With the inner power he has taken from 天山童姥, 李秋水, and 無崖子, he is definitely the most powerful of all 金庸 characters. Many people think that 段譽's inner power is stronger, but if one considers more carefully, 段譽's inner power is at most one half of the amount 虛竹 has. So, if I believe that he is the one who possesses the highest fighting skill, why would I rank him as low as number 4? The reason is his gentle personality. He should be able to defend himself against almost any fighter, but in actual combat he may find it difficult to defeat some of his opponents. He just does not possess the killer instinct that other fighters have.