In the streets and alleys of the real world, you can often see some beggars, some of whom are really forced to beg out of necessity, while others are premeditated and organized fraud, the latter is the so-called "beggar gang".
In fact, there were gangs of beggars as early as ancient times, but it is obvious that they cannot be classified as the True Path Sect, and even some of them are still doing the evil deeds of "harvesting life and cutting".
Jin Yong's Cai Gang is different, it is shaped into an idealized sect, the Cai Gang is a decent sect, and the masters in the Cai Gang are like clouds, some elder-level figures can run rampant in martial arts, and the Cai Gang leader is stronger, most of them are the top masters.
Among the previous gang leaders, the strongest ones are two, one is Xiao Feng, the "Northern Qiao Peak" in the "Eight Parts of the Heavenly Dragon", and the other is the "Nine-Fingered Divine Servant" Hong Qigong in the "Double Eagle", which of these two is stronger or weaker? Did Hong Qigong surpass Xiao Feng as a descendant?
First, the invincible Xiao Feng
Most of jin Yong's protagonists have been portrayed as peerless masters, even Wei Xiaobao also runs amok in martial arts with a single move, but when discussing which protagonist is the strongest, most people will always emphasize their martial arts configuration, of which Duan Yu, Xuan Zhu, Zhang Wuji, Guo Jing, Yang Guo and other people's martial arts configurations are very gorgeous, but in the author's opinion, to discuss the level of martial arts must also depend on actual combat, and in this regard, Xiao Feng is the best performing protagonist.
(Hong Qigong stills)
Is Xiao Feng's martial arts configuration good? Descending Dragon Eighteen Palms, Fighting Dog Stick Technique, Dragon Catching Gong, Dragon Claw Hand, Taizu Long Fist, and even the Paiyun Double Palm in the old version, it is not difficult to see that Xiao Feng's martial arts only focus on offense, and the word "comprehensive" does not have anything to do with it, but this is also in line with Xiao Feng's combat style, no matter who the other party is, he is always fearless.
In the Battle of Juxianzhuang, Zhongyuan Qunxiong wanted to take his life, he angrily drank the righteous wine, and then killed the four sides, although he was seriously injured, he did not retreat half a step.
(Ding Chunqiu stills)
And in the Battle of Shaomu Mountain, Ding Chunqiu and You Tanzhi faced Xiao Feng, Murong Fu also showed his ugliness, sided with the evil faction, and besieged Xiao Feng, Xiao Feng only domineeringly roared a sentence "You three go up together", and then one enemy three, although the long battle may be defeated, but Xiao Feng is still fearless.
Throughout the book, only one sweeping monk did not die after hard receiving Xiao Feng's slap, but as strong as the sweeping monk, he also broke several ribs and vomited blood, saying that Xiao Feng was the king of actual combat, not excessive.
Second, the more exquisite Descending Dragon Eighteen Palms
Although there is no theory of Huashan's sword in the Eight Parts of the Heavenly Dragon, nor does it have the theory of the "Five Absolutes", the reader still regards Xiao Yuanshan, Murong Bo, Jiu Mozhi and Xiao Feng as the "Four Absolute Heavenly Dragons", while Hong Qigong is regarded as one of the five absolute masters of the "Legend of the Eagle Hero", literally, they are all the top masters of an era, and the gap should not be large.
The advantage of Hong Qigong was that the Eighteen Palms of the Descending Dragon he had learned were actually more exquisite than the Twenty-Eight Palms of descending dragons used by Xiao Feng.
Don't be surprised, in the new revision, Jin Yong modified the setting of the Eighteen Palms of the Descending Dragon, which was passed down to future generations by Xiao Feng and Xuan Zhu after deleting and modifying the Twenty-Eight Palms of the Descending Dragon.
(Stills of Virtual Bamboo and No Cliffs)
The original said: "After many years, there was a young hero in the beggar gang, who was stable and capable, and his popularity was very good. Everyone respected Xiao Feng's original intentions and sent this person to the Spirit Vulture Palace, where he was first approved by the Virtual Bamboo Examination, and then passed on his 'Dog Fighting Stick Method' and 'Descending Dragon Eighteen Palms'. This young gang leader did not live up to his trust, learned the divine skills, and rectified the gang to prosper, and even zhongxing, and the gang has since regarded the Vulture Palace as a benefactor. Although the 'Descending Dragon Twenty-Eight Palms' was missing ten palms, it was cut and repeated by Xiao Feng and Xuan Zhu, the two great masters, and the power was not weaker than the original twenty-eight palms, but it was superior. ”
That is to say, the Eighteen Palms of the Descending Dragon that passed to Hong Qigong's hands were more exquisite than the twenty-eight palms used by Xiao Feng.
However, Hong Qigong's actual combat record was not so brilliant, and compared with the invincible Xiao Feng, Hong Qigong also had several defeats.
Third, the martial forest in Qiu Qianling's eyes
Xiao Feng and Hong Qigong did not have the opportunity for direct dialogue, Hong Qigong's martial arts were more exquisite, but Xiao Feng's actual combat was better, and to compare the strength of the two, it could only be viewed from a more macroscopic point of view, that is, the overall level of martial arts.
That Iron Palm Gang Leader Qiu Qianling, as a master of the quasi-five absolute level, naturally had the right to speak.
(Qiu Qianling stills)
The original said: "Qiu Qianling said: 'I am too lazy to argue with people. The four people of the Eastern Evil, the Western Poison, the Southern Emperor, and the Northern Emperor were all half a pound and eight twos, and everyone had been practicing hard over the years to compete for the title of the first in the world. The second Huashan discussion on the sword, the liveliness is there to see. Huang Rong said, "Is there a second Huashan sword?" Qiu Qianyu said, "Once every twenty-five years." The old ones are going to die, the young heroes are going to come out. It won't be long before there will be another Huashan Sword, but in these years, what are the rising stars in the martial arts? It is still us who are fighting each other. Alas, there is no successor, it seems that martial arts are declining, and one generation is not as good as a generation. ’”
It is not difficult to see from here that Wulin is not as good as a generation, and the overall trend of decline is not as good as a generation, in fact, this can also be seen from the works of the background of the Ming and Qing dynasties, such as several works of the Background of the Qing Dynasty, not to mention "turning gas into shape", even if it can fly over the wall is already a top master.
Therefore, although the Descending Dragon Eighteen Palms of Hongqi Gongxue were indeed more exquisite, the comprehensive strength was only inferior to that of Xiao Feng in the Era of Heavenly Dragon.