In the final years of the Southern Shao dynasty, Zuo Chenfeng, a disciple of the Returning Sword Sect, is drawn into a struggle for the throne after saving someone's life. By a twist of fate, he resolves a century-old feud between two mysterious clans and uses their power to eliminate the Four Great Families and the Kui Que Bureau. He accidentally learns the secrets of the Black Jade Book and the Three Emperors' Sword, then helps the Sixth Prince restore the realm.
Amid countless entanglements, he falls in love with and has children with his senior fellow disciple Lei Shuiyue, Fourth Princess Zhou Weiwei, the young swordswoman Gu Lingxiang, the fallen blade-wielding girl Mu Wunian, and the courtesan Wan Xiaonan. Years later, he is framed by an elaborate plot, and four beauties of the troubled era leave him one after another. Unaware of the truth, Zuo Chenfeng's nature changes drastically. He plunges the martial world into bloodshed once more, turns against his former friends, and single-handedly razes the Returning Sword Sect. At last, he learns in grief the true purpose behind the deception. Having grasped the truth of the world, Zuo Chenfeng takes up his sword again. This time, he will give his life in exchange for those who died because of him.
