In the final years of the Wenzhao Dynasty, Li Han, a scholar from a humble family, revolutionized military tactics with the Divine Fire Crossbow, while Zhao Wu, a borderland general, defended the north with his Ironbone Saber Manual. Together, they ended Wang Su’s rebellion and founded a legendary dynasty with the saying, “The saber and the brush, united as one.” Twenty years later, Li Yang earned top honors in the imperial examinations with an improved mechanical brush built around the Divine Fire Crossbow, while Zhao Tian entered the Imperial Guards as the top martial arts candidate. But they were soon drawn into the White Deer Academy arson case and a secret scheme to manufacture weapons in the army. As remnants of the Peony Alliance resurface, two generations uncover the truth behind the rigged imperial examinations of twenty years ago: Western Regions cold-iron sand, hidden peony marks, and the linked Ink-and-Martial Formation. Once again, the pens of humble-born scholars intertwine with the blades of the border troops. Amid aristocratic conspiracies and frontier crises, they carry on the new saga of “humble beginnings, rising to protect the nation with brush and blade!”
