Join a sect

In the Murim world, three major factions dominate the martial arts scene: the Orthodox Alliance, the Unorthodox Alliance, and the Demonic Cult.

The Orthodox Alliance is regarded as the most righteous of the three factions, adhering to the principle that they have to rule and protect those from their territory and eradicate those from the Unorthodox Alliance or the Demonic Cult. They occasionally collaborate with the Unorthodox Alliance or non-affiliated clans or sects in their conflicts with the Demonic Cult. However, their righteousness is not absolute. Some of their people, clans, and sects are corrupt and perpetrate the same atrocities that they denounce. They slaughter entire clans if it is expedient for their agenda, irrespective of whether their accusations are true or false. Many in power are corrupted and indulge in the things that they combat. By alleging that their victims are spies from the Demonic Cult or the Unorthodox Alliance who intend to harm and destroy their alliance, they justify their actions. They annihilate all the people involved and disseminate rumors that corroborate their narrative. When faced with internal conflicts, they ally with the faction that confers them more benefits. Some of them also adopt orphans for their indoctrination, molding them into loyal followers of their doctrines.

The Unorthodox Alliance occupies a neutral position between evil and righteousness. They pursue their objective by any means and relish the power they possess. They do not hesitate to kill, steal, or commit other acts of this nature. They often kill, steal, or assassinate for money. They massacre entire clans if they are paid to do that. Many of their members are bandits or people from the lower class of society who do anything for money. They have many illegal businesses. They enlist members from the lower class of society and secure their loyalty with money, women, and power. They participate in wars among sects or clans within their alliance or across alliances, as long as it does not compromise their power for the other factions to exploit. Some of them also adopt orphans for their indoctrination, instilling them with a sense of freedom and pragmatism.

The Demonic Cult epitomizes the most evil of the three factions. Under the leadership of the Heavenly Demon, who originates from the Chun clan or has a relationship with it, they esteem strength above all. The majority of their members are zealots who will sacrifice anything for the cult. They revere their leaders as deities. They practice demonic arts in a similar manner as orthodox and unorthodox factions practice their arts, but with the distinction that some of their arts employ blood as a medium—dead bodies. Some of their demonic arts also make the user insane, increasing their bloodlust and cruelty. They propagate their influence by adopting orphans from a tender age, indoctrinating them with cult values, and offering benefits to those who consent to join or are willing to work for them in exchange for payment. They defy their enemies with battles for life or death.

I was reincarnated in this world. I was an ordinary high school boy in my previous life who liked history and to read novels, but in this life I am an orphan. My parents from this life were killed by some drunk martial artists because they intervened in an argument between them and said that they had to go somewhere else because the restaurant was going to close. I was 5 when this happened. The man who told me this was Zhao, the old man with a large and muscular body, a white beard, and white hair. I kind of heard that he was the boss of my parents and the man who adopted me that day.

My name in this life is Han because of my long black hair, black eyes, and emotionless expression. I have muscular body because of the training I did from the day I was born. I trained my body from that day on and learned how to fight with my bare hand and with a knife. I help Grandpa Zhao with his restaurant; he pays me every week, and I save that money for when I get older. Granpa is always worried about me because I don't show any emotion and I'm quiet all the time. The only time he saw me express emotion was when I cried when he told me that my parents were dead.

He always says that I need to play as a child with others, but I think that is a waste of time. In that time, I can train to become a martial artist. I don't have a cultivation technique, but for becoming a martial artist, you have to have a trained body before training the qi or learning martial arts. My plan is to join a small sect from the city that is named Blade Sect and is founded and led by Zhang Tianyi, a martial artist in his 50s with short white hair and long white beard who was an escor for merchants. Granpa says that he will let me join.

The tests for entry into the sect are going to happen in a few minutes. I am at the entry of the sect, and in my face are two guards with blades attached to their wrists. I approach one of them and say:

-Sir, this is the Blade Sect?

He is looking at me for a moment and saying:

-Yes, are you here to join for the tests?

-Yes, sir, where do I go to take the tests?

I will take you there now; come and follow me to the training ground.

-Yes sir.

Then he took me to a large area with nine kids about the same age as me who were waiting in a line.

-Move and stay in line; the sect leader will come in a few moments for the tests.

I nodded and moved to the line. I waited a few minutes, and then a man with short hair and long ears in a black robe that had a silver blade embossed on his chest walked in front of us and said

-I am Zhang Tinyi, and I am the leader of the Blade Sect of Qiangyang. I will conduct the test to see if you can join the sect. There are two tests that you have to take. For the first one, I want you to run around the train terrain until I say that you can stop. For the second one, I will give you a wounded blade so that you can duel another candidate and demonstrate your skill with the blade. I know that most of you don't know how to use a blade, but this test is only for me to understand your level and help you train in the future.

-Now run.

The kids began to run with me as the last of them around the training ground, one round, two rounds, and three rounds. When we ran for the third round, some kids began to become short of breath and fall behind, but I was okay and continued to run. We run another 5 rounds, and all of them are short of breath, but I was skillful enough.

-Now you can stop and rest for a few moments before continuing to the second test.

I stopped and moved to lean against a wall and close my eyes. After a few moments of hearing the kid's breathing, I heard the sect leader.

-Now come to me to take a Wooden blade.

I approached first, and he handed me a worn blade and said, Move to the line now." I did as he asked, and I waited for the others to receive the wooden blades.

-Now you will fight the person that is standing beside you.

I locked, and I saw a boy with the same black hair and black eyes as me but with short hair that looked calm and quiet, and we began to look. His eyes locked at me with a deteminated gaze that said that he was not going to fail without some effort. I like that gaze of his, and thinks that he is going to be very useful in the future.

The boy attacked first, swinging his blade horizontally at my chest. I easely dodged to the side and did a vertical slash to the boy's blade that desechilibrated him, and quickly I thrust my blade to his chest that flipped him back. I move to his left side and pointed the tip of my blade to his throat. He locked at me with disbelief. I move the blade from his throat and said

-My name is Han; what is yours?

He locked eyes with me for a moment and answered.

-Hei is my name.

I stretched my hand to help him raise from the ground, and he took my hand and raised from the ground. And when he raised his hand, I heard a voice say

-Ho, what a chivarelus young man are you?

I lock, and it was the sect leader, and I say

-Thank you, sir.

-Young boy, I see that you didn't do your best and that you only played with him for a time because you wanted to see his skill. You and he have some talents, and I acknowledge this.

I was taken aback. I didn't expect the sect leader to be this direct, but it's good that he acknowledged me.

-Sir, this is my first time fighting someone, so I wasn't sure what to do, but I thank you for the compliment.

-He looked at me and at Hei with a smile and said

-You two will come with me; the rest will wait for a disciple to come and explain to you when the training starts and where you will live from now on.

He said, and we fellow behind him, that he was going to a mansion with two floors, and when we entered, we could see a simple room with some weapons on the walls and some chairs and a desk. He motion us to sit on the chair, and so we did, and he sat at the desk.

-Now that you two are here, I will explain to you about the murim world and marital artists. I want you to listen carefully.

-Yes, sir. We said it at the same time.