I've only read chapters 1-7 of 1st edition HSDS,and the chapters covering guanming peak,as well as chapters 5-11 of 2nd edition HSDS,and much of my HSDS knowledge comes from the TV series that ended,about 18 minutes ago as of this writing,in singapore,so please forgive me if i post something "wrong".
1.Can anyone tell me more about the Xuanming Elders?Are they a real sect,or just 2 mercenaries who happened to be Zhao Min's Father's bodyguards?In what context would they happen to have injured Zhan Wu Ji,when he was just a child?I cant see any situation in which someone like that would hit a small child with such a move.
2.Does the book explain who "Sister Yang" is?Its heavily hinted in the TV series that shes a descendant from Guo Jiang or one of the famous people in Condor Heroes,which would explain how she knows Jiuyin White Bone Claw.
3.Which sects attended the "Slay the Lion meet"?I know the Ming,Beggar,E-Mei,Kong Tong and Wudang Sects attended?Did i miss anyone else?Who was the first guy who challenged Song Qingshu?Was he from the Beggar Sect?
4.What happened to the 18 dragon subdueing palms manuel at the end of the story?Was it given to Shaolin?For that matter,how were the 18 dragon subdueing palms and Jiuyin white bone claw manuels lost from their respective sects?
5.How did Zhang Wu Ji find the Jiuyang Shengong manuel?What kind of martial art is it?From the hints i see,i get that its supposed to be some martial art that trains your internal strength and not like a traditional "skill"?
6.Curious...anyone know where the bat king is near the end of the TV series?Hes supposed to go with Zhang Wu Ji to Shaolin,but hes nowhere to be seen,and its not mentioned that he stayed with Zhu YuangZhang/Vanguard Yang.Same thing with Fan Yao....after he gets rescued in the capitol,its like hes not in Ming Sect affairs anymore,theres totally no mention of him.
7.Why did cheng kun try to blind Xie Xun when he knew perfectly well he was already blind?For that matter,when Cheng Kun took Xie Xun captive,why didnt Xie Xun actually HIT Cheng Kun?He just stops himself from hitting him?And then collasped at Cheng Kun's command?And what did Cheng Kun mean by "I spent a lot of time in Shaolin thinking about how to defeat your Qishang Fist"?I couldnt help but think that the producers were trying to tell us Cheng Kun mastered mind control while in Shaolin......
P.S.How come Zhiruou takes forever to actually kill Xie Xun at Shaolin?Simple matter to slash his throat since hes had his acu points block,but she does some funky thing by placing her hand on his head?I dont know what the show producers were thinking with that scence IMHO.