by Derek Dorris
Bai Feng was combining the Swallow Kick Form of the Earthly Dragon Style, the Silver Fire Form, and Lightning Arms Style into one attack and it had Yu Guo Wei stumped—particularly because the old hunchback could now detect intermittent traces of internal strength in Bai Feng's attacks. However, Yu Guo Wei reacted magnificently. As his knee was being attacked, the old man ingeniously tipped over onto his right hand and used the momentum to drive his two legs towards Bai Feng.
Unable to react in time to Yu Guo Wei’s countermove, Bai Feng stumbled backwards to the horrible cackles of the smelly hunchback. The hunchback’s goading would normally breeze by Bai Feng only the arousal of his internal strength during his last attack had stirred thoughts of domination within his mind—thoughts that combined seamlessly with his desire for vengeance. His kung fu slowed and, within seconds, the tumult of rage that had been building inside the young man since he heard about his parents’ slaughter swelled uncontrollably.
Without thinking, Bai Feng lunged back at his adversary with all his internal power, his external kung fu completely forsaken. Never before had he attacked like this and the force he generated was gargantuan. He felt like a god. He smashed through his opponent's guard and, as the old Alchemist stumbled backwards, he went in for the kill. Amazingly, despite having the initiative, he suddenly found himself in a hailstorm of Yu Guo Wei's strikes as the latter countered with his own immense power. It was his turn to stumble backwards yet he managed to steel himself once more and retaliated with everything he had, his entire reservoir of internal strength thrown into one attack. This caught the hunchback savagely forcing the latter to respond in kind. It was now a test of pure internal power and, as fists and feet flailed frantically, Bai Feng was being repelled even more forcefully. Though he had avoided being directly struck, he felt like his internal organs were doing somersaults. Soon enough, he vomited a mouthful of bright red blood.
About to lunge into a third straight attack, he heard his name being called affectionately, “Feng’er. Come over here and help this old man sit up. Brother Wei won't begrudge me that.” Amidst his opponent's heavy breathing, Yu Guo Wei fell back wondering what the Reverend had in mind.
Bai Feng knelt down beside the Shaolin Abbot and saw a glow in his eyes he had not seen previously.
“Feng’er, your internal basis is profound but you can’t rely on it to fight Yu Guo Wei. He’s still much stronger than you. You must remember what your masters taught you. Let your mind be at peace. Do not try to hurt him or even defeat him. If you do, you will cloud your mind with unhelpful thoughts.”
Infinite Sky had seen straight to the core of the problem. Bai Feng couldn’t beat Yu Guo Wei yet he could last a lot longer if he used only on his external kung fu. But two things were happening. Firstly, he was awash with huge amounts of new and unstable internal energy. Secondly, he was angry—deeply angry. Combined, the two factors were problematic in the extreme. Anger would encourage hatred for his opponent and would encourage Bai Feng to try harder and harder to dominate and hurt him. Without realising it, he would be falling back on his tumultuous internal strength and damaging his body inside.
Taking heed of the Reverend’s advice, Bai Feng got back up. He whirled sideways and kicked towards Yu Guo Wei but this time with a clear mind.
For his part, the hunchback was intrigued to hear the advice that Infinite Sky had given Bai Feng only to grow immediately concerned with the effect it had. Bai Feng’s kung fu had suddenly streamlined. No longer a combination of different styles—some hard, some soft—he was now fighting almost completely with soft force. Much more contained in his transitions, it was almost as if he was doing nothing but reacting. Yu Guo Wei felt like his own initiative and energy were being used against him so he decided to make this a test of internal strength and after a quick interchange of punches, the two men appeared to be once again comparing strength. However, this time, Bai Feng didn't really intend to compete internally with Yu Guo Wei. Borrowing a principle from the Lightning Arms Style, he feigned the intention to compete internally but quickly softened his hands and twisted his hips to avoid the blow. As Yu Guo Wei's two palms burst forward, Bai Feng arms were pressed back at ferocious speed yet when he turned and let the old man’s force slide past him, his arms suddenly sprung back towards his torso. Yu Guo Wei was caught squarely.
As Bai Feng's arms were released from Yu Guo Wei's force, he felt an enormous power coming from nothing that sent his two fists straight for the smelly chemist’s cloaked chest. Instead of bone and muscle, however, the young man felt like there was nothing there—like his arms were sinking into a ball of cotton.
The Divine Alchemist had realised his own internal power was being used against him. It was a pure expression of Bai Feng's external kung fu and because the hunchback could hardly fight his own power, he stopped channelling his internal strength into his external kung fu. Like many of the Greats, Yu Guo Wei would happily fall back on his immense internal power to expedite victories. However, being a former student of Earthly Dragon, his Cotton Viper Kung Fu was, at its core, a soft style—adapted over the years to work alongside his internal strength. Used without internal power, it remained extraordinary and there were few who could match him; certainly not someone of Bai Feng’s experience. So as the young man’s two fists hurtled towards his chest, the old hunchback cleared his mind and reacted softly. However, once he trapped Bai Feng's arms within his torso, he didn't hesitate to fall right back on his internal strength and apply a crushing pressure.
In an instant, Yu Guo Wei arched his back, pressing his torso forward and Bai Feng felt his arms trapped one on top of the other. He heard Yu Guo Wei shout as if he was flexing every muscle in his body. An enormous swell of pain shot up Bai Feng's arms and straight into his chest. Gritting his teeth to bear the pain, he felt his lungs fill with molten fire and he pulled back with all his might. Nothing happened. Instead, everything went black.
Opening his eyes only seconds later, the young man saw Infinite Sky on his feet and moving like the wind. He had intercepted Yu Guo Wei when Bai Feng collapsed and was currently subduing him with wave after wave of strikes and evasions. His yellow robe billowed in and out as he blocked, struck, jumped, and chopped.
For his part, Yu Guo Wei was darting in all directions like a snake; content to evade, waiting for the right moment to attack.
Bai Feng could see Infinite Sky wasn't well and it was only a matter of time before whatever energy he had partially recovered was spent. At that point, they would both be in trouble.
Leaping up like a carp, Bai Feng proceeded to re-engage the hunchback along the lines of the Reverend’s advice. Slowly but surely he began, in tandem with Infinite Sky, to drive the hunchback backwards. Though certainly tiring, Infinite Sky moved like a gigantic eagle, his arms folding like wings, his legs gripping the ground like talons. Alongside him, Bai Feng was like a cat, waiting for an attack, rapidly shifting, and swiftly counter-attacking.
Yu Guo Wei was all alone fighting two elite fighters. One vastly experienced—the wisest of all the Wulin greats; the other, fresh and brimming with the fire of youth. He had no reason to think he could prevail. Ever the pragmatist, the smelly hunchback released a cloud of disgusting green gas from a hidden pouch and disappeared into the temple while his two opponents shielded their eyes.
Bai Feng started to give chase but Reverend Tai told him to hold off. “There are still hundreds of Qui troops on the other side of the Temple,” he warned. “Come with me, there are hideouts all over the mountain, stocked with fresh supplies.”
Ever respectful of his seniors, Bai Feng spent a few seconds watching the injured old man dart up the mountain like a goat and then simply followed.
* * *
He was led to a small cave at the far side of Mount Song. The entrance was so narrow, they had to enter sideways. Once in, there was barely enough room for them to stand. With a small push, a slab of rock at the back of the cave shifted and the Reverend entered a larger cave, big enoug
h for two or three men to rest comfortably. Bai Feng followed, closing the slab behind him while the Reverend lit some candles.
“Let's rest here Feng’er,” the Reverend said as he sat down against the far wall. “I hope you don't mind me calling you that. I feel like I've known you for quite some time.”
“Not at all Reverend, it's my honour to be treated so kindly by you. Watching you fight was an awesome spectacle.”
“Ah, you're an Earthly Dragon master for sure. Immersed in the artistry of what we do. Philosophically, I'm not opposed to your viewpoint of course. Yet, as a monk, I also see kung fu as a tool for helping people who need it.”
“I understand Reverend.”
The Abbot began making tea and prepared some plain rice for them to eat. He didn't speak again until the tea was poured.
“Feng'er.” The Reverend became sombre. “You have come here with a heavy burden. It's twisting you up inside and I believe it could do you some harm.”
Bai Feng was surprised. He didn't realise he was wearing his thoughts so visibly even if, inwardly, he was being consumed by them.
For years, he had learned to live in the absence of his family and even forgive them for leaving him. Yet he always expected to see them again. When he was told of what happened, he hadn't really allowed himself to absorb the news. It was all just too coincidental. He had been living in the very house where they had been living—where they were ultimately slaughtered! Instead of untangling and absorbing the twists and turns of fate, he chose instead to drop the hammer of blame on anyone who could be linked to the tragedy. Tu Ling was one possibility but Bai Feng wasn't sure what he would do if he ever saw her again. So he used the Qui as his punching bag and had raced to them under the partial pretence of saving the Shaolin. He slaughtered nearly half a dozen of their soldiers in one night. But rather than feeling satisfied, he just felt angrier.
That he made gargantuan gains in his internal strength over a short time wasn’t helping the situation either. Strictly speaking, any such gains should be made in prolonged meditative seclusion so that body and mind can advance together in healthy increments. Instead, his gains were made erratically. And then he went straight into fighting one of the most dangerous people in the world. The Reverend is right, he thought. I've been heading straight for disaster without realising it.
All he could do was nod his head. The Abbot handed him his tea and placed a warm hand on Bai Feng's arm. “I can help you child. Let's drink our tea, eat some food, and afterwards we'll meditate.”
* * *
Bai Feng had received the warm flowing power of Sitting Lotus and gained considerably from his internal energy. Yet, after the Reverend Tai placed his hand on the top of Bai Feng's head and pressed down with his index finger, he felt something indescribable. As he sat there cross legged, his entire body felt at one with the small cave.
As the moments drifted into each other, the pain that had been swelling in Bai Feng's chest these last few days began to quell. He felt the freedom of his old self partially return, the clear-mindedness of his youth and of his time on Earthly Mountain—something that had been fading subtly ever since he entered Wulin and then dramatically, once he learned the truth about his parents. He opened his eyes and saw the Shaolin Abbot slowly retracting his hand. He appeared weaker than before.
“Senior Reverend. You need to recover too.”
“I'll be well again in a couple of days. As for you, you'll need something more than I can offer in this short time. I sense also that the Sitting Lotus has attempted to help you.”
Bai Feng's eyebrows arched in surprise. “Yes, I meditated with him recently.”
“How fortunate you are. But I'm afraid he and I are only staving off the inevitable. You see, the martial skills you have learned from Liao Quan not to mention the Silver Fire Form which I detect within you too are extremely powerful. They're based on exceptional internal strength.”
Shocked once more at the old monk’s perceptiveness, it took Bai Feng a second or two to properly process what he had just heard. “You're wrong!” he proclaimed. “The Twenty-Five Lightning Arms doesn't utilise internal strength.”
“Every single one of the Greats has developed a style which inevitably places demands on internal strength but none more so peculiarly than Liao Quan. He uses so little physical strength, that the Lightning Arms Style can fool you into thinking it's using no inner strength at all. But while Liao Quan’s kung fu is the least forceful among the greats, it's also the fastest. Feng'er, where do you think that speed comes from?”
All of a sudden it hit Bai Feng like splash of cold water. “Are you saying I've been using my internal strength all along?”
“Ah, the Old Fool is an enigma in every way. The speed required to execute his twenty-five stances is just as dependent on internal energy as our physical force is. Feng’er, you have a tremendous basis for internal strength and left to your own devices, you might very well go on to cultivate a far greater well of inner power than anyone in history. But such cultivation should be done over a lifetime. Since you've learned the Lightning Arms Style in combination with the Five Yin Elementals and Five Yang Modulations, your power has grown exponentially so as to cater to the demands of his style. The ability to control such strength takes time to settle. If your mind was at peace and you abided by the Earthly Dragon philosophy then you could simply avoid using his Lightning Arms Style and this would not necessarily be a problem. But there is so much anger in your fighting at the moment that you will inevitably fall back on that power to satisfy it. But it’s too unsettled to rely on. If you do, you'll critically injure yourself.”
Bai Feng was appalled. This was the very thing his grandmasters warned him against. He had felt his power swelling by the day but he completely failed to connect it with those warnings. If anything, he had been welcoming the advances.
“What should I do then?”
“The Earthly Dragon meditation is the most powerful in the world,” the Reverend said with obvious admiration. “However, although it creates a natural channel for the building of internal strength, that is not its purpose. It's about freeing your kung fu from your mind’s corruptive tendencies, allowing your mind and body to merge harmoniously with your opponent’s. As you achieve this, your body will be fuelled by the power of your opponent. When you were gaining ground on Yu Guo Wei earlier, that’s exactly what you were doing but as soon as your anger surfaced, you fell back on your internal strength. The real goal of Earthly Dragon is to ignore the lure of internal strength at times when we feel we need it the most. This is extremely difficult which is why it still hasn't been fully actualised even by the likes of Wong Shi Hong. Over the centuries, many who have trained in the Earthly Dragon Style have become preoccupied with its energy gains while failing to appreciate it's only a side effect. Its real power is in its tendency to unite you with your opponent. Not to separate you from him.”
Bai Feng thought about this and it resonated with the advice his grandmasters gave him on Earthly Mountain. Ever since he entered Wulin, he has been exposed to great styles that encourage thoughts of dominating one's opponent—if not dominating in power then dominating in speed. This separated him from his opponent like an artist being separated from his canvass. And, in his recent rage over his parent’s murder, he had been only too happy to fall back on his increasing internal strength in an attempt to not simply dominate but hurt his opponents. He had been ignoring the simple truth of the Earthly Dragon philosophy. “Keep a clear mind so that all aspects to your artform can become one.”
Suddenly it became clear to Bai Feng. The angrier I become, the more I want to hurt my opponent. The more I try to hurt my opponent, the more my kung fu is choked. Without my kung fu, I fall back on my internal power. And that just encourages even more thoughts of domination. It's a cycle! A spiral!
The Shaolin Abbot noticed the indications of understanding in the young man. “If you continue to use your internal energy you will be not be able to match th
e likes of Yu Guo Wei for a very long time. Moreover, you will eventually injure yourself. If you cultivate your energy more slowly like the Greats do, you'll eventually be as strong as us. Only, as you turn your back on the Earthly Dragon philosophy, you will still be beatable, just as we are. However, if you forget about internal energy, no matter how much of it you develop in your training and practice an external kung fu style that ignores internal strength and unites you with your opponent, then you will be as strong as any opponent you encounter. And without the anchor of ego to eventually drag you down. You will be unbeatable in the short and long term.”
“But Reverend, your Boundless Palms Form—not to mention the wider Shaolin Style—channels your internal power just as Yu Guo Wei’s Soft Viper Style does. If you recognise the superiority of Earthly Dragon philosophy, why don’t you practice it?”
“Because it's a lifelong pursuit. We are Buddhists. We dedicate our lives to helping people. Kung fu is primarily a tool we use to do that. For the Earthly Dragon Sect, kung fu is not a means to an end, it's the end itself.”
The Reverend suddenly appeared much more serious in manner. “Feng'er, I would like nothing more than to talk kung fu with you but I'm afraid Earthly Mountain is in danger.”
Bai Feng had arrived at the scene of the fight after the Five Guardians had fled and so he knew nothing of the threat to Earthly Mountain. Understandably, he was alarmed to hear they were in trouble.
“I only delayed you this long to counsel you on the danger of using your inner strength in combat. If you do need to fight, use your skills by all means. Only try to restrain from using too much internal power. If you do, the work I've done with you here will be undone and you'll need the help of another great master to settle your inner structure again.”
Realising the significance of what he was saying, Bai Feng was at a loss. “At the moment, my kung fu hasn’t progressed far enough to allow me match with Yu Guo Wei. How can I help my grandmasters if I don't use my internal power?”