask about swordsmanship?"

"Because we want to learn swordsmanship!"

Huang Rong said brightly, "Since Seventh Master took part in the Mount Hua Sword Conference and earned the title of Northern Beggar among the Five Greats, your swordsmanship must surely be formidable too."

"..."

Hong Qigong was speechless for a moment before explaining, "The Mount Hua Sword Conference may be called a 'sword conference,' but it is truly a gathering to discuss Martial Arts. Weapon techniques are not limited to swords—sabers, spears, staves, clubs, any weapon will do. But the weapon this old beggar chiefly trains with is not the sword..."

Huang Rong immediately looked disappointed. "So Seventh Master cannot use a sword? But I seem to have heard my father say that the Five Greats have studied a vast range of arts and are proficient in all eighteen kinds of weapons..."

At that, Hong Qigong found himself unable to save face. "Ahem. Who says this old beggar cannot use a sword? I merely... ahem, merely focus on the Beggars' Sect's inherited supreme arts and do not chiefly practice swordsmanship. My attainments in swordsmanship are only somewhat inferior to the weapons I am best at, that is all."

"Really?"

Huang Rong broke into a broad smile. "Seventh Master can use a sword! That's wonderful! Seventh Master, then teach us a few sword arts as our reward."

"A few sword arts... Where is this old beggar supposed to get so many sword arts..."

Hong Qigong grumbled inwardly.

But since Huang Rong was not seeking to pry into his Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms and only wanted sword arts that meant little to him, it showed that all her praise of him earlier had not been honeyed words meant to befuddle him. Every word had been sincere.

It also showed that little Rong'er was unlike her father—a pure-hearted, honest, good girl.

Since that was the case, this old beggar could not disappoint her!

With that thought, Hong Qigong gave a hearty laugh and said, "This old beggar may know quite a few sword arts, but with your backgrounds, you probably would not think much of ordinary second- or third-rate techniques. Fortunately, this old beggar truly does possess one formidable sword art worthy of mention.

"Twenty years ago, while traveling beyond the Pass, I accidentally obtained a sword manual in Changbai Mountain. It claimed that once cultivated to its highest realm, it could produce sword radiance, allowing a sword to gain an extra span of killing range out of thin air. If your sword is originally only three feet long, then if you can cultivate half a foot of sword radiance, your three-foot sword can injure an enemy from half a foot away, leaving them unable to guard against it.

"This old beggar does not specialize in swordsmanship, so I never made much progress with it and do not know whether that claim is true. But judging from the manual's forms and inner cultivation method alone, it is indeed a rather fine sword art."

Sword radiance that could wound someone from a distance?

Huang Rong's eyes lit up. This sword art sounds rather formidable.

Lu Chen also felt that this swordplay seemed to have some substance to it.

One had to know that in the era of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, there were not many martial arts capable of injuring someone from a distance.

Among Peach Blossom Island's martial arts, only the "Void Splitting Palm" specialized in palm force projected through the air. It was regarded as one of Huang Yaoshi's signature ultimate arts, yet people mocked it as, "Void Splitting Palm Force—every palm strike splits nothing but empty air." It was far inferior to the "White Rainbow Palm Force" of the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils era, which could even curve through the air.

Even Huang Yaoshi's "Finger Flicking Skill" in this era needed ammunition such as small stones to strike at range.

And although Hong Qigong's Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms were immensely fierce, their palm force was only unleashed upon contact. The palm winds they sent out could certainly inspire awe, but they possessed no actual destructive power. They could not, like Qiao Feng, stack two layers of palm force and wound someone from three zhang away.

It was not until the era of The Return of the Condor Heroes, when the Five Greats had all practiced some of the Nine Yin Manual and had accumulated greater mastery over the years, their power refined to the point of perfection, that their attack ranges became longer. Huang Yaoshi's "Finger Flicking Skill" could then fire finger force through the air without ammunition, while Yideng's "One Yang Finger" could strike from a zhang away.

Yes—by the later period of The Return of the Condor Heroes, even Yideng's One Yang Finger, its power having reached the summit, could only strike from a little over one zhang away when he faced the Golden Wheel Monk, who had cultivated the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill to the tenth level.

The Flaming Blades, Six Meridian Divine Sword, Dragon Capturing Skill, White Rainbow Palm Force, Acupoint Striking from a Distance, Three-Foot Qi Wall, Qiao Feng's layered palm force, and the Dragon Subduing Palm Force that could strike from three or four zhang away—all those arts that flew wildly about in the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils era would have been outright divine techniques in this age.

But that did not mean the Five Greats of the Condor Heroes era were less talented than the predecessors of the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils era.

Lu Chen believed that this was most likely because the peerless arts that had once flourished in a hundred competing blooms during the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils era had subsequently been lost.

So many profound martial arts of the Xiaoyao School, for instance, had essentially not been passed down to the Condor Heroes era.

Jiumozhi's Flaming Blade had not been passed down either.

The Dali Duan Family no longer possessed the Six Meridian Divine Sword. Nor had Duan Yu passed on the Lingbo Weibu and Northern Darkness Divine Skill he had learned to the Duan Family.

The Murong Family's Canhe Finger and Star Shifting had long since vanished without a trace.

Supreme arts such as the Dragon Capturing Skill and Crane Controlling Skill, which could seize objects through the air, had likewise failed to be inherited.

Perhaps the great upheaval of the Jin Dynasty's rise, its destruction of the Liao Dynasty, and its invasion of the Song Dynasty had caused so many supreme arts to be lost?

Or perhaps Dugu Qiubai, who bore "Demon" as his title, had cut down too many people and severed countless lines of inheritance?

In any case, Lu Chen was greatly interested in the swordplay Hong Qigong had mentioned.

Yet he also felt a strange sense of familiarity. The two keywords, "Changbai Mountain" and "sword radiance," seemed like something he had heard somewhere before.

In his memory, there seemed to have been someone who had obtained a sword manual on Changbai Mountain and cultivated sword radiance from it.

After thinking carefully, he gradually recalled that this also seemed to have been in the era of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils—a man called Zhuo Bufan, the "Sword God"?

Though that Zhuo Bufan had little screen time and an unimpressive record, making the title "Sword God" rather watered down, he had possessed a seemingly formidable technique called "sword radiance." It had sparked some discussion online in his previous life, which was why Lu Chen remembered him.

So could the sword manual Hong Qigong had acquired on Changbai Mountain be the very swordplay that "Sword God" Zhuo Bufan had practiced?

Could a sword manual really have survived for so long?

Or had it been carved into stone?

Well, the swordplay's origins did not really matter. What mattered was that even Hong Qigong considered it good.

Though Hong Qigong was not particularly skilled with the sword, he had crossed hands with Huang Yaoshi and Wang Chongyang, both swordplay experts, at the Mount Hua Sword Conference. And aside from the One Yang Finger, the Southern Emperor might well have known swordplay too.

Thus, even if Hong Qigong modestly claimed that his attainments in swordsmanship were ordinary, there could be no doubt about his eye for judging the strength of swordplay.

Lu Chen and Huang Rong exchanged a glance. He gave her a slight nod, and Huang Rong immediately made the decision.

"Seventh Master, we'll learn this swordplay!"

Hong Qigong laughed.

"Fine, then this old beggar will teach you this swordplay. Hmm, little Rong'er is Old Heretic Huang's daughter, boy Lu is Old Heretic Huang's disciple, and little Mochou is Heroine Lin's successor. Since all three of you are descendants of this old beggar's old acquaintances, you can learn it together."

Li Mochou was overjoyed. She had not expected to tag along and obtain a swordplay that even the "Northern Beggar" deemed worthwhile—and to have the "Northern Beggar" personally teach it to her at that. The benefits of this were far greater than practicing from a sword manual or sword treatise on her own.

With the martial attainments of one of the Five Greats, a few casual pointers would be enough to benefit her immensely.

Overwhelmed with surprise and delight, she cast Huang Rong and Lu Chen grateful looks, then hurriedly saluted Hong Qigong in thanks.

But it was already late that day, so Hong Qigong merely took up a practice wooden sword and briefly demonstrated a few sword moves and footwork patterns, giving Lu Chen and the other two a general impression.

Afterward, Hong Qigong arranged to return early the next morning to break down the moves for them in detail and teach them the mental method for exerting force, releasing power, and directing true qi, then drifted away.

After Hong Qigong left, Li Mochou's cheeks were flushed as though she were drunk. Excited, she repeatedly thanked Huang Rong and Lu Chen.

"Sister Rong'er, Brother Lu, it is all thanks to you that I was able to share in such a fortunate opportunity!"

Lu Chen said with a smile, "Miss Li, you are too polite. To meet in the martial world is fate. We have fought side by side in blood and battle and wiped out an evil gang together—we have long since become friends."

Huang Rong smiled as well. "That's right. Besides, Seventh Master included Sister Mochou because Sister Mochou's patriarchal master was an old acquaintance of Seventh Master's."

She was rather curious as to who Li Mochou's "Patriarch Lin" truly was. Since she had been an old acquaintance of Seventh Master's, she must have been an extraordinarily formidable heroine.

That night, Lu Chen lay in bed, counting the swordplays he had already mastered and those he was about to acquire.

Mastering "Maiden of Yue Swordplay" had successfully unlocked "Sword One."

Having mastered "Falling Blossom Swordplay" and Heavy Swordplay, he had also fulfilled one of the two prerequisites for unlocking "Sword Two."

"Sword Three," meanwhile, required four swordplays.

Hong Qigong would soon teach him one. Then, once he gradually figured out Li Mochou's swordplay, that would make two.

If he then paid a visit to the Shaolin Scripture Repository, perhaps he might pick up one or two more swordplays. With a bit of luck, he would gather all four swordplays needed to unlock "Sword Three."

Still, merely gathering the sword techniques was not enough.

One of the two prerequisites for "Sword Two"—completely mastering "Sword One"—had yet to be fulfilled.

"No rush. As I comprehend Sword One now, I make progress every day. At this rate, perhaps within half a year, I'll be able to wield Sword One with complete mastery. Then I can directly unlock Sword Two..."

After mulling over Martial Arts for a while, Lu Chen gathered his thoughts. He had intended to rest, but Rong'er inevitably came to mind.

With Li Mochou around these past two days, he and Rong'er had had far fewer chances to be close—though their so-called "closeness" had always been perfectly restrained, at most holding hands or chasing each other around in playful tussles, nothing beyond that, but...

"Forget it. I'll consider it a good deed. Saving a lost young girl, pulling her back from the abyss of corruption, and thereby indirectly saving even more people—that counts as boundless merit. Besides, Rong'er is still young. We have all the time in the world..."

As Lu Chen consoled himself like this, Huang Rong was also tossing and turning in her own bed, unable to sleep.

Every night before, Lu Chen would tell her stories, sing her songs, and share amusing tales about the "Immortal Realm."

But now that Li Mochou was here, it was inconvenient to bring up the Immortal Realm. Chatting, singing, and telling stories were not very convenient either. She wanted to tease Lu Chen a little and chase about with him, but she felt too embarrassed to do so in front of Li Mochou.

"Alas, just as expected, traveling in a group of three brings all sorts of inconveniences..."

Huang Rong pouted her little lips and sulked for a while, but quickly perked up again.

"But these are all minor matters. What matters is that I can help Lu Chen comprehend swordplay... Once I take him to Peach Blossom Island, then go with him to the Immortal Realm, we'll have plenty of time to play happily together."

Thinking of taking Lu Chen around Peach Blossom Island in the future, then riding great ocean liners, trains, airplanes, warships, and spacecraft with him in the Immortal Realm—going to the moon to play... Huang Rong's rosy lips curled upward, and her eyes filled with longing.

Well, things like riding warships and spacecraft to the moon were sightseeing plans she had added herself. Lu Chen had never dared make such guarantees...

Early the next morning, Hong Qigong arrived as promised and began teaching swordplay to Lu Chen and the other two.

"Seventh Master, what is this swordplay called?"

"Well, this old beggar truly doesn't know. The sword manual was carved into a stone wall inside a cave on Changbai Mountain, but it had no name. You can call it Nameless Swordplay, or Changbai Swordplay if you like."

"Nameless Swordplay and Changbai Swordplay both sound terrible. Brother Lu Chen, what do you think this swordplay should be called?"

"Hmm, White Rainbow Swordplay?"

"Good, then White Rainbow Swordplay it is! Seventh Master, you have no objections, right?"

"You little girl, you've already named it. What objections could this old beggar have? It was a nameless sword manual to begin with, so name it whatever you please."

Thus, the nameless swordplay obtained from a stone wall in a cave somewhere on Changbai Mountain—possibly the swordplay practiced by Sword God Zhuo Bufan in the era of Heavenly Dragon—was officially named White Rainbow Swordplay.

In terms of moves, White Rainbow Swordplay was not as graceful, exquisite, and endlessly varied as Falling Blossom Swordplay or Ancient Tomb Swordplay. Yet when the sword was wielded, Sword Light crisscrossed in flashes swift as lightning, fierce and ruthless, pressing forward with aggressive force. It favored offense over defense, a swordplay of sharp and lethal slaughter.

Li Mochou was quite satisfied with it, because this swordplay happened to make up for the weakness in the killing power of her own swordplay.

Huang Rong, meanwhile, learned it with the attitude of having fun—she had no shortage of family-inherited Martial Arts. Aside from supreme arts like the Nine Yin Manual, other martial arts were optional to her.

Still, she was playful by nature and fond of novelty. Since she had the chance to learn a new skill, she naturally had to learn it.

But after learning it, she would most likely put it away on the shelf and would not continually ponder over it or strive to improve it.

As for Lu Chen, even Hong Qigong praised the concentration he showed while learning the sword, and his comprehension left Hong Qigong secretly astonished.

In his view, Huang Rong and Li Mochou already possessed exceptional talent for Martial Arts.

Across the entire realm, it was rare to find promising talents with comprehension like theirs.

Yet Lu Chen's aptitude for swordsmanship surpassed both of theirs. Whether it was the moves or the cultivation method, he understood as soon as it was explained and grasped the point with the slightest guidance.

With such extraordinary talent, no wonder even the proud and exacting Old Heretic Huang had accepted him as his final disciple.

Hong Qigong marveled at Lu Chen's peerless comprehension, not knowing that before unlocking Sword One, Lu Chen's aptitude could only be described as "good"—it had been far from extraordinary—

Back then, Huang Rong had watched the breakdown of the sword moves only once and heard the breathing and qi-circulation method twice before learning all thirty-six moves of the Maiden of Yue Sword. She had even been able to teach Lu Chen like a master, while Lu Chen, under Huang Rong's careful hands-on instruction, had taken a full four days to learn the complete Maiden of Yue Sword.

Though this was because he had only just begun learning Martial Arts and his foundation was too shallow—naturally unable to compare with Huang Rong, who had trained since childhood and already knew profound sword arts such as Falling Blossom Swordplay and Jade Flute Swordplay, allowing her to draw inferences from one example—his aptitude for swordsmanship at the time had still been far inferior to Huang Rong's.

Only after unlocking Sword One, obtaining the Sword Intent Imprint, and touching upon the principles of the sword had he truly found enlightenment. His aptitude in the sword path grew with each passing day; even Huang Yaoshi acknowledged him as a "swordsmanship prodigy." Now, he even possessed the ability to reverse-engineer a sword art's cultivation method by breaking down its moves and the force exerted through the sword.

And Lu Chen's aptitude in the sword path would not stop there.

In the future, as the Sword Intent of Extermination of Immortals was unlocked layer by layer, his aptitude in the sword path would continue to rise, growing ever stronger.

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