The lowly fate of the countless masses cannot be fully described; the hearts behind the endless sea of worldly desires cannot be fathomed.
The emptiness of the myriad cycles of existence remains beyond comprehension, leaving us bewildered; we cannot escape life and death, nor the stillness of nirvana.
A century ago, the heretical forces of the Northern Wasteland invaded the Central Plains and seized power. They merged religion and government, forcing the people to follow the Lan faith. Those who refused were branded outsiders and slaughtered in droves. The people lived in misery. That same year, a severe drought struck the heart of the Central Plains. The heat scorched the earth and melted stone, locusts filled the skies, and people traded their children for food. The starving cried out in the cold, while corpses littered the land.
At last, a hero emerged on the land of Shenzhou. The Han King, blazing with fury, rallied the people with a call to arms, and heroes of the martial world rose up one after another. In the end, they pacified the realm and drove the Northern Wasteland beyond the Great Wall. They established the Great Liang Dynasty. Later, because feuds and private duels among martial sects claimed many lives, and to bring these forces under control, the court placed all the sects under its jurisdiction and established the Martial Alliance to oversee them. Sects registered with the Alliance were recognized as legitimate. Training disciples and accepting them as full-fledged fighters required passing the court's martial examinations and receiving a Knight-Errant Writ. From then on, being a knight-errant became a profession.
Eighty years later, peace reigned across the land, and knights-errant gradually fell into decline. The Knight-Errant Writ became a prerequisite for working as a bodyguard, household guard, martial arts instructor, and the like. Meanwhile, after nearly a century of accumulated corruption, the court was on the verge of collapse. The Eight Great Sects, led by Shaolin, Wudang, Emei, Kongtong, Hengshan, Mingjiao, Kunlun, and the Beggars' Guild, were growing restless and eager to break free of the court's control. Some even sought to take its place. Meanwhile, the mysterious assassin organization known as the Dark Court lurked behind the scenes, waiting for its chance. After a century, the Northern Wasteland's Lan faith had not abandoned its ambition to seize the Central Plains. Only the Su family, generation after generation of Great Wall commanders, stood in its way.
The realm was on the brink of chaos, and schemes and betrayal once again spread across the land.
