Three years later

Lán grumbled as the rays of light that filtered through his room's curtains hit his eyes. He groggily raised himself from his bed as he reached out to the wheelchair that laid next to his bed. He pulled himself on to it and wheeled himself to his bedroom windows to let some fresh morning air in. 

The attack from the martial artist from the Crimson Flower Society had completely destroyed his lower abdomen and back, completely removing any ability for Lán to practice martial arts, while he could still stand, his body could only manage around thirty minutes of movement before becoming completely exhausted.

He finished taking in the morning air and sunlight before he heard a knock at his door.

“Young Master, are you ready for your day?” said the familiar voice of Chief Guard Baek

“Just a moment” Lán replied, he stood up a bit to change his clothing before sitting back down and pushing himself to open the door.

Baek stood right behind the door respectfully waiting. He had aged since the attack three years ago, as strands of white peppered his black hair. Baek had been one of the few men that remained loyal to the Lán family after the attack. 

Lán looked out into his family's courtyard, it was small compared to how it used to be. His family had spent most of their funds on repairs to the city, the fire spread quickly and left hundreds without homes.

The attack from the Crimson Flower Society shocked everyone as the Lúse family was not their only target, several places of power from the Imperial, Righteous, and Royal factions of the Chinese Empire were attacked simultaneously and even though they were repelled, it was still a great shock to all of China. As quickly as they appeared the Crimson Flower Society disappeared, their aims remained mysterious even three years later.

They had taken everything from Lán's family, his father lost his sword arm and most of his power and influence as the Lúse family was now in a vicious power struggle with the Jinzí Merchant Union and the West Wind Taoist sect over control of Húchéng. But most importantly, they had taken his mothers life.

Elena had died protecting a group of women that found themselves stuck in a marketplace during the fire. The loss devastated the Lúse family and Elena's family, the Dolgoruky’s, completely cut all contact with them.

Lán felt a pang in his heart as he remembered his mother, every day he wished he had spent more time with her.

Lán sighed and regained his composure 

Baek grabbed the wheelchair's handles and pushed the young man forwards. They were headed for the Great Library of Húchéng, one of the last places of power the Lúse family controlled.

Books had given Lán great comfort these past three years, and since he became eighteen a few months ago, his father had given Lán access to the most secure section of the library. In this short time Lán had become an expert in medicine, history, science, politics, and finance.

Lán strolled the familiar gates of the library with Chief Guard Baek by his side. The library hosted hundreds of scholars per day and was rumored to be home to thousands of books and scrolls on all kinds of topics. 

Lán waved to his family's guards and librarians as he went deeper into the library. He unlocked an unassuming iron gate and stood up from his wheelchair as he grabbed a torch to go down the stone stairs that were behind it.

These stairs had been the hardest challenge Lán had had to deal with these past months, he huffed as he sat back down on his wheelchair that Baek had carried with him. The way down was hard, but he usually needed a few minutes of rest after going back up.

“Well, better make the climb worth it” Lán thought as he threw himself into his books.

The secure section of the library held a variety of secret tomes and scrolls, many of them were martial arts manuals that described extraordinary techniques. Even though Lán couldn't practice them he still enjoyed reading them and thinking up counter techniques.

Hours passed, Lán read through hundreds of topics. He had just finished reading a book when another one catched his eye. It had fallen behind a nook in the bookcases, as he picked it up he noticed it was dusty, someone had dropped it and it probably had not been read in a few years. 

The Azure Palace, the title intrigued him even more, he started to read a few chapters and after some moments his eyes widened in shock.

“This is incredible” Lán thought “With this technique I could…” 

Lán put the book in his lap and pushed himself with excitement. He called on Baek to help him up. He needed to head to his room to train, with this technique he could change everything.