① Scenes of the Jianghu

🏯 The Central Plains and the Jianghu

High fortress walls and endless tiled roofs. In the Central Plains, ruled by the Imperial Court and government offices, countless people live their own lives. Within that world, the society where those who have mastered martial arts exchange fame, loyalty, and grudges is called the Jianghu.

🍶 Fates Beginning at the Inn

All sorts of rumors gather at the inns where travelers stay. News of famous masters' victories or defeats, missing escort caravans, and stories of family heirs. A person you happen to share a table with might become a lifelong friend, or a dispute over drinks might remain a long-standing grudge.

⚔️ Those Who Take Up Fists and Swords for Their Own Reasons

Escorts who guard people and goods for money, chivalrous heroes who help the weak, and martial artists wandering in search of higher realms. In the Jianghu, your name is made not just by how strong you are, but by what you have done with that strength.

② Sects and Martial Arts

⛰️ Sects — Bonds Connecting Master and Disciple

In the massive pavilions and training grounds of the mountains, martial arts passed down through generations live on. A Sect is a group that transmits martial arts centered on the relationship between master and disciple. Even those from ordinary families can enter a sect if their talent and sincerity are recognized.

🥋 Different Paths of Martial Arts

Shaolin is famous for its solid fist and staff arts, Wudang for its fluid fist and sword arts, and Huashan for sword techniques that unfold like plum blossoms. Disciples temper their bodies, learn forms, cultivate internal energy to accumulate and control the qi within, and practice lightfoot techniques to move quickly and lightly.

🤝 Fellow Disciples Sharing the Same Name

Disciples who enter the sect together form a bond as martial siblings. They fill each other's gaps and join forces in the face of danger. Since the actions of a single disciple affect the honor of the sect, personal quarrels can sometimes escalate into conflicts between entire sects.

③ The Five Great Clans of the Murim

🏮 Clans — Martial Arts Inherited by Family Name

Within high walls, the martial arts and wealth accumulated over generations are gathered. A family that passes down household martial arts centered on bloodlines is called a Martial Clan. In this world, the following five families are known as the Five Great Clans.

• ⚔️ Namgung Clan — A prestigious family of the sword, famous for powerful swordplay and a grand spirit.
• 🪡 Sichuan Tang Clan — A family that has inherited poison arts, hidden weapons, and exquisite crafting techniques.
• 📜 Zhuge Clan — A prestigious family of strategy that changes the flow of battle with formations and tactics.
• 🐅 Hebei Peng Clan — A martial family boasting heavy and fierce saber techniques.
• 🌙 Moyong Clan — A family excellent at researching various martial arts and turning an opponent's strength against them.

🔥 A Good Starting Point and Heavy Expectations

Children of the Great Clans receive good teachers and an abundant training environment. At the same time, they carry the burden of family honor and succession competition. While those from prestigious backgrounds have many opportunities, there are also masters in the Jianghu who stand shoulder to shoulder with them through their own skill.

④ Ha Cheongha's Past

The night wind cooled her sweat-soaked hair. Ha Cheongha sat on the stone steps and looked up. The moon rising over the eaves was exceptionally bright.

She opened her bandaged hands. Every time she moved her fingers, the fists she had thrown during the day throbbed.

"......I want to get stronger."

The words she whispered softly settled into the quiet courtyard.

In the ordinary Ha family, there were no martial arts to inherit, nor any elders to oversee her training. When she got stuck while practicing alone, she repeated the same movement for days. There were frustrating days when she didn't even know what was wrong. Then, the moment a movement that didn't work yesterday finally clicked into place, she would thrust her fist again, oblivious to the pain.

Once she knew that feeling, she couldn't stop.

"They say there are so many amazing masters in the world. I should try competing with them too."

Ha Cheongha curled the corners of her mouth. Just imagining herself standing face-to-face with famous martial artists made her hands itch already.

"It's fine if I'm the first one in my family."

Laughter was buried in the end of her casual remark. She slowly clenched the hands on her knees.

"With the martial arts I've learned, I want to make my name known."

She didn't know yet how strong she could become. There were still things she hadn't solved today. Ha Cheongha looked at the moon for a moment, then pulled her elbow back while still seated. The movement of her shoulder that she had missed during the day suddenly caught her mind.

"......Shall I try just one more time?"

She stood up from the stone steps.

⑤ The Birth of the Blue Thunder Fist King

🥋 Fists Tempered Through Training and Combat

Ha Cheongha trained her body alone, clutching basic martial arts manuals. She tested passages she didn't understand by changing her posture and breathing. After entering the Jianghu, she tested her martial arts in duels and escort missions. She corrected her flaws by retracing the moments her attacks were blocked or her feet were slow. As she accumulated enlightenment through her brilliant talent and tenacity, a different power than before began to spring from the same fist.

⚡ The Blue Thunder Martial Arts Forged by Herself

As the internal energy accumulated in her dantian deepened, Ha Cheongha delved into a method of concentrating and exploding that power in a short moment. The flow of true qi synchronized with the movement of stepping, twisting her waist, and thrusting her fist. After repeated training, the Blue Thunder Scripture, which handles azure lightning energy, and the Blue Thunder Fist, which loads that power into strikes and grapples, took shape. The enlightenment she learned and verified alone was perfected into her own martial art.

🐉 A Name Carved into the Jianghu, Blue Thunder Fist King

Ha Cheongha polished the martial arts she created by competing with stronger martial artists. She used footwork to penetrate the range of weapons and broke down defenses with continuous strikes. When she concentrated the lightning flowing through her body into her fist, internal power exploded with a thunderous resonance, and when she exerted her full strength, the image of a blue dragon bloomed. To her, who reached the entry level of the Hwayeong realm at twenty-six, the Jianghu gave the title Blue Thunder Fist King.