Xianghua's story begins many years before she was born. The Chai
family has been a strong family with a lineage of proud soldiers serving the
Chinese nation. Once the eldest son in the family suceeded his father's
estate, the remaining sons left the house to search for their independance.
The second son of the house settled down in the town where the Ling Sheng Su
temple was located, because the temple was considered to be one of the finest
martial arts schools in China. The son was intent on following the
traditions of the Chai family, which stated that all members of the family,
whether male or female, must become skilled martial artists and serve the
nation. His daughter, Xiangfei, was born in the town and attended the Ling
Sheng Su school to learn the art of swordplay. Due to her diligent training,
her skill soon surpassed even the monks of the great school. The fact that
she was a woman, however, prevented her from being nominated to be the
successor of the secret arts of the Ling Sheng Su sword style.
After her father passed away, Xiangfei began to train even harder,
and soon fell in love with one of the monks of the temple named Kong
Xiuqiang. Kong was the probable candidate to be the successor of one of the
three treasures of the temple, the rod called "Kali-Yuga." Sadly, their love
was forbidden. They kept it secret for many years, and it was not until the
birth of their daughter Xianglian that the monks found out about their
relationship. A candidate for one of the treasures could never sway from
the true path, so when Xianglain was two the school drove her parents apart.
The school adopted yound Xianglian, and her mother Xiangfei left the town
heartbroken. Their sworn brother Han Dongxiu heard she was leaving, and
told the depressed Kong to forge his own future now. With Han's help, Kong
was able to sneak away from the temple and meet Xiangfei. He gave her a
sword as proof of their love with the hope that they would meet again. He
then returned to the temple.
Xiangfei left town and told no one her final destination. She was
pregnant with her second child, but she did not tell Kong in the hope that he
would focus on his candidacy for the Kali-Yuga. She returned to her noble
family, and was able to join the ranks of the soldiers. It was there that
she bore her second daughter, Xianghua. Xianghua was brought into the Ming
family and was never told about her past.
Meanwhile, a crisis emerged at the Ling Sheng Su temple. The Krita-
Yuga, one of the three treasures of the temple, was missing. Investigations
traced the theft back to Kong and he was immediately driven from the temple,
leaving Xianglian alone. Kong eventually traced Xiangfei back to her family,
but was ordered to leave because knowledge of Kong's fate would break
Xiangfei's heart. With no knowledge of his second daughter, Kong left the
house for parts unknown.
Meanwhile, the temple continued to search for the Krita-Yuga. They
suspected Xiangfei, but when her house was searched the only sword they
found was an old one Xianghua was playing with. What they did not know
is that this sword, the one Kong gave Xiangfei on the night she left the
temple, was actually the Krita-Yuga in disguise. To prevent it's power from
being abused and in case it was ever seperated from the other two treasures,
the Krita-Yuga had the ability to change it's shape and sleep in silence.
Only Kong, who had seperated it from the other two, knew this secret. After
years of failure, the temple finally gave up it's search for the sword.
Xianghua grew up never knowing she had an elder sister, and by the
time she was ten had acquired the basic arts of swordplay. Her mother's
death drove her to train even harder, and by her sixteenth year her skill
was such that she applied for a position as one of the royal guards of the
Ming Emperor.
The Ming Emperor had searched for years for the legendary sword Soul
Edge, but his past search parties had been unsuccessful. Irritated by the
lack of progress, the emporer decided to send his royal guards as the third
searching party. Xianghua's best friend Meimei, who was the Ming's Imperial
Maid of Honor, heard that Xianghua was part of the search party and asked her
to look for her brother, Li Long. Unable to refuse the request of her friend,
Xianghua accepted the task.
Xianghua left for the quest with her keepsake sword in hand. She
could remember her mother's last words, about how Xianghua had been born to
complete an important task. She wondered if this might be it. The search
party masqueraded as a traveling Chinese opera troupe to avoid suspicion
about their true mission. Xianghua was chosen to be the star attraction of
the troupe. As time passed, many of the
members of the troupe dispersed to chase various bits of information.
Xianghua left the group as well, chasing a rumor when she met Kilik. The
young warrior had in his possession the other two treasures from the temple,
although neither knew that Xianghua possessed the third. The trio set out for
the West, where the Soul Edge was rumored to have been spotted.
They finally arrived at Ostrinesburg castle in Germany, where they
encountered the evil creature Nightmare. The
creature indeed possessed the Soul Edge, and at once attacked the three
warriors. It was then that Xianghua's weapon began to glow. Finally realizing
the power they possessed, the three attacked Nightmare with great tenacity
until the evil knight fell. However, the threat was not over. From Soul Edge,
the monster
Inferno came, with the power of all the souls it
had accumulated over the years. The three attacked Inferno, but found it a
difficult task to beat him. Maxi was severely injured during the fight, and
later died. Kilik and Xianghua, however, were protected by the sacred weapons,
and soon emerged victorious. The Soul Edge was destroyed, and Inferno was
dispersed. Mourning the loss of their brave friend, Kilik and Xianghua
left Ostrinesburg castle and returned home.
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