Chapter 218-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
The next day, Tang Mingxi woke up early and opened a social platform to find #SykesDeath# and #KingOfTheDemonicDomain# prominently trending near the top, with #YeZheng# close behind.
Scrolling through the live feeds for #SykesDeath# and #KingOfTheDemonicDomain#, a constant stream of new comments appeared—"I will never accept Sykes's ending," "Please, anime team, give Sykes the ending he deserves"—mixed with sentiments like "Ye Zheng I hate you," "Ye Zheng give me back my Crown Prince," and "Old Uncle, clean yourself up and go reincarnate." From a purely objective standpoint, having the character you stan die on their own birthday was genuinely brutal. But who told her she was a pure Zheng neutral? It was enough to make Tang Mingxi laugh herself awake first thing in the morning.
She clicked into the #YeZheng# trending topic, braced for a fight—and was pleasantly surprised to find the situation was already completely under Zheng fans' control.
[Heard you're searching #YeZheng# to find out who she is? The Saintess Pope of King of the Demonic Domain, the bloodbath villain, the undisputed top of the merch world with prices in a league of their own, the nightmare of countless male characters and their stans, the one true goddess!]
[Who on earth is out there loving #YeZheng#? I can never get enough of her!]
[#YeZheng# fans looking to mutually follow—want to increase Ye Zheng content on my feed]
[Outsider passing through—this image is incredible, there's something cruelly divine about it. Requesting a beginner's guide! (Screenshot of Ye Zheng pressing her palms together to shred the dragon)]
The Ye Zheng feed also had plenty of fellow fans sharing their birthday merch displays from the day before, photos at the birthday screen, and offline freebies they'd received—a warm and lively scene all around.
Any comments daring to attack Ye Zheng by name were quickly buried, their posters' allegiances swiftly identified by Zheng fans, who then struck precisely at their weak points. Even posting a clapping emoji was enough to make the other side crack—Ye Zheng's iconic moments didn't even need to be deployed.
Because of the anime's popularity, Sykes's death and the King of the Demonic Domain plot became the biggest talking point across gaming forums, anime forums, and certain 2D video platforms overnight. Many people wrote articles and produced videos condemning the manga's latest chapter.
Try Not to Laugh Challenge! A Roundup of the Most Outrageous Deaths of Popular Manga Characters
The Pioneer of the Male-Demographic Big Female Lead—A Tribute to a Legendary Creator!
The Rival Second Male Lead Got Slapped to Death by the Villain? This Is the Most Unbeatable Episode!
How Absurd Is King of the Demonic Domain? One Second: The Flashback Arc Is Heating Up! Next Second: Oh, Turns Out It Was Just His Life Flashing Before His Eyes
These trend-chasing, sensationally titled videos shot up to the platform's trending section in no time, racking up four-digit concurrent viewers. Many people who hadn't watched the King of the Demonic Domain anime or read the manga were drawn in and clicked out of curiosity.
The main source of these people's dissatisfaction was that the actual plot development had deviated drastically from their expected trajectory.
From the very beginning of the manga, Sykes had been positioned as the foil to protagonist Percy—the rival who spurred the protagonist to grow stronger. The demon dragon and God of Hope second-generation setup had cemented the two as fated rivals, and readers had taken for granted that these two were each other's true counterparts in every meaningful sense.
In the chapters leading up to this, Sykes's plot buildup and psychological portrayal had increased dramatically, clearly heading toward a climactic Sykes arc. His arrogance in summoning a Demonic Domain right in front of the entire Empire's elite, then transforming into a demon dragon, had built reader anticipation to its peak and made everyone even more curious and excited to see how the protagonist would respond.
But all that anticipation was demolished by Ye Zheng in just a few pages of screen time.
"Look at this—wow, the Creator drew a really cool wide-angle perspective shot! I thought the protagonist was about to do something earth-shattering."
"Oh, and then? Turns out our useless protagonist was just acting as a camera for the real main character, Ye Zheng!"
"Is drawing a big female lead in a male-demographic manga not profitable enough? What did we male-demographic readers do wrong? Spending money to read the latest chapter was a thoroughly satisfying experience in eating garbage."
"I'm never giving this kind of big-female-lead manga any attention or engagement ever again. Any man still reading this either has a garbage-eating fetish or is just plain masochistic!"
Li Yixin opened the latest video from a certain 2D content creator with over a million followers, which was currently trending on the platform. He tore into King of the Demonic Domain's latest chapter mercilessly. Many of his points she couldn't agree with at all, but thinking carefully, there was a strangely twisted kind of logic to them.
Anyone who had read the manga knew that Ye Zheng actually didn't have that many plot scenes. She was barely present in the early chapters, and while she had more plot bombshells in the later chapters, her actual characterization was far less developed than the protagonist team's or Sykes's. The exciting fight panels in the new chapter were concentrated on Percy and Sykes—Ye Zheng only had a few simple panels.
In fact, they could barely find any internal monologue or psychological portrayal of Ye Zheng in the manga at all.
So early readers—herself included—had unconsciously projected stereotypes onto Ye Zheng, and hadn't noticed the inconsistencies around Chaomei.
The jaw-dropping reveal wasn't because it was impossible for Ye Zheng and Chaomei to be the same person. The real reason was that these two characters shattered readers' expectations and upended their understanding.
Last night, watching Ye Zheng kill Sykes, Li Yixin hadn't felt the confusion or disbelief of the Chaomei unmasking—she had only felt the impact of Ye Zheng's sheer character magnetism.
Li Yixin wasn't sure if the Creator had intentionally portrayed Ye Zheng this way, but the minimalist depiction actually made Ye Zheng feel all the more mysteriously powerful. Just like the effect of the new chapter—Ye Zheng didn't need grand, elaborate buildup. With a single gesture, she dismantled the Empire's most powerful ability user.
Li Yixin sighed. But she still hoped Ye Zheng would get more plot time. So many of the story's bombshells revolved around Ye Zheng—if they were actually drawn out, they would surely be spectacular.
Those people using "big female lead" and "female-lead manga" as insults—but they genuinely wished a hot-blooded action manga with Ye Zheng as the protagonist existed. Li Yixin finally understood a little of Tang Mingxi's mindset. Watching those seemingly cool but formulaically identical male characters play out the same hero story that had been told hundreds of thousands of times before really wasn't that interesting.
Ye Zheng had so little psychological portrayal and so few detailed character moments, yet she resonated with them far more deeply than those male characters who received pages and pages of devoted attention.
[The greatness of Zheng-god needs no words!] [hot]
[#1: The greatness of Zheng-god needs no words!]
[#2: This is the first time stanning a female character has felt this satisfying. It's like waking up one day to find every male character's popularity has dropped by ten thousand points overnight.]
[#3: This is the first time I've had such a visceral sense of "the real thing elevating everything around it"... Killing Sykes so casually. I wouldn't have dared dream this even in my sleep.]
[#4: Zheng-god single-handedly turned Sykes's emotional flashback arc into his life flashing before his eyes. So cool I'm going insane.]
[#5: With this comment I commemorate the departed Lower District Duo combination. Amen.]
[#6: From now on, whenever I hear "rivals are rivals after all," I'll spend half a second reminiscing about the unpleasant times I shared with Sykes stans, Percy×Sykes shippers, and Sykes×Ye Zheng shippers (covering mouth to laugh emoji)]
[#7: Zheng moms above, don't celebrate too early—someone has already fallen into a twisted obsession with Ye Zheng.]
[#8: There were never any Ye Zheng antis in this world—only Zheng fans and warped Zheng fans, who are even more committed than us to turning King of the Demonic Domain into a hot-blooded big-female-lead manga.]
[#9: I'm dying laughing—which shameless Zheng fan created the trending tag #3.5SykesDeath#, right below #3.5SykesBirthday#?]
[#10: Zheng fans and Ye Zheng alike—both armed with virtue and righteousness.]
[#11: I was originally worried about a certain hyper-masculine male character flying up the charts thanks to the anime. My girl just made him physically fly instead. This is the Zheng-emperor's power!]
[#12: Ye Zheng's fan count has been rising so fast these past two days. Sykes's only positive contribution to this manga was serving as a stepping stone for our Zheng to break into the mainstream.]
[#13: Who said Sykes's death was rushed? This man's death was so meaningful.]
...
[#283: But I genuinely think the plot arrangement feels abrupt. Not saying anything against Ye Zheng, but don't you think Old Uncle is setting this character up to fail? Suddenly making her strong enough to one-shot Sykes makes no sense...]
[#284: So what.]
[#285: "Setting her up to fail"—anyone with eyes can see it's damage control. Do you know how much great plot this cuts out for Ye Zheng?]
[#286: Those with doubts, please head to the plot analysis thread next door. Ye Zheng isn't the protagonist after all—her scheming all happens off-panel. But if you look carefully, you can find the clues. It's not a deus ex machina. Even if the plot execution has issues, that's Old Uncle's fault.]
The hottest post floating at the top of the forum was a new plot analysis thread, with a title provocative enough to start arguments and draw eyeballs. Its reply count had skyrocketed in a short time.
[Ye Zheng—on what grounds did she one-shot Sykes?] [hot]
[#1: Ye Zheng—on what grounds did she one-shot Sykes?]
[#2: I think this is the most puzzling question for many people after recovering from the shock of Ye Zheng shredding Sykes. OP here—I reread the recent chapters carefully, and I dare say: Ye Zheng one-shotting Sykes is not strange at all, whether in terms of her abilities or her motivations.]
[#3: First, before Sykes had awakened his memories, Ye Zheng proactively invited Sykes to her coming-of-age ceremony. From that point on, Ye Zheng's plan regarding Sykes had already begun. Back then, many people guessed at Ye Zheng's purpose—win Sykes over? Use him? But no one expected she intended to kill him.]
[#4: Ye Zheng sent Wu Shu to impersonate the Emperor's contact for the protagonist team. Not only was Sykes within her plan, she had a complete grasp of the protagonist team's movements too. If it weren't for the fact that she looked genuinely surprised and grave when she saw Sykes barge directly into the banquet hall, I'd suspect Sykes's rampage was also part of her plan (not ruling it out).]
[#5: Ye Zheng absolutely has the strategic capability to calculate Sykes's death. Add to that her successful ascension as Pope, and the forces she can mobilize have risen to another level entirely.]
[#6: OP, I agree that Ye Zheng could have schemed Sykes to death. But in the manga, Ye Zheng one-shotted Sykes in an instant—and that was the most powerful ability user in his demon dragon form.]
[#7: Right. An A-rank ability user one-shotting a triple-S-rank. This plot is laughable.]
[#8: Hold on—is it possible that what you're calling an effortless one-shot was actually a single decisive strike that Ye Zheng had been planning for a long time?]
[#9: Whoever is calling Ye Zheng an A-rank ability user, please go read the side stories. Ye Zheng has always been hiding her true ability rank. Her primary ability is dual-S-rank.]
[#10: But triple-S-rank is one-shot territory. Ye Zheng killing above her weight class this easily is still absurd.]
[#11: OP, I'm making everyone go reread the manga. Think about how Wen Jian died. What did Percy see at the Papal Palace? Ye Zheng obtained a very important ability at the Pope's succession ceremony—an ability passed down through generations of Popes. An ability of that caliber is absolutely triple-S-rank. Ye Zheng's combat power is already next level.]
[#12: My 5S Ye Zheng!! The true peak of humanity.]
[#13: Please see OP's attached image—when Percy saw the dragon form of Sykes, he was being restrained by something like spider silk. After Sykes broke free, there was a close-up of his expression, and he was clearly somewhat dazed. At that point, Sykes had very likely already taken severe damage—the Creator just didn't draw it. (Image attached)]
[#14: I give up. Why does Old Rat never draw anything?]
[#15: Also, did anyone notice that when Percy's group snuck into the Imperial Palace and ran into Ye Zheng, her expression and condition didn't look like someone who had lost to Sykes and fled. She was also genuinely surprised when she heard commotion from deep in the palace.]
[#16: Come to think of it, it's very possible Ye Zheng had already defeated Sykes in the banquet hall, and then Sykes triggered his phase-two demon dragon form?]
[#17: I'm in awe. How are you all so good at analysis?]
[#18: Listening to OP's breakdown—Ye Zheng leveraged her Pope status for long-term planning + dual-S-rank and triple-S-rank abilities + Percy and the Divine Sword's assist. Ye Zheng finishing off a heavily damaged Sykes is indeed not a mindless one-shot. The Creator just omitted too much, making it look unreasonable at first glance. That's Old Uncle's fault.]
[#19: Ye Zheng's assists were very likely not limited to Percy and the Divine Sword. Has no one else noticed Bai Muqing in the corner of the banquet hall? And Ye Zheng as Pope has her own Royal Knight Order—she could absolutely have taken on Sykes with a full team.]
[#20: Oh, I'm not the only one who noticed that white cutie in the corner. Don't forget—Ye Zheng cementing her status as the Chosen One also had this woman's assist.]
[#21: Let us leave a mysterious number...]
[#22: Ye Zheng had been planning and scheming to kill Sykes from early on—and she did it on his birthday. I find this even harder to accept. This is too cruel to Sykes. Sykes never harmed or obstructed Ye Zheng at all!]
[#23: If killing Sykes because he became a demon dragon is the justification, that reason is completely valid—which is why I won't criticize Percy. But Ye Zheng wasn't doing it to stop the demon dragon. She even contributed to Sykes's descent into darkness...]
[#23: First, Ye Zheng is a villain. Second, Ye Zheng is a villain. And finally—did Sykes need Ye Zheng's help to go dark? He was never anything but dark. Don't let his milk-dragon-level IQ make you forget he's actually a little black dragon.]
[#24: Whatever happened to the clash at the peak of villainy? Don't go back on it just because Ye Zheng won.]
[#25: Ye Zheng—the villain among villains, the woman among women!]
[#26: You all call it cruel, but I think this is actually the best release for Sykes. From his flashbacks, his tendencies toward self-destruction and destroying others were both severe. Ye Zheng ending his life at the moment he became a demon dragon was the best possible arrangement.]
[#27: Exactly. The last thing Ye Zheng said to Sykes was "This is the only redemption I can give you"—she fulfilled the promise she once made to him!]
[#28: Actually, Ye Zheng's biggest behavioral motivation is "redemption." Anyone who can taste that won't find her cruel at all—they'll find her magnificent.]
[#29: Zheng fans, have some shame. How can you call killing Sykes "saving" Sykes?]
[#30: What else then—let Sykes rampage and destroy everything, and wait for Percy to slowly grow strong enough to stop him?]
[#31: Thinking about all the people unhappy that Ye Zheng killed Sykes is hilarious. Ye Zheng killed his demon dragon son right in front of his Emperor father—she's just that brazen. So what?]
...
[#482: Sykes is dead. The manga and anime can both wait to die together. Who would watch it if not for Sykes?]
[#483: Holding onto a sliver of hope—all I know is that Ye Zheng's popularity has been exploding these past two days. Birthday screens have gone up in over a dozen cities. The anime and manga trending metrics are also spiking.]
[#484: The overall feel is a bit odd—the early and late chapters feel like different styles. But you can't say this manga isn't compelling. At least I'm still very curious about what Ye Zheng will do next, and how Percy could possibly deal with her.]
[#485: A weekly-updated, unpredictable stage of fate...]
[#486: Actually, all the inconsistencies in this manga would be solved if Ye Zheng were the protagonist. Growth arc, hot-blooded moments, satisfying payoffs—a complete win.]
[#487: I've been saying it—The Ye Zheng Chronicles is the only true destination for this manga.]
[#488: Please, just let me read one chapter of The Ye Zheng Chronicles. My fellow fans can do anything!]
...
Contrary to Zheng fans' expectations, the heat from Sykes's death actually gave Ye Zheng a massive surge in mainstream visibility.
Thanks to various marketing accounts and internet entertainers spinning the story and adding their own embellishments, Sykes's death had spread among casual observers as him being absurdly slapped to death by Ye Zheng in one hit. The screenshot of Ye Zheng with her palms pressed together also went viral, paired with the line "I heard you were strong?" It appeared in comment sections everywhere and became a popular running joke.
For King of the Demonic Domain's readers, the biggest impact of this whole event was that the forum would never again argue about or question Ye Zheng's power or her status as the number one villain.
No one would ever again see her as a barely-there female lead or a scene-stealing supporting character. Ye Zheng's brilliance and shadow fell equally over everyone.
Author's Note
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