After the New Dynasty and True Sun Mountain allied forces blocked the Great River Dynasty's offensive, the New Dynasty launched a counterattack while the iron was hot, attempting to retake Capital City. Yet several attempts all failed. The True Sun Mountain allied forces also refused to provide support from the south, and the Power Pills needed for siege warfare had run out. Thus, the war in the north entered a prolonged military standoff.
That standoff lasted twenty years. New recruits became feeble old men, several generations of generals were replaced, and after weathering several rounds of upheaval, the Great River Dynasty completely took control of Capital City.
In the second year of the standoff between the New Dynasty and the Great River Dynasty, the two fortified northern passes declared independence. They accepted every benefit offered by both sides without leaving a single one behind, yet made no promises at all.
Compared with the chaos in the north, the south remained peaceful throughout these twenty years, apart from some tension along the border adjoining the north. Jinhuai City, once fallen into decline, flourished once more during these years.
Coupled with the Southern Dynasty's increasingly relaxed political structure, many northern scholars and men of letters migrated south one after another. This rapidly advanced southern culture and learning, and all manner of doctrines sprang up across the south like bamboo shoots after rain. The Imperial Court adopted an enlightened attitude toward them as well.
Compared to its cultural development, the Southern Dynasty's military preparedness had clearly fallen behind. This was chiefly because a culture of indulgence prevailed within and beyond the Imperial Court, and there was no spirit of enterprise for marching north.
The reason the south's Human Way doctrines developed so swiftly was that, over these twenty years, Immortal Realm cultivators had