A bloodstained one-yuan coin is Chen Mo's ticket from heaven to hell. Everything he once had, his family, his dignity, his future, is swallowed up on the green felt of the gambling table, leaving behind nothing but ruin, bankruptcy, and a family torn apart.
From the ashes of despair rises a revenger named A Qi.
Apprenticed to A Gui, a mysterious old master of the Thousand Doors, he learns more than the art of deception. He studies the dark art of reading people and plotting on a grand scale. Fighting to survive in the filthy alleys of the north side of the city, he makes a name for himself with ruthless cunning, vowing to tear out by the roots the enemy who destroyed everything he had: Zhao Jiulong, the orderly emperor of the underworld, and his sprawling empire.
But as A Qi delves deeper into this mire of power, he discovers that Zhao Jiulong is far from his only enemy. A cold behemoth born of capital and technology, known as the Shadow, quietly emerges. The old codes of honor in the underworld are no match for the overwhelming force of a new age.
A revenge story that begins with a personal grudge ultimately becomes a war between two systems and two paths.
A Qi's growth takes him through three transformations: from a revenger who sees himself, to a mastermind who sees all living things, and finally to a guardian who sees the world. Guided by A Gui, whose resolve flickers like a candle flame, he walks the tightrope between divinity and demonic nature, facing the temptation to become a new god and the choice to protect the faint light of ordinary people.
Can he forge an immortal sword in the abyss? And after overthrowing the old gods, can he avoid repeating their mistakes and carve out a new way forward for ordinary people in this steel jungle?
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