Hong Lingbo called out, âHey, Beggar, Taoist, have you seen a lame girl pass by here?â
The two beggars had a high status in the world of Wulin, when they heard Hong Lingbo question them like this they became angry but the Beggar Clan had strict rules, the members mustnât get into feuds with others as they pleased so the two just replied, âNo!â
Li Mochouâs eyes were sharp and saw the back of Lu Wushuang, she was suspicious and thought, âI think Iâve seen those two before?â She saw the four facing each other, their weapons braced as if they were about to fight, she thought she should stand aside and see what happens.
Yang Guo glanced over and saw that she had a wry smile on her face, standing by watching the battle, he had a thought, âIâve got it, and if I do this Iâll erase her suspicions.â He turned around and went over to Hong Lingbo to ask her something, he disguised his voice and said, âGreetings Taoist friend.â Hong Lingbo returned the greeting.
He said, âThis Taoist was just passing by when these two evil beggars started to cause trouble, wanting to fight me. This Taoist has not got weapon, I hope you will lend me a weapon in respect of Lao Jun.â As he said this he made another bow.
Hong Lingbo saw that his face was black and ugly, but he was respectful and modest, he referred to the Taoistâs Tai Shang Lao Jun. It didnât seem right to reject his request so she held out her sword and glanced at her master. She saw that she was nodding her head and so handed the sword to him. Yang Guo bowed as he received the long sword, the tip pointing to the ground, he said, âIf this Taoist canât fight off the enemy, I hope that Taoist friend here will look upon the fact that we are people of religion and will assist me.â
Hong Lingbo raised her eyebrows and gave a âhumphâ sound without replying.
Yang Guo turned around and loudly said to Lu Wushuang, âApprentice brother, sit by the side and watch and donât move, Iâm going to teach the Beggar Clan beggars the skills of our Quanzhen sect.â
Li Mochou shivered, âSo the two Taoists are from the Quanzhen sect. But Quanzhen sect and the Beggar Clan have always been good friends, why are they arguing?â
Yang Guo was afraid that the two beggars would speak and reveal who Lu Wushuang was so he raised his sword and dashed forward, calling out, âCome, come, come, Iâll fight two by myself.â
But Lu Wushuang was concerned, âSha Dan doesnât know that my master has fought Quanzhen sect on many occasions, how would she not be able to recognize the stances of the Quanzhen sect? There are many Taoist sects in the world, Zhengyi, Dadao, Taiyi, they are all good choices for our cover why the hell did he pick Quanzhen?â
The two beggars heard him say âFrom the Quanzhen sectâ and were alarmed, the both called out, âAre you really from Quanzhen sect? You andâŚâ
Yang Guo didnât allow them to mention Lu Wushuang and thrust his sword forward, separately attacking the stomachs of the two; it was Quanzhenâs âDi Chuanâ sword skills. The two beggarâs status was high, they could gang up and fight a young boy like him but Yang Guoâs stance came out extremely quick. They had to attack together with their sticks. As the metal rods were raised, Yang Guoâs sword darted through the gap and aimed for their chests. The two beggars could never have predicted that his sword skills were extremely quick; they quickly retreated. Yang Guo didnât hold back, he kept on applying the pressure, in a flash he had unleashed eighteen swords, every stance had two intentions, when the sword comes out it was one stance, but within it was artifice, the sword stance separated into two. This was Quanzhenâs âOne Sword into Three Distinctionsâ (yi jian hua san qing) technique; every stance can be made into three. Every stance that Yang Guo threw out, the beggars moved back three steps, after the eighteen stances had been unleashed, the beggars had not even attacked back once, and they had retreated back a total of fifty-four steps. The kung fu of the âJade Heart Manualâ was designed to counter Quanzhenâs kung fu. Before Yang Guo practiced the âJade Heart Manualâ he practiced the kung fu of the Quanzhen sect. But because he had not practiced enough and it wasnât refined enough, he wasnât able to do âOne Sword into Three Distinctionsâ, but he was good enough to turn it into two distinctions.
Li Mochou saw that the young Taoistâs sword skills were refined, she couldnât help being shocked and thought, âNo wonder Quanzhenâs name is so famous, there are able people from the sect, in ten years time how will I be able to beat him? It looks the mantel of the Quanzhen sect is going to fall into his hands in the future.â
If she fought with Yang Guo, she would know that although the stances were real on the outside, underneath it was the Ancient Tombâs kung fu, but from its appearance, it was hard to distinguish between the two. Yang Guo had learned the Quanzhen song from Zhao Zhijing, and practiced it afterwards, and so his Quanzhen kung fu wasnât completely a fake. Lu Wushuang and Hong Lingbo looked on, dazzled.
Yang Guo thought, âIf I slow down and allow the two beggars to talk, weâll be finished.â Once the eighteen stances had passed, the long sword quickly turned around and attacked the two beggars backs, another set of two distinctions. The two beggars quickly turned around to attack. Yang Guo didnât allow the metal rods and the sword to collide, he quickly darted behind the twoâs backs. The beggars turned around, Yang Guo darted behind the beggars again. He knew that if it came to a real kung fu contest, he would not be able to handle one beggar let alone two; he utilized his lightness kung fu and circled around the two beggars. In the Quanzhen sect, as soon as one has refined their kung fu to a high level, they will practice lightness kung fu so later on they will be able to use it when practicing the âBig Dipper Formationâ. Although Yang Guo is now using the steps of Quanzhenâs kung fu, but his breathing and circulation are from the formulae of the âJade Heart Manualâ. The Ancient Tombâs lightness kung fu was second to none in the world, as soon as he used it, the two skilled Beggar Clan fighters were not able to catch up, they saw him moving like lightning, a white blur, the sword piercing forwards. If he wanted to kill them, even if twenty beggars were here he would be able to kill them. The two beggars quickly turned around and waved their rods in defense, right now they werenât able to defend against the incoming stances; they used all their strength in defense and hoped that heaven was on their side. They ran around like this for around ten loops, the two beggars were dizzy and dazed, their feet rapid, they felt that they were about to faint.
Li Mochou chuckled and said, âHey, my Beggar Clan friends, Iâll teach you a method, stand back to back so you wonât have to keep on turning around.â With this pointer, the two beggars were filled with joy, they were about to follow this method when Yang Guo thought, âCrap! If this happen Iâm going to lose.â He stopped circling them, two stances in one, as the sword was thrust forwards aiming for their backs. The two beggars heard the wind sound from the sword; they werenât able to use their rods to block it so advanced forward. As soon as they took a step the stance arrived, they were shocked and quickly hurried out of the way. How could they have predicted that Yang Guoâs sword was like a shadow, no matter how fast they ran away, the sword remained behind their backs? The twoâs steps slowed, their backs were pierced by the sword. The two beggars knew that Yang Guo didnât want to kill them; otherwise all he had to do was just add an ounce more strength. The sword would have moved an inch further; wouldnât the sword have gone through their chests? But they still didnât dare to slow their steps. The three used their energy and in a flash they had moved over two miles, leaving Li Mochou and the others behind. Yang Guo suddenly sped up and dashed in front of the two. He laughed and said, âWalk slowly, be careful of tripping!â The two threw out their rods at the same time. Yang Guo stretched out his left hand and held onto one of the rods, at the same time he extended the flat side of his sword and hit the metal rod to the left. His left palm opened and held the two rods. The two beggars felt something was wrong and quickly distributed their chi. Yang Guoâs internal energy wasnât a match for theirs, he didnât dare to try and match them, and swept the long sword across. If the two beggars didnât let go, their eight fingers would be slashed off immediately, they could only let go and jump back. Their faces had an expression of embarrassment. Not being able to win and using such a way to escape may have been going too far.