Prologue

Joseon, ancient Korea. Full of magical wonders, and history that has never been explored before. Many things have been revealed, for example undercover agents, spies, secret military power, corruption, framings, assassinations, so on and so forth. People may think they know everything, but they do not. Even the greatest historians still have debates and bickering's about this one topic.

I am about to reveal a narrative, not just any narrative however, a narrative that indulges you in the biggest, and yet unknown mystery of Korea, or ancient Joseon. Whether you choose to believe the words on these pages is wholly up to you, however you cannot hide the fact that you have intrigue rising in you.

The era is the Joseon era, arguably the prime and height of Korea throughout history. It was powerful, making many advancements in agriculture, science, medicines, literature, and more. It had finally broken free of China's underlying palm, and become a truly independent nation. That is all credited to one man, Lee Sejeong. Lee Sejeong, the greatest leader in Korea, period. However here is where the unknown begins, and the known ends. Near the end of Lee Sejeong's leadership, he knew his time was ending, and so secretly he passed on an act that would forever change Joseon, and Asia as a whole. The SSAUL act.

It was simple, and yet intricate simultaneously. Stupid and baffling, yet genius and cunning. In short, it was an act that Joseon would select up to 10 of the best warriors in Joseon, to form a group that was the best of the best. Realistically, it seemed like a fairy tale, but that was also why it was genius. The goal was that it was supposed to be secret, that no one would know, especially outside nations. So if it seemed so unrealistic that it could never happen, no one would believe it exists. The perfect disguise. The act was only made known to the political figures after Sejeong died however, so there was much chaos for months. However one man rose up, and decided that it could work. If they chose not based on status, or money, just skill, it could work. However with the amount of corruption in politics and diplomatic affairs, it wouldn't be possible. So that man decided to change the idea to the political world, but not the true idea. He revised it for the political world, changing it from 10 warriors, to one representative. This representative was allowed to be decided upon however much corruption politics could get it's grimy grasp on, because that wasn't to be the actual SSAUL act.

The real act was kept the same, and alive for that matter. That man then went on to recruit the first 10 in complete secret. He tried looking in the most prestigious martial arts schools, and temples, yet nothing could peak his interest. Until one day, he was out on a stroll and wandered into the slums unknowingly. It wasn't a mere coincidence he happened to wander into the slums that day, it was fate. In those slums, the moon absorbed the sun as it turned night, and he passed over what looked to be a path leading to an underground area. In that underground area, there was loud cheering, the loudest he had ever heard in his life. As he approached and got closer to what seemed to be where the cheering was coming from, the lighting started to get brighter. It was there that the man finally understood what fate was, and how he would truly finally make his mark on Joseon. He entered a large space, which seemed to resemble an underground Ssireum tournament area (ancient Korean wrestling, got popular during the Joseon era). In the center, there was a fighting platform, and there he saw it. Everything was blurred out of focus for him. All the noise was mellowed out into a hush, the bright light was dimmed so that not even the smallest wisp was noticeable, and his vision was zoomed into one thing only, the fighter.

That fighter moved elegantly. That man's specific words were,

"Each step they took shook the world, however it was far from rough, it was like a butterfly flapping its wings. Every hand movement was like a scholar writing a poem. Every kick was like a beautiful dance. Despite those things, this fighter seemed to hit every time like a crackling whip, and felt like a blistering blade."

He knew instantly that this was it, the first member he needed. That's when he got the idea, he should recruit and scout in the slums. The difference between the slums and the rich areas was that in the rich areas people trained for fun and to impress, in the slums people trained to survive and live another day. Plus, there were no official records for anyone in the slums, no past to hold them back or get in the way.

That is how the great group of warriors started, the first generation anyways, and it would send a ripple towards the future that would shake Korea forever. This group of warriors was called the Ssaurabi.