🌸 The Golden Age of Murim

Murim Era Year 412 is a time when secret manuals and traditions scattered by the Great War between Good and Evil and inter-sect wars have been restored, and exchange, duels, and competition between sects have become active. Three masters of the Life and Death Realm and numerous masters of the Profound Realm exist in one era, and the level of the rising stars has approached the elder level of the past. With the growth of merchant guilds and escort bureaus, transportation and information networks have developed, and later generations will record this as the Era of Universal Prosperity.

⚔️ The Ten Great Masters of the World

《Gods, Sovereigns, Emperors, and Monarchs》

Alone at the seat of the One God (一神) reigns the War God (武神), the peerless number one under heaven whose identity is unknown. Below him, the Two Sovereigns (二尊) look down upon the Murim: the Demon Sovereign (魔尊), the absolute ruler of the Heavenly Demon Cult, and the Fist Sovereign (拳尊), the supreme pugilist of Shaolin.

The Three Emperors (三帝) consist of the Blood Emperor (血帝), who established his throne with the blood of the Unorthodox; the Blade Emperor (刀帝), the leader of the Unorthodox Alliance who has reached the ultimate level of blade techniques; and the Sword Emperor (劍帝), who leads the Orthodox sects as the Murim Alliance Leader.

Finally, the Four Monarchs (四皇) support the balance of the world: the Poison Monarch (毒皇), who rules over poisons and hidden weapons; the War Monarch (鬪皇), who completed the Hegemonic Way of fist and foot; the Spear Monarch (槍皇), the master of the single spear that cleaves the battlefield; and the Sound Empress (音皇), who shakes the soul with sound arts.

The hierarchy is clear:

One God > Two Sovereigns > Three Emperors > Four Monarchs

However, among the absolute masters belonging to the same title group, no officially recognized ranking exists. Only at the end of a life-and-death duel can it be proven who stands in a higher sky.

⚪ The Murim Alliance

The Murim Alliance is the largest coalition of Orthodox sects, centered around the Nine Great Sects and One Union and the Five Great Clans. It emphasizes chivalry, justice, order, and justification, and is responsible for mediating disputes between sects, declaring subjugation orders, holding martial arts tournaments, and maintaining order in the Jianghu.

The Alliance Leader is generally the highest power of the Orthodox who has reached the Profound Realm. Most sect leaders and clan heads are in the Transcendence Realm, and major elders correspond to the Peak Realm. While the Murim Alliance represents the legitimacy of the Jianghu, internal interests and political conflicts between sects exist.

⚫ The Unorthodox Alliance

The Unorthodox Alliance is the largest coalition of Unorthodox sects and forces. It values freedom, utility, and the Hegemonic Way, determining status based on skill and merit rather than origin or justification.

The Alliance Leader is an absolute powerhouse of the Profound Realm. Most subordinate force leaders are in the Transcendence Realm, and major executives range from the Peak to Transcendence Realms. Internal competition and secret feuds are fierce, but they coalesce quickly when a strong leader appears. Organizations responsible for intelligence, infiltration, tracking, and assassination are also operated under the direct command of the Alliance Leader.

🔴 The Heavenly Demon Cult

The Heavenly Demon Cult is a massive cult that moves around the Heavenly Demon. It regards strength, will, and loyalty as the highest values, inheriting unique martial arts and rules different from the Central Plains sects.

The Heavenly Demon is an absolute powerhouse of the Profound Realm, and the Left and Right Guardians and subordinate branch leaders mostly belong to the Transcendence Realm. The cult maintains strict internal loyalty and command structures, treating betrayal and disobedience as grave sins. While the Orthodox sects view them with fear and caution, the Heavenly Demon Cult is not a force that pursues only disorderly slaughter.

The Murim Alliance, the Unorthodox Alliance, and the Heavenly Demon Cult compete for hegemony in the Jianghu through different values and methods. If the balance between these three forces collapses, sects, merchant guilds, cities, and civilians alike could be swept into a massive war.

🥋 Secular Realm System

Martial artists accumulate internal energy in their dantian through heart laws and perform martial arts using the accumulated true qi. As internal energy deepens, attack power, defense, recovery, and endurance increase. At higher realms, one can handle sword qi, blade qi, spear qi, and materialized astral qi (Ganggi).

The realms of secular martial artists rise in the following order:

3rd Class → 2nd Class → 1st Class → Peak → Transcendence → Profound → Life and Death

3rd Class includes entry-level disciples and new warriors; 2nd Class includes general warriors and escort warriors; 1st Class is the level of first-generation disciples and sect executives. Peak Realm corresponds to elite executives and top-tier assassins, while Transcendence Realm includes elders of prestigious sects and leaders of elite organizations.

Profound Realm is the domain of sect leaders, clan heads, guardians, and core force leaders—super-masters who freely utilize astral qi. The Profound Realm is the realm of the strongest humans who sway the balance of the entire Jianghu, such as the Murim Alliance Leader, the Unorthodox Alliance Leader, and the Heavenly Demon. The Life and Death Realm is considered the final realm of humanity, reached by only a very few in history.

Every martial art has proficiency stages: Entry → Mature → Mastery. Entry is basic operation, Mature is free application, and Mastery is the stage of completely realizing the true essence of the martial art.

In the same realm, victory or defeat depends on proficiency, martial art compatibility, talent, practical experience, weapons, and psychological warfare. However, as the realm increases, the gap between stages grows, and generally, a difference of one stage or more is difficult to overcome.