Helping each other with countless me.

Chapter 545 Shortcomings
At the top of the Cliff of Contemplation, a strong wind howls.

Li Zhongren and Linghu Chong stood facing each other, three zhang apart.

The two men had deep and focused gazes, their auras profound and imposing. Half a year of arduous training had shed most of their naivety, and their restrained sharpness made them even more compelling.

"Senior Brother, please."

Li Zhongren clasped his hands in a fist salute, his voice steady and calm.

"Junior brother, please!"

Linghu Chong's lips curled into a smug smile, and he twirled his longsword, the clear sound of the sword echoing between the cliffs.

Before he finished speaking, Linghu Chong's figure had already vanished from the spot like a ghost!
Without any probing, he immediately unleashed the essence of the Dugu Nine Swords!
He knew Li Zhongren's defenses were formidable; ordinary attacks were like tickling him. Only by targeting specific points and attacking where Li Zhongren had to defend could he have a chance of victory!
A flash of sword light, faster than lightning!
Instead of striking a vital point, it aimed directly at Li Zhongren's right shoulder acupoint, Jianjing!

The angle was extremely tricky, blocking most of Li Zhongren's evasion routes and concealing several subsequent changes. Whether Li Zhongren confronted it head-on or evaded it, he would fall into the trap of his sword aura!

However, just as the sword tip was about to touch him, Li Zhongren moved.

His movements didn't look fast, even somewhat "slow," but it was an illusion created by extreme "precision"! His feet didn't move, but his whole body, like a willow catkin in the wind, "slid" half a step to the left with a flexibility that defied human common sense!

At the same time, with his right hand slightly open, a layer of light golden energy instantly covered his palm. Instead of directly confronting the sword's edge, he gently brushed it against the side of the sword's spine, the movement as gentle as brushing away dewdrops from flower petals.

"laugh!"

The sword's edge grazed Li Zhongren's clothes, leaving a tiny crack. Linghu Chong's incomparably fierce sword strike, which contained multiple follow-up moves, was actually deflected by this seemingly casual brush, its subsequent variations dying before they could even begin!
"it is good!"

Linghu Chong's eyes gleamed brightly; he was not surprised but rather delighted.

With a flick of his longsword, his swordplay suddenly changed, no longer aiming for a fatal blow, but transforming into a sky full of stars!

Countless sword shadows, both real and illusory, appeared like a sudden storm, enveloping Li Zhongren's vital points!

Each sword strike was as swift as lightning, with bizarre angles, aimed directly at the barely perceptible gaps in Li Zhongren's qi flow, which was the prototype of the "Qi-breaking style" of the Dugu Nine Swords!

Li Zhongren closed his eyes slightly, his mind sinking into a state of clarity.

He no longer uses his eyes to see, but relies on his keen control over his own flesh and bones, and even the flow of every bit of internal energy, to "listen" to the wind and "feel" the force!

His body seemed to transform into an incredibly flexible stream of water, twisting, folding, and gliding incredibly within the dense net of swords!
Sometimes he would slip through the gap between the two sword lights like a fish, and sometimes he would gently tap the sword with the soft force of the Empty Fist, turning a fatal thrust into a harmless glide.

The pale golden aura around him flowed endlessly like a living thing, sometimes condensing at a point to strike the sword tip hard, producing a crisp "ding-ding" sound, and sometimes transforming into an invisible vortex, quietly deflecting and dissipating the incoming sword energy.

"Dang Dang Dang!"

"Chucky!"

The sounds of metal clashing and clothes tearing were incessant.

Li Zhongren's cloth clothes kept getting new tears, and there were even a few places where his skin was scratched by the sharp sword energy, but his feet seemed to be rooted to the ground, and he stood firmly on the ground without ever taking a step back!
His movements seemed clumsy and slow, yet he always managed to neutralize Linghu Chong's deadly attacks—the kind that were unpredictable and elusive—at the last possible moment, with minimal cost. He could clearly withstand these ordinary attacks, but he would never do so.

Because this is a habit formed, also known as path dependence, a strong defense increases his margin for error, rather than him stubbornly withstanding all enemy attacks like a fool. There are millions of capable people in this world, but who dares to say that they are not afraid of anything?

Therefore, the more cautious Li Zhongren was, the more alarmed Linghu Chong became.

You're already so strong, yet you're still so cautious.
As a result, his sword became faster and more cunning, bringing full play to the characteristics of the Dugu Nine Swords: "anticipating the enemy's moves" and "attacking the enemy's weaknesses."

He could clearly "see" the weak points of Li Zhongren's qi circulation every time, and the slight delay in muscle exertion every time. But every time he thought his sword was sure to hit, Li Zhongren could always avoid or neutralize it with his almost superhuman body control and qi micro-management!
It was as if he was attacking not a person, but a cloud of mist that was impossible to grasp and could change in any direction!

"Junior brother, watch out! It's a Qi-breaking technique!"

Linghu Chong let out a long roar, pouring all his inner strength into the sword, and the longsword emitted a clear and melodious dragon's cry!
His figure moved like lightning, becoming one with his sword, transforming into a cold light condensed to the extreme, piercing straight into Li Zhongren's chest at the Tanzhong acupoint!

This sword strike embodies his complete understanding of "breaking the Qi," with speed, power, and precision all reaching his current peak!
The sword tip seemed to pierce through the air, producing a sharp, explosive sound!

Faced with this earth-shattering sword strike, Li Zhongren's eyes flashed with a sharp light!
He stopped dodging and took a sudden half-step forward with his left foot. The step was silent, but the entire Cliff of Contemplation seemed to tremble slightly!
The pale golden aura around his body flowed like rivers into the sea, instantly converging into his right fist!

The fist made no sound at all, and even seemed a little "light," but the air around the fist was violently distorted, emitting a low hum!
Empty Fist - Light as Heavy - Condensed Qi!
Fists and swords clashed!

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a dull, muffled "thud" sound, like a heavy hammer striking a drum!

Linghu Chong felt as if his sword had pierced into a thick, yet incredibly tough, swamp!

This was a sword strike that he had poured all his strength into, specifically designed to break through qi (vital energy). This was a unique characteristic of the true qi of the Dugu Nine Swords.

No matter what kind of energy you have—true qi, protective qi, or anything else—it will be destroyed and devoured when faced with this true qi.

However, this incredibly sharp sword energy stubbornly withstood Li Zhongren's powerful internal force.

One aspect is the unique defensive properties of Gang Jin itself.

But more importantly.

是量
Sea volume
Now, Li Zhongren's control over his internal energy is truly effortless. With the support of the Empty Fist, the speed of his internal energy circulation is no longer as slow as a snail's pace, but rather as swift and exhilarating as the Milky Way falling from the heavens, wherever his mind directs!
Therefore, Linghu Chong's sword was directly killed by the thick protective energy in front of Li Zhongren.

Visibly, Linghu Chong's sword, suspended in mid-air, continued to penetrate deeper and deeper into the ground. However, as the sword went deeper, its descent speed gradually decreased.

Ultimately, it turned into a war of attrition.
Finally, when the sword energy of the Dugu Nine Swords was completely exhausted, the sword tip was only an inch away from Li Zhongren's fist, but it could not advance any further!

Even more terrifying, an indescribable, overwhelming force, like a mountain collapsing, was surging wildly along the sword!

That was not a simple internal force impact, but a powerful combination of the pure strength of Li Zhongren's Vajra Body and the overwhelming pressure of Hunyuan Qi!
Linghu Chong felt a violent tremor in his arm, his tiger's mouth instantly split open, and his long sword almost flew out of his hand!

At this critical moment, Li Zhongren's eyes narrowed, and the qi he had gathered to the extreme in his fist suddenly erupted!
"boom!"

An invisible shockwave suddenly exploded outwards from the two of them!

Linghu Chong let out a muffled groan, unable to maintain his balance any longer. As if struck by a battering ram, his feet left the ground, and he flew backward!

The longsword in his hand let out a mournful cry, flew out of his hand, and with a "thud," embedded itself deeply into the distant cliff face!

Linghu Chong barely managed to adjust his posture in mid-air. When he landed, he staggered several steps before regaining his balance. His face turned pale, his blood surged, and his right hand, which was gripping the sword, trembled slightly.

Li Zhongren slowly withdrew his fist, and the pale golden aura flowing around him disappeared into his body like the receding tide.

His breathing was steady, as if the earth-shattering blow he had just delivered was merely a casual flick of the wrist.

The outcome is decided!

Linghu Chong glanced at the sword stuck in the cliff face, then looked at the composed Li Zhongren. Far from being dejected, his face broke into a genuine, slightly awestruck, radiant smile. "That was exhilarating! Junior brother, your kung fu is simply... simply inhuman! I accept my defeat wholeheartedly! That last punch of yours was absolutely devastating!"

Li Zhongren smiled, stepped forward, and handed over a handkerchief.

"It's just a gift from God. I only relied on my internal energy to exhaust my senior brother's sword energy. When my senior brother breaks through to the top, just like Uncle Feng, his sword energy will generate on its own. At that time, I will no longer be able to use such a shameless trick."

"Hehe, this time, I'm only a hair's breadth away from your Qi."

Linghu Chong chuckled.

"If I do it a few more times, maybe my 'Qi-Breaking Style' can actually break through your turtle shell!"

"Anytime."

Li Zhongren nodded with a smile.

He couldn't help but sigh. No wonder Dugu Qiubai was invincible back then. It was because he could break through the surface with a single point, which was a higher level. After all, martial arts also have to abide by the laws of physics. In the end, it is about the utilization of energy. With the same amount of energy, the sword energy of Dugu Nine Swords is concentrated to the extreme and has the sharpness of a sword. In front of it, the qi is just a thicker piece of cowhide.

With his skills, he is now unafraid to face Zuo Lengchan, Ren Woxing, or even that old monk from Shaolin Temple.

But if he encounters someone like Feng Qingyang or Dongfang Bubai, he has to admit that he can probably escape, but in a life-or-death battle, he will definitely be the one to die.

The core reason is the gap in offense and defense.

A prolonged defense will inevitably lead to defeat.
In a sense, he is now much like Yue Buqun was in the past.

Its internal strength is profound and continuous.

But it lacks that ultimate concentration.

Take his internal energy as an example again. No matter how he uses the Kongming Fist to control it, the internal energy is just like mental power, increasing the speed of its flow. But to compress it, to achieve a qualitative change from the accumulation of quantity.

The Empty Fist technique, however, cannot achieve this.

During the past six months, he also read the second volume of Hunyuan Gong. There were indeed many skills in it, all of which were created or collected by Zhou Botong, such as the Ambidextrous Fighting Technique. Unfortunately, none of them had a method for compressing true energy.

As for the Dugu Nine Swords...

It wasn't that Feng Qingyang wouldn't teach him; the domineering nature of this sword technique lay in its rejection of all other martial arts. If he wanted to cultivate the sword energy of the Dugu Nine Swords, he would have to abandon his current martial arts, which was unacceptable to him.

The only thing we can do is learn from others' experiences to improve ourselves.

He knew that the reason why the sword energy of the Dugu Nine Swords had such a high concentration of compression and sharpness was that its core was related to the gods.

Even Feng Qingyang himself couldn't explain it, but Li Zhongren knew that it was actually what many fantasy worlds called "intention," which added attributes and rules to the true qi.

Unfortunately, among the three elements of essence, energy, and spirit, Hunyuan Gong is the least effective for the spirit.

Therefore, he has already decided on his future path.

Using Hunyuan Gong as the core, find a method to temper the spirit, and then find the attributes for your internal energy.

This attribute allows his internal energy to possess characteristics similar to the sword energy of the Dugu Nine Swords. Only then can he be considered a true master.

Perhaps, seeing a god who is not corrupted is such a state.

Unfortunately, even Zhou Botong, the founder, did not reach this point.

Perhaps it's because he's too old.

Maybe. But that's simply impossible.

A person acting like a god, wanting to actively control all the functions of their body, BYD, thinking they're a multi-threaded computer.
Let's take it one step at a time.

In the end, Li Zhongren thought to himself, "That's what it means."

At the edge of the cliff, Feng Qingyang, who had been quietly watching the battle, stroked his long beard and a smile of immense satisfaction appeared on his face.

In the past six months, he has burned out all his old bones.

It now appears that the two brothers have gone their separate ways.

Of course, with his perspective, he could see that although Li Zhongren seemed to have won, if this child couldn't find his own path, the future number one of Mount Hua would still be Linghu Chong. There was no other reason than that the predecessor who created the Dugu Nine Swords was too powerful, far surpassing Zhou Botong. This was a difference in the inheritance.

Feng Qingyang was also helpless in this regard, because he himself cultivated the Dugu Nine Swords and knew just how inexplicable and elusive the concept of "intention" truly was.

"In that case, it's time to go down the mountain."

After pondering for a long time, Feng Qingyang thought to himself.

A sword, if it doesn't draw blood, is ultimately just a ritual object.

A fist, if not used to strike people, is merely a farming skill.

"However, on the other hand, what is the current strength of these two brothers?"

Thinking of this, Feng Qingyang couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

The child is too outstanding, and it's not easy to train him. He decided to seek out Yue Buqun to study this.

After all, this child is shrewd and might be able to offer him some ideas.
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Yue Buqun is now increasingly exuding an air of otherworldly elegance. With all his inner turmoil resolved, his Zixia Divine Skill is progressing by leaps and bounds. He estimates that it won't be long before he can completely perfect the Zixia Divine Skill. At that time, even Uncle Feng might not be his match.

It wasn't that he was arrogant; it was simply that as people age, their strength and physique diminish. Feng Shishu's biggest weakness was that he could not conserve his energy and blood, so the result of their fight was just that the old man was worn out, with no skill involved. It was purely exhausting Feng Qingyang to death.

Of course, if Uncle Feng chooses not to fight, there's nothing I can do.

When kung fu reaches their level, there's no room for further improvement.

The outcome of a match depends more on fate or choice.

"Uncle Feng, what's wrong?"

Seeing Feng Qingyang push the door open and enter, Yue Buqun quickly stood up and asked.

(End of this chapter)