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I'm the Northern Heavenly Sect's 5th Generation Leader...Jin Mu-Won
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~ Mu-Won introducing himself to Tae Mu-Kang before their fight.
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Starting now...The former legacies of the Northern Heavenly Sect. I shall collect them, one by one.
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~ Mu-Won officially declaring war on the former Great Four of the Northern Heavens
Jin Mu-Won (Korean: 진무원), better known by his alias, Northern Blade is the titular main protagonist of the 2014 korean web novel and 2019 manhwa webcomic series of the same name, Legend Of The Northern Blade. He is 5th generation Sect Leader of the Northern Heavenly Sect, the only son of the late previous leader, Jin Kwan-Ho, and the sole practitioner of the secret martial art known as Gathering Of Ten Thousand Shadows.
Mu-Won was first introduced as a child who watched his father take his own life as the result of a sinister plot cooked up by the Central Heavenly Alliance led by the Nine Skies, the leaders of the mainland martial sects and the Great Four of the Northern Heavens, men who he and his father taught as family and friends who betrayed the sect.
Years later while publicly posing as a blacksmith, Mu-Won secretly learned martial arts while living as a prisoner in the ruins of the Northern Heavenly Sect homebase for three years. But his life as a captive quickly turns eventful after founding and helping a mysterious young woman named Eun Ha-Seol who was heavily injured, the arrival of the children of the Nine Skies, and the sudden attack of The Northern Heavenly Sect by Tae Mu-Kang, the Demon of Chaos and his troops in their pursuit of Ha-Seol. Mu-Won would reveal his hidden abilities when he fought and held his own against the sinister assassin before vanishing for seven years to train and hone his martial arts skills.
After seven years in seclusion along with fully mastering his martial arts, Jin Mu-Won decides to return to the outside world in order find his missing adoptive uncle Hwang-Cheol.
As the sole surviving member and inheritor of the legacy of the Northern Heavenly Sect, Mu-Won wears the traditional uniform synonymous with the fallen sect, that being a blue-grey tunic with dark brown seams along with white pants and black shoes. Mu-Won's sleeves are often rolled up to his elbows, highlighting his muscles which were developed during his time as a blacksmith and training. Beneath his clothing, Mu-Won sports multiple scars on his upper body that he received from his fight with Tae Mu-Kang, having a large scar on his right side after getting hit by the Demon of Chaos' Qi attack. He has dark hair which he used to keep neat and tidy by tying it up with a hairpin as a child but left it unkempt and messy during his teenage years while he was a prisoner. During this period, his hair grew past his shoulders. By the time he left the Jeokam Mountains, however, his hair has grown down to his back and is currently tied up in a simple hairband while sporting dark brown armbands which complement the color of the seams on his tunic.
Personality[]
He is observed to be calm and a stoic young man shaped by the tragic fall of his family and the sect before him as he carries the quiet resilience, training tirelessly to reclaim his lost honor and legacy while hiding his strength from his enemies. His sharp intelligence and strategic mind has helped him allow outmaneuver against powerful enemies. While he desires for revenge those who betrayed his family, he is deeply loyal and honorable as he upholds his fathers values and protecting those who stand by him. Jin remains hopeful driven by sense of justice despite having grief and loneliness as his reserve nature masks his fierce determination to restore the Northern Heavenly Sect.
Quotes[]
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What's the point of dying for your liege when they will never acknowledge your deed? Is it perhaps because they seek honor and glory? But what use would that be when you're dead? The way I see it, they died a dog's death...
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I have heard your desire. I shall accept you. You shall now become my first blade.
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~ To Seo Mu-Sang
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Then my journey to the top...Shall begin at this place.
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~ Mu-Won at the start of his training.
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There are times to feel the urge to follow your heart over your mind and that's what happened to me today. Everyone claims that justice is dead. Those who have everything try to steal th last handful of rice from those who have nothing in order to fill their own storage and those who are treated unfairly have nowhere to vent their own frustrations.If even those who have mastered the art of fighting turn their backs on such people, why do we warriors exists at all
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~ Jun Mu-won telling Jong Ri Mu-huan
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Haah...Hah...Where did a monster like you come from?
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~ Chung-In on Mu-Won's abilities after being defeated.
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As you've probably noticed, this world is a cold hearted place. If you're sweet, it smalls you right up and if you're bitter, it spits you back out.
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~ Jin Mu-Won reminding Moonjung how evil the world is
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I've met all sorts of people while trying to track you down, and every single one of them spoke your eccentricit behavior and called you crazy. But the way I see it, you're not crazy, I have a feeling that there's something driving you into a corner. Since truly crazy individuals cant see reason, they're unable to act logically or rationality. But after I took a closer look at your actions, I found that they have something in common g, I believe the goal you have in mind was to understand humans better by the way they behave and pushing themselves to their limits and how it affects thee logic, harmony and universe. That's what you're trying to figure out in your journey. Am I not wrong?
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~ Jin Mu won telling to Ha Jin-wol in deeper thinking
Powers and Abilities[]
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I'll be killed...! He's not just your normal kid!! He may be a tiger without fangs, but he's a tiger nonetheless!
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~ Tae Mu-Kang on Mu-Won's abilities during their fight.
Mu-Won is an extremely powerful and capable martial artist due to spending seven years in mastering his skills and cultivating abilities in isolation style training within a harsh and unforgiving location known as the Jeokam Mountains having attained the level of a Transcendent Martial Master. Even before formally focusing solely on training, Mu-Won demonstrated his potential as a martial artist as he was able to hold his own against Tae Mu-Kang as he wounded the Demon of Chaos while also bypassing his Undying Flames of Chaos immortality healing, deflected his Chaotic Rain of Destruction Qi attack, and inflicted a large wound across his shoulder. After Hwang-Cheol goes missing, Mu-Won tested his ability in which he single-handily destroyed the Jeokam Mountains in a single strike of his sword.
Superhuman Speed: As the master of Gathering of 10 Thousand Shadows, Mu-Won's movements appear to an observer as if they were a shadow and that they feel like darkness is surrounding them, making the body numb and difficult to move. This allows him to be able to move in a silent fashion and disappear without a trace, making it extremely challenging to have his movements read because of the unpredictable nature.
Superhuman Durability: Mu-Won has shown a great degree of durability by withstanding attacks that can level entire landscapes.
Superhuman Senses: Mu-Won is also capable of determining the identity of anyone using a transformation art, regardless of what form they may take, upon subsequent transformations that have been observed by the user.
Internal Shadow: Another important element of the martial art is that it allows Mu-Won to vastly enhances his sensory abilities to detect the qi of all individuals over a large radius including that of other martial artists.
Gathering of Ten Thousand Shadows: Mu-Won is the current and sole practitioner of this hidden martial art that was created by Buk Jin-Hu, the founding sect leader of the Northern Heavenly Sect and developed further by the previous sect leaders.
Master Swordsman: Using Snow Flower as the funnel Mu-Won is able to utilize the Gathering of Ten Thousand Shadows's combat moves - the Shadowed Blade of the End. As the blacksmith who created Snow Flower he is able to use the weapon with extremely deadly effect, ranging from using the flat side of the blade to knock out multiple opponents to outright eviscerating them by merely drawing it out from its sheath.
Shattering Finger: launches a two-finger strike at an opponents' weapon shattering it on contact or to knock them out.
Miscellaneous Abilities[]
Extensive Knowledge: Mu-Won is a living breathing encyclopedia as he holds the culminated knowledge and writings of all past sect leaders of the Northern Heavenly Sect.
Master Craftsman: To maintain his cover during the years as a prisoner, Mu-Won took up smithing and has crafted quite a number of swords and other weapons.
Metallurgic Knowledge: Due to his experience with smithing, he's able to ascertain the quality as well as the weaknesses of weapons and recommend weapons suitable for others.
Power Masking: One of the most notable features of using the Gathering of Ten Thousand Shadows is that the qi of the practitioner is felt as unsettling to other martial artists and it exists in a paradoxical state of being, as stated by Mu-Hwan, the Vice Captain and chief strategist of the Iron Brigade - "...there and not there at the same time" . As a result, most martial artists aren't able to determine whether Mu-Won has built up qi or has learned any martial arts.
Weapon[]
Snow Flower/Seol-Hwa is the personal and main weapon of Jin Mu-Won that he himself created from a meteorite that fell near the village of Sacred Mountain. During his seven-year training in the Jeokam Mountains, Mu-Won spent two years attempting to forge a sword from the ore extracted from the black meteorite but had difficulty in having it accept his will. After spending hours of work and finally finishing the sharpening that nearly coasted his whetstone, Mu-Won dubbed it the Snow Flower as its beauty was reminiscent of Eun Ha-Seol's pale like appearance. As a weapon, Snow Flower is categorized as a Bewitched Blade that is a result of the spirit or will of the Head Shamaness tainting the meteorite's ore with her anger and resentment following the massacre of village of Sacred Mountain. As such, it's overflowing with an abundance of sinister Qi that will consume the minds of any ordinary person, even Mu-Won must be on his guard as it threatens to consume his mind if not handled properly and thus requires him to have a strong willpower to overcome the pressure coming from the cursed weapon. While Snow Flower may pose some risks to him if its will isn't kept in check, it will nonetheless act in response to any threats made to Mu-Won and will response accordingly. One such means that the blade employs is the process of hijacking the will of an opponent by alluring them to its presence and fully possess them once they come into physical contact with the sword, even if it's sheathed. The opponent will then comply with any demands Mu-Won has and makes them extremely susceptible to interrogation for information and will remain under that state until the opponent collides with an outside physical force that removes the possession effect. This is only of the few instances the effects of sinister qi can be witnessed by an inanimate object. Another ability of the sword is that the spirit of the Shamaness is able to physically manifest itself and provide support to Mu-Won in the event that he is incapacitated during combat as a defensive mechanism until he is able to continue the fight and can also physically restrain an opponent and force them to be immobile, giving Mu-Won the opportunity to deliver multiple unanswered attacks but it can be overcome by sheer brute force.
Weaknesses[]
Lack of Experience: While Mu-Won is an extremely powerful martial artist he lacks the extensive experience of one as he spent years training and has only just enter the world of the Murim. He is also somewhat vulnerable in the use of his sensory abilities as he can fail in detecting the qi of martial masters who have attained a high level of skill, especially if the martial master is using a transformation art.
Trivia[]
Mu-Won might be ambidextrous as shown in an Instagram post, posted by the artist of the manhwa, Hae-Min.
Mu-Won and Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star share various similarities between each other.
