The world of martial arts

Deep within the human anatomy lies Hōgu, the sacred crucible of vital energy and spiritual breath, anchored quietly in the center of the chest. Discovered a millennium ago, the mastery of this inner core unlocked the path of the "Cultivators," allowing mortals to channel the very pulse of the cosmos. However, in the chaotic early dawn of this era, unguided power bred corruption. Without moral boundaries or spiritual discipline, many practitioners fell into depravity, abusing their newfound might to oppress ordinary people and plunging the mortal realm into an endless, vicious cycle of sin and suffering.
Refusing to bow to tyranny any longer, a coalition of the oppressed and righteous masters united to forge the very first "Martial Arts Alliance." Armed with iron wills and righteous blades, they waged a grueling, continent-spanning campaign of blood and resilience, systematically hunting down and overthrowing the tyrants and rogue factions that terrorized the lands, finally restoring a hard-fought peace to civilization.
Yet, true evil rarely vanishes entirely; it merely retreats into the dark. The shattered remnants, disgraced outcasts, and surviving villains who escaped the sword of the Alliance fled far beyond the civilized borders, retreating into the desolate, mist-shrouded frontiers and lawless, barren wastes at the edge of the world. In these remote, forgotten corners, these fragmented renegades slowly banded together, merging small, vicious factions into a terrifying collective. Through forbidden blood-arts and ruthless subjugation, they grew in power over the decades, eventually ascending into a massive shadow empire known as the "Demonic Cult." To cement their dark ambitions, they crowned their supreme leader as the first Demon Emperor, Mo Lan.
Though the war eventually ceased and ushered in a brilliant golden age of martial arts masters that has flourished across generations to this day, an ominous shadow looms over the realm once more.