Against the sweeping backdrop of conflict throughout the martial world and the realm, an ordinary young man named Zu wants only to protect his family, cure his mother’s illness, and live in peace. While gathering herbs one day, he is hunted by a mysterious black hawk, but is rescued by Shen Heweng, one of the Sword Alliance’s four great swordmasters. Afterward, Zu faces one hardship after another: he is harassed while selling medicinal herbs and falsely accused while buying candied hawthorns. Through it all, he holds fast to his kindness. After saving Fang Jingxiu, he is drawn into the conflicts of the martial world, and Fang entrusts him with the Sword Lord’s Token on his deathbed.
When turmoil erupts across the martial world, Zu’s mother is killed protecting his younger sister. The two siblings are left homeless and endure countless hardships. Fortunately, Yan Tian’s family takes them in. Under Yan Tian’s father’s guidance, Zu and Xi understand the Opening Realm and find their direction in cultivation. At the market, they meet an injured girl who cannot speak, and clash with an arrogant, noble young man. The young man’s attitude changes abruptly when he learns the girl’s background. Just then, people from the Tianya Sea Pavilion catch up with them, pulling everyone into an even deeper whirlpool of martial-world intrigue. The forces, grudges, tangled affections, and mysteries of their origins intertwine. Can Zu avenge his family in this chaotic age, protect those he holds dear, and become a legend of the martial world?
