The Sacred Path of Confucianism: I Slay Demons and Villains with Poetry and Books

The Great Xia Dynasty has stood for three hundred years, beset by powerful enemies abroad and controlled at court by aristocratic clans at home. Confucian doctrine has grown rigid and become a tool for chasing fame and profit. Scholars have lost all integrity, and the dynasty's fate hangs by a thread. The people suffer, complaints fill the land, and the dynasty already bears the signs of its final days.

The protagonist, Gu Changye, becomes bound by a “karmic entanglement” on a spiritual level to an ancient Confucian sage. When under intense pressure, facing life or death, or swept up in a burst of inspiration, fragments of the sage's memories surface in his mind. These fragments contain not only knowledge and insights from a higher dimension, but also the most primal power of the Confucian Way: the method for cultivating “righteous qi” and the rudiments of “words made law.” This allows his poetry and prose not only to stir wonders in heaven and earth, but also to unite people and banish evil. This “overlap of memories” also brings a profound “conflict of self-identity.” He often wonders whether he is truly Gu Changye or merely an extension of the sage's will. This is the central conflict and driving force behind his growth throughout the story.