In these kingdoms, there exist cultivators known as martial artists, who cultivate internal force and true qi.
Among martial artists, there are divisions of unranked, third-rate, second-rate, first-rate, and super first-rate, though these all belong to the acquired realm.
In the martial world, only the sect leaders of major sects and the patriarchs of top forces, such as Shaolin Temple, Tianlong Temple, or the Murong family and the Beggar Gang, possess martial artists of the innate realm.
Innate martial artists are almost the most powerful beings in the martial world. There are very few innate martial artists in the entire martial world, numbering less than a hundred.
These innate martial artists can only reach the two-star level in the eighteen-star cultivation system assessment, and that too in the early stages of the two-star level.
This is because these innate martial artists are simply too weak!
This fictional world also has solar energy. In theory, it could cultivate many six-star, planet-destroying level powerhouses, and even, theoretically, one seven-star, star-level powerhouse!
But none of these martial artists can absorb the sun, nor can they devour the energy of the entire sun for cultivation.
Not only can they not absorb the sun, but these martial artists have not even developed the planet Earth. They haven't even been to North or South America, only mingling in and around the Central Plains.
Despite the fact that this fictional world possesses planetary energy that could theoretically cultivate up to six or seven-star levels.
Yet, these martial artists are unable to develop and utilize it.
Therefore, the so-called innate martial artists are actually incapable of resisting even a cold weapon dynasty. Not only can they not contend with a massive army, but they cannot even achieve the feat of assassinating the emperor in the imperial palace amidst tens of thousands of soldiers.
Thus, the martial world remains just that—the martial world—and cannot yet influence the clashes between nations.
This is merely a low-martial world.
Time: The opening of the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils storyline, during the reign of Emperor Zhezong of the Song Dynasty, in the fifth year of Nianyou.
Nianyou was the first reign title of Emperor Zhezong Zhao Xu, and the Northern Song Dynasty used this reign title for nine years.
In the imperial court, the struggle between the new and old factions was extremely fierce.
In the martial world, it was also not peaceful.
Within Dali, the Wuliang Sword Sect's East and West branches were holding their quinquennial sword duel.
On Wuliang Mountain in Dali, at Sword Lake Palace.
A young man, carrying a broken wooden box on his back, ascended the mountain, intending to enter Sword Lake Palace.
Some disciples of the Wuliang Sword Sect felt that the broken wooden box on the young man's back was strange and wanted to stop him, but they were instantly dispelled of this thought by some unseen force.
The young man entered Sword Lake Palace as if on a spring outing.
He gazed towards the training hall of Sword Lake Palace and saw two acquired third-rate martial artists engaged in a sword fight.
The two fought swiftly, giving their all. After thirty moves, the younger of the two martial artists began to show signs of exhaustion and was at a disadvantage.
He was clearly not far from defeat.
The young man looked up at the martial artists watching from the east and west sides.
He knew that among these martial artists were the sect leader, elders, and disciples of the Wuliang Sword Sect, as well as Yunnan martial artists invited to observe and act as impartial judges.
The Wuliang Sword Sect once had three branches, but now only two remained: the West Branch and the East Branch.
The sect leader of the West Branch was a middle-aged Taoist nun named Xin Shuangqing.
The sect leader of the East Branch was an old man with a long beard named Zuo Zimu.
The Wuliang Sword Sect was only famous in Dali; its name might not be recognized by many across the land.
Therefore, both Xin Shuangqing, the sect leader of the West Branch, and Zuo Zimu, the sect leader of the East Branch, could only barely reach the level of acquired first-rate martial artists.
Such strength, if placed in the periods of Sword Stained with Royal Blood or The Deer and the Cauldron, would be enough to dominate the martial world.
But in the era of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, the so-called acquired first-rate martial artists were far inferior to acquired super first-rate martial artists, and peak acquired martial artists were even less significant than sects guarded by innate powerhouses.
The Wuliang Sword Sect was thus considered a minor sect, and its two sect leaders were not particularly notable figures in the martial world.
"Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils..."
Below, a sword duel was underway. The outcome of this duel would determine whether the East Branch or the West Branch would lead the Wuliang Sword Sect.
Everyone attached great importance to it, even the two sect leaders, as it concerned which branch would be able to comprehend the "Wuliang Jade Wall."
The young man knew even better that beneath the Wuliang Jade Wall, though no immortal danced with a sword, lay the martial art of the Northern Darkness Divine Skill.
For many transmigrators who found themselves in the world of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, the easiest martial art to obtain was this one. With this martial art, achieving the innate realm would be effortless.
By absorbing the true qi of others in vast quantities, one would possess centuries of internal strength, so why worry about not achieving the innate realm?
If a transmigrator could realize that although the Northern Darkness Divine Skill could absorb foreign true qi and transform it into one's own, far surpassing the Star Absorbing Technique, it fundamentally could not resolve the conflict of spiritual imprints within the true qi.
The Grandmaster realm beyond the innate realm involved the cultivation of spiritual states. If one absorbed the true qi of others to practice the Northern Darkness Divine Skill, it would be no different from an evil art. The conflict of different types of spiritual imprints would then prevent one from ever breaking through to the Grandmaster realm.
Only by cultivating the Daoist essence within the Northern Darkness Divine Skill, like Xiaoyaozi of old, would there be hope of achieving the Grandmaster realm.
Only by understanding the pitfalls of the Northern Darkness Divine Skill could a transmigrator possibly cultivate to the Grandmaster realm.
However, whether it was innate, Grandmaster, or the Northern Darkness Divine Skill's evil or orthodox cultivation methods, it made no difference to the young man.
This was because, in an instant, his eyes reflected a universe of myriad worlds.
Within this universe of myriad worlds, there were hundreds of billions of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils worlds, and in each of these worlds, there was a similar Sword Lake Palace.
In each Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils world, Sword Lake Palace was holding martial duels, and the two sect leaders of the Wuliang Sword Sect were watching.
In each Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils world, the Northern Darkness Divine Skill was hidden beneath the cliff.
In each Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils world, the imperial court was engaged in power struggles, the Liao Dynasty was restless, and in the lands of white mountains and black waters, the Jurchen tribe was silently rising.
In some Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils worlds, time flowed forward to the Southern Song and Yuan-Ming periods.
Sword Stained with Royal Blood, The Deer and the Cauldron... various stories, various protagonists took turns on the stage.
In some Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils worlds, it was an era of declining martial arts, and technological trends from the West had already swept through the Qing Dynasty.
In some Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils worlds, Xiaoyaozi's cultivation reached the peak of creation, not stopping at the Grandmaster realm, but further deducing the "Northern Darkness Rebirth Method" from the "Northern Darkness Divine Skill." From then on, he forged a martial dao primordial spirit, his martial dao achievements no less than those of void-breaking powerhouses like Ling Donglai and Chuan Ying.
In the myriad worlds, countless Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils worlds converged, evolving into countless possibilities of the future and countless possibilities of the past.
These worlds were all real, existing within the inner heaven and earth opened up by a single thought of the young man.
As long as the young man released these worlds from his inner heaven and earth, this fictional world would no longer have only one solar system.
Instead, it would have hundreds of billions of remarkably similar solar systems, and on the Earth of each solar system, there would be a fictional world with the storyline of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.
The star level of this fictional world would increase.
Therefore, did the young man need to care about snatching the Northern Darkness Divine Skill?
No.