⚔️ War of Three Factions: The Wuji Heavenly Tome

• 🗺️ The World of Murim

Jianghu is a world where martial artists who have learned martial arts live, risking their honor, power, and survival. The Righteous Alliance and prestigious sects are located in the center of the Central Plains, while the Five Great Families, the Nine Schools and One Union, Evil factions, and numerous cities are scattered across the north, south, east, and west.

The headquarters of the Heavenly Demon Cult is in the southwest, and outside the Central Plains, external powers such as the North Sea Ice Palace, Nanman, Western Potala Palace, and the Hainan Sect rule their own territories. The government does not intervene in Murim disputes unless large-scale civilian massacres or treason occur.

-🥋 Martial Arts and Realms

Martial artists accumulate internal energy in their dantian through internal arts and learn martial arts including sword, saber, spear, fist, and palm techniques. As internal energy deepens, attack power, defense, recovery, and endurance increase, and at high realms, one can freely manipulate Sword Qi and Sword Gang.

The realms of secular martial artists are as follows:

3rd Class → 2nd Class → 1st Class → Peak → Great Peak → Transcendent (Hwayeong) → Profound (Hyungyeong) → Life and Death (Saengsagyeong)

Every martial art has separate stages of mastery:

Initial → Mastery → Peak

Even at the same realm, victory or defeat depends on martial arts proficiency, compatibility, combat experience, weapons, and psychological warfare. However, a difference of one realm or more is absolute and cannot be easily overturned by mere will or a surprise attack.

Currently, Alliance Leader Yu Seol-hwa, Union Leader Jang Mu-hyeok, and Heavenly Demon Cheon Mu-jin are all at the Mastery stage of the Profound Realm. Namgung Family Head Namgung Yeon, Black Night Society Head Baek Ya-ryeong, and Poison Demon Dang So-rin have all reached the Peak stage of the Transcendent Realm.

-🏯 The Three Great Factions

⚪ Righteous Alliance

The largest coalition of the Righteous faction, valuing chivalry, righteousness, justification, and order. Centered around the Nine Schools and One Union and the Five Great Families, it is responsible for dispute mediation, subjugation orders, martial arts tournaments, and maintaining order in the Jianghu.

Alliance Leader Yu Seol-hwa is cautious and fair, refusing to condemn without evidence. Namgung Family Head Namgung Yeon is a hardline swordsman who cooperates with the Righteous faction but prioritizes her family's independence and honor.

⚫ Evil Tyrant Union

The largest coalition integrating various Evil sects. It values freedom, utility, and merit over justification, and within the union, skill and results determine status.

Union Leader Jang Mu-hyeok delegates authority to capable subordinates but never forgives betrayal. The Black Night Society is not an independent power but a direct subordinate organization of the Union Leader, with Head Baek Ya-ryeong overseeing intelligence, infiltration, tracking, assassination, and monitoring of illicit trade.

🔴 Heavenly Demon Cult

A massive power independent of the Central Plains Murim. It values strength, will, and results over bloodline and justification, and cultists obey the Heavenly Demon's authority and commands.

Heavenly Demon Cheon Mu-jin is an absolute ruler who despises flattery and meaningless slaughter. Poison Demon Dang So-rin is Cheon Mu-jin's direct subordinate, in charge of poison arts, medicine, detoxification, and secret investigations.

-📜 The Wuji Heavenly Tome and the Great War

Thirty years ago, the Righteous Faction, the Evil Tyrant Union, and the Heavenly Demon Cult fought a great war to claim the Wuji Heavenly Tome.

The Wuji Heavenly Tome is not a mere manual of peerless martial arts. It is an ancient heavenly book said to record the principles of completing the Realm of Life and Death and surpassing human limits.

To end the war, the three previous leaders divided the book into three volumes.

First Volume: Kept by the Righteous Alliance Middle Volume: Kept by the Evil Tyrant Union Final Volume: Ke by the Heavenly Demon Cult

The three powers maintained a truce for thirty years, agreeing not to encroach on each other's storage locations.

However, on the eve of the truce renewal, the three strictly sealed volumes disappeared simultaneously. No traces of external intrusion or broken seals were left.

The Righteous Alliance suspects the Evil Tyrant Union, the Evil Tyrant Union is wary of the Demonic Cult, and the Demonic Cult tracks both external conspiracies and internal traitors. With attacks on messengers, manipulation of information, disappearance of convoys, and disputes over strongholds, the Jianghu is heading toward all-out war again.

Throughout the incidents, sword scars and records reminiscent of Mumeong, a hidden master who disappeared long ago, are discovered. However, no one knows Mumeong's age, realm, status, or purpose.

-⚖️ Laws of Survival in the Jianghu

In the Jianghu, those who rely only on strength die, and those who rely only on justification die.

Do not recklessly confront those of a higher realm; first check the opponent's sect, title, and martial arts lineage. If poisoned, detoxification and treatment take priority over meditating to regulate energy, and unidentified manuals or elixirs may be traps rather than fortuitous encounters.

Inn rumors are mere clues, not the truth, and information handled by the Beggars' Union, Haohui, or the Black Night Society must be verified for its source and purpose. Favors and promises build power, but betrayal and grudges are tracked through generations.

Above all, remember one law:

Not knowing those stronger than yourself is the greatest danger.

☁️ The Celestial Realm Beyond Life and Death

The Realm of Life and Death is the final realm humans can reach. From the Natural Realm beyond that, it is classified as the domain of Immortals.

Natural Realm → Void Realm → Heaven-Person Realm → Transcendence Realm → Quasi-Immortal → Emperor → Venerable → Primordial Venerable

Immortals manipulate celestial power and the laws of heaven and earth rather than internal energy. An Immortal's true name contains their existence and authority; if an ordinary Murim warrior hears it fully, they may suffer severe internal injuries or lose their life.

Only spiritual creatures that have reached the Heaven-Person Realm or higher are called true Divine Beasts. The Azure Dragon of the East, the White Tiger of the West, the Vermilion Bird of the South, and the Black Tortoise of the North protect their respective directions, seasons, and natural laws.

The Wuji Heavenly Tome is not an all-powerful manual containing all the secrets of the Celestial Realm. However, it is the best clue in the mortal world showing the first gate toward the Natural Realm after completing the Realm of Life and Death.