Volume One: Tempering the Sword in the Mortal World (Episodes 1–9). Ye Chen, a poor sword attendant at the Mortal Sword Manor on Mount Cangwu, has endured years of bullying. By chance, a rusty, broken ancient sword in the storeroom awakens the Withering and Flourishing Sword Intent within him. He unexpectedly reveals his power during an attack by Black Wind Wolves, but is branded as an ominous anomaly and brutally expelled. Adrift in the wilderness, Ye Chen struggles to control a sword intent that consumes his lifespan. Through a stroke of fate, he obtains the Withering and Flourishing Sword Canon, a legacy left by the master Qing Xuan of Withered Sword Cliff. After overcoming countless dangers, he reaches Withered Sword Cliff, passes the initiation trial in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Swords, and devotes himself to arduous cultivation for three years. At last, his master Qing Xuan appears and orders him to descend the mountain and compete in the World's Sword Assembly.