Linghu Chong was once a fierce rebel too

Thread Content

By Liu Shen Leilei: Once, Linghu Chong was very prone to getting angry. That year, on the stone walls of a cave, he accidentally read a line that read: “Zhang Chengyun and Zhang Chengfeng have completely shattered the sword techniques of Huashan.” ”Linghu Chong reacted as if someone had stepped on his tail, and he became furious. Jin Yong wrote down his thoughts at the time: \"Wretched scoundrels, how bold and arrogant they are!\" ”“The Hua Shan Sword Technique is extremely intricate and profound; there are only a handful of people in the world capable of withstanding it. Who would dare to utter the word ‘break’? Who else dares to say ‘completely destroyed’? ”He was so angry that he even picked up a knife, intending to cut off those words. Every time I read this passage of inner thoughts, I find it particularly interesting. First of all, Linghu Chong did not know the person who wrote this at all; he had no idea who these so-called \"Zhang Chengyun and Zhang Chengfeng\" were or what level their martial skills were. But his first reaction upon seeing those words was to start cursing without even thinking, calling them \"shameless scoundrels and bold fools\". Secondly, Linghu Chong had never seen true first-class martial arts in the world at that time. Not to mention the Sunflower Manual, the Nine Swords of Dugu, or the Star-Sucking Art; I haven’t even seen things like Huang Zhonggong’s “Seven-String Invisible Sword” or the flesh-tearing techniques used by the Six Immortals of Taogu. But he possessed an inexplicable confidence, firmly believing that \"the Sword Techniques of Mount Hua are intricate and profound\" and that \"only a few people in the world can withstand them.\" In fact, are there really only a handful of people who can counter his Huashan Sword Technique? Obviously not. We later found that, not to mention those top experts, even each of the Six Immortals of Taogu could be stopped, and each of the Thirteen Guardians of Songshan could also be stopped. When Ren Wu Xing went to Huashan, he brought with him eight elders, and each of them could be stopped as well... This is by no means something that can be counted on one’s fingers; there are simply too many to count. But if you met Linghu Chong from that time and tried to argue these points with him, you’d probably not get two words out before he spat in your face, calling you a \"shameless wretch and bold fool.\" Second, let’s make another interesting comparison: the line of characters that Linghu Chong saw was exactly the same one that Yang Guo had also seen. Once, in an ancient tomb, Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu accidentally discovered a line of words on the wall, which was very similar to what Linghu Chong had seen; it roughly meant: “Wang Chongyang broke the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra here.” The exact phrase in the book is “The Heart Sutra of the Jade Maiden: her skills surpass those of all the Quanzhen practitioners.” Throughout one’s life, on the Double Ninth Festival, one should not be weaker than others.” Yet Yang Guo’s reaction was very different from Linghu Chong’s. He first “paused for a moment” before asking, “Was it written by Wang Chongyang?” ”Then he “smiled” and said, “That old Taoist with the ox’s nose is just bragging.” ”““A slight pause in thought” means reflection, while “laughing” implies teasing. You see, it’s an almost identical situation: once again, someone claims to be able to defeat that person’s martial arts skills. Yet Yang Guo doesn’t get angry like Linghu Chong does; instead, he takes some time to think things through first, manages to stay calm, and can even be humorous. He doesn’t lash out at such people by calling them shameless scoundrels or bold fools. That’s interesting: why do the two people react so differently? Is Yang Guo’s level higher than Linghu Chong’s? Of course not. The young Yang Guo was depressed and extreme; in fact, he wasn’t as stylish and carefree as Linghu Chong. So, is it because Linghu Chong loved his sect and the Huashan School too much that he couldn’t stand the idea of someone else being able to defeat Huashan’s martial arts? This surely can’t be true either—could Yang Guo not love the Ancient Tomb Sect, or the place where he lived with his aunt? Moreover, Linghu Chong had never heard of those so-called “Zhang Chengyun and Zhang Chengfeng” before; there was no reason for conflict between them ； Yet Yang Guo was full of anger toward Wang Chongyang. As a child, he was bullied by the Quanzhen sect, which led him to hate their founder; later, when he saw Wang Chongyang’s portrait, he would spit at it several times. Why is it that it is precisely in matters related to breaking martial arts techniques that Yang Guo is more open-minded and mature, while Linghu Chong is more stubborn and impulsive? Third, the most obvious reason is that, when it comes to martial arts, Yang Guo has more experience in the world than Linghu Chong in the earlier stages of his story. Before entering the ancient tomb, Yang Guo had already seen top-notch masters; he had witnessed Guo Jing and Ouyang Feng’s martial arts skills with his own eyes, and thus the idea that there are always those better than oneself was firmly established in his young mind. Later, when Xiao Longnu trained Yang Guo, she never instilled in him the idea that the Ancient Tomb Sect was invincible, that it would always win, or that anyone who offended the Ancient Tomb Sect would surely suffer defeat. On the first day of school, she bluntly told Yang Guo, “My abilities fall short of those of Qiu Chuji, the old Taoist from the Quanzhen Sect; they’re even inferior to those of your Uncle Guo.” ”Compared to Xiao Yang, Linghu Chong was truly a bit like a frog in a well at that time – he really hadn’t seen much of the world. He was aware of the legendary \"greatest master in the world,\" Dong Fang Bu Bai, but that was merely an imaginary figure. The strongest masters I have seen with my own eyes are my master and his wife ； The highest-level fight I’ve ever seen was the one between his master and Yu Canghai. What his master and master’s wife taught him every day was all about how great the Hua Shan School was, how renowned it was in the martial arts world, and how extraordinary its qi techniques were. “When one masters the skills of our school to a high level, even picking up flowers or leaves can be used to injure others.” “Among the nine martial arts techniques of Hua Shan, Zixia is the best.” “Once one masters qi control, they can succeed in anything…” A child who grew up in a remote mountain area, constantly hearing such things from his master, would naturally think that the sword techniques of Hua Shan were incredibly powerful: “With our school’s martial arts being so formidable, who could possibly counter any sword move executed by my master?” ”So, whenever he is questioned, he reacts as if his tail has been stepped on, blasting insults like \"shameless scoundrels, bold fools\". Besides being inexperienced, there were other reasons for Linghu Chong’s rebellious temperament in his early years. Let’s take a look at the following dialogue: The younger sister, Yue Lingshan, said, “Elder brother, besides your chivalrous spirit, you have another quality… it’s arrogance. You’re extremely proud.” Lu Dàyou, Linghu Chong’s junior brother, said, “The eldest senior brother is the leader of all the seniors and sisters; it’s only natural for him to be a bit arrogant.” ”You see, everyone agrees that Linghu Chong has a sense of pride. And what is his basis for being “arrogant”? In simple terms, he is nothing more than the leader of all the senior disciples and juniors, the top disciple of Mount Hua, or simply the eldest disciple of a well-known martial arts sect. At that time, he didn’t possess strong martial skills nor any outstanding insights; his presence in the martial world relied entirely on the name “Hua Shan School”. Only by blending in with this group can he find his own value. Without this shell, his “arrogance” has nowhere to dwell; it becomes nothing at all. Once someone dares to say that the Hua Shan School is not good, he will of course become furious—saying that the Hua Shan School is not good is the same as saying that I am not good. I will never agree. Another similar example is Guo Fu; if you say there’s something wrong with the Guo family’s martial arts skills, she will definitely become angry out of embarrassment. The principle is the same; she understands that she is actually quite ordinary, and without the aura provided by the Guo family as a community, she cannot maintain her sense of superiority. If we look at Yang Guo again, we will find that it’s completely different. Since childhood, Yang Guo has never been able to rely on a group to make his presence felt. He couldn’t stay on Peach Blossom Island, nor could he stay with the Quanzhen Sect; later he joined the Ancient Tomb Sect, which is a rather obscure sect that hardly has any presence in the martial arts world. Compared to the earlier Linghu Chong, Yang Guo learned to be independent at an earlier age; he relied on his own efforts to improve his skills and gain knowledge, striving to realize his own value. For Yang Guo, just because others criticize my group or my sect as being inadequate does not mean that I am inadequate myself. So he wouldn’t get so furious either. In the end, the anger of those angry youths in the world of martial arts stems from two things: one is their limited and shallow understanding, and the other is their dignity with no place to be expressed. Why did Linghu Chong change completely and stop being a bitter young man later on? Because he has gained experience – fighting against Zhan Chongxu, Du Renwoxing, and battling Dongfang Bubai – he has encountered masters from all over the world ； He also proved his worth in the martial arts world, evolving from the \"top disciple of Mount Hua\" to a \"great hero of his generation\". His pride and dignity found their place, and naturally, he ceased to be resentful. I guess that even if he encountered someone later who claimed to have mastered the Nine Swords of Dugu, he certainly wouldn’t fly into a rage and shout, “Wretched wretch! How dare you be so arrogant!” ”I won’t use a knife to scrape people’s stone walls or screens anymore; at most, I’ll just say: I’m worried for you guys too! After all, you still have standards!