Chapter 109 A Desperate Comeback

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Shi Potian glanced at the knives held to the necks of the three men, then at Elder Bai's resolute face, and suddenly spoke:

"If you want Young Master Zhang's Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, I can teach you."

These words shocked everyone on the ship.

Elder Bai's pupils contracted: "What did you say?"

Shi Potian said seriously, "At the handwashing ceremony, Young Master Zhang used a move called 'Regretful Dragon' on me in order to save Yu Canghai."

I've watched that palm strike once and I've already learned it. You want the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms? I'll teach you this one in exchange for releasing those three. How about that?

Young Master Zhang suddenly raised his head inside the cabin, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He recalled the day Shi Potian demonstrated three moves of the Nine Yin Manual—he had only seen the mysterious man's moves once, yet he was able to perform them in a way that was indistinguishable from the real thing.

At the time, he only thought that this young man was a martial arts prodigy, but he never expected that he could even learn his Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms after just one look?

Elder Bai's expression shifted between light and dark as he stared at Shi Potian for a long time before suddenly bursting into laughter:

"Hahaha! Young Master Lin, do you think I'm a three-year-old? The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms is the most powerful and fierce palm technique in the world. Each palm strike has its own unique internal cultivation method. How can you learn it by watching it once? Don't try to fool me!"

Shi Potian said, "I'm not lying to you. You'll see if you don't believe me."

He took a step back, slightly bent his left leg, bent his right arm inward, drew a circle with his right palm, and with a whoosh, pushed it outward.

Young Master Zhang's pupils suddenly contracted—this stance was none other than the "Regretful Dragon" move from the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms!

"roar--!"

With a roar, just like when Young Master Zhang used it, it was deafening and powerful. The palm force transformed into an invisible raging wave, crashing onto the lake surface several feet away!

"boom!"

The lake surface exploded, splashing water several meters high. When it fell back down, it was like a torrential downpour, and many Beggar Clan disciples on the side of the boat were affected, getting soaked from head to toe.

The ship was deathly silent.

Everyone stared blankly at the blasted-open crater and the splashing water, then at the lake water overflowing and swirling, speechless for a long time.

Elder Bai's mouth gaped open, and the smile on his face froze completely.

Young Master Zhang trembled violently, muttering, "This...how is this possible..."

He really learned it.

He learned the "Regretful Dragon Ascends" technique after only seeing his own palm strike.

Although it was just one of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, the essence of this palm was "Regret within Confession". Shi Potian actually grasped the essence of Regret after just one look, and it was almost identical to the one he used!

What kind of monster is this?

Shi Potian withdrew his palms, looked at Elder Bai, and said seriously, "See, I didn't lie to you. I'm passing this palm strike on to you; you release the three of them."

Elder Bai took a deep breath, suppressing his shock, and suddenly smiled.

He smiled like an old fox.

"Young Master Lin is indeed a genius."

He spoke slowly, "But... you said you only learned this one palm strike?"

Shi Potian nodded: "Yes, just this one palm strike."

Elder Bai's eyes gleamed:

"That's not enough. The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms has eighteen moves, but six of them have been stolen. You only know one, which isn't enough to save three lives. Young Master Zhang possesses the complete manual for all eighteen moves!"

Zhang Yuanying angrily retorted, "You! You're insatiable!"

Elder Bai ignored her, staring intently at Shi Potian, and said, word by word:

"Young Master Lin, if you can learn the complete Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms from Young Master Zhang and then pass it on to our Beggars' Sect, I will release them. What do you say?"

Shi Potian was stunned.

He said, "I've only seen this one palm strike before; I don't know any others. Young Master Zhang has lost all his martial arts skills now, so he won't show me any other palm techniques."

Elder Bai's face darkened: "Then there's nothing to talk about. We won't release them until they've mastered the six stolen palm techniques."

Looking at the swords held to the necks of the three men, and at Elder Bai's greedy face, Shi Potian suddenly felt that these people were very annoying.

Why do we always have to force him to take action?

"There's nothing we can do about it," he said softly.

Before he could finish speaking, he took a deep breath and was about to unleash his ultimate move—

Just then, something unexpected happened!

The three eight-bag elders who were close to Zhang Yuanying and the other two suddenly swayed, their swords and knives clattering to the ground, and they collapsed limply to the ground!

Immediately afterwards, the Beggars' Sect disciples nearby also swayed and fell to the ground one after another, foaming at the mouth and convulsing!

"What's going on!"

Elder Bai was shocked and about to make a move when suddenly his legs went weak, and he almost lost his balance. He gripped the cabin wall, his face deathly pale, and said in a trembling voice:

"Poison...we've been poisoned!"

"Hahaha……"

Amidst the laughter, Zhang Yuanying suddenly stood up from her seat.

Elder Bai was taken aback: "When were your acupoints released? Did you release the poison?"

Zhang Yuanying moved her hands and feet, which were stiff from being acupunctured for too long. Seeing Elder Bai's horrified expression, she became even more smug and laughed heartily.

The laughter was crisp and melodious, yet it sent chills down the spines of all the Beggars' Sect disciples present.

"Elder Bai, Elder Bai," Zhang Yuanying paced back and forth in the cabin, laughing unrestrainedly.

"You bunch of filthy beggars, you think you can stop me just because you've struck my pressure points? My brother may have had a problem with his training, but I, Zhang Yuanying, haven't. The martial arts of our Zhang family are beyond the comprehension of your declining Beggar Clan!"

Zhang Yuanying secretly rejoiced, thankful that she had learned the acupoint-releasing technique from the Nine Yin Manual, otherwise how could she have turned the tide?

"You think you can trap me with just acupressure?" She raised her hand and gently shook the ordinary-looking silver bracelet on her wrist.

"Do you know what this is? It's called 'Rouge Box.' I just released your pressure points, and while you were all distracted by Young Master Lin's 'Regretful Dragon' palm technique, I secretly let out a trace of colorless and odorless cartilage powder. Those of you who were close to me, just inhaling a tiny bit, and you'd naturally collapse!"

Elder Bai's face turned deathly pale: "You actually managed to release your pressure points yourself..."

Zhang Jin'ao knew that Zhang Yuanying was capable of poisoning, and had already instructed them beforehand. So after the surprise attack and subduing her, he pressed all the acupoints on her body, rendering her completely immobile except for her head.

Little did they know the power of the acupoint-releasing techniques in the Nine Yin Manual; one misstep led to total defeat.

Zhang Yuanying smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescents: "I didn't practice martial arts properly when I was little, and the martial arts in my family are difficult to learn, so I just practiced casually. I could only leave the fighting to my brother."

"My dad said it's okay for a girl not to be good at martial arts, but she can't be without the ability to protect herself. So, I learned how to release pressure points and how to use poison with great interest."

She pointed to the hairpin in her hair: "This hairpin contains a sleeping potion." Then she pointed to the sachet at her waist: "This sachet contains a 'softening incense'."

Finally, he wiggled his ankle: "I still have 'Smiling Half-Step Bump' sewn into the soles of my shoes."

"So, if you've messed with me, you're just out of luck."

The entire boatload of Beggars' Sect disciples were dumbfounded. The people on the ground were ashen-faced.

This is no delicate young girl at all; she's clearly a venomous woman in human skin!

Elder Bai gritted his teeth, barely managing to stay upright, and said in a trembling voice, "You... what kind of poison did you give us?"

Zhang Yuanying tilted her head and thought for a moment, then chuckled, "Don't worry, no one's going to die. It'll just leave you completely exhausted and lying in bed for two or three hours. By the time you can move again, we'll be long gone!"

She walked to Shi Potian's side, tilted her head back, and her eyes were full of sly smiles:

"You should thank Young Master Lin. If he hadn't tricked me out of all my treasures, you wouldn't just be weak and powerless; you would have been meeting the King of Hell long ago."

Shi Potian stared at her, stunned for a long while, then suddenly smiled.

"You're amazing."

Zhang Yuanying proudly raised her chin: "Of course, I could have escaped even if you hadn't come!"

"I deliberately cried and screamed for help to lower their guard. Do you really think I'm that useless?"

Just then, someone on the ship cheered:

"We've arrived at the Junshan headquarters."