Li Singciao, the youngest of the righteous group Two Knights-errant of the Central Plains was losing his strength after he took some herbs during a fighting competition. So he was not able to defeat the scheming Shang Gongjhih. His intelligent niece, Syue Feiguang, formulated a wily plot to send Shang Gongjhih to be executed at Li's elder partner Jhao Yunpo's place.

      Imprudently Jhao Yunpo's disciple, Pei Chun, released Shang Gongjhih. Pe, an honest young man, would hesitate to execute enemies when he had to. So master Jhao sent him to assist master Li and to learn lessons from the dark side of the urban society. Jhao knew that Pei was too gentle to punish the evil and if Pei could not change his attitude he could never become a first rate swordsman.

      Set in the Yuan Dynasty, this story created a powerful and ambitious official Po Risheng. He, the emperor's maternal uncle, was in charge of the Forbidden City's security and inspecting the martial arts circle. He made up his mind to call the outlaw heroes to join him with the lure of money and official rank. Then there were formed two parties: one for, and one against, Po.

      Syue Feiguang as a leading figure on the righteous side was against Po. Sin Heigu, an influential female belonging to the other side, was a tough one and was engaged to Po.

      Pei was no longer a naive young man, after leaving his master and experiencing many things. He no longer easily trusted others, except for Syue Feiguang. One day they had a deep talk concerning the art of dealing with people. Then he realized that she was a woman with a noble mind, devoted to her parents, and loyal to her family. So they got married and worked hand-in-hand to fight evil.

      The fighting scenes add strength to this ambitious novel. Martial arts masters coming from many foreign countries such as India, Mongolia, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam demonstrate various forms of martial arts in this novel.

      Sihma Ling's dedication to depicting the female's inner most feelings distinguishes him from other wusia novelists. The female protagonists he created were more convincing than the stock girls described in other writers' books. In this story for example Syue Feiguang was intelligent, Sin Heigu was mischievous; in addition there was an ill-beauty, Yun Ciusin, who took toxic melon seeds to stay alive, because of her nasty physical condition. All female protagonists in this story are impressive and it is truly a masterpiece of female heroism.