Chapter (1)
Counting back from today, it seems we would need to count thousands of years. This is because that period was before the martial arts world even began.
To be precise, it was an extremely ancient time, not only before the martial arts world existed, but even before the Shaolin Temple was built, and when even the great Bodhidharma was likely in another life or realm.
To the northeast of what is now mainland China, where the martial arts world would later emerge, stood a massive mountain named Wuyi. Wuyi Mountain was teeming with deep valleys, clear springs, precipices, and dense forests. It was a habitat where wild animals thrived.
One day, a beam of light descended from the sky at a rapid pace onto a part of Wuyi Mountain. Then, there was a crashing sound, and the whole world fell silent.
About 100 years later, a great physician named San Htong, who had come to Wuyi Mountain to search for medicinal herbs, discovered a strange rock on a mountain ridge. The rock was dark black and was found to be harder than steel, which gave San Htong an idea: to forge a sword.
After about 10 years of diligent effort, he succeeded in forging an excellent sword. San Htong was a versatile scholar of that era. He went to the royal palace and presented the precious sword to the King.
A precious sword is not meant for ordinary people. As the saying goes, "Where there is treasure, treasure comes," meaning it tends to remain long only in the hands of those worthy of it. When this precious sword reached the hands of King Wuding, the founder of China's first empire, the Shang Dynasty (1700 BC to 1046 BC), it is said to have fit him perfectly, like a flag and banner flying high.
Thus, this noble sword became renowned as the King's personal weapon. King Wuding, wielding the precious sword, unified vast territories under his rule and established the Shang Dynasty. The great Shang kingdom in the Yellow River basin became the first great nation in China's long history. He named his beloved sword "Sapphire Dragon" and adorned its hilt with extremely valuable jewels.
The dark black rock that had been submerged in a part of Wuyi Mountain since ancient times, before the monarchical era, was a type of meteorite that fell from the sky. Although this rock should have been just an ordinary stone without any special properties, when it was transformed into a sword by human hands, its unique powers became a captivating and desirable object for humanity in an era where power and weapons were intertwined.
The Sapphire Dragon is a sword. It is an extraordinary sword. Its hilt is adorned with extremely valuable gems, and its blade is dark, gleaming, and possesses a very peculiar shape. It has the power to easily cut through any weapon. The liquid that comes from sharpening its blade not only has the power to heal any internal injury within a short time but also overcomes all poisons. Moreover, it is said that if one drinks a small amount of this metallic liquid daily, they can achieve profound inner power without needing to practice any internal cultivation techniques. What a precious sword it is!
The King of the Shang Kingdom not only gained immense power and inner strength from the noble sword but also lived a long life, residing on the golden throne for over a hundred years. However, no matter how powerful a human being is, they inevitably face defeat when encountering a certain person. Eventually, the King, too, had to leave behind his beloved sword, the kingdom he had founded, and everything else, departing to another life. Finally, the Shang Kingdom gradually fell, and the Sapphire Dragon disappeared.
And so, the Sapphire Dragon departed from the human world, silently resting somewhere on Earth, quietly awaiting the arrival of a new owner. One day, the time it had been anticipating finally arrived.
Many centuries after the Sapphire Dragon fell into slumber, the Han Empire emerged on this vast land, spanning half the globe. However, in this world, only impermanence is constant, and as time passed, the Han Empire also fell.
After the collapse of the Han Dynasty, various local warlords attempted to establish imperial states, leading to numerous territorial wars that caused millions of deaths. The immense power of greed futilely and senselessly destroyed countless human lives.
Thus, three powerful nations emerged simultaneously: the Wei Kingdom in the north, the Shu Kingdom in the west, and the Wu Kingdom in the south. Emperor Yang, who came to power in the Wei Kingdom, founded the Jin Empire and managed to conquer many territories based in the southern region. However, he faced rebellions, and the nation splintered into 16 separate states.
Later, as the Southern Dynasties and Northern Dynasties competed for power, engaging in reciprocal wars and suffering bitter oppression from wicked and corrupt rulers, the citizens realized that they needed to learn martial arts to protect themselves. Thus, alongside the era of warlords, a distinct class of martial artists and a unique martial arts world emerged among the people. Everything happens for a reason.
An emperor named Xiaowen built a grand Mahayana Buddhist monastery on the magnificent Songshan Mountain and named it the Shaolin Temple. At the same time, Buddhist monks arrived from the Western regions to spread Buddhism. Among them, a missionary monk named Bodhidharma (Damo) came to the Shaolin Temple and disseminated martial arts. From that time on, various martial arts disciplines spread throughout the martial arts world. In the martial arts world, great martial arts sects such as Shaolin, Wudang, Emei, Kunlun, and Kongtong emerged.
One day, a person carrying a black sword appeared, traveling throughout the martial arts world and competing in martial arts. This person not only stirred up the entire martial arts world with a single sword but also easily destroyed the Wudang sect's Seven-Star Sword Formation and the Shaolin sect's 108 Monks Formation. As a result, the entire martial arts world trembled with fear of the black sword and its wielder. Rumors spread, as is typical of people, that the person's sword was black and extremely sharp, and their sword skills were incredibly terrifying. People called this person the "Black Guest." However, for unknown reasons, the Black Guest suddenly disappeared from the martial arts world.
Then, another terrifying black martial artist, known as the "Skeleton Demon," appeared. The Skeleton Demon's crimson sword techniques, bloody palm, and hidden weapon, the Demon's Fang, caused the entire martial arts world to tremble with fright. As humans are prone to following greed, when the Skeleton Demon attempted to dominate and control the martial arts world, a fierce battle erupted between the Skeleton Demon and the martial artists of the world.
The battle that took place in Death Valley was extremely intense. When the martial artists were on the verge of defeat, a savior appeared on their side. The martial artists were astonished to find that it was the Black Guest, the person carrying the black sword. The Black Guest stood with the martial artists and confronted the Skeleton Demon. After two days of fierce fighting, the Skeleton Demon sustained severe injuries and fled. The Black Guest also disappeared from the martial arts world after the battle.
The Sapphire Dragon had once again disappeared from the world for the second time.
This event occurred many years ago. As time passed, both the Black Guest, the owner of the black sword, and the villainous Skeleton Demon gradually faded from the memories of the martial artists. However, everyone had forgotten that history tends to repeat itself.
This story is merely an ordinary tale of a young martial artist who emerged during the early Tang Dynasty, more than 100 years after the battle between the Skeleton Demon and the Black Guest.