Recaps

Li Qinwu ended Iron Shield Star’s sixty-year civil war by having two young children from opposing noble factions decide the settlement with rock-paper-scissors, creating a unified Silverflower Council. As reconstruction began, he reflected that the peace only postponed future conflict, then took Little Sheep with him to see a wider and more dangerous world.

• Li Qinwu argued that neither faction could win the war and urged the nobles to unite against the returning Black Crocodile Forces.
• Li Qinwu had a boy from the Silver Shield Noble and a girl from the Flower Shield Nobles play rock-paper-scissors, declaring that their result would decide the planet’s rulers and unite the councils.
• The nobles accepted the children’s result, and the two sides established the Silverflower Council and began ending the war.
• Catwoman Nova learned that the ceasefire had canceled the order for her ten thousand rockets, leaving her stuck with the stock.
• Iron Shield Star began clearing battle damage, burying the dead, demobilizing soldiers, and commemorating the peace with a statue of Li Qinwu and the children.
• Li Qinwu considered how the nobles’ reconciliation had only postponed war, then took Little Sheep away after learning his grandfather had been settled.

Li Qinwu waited on Iron Shield Star while the Money-Only Caravan repaired the nobles’ Knight Mechs, then learned that the hundred Knight Mechs he had taken from Valhalla contained the souls of Hero Kings. After they agreed to fight for humanity again, Li Qinwu named them the Spirit Knight Order.

• Li Qinwu agreed to repair the nobles’ Knight Mechs in exchange for ten pieces of Goldenwood.
• Luca told Li Qinwu that removing the hundred Knight Mechs from Valhalla had exposed their souls to the Warp, though the Emperor Shrine had sheltered them.
• Luca relayed the Hero Kings’ question about whether Li Qinwu truly meant for them to fight for humanity again.
• Li Qinwu vowed that the Hero Kings should fight Xenos and heretics, and the hundred souls declared they would fight for humanity for another hundred or thousand years.
• Li Qinwu told Father Busi not to open the cockpits because the Knight Mechs already had drivers, and named them the Spirit Knight Order.

Li Qinwu restored the Knight Mechs on Agricultural World 496B, recruited three Freeblade Knights, and returned to the Fortune. There, he learned that a Grey Knights frigate had arrived to retrieve Lucius, leaving him facing an unexpected Ordo Malleus team.

• Li Qinwu ordered Busi to preserve the Knight Mechs because the souls of their former pilots remained inside, and he had them honored as Divine Knights.
• Over two months, Li Qinwu restored the damaged Knight Mechs and recruited three Freeblade Knights, whom he sent through a Portal to guard the Psychic Church on Agricultural Planet 496b.
• Li Qinwu visited Nightingale and Li Danü, then inspected the Adamantium refining process on Moon 2 before returning to the Fortune.
• The captain informed Li Qinwu that an unregistered, modified frigate had emerged from the Mandeville Point and was heading toward Iron Shield Star.
• Li Qinwu contacted the frigate and learned that Inquisitor Anliexier of the Ordo Malleus commanded the Purity's Blade and had arrived with a specialist team to retrieve Lucius.

Li Qinwu handed Lucius over to Anliexier and the Grey Knights, then decrypted a message from Grand Master Sigurd assigning him a mission on Thunder Saint Alliance. The mission required him to arrest his rival’s son, a Grand Inquisitor suspected of causing a Daemon invasion, with the promised reward of becoming Grand Inquisitor.

• Li Qinwu locked down the Fortune and cleared its deck before a Shuttle delivered three Grey Knights, Anliexier, and a squad of Arbites.
• Li Qinwu revealed Lucius imprisoned in a nutrient tank, and the Arbites transported him aboard the Shuttle under the Grey Knights’ guard.
• Anliexier gave Li Qinwu a USB drive containing a message from Grand Master Sigurd and told him to go to Thunder Saint Alliance if he accepted the mission.
• Li Qinwu used his Rosette and Intelligence Station to decrypt the message, which described a Daemon invasion on Thunder Saint Alliance and implicated Sigurd’s rival’s son.
• Grand Master Sigurd asked Li Qinwu to arrest the rival’s son and promised him the vacant Grand Inquisitor position; the system presented the mission and warned of the risks.

Li Qinwu accepted Grand Mentor Sigurd’s mission to deal with Grand Inquisitor Oluka and studied the crisis on the Fortress World Thunder Saint Alliance. He learned that Oluka had used a Daemon Artifact to repel the Tyranids, but became a heretic and turned the planet into a three-sided battlefield.

• Li Qinwu accepted the mission, deciding that his Inquisitor status already tied him to Grand Mentor Sigurd’s faction.
• Li Qinwu reviewed Thunder Saint Alliance’s military defenses and learned that Grand Inquisitor Oluka was one of its rulers.
• Grand Inquisitor Oluka discovered an ancient Xenos ruin and sealed the Daemon Artifact found inside it.
• A Tyranid tendril fleet attacked Thunder Saint Alliance while the Genestealer Cult revealed itself and struck the planet’s defenders.
• Grand Inquisitor Oluka activated the Daemon Artifact and led the defenders in drinking its blood, giving them enough strength to drive back the Tyranids.
• Grand Inquisitor Oluka and the blood-drinkers became heretics, summoned Daemons, and fought loyal human defenders and Ultramarines as the Tyranids and Genestealer Cult continued their assault.

Li Qinwu planned to use an Eldar Webway route to reach the Fortress World of the Thunder Saint Alliance far faster than traveling through the Warp, with a stop in Ultramar to sell his cargo. He revived aboard the Mario and read its navigation log, which recorded signs that the Webway was deteriorating.

• Li Qinwu calculated that the Webway could shorten his journey to the Fortress World from over five years to about two and a half months, and planned to trade his cargo in Ultramar for a warship.
• Li Qinwu ordered his fleet to sail toward a Webway entrance and used the Fitness Teleportation Technique to scout ahead aboard the Mario.
• Li Qinwu revived aboard the Mario, went to the bridge, and asked its officer to show him the navigation log.
• The Mario's log described the Webway's glowing passage and reported that its width varied dramatically between sections.
• The Mario's Tech-Priest warned that the Webway might be collapsing from neglect, so the ship's management voted to slow down and proceed cautiously.

Li Qinwu reviewed the Mario’s logs, learned that the Eldar Webway was largely abandoned and collapsing, and confirmed that its route near Ultramar was usable. After rewarding the crew, he ordered them to explore a route near Agricultural World 496B, then led the Fortune fleet through the Webway to Ultramar.

• The Mario’s logs recorded hidden Webway settlements, a brief encounter with a speeding craft, an abandoned alien city, and a passage blocked by black-hole-like debris.
• Li Qinwu learned that the Mario had mapped a usable Webway exit into an uninhabited asteroid belt in the Ultramar Sector and praised the crew for completing the survey.
• The person in charge declined to name a reward, and Li Qinwu decided to improve the crew families’ treatment on Agricultural World 496B.
• Li Qinwu ordered the Mario to explore a Webway route near Agricultural World 496B, then returned to the Fortune using the Fitness Teleportation Technique.
• Five days later, Li Qinwu opened a Webway entrance with an Eldar spell, and the fleet emerged in the Ultramar Sector less than a week afterward.

Li Qinwu brought his fleet through a dangerous asteroid belt and reached Macragge, where local authorities welcomed him and arranged docking and a guide. As he descended to the planet with Little Knife, he began discussing the sale of his cargo with Tribune Nous.

• Li Qinwu ordered his fleet to follow the Fortune at minimum speed through the asteroid belt, and the ram-equipped ship cleared a path over three days.
• A Macragge patrol frigate verified Li Qinwu's security codes, welcomed him, and arranged berths and a personal guide.
• Li Qinwu's fleet reached Macragge, docked, replenished supplies, and began rotating shore leave for the crew.
• Li Qinwu traveled toward the surface with Little Knife and met Tribune Nous, his guide from the commercial department.
• Li Qinwu showed Nous a holographic inventory of his goods and asked what they were worth on Macragge.

Li Qinwu tried to trade his valuable cargo for a warship on Macragge, but the tribune explained that the Indomitus Crusade had requisitioned every idle warship and proposed an Armed Merchant Ship instead. Li Qinwu left the trade negotiations to the tribune and learned that Titus was governing Macragge.

• The tribune praised Li Qinwu’s cargo and asked what he wanted in exchange for it.
• Li Qinwu asked to trade his goods for a warship, but the tribune said the Indomitus Crusade had requisitioned every available one.
• The tribune suggested Li Qinwu could persuade an olive oil merchant to trade him a four-to-five-kilometer Armed Merchant Ship, and Li Qinwu offered the tribune a commission to arrange it.
• Li Qinwu asked who was governing Macragge, and the tribune told him that Titus was in charge.

Li Qinwu toured prosperous Macragge with Little Knife and a tribune while arranging a meeting with Lord Titus. The tour ended with a potential trade deal, as an olive oil merchant offered to exchange an Armed Merchant Ship for Li Qinwu’s goods.

• Li Qinwu admired Macragge’s clean, prosperous streets and learned from the tribune that its people lived about seventy years and had no gangs.
• The tribune reminded Li Qinwu to greet Lord Titus, and Li Qinwu asked for an appointment through the Senate.
• The tribune took Li Qinwu and Little Knife on a Shuttle tour of the Crown Mountains, Hera Fortress, and Attendance Plaza.
• At Attendance Plaza, Li Qinwu recalled Sanguinius briefly declaring himself Emperor of the Second Imperium before returning to Terra.
• The tribune told Li Qinwu that an olive oil merchant wanted to trade an Armed Merchant Ship for all his goods and asked if he would negotiate in person.

Li Qinwu negotiated with the Olive Merchants' Guild president to trade his goods for an Armed Merchant Ship, but the merchant tried to undercut their value. Li Qinwu caught himself growing angry and examined his own sense of superiority, leaving the deal unresolved.

• A tribune escorted Li Qinwu to the Olive Merchants' Guild and explained that its wealthy president could buy and distribute all of Li Qinwu's goods.
• The Olive Merchants' Guild president welcomed Li Qinwu at his lavish villa, and Little Knife diverted the women the merchant offered.
• Li Qinwu demanded an Armed Merchant Ship over five kilometers long in exchange for all his goods.
• The merchant claimed the goods were worth only a ship around three kilometers long and used their supposed age to bargain down the price.
• Li Qinwu grew angry, then paused to question his reaction and recognized that he looked down on people while feeling insignificant before powerful figures.

Lu Changsheng reached early Foundation Establishment and prepared to refine second-tier talisman materials. Meanwhile, Li Qinwu left a business negotiation after realizing that his growing irritability might mean his principles were changing, and he began examining himself for signs of Chaos influence.

• Lu Changsheng broke through to early Foundation Establishment, gaining a two-hundred-year lifespan and greatly expanded spiritual power and divine sense.
• Lu Changsheng left his seclusion chamber to refine second-tier talisman materials.
• Li Qinwu ended his negotiations with the olive oil merchant and left after recognizing how power had affected his attitude toward bargaining.
• Little Knife stopped the merchant from pursuing Li Qinwu, while the merchant worried about having angered the Inquisitor and consulted his fellow traders.
• Li Qinwu traveled to Macragge City and settled in a reception villa near the Senate.
• Li Qinwu told Little Knife that he had become unusually irritable and nearly killed the merchant, prompting him to question whether Chaos was influencing him.

Li Qinwu worried that power had changed him, but Little Knife helped him see that their growing responsibilities and changing ambitions had simply carried them into a new stage of life. The next morning, Li Qinwu watched a massive Astra Militarum parade and learned that Titus had approved his appointment and wished to meet him.

• Little Knife told Li Qinwu that his irritability came from facing greater responsibilities and more demanding enemies, not from being corrupted by power.
• Little Knife described how his own rise had made him look down on local gang bosses, and Li Qinwu realized how much his companion had grown.
• Li Qinwu stopped brooding and dismissed Little Knife.
• The next morning, Li Qinwu watched a million Astra Militarum soldiers parade toward Council Plaza and wondered if Titus had mobilized them for an expedition.
• A tribune reported that Li Qinwu's appointment had been approved and that Lord Titus wished to see him.

Li Qinwu met Titus in the Macragge Senate, where the famed warrior was coordinating an expedition while reviewing paperwork. Titus regarded Li Qinwu with anger because he was an Inquisitor, and Li Qinwu realized that Titus’s past mistreatment by the Inquisition explained his hostility.

• A tribune escorted Li Qinwu through the Senate to Titus’s administrative office.
• Li Qinwu saw Titus reviewing two documents at once with a pen in each hand and sat down to meet him.
• Li Qinwu recalled that he had avoided meeting Titus before because he felt intimidated by the legendary Space Marine.
• Li Qinwu noticed Titus’s disgust and realized that Titus resented Inquisitors for deceiving him, stripping his rank, and subjecting him to investigation and hardship.
• Li Qinwu held back his laughter when he saw Titus’s anger, recognizing that provoking him would be dangerous.

Titus demanded 85% taxes on Li Qinwu’s goods to fund his campaign to subdue the Five Hundred Worlds. Li Qinwu offered his fleet, Knights, and industrial ships to support Titus’s expedition to the Thunder Saint Alliance, leaving Titus to decide whether to tax him or accept his help.

• Titus demanded that Li Qinwu pay 85% taxes on the goods he had brought to Macragge.
• Li Qinwu asked whether Titus planned to launch an expedition to the Thunder Saint Alliance, and Titus asked if Li Qinwu was headed there too.
• Li Qinwu explained that he needed to investigate an Inquisitor Lord suspected of using a Daemon Artifact and offered the support of his fleet and more than one hundred Knights.
• Titus hesitated to give up the tax revenue after learning how much military strength it could fund.
• Li Qinwu offered free logistical support for Titus’s expedition, explaining that two of his ships could manufacture weapons, vehicles, and other supplies for a million Astra Militarum troops.

Titus visited Li Qinwu’s Shipboard Factory to assess whether it could equip his million-man mortal force, which lacked weapons because production was being prioritized for Guilliman’s crusade. Li Qinwu demonstrated a powerful Lasrifle, and Titus’s aide judged it comparable to a Masterwork Lasgun as they prepared to arrange supplies.

• Titus asked Li Qinwu how quickly his Shipboard Factory could supply five hundred thousand Lasrifles and suits of Flak Armour.
• Li Qinwu offered to produce the weapons and armour, along with fifty thousand Heavy Laser Rapid-Fire Cannons and two hundred Walking Mechs, and Titus asked to inspect the Factory.
• Titus, Metaurus, Gadriel, and Minervas accompanied Li Qinwu to the Golden Road and toured its operating workshops.
• Li Qinwu demonstrated a freshly produced Lasrifle at the shooting range, and Minervas said it matched a Masterwork Lasgun and could raise the troops’ combat effectiveness by at least ten percent.

Li Qinwu showed Titus and the others his Shipboard Factory and the Fortune, hoping to gain influence in the coming battle for the Fortress World of the Thunder Saint Alliance. After Metaurus confirmed Li Qinwu’s past deeds, Li Qinwu revealed that the Emperor had also bestowed him a golden Bolt Pistol.

• Li Qinwu showed Titus and the others workers assembling tanks and mechas, and Titus considered how a Shipboard Factory could supply and expand his army during the expedition to the Five Hundred Worlds.
• Li Qinwu took the group aboard the Fortune and said he had traded a True One Armor Shard from the Emperor for the warship.
• Standard-bearer Gadriel questioned Li Qinwu’s claim, but Metaurus confirmed that Li Qinwu had rung the Bell of Lost Souls and earned his respect.
• Li Qinwu said he had received the shard after killing Daemons, prompting Gadriel and Titus to wonder whether they had missed a reward after killing a Greater Daemon.
• Li Qinwu revealed an enormous golden Bolt Pistol that he claimed the Emperor had personally bestowed upon him.

Li Qinwu showed Titus, Gadriel, and Metaurus the God-Emperor's Bolt Pistol and let Gadriel test its power. He gave the pistol to Gadriel, leaving Titus and Metaurus hoping Li Qinwu would share another divine gift with them later.

• Li Qinwu displayed the God-Emperor's Bolt Pistol and told the Astartes that the God-Emperor had rewarded him with it after he destroyed the daemons in Lucius's weapons.
• Li Qinwu offered Gadriel a chance to try the pistol, then took everyone to the warship's shooting range.
• Gadriel fired ten rounds and pierced steel armor plates up to 100 millimeters thick, while Titus and Metaurus assessed the weapon's combat power.
• Li Qinwu gave the Bolt Pistol to Gadriel, who accepted it and promised him a favor.
• Titus and Metaurus stared hopefully at Li Qinwu, who said he would share any future gifts from the Emperor.

Li Qinwu showed Titus and the others his arsenal, including a hundred Knight Mechs, then hosted them for an intimate meal and shared Holy Wine. The gathering ended with Gadriel asking how Li Qinwu had secured the knights’ loyalty.

• Li Qinwu led Titus and the others through the lower decks, showing them Fury Interceptors, repaired Baneblade Tanks, and a hundred Knight Mechs.
• Titus was deeply impressed by Li Qinwu’s military strength and agreed to dine with him to improve their coordination for the Fortress World campaign.
• Li Qinwu hosted Titus, Gadriel, and veteran Metaurus in his private dining room, where they ate and drank Holy Wine.
• Titus and veteran Metaurus discovered the Holy Wine had unusual effects, and Li Qinwu explained that it could purge Warp corruption and slightly increase psychic power.
• Gadriel asked Li Qinwu how he had gained the unwavering loyalty of one hundred knights.

Li Qinwu recounted defeating a giant crocodile-like monster and negotiated intelligence sharing with Titus while keeping their forces under separate command. As they toasted their alliance and the coming war, Catwoman Nova appeared to offer them ten thousand rockets.

• Li Qinwu told the diners he had defeated the Black Crocodile Forces and gained the loyalty of a hundred Knights, then brought in Bruce Crocodile to demonstrate the creature’s resemblance.
• Titus asked whether Bruce Crocodile had been the monster Li Qinwu described, but Li Qinwu dismissed the possibility and sent Bruce away.
• Titus explained that Macragge’s million-strong Mortal Guard needed at least a month to prepare and that he first had to settle Macragge’s affairs.
• Li Qinwu proposed sharing intelligence while maintaining independent command, and Titus agreed.
• Li Qinwu and the Astartes raised a toast to the Thunder Saint Alliance, Macragge, and the God-Emperor, before Catwoman Nova offered to sell them ten thousand rockets.

Li Qinwu’s Shipboard Factory supplied Titus’s soldiers with high-quality Masterwork Lasguns, impressing the troops and officers with their accuracy and improved design. After discovering the Money-Only Caravan’s weapons flyer, a colonel decided to seek an introduction so soldiers could buy additional equipment at their own expense.

• Over the following month, Li Qinwu’s Shipboard Factory delivered Masterwork Lasguns and Flak Armour to the Titus Mortal Guard, whose soldiers began training with them.
• At a firing range, soldiers hit every target at four hundred meters, and a colonel examined their improved Lasrifle.
• The political commissar showed the colonel that the rifle was made using Iron Skull Archmagos technology under contract by the Money-Only Caravan.
• The commissar gave the colonel a flyer listing the Money-Only Caravan’s weapons and equipment, including Fleet Iron Guard armor.
• The colonel decided to find the tribune and ask for an introduction to the Money-Only Caravan.

Li Qinwu praised Troy’s destructive psychic power but refused to let him eat premium big fruit, while Troy secretly used Bruce Crocodile’s Beast God Space to get some anyway. Meanwhile, a tribune met Li Qinwu to discuss buying advanced weapons with donations collected on Macragge.

• Li Qinwu encouraged Troy to blast an old Chimera Transport, and Troy destroyed it with a Psychic Blast.
• Troy asked for premium big fruit as a reward, but Li Qinwu warned him about its effects and refused to let him eat it.
• After Li Qinwu left to meet a tribune, Troy used Gravity Control to enter Bruce Crocodile’s Beast God Space and eat a premium big fruit.
• The tribune told Li Qinwu that citizens and communities had donated one billion Sola to equip warriors with advanced weapons, and asked what supplies they should buy.

Li Qinwu negotiated a weapons deal with Macragge’s tribune, accepting olive oil and silk as trade goods while refusing the planet’s artworks. He offered weapons and surplus Power Armor for sale as he explained that his fleet’s entire infantry force had been refitted as Fleet Iron Guard.

• Macragge’s communities pooled funds to buy advanced weapons for their regiments, and a tribune asked Li Qinwu what goods he would accept in trade.
• Li Qinwu requested unlimited premium olive oil and Macragge Silk, plus one thousand tons of lavender perfume, and rejected the tribune’s offer of artworks.
• The tribune presented a list for weapons costing one billion Sola, and Li Qinwu agreed to deliver the order and offered the tribune a ten-percent commission in weapons.
• The tribune exchanged his commission for one hundred Plasma Guns, and Li Qinwu gifted him Power Armor while offering Macragge three thousand more suits at half price.
• Li Qinwu explained that all four hundred thousand infantry in his fleet wore Fleet Iron Guard Armor after undergoing four procedures, leaving his older Power Armor suits unused.

Li Qinwu delivered fifty thousand Plasma Guns to the tribune, then admired enormous oil paintings depicting heroic scenes from Macragge. The chapter ended with him marveling at a painting of Guilliman leading a campaign.

• Li Qinwu used the Fitness Teleportation Technique to transport fifty thousand Plasma Guns from Agricultural World 496B because the Golden Land could not manufacture them.
• Li Qinwu stayed aboard the warship to work out after delivering the weapons the tribune had requested.
• The tribune returned a few days later with enormous oil paintings made by masters from Macragge.
• Li Qinwu admired a painting of Guilliman raising the Emperor's Sword as a million Astartes charged behind him.

Li Qinwu accepted Macragge's paintings and agreed to let its artists paint portraits and make statues of him, while the Tribune placed his statue on the Triumphal Arch ahead of Guilliman's. After Titus pressured the olive oil merchant with a wartime tax, the merchant came to Li Qinwu seeking to sell him a six-kilometer Armed Merchant Ship.

• The Tribune offered Macragge's paintings, and Li Qinwu accepted them in exchange for weapons and Power Armor.
• The Tribune told Li Qinwu that Macragge's artists would paint him and put his statue on the Triumphal Arch, so Li Qinwu agreed and summoned the artists to his ship.
• A thousand artists painted and sculpted Li Qinwu, who posed on Bruce Crocodile for an equestrian portrait.
• The Tribune installed Li Qinwu's life-sized statue on the Triumphal Arch ahead of Guilliman's much larger statue, and Li Qinwu sent Titus three thousand suits of Power Armor.
• Titus enacted a wartime tax that targeted the olive oil merchant's products, prompting the merchant to approach Li Qinwu and offer to sell his Armed Merchant Ship.