A Blade Carries the Future

On the eve of the millennium, a torrential downpour blankets the entire city of Zhongjiang. Neon lights tear through the rainy night as a fateful siege erupts at the Imperial Palace nightclub.

The notorious crime boss Lan Liuyu is surrounded by a team led by Inspector Cheng. They want only two tokens: the heirloom Horse-Tooth Saber and his confession. Gravely ill and hardened by a lifetime of violence, Lan Liuyu knows the saber carries the old roots of Yangdi and the hope of turning the tables. Once he gives it up, there will be no way back.

With no escape, he sets a deadly plan in motion. He scatters a fortune in cash to disrupt the police lines, sends his brothers-in-arms away, and risks his life to help Gu Yunqing, who bears the Horse-Tooth Saber, escape through a secret passage and make for the old docks, where she can flee by sea. Left alone to hold the rear, Lan Liuyu faces wave after wave of police. Bullets tear through him, but he refuses to retreat. He detonates the explosives he planted, bringing down the entire nightclub with his own life and burning away the glory of his turbulent past.

At the end, he sees through the rise and fall of wealth and status. All he remembers are the simple days of his youth, herding horses in Yangdi. He preserves the last of his jianghu honor and his unyielding convictions. The flames die down, and the crime boss falls. Amid the wind and rain, Gu Yunqing sails away with the Horse-Tooth Saber, bearing its legacy of blood feuds and ties to her homeland.

The old era ends in flames. Bearing his trust and a deep-seated hatred, she rides the waves toward her ancestral home in Yangdi. Thus begins a long journey of jianghu vendettas and revenge, spanning mountains and seas.