Constantly invaded by Japanese pirates, the great Ming Empire of the East was one of the countries that expended great effort to search for Soul Edge.
Soul Edge ... believed to be the "Hero's Sword" that would be able to protect its people and regain its dignity.

Unfortunately, three such quests ended in failure.
The first two search parties never returned, and the third group, which had just returned recently, was also unsuccessful in finding the Hero's Sword.
The failure of the third quest devastated the Emperor, given that the group consisted of warriors hand-picked from his royal guards.

Xiang Hua was one of the members of the third group.
She grew up in a family with a prestigious military lineage, and learned the ways of the sword from her now-deceased mother.
Even after her mother fell ill and passed away, Xiang Hua continued to hone her skills and eventually became a member of the Emperor's royal guards.
She was then assigned the prestigious honor of the search for Soul Edge, but her mission failed.
Falling into disfavor with the Emperor for her failure, Xiang Hua was stripped of her rank of royal guard and reassigned to a menial position that she had no desire to do.
Her family lamented her fall from grace, but Xiang Hua was content with her situation.

In truth, she actually found Soul Edge four years ago.
Tthe weapon said to be the Hero's Sword turned out to be an evil sword that had an infinite appetite for human souls.
" Nothing good will come of this if I bring such a sword back to my country. I must destroy this evil thing ! ", Xiang Hua decided.

She battled Soul Edge with the help of her companion, Kilik, and managed to shatter the evil sword within the fiery vortex created by the weapon.
Her mother's keepsake sword that protected her with its mysterious powers during the battle was lost in the void when they escaped from the vortex.

" Cut your path through an uncertain future … "

Xiang Hua may have lost her mother's keepsake sword, but her mother's last words remained clear in her mind.
She firmly believed that she had made the right decision.

One day, the Emperor attacked a castle near the border of her homeland.
The Empire justified its attack by publicly stating that the castle was plotting to rise in revolt, but Xiang Hua found out the truth from Ming spies.

A man from the second search team apparently had found the Hero's Sword, but refused to return and holed himself up in the castle.
He did not respond to any of the messengers sent to summon him, and the lord of the castle refused to turn him over.
The Emperor was convinced that the lord of the castle refused to turn over the weapon in order to keep it for himself.
As a result, soldiers were dispatched to retrieve the sword. Although the castle fell, the sword could not be found.

The Emperor ordered Xiang Hua to investigate the remains of the castle.
He reasoned that she was the only person who came within reach of Soul Edge,
and that her experience and knowledge of the sword would be valuable in locating it amongst the rubble of the castle.

Xiang Hua had destroyed the evil sword, so the castle could not have housed Soul Edge.
Had she reported the truth, the tragic incident may never have happened.
Dispatched to the battlegrounds of the castle, she left with a heavy heart.
Gathering information from the few remaining survivors and tattered records, Xiang Hua discovered that an object referred to as a Soul Edge fragment had existed there.

If it was truly a piece of Soul Edge, there had to be those who sensed its evil energy.
That would explain why the individual who found the fragment hesitated to surrender it to the Emperor.
From what she gathered about the shard, it was hard to believe that the lord of the castle would desire such an insignificant little object for himself.
Could it be that the fragment was really from the accursed Soul Edge ?

The weapon that Xiang Hua believed she had destroyed may still be wreaking havoc unto the world !

If this proved to be the truth, someone had to find every single fragment and crush them down until nothing remained.
Xiang Hua convinced herself that this was a burden she had to bear, since she failed to destroy Soul Edge completely the first time.

Xiang Hua moved quickly once her mind was settled on the matter - she resigned her Emperor's assigned duty that very night ...