Chapter 64: Inviting a Battle with Hong Qigong

  Ling Muyun saw Hong Qigong's nostalgic expression and couldn't help but chime in, "Qigong, you went to the imperial palace to eat at the royal kitchen over a decade ago? Was it an invitation from the emperor himself?"

  "Hong Qigong chuckled and said, 'That's not it, this guest of mine came uninvited, the emperor doesn't even know. I hid in the eaves of the imperial kitchen for three months, every dish the emperor ate, I tasted first, if it was good, I'd take the whole plate, if not, I'd let the little emperor eat it himself. The people in the imperial kitchen were suspicious and frightened, they all said that the great fox spirit had appeared! Haha...'"

  Ling Yun secretly admired Hong Qigong's audacity, but couldn't help but stifle a laugh. Just to satisfy his craving for food, he had snuck into the imperial palace and hidden in the kitchen rafters for three months. Only someone as gluttonous as Hong Qigong could pull off such a feat. Huang Rong listened from the side, also secretly shaking her head in amazement.

  Hong Qigong glanced at Ling Yun and smiled, "Girl, your wife's cooking skills are the best in the world. You're set for life! Dammit, why didn't I meet a woman with such great skills when I was young?" He seemed to be filled with regret.

  Hong Qigong's words came out, Huang Rong was blushing all over her face, while Ling Yunqiu had a smug look on his face. What Hong Qigong said wasn't wrong, Huang Rong's culinary skills were truly unmatched. Whoever could win her hand would be blessed with good food! She was intelligent, beautiful and knew how to take care of people - where could you find such a wonderful daughter-in-law?

  As soon as Hong Qigong had eaten his fill, Ling Yun and Huang Rong also started eating with their chopsticks. Huang Rong's appetite was small, so she only ate one bowl and was full, while Ling Yun was a big eater and devoured the food in front of him. Unlike Hong Qigong's savoring way of eating, Ling Yun didn't have the same level of culinary expertise as Hong Qigong, he just knew what tasted good, but couldn't tell where the goodness came from, nor did he care to find out. He ate four big bowls of rice and swept away all the remaining dishes before finally putting down his chopsticks with a satisfied expression.

  Watching Ling Muyun's gluttonous eating, Hong Qigong couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, saying: "A cow chewing on peonies, what a pity, what a pity."

  Huang Rong smiled slightly, while Ling Miao Yun secretly curled his lip. You old man didn't seem much more refined than me when you were eating just now, and the best parts of this dish were all picked out by you first. Now that you're full, you start spouting nonsense! This meal isn't even that great!

  As soon as Linghu Chong and Huang Rong had finished eating, Hong Qigong rubbed his belly and said: "You two kids are skilled in martial arts, I've known that for a long time. The girl has put her heart into cooking such delicious dishes for me to eat, she must have ulterior motives, wanting me to teach you some moves. Alright, after eating such good food, it's only right that I teach you some moves. Come come come, follow me." After finishing speaking, he stood up, slung the wine gourd over his back, grasped his bamboo staff and set off immediately.

  Ling Yun and Huang Rong exchanged a glance, then stood up and followed.

  Three people left the inn, Hong Qigong led the way towards the outside of the town, Huang Rong and Ling Zhuo Yun followed closely behind him. Hong Qigong glanced at Ling Zhuo Yun and Huang Rong, his heart moved, he strode forward with large steps, getting faster and faster, in an instant he was running like the wind. Huang Rong and Ling Zhuo Yun exchanged a glance, knowing that this was Hong Qigong intentionally testing their martial arts skills and footwork, they immediately displayed the lightness technique from the Nine Yin Manual to closely pursue him.

  Hong Qigong saw the two following closely behind him, and his heart was also slightly startled. He didn't expect their martial arts to be so strong. Looking at their swift movements, it was an extremely wonderful lightness skill. The originally reserved lightness skill suddenly opened up fully, wanting to probe the depth of Ling Yun's and Huang Rong's martial arts foundation.

  Hong Qigong's all-out effort caused Ling Yun and Huang Rong to feel the change instantly, and the distance between them began to open up rapidly. They also quickly used their lightness skills to chase after him with all their might. Ling Yun was able to keep up with Hong Qigong for a while because of his long training time and deep internal power, coupled with the fact that the Nine Yin Manual's lightness skill was indeed extraordinary. However, Huang Rong had only been training in the Nine Yin and Nine Yang for a short time, so she couldn't quite keep up, despite her face being flushed red from exerting herself to the limit.

  Ling Mu Yun saw this scene and felt a pang of sympathy, so he didn't deliberately chase after Hong Qi Gong anymore. He slowed down slightly and fell back to Huang Rong's side, stretched out his hand and pulled the beauty's soft wrist, and his powerful internal energy was instantly transmitted over, assisting the beauty. Huang Rong looked at Ling Mu Yun with a hint of emotion, smiled sweetly, and walked forward shoulder to shoulder with him.

  Three people, one in front and two behind, sped along swiftly, the only sound being the whistling of the wind. The trees by the side of the road fell back rapidly as they passed, their speed surpassing that of galloping horses. In a short while, they arrived at a pine forest more than ten miles outside the town.

  Hong Qigong stopped in his tracks and turned around, only to see Ling Yun and Huang Rong walking side by side, hand in hand, dozens of feet behind him. They floated along with the wind, their demeanor calm and composed, like a pair of divine lovers. In an instant, they appeared before him and came to a stop, not even breaking a sweat or changing color, as if they had simply been strolling through the garden, without any sign of having just sprinted over ten miles.

  Upon seeing the two's performance, Hong Qigong was also secretly shocked. Because Ling Yun and Huang Rong's Nine Yin White Bone Claw had the effect of concealing their energy and hiding their spirit, he had long since discerned that Ling Yun and Huang Rong were both skilled in martial arts, but he hadn't expected them to have such attainments, allowing him to run at full speed for over ten miles before only barely shaking off a few dozen feet away, without even breaking a sweat. This level of lightness skill was already considered top-notch in the Jianghu. Moreover, Hong Qigong also noticed that the two were not evenly matched in terms of speed, but rather Ling Yun had intentionally held back, meaning he still had some energy left over. Clearly, his internal strength was also quite profound. What kind of master could have taught such a disciple to achieve this level at such a young age?

  Hong Qigong almost immediately associated it with the few Jue on his side, but Ling Yun and Huang Rong's lightness skills were from the Nine Yin Manual, which had different routes than the Jue, so Hong Qigong's suspicion was slightly reduced, but not completely eliminated.

  "Old Beggar has underestimated you this time, you two young ones are not very old, but your martial arts skills are indeed extraordinary. I'm afraid there's not much that Old Beggar can teach you!" Hong Qigong said with a deep gaze at Linghu Chong and Huang Rong. However, after probing the depths of Linghu Chong and Huang Rong's abilities, especially Linghu Chong's, Hong Qigong also began to harbor doubts, and his words were no longer as full of praise as before.

  "Master Huang, you're a senior and a superior person. Just revealing a little something is enough for us juniors to learn from. It's too humble of you to say so." Huang Rong saw that Huang Qi Gong seemed to be backing down and immediately became anxious, hastily making a statement to encourage and urge him on.

  Hong Qigong furrowed his brow and remained silent, also feeling quite troubled. As the saying goes, "Eating from someone's mouth is short, taking from someone's hand is short." Since he had enjoyed someone else's benefits, if he didn't show any gratitude, it would be somewhat unreasonable and not in line with his usual principles of conduct. However, if he were to teach martial arts as a way of thanking him, considering Ling Muyun's current level of skill, ordinary martial arts might not be enough to repay the debt; he would have to reveal two of his ultimate techniques. But doing so would inevitably expose his deepest secrets. If Ling Muyun was indeed connected to one of his old adversaries and revealed his ultimate techniques to them, next time they met at Mount Hua's Sword Conference, he might suffer because of it - that wouldn't be a laughing matter.

  Ling Moyun seemed to have noticed Hong Qigong's difficulty and smiled slightly, saying: "Seventh Master, there's no need to teach me any martial arts. I just had an unreasonable request, and I hope you can agree to it."

  "What's your request? Tell me!"

  Hong Qigong's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and he didn't know what kind of trick Ling Yun was playing with his words. As a result, Hong spoke very cautiously, not daring to utter any boastful remarks, lest he be caught off guard and forced into an awkward situation. Although Hong Qigong was known for being bold and chivalrous, he was also a seasoned veteran of the jianghu world, with extremely rich experience. When necessary, he would be vigilant and never careless, otherwise he would have been schemed against countless times and wouldn't have lived to this day.

  Ling Muyun said, "I know that Seventh Uncle is a senior expert, with martial arts skills unparalleled in the world. As it happens, I also know some shallow techniques, so I'm taking the liberty of asking Seventh Uncle to come down and give me some guidance."

  Ling Muyun was indeed envious of Hong Qigong's unparalleled skills, especially the legendary "Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms" that claimed to be the most powerful in the world. However, he had not forgotten his mission, which was to gain recognition from the Five Supremes, not to receive their transmission of martial arts. Even if he received the transmission of countless martial arts from the Five Supremes, it would all be for naught if he failed to complete his task.

  To gain the recognition of Wu Jue, the simplest and most direct way is to show one's strength. Status has always been based on strength, as long as you can show enough strength, others will naturally change their gaze and attitude towards you, so Ling Mu Yun directly challenged Hong Qi Gong.

  "Dolly, you mean to say you want to fight with Old Beggar?" Hong Qigong asked somewhat incredulously.

  "Not bad!" Ling Muyun nodded and said affirmatively: "The young man dares to ask Master Qi for a few moves, so as to know the difference between himself and a true master. I hope Master Qi can fulfill his wish!"

  Ps: I'm asking for votes for Sanjiang, although I knew early in the month that my thin arms and legs couldn't compete with others, so I didn't pull votes to contend for the first place on the Sanjiang list. Now the ranking is too far behind, Mingyue's face is burning, so I can only ask for help from everyone. Please brothers and sisters go to Sanjiang and vote for this book, thank you, Mingyue.