Original subtitles

CHI YOU

Chi You.

It appears in various forms

in ancient Chinese mythology and texts.

In the Shan Hai Jing,

it's a monster with a human body, a bull's head, four eyes, and six arms.

In the Shuyiji,

it's a war god who devours iron and stone, with a mind as hard as metal.

Meanwhile, people around the Qi state

believe he invented the bow, sword, halberd, lance, and armor,

the five tools of war.

They worship him as the war god, or "god of military arts."

But is that the truth?

No.

In China, a king did not become a king.

They were granted the position…

by the demon god, Chi You.

QIN, HAN, ZHAO, WEI, CHU, YAN, QI

According to the Shiji, in the 28th year of the First Emperor, 219 BC,

the King of Qin declared a "Unification of the Nation"

and embarked on a tour of the East.

On his journey, he climbed Mount Tai alone.

There, he performed the Feng Shan Ceremony,

a ritual for emperors with the Mandate of Heaven.

He prayed to the god of military arts, Chi You.

But what exactly was the Feng Shan Ceremony?

What exactly happened at the summit of Mount Tai?

The one who knows the truth is

Qin Shi Huang.

And only him.

LONGEVITY

So you've finally come.

So you're the King of Qin who destroyed the six states, huh?

DEMON GOD, CHI YOU

You're awfully young, aren't you?

You've got some guts, I'll give you that.

The kings before you trembled just at the sight of me.

Fine, then.

Offer 10,000 of your people as a sacrifice and kneel before me.

Do that and I'll permit you to be the emperor of China, the king of kings.

As for a sacrifice,

I've already prepared one.

That's the spirit.

What's the meaning of this?

What's this clay doll?

The soil of Qin is delicious. Eat as much as you like.

Disgusting!

You still don't get it, do you, boy?

Without the permission of a god like me, China cannot be ruled.

It cannot be governed.

All the others before you did as I commanded.

You need only obey.

Bù hǎo.

What?

That face, that voice, that arrogance.

I'd rather die than kneel to something as hideous as you.

How dare you.

Do you realize you're talking to a god?

Calling yourself a god? How utterly shameless.

You man-eating monster.

The kings before were no kings at all.

I will defeat you and become King of the Beginning.

Don't get cocky!

You insolent fool!

DEMON GOD CHI YOU, DEFEATED

The deadly battle with the demon god, Chi You,

is said to have lasted six days.

The moment the King of Qin emerged victorious,

the history of China passed into the hands of humans.

Hǎo!

In the 28th year of the First Emperor,

the King of Qin performed the Feng Shan Ceremony at Mount Tai

and took the title of Qin Shi Huang.

END OF ACT

CHI YOU

Amazing. Just amazing!

To think he could blow away even Hades…

But what was that technique?

What even happened?

A supreme skill Qin Shi Huang mastered during his battle with Chi You.

SWORD, ARMOR, HALBERD, LANCE, BOW

The ultimate martial art, consisting of five systems.

Its name is Chi You.

It's just like it was back then.

Before I knew it, I was being thrown.

That human did the same thing to Hades.

Just what kind of technique is it?

From what I saw,

the energy from Hades' mighty strike

was redirected and sent right back to him.

It sounds simple enough,

but to pull off such a feat against Hades,

I don't know any human, or even any god, capable of doing so.

In other words, Hades was hit by his own immense strength.

Hades, or whatever your name is, still wanna fight?

Qin Shi Huang, was it?

Let me ask you one thing.

Ask away.

What does a king mean to you?

A king?

Never wavering, never bending, never relying on others,

and always standing before the people.

That is what a king is.

Hades is laughing.

I've never seen this before.

Nor have I.

So? What's so funny?

You're just so much like someone I know.

Someone like me?

That person

was more noble than any god.

The gods do not flock together.

More honest than anyone.

The gods do not plot.

And more worthy of the title "king" than anyone.

The gods do not rely on others.

My younger brother.

The king of the seas, Poseidon.

In his name,

I, his elder brother, cannot allow myself to yield

to a mere "king of men."

Holding the spear so high up like that…

What kind of stance is that?

Hades, with his mighty spear,

unleashes a single strike with that unique stance.

In other words,

this is not a thrust, but the spear's true way of fighting.

The King of Helheim, with all his might…

Persephone Titan!

He brings it down! Simply put, a crushing blow!

Chi You, Armor Form.

Force of the Phoenix!

It's coming!

This is bad! It's going to be countered with that technique again!

No, I'm not so sure.

What?

Try to withstand it, king of men!

It's no good! It's being deflected!

He's adding a backward pull to the downward crushing force

to prevent deflection forcefully!

I am

the King of Helheim.

Hades!

I will crush you!

Is he… dead?

Oh?

You're still alive?

So sticky.

I must be covered in blood.

Bù hǎo.

You still wish to fight,

king of men?

Not a problem.

Okay.

Shall we continue,

King of Helheim?

Even after taking my blow, you still smile.

That's what makes you a king!

A ferocious barrage from Hades' mighty spear!

Qin Shi Huang is utterly overwhelmed, unable to resist!

I knew it. The damage from before…

No. Most likely, Qin Shi Huang is aiming for something.

A chance

to unleash that technique, Force of the Phoenix.

Try to withstand it once more!

Hades' mighty spear!

It's crushing Qin Shi Huang once again!

See, it's no use!

That hit deep, didn't it?

It's over.

He's easing up!

Chi You, Armor Form.

Force of the Phoenix!

Qin Shi Huang counters Hades' deadly strike

with Force of the Phoenix once again!

How? How did he return my strike?

Now then…

We're far from done,

King of Helheim!

Attacking from the front?

This is my domain.

Die!

Chi You, Lance Form.

SWORD, ARMOR, HALBERD, LANCE, BOW

Talon of the Dragon of Mount Tai!

Qin Shi Huang's ferocious strike

has pierced the King of Helheim's divine body!

That's impossible!

Hades is…

Just what is that human?

He's certainly far from ordinary, isn't he?

It seems Hades has already noticed something.

Father!

Where have you been?

"Noticed something"?

I see.

Your breath, huh?

Your breath.

You exhaled a mass of air,

struck the linchpin, and disrupted the flow of my technique.

Impressive.

To think a mere mass of air could do that.

I can see it, you know.

Dwelling within you…

is a star!

He disrupted the technique with a mass of air?

What does that mean?

All living things have a flow of qi within them.

And within that flow of qi, there is always a "linchpin."

Even if the slightest force strikes that linchpin,

it can disrupt the flow of qi,

preventing one's true power from being unleashed.

Well, simply put,

even a lethal, sure-kill technique

can have its power diminished just by blowing breath at it.

However, a stationary object is one thing.

In a life-or-death duel, the position of the linchpin must shift rapidly.

You'd have to pinpoint it in an instant.

Is that even possible?

I'd love to say such a feat is impossible,

but it seems that king can actually pull it off.

It would be great to face him sometime.

-Yeah. -Absolutely!

If it were me, I'd be like, bam!

I'd be like, wham!

-I'd just go slash-slash in a flash! -These fight-crazed idiots.

The linchpin and the flow of qi, huh?

The linchpin is what Qin Shi Huang calls the "star."

He aims for the star, strikes it with a mass of air,

and disrupts the qi.

That is the secret technique of Chi You itself.

Chi You, Bow Form.

Torrent of the Tortoise.

I don't really get it,

but it's amazing!

Wait, if Qin Shi Huang could see the star,

why was he covering his eyes?

Göll.

When one gains an extraordinary ability,

they lose something in return.

That is the nature of humanity.

What's that?

Qin Shi Huang has a wound in the same spot where Hades was struck!

This is why

I hate fighting with these eyes.

It hurts.

You…

you can even feel the pain of others?

I don't know the reason, but it seems a burdensome existence.

It is precisely because I know the pain of others

that I am the greatest king!

That child was the most cursed prince in history.

In 260 BC,

during the Battle of Changping,

it is said that the Qin general Bai Qi

buried alive a great number of Zhao soldiers.

According to the Shiji, that number

was 450,000.

The following year,

Zichu, a Qin royal held hostage in Zhao, had a child with a Zhao dancing girl,

born in enemy territory.

That child was none other than

Ying Zheng, who would later become Qin Shi Huang.

However, in 257 BC, his father, Zichu, returned to Qin alone.

Abandoned by his father at just two years old,

his mother, Zhaoji, neglected Yin Zheng's upbringing.

Abandoned by his mother…

QIN

Prince Ying Zheng, the son of Prince Zichu, is in Handan.

What shall we do with him?

Ying Zheng?

I have no regard for such matters.

King Zhaoxiang of Qin invaded Zhao and laid siege to its capital, Handan.

He was abandoned even by his country.

FIVE YEARS LATER

YING ZHENG, AGE SEVEN (LATER BECOMES QIN SHI HUANG)

I have returned.

Of all things, I am stuck guarding some Qin brat!

You can say that again!

He has no value as a hostage.

If I had my way, I'd kill him myself!

I'd bury him alive.

Th…

thank you for always protecting my home.

Smirking like that… What a creepy kid!

Even after Qin's siege,

Zhao continued to treat Ying Zheng as a hostage.

Bearing the full brunt of the Zhao people's hatred,

he was kept under strict surveillance, neither allowed to fully live nor die.

Are you Ying Zheng?

Yes, I am.

Subtitle translation by: Daisy Savage