Chapter 6

"According to the records, the period of the Eightfold Path of the Heavenly Dragon was an extremely exciting time, a significant watershed in Chinese martial arts. Above it was the golden age, and below it were the silver and bronze ages."

In the *True History of the Martial World*, the period before and after the Heavenly Dragon was the last peak of the entire golden age of martial arts. Since then, Chinese and even global martial arts have been on a downward slope, becoming more and more decadent as they approached modern times, eventually remaining only for entertainment and fitness. Without delving into the history of the martial world, even in Mr. Jin Yong's works, among the few books he read, such as the *Condor Trilogy*, *Heavenly Dragon*, *Swordsman*, *Deer and Cauldron*, and others, the martial arts in *Heavenly Dragon* were the highest. Some of the martial arts were not purely martial but almost divine, like the skills of the Free and Easy Sect. Although their kung fu wasn't particularly impressive, Wu Yazi still had a face as smooth as jade at seventy years old. It was only after he transferred all his powers to Xuzhu that he became an old man with a face full of wrinkles, which was extremely exaggerated.

Strangely enough,

Apart from Jin Yong, many historians and novelists also depicted the martial arts as weakening after this period.

Therefore, when historical experts described the martial skills of this period, they used the term 'Twilight of the Gods.'

Of course, using the term 'gods' was not wrong at all.

Because figures like Qiao Feng, Wu Yazi, the nameless monk, and others, in any era, would be extraordinary martial geniuses. However, in this era, besides them, there were even more brilliant talents. The martial world of this century was like a person's last moment of lucidity before death, giving rise to many martial geniuses who would be impossible to find in other eras.

"Qiao Feng, Jumu Zhi, the nameless monk, Xiao Yuanshan! Murong Bo!"

"Princess Li Mengxin of Western Xia!"

"Gaotianlai, the successor of the Cihang Jingzhai!"

"Jiuyan, the Daoist expert! Han Moyan, the Confucian expert from Min! Banyun, the leader of the Mohist School, and Gongsheng Ban, the descendant of the Gongshu family! Shen Du, the accomplished Legalist..."

One by one, these luminous names appeared in Qin Chao's mind. When he played games in the past, he couldn't help but yearn for the remarkable deeds of these characters. Now that he had come to this era, how could he not meet them!

"Finally, I can compete in drinking with Qiao Feng, and become sworn brothers with Xuzhu..."

Qin Chao's joy was so overwhelming that he couldn't resist the urge to let out a long, triumphant cry.

Qin Le Dao didn't notice Qin Chao's unusual state and continued to warn him, "Chao'er, our Qin family has established itself through martial arts and has many enemies. If our enemies find out that Xiaolong has the bone structure of the 'Flaming Red Dragon,' they will surely be worried that Xiaolong will grow up to become a powerful expert in our Qin family. They will definitely try to harm Xiaolong. Therefore, in the future, you must say that Xiaolong's bone structure is the 'White Tiger'..."

Qin Chao nodded slightly. He, of course, knew how dangerous the Qin family's situation was and how many enemies they had. He even knew that the Qin family's greatest rival was the Guan family in Dali. In recent years, the Guan family had also produced several brilliant talents. As Qin Long rapidly grew, the geniuses of the Guan family also improved remarkably, always staying one step ahead of Qin Long. Even more than a decade later, the Qin family was almost completely destroyed by the Guan family, with only a few, including Qin Long, managing to escape. It took several decades for the Qin family to rise again.

...

Page flip, AD starts

Page flip, AD ends