In the final years of the Western Jin dynasty, the Rebellion of the Eight Princes plunged the land into chaos.
Beacon fires burned everywhere. Refugees swarmed like weeds, powerful families carved up the land with fortified strongholds, and human lives were worth less than dust.
A modern soul was thrust into this chaotic age, inhabiting Lin Yan, a young boy found among the corpses on a barren hillside.
With no one to rely on and mountains of corpses behind him, his only chance of survival was to grip the short blade in his hand, put down roots in the mud, and fight to stay alive.
He entered the Zhao family’s fortified stronghold, where he met a reclusive master and learned the art of combat.
He crossed paths with a scholar writing a history of the age and witnessed the tragic rise and fall of countless people amid the turmoil.
Starting out as a refugee at the bottom of society, chopping wood just to survive, he lay low, bided his time, read the board keenly, and planned every move.
He navigated the power struggles between aristocratic strongholds, feudal lords, and bands of rebel soldiers and raiders, using strategy to break deadlocks and force to secure his position.
He quietly built his strength in the depths of the chaos, then rose against the odds as the princes fought for supremacy.
He gathered refugees, built a power base, recruited the gifted, and swept away the flames of war from every corner, bringing peace to a land in turmoil.
From a young boy on a barren hillside, he crossed the mountains and rivers of a chaotic age, until at last he ascended the throne and founded an empire destined to last through the ages!
