This is a fractured age, where the Dao and reason lie hidden in the city.
Confucianism sets the rules, Buddhism speaks of emptiness, technology seeks explanations, bloodlines inherit glory, and Daoism pursues freedom. They clash with one another, each fighting for its own way and reason. Hidden beneath the glittering city, they wield powers beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
Shao Yan had only wanted to be a quiet observer, untouched by the conflicts of the outside world.
Until one night, on his way home, he accidentally became caught up in a battle of magic beyond anything he could imagine. A trace of energy from the Five Elements Pivot, which contained the secret origins of heaven and earth, quietly took root in the jade pendant he carried.
From then on, the little boat that had only wanted to anchor in a peaceful harbor was cast into the raging undercurrents of the struggle over the Dao and reason.
He criticized Confucian cultivation methods: “They impose too many constraints, like water forced into a barrel by hoops. In the end, it will burst apart.”
He condemned the logic of technology: “It squanders its foundations, like drinking poison to quench thirst, destroying its own defenses.”
He exposed the attachments of Buddhism: “You seek emptiness, yet cling to appearances. Your mind is still stained, so don't presume to speak of paradise.”
Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, science, and bloodlines each have their own way. There is no distinction between good and evil, only the collision of the Dao and reason.
