Nearly a thousand years have passed since the Da Xuan Dynasty began, and Prefecture City carries that history like a shadow. Once, it must have been a thriving place, a real jewel of civilization. Now… well, the streets tell a different story. How did it fall so far? The old buildings still stand, but the life they once held is gone. Corruption and violence have seeped into every corner, and the people supposed to protect the city—officers, guards, anyone with authority—often feel more like empty shells than a force of justice. So, what does it take just to survive here? Maybe keeping your mouth shut, watching your back, and knowing exactly when to move aside.
Chen Mu knows all of this. He’s a low-ranking officer in the City Defense Division. At the bottom of the ladder. His days are spent walking streets scarred by gang fights, cataloging corpses left behind by groups like the Black Sand Gang, and pretending the city still has rules. Officers below him? They don’t prevent crime. They clean up after it. Step out of line… well, they’re not the first to die. The rules are unspoken, but you learn them fast: keep quiet, take small opportunities, and survive. That’s it. Nothing more.
And yet, it’s not just survival that drives him. His sister, Chen Yue, is always on his mind. She is both his weakness and his motivation. In their small, rundown home, he worries constantly. Does she have shoes to protect her feet from frostbite? Will she have even a tiny bit of comfort in this harsh city? He wants more than mere survival for her—he wants her to live, to grow, to thrive. Every choice he makes circles back to her, every risk he takes is measured against what might happen to her if he fails. She is the reason he keeps moving, the reason he walks streets that could swallow him whole in a heartbeat.
The world around him isn’t fair. Money opens doors—to martial training, to education, to opportunity—while the poor scrape what they can from scraps, literally in some cases. The old merit exams, which might once have allowed a talented person to rise, are corrupted. Bribes and favoritism dominate. Only the martial examinations retain some credibility. For someone like Chen Mu, learning martial arts isn’t just for respect—it’s a real chance to change his life, to secure a future for his sister.
Then, one day, he finds a worn manual: the Raging Wind Blade Technique. At first glance, it’s just a book, maybe something to sell for a few coins. But Chen Mu senses it’s more than that. It could be a doorway—power, opportunity, a chance at a life he has only imagined. Learning it won’t be simple. There’s no master, no money, no guarantee. And yet, the possibility forces him to confront the life he has and the life he must somehow build.
In this city where dynasties crumble and families fade, survival isn’t guaranteed. What is worth pursuing? Power? Endurance? Mastery of martial arts? Or something else, something that comes only through struggle? Chen Mu doesn’t have answers, not really. All he knows is that every choice matters. Every risk counts. Every street he walks, every fight he faces, is part of the path he must take—not for himself alone, but for those who rely on him. And in a world this unforgiving, that is all that matters.
