Wuxia power ranking

I posted this joke in the previous forum. Posting it again here.

Immortal

  1. Damo - I’m a deity, not a human. Thus, I’m incomparable.

  2. Sweeper Monk - I’m the reincarnation of the guy above. Half a deity. Immune to the ultimate moves of numbers 8 and 13. Killed number 16 with one strike and stared number 15 to death, and revived both with a touch.

  3. Dugu Qiubai - The lad Yang Guo took one of my eight swords. Look at him now.

  4. Xiaoyaozi - I’m the founder of the Xiaoyao Sect. Wuyazi? Beiming Shengong? He has to call me shifu.

  5. Dongfang Bubai - You know, without the constraints of gender, it is a lot easier to practice martial arts.

Legendary

  1. Xuzhu - Number 4, do you have any disciples for me to absorb their internal energies? I haven’t had enough.

  2. Duan Yu - I might not be able to defeat a certain guy, but I definitely can conquer any woman.

  3. Xiao Feng - I’m a real man. My abilities are all mine, not taken from anyone!

  4. Yang Guo - If I had two arms, I would’ve been second! Hey, number 7! Can you conquer my aunt?

  5. Linghu Chong - Laughter like the sea, surging to wet both shores. Yingying mocks my insanity and yet can’t help but find me extraordinary refined.

  6. Wang Chongyang - Let me reiterate an issue. During the sparring on Mount Hua back then, it was four against one. Moreover, number 24 was in his transformed state.

  7. Feng Qingyang - One must not be constrained by what is thrown at oneself. Understand? Think on that. I’ll go back into seclusion.

Masters

  1. Zhang Wuji - Some say that I’m adorable, others curse my uselessness. I only have one thing to say: I’ll be a noble person, not a real man

  2. Guo Jing - Anyone wants to compete with me in the rigid logical thinking?

  3. Xiao Yuanshan - Son! Kill all those above me! They mock us Liao people!

  4. Murong Bo - Son! You are too weak!

  5. Zhou Botong - I don’t seek fame or fortune. I’m out of this world. My heart is pure. I only fear women.

  6. Zhang Shanfeng - Taiji is a profound martial art but it is belittled by others because it is too general. Sigh…

  7. Wuyazi - Someone lives but he is already dead, someone is dead but she still lives!

  8. Wu Xingyun aka Tianshan Tonglao - Canghai meimei, can’t our abilities be higher?

  9. Li Qiushui - Shixiong, I’m as beautiful as Canghai and I’m even gentler than her. What do I lack?

  10. Xiaolongnü - Where are you, Guo’er? It’s scary here. All these people are so disgusting.

  11. Jinlun Fawang - I’m a peerless fighter, but I feel so uncertain here.

  12. Ouyang Feng - Excuse me, where can I find the original copy of the Nine Yin Manual?

  13. Hong Qigong - Ancestor Xiao Feng, something seems to be wrong with the Eighteen Dragon-subduing Palms!

  14. Yideng - I’m quite sure that I’m the relative of number 7.

  15. Huang Yaoshi - Why must manuals be split into two parts? I spent my whole life reading the second half of the Nine Yin Manual, but I can’t guess what the first part is about.

  16. Jiumozhi - I was lucky to have witnessed the martial arts of the Central Plain, then I swore never to practice martial arts again.

  17. Duan Yanqing - To experience the brief romance that gave me a seventh-ranked son, I have no regrets.

  18. You Tanzhi - A’zi! I’m hideous but I’m infatuated! The heavens blessed me, but it turns out that it is to ravage me.

  19. Qiu Qianren - If it wasn’t for the sinful beast Qiu Qianzhang ruining my reputation, would I be ranked so low?

  20. Ding Chunqiu - Without a traditional villain like me, how can you people climb to the top?

  21. Murong Fu - To restore Yan, I will sacrifice anyone. For the future, I bear with the pain. To abandon love, I shed no tears.

  22. Cheng Kun - The good is strong, but the evil is ten times stronger! I’m not the last!

  23. Yuan Chengzhi - I’m glad I made it onto the chart.

3 Likes

There is a general trend of the power level tapering off in the later generations. Instead of a distillation of knowledge, there is a dilution. I guess the exception is Dongfang Bubai.

Yes, the practice of martial arts peaked, and the legendary techniques were not properly passed down through the generations. Hence the tapering off.

1 Like

Woot! I’m the exception!

It’s pretty… unorthodox though.

1 Like

Yes, the practice of martial arts peaked, and the legendary techniques were not properly passed down through the generations. Hence the tapering off.

My theory is that the masters don’t pass down all their techniques for fear of usurping. They keep superior skills hidden just in case. As time passes from generation to generation, well…super skills are lost as each generation is taught less and less.

1 Like

but don’t they worry that their techniques aren’t pass on? and if they discovered new techniques won’t they want it to be passed on instead of being lost? there should come a time when they know they will be surpassed and think more of preserving the techniques rather than their superiority…

Yeah, I agree… Why spend their whole lives trying to reach the pinnacle and discover the mysteries of martial arts, only to let their discoveries die with them?

But what @phoenix suggested could be true as well. I guess it depends on the personality of the individuals. If the master is out to rule the world and has a lot to lose, then it makes sense for them not to reveal all their secrets. For example, a master with three famed techniques would pass one to each of his three disciples. That’s kind of like Hungba in Fung Wan.

Hey whatever works right? :stuck_out_tongue:

Yup, yup. Definitely don’t want people ursuping me! :stuck_out_tongue:

I would rather see it being refined over time. A good example is how the 28 Dragon Palms was distilled into 18 stances, which I venture is more efficient and probably more powerful assuming that we compare the same person with the same qi cultivation, training, constitution etc… basically every condition is constant except the moves. Who knows, it might have further refined by another enlightened person.

1 Like

:open_mouth: :open_mouth: :open_mouth:

I didn’t know you are one of us! gasp

I agree. It’s like transferring water in a cup. You will definitely lose some when you transfer it into another cup. If you’re careless, you spill some. Or you might end up pouring one cup of water into two cups. Ok, I’m not sure where my analogy is going now. But I think you get the idea. I hope.

How were those legendary persons able to attain that level of achievement then? Did they build on their predecessor’s work and slowly discovered a better way to do things? Or perhaps they found a way to get the best out of the martial arts… Is there any series with an increment in the power level in later generations instead?

1 Like

I’d like to think that most masters would want to pass on all their skills, however, reality check is a different story. Achieving the superior skills also depends on the ability of the students: innate talent, propensity for learning, perseverance, and hard work. If a master does not have a student who can inherit all the skills, then the superior skills will be lost. And there are many power-hungry people who’d do anything to gain control and power, including disabling or killing their shi-fu to get there. Hence, some masters may hold a few cards hidden as survival depends on it. Of course, there are cases where the student surpasses the master as well. But I’m just hypothesizing in general as to why the legendary techniques tapered.

1 Like

I see it as some people having sufficient cultivation and enlightenment, hence their immense abilities. For example, Damo. He faced the wall for 9 years based on legends. Perhaps that was how he came to create the Yijin Jing. Whereas the later generations did not put in as much time in building up their cultivation, or did not have the opportunity to due to circumstances in their lives.

didn’t expect my favourite character ling wu chong to be ranked so high…

Some masters intentionally don’t pass down their skills because the skill requires too much sacrifice from the practitioner, or that there’s too much risk involved, and they don’t want their disciple/s to risk it or sacrifice too much. Sometimes it’s better to know less than more.

There is a possibility future generation surpass the past generation.

His abilities are pretty remarkable and it helped that he absorbed the internal energies of others too.

That’s an interesting way to look at it. I mean, look at Yue Buqun/Ling Pingzhi.