The Blood of Youth: Emperor Xiao Ce

Deep within the palace of Tianqi City in Beili, Fifth Prince Xiao Ce is an anomaly unlike any other. As the legitimate son of Emperor Mingde and the empress, he should be the darling of the court, destined to command everyone’s attention. Yet within him dwells an extraordinary soul from the twenty-first century: the youngest academician of his previous life, reborn as an infant in a world of martial arts and political intrigue, carrying knowledge and vision far beyond its time.

He knows nothing of Xiao Chu He’s wandering-hero aspirations, understands none of Xiao Yu’s sinister schemes, and has never heard of the turbulent rivalries among the four great cities of the martial world. As a clear-eyed observer, he sees through the troubles within and beyond the Beili dynasty: the princes’ struggle for the throne simmers beneath the court’s surface, factions in the martial world are deeply entrenched, and neighboring nations eye the borders hungrily. Ever since he could remember, “uniting the realm” has not been a reckless boy’s boast, but a fixed goal he pursues with careful, deliberate steps.

Using his status as the legitimate heir for cover and modern knowledge as his blade, Xiao Ce quietly lays his plans within the palace: winning over the commanders of the Imperial Guards, befriending reclusive strategists, and even secretly investigating the strength and connections of Snow Moon City and Wushuang City. While White Prince Xiao Chong upholds the way of a sovereign, Sixth Prince Xiao Chu He roams the martial world, and Red Prince Xiao Yu devotes himself to political machinations, this unconventional Fifth Prince has already cast his gaze beyond Tianqi City’s walls, toward a far wider world.

This game of strategy, begun in the palace, will ultimately draw in the swords of the martial world and the fortune of the dynasty, unfolding in his hands into a magnificent vision of a united realm.