Five years ago, an incident occurred where Ok Hyeon Jin-in, unable to bear witness to the misdeeds of seven ruffians known as the Seven Heroes of Hasak who were harassing a passing merchant, intervened.

At the time, Ok Hyeon Jin-in was in a hurry on his way to the Emei Sect when he unintentionally got involved in someone else’s dispute. For him, known for his unparalleled gentleness, it was an unpleasant encounter he had not intended. Regardless, the fault lay with the Seven Heroes of Hasak, so Ok Hyeon Jin-in, as a renowned figure in the martial arts world, could not simply ignore it. Even if he had been unaware, he couldn’t turn a blind eye once such an incident unfolded before his eyes. Ignoring a person being oppressed was equally wrong from the perspective of both the martial arts world’s ethics and the teachings of his sect. Thus, he had no choice but to embarrassingly draw his sword against the despicable Seven Heroes of Hasak. He wanted to end it with words if possible, but the other party had no intention of listening, so there was no other way. The peaceful negotiations through dialogue had fallen through, and Ok Hyeon Jin-in decided to reluctantly wield his sword to open a new channel of communication.

The match was settled with a single strike. There was no need for a second sword against such trash-like ruffians. The outcome was determined from the start.

The blue sword energy emitted from his Pine Gate Sword[1] shattered the swords of the seven men into pieces in an instant. The Seven Heroes of Hasak, having lost their weapons, discarded their pride along with their shattered weapons and knelt, begging for forgiveness. The fact that they couldn’t even move a muscle and had all their means of livelihood rendered useless with a single sword strike was enough to imagine the extent of their terror.

Ok Hyeon Jin-in, known for his kind nature, gave them a light admonishment and dealt with them as simple accomplices. Since then, there had been no news of them causing trouble elsewhere. Whenever they thought of committing misdeeds, the blue sword energy flickering before their eyes would make them lose the nerve. According to the circulating rumors, they had decided to change their line of work.

He was a supreme master who possessed both exceptional skills and character, respected in the martial arts world not only for his swordsmanship but also for his personality. Behind him, Bi Ryu-yeon could hear murmurs here and there about Ok Hyeon Jin-in’s abilities and status.

“You have all entered the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy for two reasons. Firstly, to personally reach a new level of martial arts, and secondly, to cultivate the strength to stand against the vile forces of the demonic sects, the Demonic Heavens Tower[2] and the Black Heavenly Alliance[3], as righteous individuals. Ultimately, your purpose is to become the shield that protects the righteous path from the powerful forces of blood and slaughter that may come in the future. From now on, I, along with the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy, will spare no effort in providing comprehensive support to create the optimal environment for you to understand and diligently train your martial arts.”

If the righteous path had the Righteous Alliance and the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy, the demonic path had the Black Heavenly Alliance and the Demonic Heavens Tower, which served as the main training ground for cultivating the talents of the demonic sects, equivalent to the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy of the righteous path. The Demonic Heavens Tower was the largest and greatest educational institution of the demonic path, dedicated to nurturing and cultivating the elite martial artists of the demonic sects. It was accurate to say that it was the biggest rival of the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy. In terms of pride and honor, they were competitors who could never afford to lose to each other. Perhaps that was why their relationship was extremely poor, and they had spent the past hundred years slandering and cursing each other whenever they had the chance.

“Today’s lesson, as you all know, is to briefly mention how the dark history and true events of the martial arts world over the past hundred years have led to the current subtle state of tension, as a way to refocus your minds.”

Today’s lesson was based on the premise that everyone would be familiar with the hundred years of history at a common-sense level, but it was also for the students who might not know, although it would be a miracle. And today, Ok Hyeon Jin-in experienced that miracle. Could he have ever dreamed that there would be someone like Bi Ryu-yeon who had no knowledge of today’s lesson content, which even a three-year-old child in the martial arts world would know?

“You must have all heard the name Eternal Heavenly God.”

Ok Hyeon Jin-in spat out that cursed name as if expelling a foreign object stuck in his throat.

“Eternal Heavenly God!”

At the mention of Eternal Heavenly God’s name, all the students in the classroom were startled and shocked. The entire classroom seemed to freeze in astonishment for a moment, except for Bi Ryu-yeon’s surprise. The reaction to hearing that name would be the same anywhere in the martial arts world, not just in the righteous path but also in the demonic path. That name was a cursed name that everyone, regardless of their affiliation, despised and avoided the most. The reaction was exactly as Ok Hyeon Jin-in had expected.

“And I’m sure no one is unfamiliar with the name Eternal Heavenly Blood God.”

“……”

This time, the hall rapidly sank into the abyss of silence. All sounds were devoured by the void, and even the air seemed to freeze and sink, creating the illusion of drowning.

What kind of name was it this time that even the sound of breathing had ceased? Bi Ryu-yeon couldn’t understand why the atmosphere was turning so chilly just because of a name, but he kept his lips tightly sealed.

“Master, why do you utter such devastating names?” a student with a stern face abruptly stood up and protested. The others also had expressions as if they believed that simply hearing those names would bring a curse upon them or cause something terrifying to happen. Compared to the terror associated with those names, the fear of Eternal Heavenly God was merely a shadow. It was his existence that made the terror of Eternal Heavenly God a reality. He was the embodiment of blood, slaughter, and fear.

“Of course, you wouldn’t want those names to be directly mentioned. After all, those names have been implicitly taboo in the martial arts world for the past hundred years. However, the reason I have explicitly mentioned those names to you today is to encourage you to devote yourselves to martial arts with a renewed mindset. And that is also the educational policy of our Heavenly Martial Arts Academy. As always, we tell this story to the new students first at our Heavenly Martial Arts Academy. We bring out before you the deep, dark mass of despair and fear that you wish to turn away from and do not want to recall, perhaps wanting to keep it hidden forever. But don’t turn away from it. You are the proud students of the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy and the future luminaries of the martial arts world.”

Murmurs could be heard from various parts of the classroom. Everyone’s agitation could be sensed.

“Now, it is time for you to face the reality before your eyes. You must directly confront the source of unease and fear that has been buried in the martial arts world for a hundred years. Cultivating the strength to stand against the shadow of darkness that has always existed in the gloomy and shaded areas of the martial arts world is the mission given to you who have entered the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy.”

Ok Hyeon Jin-in’s voice was filled with a sense of gravity. The students tensed visibly at Ok Hyeon Jin-in’s calm yet powerful speech. The sound of dry swallowing could be heard from here and there, heightening the tension in the classroom.

“If you keep crying, Eternal Heavenly God will take you away.”

It was a phrase that anyone born into a martial arts family had heard quite often in their childhood. There was an unbelievable story that this one sentence, used by martial arts parents as a last resort to soothe a crying child, would miraculously stop the crying. There were even statistical data compiled through opinion polls to measure its success rate. It was particularly effective on young children who could understand words to some extent.

Since that day a hundred years ago, martial artists had grown up with the fear of Eternal Heavenly God ingrained in them from a young age through these words from their parents. Fear had a contagiousness as vicious as the Black Death. Moreover, since it had no physical form, at some point, it would attach itself, transform, and become exaggerated beyond measure, eventually turning into an entirely unrecognizable creature. In the case of Eternal Heavenly God, despite it being an incident from a hundred years ago, the fear was vividly passed down through countless legends and even survivors—just how old were they?

Thus, Eternal Heavenly God became the most terrible and frightening taboo, and there was a tendency to avoid even mentioning the name. Bringing up stories about Eternal Heavenly Blood God at drinking parties, celebrations, or gatherings was considered the most ignorant and rude thing to do.

If someone were to curse another using the name of Eternal Heavenly Blood God, it would be safe to say that the two individuals would engage in a fight to the death that very day. Either one of them would have their name removed from the list of the living, or sometimes both of them would amiably have their names recorded in the underworld’s register of the deceased. That’s how malicious and terrifying it was, a curse that one wouldn’t use even against their mortal enemy unless absolutely necessary.

Since time immemorial, the origins of which are unknown, the righteous sects and the demonic sects had been engaged in bloody conflicts and enmity. Blood begot blood, and vengeance begot vengeance, and countless human lives were offered on the altar of heaven as the price of that production. When the blood flowing from the sacrificed victims formed a sea of blood, everyone involved in the martial arts world wished for one thing. They wanted an absolute ruler to suddenly appear, break the endless cycle of chaos, and unify the martial arts world that was writhing in confusion and pain.

The absolute ruler who would unify the martial arts world!

Of course, that absolute ruler had to come from their own side. Therefore, although their desires were the same, their objectives differed, so the fighting showed no signs of ending.

And as the martial arts world continued this endless war of nerves and power struggles, unable to determine the outcome, a martial artist appeared. He was, in a word, an absolute ruler. He rose to the position of the absolute ruler solely through his own martial prowess, arrogantly looking down upon the martial arts world and subjugating each sect under his feet one by one.

At first, everyone—especially those on the demonic path—enthusiastically believed that “he” was the one and only person since the creation of the world who could end the conflicts in the righteous martial arts world and unify the martial arts realm. They thought that they could finally crush the noses of the loathsome righteous sects and gain the upper hand. However, it didn’t take long for them to realize that such thoughts were a tremendous misconception. And it was also revealed how lightly they had taken him. The price was horrific.

Known to be from the demonic path—although there was no evidence anywhere—he gathered his followers with the powerful leadership and martial prowess bestowed upon him by the heavens and plunged the martial arts world into a whirlpool of blood in an instant. Until then, his origins had not been properly revealed, but he drove the martial arts world, weakened by repeated conflicts and battles, into terror in a single moment. The martial arts world, which had already exhausted nearly all its accumulated strength due to the ongoing war of attrition, had no choice but to suffer the painful humiliation under his blade.

The demonic sects were no exception. That was the fatal miscalculation of the demonic path. He did not possess even the slightest bit of the petty compassion to favor the demonic sects just because he was supposedly from there. The groups on both the righteous and demonic sides, divided into two and constantly engaging in mutual enmity and slander, were nothing more than bothersome and annoying stumbling blocks hindering his path. He mercilessly punished those who stood in his way, and the martial arts world was once again washed in blood.

His name was none other than the bloody incarnation that threatened the heavens, Eternal Heavenly Blood God Wi Cheon-mu.