Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao

 In Heavenly Tyrant, the sequel to Iron Widow, Wu Zetian wakes up shackled and recovering in an ornate room after the destruction of the Palace of Sages. Her body is heavily wounded and altered—her bound feet have been forcibly "corrected" through surgery, and she is under the close watch of Qin Zheng, the ancient revolutionary emperor she awakened from cryo-sleep. Zetian had hoped to use Qin Zheng as a weapon in her rebellion, but instead, he quickly reclaims political power and names himself Emperor of Huaxia. To neutralize Zetian as a threat—and possibly to legitimize her influence—he announces they are to be married, though the union is strictly political. Zetian is furious but understands that refusing him would cost her everything. Qin Zheng, though charismatic and driven by revolutionary ideals, is also dangerously authoritarian and unrelenting, believing the ends justify any means.

The alliance between Zetian, Qin Zheng, and her strategist-lover Gao Yizhi begins to fracture. Yizhi, who remains by Zetian’s side as her "Imperial Secretary," is revealed to have been manipulating Qin Zheng's health all along. He infected the emperor with a disease to make him appear weak and manageable, giving Zetian time to build her power. Though Yizhi claims it was to protect Zetian, his deception shatters the trust between them. Zetian, who once believed herself emotionally invincible, struggles with the guilt and disillusionment of loving someone who used such underhanded methods—even for her benefit.

As Zetian and Qin Zheng rebuild the empire from the ashes, they begin uncovering the horrifying truth behind their world. The gods they once worshipped are not deities at all, but hyper-advanced beings living in a space station known as the Heavenly Court. The ongoing war against the monstrous Hunduns is a carefully maintained lie. The Hunduns are not mindless invaders but native species to the planet, while humans are likely descendants of exiles cast down from the gods’ realm. The Chrysalis mecha technology, spirit metal, and the piloting system are all part of a system designed to keep humans in constant war and under divine control. Qin Zheng had attempted to rebel against the gods 221 years ago by halting tribute and demanding direct communication with them. He was struck down with a deadly virus—likely punishment from the gods—and placed himself in cryo-sleep in a last-ditch attempt to survive until a cure was found.

Zetian is devastated by the extent of the deception. She had once believed in the righteousness of her rebellion, but now realizes the entire history of Huaxia is a fabricated myth to keep the people pacified. Worse still, Qin Zheng believes the truth must remain hidden—that it would crush morale and fracture society. Zetian disagrees. She wants to tell the people everything, but she’s threatened: by Qin Zheng, by the gods, and by her own internal fears of how much more she must destroy to be free.

Meanwhile, her past continues to haunt her. Zetian is plagued by vivid nightmares of the people she’s lost or killed, especially her co-pilot Ma Xiuying and her own family. Her guilt is sharpened when she realizes she might have spared them—Qin Zheng demonstrates a technique of ejecting a smaller, humanoid subunit from the Yellow Dragon Chrysalis, something Zetian hadn’t known was possible. She could have saved her family without destroying everything. The realization guts her. She begins to question not just the regime, but herself.

Despite this, Zetian doesn’t back down. She begins recruiting more girls to become Iron Widows—training them to pilot their own Chrysalises without dying. She forms alliances with other units and spreads revolutionary ideals. Meanwhile, Qin Zheng uses classic revolutionary tactics—mass mobilization, state control, and intimidation—to tighten his grip on Huaxia. Though their goals align on paper, Zetian realizes they are fundamentally different. She fights for liberation; he fights for control.

Li Shimin, Zetian’s former lover and co-pilot, presumed dead at the end of Iron Widow, has been reborn inside the Vermilion Bird Chrysalis. He is no longer entirely human—he has become something metallic, divine, or perhaps both. His return devastates Zetian emotionally, especially when she realizes how much she was manipulated into letting him go. At the same time, Qin Zheng and Zetian make their boldest move yet: stealing and converting a massive, King-class Hundun into a starship. With this new weapon, they plan to launch an assault on the Heavenly Court itself, to destroy the gods and end their domination over humanity once and for all.

The book ends with Zetian, Qin Zheng, and their loyalists literally launching into space—leaving the revolution behind in the hands of newly empowered Iron Widows and the working class. Yizhi’s betrayal is exposed, and Zetian must race to prevent Qin Zheng from killing him outright. As the Yellow Dragon lifts off toward the stars, Zetian reflects that this revolution was never hers or Qin Zheng’s alone—it belongs to the people. What started as personal vengeance has become a war for the soul of humanity.