Chapter 3- The End Of A Thousand Year Conflict

Even though the Northern Wasteland was called the Northern Wasteland, it wasn't exactly a wasteland. In fact, it consisted of a well-known forest with some of the oldest and tallest trees on the continent.

As for why 'wasteland' was in its name, it was because that well-known forest was called the Forest of Death and consisted of some of the most ferocious Demonic Beasts on the continent.

However, it was in this Forest of Death that the Demonic Cult called its home.

It was said that a thousand years ago a Great Demon appeared and caused chaos throughout the Central Plains. He went on to gather thousands of worshippers to take over the continent.

Only when the Ten Divine Heroes rallied resistance and fought back against the Great Demon did they manage to drive him and his followers outside of the Central Plains and into the Forest of Death.

However, for the next five hundred years 'The Great Demonic Army' and 'The Great Demon Extermination Army' fought a bloody battle with the casualties in the millions.

Villages, Towns, Cities, men, women, children, the old, the young. The effects of the war did not discriminate against anyone.

During this half a millennia-year war, the Great Demonic Army always had the advantage. This was because it was believed that the Great Demon was a Demonic Immortal.

While the Ten Divine Heroes had died from old age after a hundred and twenty years, the Great Demon was still alive, only having gone from a man in his early twenties to his late twenties during those hundred and twenty years. If not for the Ten Divine Heros passing down their teachings to their disciples, the Great Demonic Army would have won long ago.

However, as time went on, something even more inconceivable happened. The Great Demon didn't just outlive one or two generations of the Ten Divine Heroes, but five. Instead of weakening, he seemed to become stronger and stronger as time passed.

After five hundred years, just when the Great Demon's power seemed to reach a zenith and the descendants of the Ten Divine Heroes were about to lose, an unknown man appeared on the battlefield and directly beheaded the Great Demon with a single stroke of his sword.

From the recounts of the people who had survived that final war and saw the scene firsthand, they claimed the man appeared behind the Great Demon out of nowhere and simply drew his sword to sever his head. They claimed to have sensed no great power from that strike, and it looked like any ordinary move.

But perhaps that detail was precisely what was terrifying about that mysterious man.

After the Great Demon was defeated, his army collapsed and was forced to retreat into hiding in the Forest of Death.

The mysterious man then led the Ten Divine Heroes in rebuilding the Central Plains for the next fifty years.

Despite the war, these fifty years were the golden age of Martial Arts on the Central Continent. The Ten Divine Heroes all formed their own organization and promoted their teachings to anyone willing to learn. At the same time at the behest of the people, the mysterious man, whose name was revealed to be Han Mo, had become the Emperor of the Central Continent, with his descendants' becoming princes and princesses, creating the Royal Court.

However, turmoil appeared at the peak of this golden age after Han Mo suddenly vanished without choosing a successor from his three sons. Worse, only the successor could inherit his powerful Sword Art that had beheaded the Great Demon, the Divine Origin Sword Art.

Thus, a power struggle occurred between the three brothers. The older brother had the support of the already established court, but the second oldest and youngest brother pulled the Ten Divine Heroes organizations into the struggle for power with the temptation of receiving the Divine Origin Sword Art.

Thus, another war was started which lasted for twenty years. It had only ended when the oldest brother willingly handed over the Sword Origin Art to his younger brothers with his only two conditions being that they never share it with the Ten Divine Heroes and that he became the Emperor.

So, the war ended with the three brothers separated. The oldest became the emperor, while the second youngest entered the Martial World and founded the Han Clan, becoming the eleventh power among the Ten Divine Heroes.

As for the youngest brother, he had disappeared after the war, the only information about him being his last words where he claimed he was going to search for their father Han Mo. However, it was suspected that he was the founder of the Southern Ice Palace in the south of the Continent, or at least he contributed to it.

The Royal Court in the middle of the Central Plains, the Eleven Great Powers north of the continent near the Forest of Death, and the Ice Palace in the far South. This was the distribution of power in the Central Plains a hundred years after the Great Demon Subjugation War and the Three Emperors Civil War.

However, the power structure changed slightly after the resurgence of followers of the Great Demon who was now called the Demonic Cult. Especially among the Eleven Great Powers.

The new Great Demon that led this Demonic Cult was almost as terrifying as the Great Demon, however, the Eleven Great Powers of the north were able to halt the Great Demon and the Demonic Cult in their tracks before they could make it out of the Forest of Death and enter the Central Plains.

The Eleven Great Powers did ask the Royal Court for help, which was directly behind them, but they refused.

The Royal Court had recognized the strength of the Eleven Great Powers and wished to use the Demonic Cult to tie them down so they wouldn't grow stronger. As for the Southern Ice Palace, they were too far away to be of any significant help.

This left the Eleven Great Powers to be in a prolonged conflict with the Demonic Cult. A few more powers arose during this conflict, which distinguished themselves as the Unorthodox Faction. The Ten Great Forces who considered themselves the Righteous Faction were at odds with this new power, but under the second oldest Han Prince's leadership, he gathered the Unorthodox Faction and Righteous Faction to create the Heavenly Murim Alliance.

He also created the Heavenly Murim Alliance Academy which accepts disciples from all across the Central Plains, Unorthodox and Righteous.

The Ten Great Powers descended from the Divine Heroes and who were now known as the Righteous Faction, were divided into Four Noble Clans, the Namgung Clan, the Tang Clan, the Jeagal Clan, and the Peng Clan. There were also the Six Holy Sects, the Hua Sect, the Shaolin Sect, the Wudang Sect, the Beggars Sect, the Kunlun Sect, and the Emei Sect.

Meanwhile, the Unorthodox Faction Consisted of the Hao Sect, the Assassin Guild, the Mercenary Association, and the Merchant Association.

All these powers were led by the Han Clan to fend off the Demonic Cult for the last four hundred years.

However, all of that changed in the current generation, and talks of peace began to become prevalent after a sensational incident.