Martial arts dominate the Gosu (The Master) world with many gosu (고수, gosu), of all levels of power, using different styles. While outer ki and inner ki both exist, inner ki is a major part of a martial artist's strength. It has been noted that in the hands of a gosu with great inner ki, even a dead leaf can become a weapon that can pierce iron plates.[1] Despite this, outer ki fist arts can also be quite formidable.
The bodies of martial artists (and regular humans) have various important points on the body that determine ki output as well as one's mortality. There are twelve ki veins and eight erratic ki passages which are joined by the regular flow of one's ki.[2] As well as that, a person has nine fatal points.[2] If these fatal points are disrupted and a person continues using their martial arts, these fatal points will burst causing a ki overload and ultimately death.[3] Martial artists also have eight extra meridians on their body that, if opened correctly, boost the gosu's inner ki levels.[4]
Known Martial Arts[]
Black Lancer Techniques[]
The Black Lancer Techniques, officially known as the Black Lancers Seven Chained Moves (
- Black Lancers Seven Chained Moves, Adamantine Spiraling Spear
- Black Lancers Seven Chained Moves, Black Shattering Blast
Black Lancer Techniques in Yongbi the Invincible and the Side Story. |
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Black Wind Palm[]
- User(s): Jin Garyeong
Black Wind Palm (
Blood Dance Killing Formation[]
- User(s): Pung Baek, Ze Wungang
Blood Dance Killing Formation (
Demonic Techniques[]
- User(s): Hyeol Bi, Infinite Divine Archdemon, Okcheonbi
The Demonic Techniques (
In the present timeline, the Martial Eminence Hyeol Bi was able to use the Demonic Techniques after undergoing Demonic Resurrection.[12]
- Dark Blood Demonic Techniques (혈음마공):
- Great Phantasmal Soul Technique, Phantasmal Demonic Form
- Incorporeal Demonic Techniques (
무형마공 ):
Demonic Techniques in Yongbi the Invincible. |
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Diamond Body[]
- User(s): Dang Gwe
A martial artist from Hadong claimed he had reached a level of "Diamond Body" (
Divine Heavenly Destruction Techniques[]
- User(s): Dokgo Ryong, Four Heavenly Kings, Gang Ryong, Okcheonbi
The Twelve Divine Heavenly Destruction Techniques (
- Heavenly Destruction, Crushing Lightning
- Heavenly Destruction, Dark Wheel Strike
- Heavenly Destruction, Dark Wind Wall
- Heavenly Destruction, Eagle Talon Cleave
- Heavenly Destruction, Evil Negating Palmstrike
- Heavenly Destruction, Five Ring Palmstrike
- Heavenly Destruction, Five Ring Iron Palmstrike
- Heavenly Destruction, Five Wheels of Devastation
- Heavenly Destruction, Obliteration Flash Strike
- Heavenly Destruction, Pulverising Strike
- Heavenly Destruction, Radiant Wheel Strike
- Heavenly Destruction, Shattering Thrust Palm
- Heavenly Destruction, Space Sundering Palmstrike
- Heavenly Destruction, Thunder Hawk Strike
- Heavenly Destruction Secret Blood Technique, Extra Meridian Resonance
The Divine Heavenly Destruction Techniques can be chained:
Divine Jangbaek Arts[]
- User(s): Gwak Yeom
The Divine Jangbaek Arts (
Doh Family Spear Style[]
The Doh Family Spear Style (
- Doh Family's Flame Spear, the 13th Move: Empyrean Annihilation
- Huayang Excavation
- Pungjin Cross Slash
- Pungjin Eight Strikes
- Pungjin Spiral Dance
- Storm Slash
Flying Flash Sword[]
- User(s): Soh Cheongwon, Soh Jinhong
The Soseondang's Flying Flash Sword (
The current successor of the Flying Flash Sword style is Soh Jinhong, the Rosy-Cheeked Sword Fiend, a person who does not actually share any blood with the previous successor, Soh Cheongwon.[18]
Invisible Demonic Beast Fist[]
- User(s): Jang Woon
The Invisible Demonic Beast Fist (은형수마권, Eunhyeongsumagwon) is a powerful martial art used by Jang Woon.[19]
Iron Shattering Fist[]
- User(s): Dang Gan
Iron Shattering Fist (
Life Drain Technique[]
- User(s): Gha Woobok, Palgongjin Yangso
The Life Drain Technique (
There is also a special technique of the Life Drain Technique where the user can gain power through a spirit-eating tree. It involves accumulating ki by feeding a vampiric tree their own flesh and blood to grow it into a spirit-eating tree. Hwan Sa was able to obtain this technique somehow and taught it to Okcheonbi. That very technique was also stolen by Go Hyeop at one point.[24]
Palgongjin Yangso (
Poison Hands Divine Technique[]
- User(s): Hwan Sa, Na Jongmyeong
The Poison Hands Divine Technique (독수신공, Dogsusingong) is an incredibly deadly martial arts used by Na Jongmyeong, the Dark Deva of Poison Hands (독수신마 나종명, Dogsusinma Najongmyeong). Na Jongmyeong was a fearsome gosu of such caliber that he was said to have ruled the Murim 200 years prior to the current time. Hwan Sa was able to inherit this technique using the Grand Soul Possession Technique.[25]
Seven Step Black Wind Fist[]
- User(s): Goo Hwi
The Seven Step Black Wind Fist (
Seven Step Black Wind Fist Techniques in Yongbi the Invincible and the Side Story. |
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Welkin Lightning[]
- User(s): Sa Paecheon, Nameless
The Welkin Lightning (
- Welkin Lightning, Blood Death Palm
- Welkin Lightning, Demonic Rings
- Welkin Lightning, Five Fold Palmstrike
Unclassified Martial Arts techniques[]
These are martial arts techniques that are not specifically linked to any particular martial arts style.
- Black Celestial Technique
- Demonic Dark Whirlwind
- Eight Docked Gates Formation
- Explosion Stance
- Fierce Tiger Strike
- Flame Wall
- Godly Frost Palmstrike
- Heavenly Meteor Storm
- Sonic Wind Blood Thunder Palm
- Spinning Cut-Chain Strike
- Thousand Phoenix Destruction Sword
- Wall-shattering Fan of Needles
- Winds of Death, Tunneling Wheels
Other Abilities[]
Deadly Barrier: Palace of Conception[]
- User(s): Hwan Sa
The Deadly Barrier: Palace of Conception (
Grand Soul Possession Technique[]
- User(s): Hwan Sa
The Grand Soul Possession Technique (환혼귀진대법, Hwanhongwijindaebeob) is a forbidden technique that summons the spirits of archfiends who died without finding a successor (to pass their martial art on to) and allows the spirit to possess living novices who will then inherit their martial art.[28] While possessed, the novices must endure body-breaking training that eventually leads to their Ultimate Metamorphosis. Once their training is complete and the possessed novices have fully inherited the possessor's martial art, the spirit departs their body.[28]
However, this forbidden technique comes with extreme drawbacks. For the process to be successful, novices need both a complete understanding of the martial art they are inheriting (as well as being compatible with the martial art itself) and a tremendous amount of ki. In addition, the novices need incredible mental and physical fortitude in order to overcome the extreme pain caused by undergoing Ultimate Metamorphosis during possession. Due to this, despite the strict selection criteria and the many years of training that follow, the number of people that survive this accursed technique are close to zero. However, it is said that those who successfully inherit their possessor's martial art attain a martial arts prowess powerful enough to rule their era.[28]
Survivors of the Grand Soul Possession Technique include the six Sky Stars of the Seven Slayers of the Sky Gorge.[28]
Five Elements Death Ward[]
- User(s): Heuk Lan
The Five Elements Death Ward (오행사망진, Ohaengsamangjin) is a secret technique of Heuk Lan's clan that creates a ward to trap the user's target inside and kill them. The user must first set up multiple small stone altars and once the target enters its vicinity, they get trapped in an illusory space leaving them at the mercy of the user. In addition, it is said that those trapped can't make it out alive unless the user allows them to and how Heuk Lan disposed of her opponents were by placing them at a bottom of a fissure in the illusory space and creating a tsunami to consume them. Outside the ward, the ward can be seen as a massive whirlpool of fog.[29]
Illusion Casting[]
- User(s): Yang Jeonghak, Song Yerin, Old Man, Hwan Sa
Certain people have the power to cast sensory illusions, ranging from simple ocular illusions (such as changing one's appearance) to overwhelming somatosensory ones (such as making someone believe they have lost a limb). Illusionists try to unsettle their opponents in various ways; the moment their opponent becomes rattled and lets their emotions get the better of them, the illusionist has already won.[30] People who are single-mindedly driven easily succumb to even basic illusion techniques.[31]
According to Yang Jeonghak, the best way to break free from an illusion technique is to not get caught in an illusion technique to begin with by avoiding the gaze of the illusionist and keeping one's composure.[30] However, in the case that a person does succumb to an illusion, the quickest and simplest way to break free is through pain. However, because there is a fine distinction between imaginary pain and real physical pain, seizing the opportunity to break out of the illusion by noticing and using real physical pain comes down to the victim's willpower.[30] Another method of breaking out of an illusion technique is to release a relatively powerful burst of one's inner ki at once, though the person needs to be reasonably more powerful than the illusionist for this to work.[32]
Illusion Techniques[]
- Illusion Technique, Divided Soul: Arcane Relay (환술 분혼마전, Hwansul Bunhonmajeon) is a special technique used by Hwan Sa to implant false memories in his target. The technique does not alter the memories of the user's victim but fill in the gaps, making it most effective when used on someone who has corrupted and conflicting memories. By implanting these false memories, the user can essentially manipulate their victim into doing their bidding. It also appears that this technique can be set to activate upon a certain trigger; Hwan Sa set this technique to trigger on Gang Ryong upon activation of the Dan implanted in the latter.[33]
Poison Arts[]
There are many deadly toxins that are used in the branch of martial arts known as the Poison Arts:
- Demonic Blight (
마호선 , Mahoseon): A horrifying poison used by Sa Paecheon. Its effects include the slow degeneration of muscles and tissues.[34] - Gu (
고 , Go): A unique class of toxic worms that are implanted into a victim, enabling their user to control the victim's body against their will. Mak Sapyeong was a user. - Sage's Demise (
신선폐 , Shinseonpye): A poison that the old man's most recent puppet coated his sword with. While its effects are largely unknown, if one does not begin restoring their ki immediately after being afflicted, their chance of surviving drops drastically; using more ki while afflicted will almost certainly cause death.[30]
Sage Techniques[]
- User(s): Goo Hwi, Hong Ye-Mong, Ilgak, Yongbi
The members of the Sage Forest are said to have mastered powerful Sage Techniques (
- Preventing others such as Hwan Sa from using his Trigram to predict their movements.[35]
- Allowing the user to see faintly in pitch-black darkness.[36]
- Giving the user the ability to see spiritual ki, which is exuded by wielders of the Dan.[37]
- See beyond barriers.[38]
Key Terms[]
Gosuverse Key Terms | |||
Term | Hangul | Romaja | Description |
Gosu | 고수 (高手) | gosu | The term itself refers to someone who is highly skilled in a particular field. In the context of Gosu (The Master), it refers to a martial arts master. |
Murim | 무림 (武林) | murim | Refers to the martial arts world and the community within which the story takes place. The term Gangho (강호 (江湖), gang-ho) also refers to the martial arts world and community. |
Sphere of Resonance | 공진 (共振) | gongjin | A sphere of resonance is a powerful barrier made of ki and is an enclosing space that best suits its creator's style of fighting.[39] The space of ki inside the resonance also pulls in the opponent and once pulled in properly, they cannot even stand due to the enormous amount of pressure that pushes down upon them, thus limiting their movement.[24] |
Tae-eum Metastatic Bone Body | 태음환골지체 (太陰換骨之體) | taeeum hwangoljiche | It is a rare physiological condition that causes the flow of ki that connects various ki points in the body to be reversed in comparison to regular people. As such, those with the condition have bodies that are not suited to performing martial arts techniques that utilise inner ki manipulation; those that persistently use inner ki techniques will cause their ki to flow in reverse, which causes the ki backflow to become entangled thus resulting in severe internal damage.[2] |
Ultimate Metamorphosis | 환골탈태 (換骨奪胎) |
hwangol taltae | It is a process that high-level gosu who possess enormous ki levels and have attained enlightenment may undergo. It refers to a transformation that completely restructures their body, as well as their core, expunging all bodily impurities and turning the body into a perfect medium for ki manipulation. This results in a perfect martial artist with a flawless appearance. |
Notes & Trivia[]
- Gosu are said to have stepping and running techniques, so much so that they don't even leave footprints when they walk on snow.[40]
- LINE's translation of Diamond Body, "Vajra Body" refers to Vajra, a Sanskrit word that means both diamond and thunderbolt.
- In the Deadly Barrier: Palace of Conception technique, "胎宮" is a Buddhist term, meaning a "foetal palace"; it refers to a place where non-believers and disbelievers are in a dark void-like mothering womb (much like a foetus), though they are still in a palace.
- A protective ward can be a natural formation or artificially created by a martial artist.[41]
- Whether the Five Elements Death Ward is related to the Five Elements Ward that was said to have protected the Golden Castle is yet unknown.
References[]
- ↑ Chapter 18
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chapter 50
- ↑ Chapter 49
- ↑ Chapter 74
- ↑ Chapter 18 (Yongbi 2)
- ↑ Chapter 79 (Yongbi)
- ↑ Chapter 182
- ↑ Chapter 129
- ↑ Chapter 115 (Yongbi)
- ↑ Chapter 119 (Yongbi)
- ↑ Chapter 52 (Yongbi)
- ↑ Chapter 151
- ↑ Chapter 1
- ↑ Chapter 76
- ↑ Chapter 227
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Chapter 13
- ↑ Chapter 163
- ↑ Chapter 15
- ↑ Chapter 226
- ↑ Chapter 101
- ↑ Chapter 98
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Chapter 160
- ↑ Chapter 218
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Chapter 201
- ↑ Chapter 206
- ↑ Chapter 15 (Yongbi)
- ↑ Chapter 140
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 Chapter 127
- ↑ Chapter 171
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 Chapter 115
- ↑ Chapter 25
- ↑ Chapter 28
- ↑ Chapter 195
- ↑ Chapter 72
- ↑ Chapter 139
- ↑ Chapter 194
- ↑ Chapter 196
- ↑ Chapter 218
- ↑ Chapter 134
- ↑ Chapter 3
- ↑ Chapter 70 (Yongbi)