Radiance was not without tales of gods and ghosts. In ancient times, when demons ran rampant, ancient dragons ruled, foreign races assailed the passes, and sea monsters ravaged the realms, even with Holy Sword Huiyao protecting humanity, ordinary humans were simply too frail. Thus, evil legends about demons and monsters still had endless room to flourish, and demonic cults and heretical sects even emerged, including the Dragon Worship Cult, White Lotus Cult, Hawkhorn Group, Deep Sea Church, and Great Sage Cult.
Whether it was secret lore about demons and monsters or the birth of demonic cults and heretical sects, the root was humanity's fear of foreign races. Unable to oppose them, people described those races as almost unbeatable natural enemies. As for the cults, some wanted to gather power by exploiting that fear, while others simply wanted to act as guides for the foreign races and profit by serving them.
At first, the term Terrestrial Immortal was not complimentary. The ancient foreign races were brilliant strategists. Long before Holy Sword Huiyao appeared, they had already selected certain humans and bestowed benefits upon them. Martial combat arts were among those gifts.
These traitors used the martial arts granted by the foreign races to achieve great cultivation, then founded religions and preached doctrines, displaying miracles and winning people's hearts as they led the foreign races in conquering their fellow humans.
Naturally, these people were not satisfied with being called traitors. They even looked down on the title of emperor, choosing instead an even grander, more ambitious name...
Immortal!
The earliest martial combat arts were called Immortal Traces!
However, after Holy Sword Huiyao reigned supreme and generations of famous ministers and fierce generals worked tirelessly, the foreign races were slaughtered until they neared extinction. Tales of demons and monsters became fairy tales, demonic