> "The brighter the blade, the darker the shadow it casts."
— Ryu Seok-jin
In the annals of the murim world, one name echoed above all others—Ryu Seok-jin, the man revered as the Sword Domain Sovereign.
At forty years of age, Ryu stood alone atop the path of the sword. He was the first and only being to reach the Seventh Realm of Sword Evolution, a place where the blade no longer required steel. His sword was intent. His will became law. His domain, reality itself.
> "The Sword Domain Sovereign: a master who forges a world shaped by the blade — where time bends, weight shifts, and causality shatters."
Within that dominion, the impossible became truth. No physical weapon was needed—only killing intent, shaped into form. His mastery stood above all nine known stages of sword cultivation:
1. Sword Initiate – Mastery of fundamentals
2. Blade Disciple – Projection of Sword Qi
3. Sword Pulse Practitioner – Control over rhythm and pressure
4. Soulbound Swordsman – Fusion with a blade spirit
5. Sword Spirit Wielder – A sword with will and form
6. Sword Intent Manifestor – Remote slashing and aura shaping
7. Sword Domain Sovereign – Reality forged by sword
8. Transcendent Sword Saint – A blade that severs universal laws
9. Originblade Eternal – The embodiment of the sword's primal essence
To the world, Ryu Seok-jin was a paragon of righteousness. A man who healed the sick, fed the starving, and inspired an entire generation of martial artists. Statues were raised in his honor. Temples etched his likeness into sacred stone.
But behind the curtain of reverence… lay a truth darker than obsidian steel.
Ryu Seok-jin was no saint. He was a butcher cloaked in silk—a man who weaponized trust and veiled his sins beneath fame. Entire villages vanished under his shadow. Innocents slaughtered, their deaths pinned on others. And no one questioned him.
Who would dare?
One fateful night, deep within the mist-veiled woods near the Grand Citadel in the Imperial Valley, Ryu committed his most horrific act yet: the massacre of an isolated village, its people annihilated without mercy.
But this time… someone saw.
Three young disciples from the Golden Dragon Fang Clan, one of the Five Great Clans of murim, stumbled upon the blood-soaked scene. Brave and righteous, they confronted the legendary sovereign.
They never stood a chance.
Ryu cut them down without hesitation. Their bodies were consumed by flame and steel—erased from history.
But a fourth witness remained.
A child, trembling atop a tree, hidden by fear and foliage. He saw everything. He remembered every scream.
That child returned to the Golden Dragon Fang with a tale no one wanted to believe. At first, the elders dismissed him. How could the Sword Domain Sovereign commit such atrocities?
But whispers carry weight.
A secret investigation began. What they uncovered shook the very foundation of the martial world:
> Ryu Seok-jin was the phantom killer the clans had hunted for over five years.
And so, the heads of the Five Great Clans convened to pass judgment on the man once hailed as a savior:
Nam Jiwoon, master of the Moonshadow Sword Clan, whose blade danced like ghostlight
Baek Yuhwan, lord of the Crimson Flame Pavilion, whose embers never faded
Shin Raon, spear-wielder of the Thunderbone Clan, who struck like roaring storms
Do Gaon, matriarch of the Jade Ice Bloom Palace, her blade cold as winter silence
Jin Maeryeok, patriarch of the Golden Dragon Fang Clan, whose sword mirrored the heavens
Each of them had reached the Fifth Realm, Sword Spirit Wielder. Their blades possessed consciousness, bound by wrath and justice. Together, they marched to the forest of Ryu's secluded home.
What followed was a battle spoken of only in whispers and nightmares.
A clash of six titans shook the sky.
The earth cracked. The heavens dimmed. The forest burned.
Their battle raged for three days and three nights—a celestial war hidden from the eyes of man.
At last, Ryu fell.
Bloodied and broken, standing amid the ashes of his shattered domain, Ryu looked to the sky and laughed—his voice mocking even as life left him.
> "Even in death… I laugh at your feeble victory."
Then silence.
Ryu Seok-jin, the man who ruled reality with a blade, the icon who deceived the world, died not as a hero...
…but as the greatest traitor the murim had ever known.