Disclaimer: This story is entirely fictitious, heavily biased by martial cultivation web novels, and shaped by an overactive imagination. Read with humor and a love for epic, overpowered kings! 😄
Long ago, in the heart of an ancient continent, there existed a vast, unified kingdom. This realm was cradled by mighty rivers, sprawling plains, and towering mountains that kissed the sky. At its northern edge rose a range of peaks so high and unyielding that the people believed they were the gates to the heavens themselves. These mountains, revered as the Great Wall of the Sky, became a symbol of strength and divine presence.
The kingdom was ruled by a dynasty of warrior-philosopher kings, men and women of unparalleled martial prowess and unshakable ideals. Legends spoke of their mystical abilities—how they could summon storms, command beasts, and even manipulate the flow of time itself. These rulers were not just warriors but also stewards of wisdom, guiding their people with principles of harmony, justice, and reverence for life.
Under their rule, the people flourished. They built thriving cities, raised towering monuments, and cultivated a deep connection to the natural and spiritual world. They believed that the cosmos was an intricate balance of forces, and humans, with their wisdom and flaws, were at its center. Life in the kingdom revolved around honoring these forces—through rituals, festivals, and the celebration of human greatness.
The Division of Belief
But as generations passed, subtle shifts began to emerge in the way the people interpreted their world. The Great Wall of the Sky, which had long served as a symbol of unity, began to act as a natural divider between the kingdom’s northern and southern regions. The mountains made travel arduous, and over time, the cultural and spiritual practices on either side began to diverge.
In the southern lands, communities started to see divinity in human potential. They believed that truly extraordinary individuals—those whose wisdom, compassion, or power seemed beyond mortal reach—were manifestations of the divine. Over time, this belief grew into worship. Saints, warriors, and sages were deified, their names immortalized in temples and scriptures. The people here began to see the divine not as distant or untouchable but as something that could be embodied by the most virtuous among them.
In the northern lands, however, the people turned inward, emphasizing the sanctity of family lineage. They believed that the wisdom of ancestors was the most sacred force guiding humanity. While they admired the kingdom’s heroes and sages, they saw them as examples to emulate, not as beings to worship. Instead, they devoted their rituals to honoring their ancestors, whose spirits they believed lived on to watch over and guide their descendants.
These differences were subtle at first, but they deepened over centuries. The southern lands became a place of diverse spiritual expression, with countless deities celebrated for their unique virtues. The northern lands grew into a society of disciplined order, where ancestral reverence shaped every aspect of life.
The Transformation
The divide became more pronounced with the fall of the warrior-philosopher dynasty. In the south, the people carried forward the ideals of their mystical kings, celebrating the divine in all its forms. They believed that greatness was not confined to one’s birth or family but could arise from anyone who embodied cosmic truth. Over time, their society evolved into a tapestry of gods, saints, and traditions, each reflecting a fragment of the infinite divine.
In the north, the memory of the kings was preserved in tales, but the people leaned on the strength of their familial bonds. They built their society around the wisdom of the past, valuing tradition and continuity above all. Ancestral worship became not just a spiritual practice but the very foundation of their identity.
And so, the unified kingdom of old was no more. Two distinct lands emerged, divided not by war or conquest but by the mountains and the beliefs that grew on either side of them.
The Lands We Know Today
The southern lands, with their kaleidoscope of gods and spiritual traditions, became what we now call Land of Royal Tigers. Here, the people continue to celebrate the divine in countless forms, seeing the extraordinary in both the human and the infinite.
The northern lands, with their disciplined society and profound reverence for ancestors, became Land of Dragons. Here, the people honor their lineage and uphold traditions that connect them to their storied past.
Though the Great Wall of the Sky still stands as a physical divide, the shared roots of these lands remind us of a time when they were one—a time when kings wielded mystical power, and the people, united in their reverence, sought meaning in both the greatness of humanity and the guidance of the past.