Hongjiu and company realised the dire situation the moment they arrived on the scene. Jin Wangsun engaged Ming Suwen and Su Xiao. The others couldn't join the fray, as Jin Wangsun's sabre was too close to them. Distance mattered, as there was no space for them to jump in given the dimensions of Golden Crow Moon Eater and Ming Suwen's close evasions. If they tried to intervene, they'd only be asking to be cut. They, therefore, couldn't do anything.
Jin Wangsun inflicted heavy damage on Long Zaitian and Bai Mulai after he gained a sudden boost in strength. Thanks to Long Zaitian's discerning eyes, he determined Jin Wangsun used the restrained slaves to boost his strength and fled before Jin Wangsun could kill the both of them.
They instantly recognised that Ming Suwen wouldn't have any chances of escaping her predicament if A Hu entered the fight. As such, the two, motivated by compelling obligation, made sure A Hu couldn't intervene. A Hu had a rough time trying to handle two of the Seventeen Hidden Dragons at the same time.
Ming Suwen was able to strike a perfect balance and regain her footing despite her initial struggle. The previous Jin Wangsun was no match for her martial prowess; however, he was different than usual tonight. He possessed the internal energy of over a dozen adepts trained in Golden Crow Moon Eater Manual in addition to Golden Crow Moon Eater, making up the ultimate combination. His might was among the supreme adepts. In terms of sheer might alone, he was most probably mightier than Jia Yunfeng after he awakened in his duel against Ming Feizhen in the imperial palace.
Ming Suwen evaded Jin Wangsun's next three lethal blows. Unfortunately, she didn't have any chance to counterattack. She barely escaped every attack Jin Wangsun offered. The adepts around gasped as she dodged the shockwaves Jin Wangsun generated.
In uplifting news, Jin Wangsun struggled to move his feet beneath him. That was his only weakness. Ming Suwen developed an awareness of the glaring weakness and leveraged it to her advantage. She used more refined and strategic qinggong to outmanoeuvre his lethal attacks.
After missing his attacks, Jin Wangsun increased his strength to eighty percent as his eyes turned red. Golden Crow moon Eater swept up gales. He swung the dark blade toward Ming Suwen and Su Xiao.
As she pulled Su Xiao's left arm with her right, Ming Suwen shouted, "Watch out!"
As she pulled Su Xiao aside, her body moved into the blade. She remained composed as she slipped out of the way of Jin Wangsun's attack, stunning the onlookers. Alas, defences eventually crumble with time. Jin Wangsun gained momentum as the fight raged on. Meanwhile, Ming Suwen found her space available for evasion gradually shrinking. If she didn't tackle the issue, she would eventually be cornered and cut down.
Suddenly, Su Xiao clenched his teeth and blustered "I won't let you have your way!"
Su Xiao punched toward Jin Wangsun. The latter was in foggy state of mind. Nevertheless, he instinctually knew Ming Suwen was formidable. Meanwhile, he brushed Su Xiao off completely, not bothering to defend his attack whatsoever. The reciprocal force generated from Su Xiao's force knocked Su Xiao back. Ming Suwen cleverly used the deflective force to bounce out of Jin Wangsun's attack range.
Jin Wangsun felt a flow of a bizarre internal energy seep into his chest when Su Xiao hit him. It ached. But nonetheless, his head-splitting pain overrode any other pain he could feel. He ceased for a brief moment owing to the ache, but he quickly resumed his attack.
"Die, bitch!"
"Jin Dagang, back your ass off!" brayed Hongjiu, blasting Jin Wangsun with two ferocious shockwave palms.
Jin Wangsun reactively evaded the attack that could split rocks. Then, he swung his sabre in a semi-circle toward his front line.
Hongjiu fearlessly palmed Jin Wangsun's Golden Crow Moon Eater from the air. A shockwave blasted forth with their clash as the point of origin. The two retreated three steps. Their qi and blood rumbled inside them as a result.
Hongjiu had the advantage in the exchange, since he attacked from above, not to mention the fact that Jin Wangsun only reacted once Hongjiu's attack was half-way there. The exchange demonstrated who had the upper hand in terms of sheer brute strength.
Hongjiu was surprised Jin Wangsun recollected himself and got into position so quickly, for he was still trying to recollect himself. In reality, Jin Wanguns' true qi overflowed; he merely suppressed it. By the same token, he had to suppress his own qi and blood in their last exchange to be able to swing his sabre.
Hongjiu recognised fighting punch for punch wasn't going to work out in his favour. Hence, he switched to another palm style: Wudang Cotton Palm. As the name suggested, the style emphasised dismantling the opponent's power-based attacks. Having said that, it wasn't classified as a profound style. Jin Wangsun could also use it.
Hongjiu didn't aim to defeat Jin Wangsun using it; he merely wanted to stall for time. He nullified Jin Wangsun's slash with a push and a circular redirect. Once he managed to stabilise his blood, he sprang back with a right handed palm similar to an arrow off the bowstring! Hongjiu's powerful palm attack picked up the wind. Hongjiu switched from Wudang Cotton Palms for defence to Kunlun Tempest Palms.
Jin Wangsun responded with an unorthodox approach. Instead of evading the attack, he raised Golden Crow Moon Eater and planned to swing it down as the palm attack landed on him! Jin Wangsun's strategy was an insane strategy that would result in both getting hurt. The reason it worked out was because Jin Wangsun would only suffer an internal injury in exchange for Hongjiu's life.
Hongjiu was not a weakling, though. Hongjiu's attack didn't implode on impact; it activated on command. When Jin Wangsun swung upward, Hongjiu commanded, "Explode," leading to the energy packed within erupting. Jin Wangsun flew back over three metres and missed his slash.
"T-Tempest Palms?" exclaimed Jin Wangsun. The technique was among the secret manuals Gold and Silver Sect had. The familiar technique somehow helped him regain some of his rationality. He thundered, "You want to act competent just because you can sling a few moves?!"
Jin Wangsun switched up his style. He sheathed his sabre and switched to palm techniques. Jin Wangsun's internal energy granted him unbelievable might. Every palm strike was lethal. There was a hint of metal in them. His palms resembled him drawing his sabre each time.
Hongjiu was an encyclopaedia of palm styles. Therefore, he could tell Jin Wangsun couldn't be trifled with. He performed a circular motion with one hand and palmed the air to redirect one of Jin Wangsun's powerful palms. Then, he reversed it with a palm. The back and forth the two saw their qi create a phenomenal wave of qi clashing.
Su Xiao was amazed: "Their palm techniques are incredible."
Ming Suwen calmly explained, "Of course. That's Mount Daluo's Empty Palms and Yangzhou's Song Clan's Sundering the Nine Heavens Palms. The two styles are lauded as part of the world's supreme Three Fists and Five Palms Styles. Ever since the two styles were ranked, the two styles never crossed paths until tonight."
"Who's better?"
"If we're comparing style to style, it's hard to say. My Martial Nephew, nevertheless, isn't versed in just one palm style. He has his own ultimate style."
Palm styles were always regarded as a very advanced and profound martial arts style. Hongjiu invested over twenty two years in palm styles and learnt the very best there was to offer. By that logic, he was the authority on the topic unlike Jin Wangsun.
Jin Wangsun wasn't in the right state of mind. He relied purely on crushing brute force while lacking in the technique department. In fact, Hongjiu already overwhelmed him with Sundering the Nine Heavens Palms, slowly forcing Jin Wangsun into the danger zone.
Hongjiu suddenly thundered and hit with a big palm strike forcing Jin Wangsun to defend with a sheathed sabre for the first time ever to safe his own life. Hongjiu's palm strike smashed loudly into Golden Crow Moon Eater, forcing Jin Wangsun back five steps.
Jin Wangsun felt his blood come up to his throat. He felt as though his brains tumbled around in his skull. His vision was hampered. He recognised the attack, nevertheless. After all, he spent many years trying to obtain the manual to no avail. It was Hero Shenzhou's palm style. The world revered it as The Hero's Invincible Palm Style: Eighteen Subduing… Dragon Palms
Glossary
*A push and circular redirect - A force redirection concept from Tai Chi. Note that this concept is not the same as Wing Chun's concept of redirecting the force. I'll put this down to film.
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