In the final years of the Southern Song, Mongol cavalry rides south and the realm falls into chaos. Shen Muzhou, an orphan from a small town in Jiangnan, grows up learning martial arts from his adoptive father, a retired escort guard. After a chance rescue draws him into the conflict between the Canglang Sword Sect and the Nether Owl Cult, he obtains half of the incomplete manual, The Canghai Art. His origins are shrouded in mystery: his father was a “traitor” to the Canglang Sword Sect, and his mother was descended from exiles from the Eastern Sea. To uncover the truth, Shen Muzhou ventures into the martial world, meets Su Jinse, the only daughter of the Canglang Sword Sect’s leader, and Ye Qingmei, the Nether Owl Cult’s Holy Maiden, and becomes sworn brothers with Lu Jiuyuan, the young leader of the Zhenyue Sect. Yet a conspiracy lurks beneath the martial arts tournament. Gu Xichao, the Shadow Pavilion Master of the Tianshu Pavilion, appears benevolent but secretly colludes with the Mongols, intending to unite the martial world under his rule. Betrayed by everyone, Shen Muzhou is cast adrift on an island. In this desperate predicament, he grasps the highest principles of the Canghai Art. By the time the truth comes to light and the martial world’s factions see Gu Xichao for who he really is, the Mongol army has already reached Xiangyang. The righteous and the wicked put aside their grievances and join forces to fight the invaders. Shen Muzhou turns the tide through his own efforts, ultimately defending Xiangyang. He carves the Canghai Art into the stone cliffs of Mount Hua, then vanishes into the distance.
