Lin Fan, a modern university student majoring in mathematics, dies unexpectedly while studying ancient divination texts. He is reborn as Li Yan, an orphan in the Tang dynasty during the Zhenguan era, and becomes the personal disciple of the masters of the occult, Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng. Armed with modern scientific knowledge and a limited ability to foresee history, he becomes a singular figure moving between the imperial court and the martial world.
From calculations at the Imperial Observatory to journeys along dragon veins, from breaking palace curses to fighting the secret arts of the Western Regions, Li Yan innovates a system of occult learning through the "mathematics of yin and yang" and repeatedly averts disaster. He navigates the crown prince's attempted coup, clashes destinies with the young Wu Meiniang, and even brings the occult arts of the Central Plains together with foreign secret arts during the western campaign. But as he rises to become the Imperial Preceptor, he must face the cruelest choice of all: foreseeing the An Lushan Rebellion yet constrained by the secrets of Heaven, how can he, with a modern person's conscience, protect the fate of the Tang dynasty?
This is a collision between scientific thinking and millennia-old occult arts, and a legend about a transmigrator safeguarding an age of prosperity amid the currents of history. Li Yan ultimately becomes one of the secret creators of the Tui Bei Tu. His teachings, blending the ancient and modern, influence the world for a thousand years, while his name remains hidden behind the splendor of the High Tang, until it becomes an eternal legend.
(The entire series explores the interplay between traditional divination and modern science, and the difficult choices between destiny and human action. Across its sweeping 1.5-million-word narrative, it paints a magnificent portrait of occult arts in the Tang dynasty.)
The more you read this book, the more interesting it becomes. You must read it to the end 🥰