The strong rule. They conquer, they achieve, they carve their names into history.
The weak? They are nothing more than stepping stones—fodder for those destined to rise. No matter how hard they struggle, talent will always triumph over effort.
Once, there was a clan that stood above both the strong and the weak. A name that even emperors feared. The Darkwing Clan.
But legends fade, and the Darkwing Clan is now a shadow of its former self, trampled beneath the very clans it once rivaled—The Swordsong Clan, The Iron-Mind Clan, and The Enlightened Soul Clan.
The Saints of these mighty clans stand at the peak of Murim, their power untouchable. Below them are the Grandmasters, shaping the world with their fists and blades. Even the Masters—mere footsoldiers in comparison—command respect. But where was the Darkwing Clan in this grand hierarchy? Falling. Drowning. Forgotten.
Drowning in debt. Weakened beyond recognition. Forced to cut away its own flesh to survive.
In desperation, they cast out disciples, unable to afford even the most promising talents.
One of these abandoned souls was Jinshen Zhe—a boy left at the clan's doorstep at the age of seven.
He was never the most talented. He struggled where others excelled. But he was always told that hard work could overcome raw talent.
And so, he trained—day and night, breaking his body but never his will.
Yet in the end, where did that devotion lead him?
Defeated by a mere First-Class Disciple of the Swordsong Clan. Disgraced. Cast out. Forgotten.
The family he bled for turned its back on him.
Now, he walks the roads of Murim—a wanderer without a home, without purpose.
A boy abandoned by the world. A boy with nothing left… but the will to rise to the top and become the Grandmaster of the Darkwing clan and eventually, regain the riches it had.