Book 3 Chapter 9

The Purpose of Establishing the Cheonmu Academy

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“Yes?”

It was Biryuyeon who raised his hand.

Is the sun rising from the west?

“Who on earth are the Three Saints of Cheonmu (天武三聖)?”

“Heeheehee!”

Hyoryong and Jang Hong, who were sitting next to him, covered their faces with one hand in despair and extreme shame. They silently wished to be considered unrelated to Biryuyeon…

“What is your name?”

“Biryuyeon.”

He said proudly. Upon hearing Biryuyeon’s name, Ok Heonjin’s face hardened, and he said,

“I sincerely hope that your question was a lighthearted joke.”

Ok Heonjin asked in a solemn tone. Why wouldn’t he? His feelings are understandable.

“May I ask why?”

“Of course, because I don’t want to admit that one of my disciples is a patient with severe lack of common sense who doesn't even know the names of the three most famous absolute masters in the martial arts world, excluding Taiguk Shingun Musin Hyeok Wolrin.”

He was originally a person of immense gentleness and benevolence, but it seemed very difficult for him to maintain it today.

“I apologize then.”

Biryuyeon apologized obediently.

“For what?”

“I really don’t know.”

It was fortunate that Biryuyeon did not say that before hearing Ok Heonjin’s story, he knew neither the Three Saints of Cheonmu, nor Musin Hyeok Wolrin, nor Paecheondo Gal Junghyeok, and ultimately not even Cheon-geop-ryeong and Cheon-geop Hyeolshin. If that fact had been revealed, even the good-natured Ok Heonjin might have fainted.

However, due to his excellent disposition, he was able to compose himself faster than anyone else. Soon, Ok Heonjin returned to his usual benevolent and gentle old master.

“Of course, you could easily learn it if I told you here. But in my personal opinion, your common sense about the martial arts world is severely lacking.”

This was not only Ok Heonjin’s opinion but also the opinion of all the students in the classroom, including Hyoryong and Jang Hong.

“Therefore, I have judged that you need to acquire common sense about the martial arts world. If this happens again elsewhere, it could be a disgrace to our Cheonjajo. I don’t think that’s a good look.”

He desperately wanted to prevent that.

“You are absolutely right.”

Jang Hong and Hyoryong muttered simultaneously, inaudible to Biryuyeon. They felt so relieved that Ok Heonjin was saying what they had wanted to say but couldn’t. Jang Hong decided to respect Ok Heonjin twice as much from now on.

“So, by next class, you are to learn about the Three Saints of Cheonmu and the 100 years of martial arts history after Cheon-geop Hyeolshin. This is your homework.”

Ok Heonjin declared in a dignified voice. It was homework given to Biryuyeon personally.

“Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

Biryuyeon replied reluctantly. Why should I be punished just because I said I didn’t know something I didn’t know? Biryuyeon thought of homework as a punishment.

‘I should look for someone to do my homework for me instead. Who would be good?’

There was no sign of repentance. There was no motivation. He didn’t seem to care at all why Ok Heonjin had given him this homework.

‘As expected, it’s Jang Hong ahjussi…’

The first person who came to mind was Jang Hong, whose appearance looked much older than thirty, contrary to his own claims. He was knowledgeable, befitting his ahjussi-like appearance, and was suitable for such tasks.

‘Huh, what?’

Jang Hong suddenly felt a chill run through his body for no reason and felt a sense of bewilderment. He looked around for anything strange. A chill that arose for no reason. However, he never dreamed that the cause would be Biryuyeon.

“Let’s continue the story. So…”

Ok Heonjin’s story, interrupted by Biryuyeon, resumed.

As mentioned earlier, Musin Hyeok Wolrin and Paecheondo Gal Junghyeok, having learned a lesson from their fierce battles, keenly felt the need for nurturing talent and established an institution. Thus, the Macheongak of the dark path and the Cheonmu Academy of the righteous path were born.

They were institutions dedicated to the professional and extensive research and development of martial arts and the nurturing of talent. What they needed were absolute masters, not peak masters. Although there were many peak masters at the time, there was an absolute lack of those who could be called absolute masters. Only those with the highest talent, skill, and potential were granted admission to these places, which aimed to produce absolute masters.

Thus, after 50 years, the Cheonmu Academy and Macheongak grew immensely under the absolute support and sponsorship of the entire martial arts world, becoming a stepping stone for recognition in the martial arts world simply by entering them. Now, entering these two places had become the ultimate goal for the late disciples of both the dark and righteous paths and for young people, fueling their competitive spirit.

Of course, excessive competition and a sense of entitlement caused various problems, but they were insignificant compared to the positive functions of the two institutions. The effect of these two establishments on the development of martial arts in the devastated martial arts world was truly immense.

Following the lesson of Cheon-geop-ryeong, the righteous and dark paths agreed to put an end to their long-standing conflict and hostility and establish a truce. Because they were like water and oil, or dogs and monkeys, it was impossible for them to completely merge. Even a temporary truce was a great development.

The Cheonmu Academy and Macheongak were established with the intention of fostering a second Musin to counter Hyeolshin. And although they failed to kill Hyeolshin, they agreed that he was worthy of admiration as a martial artist. No one disagreed with this.

And they promised to hold friendly matches every five years to nurture and discover talent, regardless of the confrontation between the righteous and dark paths. The venue was designated as Hwasan (華山), and the tournament was named the Hwasan Treaty Assembly (華山規約之會).

The matches were divided into various martial arts disciplines, and participants were allowed to compete in their specialized and confident fields. That is, swords against swords, axes against axes, spears against spears. Competitions in each category were decided only with the same weapons and martial arts. Finally, an overall unrestricted free-for-all combat would determine the ultimate winner. However, the evaluation method changed every time, so no one knew the details until the day of the competition.

The winner was awarded a massive prize money, position, and privileges. All sorts of wealth and glory would be showered upon them. Most importantly and magnificently, they were given the privilege of becoming joint disciples of famous wise elders and learning various martial arts.

For example, they could become joint disciples of the Nine Great Sects. What an amazing offer! Of course, the techniques learned at this time were forbidden to be passed on to others—even to parents and children—unless they were newly created martial arts. Despite these restrictions, it was an intoxicating and sweet temptation that made the eyes of martial artists who risked their lives for martial arts spin. The Hwasan Treaty Assembly was the closest method to becoming the greatest in the world, a dream that every martial artist would have had at least once.

As time passed, more and more martial artists began to consider winning this tournament as their ultimate goal in life. The tournament was worthy of a martial artist dedicating their entire life to it.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to instantly transform their lives, to become a dragon from a mere serpent and ascend to heaven. Moreover, the winner of this tournament was treated with respect from both the righteous and dark paths. Even if they were from the dark path, no one could carelessly pick a fight or attack them. They would receive an overwhelming amount of respect and admiration from both sides. They were fully qualified for it.

However, while all this was good, as time passed since the defeat of Hyeolshin and the establishment of the two institutions, the painful memories of the past gradually faded, leading to problems. The most serious of these problems was that the Cheonmu Academy and Macheongak became benchmarks for the power struggles between the righteous and dark paths.

In other words, since the leaders of the righteous and dark martial arts, the Jeongcheonmeng and Heukcheonmeng, could not engage in open warfare, the Macheongak and Cheonmu Academy, which were under them and allowed for official and legal competition and contact, emerged as means of competition for the dormant righteous and dark martial arts.

The ongoing Hwasan Treaty Assembly, shortened to Hwasan Assembly, increasingly degenerated into a stage for pride and skill competition. With the sighs and worries of well-intentioned wise elders and thoughtful martial artists, the competition intensified, even to the point of sending spies disguised as members into each other’s camps.

As things escalated to this point, they could not help but be on high alert for the presence of spies entering their own territory. However, the martial arts world, by its nature, had countless nameless wise elders hidden in countless mountains, and it was very difficult to ascertain their identities if they manipulated their identities and participated in the Seungcheonmu competition. However, they could not simply give up, so they watched each other. In other words, random surveillance became rampant. It was by no means a righteous phenomenon, but the eyes of both sides, blinded by the competition of pride, showed no signs of recovery.

Still, the martial arts of the dark path, including demonic arts, tended to emphasize the attributes of internal energy and skill, and their energy or nature often belonged to the yin, so they were sometimes caught after careful observation. Since they sometimes caught something, not a complete miss, they were in a position where they couldn’t withdraw their fishing rods and end the game. And that continues to this day. Forgetting their original purpose…

The era when the fear and notoriety of Cheon-geop Hyeolshin Wi Cheonmu plunged the entire martial arts world into a cauldron of fear and seared it in the hellfire of despair was called Cheon-geop Hyeolse by martial artists, and they feared it. Preventing a second Cheon-geop Hyeolse was the paramount task for all martial artists. The Cheonmu Academy and Macheongak were created to counter his shadow, or illusion—although his life and death were still uncertain, all martial artists believed in the theory of his survival—or his remaining forces. However, as nearly a hundred years had passed, they had gradually become complacent, and the possibility of successors was also decreasing.

Meanwhile, there is a notable fact about Hyeolshin Wi Cheonmu, and that is the issue of his origin. No one knew his origin. His martial arts, which had already broken free from conventional forms and structures, made it nearly impossible to determine his lineage. Everyone thought he was from the dark path, and it was a natural conclusion. With his cruel methods, where else could one find the origin of the one who washed the martial arts world in blood, if not in the demonic path?

However, this was a grave miscalculation. Despite his epithet Hyeolshin and his cruel methods, it was revealed that his martial arts were not based on demonic arts. Most people at the time did not know this fact. Of course, since there were no survivors among those who had directly clashed with him at the time, there was no way to find out.

It was difficult to predict from the remaining scars on the bloody corpses. Therefore, his martial arts were judged as demonic arts solely based on the cruelty and terror of his methods. This was true for everyone except Taiguk Shingun Musin Hyeok Wolrin, the sole survivor who had a one-on-one battle with him.

With the survival of Musin Hyeok Wolrin, a vague outline of him was finally revealed. The fact that the origin of his martial arts might not be from evil ways was enough to confuse the entire martial arts world. However, no further facts had been revealed yet.

Regarding his origin, there were many arguments among scholars, countless hypotheses were rampant, and it remains a contentious issue to this day. Some said he was a disciple of forgotten Shaolin, a descendant of the Demonic Cult, a successor of the Blood Cult, or even an abandoned disciple of the Wudang Sect, and some even said he was from the legendary ancient sect Cheonwaecheon, which had disappeared. However, his identity remained unknown and wandered in a labyrinth. Only the Cheon-geop-ryeong, which he established, along with his name, plunged the martial arts world into absolute terror. And as his survival was almost certain, that fear and despair had not subsided.

“The martial arts world is quiet now. But we must not forget the possibility of his revival and return, and we must devote ourselves to training our martial strength to counter his revival or a second Hyeolshin.”

Ok Heonjin said firmly, looking around at the audience. Even his face, which had seemed endlessly benevolent, now held a resolute will.

“This old Daoist knows. I felt the fear he brought with me at the age of twenty and was horrified by my own weakness and despaired. At that time, I saw many young people who felt their insignificance and weakness fall into a deep, abyssal despair and lose themselves. I still believe it is not over. My humble wish is that you do not forget the original purpose of our Cheonmu Academy.”

Ok Heonjin was also one of the few survivors of the Cheon-geop Hyeolshin era. His story meant that, arithmetically, 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 behind the birth of the Cheonmu Academy and the Martial Arts Alliance, as you all know.”

Biryuyeon raised his hand without hesitation.

“What is it?”

“I didn’t know.”

Ok Heonjin’s eyes widened.

“You really don’t know?”

“Yes.”

Biryuyeon nodded without hesitation. Ok Heonjin felt like the headache he hadn’t had in 20 years had returned.

“Is it strange if I really don’t know?”

Biryuyeon, sensing the strange atmosphere with his keen senses, spoke. Then, looking around, he saw that he was the only one who had raised his hand. An ordinary person would have blushed with shame and quickly lowered their hand. No one enjoyed showing off their ignorance. However, he was not such a fool as to feel suicidal impulses due to extreme alienation from his surroundings, so no heart-wrenching or surprising event occurred.

“You surprise me once again.”

It was a rather calm exclamation for someone who had witnessed a miracle. He thought it was a ‘miracle’ if someone didn’t know this story, but since he didn’t even know the Three Saints of Cheonmu, he accepted it as strange that he would know this.

Thus, the first class of the General Principles of Martial Arts lecture concluded with the dark history of the martial arts world from a hundred years ago.

Although it might be said that no one in this martial arts world is ignorant of this story, there are always exceptions, and that exception was Biryuyeon. His sect, the Biryu Gate, had no more than half a page about its history of adversity, hardship, and dark ages. For some reason, during the time when the martial arts world was plunged into darkness and suffered bloody rain due to celestial anomalies, the Biryu Gate continued its history without any obstacles or hardships. It was a mystery how this was possible.

The first class ended without any particular questions. It was a rather heavy atmosphere for a first class. The first class felt more like a spiritual education session than a history lesson. In fact, it was a lecture on the basic principles of martial arts, but the content could be changed as the lecturer saw fit.

In the end, the conclusion of the lecture was essentially to train diligently and become the greatest master in the world, and then to eliminate any truly strong and evil beings that appear. Biryuyeon summarized it in such a simple way.