Chapter Summaries

Qing Mo arranged for Hu Ji to bear Ying Zheng’s child, securing Yuezhi’s loyalty and a role in Great Qin’s wool trade. Back at his residence, Fire Princess confronted Qing Mo over his tragic novel and then demanded that he father her children, leaving him to head inside with her and the eager Zi Nu and Jing Ni.

• Qing Mo instructed Hu Ji to care for herself, return to Yuezhi once pregnant, and serve Ying Zheng.
• Qing Mo persuaded Ying Zheng to agree to father Hu Ji’s child, promising safeguards for her and the possibility that their child could inherit some of Ying Zheng’s power.
• Li Si told Hu Ji that Ying Zheng had agreed and offered Yuezhi a share of profits for arranging wool purchases from the grassland tribes; Hu Ji pledged loyalty to Great Qin.
• Fire Princess angrily blamed Qing Mo for the tragic ending of “Chinese Paladin,” and Qing Mo carried her off after she pounded his chest.
• Fire Princess complained that Qing Mo had arranged for Hu Ji to bear Ying Zheng’s child but had not given her one; Zi Nu and Jing Ni also showed they wanted children with him.
• Fire Princess demanded that Qing Mo take her to bed, and he headed inside with her while inviting Zi Nu and Jing Ni to join them.

Jing Ni delivered Qing Mo’s order to Zhao Gao, who agreed to have the Web assassinate Touman Chanyu and secretly place evidence with his younger son. After sending Jing Ni away, Zhao Gao resolved to use the mission to win Qing Mo’s favor, while Qing Mo began planning Great Qin’s first railway with Yan Lingji beside him.

• Jing Ni forced her way into Zhao Gao’s residence, confronted Yin Ri, and demanded that Zhao Gao receive Qing Mo’s order.
• Zhao Gao appeared and bowed to Jing Ni, while she immobilized and slapped the Six Sword Slaves after they rushed at her.
• Jing Ni ordered the Web to kill Touman Chanyu within a month and secretly deliver one of his belongings to his younger son.
• Zhao Gao ordered Yin Ri to bring Black and White Xuan Jian back and carry out the assassination, hoping the mission would earn Qing Mo’s notice.
• Qing Mo calculated the route, workforce, materials, and costs for a railway from Xianyang to Hangu Pass as Yan Lingji watched him.

Hu Ji returned to Yuezhi pregnant with Ying Zheng’s child as the Xiongnu fell into civil war after Touman Chanyu’s assassination. In Xianyang, Qing Mo showed Xun Fuzi, Fu Nian, and Li Si the original history and persuaded them to help shape a different future for Qin and its schools of learning.

• Two Web assassins killed Touman Chanyu, and his youngest son and the new consort used rumors and his knife to rally support against Modun, igniting a brutal Xiongnu civil war.
• Hu Ji celebrated the Xiongnu’s infighting as she traveled back to Yuezhi with supplies, hoping her unborn child would strengthen the bond between Yuezhi and Qin.
• Li Si welcomed Xun Fuzi, Fu Nian, and the Confucian disciples to Xianyang, then brought the two leaders to meet Qing Mo.
• Qing Mo revealed the River of Time and showed them original history, including Li Si’s betrayal and later generations’ abuses of Confucianism, leaving Xun Fuzi, Fu Nian, and Li Si devastated.
• Xun Fuzi and Fu Nian vowed to change the Confucian school, while Qing Mo reassured Li Si that Ying Zheng had chosen to trust him despite his original-history betrayals.
• Xun Fuzi pledged his allegiance to Qin and agreed to discuss the future of education with Qing Mo.

Qing Mo persuaded Xun Fuzi, Fu Nian, and Li Si to compile a dictionary accessible to commoners and support Qin’s wider education, while Xun Fuzi agreed to try to persuade Han Fei to join Qin. Later, Qing Mo proposed opening a passage to the Immortal Cultivation World so Ying Zheng could establish a new Great Qin there, leaving them to consider who could make the journey.

• Qing Mo asked Xun Fuzi to serve Qin fairly, requested his calligraphy, and explained that the dictionary should include plain-language definitions so commoners could learn to read.
• Fu Nian initially objected to plain explanations, but Xun Fuzi, Li Si, and Fu Nian accepted Qing Mo’s reasoning, and Li Si agreed to provide resources for the dictionary and future schools.
• Qing Mo asked Xun Fuzi to persuade Han Fei to join Qin as its future Minister of Justice, and Xun Fuzi agreed to speak with him.
• Han Fei was shaken when he learned that his teacher had gone to Qin, while the Confucian disciples focused on compiling the secret dictionary.
• Qing Mo told Ying Zheng that he could open a passage to the Immortal Cultivation World, where Ying Zheng might establish a new Great Qin, but warned that passage and travelers would require careful planning.

Qing Mo opened a passage from Great Qin to a Middle Thousand World and showed Ying Zheng and the officials its cultivators fighting over a spirit medicine. He explained the hierarchy of worlds and promised the officials a chance to cultivate beyond the passage, leaving them desperate to advance.

• Qing Mo told Ying Zheng and the court that he planned to open a passage to an Immortal Cultivation World and establish an Immortal Qin Empire there, explaining that the National Fortune Cultivation Method could extend their lives by only about a thousand years.
• Qing Mo opened a passage in the palace square, allowing the court to witness Gu Wangyue's Mistglow Sect group defeat Ma Changyuan's Azure Firmament Sect group in a battle over the Heavenly Spirit Soul-Nourishing Grass.
• Qing Mo explained that the passage let them see and hear the other world without being detected, and Ying Zheng privately judged the fighters to be full of openings.
• Qing Mo described the vast hierarchy of worlds and said even peak God Emperor Realm cultivators were like ants to him, stunning the officials and Meng Tian.
• Qing Mo told the officials they could cultivate in the Middle Thousand World and might ascend to an Immortal Realm, prompting them to beg for the chance.

Qing Mo set the terms for an inspection trip to the Immortal Cultivation World, reluctantly agreeing to let Ying Zheng lead it for half a year while reserving a place for Li Si. After news of the passage stirred Xianyang and Qing Mo’s companions argued over joining the trip, the ten days of preparation ended with a vast crowd gathered at Xianyang Palace.

• Qing Mo limited the inspection party to ten officials plus Yinzi, but Ying Zheng insisted on joining and chose Li Si for one of the places.
• Qing Mo announced a one-month trip, then yielded to Ying Zheng and the officials’ pleas and extended the inspection to half a year.
• Qing Mo told the officials to prepare for departure in ten days and warned that only those he permitted could use the passage.
• News of the passage spread through Xianyang and China, bringing visitors to the city and driving up lodging prices.
• Fire Princess complained that Qing Mo had not offered to take his companions to the Immortal Cultivation World, then panicked when he said he would return to the Divine Realm without her.
• When the ten days passed, crowds filled the area inside and outside Xianyang Palace, awaiting the journey.