Chapter 68: The Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms (Part 1)

  As soon as Ling Yun spoke, Huang Rong suddenly felt a surge of understanding in her heart: "It seems that Brother Yun wants to learn the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms!"

  Huang Rong's guess was correct, Ling Muyun was indeed aiming for the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms. As one of the two most powerful skills in the Beggar Gang, it is known as the most powerful and fierce technique under heaven, a legendary palm technique that has been passed down for hundreds of years in the Jin Yong wuxia world. Xiao Feng, Hong Qigong, Guo Jing... one after another, masters have used this skill to shake the heavens, how could Ling Muyun not be tempted? So after being recognized by Hong Qigong through a systematic test, Ling Muyun immediately focused his attention on the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms.

  However, Ling Yun also knew that he was not Guo Jing and could not learn from Guo Jing's example of taking Hong Qigong as his master. Since he had already won Hong Qigong's recognition with his martial arts skills, the path to becoming his apprentice was closed off. With his current level of martial arts being only one tier lower than Hong Qigong's, even if he were willing to take Hong Qigong as his master, Hong Qigong would never accept him with a clear conscience.

  It's not just that his martial arts skills have reached a high level, making it unfulfilling for Hong Qigong to teach him, but more importantly, with his current abilities, wanting to return to the Innate Realm from the Acquired Realm and reach the Five Absolutes requires self-cultivation and introspection. What Hong Qigong can teach him is not much, a few pointers would be enough for now, but wanting to guide him in the long run, what he has stored up is far from enough. And with Hong Qigong's identity and pride, when he himself is not qualified to teach his own disciples, he absolutely refuses to pretend to be a master.

  The Dragon Subduing Palms, being the signature skill of Hong Qigong, was not something he would easily teach to others. In the original story, although Hong Qigong taught Guo Jing the Dragon Subduing Palms under Huang Rong's great temptation, he didn't teach him the full set and only taught fifteen palms before resisting the temptation and leaving. It wasn't until later when he met Ouyang Ke that Hong Qigong wanted to punish him but didn't want to use his superior strength against a weaker opponent, and since there was no one else suitable to take action on his behalf, he took Guo Jing as his disciple and taught him the full set of Dragon Subduing Palms.

  Ling Yun thought that since he couldn't ask Hong Qigong to be his master, he had to think of another way to learn the Dragon Subduing Palms. So, he came up with this idea of exchanging martial arts for martial arts, using the temptation of the Great Demon-Subduing Fist, combined with the favor owed by eating white food, and thought that Hong Qigong would not be able to refuse. As long as Hong Qigong agreed, the Dragon Subduing Palms were basically in his hands. Because although Hong Qigong knew countless martial arts, only the Dog-Beating Stick Technique and the Dragon Subduing Palms of the Beggar Gang's town-founding ultimate skills could compare with the Great Demon-Subduing Fist. However, the Dog-Beating Stick Technique was not passed down to non-Beggar Gang leaders, so Hong Qigong could only use the Dragon Subduing Palms as an exchange.

  The fact did not exceed Ling Yun's expectations. After listening to his words, Hong Qigong nodded slightly and said: "Good, let's exchange and learn from each other as you said, Lao Jiaohua won't have many powerful skills, only the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms that just used are barely passable, I'll teach it to you."

  "Alright, then let me first demonstrate the 108 moves of the Dah Fung Mo Kuen. This set is called the Great Subduing Devil Fist...” Ling Mu Yun was overjoyed when he saw Hong Qi Gong agree, and to prevent him from changing his mind, he immediately wanted to teach the Great Subduing Devil Fist to Hong Qi Gong.

  "Hold on." Hong Qigong suddenly spoke out and stopped Ling Yun, saying: "The old beggar's palm technique only has eighteen moves, relatively speaking it's easier to learn, let the old beggar teach you first, after you've learned it I'll teach you the Big Fierce Demon Fist, it won't be late."

  Hong Qigong did so mainly because he didn't want to take advantage of Ling Yun, having already enjoyed a free meal at his house earlier. If he were to let the younger generation teach him martial arts first, it would be too embarrassing for someone of his seniority, which is why he proactively asked to teach Ling Yun instead.

  For such a good thing, Ling Mu Yun naturally agreed with joy: "Good, let's follow Qi Gong."

  Hong Qigong did not immediately pass on the skills to Ling Yun, but instead glanced at Huang Rong and said: "Girl, you should go back to the inn to rest first."

  "Alright, you seven stay here and practice. I'll go prepare lunch for you." Huang Rong knew that Hong Qigong was going to teach Ling Pei Yun the palm technique, so she smiled and agreed, happily leaving. In her heart, as long as it was beneficial to Ling Pei Yun, it was a great thing; she herself didn't mind.

  After Huang Rong left, Hong Qigong said to Ling Yun: "Ling Xiaoyou, Lao Jiaohua has another request to make beforehand. The Dragon Subduing Palm is one of the absolute skills of our Beggar Clan and is not easily passed on to outsiders. I hope that after you learn it, you will not pass it on to others. What do you think?"

  "This——" Ling Yun was a bit embarrassed, he had originally planned to learn the Dragon Subduing Palms and then pass it on to Guo Jing later. However, since Hong Qigong asked him, he couldn't refuse, not to mention that if he refused, Hong Qigong might not teach him the Dragon Subduing Palms anymore. Even if Hong Qigong still kept his promise and taught him, Ling Yun would inevitably feel a bit resentful towards Guo Jing, which was not what he wanted to see.

  After a moment of hesitation, Ling Mu Yun said: "Seventh Uncle, I will not lightly pass on this palm technique after learning it. If I want to teach it to anyone, I must first obtain your consent. How about that?"

  Hong Qigong thought for a moment and decided it wasn't a bad idea after all, so he nodded in agreement.

  "Ling Xiaoyou, watch closely! This is the first move of the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms, 'Kang Long You Hui'!" Hong Qigong began to demonstrate to Ling Muyun. As he spoke, his left leg slightly bent, right arm curved inward, and his right palm drew a circle. With a "whoosh" sound, he pushed out with one palm. The palm wind swept towards the large pine tree in front of him, which was as thick as a water bucket. Suddenly, there was a loud cracking sound, and the pine tree fell to the ground, its trunk snapped clean and smooth like a knife cut.

  Ling Yun couldn't help but feel shocked. If it was said that a palm could cut down a tree, with his current abilities he might barely be able to do it, but like Hong Qigong who didn't need actual physical contact, just using the wind from his palm to sweep across and knock down a large tree, and still manage to break it off so cleanly, he was far from being able to do that. He really couldn't have imagined that Hong Qigong's one palm would have such power.

  At this time, Hong Qigong said: "Of course, this tree is dead and will not move, you can hit it as you like. But if it were a living person, they would retreat and dodge. The difficulty of learning this move lies in making the opponent retreat without being able to retreat, making them unable to let go. As soon as you make a move, with a crack, the enemy will be finished, just like a pine tree..."

  Hong Qigong then carefully demonstrated the move twice, and meticulously explained the internal energy release method and the way to initiate and retract the move. Although he only taught one move, it took up more than two hours of time, and the profundity contained within can be imagined.

  Ling Yun heard Hong Qigong's explanation and finally understood why Guo Jing was not outstanding in other martial arts, but only the Dragon Subduing Palm was practiced to perfection. It turned out that the Dragon Subduing Palm was simple and powerful, with a deep emphasis on internal power and physical requirements, but not on changing techniques. Guo Jing was dull and not clever, and it was difficult for him to learn complex techniques, but because he was single-minded, he excelled in internal power and application, making this martial art the most suitable for him.

  These thoughts only flashed through Ling Mu Yun's mind, and he immediately began to practice according to Hong Qi Gong's guidance. Ling Mu Yun had a good natural talent, his internal strength had already achieved great success, and his body was also very strong after being nourished by the true energy for a long time. So, practicing this "Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms" went quite quickly. After more than two hours of practice, Ling Mu Yun had already grasped the general idea of this move "Kang Long You Hui", and he immediately came to the forest to try it out.

  Ling Mu Yun chose a pine tree with a trunk as thick as a bowl, came to the front of the tree, and according to Hong Qigong's method, he slapped out a palm. A fierce gust of wind suddenly emerged from his hand and struck the pine tree, "Boom" sounded, only to hit the pine tree swaying several times, the treetop shaking violently, and several pine cones fell down.

  Ling Muyun shook his head at the sight, although he had tempered this power with his palm many times before, but compared to Hong Qigong's effect, it was still vastly different. Obviously, the inner energy was not used correctly. He remembered Hong Qigong's previous guidance, that in order to make the opponent retreat without any chance of escape, one must release their energy extremely quickly, so that the opponent would not have time to resist or retreat and dissipate the force.

  Ling Muyun pondered for a moment, then struck out with his palm again. This time the wind was still fierce, and it thundered against the tree with a loud crash, but the tree didn't shake and yield like before. Instead, it made a "creaking" sound, slowly tilted, and then crashed to the ground.

  Hong Qigong, who was standing aside, couldn't help but flash a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. Ling Yun's ability to break trees with a wave of his hand showed that he had grasped the essence of this move. Although Ling Yun's internal energy was robust and his foundation was solid, being able to reach this level in just half a day was already quite impressive.

  However, Ling Yun himself was not satisfied. Although he also barely managed to cut down the tree with a single palm strike, it was not clean and neat. Moreover, looking at the cross-section of the broken tree trunk, it was rough and uneven, completely unlike the smooth and tidy trees that Hong Qigong had struck down. Apparently, there was still something wrong with his technique.

  "Hong Qigong pointed out from the side: "Ling Xiaoyou, this move is called 'Kang Long You Hui', the essence of palm technique lies not in the word 'Kang' but in the word 'Hui'. If one only seeks to be strong and fierce, anyone with a few hundred pounds of brute force can do it, what's so special? 'Kang Long You Hui, Ying Bu Ke Jiou', therefore, there must be restraint after release. The power exerted has ten parts, but the power retained in the body has twenty parts. It's like a fine wine from previous years, not spicy at first sip, but with an aftertaste that is rich and unparalleled, all because of this 'Hui' character."

  "Is it all about the word 'regret'?" Ling Mu Yun muttered to himself, as if he had gained some insight, and his eyes gradually lit up, apparently having grasped some of the subtleties involved.