Bone Sword, No Mercy

In the final years of the Dajing dynasty, the martial world is dominated by seven great families who monopolize martial arts resources, leaving commoners to become expendable thugs. Cen Yanci, a poor youth from the outskirts, witnesses his family slaughtered after they uncover evidence of collusion between the families and corrupt officials. He survives hidden in a woodshed, but the killers frame his family as bandits, with the authorities and martial world turning a blind eye. Rejecting the hypocritical code of chivalry, Cen Yanci trusts only his sword. Armed with a fragmentary sword manual left by his elders, he cannot rapidly increase his power but instead hones his body and techniques day and night. By day, he works as a laborer at the docks; by night, he trains in a ruined shack, secretly gathering evidence against his enemies. Feigning weakness and submission, he endures bullying while cunningly exploiting internal conflicts among the great families, pitting them against each other. He neither seeks alliances with noble sects nor relies on benefactors or miraculous masters, navigating the gray zones of the underworld from a grassroots perspective.