LD Vol.3 Chapter 13

The Founding Philosophy of the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy

“I have a question,” someone raised their hand.

“What is it?”

The person who raised their hand was none other than Bi Ryu-yeon.

Would the sun ever rise from the west?

“Who exactly are the Three Saints of the Celestial Martial Arts?”

“Pfft! Hahaha!”

Hyo-ryong and Jang-hong, who were sitting next to him, covered their faces with one hand, feeling a sense of despair and extreme embarrassment. Inwardly, they hoped that they would be considered unrelated to Bi Ryu-yeon…

“What’s your name?”

“Bi Ryu-yeon,” he confidently replied.

Upon hearing Bi Ryu-yeon’s name, Ok Hyeon Jin-in’s face hardened as he spoke.

“I sincerely hope that the question you just asked is a light-hearted joke.”

Ok Hyeon Jin-in asked in a grave tone. Why wouldn’t he? His feelings were understandable.

“May I ask why?”

“Of course, it’s because I don’t want to acknowledge the fact that one of my disciples is a serious case of common sense deficiency who doesn’t even know the names of the three most famous supreme masters in the martial arts world, aside from the Supreme Polarity Divine Sovereign, the Martial God Hyeok Wol-rin.”

He was originally an endlessly gentle and benevolent person, but today, it seemed to be quite a struggle for him to maintain that demeanor.

“In that case, I apologize,” Bi Ryu-yeon readily apologized.

“What do you mean?”

“I really don’t know.”

It was fortunate that Bi Ryu-yeon didn’t mention that he was not only unaware of the Three Saints of the Celestial Martial Arts but also had no knowledge of the Martial God Hyeok Wol-rin, the Hegemonic Heaven Blade Gal Jung-hyeok, and ultimately, the Eternal Heavenly Gods and Eternal Heavenly Blood God until he heard Ok Hyeon Jin-in’s story just now. If that fact had been revealed, even the good-natured Ok Hyeon Jin-in might have fainted.

However, thanks to his exceptional character, he was quicker than anyone else to regain his composure. Soon, Ok Hyeon Jin-in was able to return to his usual benevolent and gentle self as an old master.

“Of course, I could easily inform you here. But in my personal opinion, your common sense regarding the martial arts world is severely lacking.”

This was not just Ok Hyeon Jin-in’s opinion but should be considered the opinion of all the students in the classroom, including Hyo-ryong and Jang-hong.

“So I have determined that you need to acquire common sense about the martial arts world. If such an incident occurs again elsewhere, it could bring shame to our Heavenly Academy. I don’t think that would be a pleasant situation.”

He desperately wanted to prevent that from happening.

“Well said,” Jang-hong and Hyo-ryong muttered simultaneously, inaudible to Bi Ryu-yeon. They felt relieved that Ok Hyeon Jin-in had said what they wanted to say but couldn’t. Jang-hong decided to respect Ok Hyeon Jin-in twice as much from now on.

“Therefore, you are to find out about the Three Saints of the Celestial Martial Arts and the hundred-year history of the martial arts world after the Eternal Heavenly Hyeol Se by the next class. It’s your homework,” Ok Hyeon Jin-in declared in a majestic voice. It was an individual assignment given to Bi Ryu-yeon.

“Understood?”

“Yes,” Bi Ryu-yeon reluctantly answered. Why did his ignorance become a sin, and why was he the only one being punished? Bi Ryu-yeon considered homework as a punishment.

‘I should find someone to do the homework for me. Who would be good?’

There was no hint of remorse or motivation. He didn’t seem to care at all about why Ok Hyeon Jin-in had given him this homework.

‘Is Jang-hong ahjussi the right choice…?’

The first person who came to mind was Jang-hong, who, contrary to his own claim, had an appearance that far exceeded his thirties. With his knowledge matching his ahjussi-like appearance, he was well-suited for this task.

‘Huh? What?’

Jang-hong suddenly felt a chill run through his body for no reason, causing him to feel puzzled. He even looked around briefly to find anything unusual. A chill that had risen without reason. However, he had no idea that the cause lay with Bi Ryu-yeon.

“Then, I will continue the story. So…,” Ok Hyeon Jin-in resumed his interrupted story due to Bi Ryu-yeon’s interruption.

As mentioned earlier, the Martial God Hyeok Wol-rin and the Hegemonic Heaven Blade Gal Jung-hyeok, through the lesson learned from their fierce battle with him, deeply realized the necessity of cultivating talents and established an institution. Thus, the Demonic Heavens Tower of the demonic path and the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy of the righteous path were born.

They were institutions established for the more specialized and extensive research, development of martial arts, and cultivation of talents. What they needed were the existence of supreme masters, not peak masters. There were already many peak masters at that time, but there was an absolute shortage of beings who could be called supreme masters. Only the carefully selected talents with the highest abilities, skills, and potential were allowed to enter these institutions, which aimed to give birth to supreme masters.

Thus, after 50 years had passed, the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy and the Demonic Heavens Tower had grown immensely under the absolute support and patronage of the entire martial arts world, to the extent that merely being accepted into these institutions was enough to gain recognition throughout the martial arts realm. Now, entering these two places had become the ultimate goal of the rising stars and young people of both the righteous and demonic paths, fueling the competitive spirit of young talents.

Of course, the overheated competitive spirit and sense of privilege also caused various side effects, but they were minimal compared to the positive functions of the two institutions. The impact of these two institutions on the development of martial arts in the devastated martial arts world was truly immense.

Taught by the lesson of the Eternal Heavenly Gods, the righteous and demonic paths agreed to put an end to their long-standing confrontation and animosity and enter a truce. The two were like water and oil, or dogs and monkeys, so it was still impossible for them to completely blend into one. Even a tentative truce agreement was a significant advancement.

At the time of their establishment, the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy and the Demonic Heavens Tower had agreed to cultivate a second Martial God to prepare against the Blood God. And although they had failed to slay the Blood God, they had reached a consensus that he, too, deserved sufficient reverence as a martial artist. No one objected to that.

Moreover, they pledged to hold a friendly competition every five years to foster and discover talents, leaving behind the confrontation between the righteous and demonic paths. They designated Mount Hua as the location and named the competition the Mount Hua Treaty Gathering.

The competition was divided into various martial arts categories, and each participant was given the right to compete in their specialized and confident field. In other words, swords with swords, blades with blades, whips with whips. The matches were decided within each category using the same weapons and martial arts. And finally, the ultimate champion was determined through a comprehensive unlimited martial arts contest. However, since the evaluation method changed each time, no one could find out the details until the day of the competition.

The winner was awarded a substantial prize money, position, and privileges. All sorts of wealth and glory were concentrated on a single person. Most importantly and amazingly, the winner was granted the privilege of becoming the joint disciple of famous eccentric masters and learning various martial arts.

For example, one could become a joint disciple of the Nine Great Sects. How astonishing was this offer? Of course, unless it was a newly created martial art, it was forbidden to pass on the supreme techniques learned during this time to others, even if they were parents and children. Despite these restrictions, it was an irresistibly sweet and alluring temptation for martial artists who staked their lives on martial arts and divine techniques. The Mount Hua Treaty Gathering was the closest way for any martial artist to become the greatest under the heavens, a dream that every martial artist had probably fantasized about at least once.

As time passed, the number of martial artists who set winning this competition as their ultimate goal gradually increased. The competition was worth dedicating one’s entire life to as a martial artist.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform one’s life in an instant, to become a dragon from a mere lizard and ascend to the heavens. Moreover, the winner of this competition would be respected by both the righteous and demonic paths. Even if they were from the demonic side, no one could recklessly provoke or attack them. They would receive respect and admiration from both sides to the point of being sick of it. They had sufficient qualifications for that.

However, while everything had been going well up to this point, as time passed since the defeat of the Blood God and the establishment of the two institutions, the painful memories of the past gradually faded, and side effects began to emerge. The most serious of these side effects was that the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy and the Demonic Heavens Tower had become the focal points of the tug-of-war between the righteous and demonic paths to demonstrate their power.

In other words, since the Righteous Alliance and the Black Heavenly Alliance, the darlings of the righteous and demonic martial arts worlds, could not openly engage in all-out war, the Demonic Heavens Tower and the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy, which were below them and could officially and legally compete and make contact, emerged as the means of competition for the martial arts world that had entered a state of détente.

The ongoing Mount Hua Treaty Gathering, shortened to the Mount Hua Gathering, gradually degenerated into a place of pride and power struggles. Amidst the sighs and worries of righteous eccentric masters and thoughtful martial artists, the competition became increasingly overheated, to the point where they began sending disguised spies and secret agents to each other’s camps.

As the situation escalated to this extent, they had no choice but to be on high alert for the presence of spies who had infiltrated their front yards. However, due to the nature of the martial arts world, where countless unknown eccentric masters were hiding in nameless mountains, more numerous than a swarm of bees, it was truly difficult to identify their identities if they slightly manipulated their identities and participated in the unlimited martial arts competition. However, they couldn’t just give up and do nothing, so they monitored each other. In other words, random surveillance became rampant. It was certainly not a proper phenomenon, but the eyes of both sides, blinded by their pride, showed no signs of recovery.

Nevertheless, the martial arts of the demonic sects, led by demonic cultivation, tended to emphasize the attributes of inner energy and skill, and their energy or nature often belonged to the yin, so there were occasional cases where they were caught after a thorough investigation. As it was not a complete waste of effort and there were occasional bites, they couldn’t retract the fishing rods they had cast and close the case. And that situation had continued to the present day. Forgetting their original duties…

The martial artists referred to the era when the terror and notoriety of Eternal Heavenly Blood God Wi Cheon-mu had pushed the entire martial arts world into a crucible of fear and burned them in the hellfire of despair as the Eternal Heavenly Hyeol Se, and they trembled in fear. Preventing a second Eternal Heavenly Hyeol Se was the ultimate task of all martial artists. His shadow, or phantom—although his life or death was still unclear, all martial artists believed in the theory of his survival—or his remnant forces.

The Heavenly Martial Arts Academy and the Demonic Heavens Tower, created to counter them, were also becoming complacent as nearly a hundred years had passed, and the possibility of a successor was diminishing.

On the other hand, there was a noteworthy fact about the Blood God Wi Cheon-mu, which was the issue of his origin. No one knew his background. With his martial arts that had already transcended the established forms and patterns, it was nearly impossible to discern his background. Everyone believed he was from the demonic path, and that was a natural logical conclusion. Where else could one find the origin of a man who had washed the martial arts world in blood with his cruel methods, if not in the demonic path?

However, that was a grave miscalculation. Although his title was the Blood God and his methods were cruel, it was revealed that his martial arts were not based on demonic cultivation. It was a fact that most people were unaware of at the time. After all, there was no way to find out since there were no survivors among those who had directly exchanged blows with him at that time.

It was difficult to make predictions based on the wounds left on the corpses that had already been reduced to a bloody pulp. Therefore, they had concluded that his martial arts were demonic arts solely based on the cruelty and terror of his methods. Except for the Supreme Polarity Divine Sovereign, the Martial God Hyeok Wol-rin, the only survivor who had engaged in a one-on-one duel with him.

With the survival of the Martial God Hyeok Wol-rin, a vague outline of him was finally revealed. The fact that the origin of his martial arts might not be from the Devil Sect was enough to plunge the entire martial arts world into confusion. However, no further facts had been uncovered yet.

Regarding his background, there were many theories and countless hypotheses among scholars, and it remained a point of contention to this day. Rumors circulated that he was a forgotten disciple of the Shaolin Sect, a descendant of the Demon Cult, a successor of the Blood Sect, an abandoned disciple of the Wudang Sect, and even a member of the legendary ancient sect, the Celestial Beyond Heavens. However, his true identity remained shrouded in mystery. Only the Eternal Heavenly Gods, the organization he had established, pushed the martial arts world into absolute terror along with his name. And as long as his survival was almost certain, that terror and despair had not subsided.

“The martial arts world is calm now. But we must not forget the possibility of his revival and return, and we must devote ourselves to cultivating the strength to oppose his revival or a second Blood God,” Ok Hyeon Jin-in spoke firmly, looking around at the audience. Even on his usually gentle face, there was now a resolute will.

“This old Taoist knows. I felt the extent of the terror he brought to my bones when I was twenty years old, and I despaired at my own weakness. I have seen many young people who felt their own insignificance and weakness at that time, struggling in a deep abyss of despair and losing their sense of self. This old Taoist believes it is not over yet. It is this old Taoist’s humble wish that you do not forget the original founding philosophy of our Heavenly Martial Arts Academy.”

Ok Hyeon Jin-in was also one of the few survivors of the Eternal Heavenly Bloody era. Mathematically, that meant he was over 120 years old this year.

“One thing I can say with certainty is that we must never allow such despair to come again. Such a thing must never happen again. This is the background of the birth of the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy and the Murim Alliance, as you all know.”

Bi Ryu-yeon raised his hand without hesitation.

“What is it?”

“I didn’t know.”

Ok Hyeon Jin-in’s eyes widened.

“Do you really not know?”

“Yes,” Bi Ryu-yeon nodded without hesitation.

Ok Hyeon Jin-in felt like the headache that hadn’t visited him for 20 years was coming back.

“Is it strange if I really don’t know?” Bi Ryu-yeon asked, sensing the unusual atmosphere with his keen senses.

Then, when he looked around, he was the only one who had raised his hand. If he were an ordinary person, he would have blushed with embarrassment and quickly lowered his hand. No one enjoys flaunting their ignorance. However, even if he experienced extreme alienation from those around him, he wasn’t a fool who would feel suicidal impulses. Therefore, no astonishing event occurred, such as getting hurt feelings.

“You surprise me once again,” Ok Hyeon Jin-in remarked with a rather calm exclamation for someone who had experienced a miracle.

He thought it would be a “miracle” if someone didn’t know this story, but he came to terms with the fact that it was strange to know this when he didn’t even know the Three Saints of the Celestial Martial Arts.

Thus, the first class of the Introduction to Martial Arts ended with a lecture on the dark secret history of the martial arts world a hundred years ago.

Although it could be said that there was no one in this martial arts world who was unaware of this story, there were exceptions to everything, and that exception was Bi Ryu-yeon. In the history of his sect, the Biroe Sect, there was not even half a page’s worth of information about the hardships, tribulations, and the dark era. For some reason, while the martial arts world was plunged into darkness and plagued by the heavenly anomaly of bloody storms, the Biroe Sect had continued its history without any obstacles or hardships. It was a mystery how that could have been possible.

The first class ended without any notable questions. The atmosphere was rather heavy for a first class. The first class felt more like a mental education session rather than a history lesson. In fact, it was supposed to be a lecture on the basic principles of martial arts, but the content could change at the teacher’s discretion.

In the end, the conclusion of the class was to train hard and become the greatest master under the heavens, so that if a truly powerful and evil person appeared, they could eliminate them. That was roughly the gist of it. Bi Ryu-yeon summarized it so simply.

[TL/N: In the adaptation’s official English translation, Demonic Heavens Tower is called Eternal Heavens Tower. Don’t ask me why.]