In the thirty-seventh year of the Great Qin calendar, as the copper crane water clock chimes in Xianyang Palace, Ying Ziyu wipes the ancient sword scabbard on his desk. Reports from spies sent by the Six States drift in through the window, but they have no idea that this seemingly idle elder brother of the King of Qin carries the Xuanyuan Sword, famed for slaying Chi You, at his waist. When Xue Nu of the Mohists arrives in Xianyang astride a mechanical Vermilion Bird, and the orbital paths of the Yin-Yang School ripple across the Wei River, this sword-bearer will ultimately unveil the secrets of the Nine Provinces buried beneath the map of Great Qin. From the debates at Jixia Academy to the swarms of mechanical beasts beyond Hangu Pass, all were aftershocks of an ancient divine war. The scar on his palm echoes the Nine Tripod emblem on the First Emperor's crown...
