Steam Knight-Errant's Odyssey

This is a world where martial arts still thrive, yet gunpowder and steam engines are beginning to claim their place on history's stage. Steel, bullets, and internal energy techniques compete for supremacy, while warships, belching steam, and legendary swordplay shine side by side. Mathematical prodigies compute sword maneuvers using mechanical difference engines, and martial arts masters study the heavens through telescopes. From the heart of the World Island to the farthest reaches of the New Continent, all of humanity charges headlong toward an uncertain future. In this age crying out for revolution, Chen Wu wants nothing more than to draw a revolver and declare to every expert he meets that the times have finally changed—only to realize his calculations were off. Everyone knows that transmigrating into the Qing dynasty without starting a rebellion is unforgivable, but he has landed squarely in the Great Shun dynasty instead. No matter—success means becoming a true grandmaster of chivalry; failure simply brands him a mad traitor. What follows is a riotous alternate timeline where he fights his own doppelgänger, mourns his own grave, young generals topple dynasties, rebels defend the nation's borders, indigenous Americans berate French colonizers, a Russian crown prince rails against Shun officials, a black monk preaches in a pure land, an Indian princess leads a revolution, Washington wields his legendary cherry-blossom saber, and Napoleon charges at the head of the Great Revolution. Now entering the era of the French Revolution, this meticulously crafted industrial-era Chinese civilization offers a wildly imaginative worldline unlike any other—a rigorously researched alternate history steeped in wuxia flair, welcoming readers to sit back and enjoy the ride.