Let's Learn About the Ancient Demonic Sect
He appeared in that place without omen or warning.
He simply walked as if he had come out for a stroll at dawn.
An endless host that filled the horizon advanced to stop a single man.
Every master threw away his life and charged; all of them died.
Those who were not masters rushed in hoping to block the path even a little, and met fates worse than death.
He took not a single wound. He merely scattered despair.
When at last he departed, the entire mountain range was filled with blood and screams.
He took nothing. He merely held our master's head in one hand and, as leisurely as he had come, turned and left.
In the places he passed there remained only quiet traces that did not seem left by any human—traces as if a natural disaster had swept through, traces one almost wished had been a natural disaster. The survivors dared not even curse him; they fled into caves beneath the earth and resolved never again to look upon the blue sky.
"Well then. That was the concept of the Orthodox Faction."
Just as we look up at the sky and dream, people also yearned for Namgung Hwe. They wanted to walk the path he had laid down. They wanted to become shining stars and be embroidered across the heavens.
"The Orthodox Faction takes chivalry as its core ideology."
There were two convictions Namgung Hwe had especially emphasized. These were called the Martial God's Two Teachings. The first of the two: chivalry.
That those who possess power bear responsibility for that power. That they aid the weak in the name of justice. That they do not pass by injustice.
"Martial force without chivalry is nothing more than violence."
The very term wuxia joins the character for martial arts with the character for chivalry.
"But something feels off."
"What do you mean?"
"If the Martial God valued chivalry that much, how did the Demonic Sect survive? There was a Demonic Sect in the old days too, wasn't there? Isn't the Demonic Sect a bunch that invades the Central Plains? You're telling me Namgung Hwe just left people like that alone?"
"Heh heh. Of course."
"Of course?"
"They were destroyed."
"…?"
The Demonic Sect was destroyed. It was a group that had already been annihilated once.
"Besides the present Space Heavenly Demon Sect, there was something called the Ancient Heavenly Demon Divine Sect back in the Terra era."
The Ancient Heavenly Demon Divine Sect—abbreviated as the old Demonic Sect—was the origin of the current Demonic Sect. This old Demonic Sect, which had existed since ancient times and possessed a long history, was a religious order that worshipped their leader, the Heavenly Demon, as a god. Their purpose was to invade the Central Plains and conquer the world under heaven.
For decades—sometimes as long as a century—they would hole up in their stronghold, the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, steadily accumulating power. When they were ready, they would explode outward and invade the Central Plains. That pattern repeated again and again.
They were filled with the ideology of the strong are supreme, and so the Demonic Sect's power was truly formidable. At that time, the martial arts of the Demonic Sect were stronger than those of the Orthodox Faction. (This was before Namgung Hwe's birth.)
What they used was the infamous Yeokcheon Demonic Art.
A technique that sacrificed one's own body and lifespan to obtain immense power. Entry was easy, and one could seize great strength quickly. Orthodox martial arts, by contrast, had no side effects—but entry was difficult, and one began weak, growing only slowly over time, so cultivating that power was extremely hard.
While the Demonic Sect mass-produced masters with the Yeokcheon Demonic Art, the Orthodox Faction raised masters slowly, with the heart of a farmer planting seeds. Already they were at a mathematical disadvantage. Mathematics does not lie.
Moreover, the Heavenly Demon who led the Demonic Sect was ordinarily the strongest master of that age. After all, to claim the leadership of a sect that worshipped the supremacy of the strong, ordinary strength would never suffice. One had to be overwhelmingly powerful among all members of the Demonic Sect to become the Heavenly Demon.
When a genius so overwhelming that all others clicked their tongues ascended as Heavenly Demon and took the seat of leadership, the conditions for war were complete.
In other words:
1. An absolute powerhouse—the Heavenly Demon—rises to lead the Demonic Sect. (He must be overwhelmingly strong.)
2. The Demonic Sect gathers its strength and judges that war is now feasible.
When those two conditions were met, they began their advance into the Central Plains.
Following the long traditions of the martial world, they would send demonic heads to the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly to raise havoc and declare war. They planted spies in the Central Plains for information warfare. They taught demonic arts to the scions of great clans and corrupted them. They dispatched a few great demonic heads to turn entire sects into seas of flame. They brainwashed the common folk into rioting. They committed every vicious act imaginable.
And when they judged the Central Plains sufficiently weakened, they invaded—for the conquest of all under heaven.
Each time, heroes appeared in the martial world. Geniuses whose talent was enough to nullify the slow-acquisition penalty of Orthodox martial arts. These geniuses, possessed of chivalry, rose up in fury and stood against the Heavenly Demon.
These heroes of troubled times would form a kind of special task force and throw their lives away to raid and kill the Heavenly Demon—while countless martial artists of the Murim Alliance (the league formed to resist the old Demonic Sect) staked their lives to hold back the Demonic Sect's advance.
When the Heavenly Demon died, the Demonic Sect withdrew. Their god was dead; they could not continue the war. Thus the Murim Alliance succeeded in defense—but only after leaving behind catastrophic damage. They had ground up their greatest geniuses, and countless martial artists had been sacrificed.
And the Demonic Sect would slowly prepare for war again, waiting for the next Heavenly Demon.
This had repeated endlessly.
The Murim Alliance had been able to keep stopping the Demonic Sect because, with every invasion, century-defining geniuses capable of facing the Heavenly Demon happened to appear. The Demonic Sect had been able to keep invading because the Heavenly Demon was such a monster that he could fight those century-defining geniuses one against many—and because such Heavenly Demons had continued to appear throughout history.
The Murim Alliance lamented.
O Heaven. Why have You bestowed Heavenly Demons only upon them? Why grant the most capable to the most wicked? O Heaven. Do You truly not hear the wails of the innocent?
For long ages the Heavenly Demon had been a symbol of terror. Martial artists lived in fear of that name. The absolute one who would one day devour the world. The one who brought the end. The evil spirit that returned without end.
The Murim Alliance grew ever more exhausted, and the lives of the common folk grew ever harder.
And then Namgung Hwe was born.
It seemed Heaven had heard the wailing upon the earth after all. And so Heaven itself had descended into this world.
It was only a few years after the Martial God had passed the age of twenty. The period when he had just begun to appear in official circles and make his name known to the world.
At the same time, the Demonic Sect that had been holding its breath finally surfaced and prepared for war. A new Heavenly Demon had ascended in the Demonic Sect at that time—a talent that could fairly be called the greatest prodigy in history. The Demonic Sect believed that this time, at last, they would fulfill their long-cherished wish.
And there was Namgung Hwe.
The Demonic Sect prepared for war more thoroughly than ever before. They rebuilt their fortresses sturdily. They stockpiled elixirs and ate them well. They recruited new soldiers in great numbers. They even created suicide assault troops trained in the Yeokcheon Demonic Art. The ultimate weapon for the Heavenly Demon—the sect's number-one treasure, the Heavenly Demon Sword—was ready for deployment.
And there was Namgung Hwe.
They even carried out the long tradition of "going to the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly to raise havoc." For some reason it failed. Not a single one came back alive. These useless fools. Were the hastily assembled suicide troops simply too weak?
They planted plenty of spies in the Murim Alliance as well. A considerable number died, went missing, or defected to the Murim Alliance. Spies die often, true, but this was a bit much. Had Zhuge Liang been resurrected in the Zhuge Clan or something? The spies who returned alive all had their minds broken by whatever they had seen, and spouted only nonsense.
They had also laid a dense surveillance net around the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, completely blocking one of the historical leading causes of Heavenly Demon deaths: "getting ambushed and dying together with a Murim Alliance special task force that had infiltrated the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains." For some reason, the carrier pigeons from the sentries had decreased starting that morning, though.
There was Namgung Hwe.
Word had it that a remarkable new star had appeared on the Orthodox side—someone who could supposedly contend with the Heavenly Demon. That was fine. By nature a hero needed a worthy opponent. At last the Murim Alliance had raised a sacrifice fit for the Heavenly Demon.
As expected of those cunning Orthodox dogs, they were already spreading exaggerated rumors. Calling him the greatest of all time and getting ahead of themselves. Yes. The greater the hope, the greater the despair. That new star of the Orthodox Faction—that Namgung Clan brat—would become a fine spice to make the Heavenly Demon's achievements shine all the brighter.
And then Namgung Hwe…
Namgung Hwe appeared at the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
At the very entrance where the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains began. At the greatest main gate—the place that divided the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains from the outside world. Without any omen or warning, he stood there.
He had not declared war. He was not surrendering. He was not negotiating. He did not even seem to want a conversation. It was too open—broad daylight through the main gate—to be an ambush. He was alone, so it was no full-scale battle. And his face was too serene for a man who had come to wage war.
Namgung Hwe took a step.
He began walking along the path toward the interior of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. He walked slowly. Without using any lightness skill, as if he were out for a stroll—toward the summit of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, where the Heavenly Demon waited.
Everyone rushed to block that man's footsteps. They were like moths flying into a flame.
Namgung Hwe walked on.
Like a living wildfire he burned everything in his path. Every wall and trap that barred the road was useless. Every able-bodied man who formed ranks crumbled like dust. Every master who staked his life on a joint assault departed. None of them could reach him. Without leaving even a single scream, they crumbled to powder.
Wherever his footsteps went, everything was destroyed. He did not thrash about noisily. Telekinetic object control and sword flight—those alone were enough. He did not hurry. He did not attack first. If no one struck at him, he simply passed by. He merely walked, unhurried, toward the deepest peak of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
Great demonic heads charged him. Men who had reigned as overlords of entire regions. A slaughter-fiend who had killed hundreds with a single blade poured a lifetime's enlightenment into his descending strike. Thousands of devotees launched a suicide charge fueled by faith. The Demonic Sect's finest assassin unit formed a formation and attacked in concert. Masters called elders burned through their remaining lifespan and flesh for mutual destruction. There were those called guardians—the Heavenly Demon's closest protectors, his personal escort of the highest skill, an undefeated immortal corps.
Nothing touched him.
Nothing even touched Namgung Hwe's skin. Those who attacked all had their dantians destroyed. They became ordinary people left with nothing but the side effects of the Yeokcheon Demonic Art.
A long time later, Namgung Hwe reached the Heavenly Demon. The reason it took so long was simply that he had been walking slowly.
Before the eyes of the remaining survivors and the guardians, the duel of the century began.
The Heavenly Demon died.
Namgung Hwe did not kill the witnesses. He only ruined their dantians. Then he tore off the Heavenly Demon's head, held it in one hand, and turned around. Exactly as he had come, he walked out slowly. No one blocked his way.
When he left the mountain range, there was not a single martial artist left in those mountains. All had either become ordinary people with shattered dantians, or had fled.
That was the end of the Ancient Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.