Chapter Summaries

After Qin consolidated its newly conquered territories, Xia Qingke fell gravely ill and summoned Xiao Mo for a private conversation. She confessed that she had never blamed Xiao Mo or Xiao Yichuan for Yishe’s death and believed her own ambitions for the title of Prince Zhenbei had led to it.

• Qin focused on integrating Chu and Yan through relief, tax exemptions, local clan rivalries, and voluntary recruitment into its army.
• Li Bin and his son’s Dujiangyan flood-control works transformed Shu Land into fertile farmland and strengthened Qin’s resources.
• Five months after Xiao Mo returned to the capital, Xia Qingke became gravely ill, prompting Xiao Mo to summon Xiao Shi and Xiao Yichuan home.
• Xiao Yichuan wept as he apologized to his mother for not being there to fulfill his filial duties, and Xiao Shi spoke privately with Xia Qingke.
• Xia Qingke asked Xiao Mo to let her call him Mo’er and told him she had never blamed him, Xiao Shi, or Xiao Yichuan for Yishe’s death.
• Xia Qingke confessed that she had imposed her ambitions on Yishe and believed her own attachment to the title of Prince Zhenbei had led to his fatal mistake.

Xia Qingke died after making peace with Zhou Ruoxi and entrusting Xiao Manor to her, while Xiao Mo said farewell to Xiao Yichuan and postponed his wedding with Qin Siyao. A summons to the palace brought Xiao Mo before the approaching war between the Qin and Jin Kingdoms.

• Xia Qingke thanked Xiao Mo for protecting Xiao Manor and asked to see Zhou Ruoxi, who spoke with her for four hours before leaving in tears.
• Xia Qingke died peacefully, and Zhou Ruoxi became the Xiao Family's matriarch after the Qin Kingdom's Lord attended the funeral.
• After the seven-day funeral rites, Xiao Shi returned to the Qin-Jin border, while Xiao Yichuan left for the Hanshan Sect and bid Xiao Mo farewell.
• Qin Siyao reassured Xiao Mo that their wedding could wait during his three years of mourning and the border crisis.
• A maid told Xiao Mo that the First Prince had arrived with a summons from the emperor, who had also called military leaders to the palace.

Xiao Mo and Qin’s leaders prepared for a three-front war against Qi, Zhao, and Jin, committing most of Qin’s forces and resources to the campaign. As the armies departed, the Qin Kingdom’s Lord asked Xiao Mo to keep the First Prince Jingsu from acting recklessly while fighting Jin.

• Xiao Mo joined the Qin Kingdom’s Lord, the First Prince, and other trusted leaders in reviewing intelligence that Qi, Zhao, and Jin were preparing to invade Qin from three directions.
• Xiao Mo and the other leaders agreed that Qin had to fight rather than surrender territory, then spent four days planning the war.
• The Qin Kingdom’s Lord assigned Xiao Mo and the First Prince to lead 1.2 million troops against Jin, Xiao Shi and Bai Qi to lead an army against Zhao, and Xiahou Nan and King Zhenxi to hold off Qi.
• Qin mobilized troops and supplies, confiscated the assets of corrupt officials and nobles, and crushed nobles who resisted or colluded with the enemy kingdoms.
• Seven months later, the three Qin armies marched out to attack first, and the Qin Kingdom’s Lord told Xiao Mo that Jingsu was driven by Jingyuan’s death and asked him to prevent the First Prince from acting irrationally.

Xiao Mo and Qin Jingsu advanced deep into Jin while Xiahou Nan delayed Qi at Phoenix City and Xiao Shi and Bai Qi fought Zhao. The chapter ended with news that Bai Qi had fallen, Xiao Shi was gravely wounded, and Qin's army had suffered a crushing defeat.

• Xiao Mo warned Qin Jingsu to follow his military orders and consider Si Yao before risking his life.
• Xiahou Nan held Phoenix City against Gu Fei for eighty-seven days before retreating to Luoyun City and establishing another defensive line.
• Xiao Shi and Bai Qi steadily advanced into Zhao against Pang Nuan, while Xiao Mo and Qin Jingsu swept through Jin.
• After eight months, Xiao Mo and Qin Jingsu reached Yuzhou and expected to capture Jin's capital within seven more months.
• A report arrived that Bai Qi had fallen in battle, Xiao Shi was gravely wounded, and Qin's army had suffered a crushing defeat.

A month earlier, Bai Qi defended Shuihuo City against Li Mu while Xiao Shi attacked deeper into Zhao Kingdom. To protect Qin Kingdom’s campaign, Bai Qi used a blood-sacrifice Formation that killed all 700,000 residents, and the chapter ended as Li Mu’s army entered the empty city and the Formation activated.

• Xiao Shi and Bai Qi decided that Bai Qi would hold Shuihuo City while Xiao Shi advanced through Zhao Kingdom, and Li Mu led Zhao Kingdom’s forces against him.
• The sect master of Bai Mo Sect revealed that an ancient Formation could trigger Shuihuo City’s Ghost Separation Fire early, but required sacrificing all 700,000 residents.
• Bai Qi chose to activate the Formation for Qin Kingdom’s hegemony, and the sect master and his disciples sacrificed the city’s residents while Bai Qi engaged Li Mu outside the city.
• Bai Qi continued to feign weakness and retreat into Shuihuo City, making it appear that the city was close to falling.
• Li Mu entered the deserted Shuihuo City with his army, and the gates slammed shut as a blood-red Formation spread and the temperature began to rise.

Bai Qi’s blood-sacrifice Formation trapped Li Mu’s army in Shuihuo City, but the Ghost Separation Fire suddenly escaped control and devastated both armies. With the Formation gone and his campaign defeated, Bai Qi sent Yu Sheng away and took his own life.

• Li Mu learned that Bai Qi had used the city’s people to summon Ghost Separation Fire and ordered his soldiers to escape through the south gate.
• Bai Qi’s forces attacked Li Mu’s troops at the south gate, while the flames killed soldiers inside Shuihuo City.
• Profound Soul Water fell from the sky and extinguished the flames in the city, but the Formation collapsed and the Ghost Separation Fire spread into the Qin Kingdom Army.
• The Bai Mo Sect sect master warned Bai Qi that the fire was out of control, and Bai Qi ordered Yu Sheng to take the surviving troops to Prince Zhenbei.
• Bai Qi sent his Black Profound Horse away, acknowledged his crimes, and killed himself with his sword.

After Bai Qi’s death and Xiao Shi’s severe injury weakened Qin Kingdom’s position, Qin Jingsu proposed a desperate advance on Jin Kingdom’s capital while defending Caiyun City. Xiao Mo agreed to let Qin Jingsu lead two hundred thousand soldiers in the city’s defense, and Qin Jingsu promised to return alive.

• Qin Jingsu and the generals discussed how Bai Qi’s death, Shuihuo City’s fall, and Xiao Shi’s injury had worsened Qin Kingdom’s military position.
• Qin Jingsu proposed bypassing surrounding cities to advance from Yaoqin City through Cangmang City and Mingyue City toward Jin Kingdom’s capital.
• Qin Jingsu offered to defend Caiyun City while the main army advanced, and Xiao Mo initially hesitated over the danger.
• Qin Jingsu privately persuaded Xiao Mo that the desperate plan offered Qin Kingdom its only chance to turn the war around.
• Xiao Mo agreed to give Qin Jingsu two hundred thousand soldiers, and Qin Jingsu promised to return alive.

Xiao Mo drove his army toward the Jin Kingdom's Imperial Capital while Qin Jingsu defended Caiyun City against the Jin feudal lords. After Caiyun City's neglected protection array collapsed, Qin Jingsu's forces dwindled to thirty thousand as they fled toward Shuling, where he believed he would die.

• Qin Jingsu garrisoned Caiyun City with two hundred thousand Northern Wastes troops while Xiao Mo advanced toward Yaoqin City.
• Xiao Mo broke through Yaoqin City and reached the Jin Kingdom's Imperial Capital, where he feigned defeat, ambushed the pursuing Jin army, and breached its City Protection Array.
• The Jin Kingdom's feudal lords wore down Caiyun City's neglected array, which shattered despite Qin Jingsu's efforts to preserve it.
• Qin Jingsu led his troops out to fight, then used guerrilla attacks inside Caiyun City before retreating as the Jin army gained control of the shattered array.
• Qin Jingsu escaped repeated encirclements while retreating, but his army fell from two hundred thousand to thirty thousand.
• Qin Jingsu learned that Shuling lay ahead and remarked that Heaven seemed to want him buried there.

Qin Jingsu’s memories reveal how his love for his siblings and resistance to sacrificing them clashed with his father’s ruthless devotion to Qin. Surrounded and exhausted on the battlefield, he refused to surrender and challenged the Jin soldiers to take his head.

• Qin Jingsu led his depleted army into a hopeless battle against the Jin forces, remembering his childhood conversations with Qin Jingyuan and Qin Siyao and his father’s lessons about the Crown Prince’s burden.
• Qin Jingsu learned that Qin Jingyuan had agreed to a marriage alliance with Jin and later discovered that Jingyuan’s apparent betrayal was part of a plan to help Qin defeat the Jin army.
• After returning victorious, Qin Jingsu confronted the Qin Kingdom’s Lord for knowingly putting Jingyuan in mortal danger, and his father insisted that anything could be sacrificed for Qin.
• Before marching to war, Qin Jingsu shared a meal with Qin Siyao and promised he would return safely.
• As his soldiers fell and his protector fled, Qin Jingsu stood alone against the Jin army, refused Marquis Qu’s offer to surrender, and challenged the Jin soldiers to come for his head.

After Qin Jingsu died defending Caiyun City, Xiao Mo conquered Jin and drove Qin’s campaigns against Qi and Zhao forward before the Qin ruler recalled the generals to the capital. Xiao Mo brought Jingsu’s body home, where the grieving ruler asked how bravely his son had fought.

• Qin Siyao and the Qin ruler saw the First Prince’s life lamp go out, and the Queen collapsed after learning of his death.
• After capturing Jin’s capital, Xiao Mo learned Qin Jingsu had died at Shuling and ordered his army to continue the campaign.
• Xiao Mo defeated Jin’s regional lords, recovered Jingsu’s body, and sent troops to support the campaigns against Qi and Zhao.
• When Zhao allied with yao nations and a confidential letter reported the Qin ruler’s illness, Xiao Mo and Xiao Shi halted their advances and returned to the capital.
• Xiao Mo presented Jingsu’s coffin to the Qin ruler and declared that Jingsu’s valor surpassed every man in the three armies.

Xiao Mo met privately with the Qin Kingdom's Lord, who revealed that a cultivation failure had left him with only a few years to live. He urged Xiao Mo to spend time with Si Yao, the Empress, and Xiao Shi, and suggested Xiao Mo could rule the Qin Kingdom if its next ruler failed.

• The Qin Kingdom's Lord discussed the battlefield situation with Xiao Shi and Xiao Mo, and they agreed to stabilize the Qin Kingdom's gains before pursuing further plans.
• The Qin Kingdom's Lord decided Bai Qi's family would not be punished and that Bai Qi would receive an honorable burial, with his title passing to his sister's child.
• After Xiao Shi left, the Qin Kingdom's Lord walked with Xiao Mo and thanked him for helping destroy the Jin Kingdom.
• The Qin Kingdom's Lord revealed that a failed attempt to reach the jade-in-the-rough realm had damaged his foundation and that he had at most three years left to live.
• The Qin Kingdom's Lord told Xiao Mo he could take the throne if the next Qin Kingdom's Lord ruled poorly, but Xiao Mo vowed to support the successor instead.
• The Qin Kingdom's Lord asked Xiao Mo to spend more time with Si Yao, the Empress, and Xiao Shi, then said the young people would do better after he and Xiao Shi were gone.

Xiao Mo visited the dying Empress Shi, who asked him to love and care for Qin Siyao for the rest of his life. As he left the palace with Qin Siyao, she vowed to grow stronger and stand beside him, telling him that he was all the reason she needed.

• Xiao Mo accepted a jade token and asked the maid to take him to Empress Shi's chambers.
• Qin Siyao cared for Empress Shi, who told her that she had only a few months to live and urged her to spend time with Xiao Mo.
• Empress Shi asked Xiao Mo to promise that he would love Qin Siyao for the rest of his life, and he agreed to do everything in his power for her.
• After Xiao Mo left Empress Shi's room, Qin Siyao said she would stay with her mother, and Xiao Mo promised to visit them.
• Qin Siyao told Xiao Mo she wanted to cultivate, stand beside him, and protect him, declaring that he was all the reason she needed.

Xiao Mo returned to Frost King's Manor, where Xiao Shi took him to visit Zhou Ruoxi and shared dinner with them. Before leaving, Xiao Shi bid Zhou Ruoxi a farewell that left her uneasy, then said he would return to the Northern Wasteland with Xiao Mo in a few days.

• Xiao Shi waited for Xiao Mo at the manor gate, then walked with him and asked what the Emperor had said.
• Xiao Mo led Xiao Shi to Zhou Ruoxi's courtyard, where Zhou Ruoxi welcomed them and invited Xiao Shi to dinner.
• Xiao Mo asked Cuicui to join the family meal, and she sat down only after Xiao Shi told her to.
• After Xiao Mo and Cuicui left them alone, Xiao Shi told Zhou Ruoxi he felt guilty that he had not given her the peaceful life she wanted.
• Xiao Shi told Zhou Ruoxi he would return to the Northern Wasteland with Xiao Mo in a few days, then bowed to her and left without answering when he would return.

As Qin Kingdom debated choosing a Crown Prince, Xiao Mo stayed neutral while Xiao Shi predicted the emperor had already chosen someone. Qin Kingdom's Lord began teaching Qin Siyao to review memorials, suggesting she might be his choice, and Prime Minister Li asked whether he had truly made up his mind.

• Xiao Mo and Xiao Shi discussed the unsettled Crown Prince question as officials and imperial relatives vied to influence the selection.
• Zhang Yi, Baili Xi, and Jian Shu asked Xiao Mo whom he supported, but he said he would follow Qin Kingdom's Lord's decision.
• Xiao Shi told Xiao Mo that Qin Kingdom's Lord likely already had someone in mind and said Xiao Mo would accompany him to the Northern Wilds.
• Qin Kingdom's Lord summoned Qin Siyao and had her review and annotate state memorials, then assigned her another stack to study overnight.
• Prime Minister Li asked Qin Kingdom's Lord whether he had truly made up his mind, and the emperor replied, "Why not?"

Xiao Shi brought Xiao Mo to the Northern Wilderness and prepared him to inherit its rule, revealing that he was dying from severe injuries. Xiao Mo became Prince Zhenbei and took command of the Northern Wilderness as Xiao Shi died on the walls of Snowflake Pass.

• Xiao Shi brought Xiao Mo to Prince Zhenbei's Manor in Arid City and placed Qiu Wen, the manor's maid and the master of Desolate Tower, in his service.
• Qiu Wen gave Xiao Mo detailed records of the Northern Wilderness's military, government, and intelligence institutions, which he studied over three days.
• Xiao Shi told Xiao Mo that his injuries were fatal and explained the history of the Northern Wilderness's relationship with Qin Kingdom.
• Xiao Shi brought Xiao Mo to Snowflake Pass, where 1.6 million Northern Wilderness soldiers had assembled, and named him the new Prince Zhenbei.
• Xiao Mo swore to protect the Northern Wilderness and its people, and the army welcomed him as its ruler.
• Xiao Shi's Life Fire went out as he stood on the city wall, and Xiao Mo and the army bowed in farewell.

After Xiao Shi’s death, Xiao Mo inherited his title and command of the Northern Wilderness, honored his father’s wishes, and took charge of the northern territories. Back in the Imperial Capital, Qin Siyao comforted Xiao Mo and promised to find him and make him fall in love with her in every lifetime.

• Xiao Mo announced Xiao Shi’s passing, and the Qin Kingdom’s Lord confirmed Xiao Mo as Frost King and General-in-Chief Who Guards the North.
• Xiao Mo held Xiao Shi’s funeral in the Northern Wilderness, where the soldiers poured Sangluo Wine before his gravestone.
• Xiao Mo took charge of the Northern Wilderness’s institutions, and Xiahou Nan, Li Jing, Zhao Guang, and the others repelled attacks by the Qi and Zhao Kingdoms.
• Xiao Mo returned to the Imperial Capital and refused visits from court officials, while Qin Siyao visited him daily and cared for him.
• Qin Siyao told Xiao Mo she would find him in every lifetime and make him fall in love with her again.

After six months, Empress Shi’s health failed as Qin Siyao learned to help her father rule the Qin Kingdom. Empress Shi died beside her sons’ tombs, leaving Siyao to grieve while the Qin Kingdom’s Lord sensed her passing and said he would soon join her.

• The Qin Kingdom’s Lord continued to leave the Crown Prince’s position vacant and trained Qin Siyao to handle affairs of state, impressed by how quickly she learned.
• Empress Shi’s health worsened, and Xiao Mo frequently visited her in the palace.
• Empress Shi asked Qin Siyao to walk with her, then gave her advice about caring for the Qin Kingdom’s Lord, ruling, and managing her life with Xiao Mo.
• Empress Shi knelt at the tombs of Qin Jingsu and Qin Jingyuan, worried about the hard road ahead for Qin Siyao, and died as her daughter knelt beside her.
• The Qin Kingdom’s Lord felt pain in his chest, saw that the jade carving Empress Shi had made for him was cracked, and said he would soon join her.

After Empress Shi’s death, Qin Siyao grieved and then resumed her duties while resolving to cultivate and stand beside Xiao Mo. As Qin prepared to unify the realm against Qi, the Myriad Island Nation, and the yao, Wei Xingzi divined that Xiao Mo had no more than five years to live if he stayed in his post.

• Qin Siyao wept in Xiao Mo’s arms after presiding over Empress Shi’s funeral, then returned to state affairs and began cultivating in earnest.
• Xiao Mo learned that Qi was seeking help from the Myriad Island Nation and prepared Qin for outside intervention by recruiting sect cultivators into the army.
• Xiao Mo visited Heavenly Secrets City, and Wei Xingzi agreed to send half its disciples to aid Qin in exchange for the city’s continued independence.
• Wei Xingzi performed a divination for Xiao Mo, suffered a backlash, and warned him to leave the court or face a remaining lifespan of no more than five years.

Xiao Mo discussed integrating sect cultivators into the Qin Kingdom's army and shared plans for governing sects and replacing the military merit system after unification. He reassured Qin Siyao that he would survive the coming war, though the Frost King’s presence still weighed on his mind.

• Xiao Mo returned to the Qin Kingdom's Imperial Capital while Qin Siyao compiled the generals' reports for her Father Emperor.
• Xiao Mo told Qin Siyao he would incorporate all the sect cultivators into the army and train them to complement its Martial Way soldiers.
• Xiao Mo outlined plans for managing sects and establishing recommendations, assessments, and Imperial Examinations after the Qin Kingdom unified Myriad Laws Under Heaven.
• Qin Siyao objected that Xiao Mo's plans sounded like final instructions and pleaded with him not to believe in a fate that could take him from her.
• Xiao Mo remembered the Heavenly Secrets City lord's warning about the Frost King and promised Qin Siyao he would return even if the battle seemed nearly hopeless.

Qin Shengtian kept the Crown Prince’s identity secret from Qin Siyao as his health declined and he prepared an edict. After sharing a meal cooked by his daughter, he gave Xiao Mo a letter and told him to keep it from Qin Siyao.

• Qin Shengtian told Qin Siyao he had someone in mind for the Crown Prince position but refused to reveal who.
• Qin Siyao left the Imperial Study to cook for Xiao Mo, and Qin Shengtian coughed blood after she was gone.
• Qin Shengtian summoned Prime Minister Li, Grand Commandant Baili, and Grand Censor Jian Shu to draft an edict.
• Qin Siyao cooked lunch for Qin Shengtian, who praised the meal and said he could die without regrets.
• After Qin Siyao left to fetch documents, Qin Shengtian gave Xiao Mo a letter and told him not to let Qin Siyao see it.