Chapter Summaries

Ying Zheng’s return journey through Qin was disrupted when Wang Yi tried to kill him at the frontier camp, but Shen Fei and Meng Tian helped defeat the plot. Ying Zheng took control of the Pingyang Heavy Armor Army, while Wang Yi’s failed rebellion led to severe reprisals against his associates and family.

• Shen Fei traveled with Ying Zheng and Li Si into Qin, where Gai Nie warned that the Pingyang Heavy Armor Army’s presence at the frontier was suspicious.
• Wang Yi killed the five scouts who had escorted the group to camp and forced Ying Zheng to pose as Li Si’s attendant.
• Ying Zheng wrote an edict summoning Lord Changping, while Shen Fei recognized Wang Yi’s efforts to isolate Ying Zheng and suspected his motives.
• Wang Yi tried to divide the group and later ambushed Ying Zheng on the reviewing platform, but Meng Tian defended him and Shen Fei killed the crossbowmen with copper coins.
• Gai Nie defeated Wang Yi’s guards, and Meng Tian killed Wang Yi after Shen Fei deflected his axe, allowing Ying Zheng’s allies to take control of the army.
• Shen Fei reflected that Wang Yi’s death would bring collective punishment upon his three clans and the people who had recommended or supported him.

Shen Fei learned internal cultivation from Gai Nie and escorted Ying Zheng toward Xianyang, where he used his powers to foil a major ambush in a gorge. After the attackers were defeated, four more figures appeared, including one Shen Fei suspected was Zhu Jia.

• Shen Fei thanked Meng Tian for reorganizing the Pingyang Heavy Armor Soldiers and recalled that his intervention had spared many implicated officers from execution.
• Gai Nie taught Shen Fei the Ghost Valley Breathing Technique and agreed to train him in swordsmanship.
• Shen Fei traveled with Ying Zheng and an escort of Pingyang Heavy Armor Soldiers through the gorge toward Hangu Pass.
• Assassins ambushed the convoy with boulders and crossbow bolts, but Shen Fei used the Op-Op Fruit to redirect the attacks and kill many of them.
• Gai Nie and the soldiers fought the remaining attackers while Shen Fei protected Ying Zheng, leaving the Qin side without casualties.
• Shen Fei called out the hidden attackers, and four figures descended, including a masked man he suspected was Zhu Jia.

Shen Fei helped Ying Zheng repel an assassination attempt by the Peasant School and other enemies, defeating Sheng Qi and Zhu Jia with overwhelming strength. The attackers were crushed or forced to flee, while Dao Zhi later reached the Mohist Mechanical Vermillion Bird and described Shen Fei as a terrifying monster.

• Shen Fei identified Zhu Jia and the Yin-Yang School members among the hidden forces as both sides clashed around Ying Zheng’s carriage.
• Sheng Qi attacked Ying Zheng from above with Great Que, but Shen Fei knocked the weapon away, struck Sheng Qi into a cliff, and impaled him with his own sword.
• Shen Fei attacked the remaining assassins with a cross-shaped sword aura, then tracked Zhu Jia through his Thousand Faces technique and captured him.
• Shen Fei let two fleeing enemies escape and reported to Ying Zheng that the fight was over.
• Dao Zhi reached the Mohist Mechanical Vermillion Bird in the Qinling Mountains and told its wine-drinking passenger that he had encountered a terrifying monster.

After returning safely to Qin, Shen Fei watched Ying Zheng outmaneuver his rivals and then visited the Yin-Yang School to learn its arts. He proved to have Five Elements Harmony aptitude and began training in the Wood Division’s Myriad Leaves Flying Flower Stream.

• Shen Fei kept Sheng Qi’s Great Que as spoils and arrived at Hangu Pass with Ying Zheng under the escort of Moon Goddess and Xing Hun.
• Outside Xianyang, Lord Changping proposed summoning Han Fei, Ying Zheng sent a letter to Han, and Li Si joined Ying Zheng’s staff despite Lü Buwei’s anger.
• Moon Goddess reported Shen Fei’s strength to Donghuang Taiyi, while Shen Fei visited the Yin-Yang School with Xing Hun and learned that Young Commander had taken office.
• Moon Goddess tested Shen Fei’s aptitude for Yin-Yang Arts, and Shen Fei quickly demonstrated Five Elements Harmony.
• Shen Fei chose the Wood Division’s Myriad Leaves Flying Flower Stream, and Moon Goddess began teaching him its cultivation method.

Shen Fei deepened his mastery of the Yin-Yang Arts while staying at the Yin-Yang School, then began using his new authority as Qin’s Imperial Preceptor to introduce practical innovations. He left Gongshu Chou and Meng Tian with plans for papermaking and steelmaking, setting the preparations for Ying Zheng’s reforms in motion.

• Shen Fei studied the Yin-Yang School’s texts and quickly advanced in Alchemy, Illusion Art, and the Mind Control Curse with Yunzhong Jun’s help.
• After a Shadow Guardian summoned him, Shen Fei met Ying Zheng, Gai Nie, and Gongshu Chou, and learned that he was to direct work for the Qin king.
• Shen Fei traveled with Gongshu Chou to a valley outside Xianyang, where Meng Tian was overseeing the operation.
• Shen Fei gave Gongshu Chou the papermaking method and steelmaking plans, and Gongshu Chou promised the Gongshu Family would carry out the work.

Shen Fei gave the Gongshu Family steelmaking and papermaking methods, introduced new crops and agricultural projects, and reopened the Hall of Curiosities while developing his estate. After a Net of the Underworld assassin broke into Sun-Moon Villa and died by poison, Shen Fei received the first usable paper sample and asked Li Si to lay the groundwork for Qin’s new constable department.

• Gongshu Chou accepted Shen Fei’s steelmaking method, and Shen Fei asked the Gongshu Family to send mechanical-art specialists while keeping the formula secret.
• Shen Fei presented new crops to the Minister of Agriculture for testing, promised enslaved workers that merit could free their children, and assigned projects in cultivation and livestock raising at his estate.
• Shen Fei reopened the Hall of Curiosities in Xianyang and used Yin-Yang Arts to shape an ice rose in the bamboo forest behind Sun-Moon Villa.
• A black-clad intruder broke into Shen Fei’s study, but chains restrained him; he took poison and died before Shen Fei could question him, and Shen Fei identified him as a Net of the Underworld assassin.
• Li Si brought Shen Fei a usable sample of paper, and Shen Fei asked him to establish the basic framework for Qin’s new constable department.

Shen Fei welcomed Han Fei and Zi Nu to Xianyang, then recruited Mo Ya into Qin’s newly established Six Doors and helped him bring the Birds of Prey to safety. He tried to persuade Han Fei that Qin’s unification was inevitable, then inspected a modern-style club and asked about Qin’s planned public library.

• Shen Fei met Han Fei, Zi Nu, and Mo Ya outside Xianyang, and learned that Mo Ya had come to seek him out.
• Shen Fei explained the Six Doors to Mo Ya, offered to support the Birds of Prey, and sent Mo Ya through an Arcane Gate to Xinzheng with a token.
• Han Fei and Zi Nu met Shen Fei at Sun-Moon Villa, where he argued that Qin would unify the realm and Han could not resist its rise.
• Shen Fei watched Han Fei and Zi Nu depart, concluding that he had made little progress in persuading Han Fei to abandon resistance.
• Gongshu Chou showed Shen Fei a modern-style building in Xianyang, and Shen Fei asked about the Library Pavilion where citizens could borrow paper books.

Shen Fei’s Library Pavilion opened in Xianyang, offering a vast collection of accessible books while his policies improved women’s safety and challenged old accounts of history. As Confucian scholars confronted the new books and Mo Ya took charge of Six Doors, Shen Fei assigned Ying Ge new work and teased the pair about marrying.

• Shen Fei, Han Fei, and Zi Nu admired the crowded opening of the Library Pavilion, where people studied its books.
• Shen Fei’s decree barring girls under sixteen from marrying spread through Qin Kingdom, along with booklets on childbirth and midwifery.
• Yan Lu brought paper-bound books from Qin Kingdom to Fu Nian at Little Sage Village, and Fu Nian recognized their significance.
• Readers in Xianyang argued over Bao Si after a Library Pavilion book challenged the traditional account of her role in King You of Zhou’s actions.
• Shen Fei handed command of Six Doors to Mo Ya, who returned to Xianyang with Birds of Prey members, including Ying Ge.
• Shen Fei teased Mo Ya and Ying Ge about marrying, then entrusted Ying Ge with other work instead of dangerous intelligence gathering.

Shen Fei promoted practical inventions and criticized the nobles’ tax privileges before learning that Lü Buwei had launched a coup in Xianyang. After killing attackers at Sun-Moon Villa, Shen Fei reached the palace, where the fighting escalated with mechanical beasts and poison.

• Shen Fei inspected Gongshu Shi’s farming tools, ordered their distribution, and argued with Han Fei and Zi Nu about taxing nobles and improving commoners’ lives.
• Shen Fei learned that Wei Zhuang, Yan Lingji, Quicksand, and experts from the Miscellaneous School had appeared in Xianyang as Lü Buwei’s influence waned.
• When Lü Buwei’s coup began, Shen Fei killed twenty-two black-clad attackers at Sun-Moon Villa and then rushed to Xianyang Palace.
• At the palace, Shen Fei joined Xing Hun as Imperial Guards, Shadow Guardians, and Lü Buwei’s forces fought, while four Earth-Breaking Sanlang mechanical beasts entered the square.
• The Red White Couple released poison that killed the Imperial Guards, then declared their support for Lü Buwei and warned Xing Hun that Ying Zheng might turn against the Yin-Yang School.

Shen Fei helped Ying Zheng’s forces crush Lü Buwei’s uprising after Net of the Underworld betrayed Lü Buwei and sided with the King. Lü Buwei was offered a dignified death, while Mo Ya reunited Bai Feng with Ying Ge at Sun-Moon Villa.

• Shen Fei killed the Red White Couple, froze their unleashed poison and gu creatures, and restrained the remaining attackers for the Shadow Guardians to kill.
• Xing Hun told Shen Fei that Net of the Underworld had turned against Lü Buwei, and the two went to watch it battle the School of Miscellany.
• Shen Fei and Xing Hun observed the fighting as Lü Buwei’s forces lost ground and the Six Sword Slaves remained mostly absent.
• Zhao Gao confronted Lü Buwei at Marquis Wenxin Residence and offered him poisoned wine as the King’s sentence.
• Mo Ya gave Bai Feng two True Person Pills, then led him to Sun-Moon Villa, where Ying Ge welcomed him.

Xianyang’s upheaval ended with Ying Zheng crushing Lü Buwei’s faction and ordering Lao Ai’s death, while Shen Fei considered the court’s reshuffling and Bai Feng’s unexpected choice to join Flowing Sand. At the Qin hostage residence, Han Fei described Qin’s growing strength to Flowing Sand, and the group debated whether the six kingdoms could form another alliance.

• Mo Ya told Ying Ge that Six Doors was still being organized, then left with Bai Feng to visit the children outside Sun-Moon Villa.
• The Dragon-Tiger Cavalry helped end the fighting in Xianyang, Lü Buwei’s experts were wiped out, and the Yin-Yang School withdrew as Shen Fei returned to Sun-Moon Villa.
• Qin soldiers killed Lao Ai, seized Zhao Ji, and burned the palace; the next day, Ying Zheng’s forces arrested Lü Buwei’s supporters and reshuffled court posts.
• Shen Fei decided to spare Zhao Gao for now and learned that Bai Feng had joined Flowing Sand.
• Han Fei explained Qin’s preparations and growing strength to Flowing Sand, whose members discussed forming another alliance among the six kingdoms.

Shen Fei confronted Donghuang Taiyi and demanded that the Yin-Yang School leave Han Fei and Zi Nu alive, then demonstrated his overwhelming strength against its leading fighters. Donghuang Taiyi agreed to consider the demand, while Shen Fei restored the damaged hall and left the relationship between them unresolved.

• Yan Lingji told Han Fei that Han Yu had overturned his arrangements in Han Kingdom and tried to besiege and kill Master, prompting Han Fei to revise his plans but remain in Xianyang for now.
• Shen Fei learned of Han Yu’s actions from Ying Ge and later welcomed Yan Lingji, who temporarily stayed at Sun-Moon Villa.
• Shen Fei met Donghuang Taiyi and warned him that Han Fei and Zi Nu could not be harmed.
• Shen Fei summoned his Thousand-Hand Guanyin and destroyed half the Yin-Yang School’s main hall, then invited Xing Hun to attack.
• Xing Hun’s strike and the combined Three Extremes Obliteration from Xing Hun, Da Si Ming, and Young Commander failed to damage Shen Fei’s manifestation.
• Donghuang Taiyi declined to fight and said he would consider Shen Fei’s demand; Shen Fei used Reparo to restore the hall.

Shen Fei left Xianyang to visit the Taoist Heavenly Clan and study its cultivation methods, carrying a letter and supplies from Ying Zheng. He arrived in the Qinling Mountains and was greeted by Chi Songzi.

• Donghuang Taiyi ordered Xing Hun and the others to keep the events at the Yin-Yang School secret, and Shen Fei decided to leave Qin Kingdom for a while.
• Shen Fei told Ying Zheng he planned to visit the Taoist Heavenly Clan, and Ying Zheng gave him a letter for Chi Songzi.
• Shen Fei discussed his travel plans with Han Fei and joked about Princess Honglian's possible marriage alliances; Han Fei asked him to focus on helping her.
• Ying Zheng prepared more than a dozen carts of supplies, including paper, for Shen Fei's journey to the Taoist Heavenly Clan.
• Shen Fei reached the Taoist Heavenly Clan in the Qinling Mountains and greeted its leader, Chi Songzi.

Shen Fei studied Taoist cultivation at the Taoist Heavenly Clan, met Bei Mingzi, and planned ways to improve Qin's communications and supply transport. After leaving for Zhao Kingdom and Yan Kingdom, he discovered people waiting at the foot of the mountain who wanted him dead.

• Chi Songzi agreed to Ying Zheng's request, and Shen Fei stayed at the Taoist Heavenly Clan while the Qin Army soldiers returned.
• Shen Fei cultivated Taoist mental arts, including Blend with Light and Dust, Ten Thousand Rivers Autumn Water, and Mind Like Still Water.
• Bei Mingzi met Shen Fei, praised his cultivation, and answered his questions about cultivation.
• Shen Fei planned to obtain Den Den Mushi and develop Hot Air Balloons to improve Qin's communications and logistics.
• Shen Fei left for Zhao Kingdom and then Yan Kingdom to seek the Mohist School, but found people waiting to kill him at the mountain's foot.

Shen Fei entered Zhao Kingdom’s Handan and reflected on its history before traveling toward Yan Kingdom. At a roadside tavern, he exposed and killed assassins, then faced a large force attacking with flaming arrows as his ice technique froze the burning tavern.

• Shen Fei entered Handan and considered Zhao Kingdom’s dance, music, political history, and military leaders.
• Shen Fei left Handan for Yan Kingdom and recognized that the armed travelers at a roadside tavern were preparing to ambush him with poison and attackers.
• Shen Fei sent the poisoned tea back at the disguised waiter, killing him, then cut down the assassins who rushed him.
• Shen Fei used an illusion technique to mislead the remaining assassins and let their numbers dwindle while he waited for their larger force.
• Attackers outside the tavern fired flaming arrows and crossbow bolts at Shen Fei, who protected himself with ice and froze the tavern with White Dew Deceives Frost.

Shen Fei survived a massive ambush by Zhao soldiers and martial artists, then defeated a surprise attack by Mohist machines. The chapter ended with the attacker identifying himself as Jing Ke.

• Shen Fei stepped out of the tavern and found himself surrounded by Zhao archers, armored infantry, and martial artists.
• Shen Fei used his speed and Observation Haki to evade the attacks and kill the soldiers and archery masters, while Tian Yan ordered her group to withdraw.
• After a Zhao warrior invoked the Battle of Changping and renewed the attackers’ resolve, Shen Fei unleashed sweeping sword qi and killed the remaining enemies.
• A man descended from a Mechanical Vermillion Bird and attacked Shen Fei, but Shen Fei repelled him and sent a Mechanical White Tiger crashing to the ground.
• The surviving attacker confronted Shen Fei over the deaths, and introduced himself as Mohist Jing Ke.

Shen Fei confronted Jing Ke and Dao Zhi after the Mohists arrived at the ambush site, then defeated them when they attacked. He spared Jing Ke’s life but severed his arm, and took control of the Mechanical Vermillion Bird.

• Shen Fei recognized Jing Ke and discussed the changing meaning of assassins, the collapse of rites, and Jing Ke’s strained friendship with Gai Nie.
• Dao Zhi joined Jing Ke and accused Shen Fei of killing without mercy, while Shen Fei challenged the Mohists’ involvement in the ambush.
• Jing Ke shielded Dao Zhi and warned him to escape, but Dao Zhi attacked Shen Fei with Lightning Flash Steps and the Swift Flying Wheels.
• Jing Ke followed with Surprise Sky Eighteen Swords, but Shen Fei defeated him, shattered his sword, and cut off his right arm.
• Shen Fei boarded the Mechanical Vermillion Bird and ordered its Mohist pilot to bring it down, then regretted that Ban Da Shi was not aboard.

Shen Fei defeated the Mohists, spared Jing Ke and Dao Zhi, and stole the Mechanical Vermillion Bird and Mechanical White Tiger before traveling to Yan Kingdom. Jing Ke was taken for treatment, while Shen Fei arrived at Ji City and considered Yan’s history.

• Jing Ke urged Dao Zhi to escape, but Shen Fei defeated the Mechanical Vermillion Bird’s pilot and confronted the injured Mohists.
• Shen Fei spared Jing Ke, Dao Zhi, and Ah Fa because he respected the Mohists and would not kill Jing Ke, but he claimed the mechanical beasts as spoils.
• Shen Fei concealed his escape with swirling leaves and an Arcane Gate, taking the Mechanical Vermillion Bird and Mechanical White Tiger while Dao Zhi carried Jing Ke to safety.
• Xiao Yaozi arrived at the battlefield, ordered the dead buried, and questioned Ah Fa about what had happened.
• Dao Zhi brought Jing Ke to Nian Duan and Duanmu Rong for treatment, then left to report to the Mohist Giant Master and Yan Dan.
• Shen Fei reached Ji City and reflected on Yan Kingdom’s long history and the changing nature of its feudal system.

Shen Fei entered Ji City, stopped Yan Yi’s soldiers from whipping a child, and confronted Yan Yi before leaving him alive and blaming the incident on Yan Dan. He then discovered that Fei Xue Pavilion had been sealed after Xue Nu killed Lord Yanchun, so he abandoned his plan to see her dance and decided to head to Qi Kingdom.

• Shen Fei diverted a Yan Kingdom soldier’s whip away from a child, then killed the soldier after he attacked him and another soldier.
• Shen Fei cut down Yan Yi’s guards, warned Yan Yi to behave, and claimed Crown Prince Yan Dan had sent him.
• Yan Yi went to the royal palace to complain, while Shen Fei left Ji City and considered recruiting Nian Duan and Duanmu Rong to Qin Kingdom.
• Shen Fei found Fei Xue Pavilion sealed and learned that Xue Nu had killed Lord Yanchun after he tried to take her by force.
• Shen Fei decided not to rescue Xue Nu or Gao Jianli and set out for Qi Kingdom.

Shen Fei arrived in Sanghai City to visit Little Sage Village, explored its famous food and scenery, and imagined building a network of spatial gateways across the Great Qin Empire. He reached Confucianism’s gates and released his aura, alerting Fu Nian inside.

• Shen Fei arrived at Sanghai City’s bustling docks, bought roast chicken and duck, and visited Youjian Inn.
• Shen Fei learned that Seamoon Pavilion required advance reservations, so he ate at Youjian Inn instead.
• Shen Fei admired Little Sage Village and conceived a plan to use spatial magic and other knowledge to create teleportation routes and a communication network.
• Shen Fei reflected on Confucianism’s role in Qi Kingdom’s surrender to Qin and approached Little Sage Village.
• Shen Fei released a wisp of his aura into the estate, and Fu Nian sensed it while writing in his study.