After Xiao Feng takes his own life at Yanmen Pass at the end of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, and before The Legend of the Condor Heroes begins, countless fascinating events unfold across more than a century. What stories did Xuzhu and Duan Yu experience during those hundred-plus years? This book explores events from that period: Emperor Yelu Hongji of the Liao grows senile in his later years, living in arrogance and extravagance as the Liao declines, while Wanyan Aguda and the Jin rise rapidly and defeat the Liao. The corrupt and inept Northern Song court burdens the people with countless taxes and levies, leaving them destitute and sparking Fang La's Ming Cult uprising in Jiangnan. Against this historical backdrop, what will Xuzhu, Duan Yu, and the other martial heroes do? How does the Ming Cult's sacred fire gradually spread across the Central Plains? What kind of person is Li Canghai, the younger sister of Li Qiushui and the junior sister of the three Xiaoyao elders, and what connection does she have to the Shaolin monk who sweeps the grounds? Murong Fu lives in Jiangnan. Would the Northern Song court allow the forces of Great Yan to lie low there? What was the event in which Dugu Qiubai, in his youth, "contended with the heroes of Hebei"? How did the Star Lodge Sect combine Northern Darkness Divine Skill with Skill-Destroying Method to create Star-Sucking Skill? Yang Guo suffers a severed arm and the pain of unrequited love because of the evil deeds of Yang Kang. Why must Xiaolongnu endure the same kind of hardship? Did her ancestors also commit evil deeds? What would the ultimate duel between Xuzhu and Duan Yu look like after they had both reached the pinnacle of martial arts, and which of them would come out on top?
This book offers a personal and distinctive perspective on these questions.
