Ming Sect & Shaolin - A Lasting Friendship

[Ren Wo Xing]

Towards the end of HSDS, it seemed clear that a good relationship had been built up between Shaolin and the Ming sect, given that Xie Xun had become a disciple of Shaolin, the Ming Sect saving Shaolin's abbot from being killed by Cheng Kun, and the mutual respect which Fan Yao and Kong Zhi held each other in. I just noticed a line that suggests that even as the relationship between the Ming Sect and the other sects deteriorated after HSDS (resulting in the highly adversarial relationships of the Sun Moon Sect, the successor sect to the Ming Sect, and the Five Mountain Sword Alliance), the relationship between Sun Moon Sect and Shaolin remained decent, possibly due to these strong historical ties.

When Ren Yingying killed a Shaolin disciple who attacked her while she was masquerading as a granny, Fang Sheng had this to say:

方生又道：“敝派跟黑木崖素无纠葛，道兄何以对敝派易师侄骤施毒手？”灌木中仍然无人答话。

令狐冲大吃一惊：“黑木崖？黑木崖是魔教总舵的所在，难道……难道这位婆婆竟是魔教中的前辈？ ”

方生大师又道：“老衲昔年和东方教主也曾有一面之缘。道友既然出手杀了人，双方是非，今日须作了断。道友何 不现身相见？”

Fang Sheng added, "My humble sect [Shaolin] and the Dark Wood Cliff have never had any disputes with each other. Brother, why have you been so vicious in slaying my martial nephew?" But there was still no response from the bush.

Linghu Chong was shocked. "Dark Wood Cliff? Dark Wood Cliff is the headquarters of the devil sect. Can it be...can it be that this granny is actually an elder of the devil sect?"

Fang Sheng said, "In years past, this humble monk had even had the good fortune of meeting with Sect Leader Dongfang. Since you have killed someone, today, we absolutely must come to a conclusion as to who is in the right and who is in the wrong. Why don't you show yourself and allow us to meet each other?

It seems to me to be pretty clear that even as the relationship between the Ming/Sun Moon Sect and the Five Swords Alliance spiraled down, Shaolin, possibly due to the historical ties, continued to try and maintain a non-adversarial relationship with the Sun Moon Sect!

[Ian Liew]

Or maybe Shaolin just happened to have very enlightened leadership during that period which did not concern itself with the power struggles of wulin. Fang Zheng and Fang Sheng (and Wudang's Chongxu) seemed the sort to remain civil and polite to anyone who did not openly commit atrocity before their very eyes. I would have expected them to take action, for example, against Fei Bing at the Liu Manor the moment he killed Liu Zhengfeng's eldest son, but they wouldn't be the sort to hold bias against anyone based on where they came from.

[Mandred Skavenslayer]

Wouldn't Wu Dang have a closer relationship with them? Heroes 5 &6 married Ming Cult members and their most famous prodigy ZWJ was the leader.

If any school was going to have a relationship with the successor Cult it would be Wu Dang.

[Ken Cheng]

Wouldn't Wu Dang have a closer relationship with them? Heroes 5 &6 married Ming Cult members and their most famous prodigy ZWJ was the leader.

If any school was going to have a relationship with the successor Cult it would be Wu Dang.

I was surprised by how far relations had deteriorated in HSDS between the Beggar's Union and the Ngor Mei Sect. The Beggar's Union was once the domain of Wong Yung, and the Ngor Mei Sect was founded by Wong Yung's daughter Gwok Seung. The Beggar's Union and Ngor Mei Sect, however, were at odds during HSDS.

[kyss of the sword]

Sun moon sect and ming jiao may not be related. Ming jiao was dissolved after the formation of ming dynasty. Sun moon sect may be formed from the left overs or be a completely unrelated sect.