Chapter Summaries

After the Emperor abruptly brought Corvus Corax to Terra, Han Mingxuan feared the forced return could repeat Angron’s fate and hurried to contain the danger on Lycaeus. He let Corax leave to resume his work there and prepared to support him, while warning that Warp corruption might already be emerging.

• Tzeentch visited Han Mingxuan, hinted at a coming decision, and left after sharing tea.
• The Emperor told Han Mingxuan that he had brought Corvus Corax, prompting Han to order checks on Lycaeus and pause the public anti-corruption campaign.
• Han Mingxuan asked Orikan, Trazyn, Perturabo, and others to prepare to prevent Warp corruption and secure Lycaeus.
• Han Mingxuan confronted Corax in his palace and told him he was free to choose his own path.
• Corax chose to return to Lycaeus, and Han Mingxuan ordered an escort for him.

Corax returned to Lycaeus with Samir, who refused to leave and explained that the Father of Night had sent him to help. Perturabo arrived and offered to build on Lycaeus without joining Corax’s struggle, while Samir described the Father of Night’s transformation of Nostramo as their ship prepared to land.

• Samir told Corax he would stay to help, and a fleet under Perturabo’s command emerged from the Warp.
• Perturabo said he would help build on Lycaeus but would neither fight alongside Corax nor spare the planet if Corax lost.
• Perturabo revealed that the Eighth Legion and Corax’s XIX Legion had been chosen to assist the Father of Night with his anti-corruption effort.
• Corax challenged Samir’s loyalty, and Samir said he and his people were loyal to the Father of Night rather than to Corax.
• Samir described how the Father of Night saved Nostramo, founded a new homeworld, and transformed its laws, education, and society.
• Samir invited Corax to visit Nostramo and its landmarks and festivals, then announced that their ship was landing.

Han Mingxuan was summoned to discuss the Emperor’s Webway Project and learned that the Emperor wanted him to govern the Imperium while the Great Crusade continued. When the Emperor proposed that Han Mingxuan protect the Aeldari and secure the Webway from them, Han Mingxuan denounced him as the greatest Heretic ringleader in the universe.

• Han Mingxuan heard that Corax and his people had safely arrived on Lycaeus, then Valdor took him to meet the Emperor and Malcador.
• The Emperor explained that he planned to appoint a Warmaster and wanted Han Mingxuan to manage the Imperium’s affairs with Malcador’s help.
• Han Mingxuan refused the role and challenged the Emperor over the risks of starting the Webway Project so early.
• The Emperor proposed that Han Mingxuan protect the Aeldari and have them cede the Webway to humanity.
• Han Mingxuan rejected the plan, accused the Emperor of proposing that he sleep with Slaanesh, and called him the universe’s biggest Heretic ringleader.

Han Mingxuan agreed to help the Emperor with the Webway while Malcador discovered the Emperor’s severe wounds. Roboute Guilliman used his authority to pass a sweeping resolution reforming the Imperium’s armed forces and administration, setting the stage for a Scouring on Terra.

• Han Mingxuan told the Emperor to appoint a Warmaster before working on the Webway and promised to help for the next three hundred years.
• The Emperor asked Malcador to apply ointment to his bloodied back, but Malcador fled after learning the wounds came from a powerful being.
• Roboute Guilliman visited Han Mingxuan to ask for time off, then used Han’s advice and seal to push an anti-corruption reform resolution through five Imperial departments.
• Lion El'Jonson questioned Guilliman’s ambition, Horus welcomed the resolution, Sanguinius saw his prophecy change, and Curze prepared to return to Terra with his recruited forces.
• Han Mingxuan and Curze agreed to coordinate with the Imperial Fists of the Solar System Defence and begin the Scouring on Terra.

Perturabo brought the Eleven-Choice Examination to the IV Legion, assigning those who failed or objected to administrative work instead of subjecting them to Decimation. After Perturabo and Curze returned to Terra, Han Mingxuan discussed the anti-corruption campaign with them and praised Perturabo’s talent for building.

• Perturabo ordered the IV Legion to hold the Eleven-Choice Examination, sending anyone who failed to the Department of General Affairs after twenty strokes of the rod.
• Perturabo punished Kodomō with forty strokes and ordered him to report to the Department of General Affairs after Kodomō objected to administrative work.
• Han Mingxuan summoned Perturabo to Terra, and Perturabo left Lycaeus to return immediately.
• Curze and Perturabo met at the Solar System Defence Line and traveled to Han Mingxuan’s residence together.
• Han Mingxuan explained the Scouring of Terra to Perturabo, then praised his ability to find fulfillment in building.

Han Mingxuan helped Perturabo reconsider his role in the Imperium and recognize himself as a builder rather than a tool. Perturabo left with a broader mission: to help the IV Legion conquer new worlds when construction outpaced the Great Crusade’s advances.

• Perturabo told Han Mingxuan that he had wanted to rule a utopia, had become a tyrant, and saw himself as the Emperor’s battering ram but Han Mingxuan’s willing wrench.
• Han Mingxuan explained that the Emperor treated Primarchs as tools, while he saw Perturabo and the IV Legion as people who could build.
• Perturabo recognized that the IV Legion had been fulfilling his dream by constructing across the territories behind the Great Crusade.
• Han Mingxuan challenged Perturabo to consider what he would do when the Legion ran out of land to build on because the Great Crusade advanced too slowly.
• Han Mingxuan described conquest as demolition that made room for construction and urged Perturabo to become a demolisher when needed.
• Perturabo thanked Han Mingxuan for helping him find his true mission.

Perturabo accepted Han Mingxuan’s comparison between himself and the Emperor and left with a copy of The Republic. At the Department of Justice, Han found Konrad executing nobles and intervened, then discovered Malcador was trying to provoke the nobles into becoming tougher so he could secure more vacation time.

• Perturabo admitted that he resembled his father, the Emperor, and thanked Han Mingxuan for helping him understand his role.
• Han gave Perturabo a copy of The Republic, and Perturabo left with the book.
• Han arrived at the Department of Justice and found nobles begging him to spare them after Konrad had executed many of their peers.
• Han told Konrad to stop killing so many people and clean up the execution ground, and Konrad spared the remaining nobles for the day.
• Han found Malcador drafting another address to the nobles to make them tougher and win himself more vacation time.

Han Mingxuan prepared to leave Terra to investigate the wider corruption network, despite Malcador and Curze warning that he would be in danger. Before departing, he assigned Gusalto and her brother a practical Inquisitor trial, then heard Sanguinius complain that Curze had reduced the Blood Angels’ fruit supplies; Han Mingxuan refused to get involved.

• Han Mingxuan told Malcador he planned to leave Terra to investigate corruption beyond the planet, and Malcador warned him about the danger.
• Han Mingxuan and Curze agreed that Sevatar and Cyrion would accompany him, while Gusalto and her younger brother would train as Inquisitors on the journey.
• Han Mingxuan went to the Throne Room and found Sanguinius, who had returned after a joint resolution from the Adeptus Administratum and other departments.
• Sanguinius told Han Mingxuan that Curze had withheld some of the Ninth Legion’s special provisions, especially fruit, and played the victim.
• Han Mingxuan suspected Sanguinius of mischief but declined to interfere in the brothers’ dispute.

Curze told Sanguinius that the Blood Angels’ fruit allocation would be cut to just 30 percent to supply Trazyn’s Necrontyr, leaving Sanguinius lamenting his reduced fruit intake. He then went to Roboute with a list of people across the Solar System marked for execution as part of his anti-corruption campaign.

• Sanguinius asked Curze to increase the Blood Angels’ special military supplies, but Curze said the Necrontyr’s needs took priority and that Dad controlled the allocation.
• Curze told Sanguinius that the Blood Angels would receive only 30 percent of their fruit supply, and Sanguinius left distressed about eating less fruit.
• Curze summoned Slazov and learned that the materials needed for the Scouring were ready.
• Curze visited Roboute at the Administratum and said the Evernight Legion had gathered enough evidence to begin making arrests.
• Curze gave Roboute a list of people throughout the Solar System who could be executed, and Roboute questioned whether the plan amounted to rebellion.
• Curze defended the mass executions as anti-corruption and said the Imperium had accumulated centuries of people who needed to be removed.

Curze and Roboute launched a sweeping anti-corruption purge of Terra’s nobility, with the Emperor authorizing the operation and the Administratum preparing replacements for the condemned nobles. As fear subsided across the Solar System, warned branches of noble families began targeting Curze, the Father of Night.

• Curze told Roboute to secure the Emperor’s approval and coordinate supply controls while the Department of Justice prepared to arrest corrupt nobles.
• Curze ordered the assembled Eighth Legion to execute the listed criminals, and Roboute reported the plan to the Emperor.
• The Emperor approved the purge, sent the Adeptus Custodes to assist, and urged Roboute to expedite the Administratum’s approvals.
• Four-man squads of the Eighth Legion arrested and killed nobles across Terra while keeping the scenes discreet, and the nobles eventually stopped resisting.
• The Administratum announced that newly risen nobles would fill the vacancies, calming the panic among the nobility in the Solar System.
• Noble family branches that had been warned began moving against Curze, the Father of Night.

After a noble assassin tried to kill Han Mingxuan aboard the ship to Prospero, Xiulikas exposed the traitor’s family and crimes. Han Mingxuan ordered Lion El'Jonson and the Dark Angels to eradicate the conspirators and their accomplices, and the Dark Angels began the purge.

• A noble assassin infiltrated Han Mingxuan’s room, but Cyrion subdued him before the poison he had planted in his body killed him.
• Endymion found a bloodstained note listing the assassin’s family and crimes, and Han Mingxuan recognized Xiulikas, Nostramo’s Perpetual, as the one who had left it.
• Han Mingxuan contacted Lion El'Jonson and ordered the Dark Angels to eliminate the traitors, their families, and the accomplices’ nine familial relations.
• Lion El'Jonson reconsidered his view of Han Mingxuan and ordered Vienne to send men to carry out the purge.
• The Dark Angels wiped out the assassin’s entire family, citing the attempted assassination of the Father of Night as their justification.

Han Mingxuan's journey to Prospero was interrupted by a Warp disturbance and a strange alliance of Aeldari, whom Trazyn quickly destroyed. Trazyn revealed that his true body had secretly stayed close to Han Mingxuan and promised to protect him as they continued toward Prospero.

• Han Mingxuan reassured Lao Xin that he could handle danger and continued his journey after surviving an assassin's attack.
• As Han Mingxuan neared Prospero, his warship detected a large Warp energy signature and a squad of black and white Aeldari appeared before him.
• The Aeldari addressed Han Mingxuan as a great figure of prophecy, prompting him to call Trazyn for help.
• Trazyn revealed that his true body had been following Han Mingxuan and appeared before him.
• Trazyn wiped out the Aeldari before they could react, then told Han Mingxuan he would protect him from the remaining danger.

Han Mingxuan encountered Slaanesh aboard the ship, and she transported everyone to a daemon planet before warning him that his real danger came from the Imperium of Man and The Accursed. She said she could leave safely once he accomplished two things, but the chapter ended before she revealed them.

• Cyrion noticed that the ship's clock displayed sixes, and Han Mingxuan recognized the sign of Slaanesh.
• Slaanesh appeared with a doll modeled on Han Mingxuan and admitted she had encouraged the Drukhari and Craftworld Aeldari to join forces.
• Slaanesh transported the ship to a daemon planet, where Han Mingxuan shielded everyone with blue-gold radiance.
• Slaanesh told Han Mingxuan that his danger came not from the Warp but from the Imperium of Man and The Accursed.
• Slaanesh said Han Mingxuan needed to accomplish two things before she could leave without worry, but she did not name them.

Han Mingxuan met Slaanesh, rejected the offered Crone Sword, and traveled to Prospero, where he sought out his reclusive nephew Magnus. He left the library doors smashed open, but Magnus still had not appeared.

• Slaanesh gave Han Mingxuan a compass, a gemstone containing an elf, and a Crone Sword, but Han sealed the sword and returned it.
• Slaanesh erased Endymion's memories, and Han's group arrived near Prospero.
• Han landed in Tizca and learned from Ahriman that Magnus had shut himself away in the library since returning from Nuceria.
• Han asked Ahriman about Legion magic, then ordered Sevatar to smash the library doors open.
• Han called for Magnus to come out and threatened to burn the library, while Ahriman realized Sevatar was a Blank.

Han Mingxuan forced Magnus out of the Library Attic and confronted him about hiding from his responsibilities. He weakened Magnus’s Psychic Power, began training him in physical combat, and ordered him to kill a dangerous Soul-Devouring Bee Elder.

• Han Mingxuan burned a Library bookshelf and used Psychic Power to slap Magnus until Magnus came down from the Attic.
• Han Mingxuan criticized Magnus for retreating from his problems and told him he would teach him wisdom and responsibility.
• Han Mingxuan wrote a Forbidden character on Magnus’s forehead, temporarily weakened his Psychic Power, and banned him from Prospero’s libraries.
• Han Mingxuan ordered Magnus to put on his Power Armour and train his physical strength instead of relying on Psychic Power.
• Han Mingxuan set the Soul-Devouring Bee Elder as Magnus’s target, and Magnus said he understood the assignment.

Han Mingxuan’s unconventional lessons inspired Magnus to confront and kill the Soul-Devouring Bee Elder using physical strength, and Magnus returned to Tizca feeling renewed. Concerned about the Thousand Sons’ Flesh Change, Han Mingxuan began writing a cultivation text intended to help them.

• Han Mingxuan explained that courage needed planning, but Magnus took the lesson as a reason to face the Soul-Devouring Bees head-on.
• Magnus found the Soul-Devouring Bees’ nest and fought his way through it, relying on physical strength after limiting his Psychic Power.
• Magnus defeated the Soul-Devouring Bee Elder, and he told Han Mingxuan that facing difficulties had helped him overcome his despair.
• Back in Tizca, Ahriman thanked Han Mingxuan for helping Magnus, while Han Mingxuan turned his attention to the Thousand Sons’ Flesh Change.
• Han Mingxuan wrote several copies of the Inner Chapters of the Master Who Embraces Simplicity and brought the text to Magnus the next morning.

Han Mingxuan used his soul to cure the Thousand Sons afflicted by Flesh Change, then gave Magnus instructions to help prevent it from returning. Sevatar confronted Magnus over his failure to take responsibility, while Han Mingxuan and the others returned to their quarters and discussed the Imperial nobles.

• Magnus took Han Mingxuan to a hidden chamber where the Thousand Sons afflicted by Flesh Change were being kept.
• Han Mingxuan split off part of his soul and used its golden light to restore the afflicted Space Marines to normal.
• Sevatar berated Magnus for shutting himself away and expecting Han Mingxuan to handle the Legion’s problems.
• Han Mingxuan gave Magnus a book with instructions to suppress Flesh Change and left with Sevatar and the others.
• Back at their quarters, Han Mingxuan praised Sevatar, and Sevatar argued with the others over who would be his assistant teacher.
• Cyrion told Han Mingxuan that the Dark Angels had killed so many Imperial nobles that the survivors were now terrified.

Han Mingxuan recruited Lion El'Jonson to stage an assassination attempt and eliminate nobles as part of an anti-corruption operation, while Malcador lamented that the scheme had left him without assassination attempts to prolong his vacation. On Prospero, Tzeentch questioned Han Mingxuan about his unusual way of resolving Corax's crisis, and Han defended letting Corax choose his own path.

• Han Mingxuan asked Lion El'Jonson to stage a mock assassination and secretly target nobles, and Lion negotiated for Portable Exterminatus supplies in return.
• Lion ordered the Firewing to stage the raid and the Deathwing and Ravenwing to eliminate the nobles on Han Mingxuan's list.
• Malcador learned the Dark Angels had wiped out a noble family after an assassination attempt, while Curze teased him about his supposed vacation.
• Han Mingxuan met Tzeentch on Prospero, where Tzeentch questioned his handling of Corax and warned that others might exploit his kindness.
• Han Mingxuan told Tzeentch that he had given Corax a choice and left the decision to him.

Tzeentch came to Han Mingxuan seeking a deal, but Han rejected him and challenged his claim to wisdom. Han revealed that the ideals Tzeentch thought destroyed could return, leaving the Chaos God terrified and accusing him of cowardice.

• Tzeentch tried to negotiate an exchange of knowledge and wisdom with Han Mingxuan, who refused to trade his nephew or cooperate with him.
• Han Mingxuan repeatedly slapped Tzeentch and denounced him for hoarding knowledge and drowning hope in schemes.
• Han told Tzeentch he would teach the Primarchs and uncover what the Chaos Gods had suppressed.
• Tzeentch saw four figures behind Han, including a silver-haired woman resembling Slaanesh, and demanded to know how Han had found them.
• Han declared that miracles could not die, then accused Tzeentch of clinging to life and abandoning his positive duties out of cowardice.

Han Mingxuan struck a deal with Slaanesh over Erebus and set out for the Space Wolves' fleet to investigate their contact with the Word Bearers. He arrived as Russ prepared to challenge Lorgar to a three-part eating, drinking, and sleeping contest.

• Han Mingxuan learned that the Word Bearers had recently been in contact with several Legions and decided to visit the Space Wolves first.
• Han Mingxuan gave Slaanesh the gem she desired, and Slaanesh agreed not to interfere with his plans for Erebus.
• Han Mingxuan, Sevatar, and Lao Xin left Prospero and headed for Russ's fleet.
• Russ welcomed Han Mingxuan and said Lorgar and the Word Bearers were with the Space Wolves.
• Russ planned to make Lorgar compete in eating, drinking, and sleeping, while Lorgar sensed that something bad was coming.