The main character is a young man named Chen Jingchou (陳靖仇, meaning "To pacify the northern foes and to avenge Chen."), the only royal descendant remaining from the decimated Chen Dynasty. The final attempt for counterattack from the Chen family happened several years before Chen Jingchou was born, when the tens-of-thousands-strong remnants of Chen forces were single-handedly decimated by a 10-year-old Sui child, Yang Tuo (楊拓) (later known as Yuwen Tuo 宇文拓), a student of Yang Su. Having lived under the reign of those who destroyed his kingdom, Chen Jingchou had been educated by his mentor, Chen Fu (陳輔), to pursue a life of vengeance and of reviving his kingdom. The first step of their journey to restore Chen was to acquire the Mirror of Kunlun, one of the Ten Great Ancient Artifacts.