The Sword Scholar

The Sword Scholar is a Western-fantasy-style web novel by Le Sima Li, comprising 104 sections (including prologue and epilogue), about 960,000 Chinese characters, and is complete. Set on the continent of Alrest, the story follows Laiwen, known as the "Spirit-Summoning Sword," guardian of the way of the sword and a scholar of swordsmanship. He carries several spirit swords of differing attributes and colors: the crimson blade bears vengeance and the wrath of blood, the orange blade symbolizes justice and hope, the yellow blade is dedicated to his most beloved mentor, the emerald blade entrusts his vigil for his sister on the far shore, the cyan blade inscribes a bond even time cannot erase, the blue blade ties the life-and-death bond between blood and bone, and the purple blade reminds him, as he drifts between truth and illusion, that "I am who I am." Laiwen travels among the city-states of mages, the holy realm of elves, and the human kingdom, enters the Alchemy Academy, and grows step by step from a novice alchemy student through herbalism classes, the library, and practical magic tournaments; along the way he befriends mages, elves, and dwarves, encounters vampires, orcs fallen to darkness, demons, and threats from purgatory, meets the Elder of Fate, and ultimately faces the Lord of Purgatory and the countless purgatory demons surging toward humanity. Interweaving swordsmanship, magic, alchemy, and a system of gods and demons, the book tells the adventure of a young swordsman leaving his mark of growth in every corner of the continent.