Rites have crumbled. Seven kingdoms stand divided. Iron and fire forge an era of unmatched cruelty — and unmatched freedom.
You will choose a historical figure whose name is etched in the annals of history, and relive their entire life. Behind every name lies a destiny already written. More legendary figures will join in future updates.
You already know their stories — triumph or ruin, glory or oblivion. But this time, you stand at every crossroads of their life and make the choice yourself. Follow the path recorded in history, or forge one that never existed? Redeem a tragedy that has haunted readers for millennia, or push them into an even darker fate — the choice is yours.
Four Main Careers, Two Side Vocations, Dozens of Endings
Four main career paths, each with a complete progression system, multiple tiers of advancement, and radically different life endings:
Statesman — The court is your arena; the realm is the prize. Start as a humble retainer serving a noble lord. Rise through the ranks as a loyal minister — Senior Minister, enfeoffed lord, pillar of the state. Or harbor greater ambitions: plot a coup, seize a province, and claim the throne of the Son of Heaven to unite all under your rule. Loyal subject or ruthless usurper — the line is thinner than you think.
Traveling Scholar — Your weapon is philosophy; your battlefield is the mind. Choose from four great schools of thought — Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, or the School of Names. Rise from disciple to the foremost master of your school. Enter the service of a kingdom and reshape its policies through ideology. Win the Grand Debate three times to become the most formidable rhetorician alive. Or spread your teachings across the realm, with disciples in every corner of the land.
Merchant — Gold and goods are your weapons to reshape the world. Travel the trade routes between kingdoms, buy low and sell high, and rise from peddler to the greatest merchant under heaven. Or become a merchant of the court, bankrolling a king's conquest of all rivals.
Swordsman — Shape the world through personal prowess. Master the fist, sword, blade, hammer, halberd, spear, bow, or crossbow. Win the Grand Tournament three times to become the undisputed champion. Achieve a hundred consecutive victories with a single weapon to claim the title of the greatest in that art. Open a martial academy and train disciples across the land. Or walk the path of the assassin — lurk in the empire's shadow and alter the fate of nations with a single strike.
Regardless of which main career you choose, you can also pursue two side vocations:
Physician — Study the ancient healing arts, gather herbs, and brew legendary medicines. Open a clinic to save lives, or use your medical skills to forge connections with the powerful and the noble. A healer's compassion is its own kind of power in a world at war.
Swordsmith — Master the art of metallurgy and forging. Seek rare ores across the land and craft the five legendary swords — Zhanlu, Chunjun, Shengxie, Yuchang, and Juque. A masterwork blade can make a swordsman invincible — or serve as a tribute to open the gates of kings.
Three Battlefields, Three Games of Strategy
Conflict in the Warring States extends far beyond the clash of armies. Three fully independent combat systems, each driven by deck-building, offer three fundamentally different forms of confrontation:
Martial Duels — Deck-building driven melee combat. Collect skill cards across eight weapon schools — fist, sword, blade, spear, halberd, hammer, bow, and crossbow. Build your combat deck, read the rhythm of offense and defense, find the opening, and strike. The core combat system for swordsmen and warriors.
Debate Battles — Deck-building driven rhetorical warfare. Collect skill cards from seven schools of thought — Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, the School of Names, Mohism, Yin-Yang, and Historiography. Cite the classics, dismantle arguments, and break your opponent's will without drawing a weapon. The core combat system for scholars and ministers.
Grand Warfare — Large-scale military campaigns fought directly on the world map. Collect tactical cards for four troop types — cavalry, infantry, halberdiers, and archers. Deploy formations, manage supply lines, and seize cities to expand your domain. The core combat system for the statesman's path to supremacy.
The three systems are independent yet intertwined — you can defeat a political rival in a debate at court, or crush him with an army outside the city walls.
Free-form Growth with No "Optimal Build"
Five core attributes — Command, Valor, Intellect, Governance, and Charisma. Eighteen skills including Strategy, Cavalry, Hand-to-Hand, Bladework, Archery, Rhetoric, Arithmetic, Stealth, and Cunning. Hundreds of skill cards across three combat systems. Your growth path is entirely in your hands.
Push your eloquence to its peak and dominate the Grand Debate. Hone your swordsmanship to perfection and reshape nations as an assassin. Rise from merchant to the most powerful chancellor in the land. Or develop broadly — govern by day, forge swords and brew medicine by night — and carve out a life that no history book has ever recorded.
No fixed skill trees. No single optimal path. Follow whatever interests you.
A Living Warring States World
We have reconstructed the land of ancient China based on historical sources. Over 200 cities, fortresses, river crossings, and villages are seamlessly connected — from the Jixia Academy of Qi where a hundred schools of thought contend, to the iron-clad Hangu Pass of Qin; from the ritual splendor of Ying, capital of Chu, to the mournful banks of the Yi River in Yan. Cities vary in scale, and values such as population, defenses, farmland, and mines shift dynamically with war and governance.
Nearly a thousand historical figures inhabit this world, each with their own personality, preferences, and life trajectory. Some are obsessed with fine swords; some never put down their books; some live for wine; some shun all company. They are not NPCs waiting to be triggered — they have their own goals and react to shifting circumstances. Build rapport through gifts, sparring, and shared drinks. Deepen bonds through recruitment, sworn brotherhood, or marriage. Every interaction weaves a web of relationships unique to your playthrough.
Your Choices Rewrite History
This is not a story with a predetermined ending. Every decision you make genuinely changes the course of this world.
Events fall into four categories: pivotal historical events that alter the fate of nations and key figures; allusion events inspired by famous idioms and parables; character events that enrich your personal journey; and commissions picked up at taverns and inns. At every critical juncture of a historical figure's destiny, you choose — follow the path the history books recorded, redeem a tragedy that has echoed through the ages, or stride toward a future that never existed and rewrite the ending of the entire Warring States era.
The one who holds the pen — is you.
