強中強手 “A Stronger Than the Strong”
只見霎時間，雷收風息，雨散雲收。國王滿心歡喜，文武盡皆稱贊道：「好和尚！這正是『強中更有強中手』。只见霎时间，雷收风息，雨散云收。国王满心欢喜，文武尽皆称赞道：「好和尚！这正是『强中更有强中手』。
逐句解 Line by line
In a flash the thunder ceased and the wind died, the rain scattered and the clouds drew in.
霎時間 "in an instant." 雨散雲收: 散 = sàn, to disperse.
The king was filled with joy, and the civil and military officers all praised him, saying, “A fine monk!
盡皆: 盡 = jìn, every one of them. 稱贊: 稱 = chēng, to praise.
This is truly a case of 'above the strong there is a stronger still.'
強中更有強中手: 中 = zhōng twice; 更 = gèng. The edition marks it as a quotation, and it is a proverb everybody still knows -- "among the strong there is always a stronger hand," the Chinese equivalent of there always being a bigger fish. Said in praise, it is generous. Said as a ruling, it is a loophole.
The court concedes in the form of a proverb: among the strong there is always a stronger. The civil and military officers agree out loud that the monk has beaten the Preceptors at their own art.
But look at what the proverb actually concedes. It says the monk is stronger, not that the Daoists are frauds -- a difference of degree, not of kind. That leaves the door open, and the immortals are about to walk through it. If the question is only who is stronger, then perhaps the rain was theirs after all and the monk merely happened to be standing there.