Chapter 40: Entwined
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The following 4209 words have been deleted.
In the past, Hong Kong comics were a luxury item.
In the late 1980s, I was still in elementary school. At that time, there were not many comics to buy or read like now. However, a classmate had relatives in Hong Kong and often brought back many Hong Kong comics to school. This kid was very clever and would lend out the comics for a fee. Although it was only a few cents, it was still a lot of money for an elementary school student at that time. But I thought it was better to go hungry than to be ignorant. So I gritted my teeth and decided to save up my breakfast money to rent comics to read.
This classmate rented out a comic book, which is the first name of Hong Kong's "Dragon and Tiger Gate". However, the number of episodes was not continuous, and the plot could not be connected. So it was a bit inexplicable to watch. It was just that I was greedy for something fun and exciting. Until around 1992 or 1993, Wen Hua Chuan Xin (Old Huang had already formed Yu Huang Chao at that time) published the bound edition of "Yu Lang's Four Masterpieces", namely "Dragon and Tiger Gate", "Drunken Fist", "Buddha Palm" and "Chinese Hero". It was also available in mainland China, but the price was not cheap, it cost more than 10 yuan. In the early 1990s, this was an expensive price. However, each book had four or six episodes of weekly content, so although the price was not low, it was worth it. From then on, I officially had a systematic and continuous "Dragon and Tiger Gate".
From then on, I had a few very strong impressions of the Dragon and Tiger Gate. Firstly: Wang Xiaohu's two ultimate moves, Electric Light Toxic Dragon Drill, were invincible in attack. The Dragon Whirlwind was impregnable in defense, and as long as this move was made, even if the enemy was several times stronger than Xiaohu, they would absolutely not be able to break through the defense, and could only wait for Xiaohu's strength to wane before having an opportunity to counterattack. Secondly: Wang Xiaohu's combat moves were extremely flexible and varied. The most commonly used move was to first jump into the air and perform the "Crazy Dragon Dance" fake move. This move was very intimidating, and would often be mistaken by the enemy as a super killing move, so they would put out all their strength to counterattack. At this time, Xiaohu would suddenly shrink back and dodge behind the enemy, then launch a sneak attack, often succeeding in one hit.
Here is the translation:
To talk about Wang Xiaohu, he was the first main character of the old version of Dragon Tiger Gate. He was a great hero in our hearts when we were young students. His martial arts skills were high! I remember that around 200 or 300 episodes, he had already practiced the eighth yang of the Nine Suns Divine Skill, second only to Dongfang Invincible, the leader of the White Lotus Sect (although in the old version, even Ri Sheng's useless disciple had eight yangs, which didn't seem like much. The true power lies in releasing the Nine Suns Five Extremes). His martial arts skills included the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Legs and the Yin World Divine Leg. The former was a family heirloom, so it doesn't need to be mentioned, while the latter required breaking one's knee joint first, allowing the ankle joint to twist freely, making impossible moves possible, often achieving incredible feats (in the new version, it became Hei Xin Lao Yao's Tian Can Leg, and it even became a third-rate martial art, sigh). In terms of appearance, Wang Xiaohu had thick eyebrows and big eyes, looking like a righteous person at first glance, absolutely a friend of justice (while bad people usually looked ugly, making it clear they weren't good people), at that time in school, everyone was watching the comic while imitating Wang Xiaohu's martial arts with their hands and feet, that scene is still unforgettable today.
Longhu San Huang, after finishing Xiao Hu, it's Shi Hei Long's turn. He has a head full of golden hair and a very cool scar on his face (in fact, when he grew up, he realized that if someone had been cut like this, they would definitely become disfigured, how could they be as handsome as Hei Long?). His skills with the double-headed staff are top-notch, far surpassing those of Jay Chou. The Eight Trigrams Wind and Rain, Nine Sons Linked Ring, Ten-Faced Ambush - just hearing their names makes one know that they're extremely powerful, and when used, can make the enemy fall apart like flowers in the rain.
In the original story, he was practicing the Yi Jin Jing, and had reached the blue level. Later, he and Mei Niang were caught by Yue Sheng Zhe - not Wang Fu Hu, the old Yue Sheng Zhe was just a monk. However, his actions were similar to those of Jin Luo Han in the new story, also catching a monk who knew the Golden Bell Shield technique and trying to use poison to extract the secrets from him.
Because he knew that if he continued practicing the Jiu Yang Shen Gong, at most he could only reach the eighth level, as the ninth level, Dong Fang Wu Di, was something that would never be passed on to others. Who knew that this monk was extremely stubborn, unlike Jin Luo Han's master, and had sat in prison for over a decade without revealing any secrets? It wasn't until he met Shi Hei Long that he passed on all his skills (helping him directly reach the ninth level), and also told Hei Long where to find the secret manual for the last three levels.
Hei Long then used the ninth-level Golden Bell Shield technique, along with his mastery of the eight-yang powers and the Yin-Yang Da Niao Yi, to engage in a fierce battle with Yue Sheng Zhe, ultimately forcing him to retreat. This was truly an impressive display of power.
As for that Wang Xiaolong, although he is also one of the Three Emperors, his luck seems to be very bad. From start to finish, I almost never saw him win against any enemy. In the end, he was even tragically killed by Chen Ao Yun. He belongs to the kind of person with super weak presence. Sometimes I feel that the Dragon Tiger Three Emperors are just filling numbers, and it would be more fitting to call them the Dragon Tiger Two Emperors instead. So, as a reader who didn't completely follow the serialized version of Dragon Tiger Gate, I find it hard to understand why Wang Xiaolong's death back then caused such a big stir in Hong Kong. And regarding the movie Dragon Tiger Gate, which completely made Wang Xiaolong the first male lead and turned Xiao Hei Long into a supporting character, it's really hard to understand.
When it comes to death, watching Dragon Tiger Gate 20 years ago and watching it again 20 years later, the feeling is really a complete reversal. Twenty years ago, the villains were all hard as iron, and the positive characters would always go through hardships, one by one, beating them until they were left with only half their lives or even had to pay the ultimate price to take down a villain. The tragic and cruel scenes were truly shocking. And twenty years later? The villains are dying off at a speed comparable to supersonic jets, one after another, while the Dragon Tiger Gate's second-generation disciples are all as stable as Mount Tai, without losing a single hair. Occasionally, when someone like Qingtian dies, it's treated like some kind of huge accident.
In fact? I dare say that no one in the world, including readers, including the screenwriters and main writers of Dragon Tiger Gate, as well as Wong Yuk-long himself, would think that Qing Tian's death is a pity, nor would it cause even one percent of the sensation caused by Wang Xiao Long's death back then. Why? Because Qing Tian, since his appearance in New Dragon Tiger Gate, has always existed as an insignificant minor character, never having any outstanding performances, let alone making readers pay attention to him. Would anyone care about a small character like Zuo Bing-er leaving the scene?
The dead also have to be particular. In foreign countries, for example, the famous science fiction writer Tanaka Yoshiki has a nickname called "Tanaka who kills everyone". Because he understands that when it's time to cut off, he cuts off, and when a character's utility value is exhausted, or when the plot conflict requires this character to die, Tanaka will not be soft-hearted. In the early stages, such as the famous Imperial General Gillfiel, the third male protagonist, died; Edwarda, the object of Yang Weili's secret love, died; in the middle stage, Admiral Feishen, Yang Weili's most powerful assistant, also died. Beikou old admiral, died, Xilite Marshal, Yang Weili's teacher, also died. In the later stages, even the most important male protagonist Yang Weili and Emperor Reinhardt of the Empire were killed off. "Ruthless" is no more than this. But what about that? These dead characters, because they left the stage at the right time, exchanged for the reader's eternal memory.
Looking back at New Dragon Tiger Gate, I have to say that the screenwriter is... how can I put it? Yes, it's nagging. The plot setting is fake. People who should die won't be allowed to die. When the Stick Demon challenged the Dragon Tiger Gate arena, it was originally a good opportunity for a justified killing. Everyone was full of expectations. Unexpectedly, only Silver Eagle, a secondary character, died, and Wang Xiao Ying was safe and sound, but even the Stick Demon, who had made up his mind to risk everything, escaped unscathed. It's simply infuriating. The screenwriter thought they were clever and brought out the Five Great Families and Chen Ao Yun, the first villain from the original story, just to make an appearance. Can't help but ask the screenwriter, was it really necessary? Was it meaningful? Did it help with the plot development? And what about Old Demon? In the previous episode, it was clearly written that he would die, but in the next episode, he appeared again, alive and kicking. Good grief, screenwriter, are you kidding me?!
The old work "Dragon Tiger Gate" is undoubtedly a classic among classics. What about the new work? From its debut to the battle of Macau between Huoyun Evil God and Dongfang Invincible, the story has progressed smoothly, with thrilling battles one after another, which can also be said to be classic. However, from the "White Lotus Rebellion" chapter onwards, the entire comic's storyline began to fall apart. A large number of characters kept appearing, only to show their faces briefly before hastily retreating from the scene without fully utilizing their value. This includes characters like Dongfang Family Master, Electric King, Shiguimen Master, Xuanjie, Baokun Long, Liehuo Old Ancestor, Heixin Old Monster, East South West North Four Guards, Gui Jiangjun, Yinsheng Old, and Baigulai Changxiang, among others. Optimization, optimization - where is the benefit? The characters have been transformed one after another, to the point where not even their bones are left. In his column, Lao Huang once said that he wanted to create a grand world of rivers and lakes. He didn't just focus on the struggles between Dragon Tiger Gate, Luo Sha Sect, and White Lotus Sect, but also wanted to connect organizations like Thailand's Tongtian, Yuanshi, Guangfa San Dajiao, Wudahai, and America's Mogui Party that appeared in the old work, allowing them to interact with each other. Good idea, but unfortunately, it seems that the screenwriter of "Dragon Tiger Gate" is slightly lacking in the talent to turn beautiful ideas into reality.
You can't have both fish and bear's paw, as a weekly comic with only about 30 pages per issue, the length is already short. According to the Hong Kong comic book habit, there must be fighting scenes in every issue. As a result, the number of pages available for storytelling is even less. However, in order to show so-called diversity and interaction, New Dragon Tiger Gate has to divide out a lot of space to show branch lines. Therefore, it's inevitable that the plot will be dragged on, like tree branches, each line has its attractions, but each line is only superficial, unable to delve deeper. In fact, sometimes these branches are completely unnecessary. For example, the Devil Party, the White Lotus Sect and the Can Help, the Flipping Dragon, the Five Big Families, the Sun Moon God Mirror, the Mute Slave and the Jade Girl, etc. A little bit of this and that, each thread is mentioned a bit, but none of them can be continued. Not only are readers confused, I think the author is also confused. How can such a comic still have good results? In my opinion, if we say what was the worst comic in 2005 and 06, the first must be that inexplicable Godly Soldier 3.5, and the second must be New Dragon Tiger Gate.
The old version of Dragon Tiger Gate is an RPG-style level-passing game. After passing one level, you move on to the next, and after defeating a BOSS, another appears. As a result, each character has ample room for development and performance. For example, the White Lotus Sect's "One King, Two Saints, Three Generals, Four Gods, Five Demons, Six Vengeful Souls". The Invincible East doesn't need to be mentioned, the Sun and Moon Two Saints are both ruthless characters with deep minds, and the Ghost General, although not as beautiful as in the new version, instead highlights his arrogant personality. The Fire God among the Four Gods is even stronger than the new version's, able to kill many Dragon Tiger Gate members with a single move of the "Fire Cloud Palm". Even the lowest-level Six Vengeful Souls, I still clearly remember their "Vengeful Soul Entwining Skill" being extremely powerful, and even Wang Xiaotian had to put in some effort to defeat two of them. In contrast, the new version is like a mole, either not showing its head or only appearing to be defeated, let alone leaving an impression, they don't even have the chance to be remembered by name.
The painstakingly crafted villain Blue Wave is dead just like that. Earlier, it was said that the power had penetrated every corner of the Tongtian Sect, and even if it meant death, Iron Lord Gong wouldn't dare to move his own White Bone Chancellor. In the end, he obediently accepted Iron Lord Gong's orders and led the Western City Warriors to become suicidal bombers, not even farting once. What is this supposed to be? I think I've seen through the so-called "optimization" of the Longhu Men screenwriters. It's nothing but pruning, cutting off all the branches that were previously too big to handle because they had spread out too much. The subtle and mysterious plotlines that were laid down are also gone, in short, a big purge, starting from scratch.
It's a good thing that the screenwriter can wake up from his thoughts in the past two years. No longer indulging in the so-called big rivers and lakes, he puts his eyes back on the struggle between Longhu Men and Luosha Teach, which is a good move to return to the origin. The publication of the external biography "Huoyun Evil God" is not simply Old Huang's usual "money-making" method, but it has practical significance. That is to put more energy and larger chapters back on the people of Longhu Men, as for the equally attractive Huoyun Evil God and Tongtian Teach's dispute, another chapter will be opened to describe, which can speed up the plot progress and make the story structure more complete and tense.
It's not that there's no need to pay the price. The most direct consequence is that all the foreshadowing mentioned earlier, such as Blue Wave and White Bone General, will be rendered useless. It takes great determination to cut off one's own arm, but it's still too early to see the results. As of the latest issue 383, the reputation of Dragon Tiger Three Emperors has not yet recovered from its previous slump. It can be said that currently is the most difficult time for the new Dragon Tiger Gate, and whether it can successfully reverse the decline and revive this first-rate work remains to be seen.
Idle talk about Hong Kong comics martial arts ranking
Hong Kong comics mainly focus on martial arts themes, so all sorts of extraordinary skills and techniques are always indispensable. For example, the Tathagata Palm, the Nine Suns Divine Art, the Hun Tian Ba Jian, the Pai Yun Zhang and the Feng Shen Tui, the Magnetic Field Rotation Power and the Protecting Country Divine Art Fourteen Absolutes, and many more, too numerous to mention.
However, regardless of the name of these divine and extraordinary skills, due to the storytelling style of Hong Kong comics, they are basically linear, advancing in a manner similar to RPG games, with the protagonist's power (LV) constantly upgrading and strengthening. In this case, a complete, logical, clear and most importantly self-consistent power system is extremely necessary.
For the power system, the most clear and logical ones are Haoyan's "Sea Tiger" and "Martial God" series. The former calculates its strength in units of "x ten thousand", with the highest level being one million. The latter calculates it in "x heavenly weight", with a maximum of 990,000. The conversion between the two is one ten thousand for one heavenly weight. Very simple and clear. Apart from this, technique is also very important, using "perfect boundary" as the standard. Normally speaking, ninety heavenly weights will absolutely defeat eighty heavenly weights, but if eighty heavenly weights have a "perfect boundary" while ninety heavenly weights do not, then victory or defeat is still unknown. This gives readers a most intuitive standard, yet makes the battle process not rigid and suspenseless, it can be said to be quite ingenious design.
So, in the later published comic "Dà Shèng Wáng", this design was also referenced and imitated. The only difference is that "Wàn Pǐ, Zhòng Tiān" was changed to "Wàn Zhuǎn", with the highest level being "Yī Yì Zhuǎn", which can only be reached by Dà Shàn Rúlái. The main character Dà Shèng Wáng and other demons, as well as èr Láng Shén, can at most reach 99,999,990 turns. The concept of "Complete Boundary" was changed to "Purity", but in reality it is still the same old trick.
The so-called literary world is a big copy, Hong Kong's comic industry is extremely competitive. If you have something good and new ideas, it won't take long before others will learn from the past. The term "Rei Ten" as a unit of power division is not an original invention of Ocean, but rather borrowed from Wen Ri Liang. The prototype is Huang Yu Lang's "Dragon Tiger Gate" with the "Ice Fire X Rei Ten" martial art. In the old book, the highest level was only five Rei Ten, while in the new book it has been upgraded to seven Rei Ten, but the essence remains unchanged.
The Dragon and Tiger Fist is the most famous and has the most martial arts moves in Hong Kong comics. The martial arts moves can be roughly divided into three categories.
First category: Directly copied from Jin Yong's Wuxia novels, such as Nine Yang Divine Skill and Nine Yin True Classic, Descending Dragon Eighteen Palms (Legs) and Dog Beating Stick Method, Six Meridian Divine Sword and Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi etc.
Second category: Things that have been around since the beginning of Wuxia and are somewhat based on reality. For example, Shaolin's Xi Sui Jing and Yi Jin Jing are essential items. There is also Golden Bell Cover (I don't know why Huang Guangyu favors it so much, directly promoting it to one of the four great divine skills of Shaolin, on par with Yi Jin Jing). Tong Zi Gong, Wing Chun, Judo, Aikido, Eagle Claw Skill, Drunken Fist, Double Section Staff Method, and Ninjutsu all belong to this category.
Third category: Truly original creations. For example, Thailand's San Jiao Pan Gu Tian Xi, Fu Xue Wen Tian Lu, Xuan Yuan Tong Tian Jue. Lao Zu, Zong's Nine Deaths Evil Skill, Ten Thousand Toxin Heart Classic, Mang Cang Treasure Mirror. There are also Nine Heavens True Classic, Sun Moon Divine Mirror, Dao Jing and other extraordinary skills that are too numerous to mention.
The new book "Dragon Tiger Gate" clearly divides these various martial arts into several levels. Except for those that have not been used by comic characters so far, the strongest are the three great divine skills: Jiuyang Shen Gong, Yi Jin Jing, and Jin Zhong Zhao. Around episode 200, the White Lotus Sect Master Dongfang Invincible fought against the Luo Sha Sect Master Huo Yun Xie in Macau, and at that time, the cover had this sentence: "Jiuyang Shen Gong shocks the world, Yi Jin Jing reigns supreme." It vividly portrayed the momentum of the two big bosses and the two great divine skills, creating the first truly epic high tide for the new book "Dragon Tiger Gate". As of episode 383, no martial art has been able to surpass Jiuyang and Yi Jin. Even the Thai Tongtian Sect's old sect master Tie Ling Gong, who has shown thirty-seven layers of heaven, cannot surpass the power of Yi Jin Jing's black level two spaces.
However, it seems that in the minds of readers, the strongest divine skill is not Jiuyang and Yijin, but Jinzhongzhao. Moreover, author Huang Yulang also declared in the comic that Jinzhongzhao is "invincible under heaven". Even if no one has reached the highest level, it is undeniable that Jinzhongzhao is as popular as Jiuyang and Yijin, and is also the most controversial martial art.
So far, there are three people in the new book "Dragon Tiger Gate" who have practiced Jin Zhongzhao. The highest cultivation is Jin Luohan's tenth pass, and Shi Heilong and Achai, two of the three emperors of Dragon Tiger, are eighth pass. Let alone the latter two, Jin Luohan, this big villainous role, should be said to be one of the more successful creations in the new book "Dragon Tiger Gate". He is ambitious, arrogant and domineering, although he has already been second only to the master of Luo Sha Sect, but still unwilling to be inferior to others, always trying to rebel whenever there is an opportunity. However, he also has high martial arts skills, so whether it's Huoyun Xiangshen or Dongfang Wujie, they all try their best to win him over and recruit him, trying to make him useful for themselves. But no matter how much intimidation or temptation, Jin Luohan is not like people such as Gun Yao, Tian Di Ren San Zhanglao, Lieyang Shen, Yin Ying etc., willing to dedicate his life to serving Huoyun Xiangshen as a lifelong worker. Plus, his tenth pass of Jin Zhongzhao is extremely powerful, and except for the master-level characters, he can't be defeated, so it's not surprising that he is popular.
However, the fondness for Jin Zhong's character evolved into a fondness for Jin Luo Han, who is obviously a despicable villain, and further turned into a defense of this deceitful and treacherous person. Furthermore, arguing over how strong Jin Zhong's ultimate twelve levels are, whether they surpass Jiu Yang or Yi Jin Hei Ji, seems quite tedious and pointless. In the end, it all comes down to criticizing the ambiguous attitude of the Long Hu Men screenwriter and the many inconsistencies in the settings.
In theory, the same martial art, practiced to the same level, although the power may differ due to personal factors, the difference should not be too great. However, as fellow practitioners of the Seven Layers of Heaven and Earth, Wang Haixia's strength was enough to make Wang Fuhu, who had already mastered the Eight Yang, admit defeat. On the other hand, Wang Fenglei's Seven Layers of Heaven and Earth, even when combined with Yang Shiqi's Twelve Chapters of the Golden Phoenix, could not withstand Jin Luohan's Ten Gates, revealing a huge loophole.
The Black Level Floating Pagoda is the highest realm of the new Dragon Tiger Gate so far. However, in the battle at Gai Seki Castle, Lao Xie Shen used the Black Level Floating Pagoda to knock down Xiao Hu Hei Long and others, but surprisingly none of them died, which makes one wonder about the power of the Black Level Floating Pagoda, this is the second major plot hole.
They refused to die, so the Dragon and Tiger Gate's young generals all had divine skills that made them invulnerable. This created a third plot hole. The script has already explained that the highest level of Wei Tuo's Jiuxiao True Classic is on par with the Black Level Floating Pagoda. At the martial arts tournament hosted by Gun Yao, Wei Tuo's seventh chapter of the Jiuxiao True Classic suddenly jumped to the ninth chapter just because he was choked by Silver Eagle, which was already unbelievable. Later, when Wei Tuo fought Lihuo Old Ancestor (another poor guy who was optimized), it was clear that he had no advantage over his enemy and almost got killed easily. Just before that, Lihuo Old Ancestor had exchanged two moves with Hei Ji's Huoyun Xiashen, and his skills were clearly inferior to those of the Black Level. This made readers wonder about the true power of the highest level of the Jiuxiao True Classic.
When creating a story, it is essential to establish rules for the world you are writing about. Without these rules, the story will not be coherent. Once these rules are established, they must be followed consistently and not changed arbitrarily. A good author should allow the story to unfold naturally, depicting the characters' experiences in a way that feels authentic, rather than forcing them into predetermined roles. The former approach results in works that feel vivid and real, while the latter is nothing more than a puppet show. Unfortunately, the screenwriters of Dragon Tiger Gate have fallen into this trap. They apply double standards to the heroes and villains, making it impossible to gauge their strength through their battles. The abilities of the characters in Dragon Tiger Gate fluctuate wildly, sometimes being incredibly strong and other times inexplicably weak. At times, they can invoke a "main character template" that makes them almost invincible, while at other times, they are surprisingly vulnerable, unable to even defeat secondary or tertiary characters. This inconsistency is truly frustrating.
Perhaps due to the numerous plot holes, which greatly affected sales, the screenwriter of Dragon Tiger Gate had to rack their brains to optimize and redo everything. Alright, before the optimization is complete, it's unclear how effective this "patching up" behavior will be, and we'll just have to wait and see. However, the latest setting - the Black Level Floating Pagoda being divided into three levels: one room, two rooms, and three rooms - doesn't seem too bad. But if readers were to start re-reading Dragon Tiger Gate from the beginning now, they would likely be very confused. Earlier on, it was clearly stated through Dongfang Invincible's words that Lao Xie and Huo Yun's powers were almost identical, with the only difference being that Lao Xie had a lingering old injury that prevented him from fighting for extended periods. In terms of cultivation depth, Lao Xie was actually far superior to his son. But in the latest setting, Lao Xie is a Black Level Three-Room warrior, which is vastly inferior to Huo Yun's Two-Room level. How can this plot hole be explained? It's likely that it will just be swept under the rug and ignored.
