Newly minted an Elder of the Verdant Green Waters sect, sword prodigy Elder Cheng Zhao Wan - the Sundering Blade - is forced to leave the sect to fulfill an old obligation. A benefactor from the past is injured and has demanded Elder Cheng locate his assailant. Forced to listen to the ramblings of a dying old man, amidst a small and unfamiliar sect, who Elder Cheng can trust is unknown. Was the injury nothing more than happenstance, or is something more dire afoot? For once, Elder Cheng finds that his skill with the sword might be the least of his gifts. is a standalone prequel to the bestselling A Thousand Li series. It features a younger Master Cheng and can be read in any order alongside the main series. A xianxia fantasy novel, features high flying martial arts, tense battle scenes and contemplations of the Dao and karma alike.