Chapter 55: Great Surge in Strength

"With our current strength, even the Five Greats from The Legend of the Condor Heroes couldn't defeat any single one of us."

After seeing the lottery results of the others, Guo Jing was in high spirits; this was not mere boasting on his part.

Even now, relying on the Five Thunder Orthodoxy, if the Western Poison Ouyang Feng were to appear, he would have to retreat in fear.

To speak bluntly, to kill him, Guo Jing, in the world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, would require an army of thousands.

As for the other three, Nie Huaishang possesses the Great Mystery Classic, the top-tier cultivation technique in Jin Yong's novels, the Jin Guang Incantation, the signature supreme art of Dragon Tiger Mountain, and the Divine Machine Hundred Refinements, one of the Eight Extraordinary Skills.

These abilities are enough for Nie Huaishang to run rampant in the world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes; even if Wang Chongyang appeared, he might inadvertently meet his end at Nie Huaishang's hands.

Then there is Zhang Chu'an; he already possesses the strength to run rampant in the world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes. With the Jin Guang Incantation combined with Thunder Arts, he can fight any of the Five Greats. Not to mention he now possesses the Qi Body Source Flow and the Northern Dark Divine Art.

Finally, there is Zhang Xiaofan. Possessing the Tongtian Talisman, such a devastating weapon, how could he possibly lose to the Five Greats?

Moreover, with their top-tier internal arts, they will grow stronger day by day.

Guo Jing's Small Formless Art was mentioned earlier, so no need to repeat it. Zhang Chu'an possesses the Qi Body Source Flow, allowing him to cultivate at all times; furthermore, he also possesses the Northern Dark Divine Art.

As the highest Wu Gong of the Carefree Sect, once the Northern Dark Divine Art is mastered, every acupoint in the body can absorb others' internal force, converting it into Northern Dark True Qi; it can assimilate all martial arts under heaven and is immune to poison.

It is fierce, domineering, and aggressive; a casual attack carries immense power. True Qi protects the body, greatly increasing defense; when attacked, it rebounds against the enemy. Speed increases greatly, making going up a mountain as easy as going down.

Placed in the world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, this is truly a dimensional strike.

As for Zhang Xiaofan's Yi Jin Jing, it is even more of a top-tier internal art. All Wu Gong under heaven come from Shaolin, and Bodhidharma was a grand master of his generation.

The Yi Jin Jing is said to be a divine art realized by Patriarch Bodhidharma after sparring with numerous experts in the Central Plains, then facing a wall for ten years, gradually comprehending the highest realm of Buddhism where there is no self-image and no other-image, and fully integrating the teachings and personal example of Shakyamuni Buddha.

The Yi Jin Jing can completely transform a person's physique, from the inside out, turning the cultivator into an absolute master in every aspect, with no weak points.

Secondly, the True Qi of the Yi Jin Jing is like a vast ocean, never drying up, providing the cultivator with continuous and uninterrupted endurance.

Finally, we must speak of Nie Huaishang's Great Mystery Classic. Undoubtedly, it is the strongest cultivation technique under Jin Yong's pen. As for why?

Because other techniques, whether the Small Formless Art or the Yi Jin Jing, belong to the realm of martial arts practice, but the Great Mystery Classic does not; it has already entered the realm of cultivation.

After reaching perfection, one can connect hundreds of acupoints in the body into a single internal breath. This internal breath surges and ripples, flowing rapidly like a great river.

Once fully mastered, the right hand loosely holds an empty sword; although there is no sword in hand, sword techniques flow out endlessly. Sword techniques, palm techniques, internal arts, and lightness skills are all merged into one; it is no longer possible to distinguish between palm and sword.

One acts at will, neither needing to focus on guiding the internal breath nor needing to memorize moves. The thousands of techniques on the stone wall naturally transmit from the heart to the hands and feet.

Relying on the Wu Gong they possess, these four can indeed easily shake the entire Wu Lin.

Given time, the so-called Eastern Heretic, Western Poison, Southern Emperor, Northern Beggar, and Central Divine Power will not be their match.

But no matter how big the affairs of the Wu Lin are, they are still small matters; no matter how small the affairs of the court are, they are still big matters.

Back then, the Central Divine Power Wang Chongyang was the number one in Wu Gong under heaven. He was determined to recover lost territories and launched several uprisings in the Jin Kingdom, yet none succeeded and all were suppressed.

Moreover, what they are about to do is far more difficult than what Wang Chongyang faced. In their view, whether it is the Southern Song, the Jin Kingdom, or the so-called Mongol Yuan Dynasty, they are all enemies to be eliminated; only the order differs.

But Guo Jing is not afraid. He has honed excellent skills in leading troops in the Special Forces world; he is now considered an excellent general.

Some things are difficult, but does difficulty mean not doing them? Does difficulty mean giving up? Without having experienced modern society, without having grown up under the red flag...

He might think his era was not bad, that the governance of the Great Song was acceptable, and he might defend the rule of the Great Song.

But he is someone who grew up under the red flag. He understands that the so-called Great Song world does not belong to the Great Song Son of Heaven, the supreme ruler, nor does it belong to the noble scholar-officials.

It belongs to the hundreds of thousands of Song Ren. It is their ceaseless labor that created the brilliant and resplendent Great Song.

The prosperous market economy of the Song Dynasty, the culture leading the world—could these have been created merely by the mouths of the scholar-officials?

Without the thousands upon thousands of Song Ren, how could that so-called Great Song official enjoy all the wealth and luxury of the world?

But how did they treat the Song Ren? The people of the north, they treated them like discarded shoes. Facing the invasion of enemy nations, they compromised with them and killed the hero Yue Fei, who defended his home and country.

These people are nothing but blood-sucking leeches draining the essence and blood of the people.

And this is not even the darkest hour. Think of the numbers recorded in history books: 90% of the Han commoners in northern China were brutally exterminated. Before the Mongol Empire's massacre, Sichuan was estimated to have 13 to 20 million people; after the massacre, there were fewer than 800,000, almost becoming a no-man's land.

Under Mongol rule, Han people and Southern people were considered low-class commoners. Killing a Mongol required a life in return; killing a Hui required a fine of eighty taels of silver; killing a Han required paying the price of a meal and a donkey.

Recalling these historical records, tears rolled down his cheeks involuntarily. His compatriots were slaughtered like pigs and dogs; this is the future of their timeline.

Thinking of this, he said to the other three with unshakable determination: "This mission is incredibly difficult. Although our martial prowess is superior, we are still outnumbered against an army of thousands. I hope we will work together with one heart to prevent the events recorded in history from happening. I beg you."

"Guo Jing, you are being too polite. Setting up strategies and playing chess is my, Nie Huaishang's, hobby. Moreover, being able to use the world as a chessboard to play a game is a three-lifetime fortune for me, Nie Huaishang."

Nie Huaishang patted Guo Jing's shoulder and smiled carefree.

"Brother Guo, you know I have been pretending to be a fool for so long. I have long had enough of pretending. Being able to throw myself into a great battle with free rein has been my lifelong wish. What is there to beg about?"

Zhang Chu'an said to Guo Jing with a playful smile.

"What if the whole world is our enemy? Then we will use our overwhelming strength to suppress them all. Let's see how these demons and monsters can still stir up trouble."

Zhang Xiaofan said domineeringly.

Seeing the expressions of the three before him, showing no hint of fear regarding what they were about to face, Guo Jing was deeply moved.

With a determined expression, he said: "Although the Han people have, since ancient times, built our nation on agriculture and never engaged in reckless warfare, this does not mean we can allow ourselves to be slaughtered, becoming the ghostly souls who serve as trophies to display the enemy's martial prowess beneath their horse blades."

Having said this, Guo Jing looked up and spoke to the three with great heroism:

"Brothers, let us set out."