Chapter Summaries

Shen Fei learned more about the Yellow Stone Book, then crushed an Iron and Blood Alliance attack on Lanxiu Manor as Qin and Chu prepared for war. Meanwhile, King Jian of Qi struggled to decide whether Qi should support Chu, support Qin, or stay neutral.

• Shen Fei considered the Yellow Stone Book’s mysterious power and its potential future value.
• Mo Ya held Wei Zhuang off near Xinzheng while the Birds of Prey gained the advantage and Quicksand and the Iron and Blood Alliance retreated.
• The Iron and Blood Alliance sent eight top masters and other fighters to assassinate Shen Fei at Lanxiu Manor, but Shen Fei killed them with the Sword of Implication.
• Qin and Chu mobilized vast armies along their border, with Wang Jian leading Qin’s six hundred thousand troops against Chu’s three major legions.
• King Jian of Qi heard ministers argue over aiding Chu, supporting Qin, or remaining neutral, then postponed his decision.

Lord Changping and Yan Dan struggled to secure Qi’s support and planned to delay Qin’s invasion, while Shen Fei warned Zhang Kaidi against secretly opposing Qin. At the Qin-Chu battlefield, Meng Tian’s forces overwhelmed the Soaring Dragon Legion, and Shen Fei killed Long Qie.

• Lord Changping and Yan Dan concluded that Confucianism would not persuade Qi to join the war and that Chu could only delay Qin because the Mechanical Azure Dragon remained unusable.
• Shen Fei confronted Zhang Kaidi at his residence, warned him to abandon his secret schemes, and used the Sword of Implication and apparent sword flight to intimidate him.
• Shen Fei arrived at the battle between Meng Tian’s Golden Fire Cavalry and Xiang Yan’s Soaring Dragon Legion as Qin’s mechanical beasts and trebuchets devastated Chu’s forces.
• Shen Fei killed Long Qie by hurling a spear through him and his horse, and Golden Fire Cavalry soldiers carried Long Qie’s body away.

After Qin’s armies crushed Chu’s three great legions, Shen Fei went to Shouchun to investigate Lord Changping’s Azure Dragon Project and secure the Peasant School. He arranged for Tian Yan to become its Grandmaster and learned more about the tangled schemes surrounding the school, while Lord Changping prepared to activate his plan against Qin.

• Meng Tian’s Golden Fire Cavalry defeated Xiang Yan’s Soaring Dragon Legion, and Shen Fei left to visit the other Qin–Chu battlefields after Wang Jian defeated Chu’s other two great legions.
• With Chu’s armies collapsing and its cities surrendering, Shen Fei decided to go to Shouchun and deal with the Peasant School before it could cause trouble.
• Lord Changping blamed Xiang Yan for Chu’s defeat, then summoned Tian Guang and Yan Dan to continue the Azure Dragon Project against Qin.
• In Shouchun, Tian Yan told Shen Fei that Lord Changping had gathered leaders from several schools to plan the Azure Dragon Project, and Shen Fei said he would prevent it and make her Peasant School’s Grandmaster.
• Shen Fei promised to free Tian Yan from the Net of the Underworld and help her pursue revenge against Zhao Gao; Tian Yan explained that Tian Guang had arranged for Wu Kuang to infiltrate the Net of the Underworld.
• Shen Fei discovered that Drunken Dream Pavilion was a Peasant School intelligence and money-making operation and recognized Lord Changping’s daughter among its courtesans.

Shen Fei confronted Lord Changping at Shouchun, exposed his plans and the Azure Dragon Project, and captured him alive for Ying Zheng. After Qin troops occupied the city, the Iron and Blood Alliance and other factions attempted to rescue Lord Changping but were surrounded by Wang Jian's army.

• As the Qin Army approached Shouchun, Lord Changping faced Wang Jian on the city wall and declared that Chu would destroy Qin before preparing to kill himself.
• Shen Fei appeared beside Lord Changping, revealed that he knew about the Azure Dragon Project, and explained how Lord Changping had planned to trap Qin's army and assassinate Ying Zheng.
• Lord Changping attacked Shen Fei, but Shen Fei defeated him, took the Heaven's Questions Sword, and subdued him alive for Ying Zheng.
• Shouchun opened its gates and surrendered as the Qin Army entered the city without a battle.
• The Iron and Blood Alliance, The Peasant School, the Mohist School, and other factions attacked the camp holding Lord Changping, but Wang Jian's forces surrounded them and the Yin-Yang School joined the fight.

Shen Fei killed Ji Bu after his offer to spare him failed, while The Peasant School’s leaders regrouped after their failed rescue of Lord Changping. At the wooden house, Tian Yan revealed herself as Jing Ni and joined Tian Ci, Tian Zhong, and Situ Wanli in attacking their fellow members, leaving Tian Guang to identify Tian Yan as an assassin of the Net of the Underworld.

• Shen Fei pursued Ji Bu and offered to let him and Mi Lian live in seclusion, but Ji Bu attacked to protect her secret.
• Shen Fei stopped Ji Bu’s sword with two fingers and killed him with Yin-Yang Art: White Dew Deceives Frost.
• Tian Guang and the others gathered at a wooden house, where Tian Yan urged them to retreat to Daze Mountain and consider seeking help from the elders.
• Tian Ci stabbed Tian Meng, Tian Zhong attacked Tian Hu, and Tian Yan stabbed Tian Guang, revealing her strength and abandoning her sickly guise.
• Situ Wanli attacked Liu Ji, while Tian Yan revealed that she had sent the other Peasant School disciples away before the ambush.
• Tian Guang identified Tian Yan as Jing Ni, a top-tier assassin of the Net of the Underworld, and revealed that he was Yan Ri.

Tian Yan revealed her identity as Jing Ni and sought to claim the Grandmaster position, while Tian Hu and Wu Kuang learned more about the schemes behind The Peasant School’s past. As Tian Hu ordered an attack, a sudden chill froze the surrounding disciples, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Tian Yan declared that she wanted to become Grandmaster and gained the support of Situ Wanli, Tian Zhong, and Tian Mi, while Tian Hu refused to submit.
• Tian Hu’s reinforcements arrived, and Tian Mi switched sides as Tian Hu offered Chief Steward Jin the leadership of Gonggong Hall.
• Tian Yan identified Chief Steward Jin as Wu Kuang, who revealed that the Grandmaster had saved him and sent him undercover.
• Tian Yan accused the Grandmaster, her father, Tian Hu, and Tian Mi of conspiring against Wu Kuang and his brother; Tian Guang promised Wu Kuang an explanation, while Tian Mi blamed the others.
• Wu Kuang chose to stand with The Peasant School, and Tian Hu ordered the Twenty-Four Earth Marsh Formation to attack Tian Yan.
• An overwhelming chill appeared and instantly froze the Peasant School disciples before they could activate the formation.

Shen Fei helped Tian Yan defeat the Peasant School’s remaining leaders and took control of affairs concerning the school. After Qi Kingdom surrendered, Great Qin unified the realm, and Ying Zheng became Qin Shi Huang.

• Shen Fei froze the Peasant School disciples, struck Wu Kuang with fatal frost qi, and watched Tian Yan defeat Tian Hu in a final duel.
• Shen Fei took Liu Ji’s Crimson Firmament Sword and Wu Kuang’s Cicada Chill Sword, ordered their proper burials, and told Tian Yan to return to Daze Mountain.
• Han Xin met Shen Fei, who told him to inform Zhang Han that the Empire had taken over the Peasant School.
• Shen Fei informed Zhao Gao that Tian Yan was working for him and that he had taken charge of the Peasant School.
• Qi Kingdom surrendered as Qin’s army prepared to advance, bringing the Seven Warring States era to an end.
• Ying Zheng adopted the title First Emperor and became Qin Shi Huang.

As Ying Zheng prepared for his enthronement ceremony, he faced resistance to the commandery-county system and used evidence of Confucian wealth and hypocrisy to weaken their influence. He also confronted Chu Nan Gong over prophecies and plots against Qin, while Yan Dan entered Xianyang to exploit the ceremony and try to kill Ying Zheng.

• Shen Fei, Mo Ya, and others returned to Xianyang as royal relatives and nobles resisted Ying Zheng’s rejection of feudalism.
• Li Si refuted Confucian scholars, while Shen Fei and the academies exposed Confucianism’s wealth, human-sacrifice records, and role in Qi’s surrender.
• Shen Fei spoke with Han Fei about the coming enthronement ceremony and whether Wei Zhuang and the others had entered Xianyang.
• Ying Zheng questioned Chu Nan Gong about the Yellow Stone Book, prophecies against Qin, the Wind, Fire, Forest, Mountain Generals, and Lord Changping’s plots.
• Chu Nan Gong confronted Donghuang Taiyi after Ying Zheng left, and Yan Dan infiltrated Xianyang intending to seize the chance to kill Ying Zheng.

As Fu Nian and Zhang Liang arrived in a transformed Xianyang, the former visited the city’s library while the latter reunited with Han Fei and Quicksand at Sun-Moon Pavilion. That night, Shen Fei confronted death warriors attacking his residence as fighting broke out elsewhere in the city.

• Fu Nian and Zhang Liang toured Xianyang, read the Great Qin Daily, and discussed whether the realm was finally at peace.
• Fu Nian went to visit Xianyang’s largest library, while Zhang Liang headed to Sun-Moon Pavilion and reunited with Han Fei, Nong Yu, Zi Nu, Wei Zhuang, and Chi Lian.
• Wei Zhuang and Zhang Liang resented Shen Fei’s confidence and still clung to their hopes, while Zi Nu took Chi Lian and Nong Yu away to let them talk.
• Shen Fei detected twenty-two black-clad death warriors outside his residence and confronted them as fighting spread through Xianyang.

Shen Fei crushed the forces targeting him and helped Ying Zheng prepare for universal taxation before the First Emperor’s enthronement ceremony. When anti-Qin forces launched a rebellion during the ceremony, a black Dragon God appeared, killed the attackers, and publicly affirmed Ying Zheng’s rule, leaving the opposition stunned.

• Shen Fei used Wood Release to kill twenty-two death warriors, hunted down the observers, and marked Dao Zhi with a Flying Thunder God Seal so he could lead Shen Fei to the Mohist Mechanical City.
• Shen Fei returned to Xianyang and found Qin Kingdom’s forces had defeated most of the invading experts; Ying Zheng deployed the Dragon-Tiger Cavalry while nobles and great clans organized against taxation and the commandery-and-county system.
• Shen Fei and Ying Zheng’s allies defeated Confucian proposals for a general amnesty and prepared the Hundred Schools of Thought for debate over universal taxation.
• During Ying Zheng’s enthronement, anti-Qin forces infiltrated the ceremony and attacked, while Zhang Han and Gai Nie were blocked from protecting Ying Zheng.
• A black Dragon God descended, killed the assassins and the gathered anti-Qin forces with lightning, and prompted Li Si, the citizens, and the nobles to kneel before Ying Zheng.
• Han Fei, Zi Nu, Zhang Liang, Wei Zhuang, and Yan Dan watched in shock as the Dragon God’s appearance strengthened Ying Zheng’s authority and dealt a blow to Yan Dan.

Shen Fei’s Dragon God spectacle secured Ying Zheng’s coronation and helped Qin legitimize its unification, after which Shen Fei turned to The Peasant School. He uncovered Ying Bu’s surrender to protect Lord Changping’s daughter and demanded a price for sparing her.

• The black Dragon God roared over Xianyang, lightning filled the sky, and Nitoromi descended to Ying Zheng before the creature vanished.
• Li Si reread Ying Zheng’s imperial decree, and no one dared openly oppose it after the ceremony.
• Shen Fei met Tian Yan, praised her leadership of The Peasant School, and prepared to face its six elders over their Shinnō Token.
• Tian Yan introduced the chained Ying Bu, who demanded to know whether the sick girl he had brought to Tian Mi was all right.
• Shen Fei inferred that the girl was Lord Changping’s daughter, and Tian Yan understood why Ying Bu had surrendered to protect her.
• Ying Bu pleaded for the girl, but Tian Yan said they might spare her if he paid the corresponding price.

Shen Fei killed Ying Bu, defeated the Peasant School’s six great elders, and arranged for Lian Xin’s care before turning his attention to the Mohist Mechanical City. He mobilized an army to draw the Mohist School and anti-Qin forces into defending the city, intending to eliminate them together.

• Shen Fei killed Ying Bu after Ying Bu refused to reveal the Xiang Clan’s whereabouts, then sent Tian Yan to deal with the Peasant School’s elders.
• The Peasant School’s six great elders attacked Shen Fei and Tian Yan with the Earth Marsh Twenty-Four Formation, but Shen Fei destroyed it with one punch, killing two elders and severely injuring the rest.
• Shen Fei diagnosed Lian Xin’s cold poison, told Tian Yan to return her to Lian Yi, and demanded Lord Changping’s Seven Kingdoms Underground Map in exchange for the sisters’ safety.
• Shen Fei located the Mohist Mechanical City and assembled nearly ten thousand soldiers to march on it, hoping to draw the Mohist School and anti-Qin forces into a single confrontation.

Dao Zhi discovered that the Great Qin Army had overwhelming mechanical weapons and reported the Hundred-Battle Ballista to Yan Dan. As the Mohist Mechanical City gathered anti-Qin forces for the coming battle, Zhang Liang warned that Shen Fei had made the Qin Kingdom far stronger than expected.

• Dao Zhi observed the advancing Great Qin Army and realized its mechanical beasts outnumbered and threatened the Mohists'.
• Gongshu Chou demonstrated fifty explosive-bolt ballistas to Shen Fei, Xing Hun, Young Commander, and Moon Goddess, flattening the top of a small mountain.
• Shen Fei named the weapon the Hundred-Battle Ballista and planned to test it against the Mohist Mechanical City.
• Dao Zhi and Bai Feng watched the demonstration; Dao Zhi then returned by Mechanical Vermillion Bird to warn Yan Dan and the others.
• Yan Dan expressed confidence in the Mohist Mechanical City's defenses as anti-Qin factions gathered there, while Zhang Liang cautioned that Shen Fei had strengthened Qin and won over many common people.

As Qin's army advanced on the Mohist Mechanical City, the anti-Qin leaders learned of the Hundred-Battle Ballista and resolved to destroy it, while Shen Fei's forces prepared to overcome the city's defenses. Tian Yan arrived with the Peasant School's six great elders nearby, but a Net of the Underworld assassin infiltrated the city and killed three Mohist patrolmen.

• Fan Zeng and other anti-Qin leaders discussed the Peasant School's absence, and Yan Dan said Tian Yan had agreed to arrive soon.
• Dao Zhi reported that the Gongshu Family had created the powerful Hundred-Battle Ballista, and Yan Dan summoned the leaders to discuss the weapon.
• The anti-Qin forces decided to destroy the Hundred-Battle Ballista, while Mo Ya held Bai Feng off above the Qin camp and Shen Fei's mechanical beasts cleared the road to the city.
• Tian Yan arrived at the Mohist Mechanical City and told Yan Dan that the Peasant School's six great elders were waiting nearby for an opportunity.
• A masked assassin killed three Mohist patrolmen and hid their bodies; the next day, Wei Zhuang and Xiao Yaozi identified the attacker as likely a Heaven-tier assassin from the Net of the Underworld.

Tian Yan, acting as Jing Ni, poisoned the Mohist Mechanical City with Zhen Yu Qian Ye, and the spreading gas crippled the anti-Qin gathering. Yan Dan and the other leaders struggled to respond as Wei Zhuang warned that the Empire would not let them escape.

• Wei Zhuang and Xiao Yaozi identified the wounds as Jing Ni’s work, and Yan Dan calmed the panicked gathering while concealing the possibility that she was inside the city.
• Purple poison seeped from the Mechanical City’s water-control core, and Bai Feng and Chi Lian recognized it as Zhen Yu Qian Ye.
• Bai Feng warned Yan Dan, Wei Zhuang, and the others, who realized the poison had been the enemy’s true objective and found guards already falling ill.
• Yan Dan tried to limit the spread by changing the water, while he used scarce Hundred Herb Pills to save key leaders and Chi Lian said an antidote could not be made in time for everyone.
• Zhang Liang proposed withdrawing, but Wei Zhuang warned that Shen Fei would have anticipated their escape; the leaders concealed their agreement as they focused on rescuing the poisoned.

Shen Fei confronted Chu Nan Gong, who had lured him into a valley and ambushed him with Confucian experts and falling boulders. Shen Fei crushed the attack, killed Chu Nan Gong after learning the Yellow Stone Book had been given to Jing Tian Ming, and left Xing Hun to handle the body.

• Shen Fei rejected Chu Nan Gong’s claim that he was defying Heaven and struck him with sword qi.
• Sixteen Confucian experts trapped Shen Fei in the Eight Yi Sword Formation, but Shen Fei destroyed the formation and killed them.
• Boulders fell into the valley, and Shen Fei summoned Thousand-Hand Guanyin to smash the boulders and flatten the surrounding peaks.
• Shen Fei killed two elders who had accompanied Chu Nan Gong and demanded the Yellow Stone Book.
• Chu Nan Gong attacked Shen Fei with his famous sword, but Shen Fei crushed the sword, killed him, and learned that he had given the book to Jing Tian Ming.
• Xing Hun arrived, and Shen Fei entrusted Chu Nan Gong’s funeral arrangements to him.

Shen Fei’s forces attacked the Mohist Mechanical City, and he entered it to confront Zhang Liang, Yan Dan, and Xiao Yaozi. After condemning the anti-Qin leaders and exposing Yan Dan’s role in the Six-Fingered Black Hero’s death, Shen Fei defeated Yan Dan and Wei Zhuang and killed Xiao Yaozi.

• Shen Fei ordered the Hundred-Battle Ballista to destroy the Mohist traps while the Empire’s forces fought the anti-Qin ambush.
• Da Si Ming overwhelmed Mei Sanniang, and Shen Fei handed command to Meng Yu before entering the Mechanical City with Jing Ni.
• Shen Fei met Zhang Liang and argued that Confucianism would decline as the Empire’s schools and policies grew in influence.
• Shen Fei denounced Yan Dan, Xiao Yaozi, and Zhang Liang as nobles seeking to regain power, then accused Yan Dan of having a hand in the Six-Fingered Black Hero’s death.
• Shen Fei said writers would spread the story of Yan Dan murdering his master, prompting Yan Dan to spit blood.
• Yan Dan and Wei Zhuang attacked Shen Fei, but he knocked them back, took the Snowclear Sword from Xiao Yaozi, and pierced Xiao Yaozi’s heart.

Shen Fei defeated Yan Dan and the Mechanical Azure Dragon after the Mohist Mechanical City collapsed. He then offered Zhang Liang and Wei Zhuang a chance to leave the Central Plains and rebuild Han on an island nation, serving as pioneers for Ying Zheng’s future expansion.

• Shen Fei revealed that the Mechanical Azure Dragon had been hidden in the Mohist Mechanical City since the era of Xuanyuan Huangdi, and the city began to collapse when Yan Dan activated it.
• The Mechanical Azure Dragon emerged from the ruins, but Shen Fei blocked its flames, bound it with a Wood Dragon, and smashed it into the mountain before killing Yan Dan.
• Shen Fei learned from Yan Dan’s memories that the Mechanical Azure Dragon’s immense power was limited by its enormous energy consumption.
• Shen Fei offered Zhang Liang and Wei Zhuang a chance to gather supporters and rebuild Han on an island nation west of the Empire.
• Zhang Liang recognized that Ying Zheng planned to let them settle the island before the Empire eventually took it, and Shen Fei confirmed the scheme.

After crushing the anti-Qin forces at Mechanical City, Shen Fei settled the aftermath with Ying Zheng and prepared to explore another world. In the Pirate World, he found Fujitora and began challenging him to reconsider the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.

• Zhang Liang agreed to Shen Fei's terms, and Shen Fei trapped most of the anti-Qin forces at Mechanical City in a vast swamp, though members of the Xiang Clan and several Mohists escaped through tunnels.
• Shen Fei arranged for the Snowclear Sword and Xiao Yaozi's body to be returned to the Taoist Heavenly Clan, then discussed sending anti-Qin nobles overseas with Ying Zheng.
• Shen Fei entered seclusion after the Qin Empire's major conflicts were settled, while Han Fei chose to stay rather than leave with Zhang Liang.
• Shen Fei found Fujitora, known as Mr. Smile, in West Blue and invited him to discuss the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.
• Shen Fei led Fujitora out over the sea and questioned whether the Celestial Dragons' rule was reasonable, then argued that the World Government had created the Warlord system.

Shen Fei tried to recruit Mr. Smile into Akatsuki by arguing that the World Government and the Celestial Dragons, not Roger, had created the Great Pirate Era. After Shen Fei challenged Mr. Smile’s reluctance to resist, Mr. Smile began reconsidering his beliefs but warned that the World Government would be difficult to defeat.

• Shen Fei blamed the World Government for oppression, piracy, the Seven Warlords system, and the human auction house, prompting Mr. Smile to grip his cane.
• Shen Fei invited Mr. Smile to join Akatsuki and help overthrow the World Government and establish a new government without the Celestial Dragons.
• Shen Fei argued that Sengoku and Garp could not reform the World Government, and that Garp and Roger had wrongly stopped the Rocks Pirates at God Valley.
• Shen Fei challenged Mr. Smile to kill a Celestial Dragon or rescue people from the human auction house, then began to leave when Mr. Smile could not answer.
• Mr. Smile asked whether Akatsuki might become the next oppressors, and Shen Fei insisted that they should overthrow the Celestial Dragons rather than let fear prevent resistance.
• Mr. Smile reconsidered the World Government’s role in the Great Pirate Era and said it would not be easy to defeat; Shen Fei agreed that its eight centuries of rule and hidden strength made it formidable.