Xiao Qiushui's grandfather, Xiao Qiwu, was the founding master of the Huanhua Sword Sect.

  Though the history of the Huanhua Sword Sect was not as long as that of the Tianshan, Huashan, Qingcheng, Hainan, or Zhongnan Sword Sects, Xiao Qiwu was a swordsmanship grandmaster of his time. In terms of personal martial prowess, he was on par with the leaders of those prestigious sects. Across the jianghu, only the Tiejia Sword Sect and the Cangng Sword Sect could make him hesitate even slightly.

  Behind the Tiejia Sword Sect and the Cangng Sword Sect stood the powerful “Quanli Alliance”—the rgest and most dominant force in the jianghu.

  (T/N: 权力帮; quánlì bāng, lit. means power gang or group. But here, hellowyellow will just transte it as Quanli Alliance.)

  The Huanhua Sword Sect, however, had no such backing.

  Xiao Qiwu was renowned across the nd, but in his ter years, he had only one son—Xiao Xilou.

  At just nineteen, Xiao Xilou had already defeated the famous swordsman "Tongtian Sword" Zhuo Qingtian. (T/N: 通天剑; tōngtiān jiàn, lit. means sky-piercing sword.)

  Xiao Qiwu cherished his only son deeply. However, when Xiao Xilou was forced to choose between his love and an arranged marriage with a woman he had never met but was deemed a suitable match, he could not accept his father's decision. In the end, he left home and traveled to Guilin, where he founded the Outer Huanhua Sword Sect.

  This led to a division between the main branch and outer branches of the sect.

  But within a few years, tragedy struck. Xiao Qiwu was gravely injured in a duel and, weighed down by illness and despair, passed away. Seizing the opportunity, enemies unched an attack, and in just a few months, the main branch, of Huanhua Sword Sect was nearly wiped out.

  Upon hearing the devastating news, Xiao Xilou immediately led his followers back to Sichuan. With his sword in hand, he fought alone through the turmoil, eventually restoring and uniting both branches of the Huanhua Sword Sect into a single lineage once more.

  The Xiao family of Huanhua became a household name in Sichuan—revered for their prestige, wealth, and power, capable of commanding the winds and rains at will. In his ter years, Xiao Xilou dedicated himself even further to refining his swordsmanship, reaching new heights of mastery.

  Some said that the Huanhua Sword Sect was more than just a sect—it was a noble lineage.

  Others believed that its rise was not only due to Xiao Xilou's prudence and skill but also because he had two exceptional sons and a gifted daughter.

  Xiao Yiren's swordsmanship was rumored to rival even his father's, and he was highly respected in Sichuan.

  Xiao Kaiyan was steadfast, loyal, and hardworking—a young man of unwavering integrity.

  Xiao Xueyu, the youngest, was a beautiful and intelligent girl who loved to sing. It was said that when she was thirteen, she once sat by a stream, singing as she embroidered an image of spirit fish pying in the water. Mysteriously, a real fish leaped ashore and nded right on her embroidery. No one knew whether it was drawn by the beauty of her voice or the lifelike precision of her stitches.

  At that time, Xiao Qiushui had yet to grow up.

  He was raised in an environment of care and indulgence.

  From an early age, Xiao Qiushui dispyed exceptional intelligence—he could memorize books at a gnce, compose poetry, and paint with skill. His martial arts training came from Xiao Yiren rather than Xiao Xilou, yet by the age of seventeen, he had already developed his own distinct style.

  Though Xiao Xilou secretly admired his youngest son's talent, he disapproved of his reckless and impulsive nature. Xiao Qiushui loved causing mischief, standing up for the weak, wandering freely, making friends everywhere, and acting on emotion—acting first and thinking ter.

  Xiao Xilou believed that as a son of a noble martial family, one should be composed, disciplined, and restrained—like his eldest son, Xiao Yiren, and second son, Xiao Kaiyan.

  But Xiao Qiushui was simply Xiao Qiushui.

  Determined to visit Longzhong's Wolong Gang, he chose an unconventional route, traveling upstream along the Yangtze River from Xiling Gorge to Zigui—birthpce of the remarkable poet Qu Yuan. It just so happened to be the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the Dragon Boat Festival, known as the Poets' Festival in China.

  Xiao Qiushui and his three friends were young men who thrived on adventure.

  The Three Gorges of the Yangtze—Zhengtang Gorge, Wu Gorge, and Xiling Gorge—stretch across Sichuan and Hubei, forming a treacherous seven-hundred-mile passage infamous for its perilous waters.

  Zigui, nestled between towering mountains and the vast Yangtze River, boasted breathtaking scenery. As the hometown of Qu Yuan, it became especially lively every year on the fifth day of the fifth month, with dragon boats crowding the river in celebration.

  That morning, under clear skies and a gentle breeze, Xiao Qiushui and his friends arrived in Zigui. Since they weren't in a hurry, they decided to stay and witness this grand, unprecedented dragon boat race before continuing their journey to Longzhong.

  Every time Xiao Qiushui set out on a journey, Xiao Xilou always gave him a few instructions:

  Do not make friends recklessly.Do not get involved with unfamiliar women.Above all—absolutely, under no circumstances— never, ever, ever provoke anyone from the "Quanli Alliance."Xiao Qiushui understood the first rule well. As the prestigious Xiao family of Huanhua in Chengdu, many sought to establish connections with them. However, maintaining the family's pristine reputation was crucial—befriending the wrong people could tarnish their name, and offending the right people could be a fatal mistake. In the jianghu, disputes were often sharper than the bdes in one's hands.

  The second rule also made sense to him. He was still young and inexperienced, and he knew his father had once nearly been cast out of the Xiao family over a woman. Though he understood this, it didn't mean he agreed with it. For one, he naturally enjoyed traveling and meeting new people. For another, he was a charming, free-spirited romantic.

  But the third rule—this, he neither understood nor accepted.

  He had asked countless times, questioning many people, "What exactly is the Quanli Alliance?"

  The answers varied in words but remained the same in meaning.

  The Quanli Alliance is precisely what its name suggests—an organization built for power. Unlike other sects, it does not hide its ambitions. Its leader, Li Chenzhou, named it directly and unapologetically: the Quanli Alliance.Li Chenzhou is known as Sovereign Beneath Heaven.' No one knows the full extent of his martial prowess, but he has two unmatched allies—a brilliant wife named Zhao Shirong and a master strategist named Liu Suifeng. So far, no one has ever bested either of them.To obtain power, three things are essential: wealth, status, and loyal followers.Li Chenzhou possesses all three: wealth, status, and loyal followers.However, the true enforcers of the Quanli Alliance's dominance are the nineteen Assassins, the infamous ‘Nine Heavens, Ten Earths—Nineteen Demonic Fiends.’Not only are these nineteen fiends unparalleled in martial arts, but their influence spreads across the entire jianghu, with many renowned masters among their ranks. And if that wasn't terrifying enough, it's said that eight even more formidable figures exist in the shadows.Their methods of killing and tormenting people are so cruel that you'd curse the day you were born.So if you ever provoke the Quanli Alliance, you might as well kill yourself—it would be a far less painful fate!The Quanli Alliance is not to be trifled with.Xiao Qiushui understood all of this.

  The only thing he didn't understand was the conclusion.

  To him, this kind of enemy—this kind of challenge—was precisely the most worthy to provoke. Why? Why was it forbidden?

  "Never, ever provoke the Quanli Alliance, or I'll break your legs."

  He had lost count of how many times he had heard this warning. Before he left home this time, it was repeated to him once again.

  But the second half of that warning wasn't from Xiao Xilou—it was an addition from his mother, Sun Huishan.

  Sun Huishan had once been a famous figure in the jianghu, the only daughter of Sun Tianting, the master of the “Shizi Sword Sect.”

  (T/N: 十字剑派; shízì jiàn pài, means cruciform wisdom sword or Cross-shaped Sword of wisdom.)

  Yet, had those words come from Xiao Xilou instead, their weight would have been entirely different in Xiao Qiushui's mind—because Xiao Xilou never made empty threats.

  Sun Huishan, however, was a loving mother—the kind who doted on him endlessly.

  And a doting mother was rarely a strict one.

  So, Xiao Qiushui heard her warning... and promptly dismissed it.