
by LanLingMarksman
This is a Trilogy. Book 1 is complete and Book 2 starts serialization Jan 26th.WARNING: Book 2 and three will be from different POVs vs Book 1. The following Synopsis is ONLY for Book 1. Synopsis: ==================== He woke up in the wrong millennium. A 21st-century man is stranded in the heart of the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Rulin's first battle is for survival. It's a world of deadly conspiracies and martial masters who can kill with a single touch and he starts with no family, no identity, and no Qi at all. Using his foundation of modern knowledge and hobbies and entering into the service of a shadowy minister, Rulin must use his wits not just to survive, but to protect an innocent family and unravel a treasonous plot that reaches the throne itself, he must walk a path of shadows and steel, adopting the secret identity of the Black Wind Sword. Armed with forbidden knowledge and the mind of an engineer, he will craft new weapons, forge unorthodox alliances, and overcome the most powerful men in the empire. But as he delves deeper into this world of ancient power, the world pushes back. Can a modern man reshape an gilded empire, or will he become just another ghost in the city of smoke and fire?What to Expect==================== - Slow Burn: The story takes a bit to get going and for all the core characters to be introduced. However, in my humble opinion, its well worth the wait. - Historical Fantasy: The history of the world up until the protagonist arrives is identical to real world history. Some liberties were taken with the characterization of historical figures. Fair warning its not entirely historical, since Qi does exist, but is integrated such that it didn't change the flow of history. -Â Character Driven Story: The protagonist doesn't wait for the plot to happen; he makes it happen. - Multiple Progression Path: Tech, Ranks, Low Qi Cultivation, Martial Arts, and Empire Building. - Smart/Intelligent/Clever Protagonist: Our protagonist is a very well adjusted engineer who doesn't solve every problem with brute force or engineering. - Engineering/Crafting/Technology Gap: The introduction of more modern technology occurs across several fields. - Transmigration/Time Travel/Iseikai: Its historical transmigration, but there's also Qi empowered martial artists. - No System/No Cheats/No LitRPG: There are no RPG elements and the protagonist starts without unique powers outside of his knowledge and modern upbringing. - Secret Identity/Political Intrigue: There's action, but much of the story also revolves around politics and there are many disguises. - No Harem/Thoughtful Romance: There's no harem elements here. Your definition of romance may vary here too. A Strong Found Family Core. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++AI was used for technical editing, to help with research and translation, cover generation, and some filler text/writing advice (although I promise to commission an artist once I can afford it). I will also share the writing process in bonus chapters once I think the process is well polished.
| # | Title | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Act 1: Chapter 1: Seamlessly Systemless | 0 |
| 2 | Chapter 2: Not Exactly A Peaceful Setting | 0 |
| 3 | Chapter 3: Being Followed | 0 |
| 4 | Chapter 4: The Job Interview | 0 |
| 5 | Chapter 5: Writing Noodles | 0 |
| 6 | Chapter 6: Mission Briefing | 0 |
| 7 | Chapter 7: Starting a Road Trip | 0 |
| 8 | Chapter 8: Paradigm Shift 1 | 0 |
| 9 | Chapter 9: Powerless | 0 |
| 10 | Chapter 10: The Face of Corruption | 0 |
| 11 | Chapter 11: Black and Silver | 0 |
| 12 | Chapter 12: A Better Way Forward | 0 |
| 13 | (Bonus Story) The Last Day in LuoYang | 0 |
| 14 | Act 2: Chapter 13: The Return Trip | 0 |
| 15 | Chapter 14: Embers | 0 |
| 16 | Chapter 15: The Fugitive | 0 |
| 17 | (Bonus) Vocabulary and Organisation | 0 |
| 18 | Chapter 16: Hidden Identities | 0 |
| 19 | Chapter 17: Base of Operations | 0 |
| 20 | Chapter 18: Day by Day | 0 |
| 21 | Chapter 19: Proof in Fire | 0 |
| 22 | Chapter 20: The Jade Grotto | 0 |
| 23 | Chapter 21: The Dancer's Court | 0 |
| 24 | Chapter 22: Revelations | 0 |
| 25 | Chapter 23: The Next Steps | 0 |
| 26 | Chapter 24: Breakthroughs | 0 |
| 27 | Chapter 25: Hot Poker | 0 |
| 28 | Chapter 26: Not Just a Sword | 0 |
| 29 | (Bonus Story) First Moons in Chang'an | 0 |
| 30 | Chapter 27: The Peony Teahouse | 0 |
| 31 | Chapter 28: Capture Mission | 0 |
| 32 | Chapter 29: Shadowless Hand Gao | 0 |
| 33 | Chapter 30: The Thread | 0 |
| 34 | Chapter 31: Steel, Snow, and Fox Fur | 0 |
| 35 | Chapter 32: Salt and Shot | 0 |
| 36 | Chapter 33: Downtime Tea | 0 |
| 37 | Chapter 34: Groundwork | 0 |
| 38 | Chapter 35: A Shadow against the moon | 0 |
| 39 | Act 3: Chapter 36: Waiting | 0 |
| 40 | Chapter 37: Court of Justice | 0 |
| 41 | Chapter 38: Shedding a Tail | 0 |
| 42 | Chapter 39: Mediation over Tea | 0 |
| 43 | Chapter 40: Chen Huarong | 0 |
| 44 | Chapter 41: Dating Advice | 0 |
| 45 | Chapter 42: Trapped | 0 |
| 46 | Chapter 43: Waking Nightmare | 0 |
| 47 | Chapter 44: Golden Dao | 0 |
| 48 | Chapter 45: Outlawed | 0 |
| 49 | Chapter 46: Not my world | 0 |
| 50 | Chapter 47: Iron over Steel | 0 |
| 51 | Chapter 48: The Price of Freedom | 0 |
| 52 | Chapter 49: The Chimera Church | 0 |
| 53 | Chapter 50: Flow Like Water | 0 |
| 54 | Chapter 51: Five to One | 0 |
| 55 | Chapter 52: Filling A Ditch | 0 |
| 56 | Chapter 53: The Minister's Daughter | 0 |
| 57 | Chapter 54: Two Paths | 0 |
| 58 | Chapter 55: The Northern Elite | 0 |
| 59 | Chapter 56: The Battle of SongJiaTun | 0 |
| 60 | Chapter 57: Aftermath | 0 |
| 61 | Chapter 58: Epilogue | 0 |
| 62 | (Bonus Story) For The Emperor | 0 |
| 63 | (Bonus Story) Black and White | 0 |
| 64 | (Bonus Chapter) Layla's Day Off | 0 |
| 65 | (Bonus) AnLuShan Rebellion Refresher | 0 |
| 66 | Chapter 1: The Righteous Army | 0 |
| 67 | Chapter 2: To Chang'an | 0 |
| 68 | Chapter 3: Tigers and Wolves | 0 |
| 69 | Chapter 4: Meteor Strike | 0 |
| 70 | Chapter 5: The Heaven's Weep | 0 |
| 71 | Chapter 6: Paper Doesn't Bleed | 0 |
| 72 | (Zhang) Bonus Chapter 1 Divine Strategy | 0 |
| 73 | (Zhang) Bonus Chapter 2: The Weight of Silver | 0 |
| 74 | Chapter 7: Forgive Me, Luoyang | 0 |
| 75 | Chapter 8: What We Have Become | 0 |
| 76 | Chapter 9: Paradigm Shift 2 | 0 |
| 77 | Chapter 10: Common Cause | 0 |
| 78 | Chapter 11: The Wrong Way | 0 |
| 79 | Chapter 12: Two Nuns | 0 |
| 80 | Chapter 13: Edge Bite | 0 |
| 81 | Chapter 14: Dawn Watch | 0 |
| 82 | Chapter 15: QingTian Village | 0 |
| 83 | Chapter 16: Xie QingYun | 0 |
| 84 | Chapter 17: Downrange | 0 |
| 85 | Chapter 18: Call me Cui BoFeng | 0 |
| 86 | Chapter 19: The River Can Be Turned | 0 |
| 87 | Chapter 20: The Narrow Road | 0 |
| 88 | Chapter 21: FanZei | 0 |
| 89 | Chapter 22: Guo ShiShu | 0 |
| 90 | Chapter 23: Men of Straw | 0 |
| 91 | Chapter 24: Against the Wall | 0 |
| 92 | Chapter 25: Ku | 0 |
| 93 | Chapter 26: Northward and wine again. | 0 |
| 94 | Chapter 27: Eternal Treasure | 0 |
| 95 | Chapter 28: Gold Sand | 0 |
| 96 | Chapter 29 The Return of the Black Wind Sword | 0 |
| 97 | Chapter 30: The Temple of Doom | 0 |
| 98 | Chapter 31: Nine Strikes | 0 |
| 99 | Chapter 32: Daemons and Buddhas | 0 |
| 100 | Chapter 33: Where the River flows | 0 |
| 101 | Chapter 34: Future Poison | 0 |
| 102 | Chapter 35: Bitter Medicine | 0 |
| 103 | Chapter 36: Shadow Mountains | 0 |
| 104 | Chapter 37: Patricide | 0 |
| 105 | Chapter 38: The Ghost of LuoYang | 0 |
| 106 | Chapter 39: The Treasonous | 0 |
| 107 | Chapter 40: Exterminate Three Clans | 0 |