Eight hundred years after Ding Yun's departure, martial arts reached their zenith across the land, with Innate Grandmasters almost becoming a prerequisite for adulthood.
If an adult had not yet broken through to the Innate Grandmaster realm.
It could only mean they were either extremely lazy and negligent.
Or they suffered from some congenital disability.
Grandmasters emerged in droves. You could throw a brick in any city and hit at least three out of ten.
Heavenly Beings, however, remained as rare as ever, perhaps one in ten thousand. Last year, a national census reported a population of ninety million, with a total of ninety-eight thousand seven hundred and fifty individuals in the Heavenly Being realm.
While this was a small percentage of the total population.
Compared to the number of Heavenly Beings in the past, the combined total over thousands of years didn't even reach a fraction of this number. This clearly demonstrated the prosperity and flourishing of martial arts today.
As for Land Immortals, they were even fewer.
Less than ten thousand in total.
Seven thousand eight hundred and sixty-one to be exact.
And all of this, everything, was inextricably linked to the Yuhua Sect and Ding Yun. This wasn't mere boasting on their part.
It was a connection so profound it was written into textbooks.
...
On a certain online platform, a novice user posted a question.
"I'm timidly asking, why is Feixia Yuanjun hailed as the creator of the martial arts golden age? The true martial arts golden age only dawned thirty years after her death.
So I think it's fine to say she ended the two-hundred-year martial arts dark era, but calling her the creator of the martial arts golden age, isn't that a bit exaggerated?"
[Are you a nine-year education dropout?]
[Do young people nowadays not pay attention in class? Or have the textbooks been revised and abridged?]
[What do you mean thirty years after her death? Feixia Yuanjun ascended, okay? Land Immortals have a lifespan of a thousand years, and Feixia Yuanjun was less than nine hundred years old at most. Even if she hadn't ascended, she would still be alive.
Some people should be more careful with their words...]
[Never mind. Since the楼主 (OP) has asked sincerely, I shall uphold the belief of curing illness and saving the dying, and punishing past mistakes by informing you why Feixia Yuanjun is qualified.
The two-hundred-year martial arts dark era, I presume I don't need to elaborate. In short, it was the sins of the three top sects and the Da Yong imperial family at the time. Textbooks say they hindered the development and progress of martial arts. It was the ancestors of the Yuhua Sect, who became Heavenly Beings thanks to Feixia Yuanjun, who annihilated them.
Only then did martial arts flourish once more.
But this is only a small part, the abridged version. If you only look at what's in the textbooks, you might indeed feel like she doesn't deserve the title.
In reality, the evil deeds committed by the Da Yong dynasty and the three great sects were far more numerous and heinous than what is written in books. Feixia Yuanjun's role was also far more important than what is written in the books, but it has all been omitted.
Since the founding ancestor of the Da Yong dynasty ascended the throne.
His cultivation stagnated at the Heavenly Being realm, with no further progress.
He mistakenly believed it was due to the legend that Human Emperors could not cultivate, so in his prime, he decisively faked his death and abdicated to his son.
And went into seclusion in the imperial mausoleum.
At this point, he discovered that although he could continue to improve, his cultivation progress was as slow as a snail's. This undoubtedly caused him great anxiety. To accelerate his cultivation speed and break through to the Land Immortal realm, he truly resorted to any means necessary and committed many wicked deeds.
For example, extracting the vital essence of geniuses to temper his own bones.
For example, diverting the flow of earth veins to forcibly create grotto-heavens. This was done at the cost of damaging the future potential of the earth veins, allowing a small area to achieve extreme spiritual energy concentration for easier cultivation. However, after doing so, that area would be barren for ten years and only barely recover after a hundred years.
For example, wantonly assassinating geniuses from various sects to prevent them from reaching the Heavenly Being realm and posing a threat to him.
His various wicked deeds are too numerous to count.
Yet he did not realize that the more he suppressed the martial arts world, the more martial arts loathed him. Coupled with his damage to the earth veins, he was abandoned by heaven and earth. If not for the protection of the imperial dynasty's destiny.
He would have died from heavenly retribution long ago.
How could he have successfully broken through?
Furthermore, because of his actions, not only was the martial arts world in constant decline, but martial arts as a whole were also deteriorating.
If no one had stopped him, and if the Da Yong imperial family had continued this practice, martial arts would likely have become increasingly decadent. The imperial family, being loathed by martial arts, would have found it increasingly difficult to cultivate martial arts, eventually leading them to intensify their suppression.
Starting from merely suppressing martial artists with Heavenly Being potential.
It lowered to suppressing Grandmasters, or even forbidding the emergence of Innate Grandmasters, and eventually perhaps outright banning martial arts.
Once the situation reached that point, martial arts would collapse completely in a short period. And once martial arts collapsed, even if future generations possessed secret manuals, they would be unable to cultivate. Because with the loss of martial arts.
The entire world would lose its foundation for practicing martial arts.
Unless a figure like a Martial Ancestor emerged again.
To forcefully defy heaven and recreate martial arts!
This illustrates the heinousness of the actions of the Da Yong imperial family and the three top sects. They were destroying the foundation of martial arts, the civilization of martial arts. The reduction in talented disciples and the decline of martial arts power were merely the most trivial consequences.]
[Speaking of Feixia Yuanjun again, let me put it this way: the Innate Pills of today were created by Feixia Yuanjun. The Heavenly Being Pills that followed were also created by Feixia Yuanjun. Even the pills refined by Feixia Yuanjun herself were not only more effective than the popular pills of today.
But also had no trace of medicinal toxins.
Therefore, the reason Feixia Yuanjun and the Heavenly Being ancestors of the Yuhua Sect could break through while evading the court and the three great sects was mainly because they didn't need to spend ten or twenty years, or even longer, to slowly break through to Heavenly Being. Instead, they could use pills to quickly enter the Innate Grandmaster realm and rapidly break through to Heavenly Being.
However, doing so likely had repercussions.
Of that batch of Heavenly Beings, apart from Feixia Yuanjun.
Not a single one broke through to the Land Immortal realm.
In fact, many speculated that Feixia Yuanjun's breakthrough might have been due to martial arts showing gratitude and bestowing a special blessing to help her break through. This speculation could also explain why the phenomenon when she broke through to Land Immortal was so vast that it almost enveloped the entire world.
At that time, she was essentially favored by heaven and earth.
She was the Son of Destiny of that era.
Without Feixia Yuanjun, the Yuhua Sect would never have produced so many Heavenly Beings. Let alone Heavenly Beings, according to historical records, before Feixia Yuanjun appeared.
The Yuhua Sect didn't even have a single Grandmaster.]
[Finally, the most crucial point arrives. The above might not perfectly explain why Feixia Yuanjun is called the creator of the martial arts golden age. But after I finish the following, absolutely no one will be able to refute it.
Ten years after Feixia Yuanjun ascended.
Empress Biqiong, with the assistance of the Yuhua Sect, overthrew the Da Yong dynasty and established the Martial Arts Empire, recognizing the Yuhua Sect as the state religion and compiling the Martial Canon, which was disseminated throughout the realm.
Only then did martial arts completely emerge from the era of monopoly by sects and noble families, and begin to spread among commoners. And who was Empress Biqiong? She was Feixia Yuanjun's granddaughter.
According to Empress Biqiong's own recollection, most of the policies she implemented were influenced by her grandmother, and some were even direct copies of her grandmother's ideas. It was just that her grandmother found it too troublesome to act on them, only mentioning them verbally, which left room for her to ascend the throne and implement them.
The subsequent full support from the Yuhua Sect.
They even provided many martial arts manuals and helped compile the Martial Canon, also out of respect for Feixia Yuanjun.
Everyone owed Feixia Yuanjun a debt of gratitude.
Without Feixia Yuanjun's guidance, Empress Biqiong would likely not have had so many ideas. Without the favor owed to Feixia Yuanjun, the Yuhua Sect would not have been so cooperative.
Don't forget, at that time, apart from the Yuhua Sect having over a hundred Heavenly Being experts, other sects, even with thirty years of unhindered development, had only managed to cultivate a few Heavenly Beings, their combined total not even a fraction of the Yuhua Sect's. It was precisely with the Yuhua Sect's support that Empress Biqiong's policies could be successfully promoted to the entire populace.
Otherwise, she might have been assassinated herself.
With this in mind, is there any problem with calling Feixia Yuanjun the creator of the martial arts golden age?]
[Understood...]
[Thank you so much. The hundreds of thousands of words in the extracurricular textbooks were giving me a headache, and the teacher even asked us to write book reports. Your summary is so much more concise.]
[We've been tricked, this is a plea for answers!]
...