There was a discussion in which Ken Cheng said that he always considered SPW to be Jin Yong's attempt to write a Gu Long novel. Unfortunately I could not find that post, but I just thought of one addition similarity between SPW and Gu Long: they both contain piles and layers and coatings and spectrums of DOUBLE CROSSING / BETRAYAL. Maybe that's why we can never come to an agreement about the martial arts level of SPW. Maybe we should compare it to Gu Long's universe instead? Better yet, maybe Gu Long WROTE SPW!