In the cultivation apocalypse, Zhang Wulue, a young member of the Baiyun Village cultivation clan, is fired by patriotic zeal. He leads the village's youths into the army to put down a rebellion. But during the fighting against rioters in Nanping Province, he discovers that the truth is far from what he imagined. The rebel army's main force is not a mob of rioters, but the former provincial garrison. His uncle Wang Jianzhong did not die in battle, either: he is a rebel general. The Great Yuan dynasty appears prosperous on the surface, but most of the nation's wealth has been swallowed up by powerful noble families, the officials they keep in their employ, and local strongmen. Military officers are nothing but hired muscle. Under layer upon layer of exploitation, ordinary people can barely afford to eat. Emperor Longqing of Great Yuan also sees the root of the problem, but the greatest force behind the corruption is made up of those closest to him. To cut down corrupt officials would be to cut down his own people. Now in his twilight years, Emperor Longqing places his beloved youngest princess in Zhang Wulue's care. Having seen reality for what it is, Zhang Wulue faces a difficult choice: love, or rooting out corruption and giving the people justice. In the end, the course of events forces him onto a third path.
