Chapter Summaries

As the film revealed the perfected Lion's Roar Technique and Chen Qi's growing martial power, Great Yan's emperor planned to use amplified Lion's Roar in Mobile Cities while foreign leaders assessed Chen Qi as a potential threat. The chapter ended with Chen Qi unleashing Buddha's Palm, leaving the audience stunned by its immense force.

• Great Yan's emperor ordered ancient bells installed in every Mobile City so they could amplify the Lion's Roar Technique and help defend against Feranmuts.
• Huai Tianpei attacked Wei Yenwu and Wenyue after they spared him, and Chen Qi intervened before Huai Tianpei defeated him.
• Kal'tsit explained to Amiya that the highest martial arts she had witnessed could cut through a building with one sword strike.
• Chen Qi fought the Axe Gang and then faced Huai Tianpei's Toad Technique, prompting officials across Terra to analyze his strength.
• Chen Qi steadied himself in the sky and unleashed Buddha's Palm, whose enormous palm print stunned viewers across the nations.

After watching Chen Qi's film reveal the power of Buddha's Palm and several other martial arts, the Emperor of Great Yan decided to ease surveillance of the Sui and formally reward Wei Yenwu and Madam Wen Yue. A week later, Chen Qi gave Wei Yenwu the Buddha's Palm manual to present to the Emperor in exchange for support, and the imperial decree began conferring titles at Wei Manor.

• Chen Qi's Buddha's Palm and the manuals shown at the end of the film shocked the Emperor of Great Yan, who ordered surveillance of the Sui to end and directed that Wei Yenwu and Madam Wen Yue receive formal titles.
• A week after the premiere, Wei Yenwu questioned Chen Qi about displaying the martial arts manuals and alarming the Emperor.
• Chen Qi gave Wei Yenwu the Buddha's Palm manual and explained that he intended to exchange it for benefits and support from Great Yan.
• A Black Cape summoned Chen Qi and Wei Yenwu to Wei Manor to receive the Emperor's decree.
• Lin Qingyan delivered the decree before Talulah, Chen Huijie, Madam Wen Yue, the Rat King, Lin Yuxia, and the others, and called Wei Yenwu and Madam Wen Yue forward to receive their titles.

Chen Qi traveled to Leithania after the Twin Empresses asked him to help stop the Witch King's remnants from restoring the dead tyrant. He chose to make Look Who's Back to address the crisis, and arrived in the capital to find Rhodes Island already providing support.

• Earl Hyacinth told Chen Qi that the Witch King's remnants were plotting a coup, and that experiments with the Voice of the Mundane could turn its carriers into incarnations of the Witch King.
• Chen Qi agreed to help Leithania, partly because Ebenholz and Kreide could join his film crew, and redeemed the script for Look Who's Back.
• Chen Qi's party reached the capital and met Kal'tsit and Amiya, who had come with Rhodes Island to provide medical aid.
• The Twin Empresses asked Chen Qi and Kal'tsit to help stop the Witch King's remnants, and Chen Qi was asked to propose a plan.

Chen Qi persuaded Ebenholz to play the Witch King in a film meant to expose Leithania’s problems and enlisted Theresis and the Bloodborne Archon to train him. After Ebenholz appeared in full costume, the two Sarkaz immediately recognized that he was not the Witch King.

• Chen Qi explained that his film would use the Witch King’s image to draw out ordinary Leithanians’ grievances and push the Twin Empresses to address the country’s decline.
• Ebenholz objected to portraying the Witch King, but accepted after Chen Qi clarified the film’s purpose and Kreide encouraged him.
• Chen Qi brought Ebenholz and Kreide to Vyseheim, with Młynar agreeing to protect them.
• Chen Qi welcomed Theresis and the Bloodborne Archon aboard his ship to coach Ebenholz in portraying an intimidating ruler.
• Ebenholz emerged in Witch King costume, and the Bloodborne Archon immediately recognized that he was not the real Witch King.

Ebenholz portrayed the Witch King in Chen Qi’s documentary, and Leithanians reacted with curiosity and selfies rather than hostility. The chapter leaves the Twin Empresses confronting the Witch King’s renewed popularity as Chen Qi’s film project continued.

• The Bloodborne Archon offered to teach Ebenholz about the Witch King, while Theresis agreed to teach him a ruler’s bearing; Theresia sent Chen Qi a message offering Kazdel’s last national treasure.
• Chen Qi chose Vina and Eureka to operate cameras for the documentary, and Kal’tsit decided Rhodes Island would follow the crew to provide medical aid and prepare for possible unrest.
• Ebenholz filmed his first scene as the Witch King, and the Bloodborne Archon and Theresis judged that his bloodline helped him capture the role’s presence.
• Ebenholz walked through a Leithanian square, where citizens took selfies with him and joked about the Witch King instead of attacking him.
• An Empress’s Voice agent reported the peaceful reaction to the Twin Empresses, who realized the Witch King’s name had not been forgotten despite their efforts to suppress it.

Chen Qi’s film crew continued filming The Witch King Is Back, with Ebenholz portraying the Witch King after his apparent return to 1095. As the Witch King investigated his unfamiliar surroundings, he focused first on Leithania’s food supply and the country’s changed circumstances.

• The Bloodborne Archon chose to stay aboard the ship while the film was being made, and Chen Qi agreed to let him remain for Ebenholz’s performance training.
• After recovering from his collapse, Ebenholz returned to filming as the Witch King, while Kreide played the protagonist Sawatzki and Maestro Czerny appeared as Sawatzki’s superior.
• Earthspirit’s newsstand owner cared for the injured Witch King, who woke and questioned what year it was before privately considering whether his captors had imprisoned him.
• The Witch King recognized an army energy drink and asked whether Leithania’s bread shortages had returned and officers were reselling supplies.
• The Witch King asked for newspapers, learned Kazimierzian was widely used in Leithania, and began piecing together the aftermath of his death and the Battle of the Four Emperors.

Ebenholz’s Witch King began filming interviews with ordinary Leithanians, whose complaints revealed how abandoned and resentful they felt under the Twin Empresses. The Bloodborne Archon saw a way for the Bloodfiends to secure their future by earning the support of their people.

• Ebenholz questioned Chen Qi about why the Witch King considered the self-serving Green Party useful, and the Bloodborne Archon explained that political power required winning over any available faction.
• The Twin Empresses ordered their agents to watch Chen Qi’s crew and warned officials to prepare for interviews, unaware the film would focus on ordinary people.
• Ebenholz chose a program about current affairs and sensitive issues after criticizing Leithania’s television as dull propaganda.
• Ebenholz and Kreide interviewed a hot dog shop employee, who spoke to the Witch King about low wages, rigged elections, discrimination against Urtica natives, and resentment toward foreigners.
• The employee asked to take a picture with Ebenholz, while the Bloodborne Archon concluded that winning popular support could help protect the Bloodfiends’ place in a restored Kazdel.

Ebenholz's interviews as the Witch King drew out Leithanians' anger and anti-immigrant views, while Chen Qi trained him to use the Witch King's rhetoric to attract genuine supporters. A week later, the Twin Empresses watched the footage and learned Chen Qi's crew might soon expose Witch King remnants, though Ebenholz's growing influence also threatened their rule.

• The Bloodborne Archon watched Ebenholz's first interviews and decided the Witch King's book could help make Ebenholz his successor.
• Kal'tsit explained to Amiya that Leithanians' resentment toward refugees had been suppressed by the Twin Empresses' policies and public moral pressure.
• Chen Qi told Ebenholz to imitate the Witch King's way of speaking so he could draw out people's hidden views and attract Witch King remnants.
• The Bloodborne Archon gave Ebenholz a banned book written by the Witch King and secretly planned to make him Leithania's next Witch King.
• A week later, the Twin Empresses watched footage of Ebenholz using the Witch King's rhetoric to encourage anti-immigrant sentiment and anger at their rule.
• An agent told the Twin Empresses that Chen Qi's group might soon contact real Witch King remnants, whom they could use to root out the movement.

Ebenholz convincingly portrayed the Witch King on a television show, drawing an enthusiastic response and attracting genuine remnants who approached him afterward. He rebuked the nobles for their timid support and demanded to meet their leader.

• Chen Qi arranged a prerecorded talk-show appearance and invited nobles suspected of ties to the Witch King's remnants to watch Ebenholz perform.
• Ebenholz delivered an imposing speech about Leithania's decline, winning over the audience and making some remnants wonder whether the Witch King had returned.
• After the show, two nobles approached Ebenholz and asked whether he was the resurrected Witch King or an impersonator.
• Ebenholz questioned whether they would defy their bloodline, then scolded them for claiming to uphold the Witch King's will while acting timidly.
• Ebenholz demanded that the nobles bring him to their current leader.

Chen Qi learned that Great Yan’s emperor had granted him permission to film there if The Witch King Is Back helped Leithania recover. Xi realized she had fallen for Chen Qi despite learning that he was her younger brother, while the emperor’s decree invited Chen Qi to portray Great Yan’s failings or dangers.

• Ebenholz and Kreide confronted the Witch King’s remnants, and their leader became convinced that the Witch King was returning.
• Ebenholz’s reputation spread through Leithania as he interviewed nobles and officials, while Chen Qi hoped his film would help the Twin Empresses address the anger threatening their nation.
• Talulah told Chen Qi that Chen Huijie and Lin Qingyan had arrived with the emperor’s permission to film in Great Yan.
• Chen Qi visited Nian and Xi in the painting scroll, and Xi remembered his promise to speak up for her and admitted to herself that her heart was in turmoil over him.
• Lin Qingyan delivered the emperor’s decree, granting Chen Qi permission to film Great Yan’s failings or dangers if his Leithania film helped avert disaster.

Chen Qi’s film The Witch King Is Back premiered across Terra and presented a more human, thoughtful Witch King than Leithania’s official history allowed. As the film unsettled the Twin Empresses and viewers, Great Yan’s emperor and officials watched anxiously, awaiting Chen Qi’s next controversial work.

• Chen Qi finished filming The Witch King Is Back with Ebenholz embedded among the Witch King’s remnants, while the Twin Empresses gathered evidence against the collaborators and delayed arrests at Chen Qi’s request.
• The film premiered in Leithania and other countries, drawing crowds, while the emperor of Great Yan screened it for his officials and worried that Chen Qi’s planned production would portray him as a foolish ruler.
• The film opened with Ebenholz portraying the Witch King, whose voice and appearance astonished viewers familiar with the historical figure.
• The Witch King treated a child’s insult with patience and pride, leaving viewers confused by the contrast with Leithania’s propaganda about him.
• Older Leithanians recognized the film as a credible portrayal of the Witch King, and the Twin Empresses realized it could undermine their efforts to erase and vilify him.

The film showed the Witch King rebuilding his following by writing a book, training young supporters, and exploiting public discontent, while Wei Yenwu explained why people still supported him. The Twin Empresses began reconsidering how they would deal with the Witch King's former followers.

• After the Witch King’s puppy-killing scandal, he wrote a book and restored his public standing through publicity and animal-protection donations.
• Wei Yenwu told Chen Huijie that the Witch King had earned devoted followers by defeating Gaul and giving people confidence and benefits.
• The Witch King recruited young Leithanians and trained them into a fanatical force, alarming the Twin Empresses.
• Czerny’s television station lost its audience after the Witch King left, so Czerny decided to work with him again to save it.
• The Twin Empresses considered dividing the Witch King’s former followers into groups and judging them according to their individual circumstances.

The film revealed the Witch King's brutal persecution of non-Leithanians and showed that Bellini had knowingly become his ally. As Kreide confronted him at the tower, the Witch King argued that Leithanians had elected him and began explaining why people followed him.

• The Twin Empresses disagreed over whether exposing the Witch King's agents could secure Leithania's future, then continued watching the film.
• Młynar recognized the Witch King, accused him of killing the Silvermane Knights, and attacked him with his cane.
• The Witch King admitted he should have persecuted non-Leithanians more harshly, shocking Kreide and the audience with his candor.
• The Great Yan emperor reflected on the Witch King's political influence while Kreide realized the man was genuine and Bellini had already chosen to support him.
• Kreide confronted the Witch King, who insisted Leithanians had elected him and challenged Kreide to condemn them as well.
• At the edge of the tower set, the Witch King asked Kreide why people followed him and began answering.

After The Witch King Is Back ended, Wei Yenwu recognized its warning about the people and anticipated Chen Qi’s coming production would unsettle Great Yan’s court. He learned that Chen Qi had cast him as a fictional emperor named Jiajing, leaving him alarmed that the role might signal a threat to the throne.

• The Twin Empresses decided to release commoners arrested without conclusive evidence and summon the nobles among the Witch King's suspected remnants.
• Wei Yenwu praised Chen Qi’s film for showing why the Witch King emerged and argued that rulers had to address the people’s demands to prevent his return.
• Wei Yenwu predicted Chen Qi’s planned production in Great Yan’s capital would expose dangers in the court and provoke a major upheaval.
• Wei Yenwu asked Chen Huijie what role Chen Qi had assigned him, and she revealed that he would play an emperor named Jiajing.
• Wei Yenwu dropped his teacup and feared the role suggested he might take the throne from his younger brother, the current emperor.

Chen Qi secured the release of Schnitz and Yolanta Nearl as his reward for helping the Twin Empresses stabilize Leithania, reuniting them with Młynar. After the reunion, Chen Qi arranged for the Nearl parents to meet Margaret and Maria.

• The Twin Empresses released people without evidence against them and executed confirmed Witch King remnants involved in human experiments, restoring public confidence and encouraging citizens to report the remnants.
• Chen Qi asked the Twin Empresses to let Schnitz and Yolanta Nearl leave Leithania, and they agreed to send their guests home.
• Młynar reunited with Schnitz and Yolanta, voiced his anger over their years of silence, and received their gratitude and recognition as head of the Nearl Family.
• Schnitz thanked Chen Qi for protecting the Nearl Family, while Chen Qi arranged for Margaret and Maria to come to Rhodes Island and reunite with their parents.

After the Witch King's Spiral Horn absorbed the Voice of the Mundane from Ebenholz and Kreide, it resurrected the Witch King as a powerful soul. Chen Qi offered him temporary cooperation in exchange for teaching the film crew Originium Arts, but the Witch King tried to possess Chen Qi and was met by a golden lion emerging from his body.

• Chen Qi accepted the Witch King's Spiral Horn from Leithania, and its power absorbed the Voice of the Mundane from Ebenholz and Kreide.
• Koschei explained that the horn had absorbed the Witch King's resurrection relics, but the Witch King emerged from it in soul form.
• The Witch King attacked the Nearl Family, and Nian and Xi warned that they could trap him through the horn or in a painting.
• When Zuo Le arrived from Great Yan, the Witch King agreed to talk rather than fight the assembled group.
• Chen Qi offered the Witch King temporary freedom in exchange for teaching the film crew Originium Arts, but the Witch King lunged to possess him.
• A gigantic golden lion burst from Chen Qi and roared at the Witch King's soul, shaking it.

Chen Qi arrived in the Great Yan capital with Rhodes Island and began planning a court drama, “Great Yan Dynasty 1566.” He described Emperor Jiajing as a gifted master of political maneuvering, leaving Wei Yenwu alarmed and the court astonished.

• Huang and Kal'tsit discussed Rhodes Island's participation in Chen Qi's production as their ship approached the imperial capital.
• The Great Yan emperor welcomed Chen Qi and his companions, reunited Xi and Nian with Ling and Chongyue, and offered palace resources for filming.
• Chen Qi requested officials as actors and permission to film in the Western Garden and Jiangnan, then explained that his drama was titled “Great Yan Dynasty 1566.”
• Chen Qi said the fictional Emperor Jiajing was descended from Wei Yenwu and praised him as an exceptionally gifted ruler who controlled the court through political maneuvering.
• The Grand Tutor reflected on Great Yan's tangled court factions as Wei Yenwu privately wondered why Chen Qi's supposedly incompetent emperor sounded so formidable.

After the cast for Great Yan Dynasty 1566 was arranged, Chen Qi’s plans to film the drama alarmed Xi and Nian, who feared the emperor might kill him. Ling recognized the sisters’ feelings and dragged them away before they could draw dangerous attention, while Chen Qi offered roles to Ling and Chongyue.

• Chen Qi moved into the palace with his crew and handed over the scripts for the first two episodes, while Xi urged him to abandon the production because it could anger the emperor.
• Xi admitted she was afraid Chen Qi would die, confessed she could not bear to return to her lonely life on Huiji Mountain, and vowed not to leave him.
• Nian stayed silent as Ling overheard Xi’s confession and realized both sisters had feelings for Chen Qi.
• Ling seized Xi and Nian, angrily warning them not to expose Chen Qi’s identity or endanger the family while they were in the palace.
• Chen Qi told Ling that Chongyue could appear as the general Qi Jiguang and suggested Ling play the Purist Zhao Zhenji.

Chen Qi began filming Great Yan Dynasty 1566, and its opening scenes revealed the brutal court politics of Emperor Jiajing’s era. As the emperor questioned the power of the Directorate of Ceremonial, Chen Qi warned that Great Yan’s factional struggles were subtler than the obvious schemes shown so far, and the cabinet’s arrival set up the next confrontation.

• Ling kept Nian and Xi away from the production after drinking with them, then helped Chen Qi supervise filming while the two sisters recovered.
• The emperor cast Celestial Master Bai as Gao Gong and Madam Wen Yue as Zhang Juzheng, and Chen Qi started filming Great Yan Dynasty 1566.
• Aak played Feng Bao as he interrogated Zhou Yunyi, whose criticism of the court led to a fatal beating at Meridian Gate.
• Ling and the Imperial Astronomical Bureau summoned dark clouds and snow, allowing Feng Bao to report an auspicious omen while the emperor considered the danger of rewarding schemers.
• Chen Qi explained that the Directorate of Ceremonial’s power depended on the emperor, then warned Chen Huijie that Great Yan’s officials could use rules to destroy rivals.
• The five cabinet members arrived in the snow as representatives of the Yan Faction and Clear Stream Faction, preparing to discuss matters of state.

Great Yan’s emperor and the others watched the drama expose how Yan Shifan and the Yan Faction defended suspicious spending, while the Clear Stream officials challenged them. The scene ended with Emperor Jiajing appearing in a Daoist robe, leaving the viewers to judge the ruler who kept powerful factions under control.

• Yan Song attributed Great Yan’s deficit to disasters and campaigns, then credited Jiajing’s prayers for the snowfall while shifting blame away from the emperor.
• Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng challenged Yan Shifan over fourteen million taels in overspending, and Yan Shifan defended the missing warships and inflated palace-repair costs with plausible explanations.
• Ling recognized that Yan Shifan’s account of lost ships and difficult construction could conceal embezzlement, while Great Yan’s emperor concluded that the Yan Faction served Jiajing’s private interests.
• Zhang Juzheng warned that repeated deficits would force the court to tax the people further, but Yan Shifan accused Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng of being treacherous ministers and of backing Zhou Yunyi.
• Jiajing entered after the officials greeted him, reciting poetry in a plain Daoist robe rather than a dragon robe.