Reading by Lamplight, Sword in Hand

In the eighty-fourth year of the Liang Dynasty's Zhengtong era, the newly enthroned Emperor Wen of Liang listened to the slander of treacherous ministers at court and sent Bai Liansheng, a man skilled in both letters and arms, north to suppress the Northern Mang. With no one left to keep the court in check, corrupt officials ran rampant, raising taxes and imposing forced labor until the people could bear it no longer. As the country's fortunes waned, neighboring small states began to revolt, while treacherous ministers colluded with the enemy. At this moment, righteous heroes of the martial world began to emerge, killing invaders and slaying traitors. Experts appeared one after another, all kinds of martial arts manuals came to light, and reclusive masters appeared and vanished without a trace…

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.