I would also find it hard to admit that on any given day that Yang Guo could not potentially defeat anyone with the "Anran Xiaohun Zhang" (Divine melancholic palm) technique. Even in the middle of a contest his ability could change...
Yang Guo looks pretty good in the Condor Heroes trilogy, but there are still several masters from that era (or slightly before) that he may not be able to defeat: Guo Jing, Dugu Qiubai, Wang Chongyang, Huang Shang, and Zhou Botong.
Furthermore, Yang Guo would stand no chance against the elite fighters of Demi Gods Semi Devils, namely the 3 Xiao Yao Pai elders, the Sweeper Monk, and Xu Zhu.
To me it seemed both Lao Wantong and Huang Yaoshi realized Yang Guo could have mopped the floor with them using this technique...especially when Yang Guo's heart was in it.
Not quite. When Yang Guo sparred with Zhou Botong, Guo Xiang noticed that YG was at a disadvantage because he only had one arm, while Zhou used his dual-hand technique. So in this case, it was 1 hand against 4 hands. Yang then thought to himself: the only way out of this duel is to compete raw internal energy with this old man, in which case it's likely we would end up both dead like Ouyang Feng and Hong Qiqong. So, I don't think Yang can defeat Zhou in less than 1000 strokes, even with the Sad Palms (An Ran Xiao Hun Zhang).
Huang Yaoshi admitted that his palm style is inferior to Yang Guo's Sad Palms, but their fight still ended in a draw when Huang countered with his signature move, the Mighty Snap.
But Toad was the first thing Yang Guo learned from XiDu as a boy...?
I think so, but I am not very familiar with the beginning of ROCH (return of condor heroes).
OuYang Feng is such a strange case it seems. For instance, he could counter Guo Jing's "Xiang long shi ba zhang" (18 Dragon Palm). That has always amazed me! Was it the corrupted version of Jiuyin Zhenjing that allowed this?
Well, the best techniques of the 4 Greats are more or less equal in power: Hong Qigong's 18 Dragon Subdueing Palms, Yi Deng's Yiyang Finger, Ouyang Feng's Toad Stances, and Huang Yaoshi's Mighty Snap. Ouyang Feng did gain temporary upper hand against the other Greats after learning the reverse 9 Yin, but Hong Qigong caught up with him a few years later.
The extent to which Yang Guo relied on the wooden sword vs his arm using the Dugu Jiujian (Dugu Qiubai's sword methods), I guess, could also be argued
When Jin Yong wrote ROCH, the Dugu 9 Swords did not exist. This sword style first appeared in Smiling Proud Wanderers which was written later than ROCH. So Yang Guo did not know Dugu 9 Swords.
Could anyone ever defeat Yang Guo in a sword battle, though?
In Demi Gods Semi Devils, Duan Yu knows the 6 Meridian Swords, an invisible sword energy that shoots out like a laser beam (that's how it looks in adaptions :p). Given that Xiao Feng thought he would most likely lose to 6 Meridian Swords, I am sure Yang Guo's Heavy Iron Sword will be no match for this invisible sword.
Oh do I love Jin Yong stories. The greatest. By far. Ever.
