Brocade Blade

A century after the founding of the Dayong dynasty, the court appears prosperous and peaceful, but beneath the surface, undercurrents surge. Imperial authority has waned, the empress dowager's relatives hold sway within the palace, powerful clans form factions for personal gain, and martial sects and the authorities keep each other in check, blurring the line between right and wrong. After the late emperor dies suddenly, the new emperor, Xiao Heng, ascends the throne as a child. The empress dowager rules from behind the curtain, while the Liu clan commands the capital's garrison and the palace guard, monopolizing power and plotting to sideline the young emperor and seize the throne.

Beyond the court, martial sects abound, with Lingyun Pavilion, the foremost sect in the martial world; Shadow Brocade Tower, a mysterious organization of assassins; and Qingfeng Valley, a reclusive sect of chivalrous heroes, forming three rival powers. Shadow Brocade Tower never involves itself in disputes within the martial world. It accepts only secret imperial orders, secretly monitoring officials, gathering intelligence, and eliminating dissidents. Its members are all spies with peerless martial skills. They act like sharp blades hidden beneath brocade, concealing deadly intent beneath a gentle facade, earning them the name “Brocade Blades.”

During his reign, the late emperor secretly established Shadow Brocade Tower to counter the powerful clans and their relatives, turning it into a force of shadow guards under the emperor's direct command. On the eve of his death, sensing turmoil ahead at court, he ordered the tower to support the new emperor with all its might, root out corrupt officials, and protect the Dayong realm. But the Liu clan had already discovered Shadow Brocade Tower. They planted spies to infiltrate it and spread rumors branding it a band of assassins and rebels, using public opinion across the court and the country to hunt down this royal blade in the shadows. With treacherous ministers scheming to usurp power within and the martial world stirring trouble without, amid the palace's intrigues and the martial world's flashing blades, a struggle of schemes and combat engulfing both court and martial world begins.