Mei Chaofeng

Mei Chaofeng (梅超風) is a fictional character in Jinyong's wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Known as the Iron Corpse (鐵屍) due to her dark complexion and rigid appearance, She, along with her eloped husband Chen Xuanfeng (陳玄風), the Bronze Corpse (銅屍), is one of the novel's main antagonists, heavily despised by the martial arts community for unethical behaviour. She died in battle against Ouyang Feng (歐陽峰), attempting to save her teacher, Huang Yaoshi (黃藥師).

Biography

 * Family name: Mei (梅)
 * Given name: Chaofeng (超風)
 * Nickname: Iron Corpse (鐵屍)
 * Gender: Female
 * Husband: Chen Xuanfeng (陳玄風)
 * Martial Arts Disciple : Yang Kang (楊康)

Peach Blossom Island Martial Arts (桃花島武功)
As a disciple of Huang Yaoshi (黃藥師), learning martial arts at Peach Blossom Island, Mei Chaofeng learned the skills of Huang Yaoshi. It is unknown what skills she had learned from Huang Yaoshi.

Nine Yin White Bone Claw (九陰白骨爪)
Mei Chaofeng and Chen Xuanfeng (陳玄風) stole their master's, Huang Yaoshi (黃藥師), martial arts manual, Jiu Yin Zhen Jing (九陰真經) and learned to master the skills from the manual. Due to a lack of understanding of the manual and the desire to learn the skills in a very short time, she and Chen Xuanfeng train the skill of Nine Yin White Bone Claw (Jiuyin Baigu Zhua) without the training of internal energy. The wrong training of the skill and the lack of understanding of the manual led her and Chen Xuanfeng to practise a very evil way of training and eventually harm themselves.

Life
Mei Chaofeng (梅超風) was a disciple of Huang Yaoshi (黃藥師), one of the "Five Supreme Martial Artists" (五絕) in the story. Mei Chaofeng fell in love with her fellow disciple, Chen Xuanfeng (陳玄風) while on the Peach Blossom Island. As they were too afraid to seek their master Huang Yaoshi's approval for marriage, due to his ruthlessness and often-erratic nature, they decided to elope from the island and steal the second volume of their master's prized martial arts article, Jiu Yin Zhen Jing (九陰真經), so as to become stronger than Huang Yaoshi and will not be pursued by him anymore.

Mei Chaofeng and Chen Xuanfeng were persecuted by the rest of the martial arts community, primarily because of their unethical methods (such as deceitful use of poison and unnecessarily cruel methods of killing, demonstrated in their notorious Nine Yin White Bone Claw [九陰白骨爪]). Many more, however, were keen to obtain the prized manual. The couple were forced to flee to Mongolia, where they encountered mortal enemies Jiangnan Qi Guai (江南七怪), ("Seven Freaks of Jiangnan"), headed by Ke Zhen'e (柯鎮惡). Ke Zhen'e had previously been blinded by Mei Chaofeng, and his brother slain. In the ensuing encounter, Ke Zhen'e returned the favor, blinding Mei Chaofeng. Chen Xuanfeng tried to even the odds; he took the young Guo Jing hostage. Guo Jing stabbed wildly at Chen, and was able to strike the navel, an area unprotected by Chen's peculiar martial abilities. Mei Chaofeng escaped with Chen Xuanfeng's body after Chen Xuanfeng was accidentally killed by Guo Jing. She then proceeded to remove the skin, which was tattoed with the manual of the stolen Jiu Ying Zhen Jing, off Chen Xuanfeng's back

Mei Chaofeng continued to perfect her claw techniques in Mongolia but she was forced to flee again when she mistakenly thought she encountered The Seven Disciples of Quanzhen, a powerful group of martial artists. The group she encountered was in fact the Seven Freaks, in collaboration of the head disciple of Quanzhen Ma Yu, aiming to scare her away from the area.

Mei Chaofeng found refuge in the courts of Wanyan Honglie (完顏洪烈), a Jin prince and adopted father of Yang Kang (楊康). The young Yang Kang accidentally stumbled upon Mei's refuge; in exchange for Yang keeping the secret and providing fodder for her practice, Mei Chaofeng agreed to teach him the powerful Nine Yin White Bone Claw (九陰白骨爪). Mei Chaofeng was herself crippled by incorrect application of the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing when she chanced upon Guo Jing, at the time still her inferior in martial art skills. Mei Chaofeng was about to kill Guo Jing for his role in Chen's death, but when she found out Guo Jing knew the methods to cure her (as well as furthering her martial arts skills), she agreed to help Guo Jing fight off his enemies.

Eventually Guo Jing and the Seven Freaks would face off with Mei Chaofeng once again, and with Guo Jing's improved martial art skills, they managed to defeat Mei.

She was killed by Ouyang Feng (歐陽峰) by intercepting a fatal blow, as Ouyang Feng attempted to attack her master from behind during a battle with the Seven Masters of Quanzhen. Before dying, Mei Chaofeng shattered the bones and sinews in her bones in order to fulfill an earlier promise to her master. Before Mei Chaofeng died, Huang Yaoshi re-initiated her as a member of the Peach Blossom Island. It was a wish that every one of Huang Yaoshi's banished disciples greatly desired but ironically, all of these innocent brethren of Mei who had been implicated by her treachery never saw this wish fulfilled.