Solo Leveling: What Are the Cartenon Temple Commandments & What Do They Mean?

Solo Leveling is a South Korean novel series that has recently seen an anime adaptation. Arguably the most popular manhwa in the world, Solo Leveling is sure to attract a lot of attention, especially in light of the fact that the anime adaptation is truly great. While we’re enjoying the episodes, we have decided to cover some aspects that appear in the series, and the one we are going to be covering here is related to the Cartenon Temple. As we know, the Hunters saw a table with “The Commandments of the Cartenon Temple,” and they proved to be exceptionally important. In this article, we are going to explain their meaning and importance.

1st Commandment: “First, revere the Lord.”

The first commandment said – “Revere the Lord.” (or God, depending on the translation, but that is a secondary issue). Well, the Hunters initially tried to run from the Temple but ended up being killed, either by the statues or by the Architect, who burned them to a crisp. Seeing the inevitability of their fates, the Hunters stood still and ducked, speculating as to why the statue was attacking them and how they could escape their fate at the moment.

Sung Jinwoo then properly interpreted the commandment: it wasn’t that the statue attacked those who moved, but rather only those who did not bow low enough, and in that aspect, he realized that the Statue was attacking only those who were too high. And after they all listened to him, they managed to pass the first test, as the Lord acknowledged their effort and allowed them to actually pass that test.

2nd Commandment: “Second, praise the Lord.”

The second commandment said – “Praise the Lord!” Well, this was a relatively logical conclusion to the story, as a God who wants to be revered also wants to be praised, as both are a sign of utter respect towards the deity. The issue here was that the Hunters had no idea what they should be doing, as the commandment wasn’t really clear on that aspect. One of the Hunters suggested that they should say a prayer to God, showing how much they respect him and how important they think he is.

All of this was happening as the Architect changed its expression to a maniacal one and rose from its seat, charging at them. The plan to utter prayers failed miserably, as the Architect stomped over the praying Hunter and started stomping over the others as well, killing several of them. The Hunters scattered around the Temple, but they had a problem – if they would come close to an armored statue, the statue would kill them. They found several statues with instruments, and as they approached them – one each – they started playing music; they soon realized that this is how they should praise the Lord, so each of the surviving Hunters reached one statue, and as the music began, the Architect stopped. The second test was also completed.

3rd Commandment: “Third, prove your faith to the Lord.”

Finally, the third commandment said the following – “Prove your faith to the Lord!” This was a complex order as no one knew what to do, but soon after the second test was completed, an altar appeared in the center of the Temple, and the Hunter soon realized that an offer had to be made. They approached the altar, and red flames lit up, one for each Hunter. After enough Hunters approached, the door opened, seemingly allowing them to exit. At the same time, a circle of blue flames lit up, and the statues started coming at them.

The task was unclear, and some Hunters began escaping through the door. They soon realized that only one of them had to remain so that the others could go, and it was Sung Jinwoo who sacrificed himself, thereby saving the others. Sung Jinwoo was ultimately rewarded for his sacrifice and survived, also being made a Player of the System, which began his ascent towards becoming the strongest Hunter.

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