The Martial Arts Forum, Gossip Chat Section.
Since the "Greatest of All Time" selection event began at the start of the month, this forum section, originally the least influential and with the fewest posts, suddenly sprang to life like a resurrected corpse.
Every day, people posted, canvassed for votes, and debated.
Under posts like "Greatest Emperor of All Time," "Greatest General of All Time," and "Greatest Civil Official of All Time," netizens with differing views were practically tearing each other apart. They cited references, attacked each other, and engaged in fan wars more fierce than those in the entertainment industry. If it weren't for the inability to physically attack someone through the internet, they likely would have come to blows.
However, not all posts were like this.
There were two posts, or rather, two selections.
Everyone's opinion was remarkably consistent.
These were the "Greatest Martial Artist of All Time" and "Most Tragic Crown Prince of All Time." The discussions under these two posts were anything but harmonious.
"Greatest Martial Artist of All Time Selection"
[Does this even need a selection?
The Martial Ancestor's Undying Golden Body is still enshrined in the Martial Arts Divine Hall. It's been nearly a thousand years, yet his features are still lifelike. Not long ago, an energy detector measured the internal energy level of the Undying Golden Body to be comparable to a small artificial star. This is more real than most of the praise in history books.]
[Exactly, there's no need to select. Unless the ancient mythological figures like Nuwa and Pangu are real, the greatest martial artist of all time is the Martial Ancestor. Does anyone dispute this? It's been nearly a thousand years since the martial arts were established, and no one has reached the Martial Saint realm.]
[I heard someone plans to apply for research into the Martial Ancestor's Undying Golden Body, hoping to unlock the mysteries of the Martial Saint realm. Honestly, I both want to object and not object. After all, researching the Undying Golden Body feels like blasphemy against the Martial Ancestor, but I really want to know the secrets of Martial Saint. My heart is so conflicted!]
[Don't be conflicted. This isn't the first time someone has talked about researching the Martial Ancestor's Undying Golden Body, and they couldn't even scratch the surface. What research are they doing? It's faster to dream.]
[Who knows? I remember three years ago they successfully cut off a strand of hair from the Martial Ancestor's Undying Golden Body. Maybe the technology has improved by now.]
Because the candidate was indisputable, there was no need for argument, and the conversation drifted.
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"Most Tragic Crown Prince of All Time Selection"
[I feel like this selection is targeting Crown Prince Yu Tao, as if it was tailor-made for him.]
[If someone asked, "Is there any Crown Prince who lives for a hundred years?", Crown Prince Yu Tao would suddenly flip open his coffin lid and roar, "Yes!"]
[Hahaha, hilarious...]
[I remember this from the history books. In the thirty-eighth year of Pingzhao, he was only one step away from ascending the throne, just waiting for Emperor Pingzhao to pass away. He would have immediately become emperor. But then the Martial Ancestor's Grand Princess of State Protection appeared out of nowhere and saved Emperor Pingzhao. After that, he could only remain Crown Prince.]
[And he remained Crown Prince for one hundred and ten years.]
[He died without ever becoming emperor, remaining only a Crown Prince until his last breath. Truly, incredibly tragic.]
[This isn't even the most tragic part. If the subsequent emperor had been his son, grandson, or even great-grandson, he might have been posthumously ennobled as emperor. But he didn't even get that! Because in the one hundred and fifty-fourth year of Pingzhao, after Emperor Pingzhao passed away, the Martial Arts Association directly announced the abolition of the imperial system!]
[He was truly born in the wrong era. Most importantly, he offended the wrong person. Who else could he have offended but the Martial Ancestor? I strongly suspect now that the reason the Martial Ancestor saved Emperor Pingzhao and concocted things like the Martial Arts Dragon-Tooth Rice was precisely to prevent Crown Prince Yu Tao from ascending the throne, to make him a Crown Prince for his entire life. This speculation isn't baseless. In the one hundred and thirtieth year of Pingzhao, when Emperor Pingzhao was nearing his natural lifespan of one hundred and fifty years and was about to die, the Martial Ancestor's grandson, Qin Ling, once again offered a longevity pill, stating it was left by the Martial Ancestor before her ascension. This single pill extended Emperor Pingzhao's life by nearly thirty years. It was these nearly thirty years that allowed Emperor Pingzhao to outlive his son, Crown Prince Yu Tao. Can this be considered a coincidence? This must have been the Martial Ancestor's prior instruction, for her son to act this way. I suspect the animosity between the siblings was immense.]
[I recall some people analyzing information from unofficial histories and concluded that the Martial Ancestor's biological mother was likely murdered by Crown Prince Yu Tao's biological mother. Later, Crown Prince Yu Tao's biological mother died suddenly. Both sides likely felt that the other party had killed their mother.]
[Therefore, the title of "Most Tragic Crown Prince of All Time" belonging to Zhang Yu Tao is indisputable, right? No objections?]
[Although I don't want to object, if we're talking about tragedy, he wasn't *that* tragic. He lived to be one hundred and thirty-nine years old, dying of old age. Before him, no emperor had lived past a hundred, let alone a Crown Prince. Compared to those who failed in their rebellions, were killed, imprisoned, or committed suicide, his outcome was quite good...]
[You don't understand. It's always having a sliver of hope, yet constantly facing despair, that is the most agonizing. And calling him tragic isn't just about him not becoming emperor, but more about him having the worst relationship with the Martial Ancestor's Grand Princess of State Protection, yet having to spend exorbitant prices through various channels to obtain her meticulously refined longevity pills just to survive. Furthermore, his children didn't have a good relationship with him either. They even resented him for his poor relationship with the Grand Princess and for his efforts to curry favor with her and her children. This is because if one couldn't cultivate to the Grandmaster realm through martial arts, to reach the lifespan of one hundred and fifty years, they had to consume pills refined only by the Grand Princess's manor. They were all high-ranking officials who wanted to live for decades longer. It's perfectly reasonable and normal for them to prioritize their lives, even if it meant appearing slightly unfilial!]
[This kind of double blow to family and career, and never achieving one's goals, must have been incredibly painful. So, calling him tragic is perfectly justified!]
[What we call tragic is all relative. If an ordinary person were to compare their current life to that of a Crown Prince, then the ordinary person would obviously be more tragic. After all, the Crown Prince's tragedy was at most emotional distress; his life circumstances were not lacking.]
[Imagine this: You've been delayed in graduating from university for over a hundred years. What would that feel like? Fighting for a diploma for over a hundred years, only to die without ever receiving it. How would that feel? That's dying with regret, dying in despair!]
[With that feeling, he is indeed tragic!]