Western Venom Appears

“Ding, Five Tigers Gate-Cleaving Saber has reached perfection.”

Tang Xuan had just learned the skill book “Five Tigers Gate-Cleaving Saber (Grade Four Technique),” and upon mastering it, he instantly achieved the highest level of proficiency. It directly replaced the original “Five Tigers Gate-Cleaving Saber Lost Edition (Grade Three Saber Technique)” he had known before.

He opened his skill panel for a look.

[Five Tigers Gate-Cleaving Saber (Perfection): Attack power increases by 264%. Each time the skill is activated, 10 points of inner energy are consumed. The next attack increases in power by 1%. Requires a saber-type weapon.]

“As expected of a Grade Four saber technique.”

A smile appeared on Tang Xuan’s face.

This perfected Grade Four saber technique raised his attack power by 264%, a significant increase over the 216% of the lost Grade Three version. More importantly, each move adds another 1% to the attack power. If all sixty-four forms are executed in sequence, the boost could reach 64%!

No wonder the complete edition, with all sixty-four moves restored, is so formidable!

“Haha, what a remarkable young man!”

At this moment, Hong Qigong, who had been lying on the ground sleeping beneath a layer of snow, suddenly sat up and burst into laughter. With his peerless skills, he had awakened as soon as the Five Freaks arrived, but had merely feigned sleep.

He had been curious to see, aside from the eminent monk of the “Xuan” generation from Shaolin, how the other two young men’s martial arts compared.

He was astonished by what he witnessed.

The martial prowess of these two youths was not far behind his own at their age. Back then, Hong Qigong had mastered the Beggar’s Sect’s top-tier internal arts and the unrivaled Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, excelling in both internal and external skills and progressing rapidly, almost unmatched.

Not until the Mount Hua Tournament, when he encountered Wang Chongyang and Huang Yaoshi, did he meet his equals.

To find anyone to rival his youthful self was a rarity. Yet today, he saw two such individuals at once!

Tang Xuan, being a game player and a “cheat,” had such accomplishments—this was not surprising. Yang Guo, inheriting from the Ancient Tomb Sect and cultivating the legendary Nine Yin Manual, could also be expected to achieve so much at a young age.

But what truly delighted Hong Qigong, even causing him to laugh and praise out loud, was Tang Xuan’s decisiveness in battle!

Seeing Tang Xuan reminded him of Qiao Feng, the former leader of the Beggar’s Sect—both were lay disciples from Shaolin, both equally resolute and ruthless in their decisions.

Given time, this young man would surely become as renowned across the martial world as Qiao Feng.

Hong Qigong was about to speak again, when a sudden whooshing sound cut through the air—someone else was leaping up from the base of the mountain.

This figure, like Hong Qigong before, seemed to rise out of thin air, soaring directly to the summit.

Even more astonishing, the newcomer was flying up while standing on his hands!

Such an extraordinary display of martial arts shocked everyone—Master Xuanzhi’s face changed first.

Hong Qigong’s expression also shifted. Old Venom?

Tang Xuan instantly knew who had arrived.

Yang Guo called out immediately, “Father!”

“He’s your father?” Hong Qigong was stunned—so this “Old Venom” Ouyang Feng was this young man’s father? No wonder, then, that the boy’s martial skills approached the first rank of the martial world despite his youth.

The man, still inverted, landed at the summit of Mount Hua, flipped upright, and ignored Yang Guo’s cry of “Father,” instead fixing his gaze on Hong Qigong with a frown, his expression dazed.

Hong Qigong, seeing his confusion, knew that Old Venom had never fully recovered after going mad from reversing the Nine Yin Manual.

“Hey, what’s your name?” the newcomer asked, looking at Hong Qigong with a lost look.

Hong Qigong’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “My name is Ouyang Feng. And yours?”

The man’s expression changed. “No, I’m Ouyang Feng!”

Hong Qigong laughed heartily. “Wrong, your name is Toad!”

Master Xuanzhi, listening to their exchange, trembled with realization—this unrivaled martial artist could only be “Western Venom” Ouyang Feng!

At this, Ouyang Feng, teased by Hong Qigong, heard himself called “Toad”—the word felt strangely familiar, yet he couldn’t remember why.

But the enmity between him and Hong Qigong was deeply ingrained after years of bitter rivalry. Even if he could not recall the details, seeing Hong Qigong ignited an instinctive fury!

And the longer he looked, the angrier he became.

Suddenly, a fierce light flashed in Ouyang Feng’s eyes. With a roar, he lunged at Hong Qigong with murderous intent.

Hong Qigong dared not be careless—this was a lifelong nemesis who had reversed the Nine Yin Manual. He responded at once with the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms!

In an instant, the air resonated with a dragon’s roar.

Hong Qigong’s palm unleashed a golden dragon—a blast of force shaped like a dragon formed from condensed energy.

Ouyang Feng, on his side, let out a bizarre, frog-like croak, thrusting out both palms as if he were some ancient monster, matching Hong Qigong’s Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms head-on!

A thunderous explosion resounded as their four palms collided, shaking the summit of Mount Hua.

Under the impact of their energy, the ground beneath the great cauldron of Mount Hua caved in, leaving a deep pit.

Tang Xuan, Xuanzhi, and Yang Guo were all alarmed, retreating several steps.

“Incredible!” Tang Xuan was inwardly shaken.

In this world of “Great Wuxia,” both Hong Qigong and Ouyang Feng were super bosses, their martial skills even more formidable than in the original “Return of the Condor Heroes.”

Because this was a game world, these ultimate bosses not only possessed their own martial arts skills but also had personal attributes.

At their level, their stats were naturally formidable, and the attribute boosts from their martial skills made them almost monstrous!

One attacked with the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, the other countered with the Toad Skill—both fighting with ruthless ferocity.

On the summit of Mount Hua, the two battled across ground and air. Even with a thousand-foot abyss below, they moved as if on level ground, utterly unafraid of falling to their deaths.

Ouyang Feng, though muddled in mind, greatly admired his opponent’s martial prowess. “You old fellow, you’re truly formidable!” he shouted.

Hong Qigong, palms wreathed in dragon-shaped energy, laughed heartily. “The Toad is remarkable as well!”

Tang Xuan, Xuanzhi, and Yang Guo watched the duel, their faces full of longing.

Especially Yang Guo, whose extraordinary talent in martial arts was rare in the world. As he cultivated the Nine Yin Manual, many aspects had puzzled him—yet as he watched the two masters exchange moves, he gradually gained insight.

Ouyang Feng’s martial arts were forged by reversing the Nine Yin Manual, and its influence was clear in his style.

Hong Qigong, after being injured years before, had healed with the help of Guo Jing and Huang Rong, who recited parts of the Nine Yin Manual to him. Integrating those teachings with his own skills, he had also made great progress.

Thus, both men’s techniques bore traces of the Nine Yin Manual.

One positive, one negative—both had advanced rapidly after learning from the Nine Yin Manual.

Compared to their first and second Mount Hua Tournaments, their martial arts had improved beyond measure.

Their battle was a spectacle beyond compare!

Master Xuanzhi was deeply shaken, inwardly exclaiming that this journey had not been in vain.

The duel between these two unmatched masters, once spread, would be recounted in the martial world for a hundred years.

Tang Xuan, too, watched without blinking.

He had come here precisely because of the fame of Hong Qigong and Ouyang Feng.

He might well be, in the world of “Great Wuxia,” the first, and possibly the only, as well as the very last, person to witness both Hong Qigong and Ouyang Feng together.