Linghu Chong's on-off internal energy

[pannonian]

The most plausible explanation given for Linghu Chong's ultra-swift stabs at the assassins' eyes is that he had plenty of internal energy, but was unable to use them without them clashing, but could use them in a pinch. If this is so, how does one explain the duel with Huang Zhong, which was designed to uncontrollably disturb one's internal energy? Linghu Chong's explanation is that he didn't have any internal energy at all for Huang Zhong to disturb, which may make sense on one level, but which would invalidate the earlier explanation of the energy streams being present, but unusable witho9ut clashing.

[tape]

I'm not quite convinced that he was able to use the decent amount of inner energy inside of him to blind the assassins just because it was in a crisis moment. After all, when he first tried to utilize it minutes earlier, he got paralyzed and fell to the floor. At that point, the assassins were already killing his schoolmates, so he should already have been in that "crisis mode" where he would be able to fight for a few seconds with internal energy before falling down.

While there's certainly a chance that he was able to use it at as a last resort, it is kind of contradictory because even after he blinded the assassins, he was merely extremely tired and rested heavily on his sword as opposed to before the fight, where he completely fell paralyzed because he tried to use his inner energy.

[ChronoReverse]

It's not that hard to handwave. Once the internal energy is clashing, LHC can't do a thing. During the assassins bit, he had already lied down for a while and the streams relatively calm again (so he could move) and he was able to just eke out a single burst (after which he was paralysed again).

It's not even quite the same situation either. The earlier one, LHC roared and only wanted to join the fight but the assassins case was literally moments from his own death while already bearing the fate of his entire school.

It's still a rather unlikely handwave in the end but the objections you brought up aren't the reasons why it's still shaky.



As for the HZ thing, you could make the case that LHC had more powerful internal energy flowing around inside of him anyway. At this point he had the Peach Fairies, No Commandment AND FS's internal energy. Just like how the streams tanked the Yin-Yang Palm attack, HZ simply couldn't have put those streams inside LHC under his control.

[pannonian]

From Chapter 20 - Imprisonment:

"Seeing the utter gloominess on Mr. Huang-Zhong?s face, Linghu Chong felt
very sorry. He thought to himself, ?Big Brother Xiang apparently did not
want to review the fact that I have lost all my inner strength, so as
not to make them aware of my intent to ask for treatment, thus, void any
obstacles that might arise. But a real man should be as open as the day.
I can?t take advantage of him like that.? At that thought, he said,
?First Master, there?s something I must tell. The reason why I was
immune to the invisible energy attacks coming out of your zither was not
because of advanced inner strength cultivation on my part. It was really
because I have no inner strength in me, none whatsoever!?

?What did you say?? Mr. Huang-Zhong stood up, taken by surprise.

?I was injured many times and have lost all my inner strength. That?s
why the sound of your zither had no effect on me,? Linghu Chong explained."

Maybe Linghu Chong was being generous to Huang Zhong to soothe his hurt, but he specifically says that he's immune to the atack, rather than he was able to overcome the attack. In an earlier passage, the attack is described as "Once the opponent?s internal strength resonated with the zither sounds, then he would be controlled by the zither sounds involuntarily." So if LHC has strong internal energy inside him that's mostly out of his control, the energy would still "involuntarily" resonate at some point with HZ's notes. But as LHC says, his internal energy couldn't resonate, voluntarily or not, because he had none.

[ChronoReverse]

It could also be that it can only resonate your own internal energy and not streams that are just flowing around. At this point, it was already mentioned that the powerful streams flowing around had already completely eradicated LHC's own cultivation.

[tape]

A handwave ? It was 30 individual thrusts in the blink if an eye.