Dragon's Roar Beneath the Cauldron

Dragon's Roar Beneath the Cauldron

Prologue

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, smoke rose from fires of war as the land fell into chaos. The common people, driven to desperation, risked their lives in rebellion; underworld factions stirred like hidden tides; and the power of the feudal lords rose once more from the ashes.

Legend has it that as the Zhou Dynasty declined, a cauldron was lost among the people.

The cauldron was peerless, towering in form and cast from bronze. Nine coiling dragons perched upon it, their eyes set with luminous pearls that shone through the night.

Jiang Ziya gathered heavenly meteorite iron from Mount Qi and bronze from across the Nine Provinces, then forged the cauldron in an Eight Trigrams furnace. Ancient runes were carved inside it. On every full-moon night, the runes would flow with light, connecting heaven and earth. The Son of Heaven of Zhou prized it as a sacred vessel of the state.

On the day it was forged, signs appeared in the heavens: birds bowed before the phoenix, and beasts lowered their heads. From then on, it became a symbol of Heaven's Mandate.

Whoever lost the cauldron lost the realm; whoever obtained it would rule all under Heaven. Before long, hidden currents surged, and the underworld factions and feudal lords alike went mad with desire for it.

Situ Jingzhao, leader of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, appeared to be on good terms with the great sects, but secretly conspired with the Demonic Cult of the Western Regions, hoping to kill with a borrowed blade. Xie Guyai, leader of the Formless Gang, was renowned for recognizing talent and wielding strategy. He laid one trap after another, hoping to profit from the chaos. Among the feudal powers, the states of Qi, Zhao, and Qin each harbored ulterior motives, forming and breaking alliances as they schemed against one another.

A storm of blood and violence swept across the land, with schemes and stratagems emerging one after another.

The struggle for the Zhou Cauldron told a tragic tale of family feuds and national hatred, of grudges in the martial world, and of a heartrending romance.