I'm here in the martial arts world just to find love.

"Young friend Jiang, you may not know this."

Faced with Jiang Chao's question, Master Ziyang changed his tone and no longer addressed Jiang Chao as "Young Hero".

The old Taoist priest sighed, his tone tinged with melancholy:

"The world today belongs to the martial arts world, or more precisely, to the martial artists. We, the disciples of the Xuanmen sect, have lost even the slightest bit of our former glory since the rise of martial arts throughout the world."

"Heaven does not accept the talismans, and Earth does not accept the alchemical texts; therefore, the Daoist arts are not manifest, and supernatural powers are difficult to exert..."

At this point, the Taoist paused and looked at the two elders of the Moon Goddess Palace, Xuan Guan and Xuan Qing.

There was an inquiring look in his eyes.

The two Moon Goddess Palace elders, whose appearances were stunning and showed no signs of aging, nodded slightly in unison, indicating that the old Taoist could speak freely.

Originally, the real purpose of this martial arts conference held at Yunmeng Mountain was not to reshape the martial arts order, exchange martial arts skills, or resolve the disputes between the various sects.

Rather, it is for... a solution to the "Tao"!

The Gate of Mysteries is called the Gate of Wonders; the Gate of Wonders is called the Mysterious Path; the Gate of the Mysterious Path is called the Heavenly Path. Why does the Heavenly Path favor the Martial Path? This is the true purpose behind the gathering of martial arts practitioners from all corners of the world by the behind-the-scenes forces of the Mysterious Gate.

Martial arts training strengthens the body, cultivates character, and leads to enlightenment.

Originally, all martial artists in the world were ordinary people, not cultivators of the Xuanmen (mystical sect). The methods they practiced were all mundane, not profound and mysterious.

However, at some point, the path for warriors suddenly broadened.

Knives, spears, clubs, axes, hooks, forks, swords, halberds, whips, hammers—all kinds of weapons can be used to enter the Dao through martial arts and to prove the Dao through killing.

It begins with training the skin and ends with achieving physical sainthood.

A seemingly crude and barbaric path has been successfully navigated and taken far by these江湖人 (jianghu people) who are only interested in fame and fortune, and in chivalry and righteousness.

The mystical arts declined, while martial arts flourished.

The once lofty and revered Xuanmen cultivators, and the Qi practitioners who were once worshipped as the state religion and controlled the destiny of the world, have all fallen from their pedestals.

Even when engaging in combat, disciples of the Xuanmen sect who only cultivate internal alchemy often lose more often than they win.

May your military prowess flourish.

In the martial arts realms from the first to the ninth grade, besides training the skin, bones, and tendons, anyone who has cultivated a breath of true qi and whose blood and qi are abundant can be considered to have formally embarked on the path of martial arts.

With its low barrier to entry and wide audience, martial arts are practiced by countless people all over the world.

However, all the internal energy cultivation methods and qi circulation techniques practiced by martial artists originated from the Xuanmen (Taoist school).

The Moon Goddess Palace, where they worship the Moon Goddess, is also run by people from the Xuanmen sect, and they follow the path of the divine. The so-called divine path is actually the same as the Taoist alchemy and immortal path and the Buddhist Zen path, ultimately leading to the same great path.

  

As this shameless old Taoist priest said: Heaven does not bestow divine favors, nor does the earth accept elixirs; only martial fortunes flourish, as if even heaven and earth are on the side of warriors.

If the path of martial arts is allowed to continue to flourish in this world, one day there will be no place for people like them in the Xuanmen sect.

In the past, it would have been fine. The Xuanmen sect only cared about cultivating themselves and did not care about worldly affairs. Even if they did not understand the methods or the spirits, they could still be at peace and carefree.

Let martial artists who cultivate martial arts fight to the death in this world, climbing towards the pinnacle of martial arts.

No matter how great their killing power, their lifespan is only a mere hundred years. The day their vital energy and blood are exhausted is the day a martial arts grandmaster falls. They will never truly achieve physical sainthood.

But now, catastrophe is imminent.

The demons and evil spirits that only the people of the Xuanmen could contend with in the past are breaking through the seal and making a comeback. Under such circumstances, how can the people of the Xuanmen continue to cultivate in peace?

When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.

Therefore, under the covert influence of the seven major sects, this martial arts conference was convened in the name of the ancient martial arts tradition.

Jiang Chao was naturally unaware of the thoughts and plans of these people from the Xuanmen sect. At this moment, he listened attentively and earnestly to the story told by Daoist Ziyang.

Many of the rumors that had been heard were now confirmed after the Taoist Master Ziyang recounted them.

Although Jiang Chao could not discern the truth or falsehood of the Taoist's words, at least they seemed reasonable and convincing.

Mystic cultivators, Qi cultivation techniques, martial arts practitioners...

So this is what the martial arts world is really like.

It turns out that the path of martial arts is divided into ranks, from one to nine, with the first rank being the highest, which is the Grandmaster realm.

The ninth rank is the lowest. Although it seems like one has entered a higher rank, it is still considered low-level. It is just a necessary stage for ordinary people to embark on the path of martial arts.

Externally train muscles, bones, and skin; internally train breath control.

This breath is the true internal energy transformed from blood and qi.

"...Therefore, as I said before, Heaven does not accept the talisman, and Earth does not accept the alchemical book. No matter how hard we Xuanmen practitioners try to cultivate, in the end, it will all be in vain. We are not like the martial arts practitioners in the Jianghu, who are truly effective."

Is this the Dharma-ending Age?

After listening to the old Taoist priest, Jiang Chao's heart stirred slightly, and a thought lingered in his mind.

If the world today truly is in the Dharma-ending Age, then everything seems to make sense.

The reason why martial arts are so popular may lie here.

Practicing martial arts is the only viable path for ordinary people to embark on an extraordinary journey.

Because the Grandmaster of Martial Arts is right there.

Seemingly standing atop the martial arts mountain, looking down upon all living beings, they are actually named, flesh and blood, traceable, and truly exist.

However, the gods or immortals in the Xuanmen (Taoist school) only exist in vague and ethereal legends.

The young man, upon reflecting on this, suddenly felt enlightened.

He thought that whether it was martial arts or the mystical arts, the world of martial arts down the mountain would definitely be very exciting, and Jiang Chao would definitely have a place in it.

Pulling himself back to reality, Jiang Chao smiled and comforted him:

"Senior's words are somewhat biased. Putting aside everything else, just take the lightning technique you used earlier. Its power was extremely remarkable. An ordinary martial artist would be crippled if hit by it, and even a skilled martial artist might not be able to withstand it."

"Thunder magic is still magic. Since magic still exists, why seek a talisman from Heaven?"

The boy rambled on, then glanced at the old Taoist's full head of white hair and his face, which was smoother than that of an ordinary young man, and asked seriously:

"May I ask how old you are, Senior Ziyang?"

Master Ziyang was taken aback, then subconsciously showed a thoughtful expression:

"This humble Taoist priest should be one hundred and two years old now..."

"One hundred and twenty years old! But in my judgment, you are much younger than the average person in their twenties or thirties, only your hair, eyebrows and beard are all white."

One hundred and twenty years old... The young man was secretly amazed. He didn't know how high or low the old Taoist's cultivation was, but... he really had the art of preserving youth. He wondered whether this secret method was passed on to outsiders or not.

"That's it. At over a hundred years old, you are still in such good condition. You are truly vigorous despite your advanced age. If you were a martial artist, you would probably be long gone by now. Even if you were still alive, your body would have been worn down by time, your blood and energy would be depleted, and you would be plagued by all kinds of diseases, making it difficult to die a peaceful death."

By the old man's standards, Jiang Chao was the "innate martial arts saint body" he spoke of, born to be a martial artist.

Although he doesn't appear to be like other martial arts practitioners who follow a step-by-step approach, starting by strengthening their muscles and skin, he often caused trouble when he was young and was often beaten by his father, Jiang Buwen, which can be considered another form of physical training.

As for the later generation of a wisp of true energy within the body, which circulated through the meridians and returned to the dantian, that was a natural and inevitable process.

If classified according to martial arts realms, his current strength is probably between the fifth and fourth realms.

Jiang Chao didn't know the specifics either, because although he was born into a family of martial arts grandmasters, no one had ever told him about martial arts ranks, not even among the various books in his family, as if they had been carefully selected.

"..."

Master Ziyang remained silent for a moment before continuing with the previous question.

"Therefore, young friend Jiang should now understand why the former abbot of Huoyun Temple, the mad Taoist with the Taoist name Wuchen, presents different images in the eyes of different people, right?"

"In the eyes of us Xuanmen people, Daoist Wuchen knew that he had no hope of making progress and that his cultivation had gone wrong, so he simply went down the mountain to travel and do whatever he wanted."

"We, the people of the Xuanmen, value cultivating our minds and character above all else. Therefore, in our eyes, this path is for those who are fickle and have unstable hearts."

"But people in the martial arts world never care about these things. They only look at the results of actions. If the Mad Taoist casually eliminates the most hated villains, he is a highly accomplished Taoist master. Otherwise, he is a demon who has inexplicably fallen into depravity."

Jiang Chao noticed that in Ziyang Daoist's words, the way he addressed Wuchen Daoist was changed three times.

It seemed unintentional, but it was the result of a conversation that escalated quickly.

But Jiang Chao had a feeling that things were probably not that simple.

This Ziyang Daoist probably has a very deep connection with that mad Daoist. Perhaps the two had some unknown grudges or stories in their early years.