The prestige of the Shaolin Temple in wulin is renowned throughout wuxia fiction. Owing to Shaolin's longevity and its numerous illustrious fighters and excellent techniques, that prestige is generally well-deserved. Nevertheless, rarely in any wuxia story is the Chief Abbot of Shaolin ever depicted as the top martial artist in wulin, or even a consensus top five martial artist.
Would it be fair to say, however, that in almost any given era of wulin in which the Shaolin Temple exists, the Chief Abbot of Shaolin would be a top twenty martial artist at worst? It seems kind of incongruous that a wulin sect with Shaolin's preeminent reputation never or seldom fields a leader whose martial arts qualify for even top twenty consideration.