After re-watching State of Divinity, I really believe that out of all the Jin Yong novels, Lin Ping Zhi has to be the most tragic character of them all. He was born to wealthy parents, yet he is respectful and has a sense of justice. He lost everything, and later find trust in Huashan's master, Yue Buqun. Even his feeling for Yue Ling Shan is genuine and real.
It's pretty clear that as much as he hated and wanted revenge on Yu Cang Hai and the hunchback for killing his parents, it was Yue Buqun's betrayal that hurted him the most and drove him over the edge. It's easy to think that it was his family's martial art which changed his personality for the worse, but I really believe that Yue Buqun's betrayal turned him into the villain that he ultimately becomes.
I now understand why State of Divinity is such a popular novel within the wuxia community. I just love the way Jin Yong developed the characters; and Lin Ping Zhi is such a unique, yet tragic, character. An innocence, respectful young man who, though no fault of his own, swallowed his pride for the sake of revenge.
Does anyone else believe that Lin Ping Zhi's fate would be different had Yue Buqun not betrayed him? I really don't know the answer to this question at all. On the one hand, Lin Ping Zhi's character, while an all-around good guy, isn't as strong as that of Linhu Chong. That eventually, he would still chooses to learn his family's martial art regardless of Yue Buqun's betrayal. Linhu Chong has too much pride and strong morals and that he would rather choose death than to do what Lin Ping Zhi did towards the end of the novel. But on the other hand, even Linhu Chong never went through that Lin Ping Zhi went through -- twice.