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Long before Jin Tae-won's name was ever spoken, the world of Shinmur was already a battlefield of power.
A land where strength defined worth, where the weak bowed, and the strong carved their names into history.
In Shinmur, all life was born from two forces — Ki and Mana.
Ki was the fire within: the essence of will, discipline, and life itself.
Mana was the breath of the world: the spirit of nature, the echo of Heaven's design.
Every man and woman learned to touch one of these powers — never both.
To wield Ki was to walk the path of the body, to master the flow of one's inner world.
To wield Mana was to command the unseen, bending the laws of nature with thought and intent.
But those who sought to unite them…
Those who dreamed of mastering both…
Were called blasphemers.
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Centuries ago, there was a legend — of an order that dared to defy Heaven.
They were called the Order of the Dual Soul — warriors who believed that Ki and Mana were not opposites, but two halves of a perfect whole.
They claimed that by merging them, a human could transcend mortality itself.
That one could reach beyond Heaven's Veil and touch true creation.
The gods disagreed.
What followed was known as The Veil War — a clash that burned the sky and split mountains. The Order of the Dual Soul was erased, their teachings destroyed, their names wiped from history.
From then on, Heaven decreed a single law:
> "No soul shall walk both paths."
Any who tried were branded heretics, hunted by both martial sects and sorcerous clans alike.
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A thousand years have passed since then.
Shinmur thrives, but the same law still binds it.
The Ki Sects — like the Iron Shadow Sect and Storm Fist Pavilion — train disciples to strengthen body and spirit.
The Mana Clans — like Vermillion Crest and Mistveil House — study runes, spirits, and elemental power.
Their rivalry built an uneasy balance across the continent.
Peace born not from harmony, but fear.
And yet… the world is changing.
Whispers spread of a growing instability — storms that carry both Ki and Mana, beasts born with dual auras, and ancient ruins glowing with forbidden energy.
In hidden corners of Shinmur, the old legend stirs again.
A prophecy once silenced begins to breathe anew:
> "When the heavens deny the worthy, one will rise by his own hands."
"When Ki and Mana unite once more, the mortal shall surpass the divine."
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And somewhere in the mountains of the Iron Shadow Sect,
a nameless disciple trains long past the setting sun —
bleeding, breaking, refusing to stop.
He doesn't know it yet,
but his relentless path will soon shake Heaven itself.
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