Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 976: Wang Chongyang’s True Strength

Because of the recent battle and the chaos of flying swords, the roof of the Three Purities Hall was punctured, and at this moment, a gust of wind blew in from outside, causing several leaves to fall from the roof. These leaves just happened to collide with the finger force shot out by the old man in white, instantly turning into powder.

Therefore, although everyone inside the hall could not see the shape or trajectory of his finger force, it was enough to understand the deadly power of that force from this instant.

“Yang Finger?”

Song Qingshu quickly recognized the martial skill used by the opponent. The Yang Finger technique mainly involves sealing people’s acupoints, with a mysterious hand method that ordinary people cannot decipher; when practiced to a high level, it can target acupoints from a distance, harming enemies invisibly; at an even higher level, the finger force specifically destroys enemies’ internal True Qi.

This is actually quite understandable. Given the same amount of force, does a palm strike cover a larger area than a single finger point? The concept of pressure—something learned in junior high physics.

Master hand techniques in the wulin often wield power in the air, but when faced with an expert equally skilled in finger force, they often suffer losses because if the palm wind is pierced by a finger force creating a small hole, no matter how mighty the palm wind, it will immediately disintegrate—of course, unless true Qi is used to strike from a distance, close combat’s counteracting effects are greatly reduced, since two fingers are much more fragile than a palm, and even if the fingers can pierce through the opponent’s flesh, your fingers might also be broken by the palm force.

Song Qingshu understood this principle well, so he did not foolishly use protective True Qi to resist, nor did he employ the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. Instead, he extended his fist, punching out with a force aimed directly at the incoming finger force.

Everyone in the hall saw a faint, crystalline glow flickering over Song Qingshu’s fist, then with a loud bang, the energy dispersed, forming a strong whirlwind in the hall. Many of the less skilled Quanzhen disciples were even blown to the point of unable to keep their eyes open.

Song Qingshu had to thank his junior high physics teacher—since palm wind is easily pierced by finger force, he used a heavier fist to attack, because compared to palm wind, a solid fist was much less likely to be broken.

The old man in white’s gaze hardened as he stared at him tightly. “Demonic Suppression Fist? Why do you have the martial skills of the Nine Yin Scripture?”

Song Qingshu was startled inwardly. To know that his martial arts had already reached this stage, he almost no longer used pre-set moves when fighting, instead acting spontaneously and adapting according to the situation.

The punch he just threw incorporated techniques from Wudang, Emei, and even the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. Even disciples from Wudang and Emei would find it hard to recognize, because after modifications, the move looked unfamiliar, not matching any single sect’s style.

Of course, if the old man in white recognized that this move was derived from Wudang or Emei, Song Qingshu wouldn’t be surprised—after all, that would be easy for top-tier experts to see through. But surprisingly, he immediately identified it as the Demonic Suppression Fist!

And that punch was fundamentally based on the fist intent of the Demonic Suppression Fist. If the martial arts of Emei, Wudang, and the Beggar Clan are superficial, then the Demonic Suppression Fist is the soul of that punch, representing the true essence of his attack, though he only took its meaning without adopting its form. He didn’t expect the other party to recognize this.

“What Nine Yin Scripture? I don’t understand,” Song Qingshu said, knowing his identity was sensitive and naturally not wanting to reveal too many secrets, so he played the innocent.

The old man in white snorted coldly. “Originally, I admired your cultivation, but you, as a Jin person, have stolen the supreme martial arts of the Han, and I see no mercy for you.”

Song Qingshu didn’t mind either and responded in a rough tone of a Jin: “If you want to fight, then fight. Why so much nonsense?”

Ouyang Feng frowned, hurriedly stepping forward. “Let me help you, Brother Qiu. You come along too.”

Ouyang Feng’s reputation and status in the wulin would normally command respect; he would never stoop to bullying others, but the man before him was the former number one in the world, Zhong Shentong Wang Chongyang!

Back then, at the Mount Hua sword debate, the Eastern Heretic, Western Poison, Southern Emperor, Northern Beggar, and Zhong Shentong fought on Mount Hua’s peak for seven days and nights. In the end, the other four absolute masters tied, and Wang Chongyang was recognized as first.

Later, some ignorant people in the wulin falsely assumed that Wang Chongyang needed seven days and nights to subdue the other four, and speculated that his martial arts, though higher than the others, were only due to his age advantage; his strength was limited.

But they didn’t realize that the Eastern Heretic, Western Poison, Southern Emperor, and Northern Beggar’s martial arts were all comparable, and even two of them fighting for three days and nights wouldn’t determine a winner, let alone make one submit to another.

Wang Chongyang, however, subdued all of them in just seven days and nights. How great was the disparity?

Moreover, initially, there had been ten matches on Mount Hua, and except for the four that Wang Chongyang participated in, the other six matches between the four abs and abs were so intense that neither side could determine a victor, exhausting themselves to the point of collapse.

So, in total, Wang Chongyang probably spent at most a day convincing the other four.

But Ouyang Feng only realized these truths later. After all, Wang Chongyang had not shown his full strength during their confrontation at Mount Hua, leading them to believe they might surpass him.

Years ago, Ouyang Feng saw Hong Qigong and noted that he clearly believed Wang Chongyang’s first place was due to not fully mastering the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms and Dog Beating Staff Technique. If they fought again now, who would win was still uncertain.

Ouyang Feng secretly sneered. In fact, he had the same thought back then. Later, he painstakingly studied a set of spiritual snake fists at White Camel Mountain Villa, preparing for a second Mount Hua sword debate to claim first again. But all those fantasies were shattered when he later went to Chongyang Palace.

When news of Wang Chongyang’s death spread, Ouyang Feng rushed to Chongyang Palace to seize the Nine Yin Scripture. The Quanzhen Seven Sons and Zhou Botong were no match for him. He quickly reached Wang Chongyang’s coffin, just as he was about to seize the book, Wang Chongyang suddenly erupted in attack, and Ouyang Feng was instantly subdued, his body broken by a single Yang Finger after being struck by Wang Chongyang’s One Yang Finger.

The martial world said it was because he hadn’t expected Wang Chongyang to fake his death that he was hit so suddenly, but who was Ouyang Feng?

The mighty Western Poison, who had dominated the jianghu’s underworld for years, had seen all kinds of schemes and tricks.

At that time, Ouyang Feng guessed there was probably a trap, but his greed overwhelmed him, and he thought his martial skills would be enough to protect himself, so he took the risk and went to Chongyang Palace. When he arrived in front of Wang Chongyang’s coffin, he was already highly alert, but he still couldn’t fight back against Wang Chongyang.

In that instant, Wang Chongyang’s martial arts displayed were far beyond what they had been at Mount Hua sword debate. Ouyang Feng realized how terrifying Wang Chongyang was when fighting with full strength. Fortunately, Wang Chongyang, out of respect for their acquaintance, did not kill him, only breaking his Toad Style Martial Art, allowing him to keep his life.

Because of this shameful event, Ouyang Feng never explained it to anyone, letting the prevailing opinions in the wulin run rampant.

When he heard Hong Qigong believe he could surpass the Wang Chongyang of that year, Ouyang Feng’s cold gaze was full of pity and contempt. Over the years, he was most relieved that Wang Chongyang died early.

But who knew that he would actually come back to life!

Despite these years of reverse cultivation of the Nine Yin Scripture, his martial arts had long since surpassed his former self, but just thinking about the fear Wang Chongyang once imposed on him, Ouyang Feng could only swallow his pride and proactively propose a joint effort with Song Qingshu and Qiu Qianren to fight the enemy.