Leashing the Moyong Wolves
The grand hall of the Murim Alliance buzzed with the familiar voices of long-time allies.
“It’s been ages, everyone.”
“Indeed. I hope there have been no major incidents during this time.”
Flags bearing the emblem of the Murim Alliance fluttered beneath a clear autumn sky, signaling the start of the summit.
The meeting hall was vast, its ceilings soaring high enough to make even the bravest of warriors feel small.
Under the waving flags, the leaders of major sects gathered one by one, their ornate robes catching the light like living flames.
Ding-clink. Clatter-rattle.
Even the attendants serving the light fare were not ordinary warriors.
These were top-tier experts whose sunblood pulsed visibly, capable of unleashing sword qi with a single breath.
“Everyone, please hold back. I’ll review the dishes and approve them myself before they enter.”
The maids dared not approach even the entrance to the Murim Alliance hall.
The trays of food and tea had been placed just outside, and only after the elite guards assigned to security performed their thorough inspections were the servants finally allowed to carry everything inside.
From Shaolin to Mount Hua, from Shaolin to Kunlun, from Zhongnan to Gungdong, from Jingchang to Emei, and even the fortified Sichuan Tang Clan—
The leaders of the dominant forces of the Jianghu sat in their assigned seats with brief greetings.
“It’s been nearly ten years since we’ve all gathered like this.”
The Jingchang Sect leader stroked his jet-black beard and spoke.
Every seat around the long rectangular table was occupied except the empty ones reserved for the Five Great Families at the head.
A distant chime echoed from somewhere far away, announcing the start of the meeting.
“I hear none of the Five Great Families will be attending this time.”
The Kunlun Sect leader glanced at the five empty seats.
Namgung, Huangbo, Hebei Peng, Moyong, and Jegal—the five families that should have had their lords here.
Only empty placards remained beside the cooling teacups.
“The Five Great Families…”
The Gaebang leader clicked his tongue, his posture somehow neater than the others.
“Because of the Moyong wolves.”
The Zhongnan Sect leader popped a piece of fruit into his mouth.
Each leader began spilling their long-pent grievances.
“Their father at least could still talk to us… how on earth did such wolves even come into being beneath such a gentle father?”
“The eldest Moyong Jinryong started the fire, and the third Moyong Ryu added oil to the flames, expanding their power like mad. That’s apparently true.”
“I heard the Huangbo Family has already been wiped out. They may look peaceful on the surface, but they’re practically on the same level as a war between righteous and demonic cults.”
The Mount Hua Sect leader nodded vigorously.
“Something feels off lately. When I first heard about the Murim Alliance’s conference, my first thought wasn’t ‘why,’ but ‘now?’”
The Gungdong Sect leader spoke with bitter sarcasm.
“Even if we tried to intervene, the Five Great Families already have their own private world around their territories. There’s no legitimate excuse to butt in. Honestly, they’re still officially righteous cultivators, aren’t they? If it were the Blood Cult or Heavenly Demon Cult, we would have stepped in long ago and forced peace. But there’s no justification this time.”
“The world is heading toward some unthinkable direction…”
Shaolin’s voice was soft as he recited the Endless Compassion Sutra.
“Recently, one of our Guardians clashed one-on-one with an unknown Guardian. It was… bitter.”
Every representative from the various factions fell silent at once.
An awkward hush settled over the hall.
Shaolin continued.
“It was late at night, so I don’t know which faction’s Guardian it was. Still, it’s painful. Even if we don’t fear the weak outsiders challenging us, pointing blades at each other within the same camp is unforgivable. I hope it was just a misunderstanding.”
No one answered.
Thump.
“Lord Alliance Leader. I trust you are well.”
A man with white hair tied up high entered without ceremony, dressed in black and blue robes.
Everyone rose and bowed slightly.
The Alliance Leader returned the greeting with a bow.
He walked straight to the head seat.
His steps were steady, yet something in the air felt uneasy.
Once seated, the Alliance Leader let out a deep sigh.
A brief silence filled the hall.
From the teacups before each person, white steam rose like frosty breath in the cold autumn air.
“You all know why I’ve gathered you.”
His voice was low, yet carried weight.
His gray eyes swept across the room.
He studied each representative one by one, as if trying to see straight into their hearts.
His final gaze lingered on the empty seats of the Five Great Families before drifting away.
“The Jianghu has become quite troubled lately. On the surface it looks calm, but inside, bloody winds are churning, ready to tear through the thick iron hide at any moment.”
The representatives showed no change in expression.
“I heard the Guardian battles have begun. In addition to one from the Sichuan Tang Clan, two more Guardians have already been killed.”
Even a minor rogue leader could become a head only if he possessed something special.
They were the true rulers of the major righteous sects.
They had calculated every expression, every frown, because they knew their faces would offer their enemies excuses.
“The Constellation Pearls have been stolen. Two and a half of the missing ones are still at large. Now even the Guardians cannot stay silent. Guardians have their own private matters, after all.”
The air grew colder by the second.
Everyone was calculating frantically.
The Alliance Leader’s words hung empty in the space between them.
“The Blood Cult’s leader has long been a hollow man. The various sect heads are now bleeding each other in their frenzy to become the new head of the Blood Cult.”
“The Heavenly Demon Cult is lowly-born, so I can’t say what their true scheme is, but their movements and those of the Eight Demon Dragons suggest they are preparing something large.”
“Any one of these points is serious enough. But they each have their own ways of being resolved.”
“What I’ve gathered you for today is not, at least, because of any of those matters.”
Tap.
The Alliance Leader placed his palm lightly on the table.
It was nothing but an old man’s ordinary hand.
Yet with that single gesture, every head in the hall turned toward him.
“I have called you because I wish to discuss the process by which the Five Great Families will be unified under the Moyong Family.”
“…What?”
A chorus of startled reactions erupted from all sides.
“Lord Alliance Leader, that sounds like an overreach.”
“We have more urgent matters to consider right now.”
“The Five Great Families have their own internal affairs. Just as Guardians must be respected for their own private matters.”
“There are plenty of scraps, but without justification we can’t get involved.”
The Alliance Leader raised his hand.
Everyone fell silent.
“No.”
His words cut through the scattered objections.
“I cannot explain everything in detail right now, but upon closer look, all of these matters may actually be connected.”
“…”
Everyone stared at the Alliance Leader.
“You have to start unraveling the largest knot first. In my judgment, the internal strife within the Moyong Family has already exceeded the level we can ignore in the Jianghu. We can handle the rest later. I’ve already given internal orders regarding a few of them. But.”
As the Alliance Leader continued speaking, the Gaebang leader, the Dragon Head Gangju, kept refilling his wine cup, drinking without a care in the world as if he already knew everything.
“Right now, the Moyong Family is swelling rapidly. If we do not put a firm leash on the wolves that are the Moyong Family, they will become monsters no one can contain.”
“…”
The Alliance Leader clasped his hands together and leaned back in his chair.
“Since none of the Five Great Families are here, we don’t even need to seek their consent.”
It sounded exactly like a snake’s whisper.
The Alliance Leader stroked his snowy white beard and spoke softly.
“Our Murim Alliance has decided, unofficially, to intervene starting now in the succession structure of the Moyong Family and the conflicts between the Five Great Families.”
“…”
That was the final blow.
Even the eyes of those who normally hid their true feelings shook violently.
“Everyone here isn’t a child. When a fat Five Great Family falls, there’s nothing left to explain, right?”
“…”
The Alliance Leader smiled faintly.
“We all share the same goal, don’t we? The reason I called you here is not for anything else—it’s to start a fight that will surely harm both sides before we begin in earnest. Between you and me—.”
The Alliance Leader formed the shape of a wolf’s mouth with his hands and brought them together.
“We’re gathering you so we can make sure our own side is on the same page. Does that make sense now?”
Crackle.
The candles flickered.
The old distinction between orthodox and demonic had lost its meaning.
With the iron wall of reality before them, the Jianghu was changing.
Everyone chased the gains right before their eyes.
Those present felt it deep in their bones.
The Jianghu was about to plunge into a new, unpredictable storm unlike anything anyone could have imagined.
—As the Alliance Leader said.
The giant steam filled the cave walls.
Inside the cave, hundreds of candles burned brightly.
In the center, a large hot spring bubbled quietly.
“And this is the twenty-fourth batch… fabricated… that is, information gathered and sent by the spies who infiltrated the Murim Alliance meeting hall. It seems the Alliance Leader plans to disguise several key figures and infiltrate the Moyong Family. He’s starting to select people with the highest skill and unknown faces.”
Behind a hot spring where Baekho, the temporary steward of the Blood Death Sect, sat, he sighed repeatedly while rapidly reading through a mountain of papers and tossing them aside.
Stacks of already-processed documents had already piled up behind him.
“Let that one go. Skip that one. I’ve seen this one before… this batch I reported last time and had to get my head smashed in, so skip it.”
“…”
Air bubbles kept rising from the center of the hot spring.
Whoosh. Sizzle!
An invisible red aura swam through the steam.
At times it looked like a red dragon, at others like a snake.
Baekho’s report lasted more than one full shi and continued for a full li afterward.
“The conclusion is the Jianghu is a mess. And at the center of it all… only the Alliance Leader and the Gaebang leader, who controls the information of the Murim Alliance, know the true inner workings right now. That’s my opinion.”
Bubbling.
Air bubbles rose from the hot spring water as if answering.
Baekho nodded and continued.
“Of course I double-checked through the Lower Gate. I have a pretty good guess, but I can’t confirm yet whether this is the exact evidence that made the Alliance Leader act with such certainty.”
Bubbling… bubbling bubbling…
Air bubbles rose slowly from the hot spring.
Kwa-rurrr… kwa-rurrrrrr…
A massive waterfall-like red blood dragon coiled and moved through the steam.
Baekho stared blankly at the air bubbles on the water’s surface.
“Well, if you’re that curious… the eldest Moyong Jinryong is probably doing something big.”
He let out a deep breath.
“You already know the third Moyong Ryu is no ordinary person. If left alone, he’d eat everything in his way, right? Still… still…”
The boiling surface suddenly stopped.
Baekho kept talking, having missed the change.
“Someone with a conscience… how could he drag the Blood Cult and Heavenly Demon Cult into his schemes at the same time…?”
“…”
“You know as well as I do. They wouldn’t move unless they had a huge price. And the Blood Cult—how did they even smell the scent of the Thousand Blood Emperor’s Constellation Pearl, their own root, and start poking the Jianghu like hunting dogs?”
“…”
“That’s not even the biggest problem.”
Baekho clicked his tongue.
“The biggest problem is… Prince Moyong Bi was just leaving for the Moyong Family side from Shaanxi, as the children just told me—.”
Puff.
The red blood dragon that had been swirling mystically above the steam vanished like a candle in a gust of wind.
“Eh?”
Baekho stared blankly into empty space.
He continued staring at the steam-filled air where the red blood dragon had been moving.
Whoosh!
More than eighty percent of the candles that had brightly illuminated the entire cave went out in a sudden gust of wind.
Except for the warm fire at the cave entrance, a faint darkness seeped into the cave along with the cool air.
Baekho called in a dazed voice the title he had not used in half a year.
“…So Yeomgyo-nim?”
Crack!
With a splash of water, a figure rose from the center of the hot spring. It was a person in a white transparent robe. Black hair soaked through to the waist lay heavy on the shoulders.
“Huu…”
The black-haired woman closed her eyes, still in her white martial robes.
From the hot spring that reached her navel, she took a deep breath and exhaled. Water droplets slid from her white chin and fell. Then, from the darkness, she slowly opened her eyes.
Uuuung…
p>
Those were redder than even the blood-red pupils.
Ku-gu-gu-gu…!
The massive red blood dragon wrapped around her body as if protecting its master. Red mist swirled around her like a mirage.
“Baekho. Prepare yourself.”
So Yeomgyo, the Goddess of Divine Slaughter and Flames, opened her red lips.
“I’ll be the one who steps forward personally.”
End of Part 1
Hello.
I am the writer of ‘The Heavenly Demon Copies Martial Arts,’ a writing shark.
It feels particularly exciting to leave words directly to the readers for the first time like this.
The turbulent story of Moyong Bi has finally reached the end of Part 1.
When I first planned the story, I envisioned over 500 chapters, with turning points for each part and a complete ending in mind. I sincerely hope you all enjoy it.
When I began serializing, even though it was a web novel, I promised myself to become a writer readers could trust—not only for this work, but for anything I create in the future.
No matter what form my next stories take, whether wuxia or not, the central theme will always be ‘the story between people and people.’
The unique characteristics of the wuxia genre, the power of martial arts—those feel secondary to me. I wanted to tell the story of people living their real lives within the framework of wuxia, rather than stories of power and epic battles.
This work was written during the hardest time of my life.
Amidst the final moments of my life, I poured everything into realizing my last dream. With all my might, I pushed through until I was finally able to publish the work on Kakao.
Any anger, regret, or despair felt in the story comes not from the setting, but from my own desperate struggle to live.
Without the support and love of so many people, I could never have finished Part 1 with such success and beautiful illustrations.
Many of you expressed disappointment with the title…
As the debut writer of this first work, I had no choice. I’m sorry for the awkward title. I’ll use a more normal title for the next work.
I had fun, even though I finished each day exhausted and couldn’t sleep for three hours straight while streaming for over 200 days.
I want to thank my manager Jaehyun Lee, Min Young from Brave Girls, and everyone at Peerles, and most of all, the readers who sent me encouragement and support every time I needed it in the comment section.
I didn’t want to write ordinary things. I resolved to write this with the determination to hang myself if I had to write something ordinary.
Your support—sleeping only three hours, spitting blood from my nose, and losing 1.5 kg every time I wrote a highlight episode—gave me the strength to whip myself through the pain.
For now, I will take some time to recharge and return.
Whether in any story form, I will keep working to become a writer that readers can trust just by seeing the name ‘Writing Shark.’
I have personally written down every comment you left and stuck them to my desk.
Sincerely,
Although this is only a closing author’s note, I am deeply grateful for the support you sent me at the very end of my life.
Bowing my head in gratitude, I close my first and last author’s note.
— Writing Shark
천마는 무공을 복사한다