Recaps

After Luo Zai defeated Qin and recovered the Yongzhou King Ding, Nuo, Son of Heaven entrusted all Nine Tripods to Luo State, recognizing that the Zhou Royal House could no longer protect them. Luo Zai took the tripods and the Royal House’s women to Zhao City, while the Zhou men remained in Luoyi, and Ji Zhao gained the unique Earth-Tier Item Origin Tripod.

• Luo Zai ordered King Dang of Qin’s body prepared with royal rites and decided to return the Yongzhou King Ding to Luoyi.
• Nuo, Son of Heaven, learned that King Dang had died and asked Luo Zai why he had been able to move the tripod; Luo Zai said Qin might have obtained part of Zhou’s Mandate of Heaven.
• Nuo, Son of Heaven, offered to entrust the Nine Tripods to Luo State and move them with the Royal House’s women to Zhao City, but Luo Zai said his offer had come too late.
• Nuo, Son of Heaven, formally bestowed the Nine Tripods on Luo State, and Luo Zai accepted them on behalf of the state.
• Ji Zhao gained fortune, prestige, and the unique Earth-Tier Item Origin Tripod, which could reset a person’s attributes, talents, and potential.
• Luo Zai led the Nine Tripods and the Royal House’s women out of Luoyi toward Zhao City, while the men of the Royal House remained behind.

Han and Wei tried to seize King Yu’s Nine Tripods from Luo Zai, but Luo Zai led the Luo State Dare-to-Fight Warriors against Han’s army and killed the king of Han. The king of Wei remained with his army as Luo Zai’s forces turned toward the wider confrontation.

• The kings of Han and Wei confronted Luo Zai at the border and demanded that he hand over the Nine Tripods.
• Luo Zai rebuked the king of Han for claiming a right to the tripods, and the king of Han ordered his army to attack.
• Luo Zai led the six thousand Dare-to-Fight Warriors into Han’s larger force, while the king of Han’s troops hesitated and then loosed arrows into the melee.
• Luo Zai summoned ten armored guards, helping break the Han army, and charged toward the king of Han.
• Luo Zai killed the king of Han and raised his body as the Dare-to-Fight Warriors announced his death.

Luo Zai killed the King of Han and forced the King of Wei to retreat, then returned to Luo with King Yu’s Nine Tripods. Luo State welcomed the sacred vessels with a grand ceremony, and Luo Hong declared that the Mandate of Heaven rested with Zhou and Luo.

• Luo Zai displayed the King of Han’s corpse and threatened the King of Wei as routed Han troops disrupted Wei’s formations.
• The King of Wei claimed he had come to escort Luo Zai and withdrew with his army after Luo Zai let him go.
• Luo Zai told Qiao Cheng that killing the King of Wei would cost Luo State lives and strengthen Qin State, so they should not pursue him.
• Luo Zai returned to Zhao City with the Dare-to-Fight Warriors and King Yu’s Nine Tripods, and the people of Luo knelt in welcome.
• Luo Hong held a grand sacrifice for the Nine Tripods and proclaimed that the Mandate of Heaven endured through the Zhou Royal House and Luo State Ruling House.

After King Ji of Qin appointed Bai Qi, Bai Qi annihilated the armies of Han and Wei and repeatedly seized territory from Han, Wei, and Chu. As Qin besieged Luoyi, the three states sent envoys to Luo State seeking help from Luo Zai.

• Nuo praised Luo Zai after hearing that he had killed the King of Han, while Ji succeeded his half-brother as King of Qin and sought a great general.
• Bai Qi promised King Ji that he would confront Luo State and won the king’s trust.
• Bai Qi led Qin to annihilate the combined Han and Wei army, forcing Han and Wei to cede cities and sue for peace.
• Luo Zai studied reports of Bai Qi’s victories and recognized him as a formidable enemy.
• Bai Qi won three major battles against Chu and continued taking territory from Han, Wei, and Chu.
• When Qin besieged Luoyi, envoys from Han, Wei, and Chu arrived in Luo State with lavish gifts.

Envoys from Chu, Han, and Wei asked Luo Zai to intervene against Qin, offering troops and gifts in exchange for his help. As Bai Qi’s army besieged Luoyi, Nuo, Son of Heaven, rejected his son Prince Yi’s call to surrender and prepared to defend the Zhou Royal House.

• Qu Yuan, Prince Xiaochen, and Prince Yin arrived in Luo State to persuade Luo Zai to act against Qin.
• Qu Yuan urged Luo Zai to oppose Qin’s attack on Zhou, while the princes of Han and Wei offered troops and treasures.
• Luo Zai affirmed that the Son of Heaven of Zhou had done no wrong, and Chu, Wei, and Han pledged troops to lift the siege of Luoyi.
• Bai Qi waited outside Luoyi, expecting internal disorder or surrender rather than launching an assault.
• Nuo, Son of Heaven, prayed at the Ancestral Temple and vowed to defend the Zhou Royal House.
• Prince Yi urged his father to surrender to Qin, but Nuo struck him and insisted that a Son of Heaven of Zhou must die fighting rather than submit.

Luo Zai led Luo State’s forces east to join Han, Wei, and Chu against Bai Qi, while both commanders tested each other in their first clash. Bai Qi withdrew rather than face Luo Zai directly, leaving the war to turn toward maneuver and strategy.

• Luo Zai accepted the armed Luo People’s request to join the campaign and led the Dare-to-Fight Warriors toward Luoyi, followed by Luo State’s elite soldiers and hidden reserves.
• Luo Zai’s advisers urged him to exploit Qin’s strained supply lines by dividing the battlefield and winning smaller engagements, and Luo Zai voiced concern about discord among the allied states.
• After learning that Luo Zai commanded the allied forces, Bai Qi shifted his deployments to target enemies on every side instead of prioritizing the siege of Luoyi.
• Luo Zai led elite troops through the Qin formations, striking points where orders had stalled before returning to camp and raising the allied army’s morale.
• Bai Qi recognized Luo Zai’s ability to exploit weaknesses, reinforced his personal protection, and chose to avoid a direct confrontation while waiting for an opportunity.
• When the Qin Army withdrew, Luo Zai concluded that Bai Qi intended to rely on strategy rather than meet him head-on.

Luo Zai outmaneuvered Bai Qi’s plans and led the allied armies of Han, Wei, and Chu to relieve Luoyi, where he promised Nuo, Son of Heaven, to fight Qin State. The armies prepared for a larger clash as Luo Zai routed Qin troops in battle, while Bai Qi chose Chu State as the point to break the alliance.

• Luo Zai had experts map the battlefield’s routes to anticipate Bai Qi’s deployments and counter his strategies.
• Bai Qi told Prince Bi that he would face Luo Zai rather than abandon Qin State’s ambitions, and King Ji of Qin agreed the battle could not be avoided.
• Luo Zai arrived at Luoyi with the allied armies, reunited with Nuo, Son of Heaven, and pledged to fight Qin State.
• Luo Zai divided the battlefield into three sections and planned a pitched battle north of Luoyi, while Bai Qi recognized his intentions and continued building fortifications.
• Luo Zai led Han, Wei, and Chu troops into battle, killed two Qin generals, seized their banners, and caused part of the Qin Army to rout.
• Bai Qi chose Chu State as his point of attack, hoping to sever the allied armies’ supply routes and exhaust them.

Xiang Zeng sought Luo Zai’s help in using the war against Bai Qi to purge Chu State nobles bribed by Qin State, while the Xiang Clan committed troops and its sons to the campaign. Luo Zai agreed to their plan, which would let Chu State recover and prepare to reclaim Yingdu.

• Xiang Zeng told Xiang Ju that Qin State was bribing Chu State officials and that Crown Prince Zai had repeatedly checked Bai Qi’s attacks.
• Xiang Ju urged Xiang Zeng to visit Luo Zai and said the Xiang Clan could stake everything on victory.
• Xiang Zeng warned Luo Zai about Qin State’s bribes and offered Xiang Clan troops, including its sons, as vanguard fighters in exchange for help removing the compromised nobles.
• Xiang Zeng explained that the Xiang Clan wanted to defeat the nobles’ elite troops, expose their treason to the King, and seize their fiefs, but feared weakening Chu State without Luo Zai’s support.
• Luo Zai agreed to help, and the two clans planned to let Chu State’s army appear divided before revealing its true forces against Bai Qi.

Luo Zai chose to risk the Luo Clan in battle rather than accept a quiet retreat, while Bai Qi prepared to break the coalition by exploiting the battlefield and Chu State’s turmoil. As the armies clashed, Bai Qi realized Luo Zai was waiting for reinforcements, but their source soon became apparent.

• Luo Zai rejected the cautious plan of retreating from Zhao City and ordered his forces to prepare for battle, with Luo Hong supporting him.
• Bai Qi and Prince Ti discussed Chu State’s unrest and planned to split and wear down the coalition rather than attempt to encircle Luo Zai.
• Luo Zai held the coalition’s center with most of its elite troops as Bai Qi’s Qin army attacked and gained the upper hand.
• Luo Zai sent Qiao Cheng and elite soldiers to support Han State’s weak troops on the left wing.
• Bai Qi suspected Luo Zai was waiting for reinforcements, and the truth soon became plain.

At the Battle of Luoyi, Xiang Zeng led Chu reinforcements into the Qin Army’s flank, turning the tide and allowing Luo Zai to rout the Qin forces. Bai Qi retreated west with the surviving troops, while Luo Zai and Xiang Zeng pursued them and reclaimed the initiative for Chu and Luo.

• Bai Qi recognized that Crown Prince Zai’s placement of the faltering Chu Army was suspicious and ordered Prince Ti to regroup the Qin right wing and avoid pursuing.
• Xiang Zeng seized control of Chu State’s capital, detained the Old Nobles, and led fresh troops through the mountain paths to attack the Qin flank.
• The Xiang Banner restored the Chu Army’s morale, and Xiang Zeng’s surprise assault shattered the Qin camps’ command and sent their troops fleeing.
• Luo Zai charged into the disordered Qin formations with his guards and Dare-to-Fight Warriors, joining Xiang Zeng in driving the enemy into defeat.
• Bai Qi withdrew west of Luo with the surviving Qin troops and accepted responsibility for the loss, while Luo Zai and Xiang Zeng advanced after them.

After Bai Qi returned to Qin defeated at Luoyi, King Ji of Qin accepted responsibility, restored Bai Qi’s confidence, and gave him his personal sword. As the states failed to unite against Qin and Luo Zai coughed blood while departing, the chapter left Qin preparing to defend itself and Luo Zai’s future uncertain.

• Bai Qi entered the Qin court, admitted responsibility for the defeat, and asked King Ji of Qin to punish him.
• King Ji of Qin blamed himself, reaffirmed his trust in Bai Qi, and handed him his personal sword; Bai Qi vowed lifelong service.
• Bai Qi warned that the six states might form a Vertical Alliance and urged Qin to strengthen its defenses at Xiao-Han.
• Bai Qi said Qin should weaken Han, Wei, and Chu rather than confront Crown Prince Zai directly, and King Ji of Qin accepted his counsel.
• Crown Prince Zai failed to form a Vertical Alliance because Chu needed to secure its reforms and Han and Wei were satisfied with their recovered lands.
• Luo Zai coughed blood, ordered the return to Luo State, and looked back toward Luoyi from his chariot.

After Luo Hong died, Luo Zai succeeded him but collapsed at the funeral as Zhou State’s Mandate of Heaven faltered. Ji Lingjun awakened at Ji Zhao’s command, took the Phoenix from King Yu’s Nine Tripods, and Luo Zai awoke briefly to understand that his own death was near.

• Luo Zai buried Luo Hong according to Luo State’s rites, then vomited blood and fell unconscious at the graveside.
• The Phoenix appeared above King Yu’s Nine Tripods and lamented, frightening the ritual attendants in Luo State’s Ancestral Temple.
• Ji Zhao’s Divine Sense awakened Ji Lingjun and sent her to bring the Phoenix away before Heaven reacted.
• Ji Lingjun appeared in the Ancestral Temple and absorbed the Phoenix, causing its image on the Nine Tripods to vanish.
• Luo Zai awoke, learned from his daughters that Ji Lingjun had taken the Phoenix, and understood that the Nine Tripods had lost the Mandate of Heaven and that he was about to die.

Luo Zai gathered Luo State’s nobles and ordered a voluntary migration to protect its people from Qin’s expected invasion, then died after entrusting them with the plan. His death freed Qin to prepare for an eastward campaign, while the chapter ended with an author’s request for suggestions for a future clan head’s name.

• Luo Zai’s health collapsed after he left the Ancestral Temple, and he told Qiao Cheng and his daughter that he was nearing death.
• Prince Ti learned of Luo Zai’s grave illness, while the states feared that his death would leave them unable to stop Qin and Bai Qi.
• Luo Zai summoned Luo State’s nobles and ordered them to organize a voluntary migration south, prioritizing women, children, and at least half the men.
• Luo Zai died after assigning migration routes and directing the nobles to exchange their stored grain for supplies to sustain the people.
• Prince Fu reported Luo Zai’s death to Nuo, Son of Heaven, who collapsed and died, while King Ji of Qin celebrated the news.
• Bai Qi urged King Ji to prepare to advance east, and the author asked readers to suggest names for a future clan head.

Bai Qi’s Qin army besieged Luoyi, and Son of Heaven Mo rejected the offer of a fief, choosing to defend Zhou State and die for its Altars of State. The city fell three years later, and King Huai died in battle.

• Scions of the Ducal Clan went to Chu State to negotiate safe passage as Luo State prepared to move its women and children away.
• Son of Heaven Mo sent the female members of the Royal House to Zhao City as Bai Qi approached Luoyi with Qin’s army.
• Son of Heaven Mo rejected the King of Qin’s offer of a fief and declared that Zhou State’s royal blood would not surrender.
• Son of Heaven Mo ordered the army mustered and led Luoyi’s defenders into battle against Qin.
• Bai Qi’s forces captured Luoyi in the third year of King Huai’s reign, and King Huai died after suffering more than ten wounds.

After Qin State destroyed the Zhou Royal House, Prince Ti secured Zhao State as an ally by offering back the Plateau lands, and Zhao joined Qin in attacking Han. As Bai Qi prepared to use Han as bait and Chu State debated sending aid, a Chu envoy tried to persuade Qi to join the opposition by warning that Qin would eventually threaten it too.

• Bai Qi entered Luoyi after Qin State conquered the Zhou Royal House and waited for Zhao State's response to Qin's plans for expansion.
• Prince Ti offered Zhao State the Plateau lands and an alliance, and the King of Zhao agreed despite Lian Xiang's warning against trusting Qin.
• Zhao State sent troops against Han alongside Qin, leaving Han unable to resist and prompting it to seek help from Qi, Chu, and Yan.
• Bai Qi advanced into Han slowly because he intended to lure the other States into open battle and destroy their armies.
• Xiang Zeng urged Chu State to aid Han and Wei and persuaded the King of Chu to abolish the custom of killing generals after a defeat.
• The King of Qi refused Chu State's request for troops, but the Chu envoy provoked him by invoking the prophecy that Luo State would destroy Qin and warning that Qin would not spare Qi.

Bai Qi used the rainy season and channels dug by Qin Mohists to unleash a massive flood against Chu State’s defenses. The flood devastated Hanyang, killed Xiang Zeng and countless Chu people, and left Chu State facing catastrophe.

• The King of Qi agreed to send troops to Chu State on the condition that Yan State also joined, fearing a Yan attack if Qi’s forces departed.
• Bai Qi left the Central Plains and led Qin State’s elite troops toward Chu State, where Xiang Zeng urged the court to fight.
• Bai Qi waited for the rainy season, then ordered Qin forces to open the channels and flood Chu State’s fortified cities.
• The flood destroyed Chu defenses and swept soldiers and civilians away as Qin troops watched in fear.
• Xiang Zeng sent his retainer to escort the younger members of his family and the King east, but stayed behind and died when the flood collapsed the city wall.

After Bai Qi’s massacre in Chu State, Luo State’s ruling house planned a gradual migration and considered arranging his death. Meanwhile, the King of Zhao’s confrontation with Qin State ended with Yiren persuading him to spare him and promising to help him inherit Qin’s throne, while Zhao’s minister Lian Xiang lost confidence in his ruler.

• Bai Qi vowed to return to the Central Plains and conquer the states after his devastation of Chu State horrified All Xia.
• Luo Ze and Luo Ge discussed moving members of the Luo State ruling house south and helping Chu Youxia kill Bai Qi when Qin’s army returned home.
• The King of Zhao demanded Qin State surrender promised territory after Qin’s envoy was killed, and then threatened to kill Yiren, Qin’s hostage.
• Yiren persuaded the King of Zhao that his father had sent him to be killed and promised to reward Zhao if he helped him inherit Qin’s throne.
• The King of Zhao spared Yiren and promised him beauties and gold, while Lian Xiang decided to leave Zhao State’s court in despair.

Qin State ordered Bai Qi to remain with his army and occupy lands in Han, Wei, and Chu, while Zhao State and the eastern states maneuvered against Qin. After a letter from the King of Han convinced the King of Zhao that war was unavoidable, Lian Po agreed to lead Zhao’s forces against Qin.

• King Ji of Qin praised Bai Qi and ordered him to remain with his troops, take lands from Han, Wei, and Chu, and strike Zhao if it acted.
• Luo Ze urged the Luo Clan to wait for a war, when Bai Qi might become vulnerable outside his camp.
• Han and Wei nobles and officials surrendered territory to Zhao, while their kings and Luo State stoked conflict between Qin and Zhao.
• The King of Han sent the King of Zhao a letter warning that Qin intended to destroy Zhao and arguing that its promise of an enfeoffed rank could not be trusted.
• The King of Zhao called on Lian Po to take the field against Qin, and Lian Po accepted despite his doubts about Zhao’s strength.

Chu and Luo assassins traveled through a torrential storm toward the Qin-Zhao battlefield, while Bai Qi’s campaign forced Zhao to replace Lian Po with Zhao Kuo and ended in the slaughter of surrendered Zhao soldiers. Qiao Yun then shot Bai Qi from six hundred paces away, leaving the assassination’s outcome unresolved.

• Chu archers sheltered in a cave and vowed to kill Bai Qi, while Luo assassin Qiao Yun joined their mission to avenge his wife and family.
• Bai Qi exploited criticism of Lian Po’s cautious defense, and Zhao’s court replaced Lian Po with Zhao Kuo as supplies dwindled.
• Lian Po left the battlefield, acknowledging that he could not resolve Zhao’s predicament under the circumstances.
• Zhao Kuo’s army assaulted a Qin-held city, suffered defeat, and surrendered, but Bai Qi ordered the prisoners slaughtered.
• Bai Qi appeared in the city under heavy guard, and Qiao Yun shot him from six hundred paces away, ruining his own arm.

After awakening from a thousand-year sleep, Ji Zhao negotiated with the Mandate of Heaven over the reward for the Zhou State’s thousand-year dynasty, gaining a Heaven-Tier Heavenly Book and a promise of annual Fortune Points. He then reassured Ji Lingjun that the Luo Clan’s suffering would help its descendants break free of heaven’s constraints.

• Ji Zhao awakened in Chaos, reviewed the Luo Clan’s fortune and divine artifacts, and reflected on its dependence on the Zhou State’s wealth.
• When the system offered only an Earth-Tier reward for the Zhou State’s thousand-year dynasty, Ji Zhao threatened to destroy the world, prompting the Mandate of Heaven to explain its choice.
• The Mandate of Heaven awarded Ji Zhao the Heaven-Tier Heavenly Book and promised ten thousand Fortune Points each year for more than four hundred years, provided he did not use Heaven-Tier Items.
• Ji Lingjun awoke and voiced her concern over the hardships facing the Luo Clan’s descendants.
• Ji Zhao told Ji Lingjun that hardship would temper the Luo Clan and help the Luo State Ruling House break free of the Mandate of Heaven.

Qin Zheng endured abuse in Zhao before Lü Buwei brought him and Zhao Ji back to Qin, where he later became King Zheng and entrusted Lü Buwei with governing. Lü Buwei gathered scholars to compile the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Lü Clan and proposed revising Qin law, drawing opposition from Qin nobles who appealed to the king.

• Qin Zheng was bullied in Handan, but Lü Buwei arrived and brought him and Zhao Ji back to Qin after the Qin king ascended the throne.
• Qin Zheng became King Zheng at thirteen, appointed Lü Buwei Chancellor, and waited to assume personal rule while learning statecraft.
• Lü Buwei invited scholars from the Hundred Schools to Qin to propose changes to its harsh laws, and their writings were compiled as the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Lü Clan.
• Nobles from the six states opposed Lü Buwei's reforms and urged King Zheng to punish him and the scholars criticizing Qin policy.

King of Qin Zheng uncovered the threat posed by Marquis Changxin and Zhao Ji, then crushed the rebellion and exiled his mother. He confronted Lü Buwei over his abuses of power, leaving the Chancellor’s position uncertain.

• Prince Sheng planted doubts in King of Qin Zheng’s mind by telling him rumors about Lü Buwei and Zhao Ji.
• King of Qin Zheng learned of Marquis Changxin’s crimes and Zhao Ji’s role, and his grief hardened into resolve.
• King of Qin Zheng captured Marquis Changxin, had him executed along with his two sons, and exiled Zhao Ji from Xianyang.
• Lü Buwei considered fleeing to Luoyang but entered the palace to meet King of Qin Zheng instead.
• King of Qin Zheng rebuked Lü Buwei for overstepping his authority, and Lü Buwei left after asking him to spare the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Lü Clan.

Luo Ze planned to scatter the Luo people and wait for Qin State to collapse under its own laws, while King of Qin Zheng rallied his ministers to resume the conquest of the realm. Wang Jian then accepted Han State’s surrender, marking Qin State’s shift to outright annexation.

• Luo Ze said Qin State would fall within twenty years under its unchanged laws and proposed scattering the Luo people while Qin hunted the ruling house.
• King of Qin Zheng summoned his ministers, invoked Heaven’s mandate, and declared that Qin should destroy the states’ ancestral temples and Altars of State.
• King of Qin Zheng’s ministers pledged to conquer the states, and Qin’s army advanced east under Wang Jian.
• Han State’s surrender faction bound the King of Han and opened the capital’s gates to Wang Jian.
• Wang Jian ordered Han State to renounce its royal title and hand over its maps, while Qin State began annexing the kingdom.

After Han State fell, Zhang Liang helped Han Fei escape toward Luo State while vowing to find Qin State’s weaknesses. King Zheng of Qin captured the King of Han and granted him a fief, then turned his attention to Wei State; in Luo State, Xunzi offered to introduce Han Fei to Luo Ze.

• Zhang Liang urged Han Fei to flee Han State, and Han Fei agreed to seek refuge in Luo State while Zhang Liang set out to investigate Qin State and bring it down.
• The captured King of Han begged King Zheng of Qin for forgiveness, and King Zheng granted him a city and the title of Lord of Han.
• King Zheng’s treatment of the King of Han encouraged nobles in the remaining states to consider surrendering, while Qin’s Spy Network spread money and intelligence across the states.
• King Zheng chose Wei State as Qin State’s next target.
• Xunzi told Luo Ze that Han Fei, his other disciple and a prince of Han, had arrived in Luo State, and Luo Ze agreed to meet him.

The King of Wei resisted Qin State’s invasion, but Zhao State refused to help and Wang Jian’s army besieged Daliang before threatening to flood it. As fear and unrest overwhelmed the city, the King of Wei ordered it to surrender; meanwhile, Han Fei chose to travel to Xianyang after King of Qin Zheng summoned him.

• The King of Wei vowed to resist Qin State, but learned that Zhao State could not send aid because it was fighting Yan State.
• Luo Ze listened as Han Fei dictated his writings, and Han Fei later decided to go to Xianyang to try to save the King of Han.
• Wang Jian defeated Wei State’s elite troops, advanced on Daliang, and began digging channels to flood the city.
• The King of Wei sent troops to attack Qin’s workers, but Wang Jian’s forces repelled them and continued their preparations.
• As news of the coming flood spread through Daliang, the people rebelled and the soldiers took the King of Wei captive.
• The King of Wei accepted that resistance was hopeless and ordered the city gates opened for surrender.