The Thousand-Year Empire’s collapse left its Blade shattered and five factions warring to reforge it, their armies tearing a qi-scarred land apart. Lian Voss, a disgraced soldier, discovers a forbidden gift: he can steal the essence of foes he kills. From bloody battlefields to sacred peaks, he duels rival cultivators, growing stronger with every victory—yet drawing the wrath of all factions. The Blade’s fragments whisper a curse tied to the Emperor’s fall. Now, Lian faces a choice: seize the throne through conquest or shatter the Blade and risk unleashing chaos on a broken world.