The Shadow City, which the eldest prince Su Licheng of the Sui Empire had established after he left the palace at the age of fifteen. Situated in the valley of the most dangerous hills of the Empire, the place was difficult to reach for many.
The Emperor of the Su Kingdom sent many capable warriors to bring his son back, but every time they would be defeated at the hands of the five martial warriors who protected the Shadow Prince, Su Licheng.
Yu Xiana, the Princess of the Yu Kingdom, had come to the Shadow City to defeat the five martial warriors. Not only her life, but the entire Yu Kingdom's life depended on her victory. The Emperor of the Su Empire promised her he would help her in the great war if she succeeded in bringing his son, Su Licheng, out of the Shadow Palace.
Yu Xiana with a sword in her hand was standing in front of the five martial warriors. Each of them possessed advanced martial skills. But Yu Xiana wasn't lesser than them. She was known as the most powerful female warrior in the Yu Kingdom.
The wind blew and the long tendrils of her hair blew along the wind's direction. Xiana tightened her grip around the hilt of the sword and waited for the first one to attack her.
"Young Woman, return before you get heavily injured," the middle one spoke. This was the first time the King sent a woman to defeat them. They didn't want to injure a woman since it was against their martial rules.
"Don't consider me a weakling. I will not return unless I see Prince Su Licheng," Xiana pronounced with a stern tone.
The five of them looked at each other and then decided to fight with Xiana.
"I am Shen Daoren, known as the Strongest Blade. Young Miss can step back if she doesn't want to get hurt," he said and took a step forward.
"Why do you think I will be hurt? What if I defeat you? Will you let me see Prince Licheng?" Xiana's tone suddenly changed. She looked confident while speaking. Also, she was running out of time. Her kingdom was on the brink of losing everything.
The Strongest Blade smiled. "Young Miss doesn't know what she is saying. We five martial brothers do not hurt women and while fighting injury is inevitable," he explained to her.
Yu Xiana's lips curled up and she said, "In the battleground, there is no gender. Is the Strongest Blade get scared thinking a woman will defeat him today?" Her question showed the confidence that she carried with her.
The five martial heroes did not expect this to come from a woman's mouth. They had met numerous warriors to date, but none was as brave as Yu Xiana.
"Since the young miss is adamant about fighting, so only I will fight against her," he pronounced and spun the sword around his hand. "If she defeats me, I will let her see the Prince."
His feet picked the pace as he marched toward Xiana. She was also ready to fight against him. Using her right sword she defended the attack. It was one strong blow. When the two swords clanked, a spark appeared between their sharp edges.
He didn't expect Xiana to defend the attack with such remarkable strength. He pushed her lightly and retreated, taking a step back.
The next moment, Xiana attacked him with fierce force. His strong build was difficult for her to handle and she understood why the King told her it would be hard for her to defeat the five martial heroes.
On the top of the tower, a young man in his early twenties, dressed in a black Hanfu, heard the entire conversation of Yu Xiana with Shen Daoren. He was none other than the famous Shadow Prince, Su Licheng. He had a smile on his lips as he keenly observed Xiana's way of fighting. The way she would move back and forth exceptionally faster than most of the fighters he had seen till now, somewhere impressed him. The most fascinating thing which amused Licheng was that the woman had come alone to fight the five martial heroes to see him.
On the ground, Xiana's reflexes showed she had trained for years to fight that way. Su Licheng noticed that the Strongest Blade took her lightly. It made him chuckle and he glanced at Xiana's face for a brief moment before returning his gaze to her hands.
How she would move the sword while dodging every attack fascinated Licheng. His father finally found someone, who had the strength to stand before those five martial warriors. However, she was not strong enough to defeat all of them.
Su Licheng descended the stairs to reach the bottom of the ground where those two were doing the sword fight. He saw Xiana was going to be badly hurt soon, which he did not want to happen. It would be a headache for him if Xiana got unconscious since he had to provide medical assistance to her.
The four martial warriors looked at the prince, who had stepped down the last stair.
"Strongest Blade, you may stop," Su Licheng said in a loud enough voice when he saw Xiana's palm got a severe cut and the blood drops fell to the floor. If he did not stop Shen Daoren, she would be injured badly.
Xiana, who was on one of her knees with her sword up to her head, turned her head right as the Strongest Blade retreated. She quickly stood up and pointed her sword at his neck.
"You are defeated, Shen Daoren," Xiana said while taking deep breaths. The beads of sweat trailed down the temples of her foreheads and a smile formed on her lips.
Su Licheng smiled to see the way she claimed her victory.
On the other hand, Xiana slowly put her sword down and turned to look at Licheng.
"Are you Prince Su Licheng?" Xiana asked.
"Yes."
"I defeated one of your martial warriors," Xiana proudly said and ran her hand across the side of her face, "he told me I could see the prince if I defeated him."
"Did you defeat him?" Licheng continued to smile at her and then looked down to her left knee from where the fabric was torn. He raked his eyes back to hers, "Who are you? How could my father send a woman to bring me to the capital?" He snickered.
"Prince Licheng, I will show her the way out," the second martial warrior said and stepped up.
"Why? This is wrong," Xiana frowned at him and took a step forward when Shen Daoren stood in front of her. She clenched her fists in anger.
"I am the Princess of the Yu Kingdom, Yu Xiana. My kingdom needs the Su Empire's help. If I do not take Prince Licheng to the capital, my kingdom will be defeated in a war," Xiana said and walked past Shen Daoren to look at Su Licheng.
"So?" Licheng arched his eyebrow. "That is the problem of Princess Xiana and her people," he pronounced with a smile.
That smile annoyed Xiana. How could he say those things with enjoyment?! Thousands of people's lives were at stake. However, she could not either say anything that could hurt Licheng.
"The fight was intriguing. It was interesting to see a woman equipped with a sword for the first time," Licheng asserted.
"I defeated—"
Before she could complete her sentence, Licheng interrupted her and said, "Princess Xiana didn't win the fight. If I hadn't stopped Shen Daoren, she would be dead. You can leave. Thank you for this marvelous performance. I was bored for days."
"I can defeat Shen Daoren. I will fight again. I can defeat all of them," Xiana was not ready to leave. It was a do-or-die situation for her. If she failed to take Licheng to the Su Empire's capital, her kingdom would burn in the war.
"Prince Licheng, thousands of people will be taken away as slaves if my kingdom loses this war, especially children and women. I do not fear losing my life, but those people whose lives depend on my kingdom's victory. Please accompany me to the capital," Yu Xiana requested and took a step forward.
Licheng contemplated for a few seconds and said, "I won't go to the capital, Princess Xiana. Since you are the bravest woman I have ever encountered, I will send these five martial heroes to help you in the war. They are undefeatable. Every small kingdom around the Su Empire knows it. Also, when the time comes, Princess Xiana has to repay my favor. Does she agree to this condition?"
Xiana knew Licheng would not go out of the Shadow City, so she decided to agree with his condition. All she wanted was help. However, before agreeing to it, she asked, "Can they defeat such a huge army? They are only five," she said, looking at them. "The Su Emperor promised me the help of his army," she stated.
"The Su Emperor sent numerous warriors here to bring me to the capital. But it never happened," Licheng affirmed.
Yu Xiana thought for a second and realized he was speaking the truth. She immediately agreed to it. "Thank you, Prince Licheng. I will never forget this favor of yours. I will surely return the favor of Prince Licheng when the time comes," Xiana gave him her words.
"Don't regret it later, Xiana," Licheng said with a smile of amusement.
Xiana frowned to hear that statement, but she didn't pay heed to it and said with affirmation, "I won't."