“The Changmang Canju awaits an empty seat — in a single gathering of clouds, one shall seize the Zhizun!”
Atop Changmang Shan, the highest peak of Dong Chao and known as Wang Shan, a legendary figure of great renown left behind a game of weiqi played only halfway through. Beside the board, they inscribed these very words — and this was during a time when the nations of Dong Chao warred endlessly against one another, and the foundation of imperial rule trembled like a flame in the wind.
A woman praised as “Suyi Xueyue — of peerless grace and magnificence” was, by contrast, utterly unbridled in word and deed, free-spirited as the wind itself. Such a person — one whom the martial world regarded with both awe and admiration — how was she to remain “unrestrained as the wind” in that wounded and chaotic age?
A man described as “Xuanyi Moyue” — the very opposite of “Suyi Xueyue” — carried himself with dignified nobility and a benevolent heart, conducting himself with acts of compassion at every turn. Such a person — one before whom the entire martial world bowed in reverence and submission — what manner of “benevolent deeds” was he to perform in that turbulent age when the hearts of men were thrown into upheaval?
A Shizi of noble birth from a vassal kingdom — his martial arts unmatched beneath the heavens, his bearing proud and towering, his ambitions set upon the entire realm. This man, whom historians would later assess as possessing the “dominant aura of a true king” — how was he to forge his conquest and dominion in that age of unceasing warfare?
A man celebrated across the realm in the saying “Through wind and rain across a thousand mountains, Yu walks alone — the world turns its heart toward him and sighs at what cannot be” — pure and transcendent, with a heart of boundless compassion. He was a member of the Yu Family, revered by all as a Tianren. In that age of suffering where the lives of the common people were trampled underfoot, how was he to remain “compassionate and untethered from the mortal world”?
A beautiful and noble princess of a vassal kingdom — possessed of a face that could topple nations, and beyond that, a mind of extraordinary cunning and perception. In the deep and shadowed inner palace, where intrigue crushed and ground all beneath it, how was she to calculate and maneuver her way to claim the position of “supreme among women”?
A delicate princess renowned throughout the realm for her scholarly brilliance and who built her fame through a cavalry she founded by her own martial prowess — when her nation faced calamity and disaster, she drew her sword and rose. Yet in that fractured and contentious age of upheaval, how could she possibly defend her homeland and protect the common people?
A Shizi who remained secluded within the deep palace yet drew the sidelong glances of heroes from across the realm — he was enigmatic and unfathomable, yet deeply beloved and supported by the people of his nation. In that age when powerful lords competed to seize the deer, would he remain a recluse who kept to himself, or would he surge upward from the depths?
Between family and nation — can there ever truly be conflict?
Between love and hatred — how does one draw a clear line?
Between grace and enmity — with what does one repay each?
Between beauty and the realm — which weighs heavier, which lighter?
Can those two moons unite and shine in brilliant harmony?
Can those kings — king and king — walk forward in unity and step as one?
Can the conqueror and the Tianren each obtain what they most desire?
In an age of chaos, extraordinary talents emerge in abundance — yet the weiqi board atop Changmang Shan has room for only two players, and to hold dominion over all beneath the heavens, only one Zhizun may stand.