Prelude There were four dominant pugilistic clans hailing from the four cardinal directions of the realms: •
North: The
Bei (北冥) clan, manufacturer of the best weapons in the realms, led by Zheng Bei (北冥正), an ambitious man who dreamed of becoming master of the world. •
South: The
Nan (南宫) clan, based on the Sword Island in
Lake Tai, led by Yi Nangong, who had mastered the art of the Sword & was well renowned. •
East: The
Dong (东方) clan, which held sway over the entire coastal region of
Bohai Sea, led by Dongfang Yinian (东方一念). They operated the shipping trade and were as rich as an empire, with skills as high as the clouds. •
West: The
Xi (西城) clan, in the Western realms they guarded the pass between east and west, abundant in arms, Its leader, Ho Xi (西城豪), despite being highly skilled, was a rather boorish individual. As a clan they are wealthy but arrogant & unrefined. In addition, the criminal underworld was dominated by the sinister
Heaven-Earth Alliance (天地盟), aka
Hell Clan. Its countless minions infiltrate every part of society, and it was widely feared for its brutal methods enforced by most highly skilled members. The prelude of the tale began in AD 318, with the presentation of ''Heaven's Crystal'' by the Imperial Court to Yi Nangong, acknowledged as the pugilist master of the southern lands. In the midst of the festivities of the occasion, his wife, Hong Dong (东方雄), was lamenting over the loss of her husband's affection to his concubine, Jade Swallow (玉燕). The cool, shrewd and proud Dongfang Xiong, nicknamed
Heartblade (心剑) after her family's swordsmanship form, was acknowledged to be the most beautiful woman in the world but was not able to bear her husband a son early in their marriage, prompting him to dote on Jade Swallow who bore him a son. Though Heartblade later gave birth to a son too, her husband became estranged from her, and she did not join in the celebration. At the great hall, despite being warned by Heartblade not to accept ''Heaven's Crystal
because of its curse, Yi Nangong did and unsheathed the blades. Inferior weapons in the vicinity shattered at the presence of the divine weapon. The Sky-Lord of the Hell Clan arrived to seize it. He had been issued a specially crafted weapon, Thunder Cudgel
, for his mission, leading to the Thunder Cudgel
clashing in full force against Heaven's Crystal''. All those present perished in the catastrophic blast that followed, save for a small group of survivors headed by Hong Dong, which completely destroyed Sword Island. She went looking for Jade Swallow right away but discovered that she had been buried after passing away during childbirth. A month later, a wagon driver arriving at the Beiming foundry in the north discovered the 3-year-old Tian Wen (南宫问天), nursing a baby girl with blood from his finger, at the gate. Despite being a toddler, Wentian exhibited great inner strength.
Main plot The story is told 18 years after the prelude is narrated through several concurrent developments which occasionally intersects. One thread began with two separate threads, one focusing on Dongfang Xiong's reclaiming her legacy, being Dongfang Yinian's firstborn, from her half-brother. Having gathered the survivors of Nangong clan from the cataclysm 18 years before, she returned with vengeance, with her grown-up son, Dongfang Tiexin, to her childhood home where she suffered ignominy for being born a girl. The other thread focussed on Wentian, having grown up in the Beiming clan with his sister, Wenchai. The Beiming clan was exploring the prospects of a marriage alliance with the Xicheng clan, and Xicheng Hao's son, Xicheng Xiushu (Great Oak) arrived as an emissary. The Hell Clan took advantage of the two convergences of the greatest sects of the realms to send their most powerful minions to destroy the four clans, or at least cripple them. The master diviner, Zhuo Bufan, had predicted the re-emergence of ''Heaven's Crystal'', and the Hell Clan was intent to wiping out its closest rivals. As the story developed, more and more divine weapons and instruments were revealed, each having unique powers. There were ten most powerful artefacts created not by mortal hands: • ''Heaven's Crystal'' (天晶)- A pair of 'mother-son' blades, cursed by the demons it banished. • ''Tiger's Soul'' (虎魄) - A vampiric halberd crafted by
Chi You, cursed by the tiger it is crafted from. •
Grand Void (太虛) - A single-wheeled chariot crafted by the Yellow Emperor that derived its strength from the righteousness of the user. •
Tablet of Annihilation (十方俱滅) - Made by
Fuxi, it could manipulate time and space. • ''Shennong's Rule'' (神農尺) - A jade stick capable of healing and poisoning. •
Spirit Devourer (噬魂) - A
three section staff crafted by
Raksha, a western reigning god, capable of dealing with the spiritual creatures. • ''Heaven's Executor'' (天誅) - A crossbow crafted by Raksha's sister. It had nine different arrows crafted from her children, each with unique powers. •
Evil Shocker (驚邪) - A two-pronged fork created by the gods of thunder and lightning, with electrical and sonic prowess. •
Divine Dance (神舞) - A
pipa made from divine wood formed from Nuwa's arm, capable of sonic attacks as well as hypnosis. •
Phoenix (鳳皇) - An axe crafted by the Great Yü that could control liquids. The story went far into realms of fantasy, with the presence of mythic creatures like sentient draconic beasts. ==Sequels==