YG and XLN vs ... ?

[Patudo]

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

I'm not hugely into the sort of martial arts comparisons (often based on "wuxia math") that so dominates forum discussions, but in re-reading the translation of ROCH over the holidays, one section struck me - apologies if this has been discussed before - I did make an attempt to find similar threads but my search skills may not have been adequate:

Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu going toe to toe with the Monk of the Golden Wheel (I truly wish one of the translators had gone for "The Dharmachakra Dharmaraja" or something similar) and pretty comprehensively defeating him with the combined Quanzhen and Jade Maiden swordsmanship. Now we know Goldie is a bit of a choker, but the two of them combined should have been nowhere even close to him - I don't think YG would have been comparable to Guo Jing at the stage the latter had learned all 18 dragon palms. If there hadn't been a convenient staircase allowing Goldie to get away, he'd almost certainly have lost his life.

(NB. Jin Yong probably realized the combined swordsmanship made his two leads too powerful as the "Passion Flower" plot device was introduced very soon thereafter!)

How do the respected forum members think other powerful personages have fared (a) in a pure martial arts contest and (b) in a situation where one or both sides are out for blood? The obvious scenario is YG realizes that the combined Quanzhen and Jade Maiden sword skills offer him the only way to avenge his late father without joining forces with Khubilai's goons and becoming a Hanjian. XLN is happy to help Guo'er. The duel takes place on open ground with no escape route. I can't imagine Guo Jing succumbing anywhere near as quickly as Goldie did, but what might happen? Let's assume Huang Rong is somehow distracted or diverted so cunning tricks don't come into it and the contest is decided purely on martial arts.

[WuxiaMaster]

In my opinion? Guo Jing would win.

Guo Jing is much more versatile in his skillsets (Jiuyin Zhenjing, Left/Right Technique) and just "much" stronger than the Monk (pre-16) no matter how you look at it.

YG and XLN internal are so "weak" (comparatively) at this point that I still don't get why GWM wasn't able to just brute force his way through. Like you know, break their swords?

[Ken Cheng]

In my opinion? Guo Jing would win.

Guo Jing is much more versatile in his skillsets (Jiuyin Zhenjing, Left/Right Technique) and just "much" stronger than the Monk (pre-16) no matter how you look at it.

YG and XLN internal are so "weak" (comparatively) at this point that I still don't get why GWM wasn't able to just brute force his way through. Like you know, break their swords?

Physically capable, but too stupid to play to his own strengths and attempted to play to the opponents'. The Golden Wheel Monk was uniquely stupid about this, and Gwok Jing would not make the same mistake.

[Patudo]

In my opinion? Guo Jing would win.

Guo Jing is much more versatile in his skillsets (Jiuyin Zhenjing, Left/Right Technique) and just "much" stronger than the Monk (pre-16) no matter how you look at it.

YG and XLN internal are so "weak" (comparatively) at this point that I still don't get why GWM wasn't able to just brute force his way through. Like you know, break their swords?

I agree in essence with all the above - I find it really hard to imagine Guo Jing being defeated, and I'm surprised why Goldie didn't kybosh one of them using massive inner power.

That being said, Linghu Chong was able to notch up some notable wins against opponents who far outmatched him (him having zero effective internal strength!) using pure technique, and the Quanzhen/Jade Maiden combined swordsmanship is said to be the ultimate achievement of one of the martial arts geniuses of the age... It didn't look as though YG and XLN were really stretched once they got going against Goldie, either. I will admit I'm intrigued by how a contest between the pair and Guo Jing would develop.