Chapter 246-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
[The divine loves the world.]
[…And I love you.]
In the comic, Percy listened to the whisper in his ears, his mind nearly blank, scalp tingling.
Outside the comic, readers stared unblinking at their screens. The silent text seemed to find a voice—a faint, tender murmur brushing past the ear like wind, so soft it felt like a hallucination.
Li Yixin touched her ear and couldn't help but laugh. Of course it was her imagination.
The comic updated right on schedule. Li Yixin had finished her evening study session and come home, burrowing into her blankets late at night to read the new chapter on her phone.
Following King of the Demonic Domain no longer seemed to be about how gripping the plot was. She had simply gotten into the habit of checking in on Ye Zheng—an injection of spiritual fuel for her exhausting, high-pressure life.
In the new chapter, Percy's trio underwent training under General Bai Yi. Then news broke of The Disciples' uprising in the West District, and the Royal Family and Sei Curia jointly assembled a punitive force, with Percy's group joining the ranks.
The battle was broadcast live across the Empire. The outwardly imposing but hollow force proved no match for Sierra. At the critical moment, Percy turned the tide and successfully halted Sierra's assault.
This chapter had every element fans of action manga loved: training arcs, spectacular large-scale combat, and a hero rising to the occasion under the nation's gaze—all rendered with dynamic, powerful artwork that was as thrilling as it was nerve-racking.
When the dust cleared and Percy walked out through the gate, the comic's comment section hit a small peak.
[The Creator finally remembered who the protagonist is. Congratulations!]
[This chapter brought back why I started reading this dumpster fire of a comic…]
[I hereby declare: Emperor Percy has returned to the throne!]
[So satisfying—let me star in the next episode.]
[Bro, how did they manage to draw my daily life?]
But when Percy discovered white bones in the cracked earth, when whispers suddenly filled his ears, and when the entire Empire plunged into chaos and fervor over Ye Zheng's words—the triumphant wind died. A bucket of cold water came crashing down, dousing the elation both inside and outside the comic.
[The Aston Royal Family exploited us—forced us to bear the threat of Demonic Domains while they sat high upon their throne, reaping the resources those Domains produced.]
[I make this promise as Pope…]
[I make this promise in the name of Ye Zheng…]
[…And I love you.]
Throughout the entire chapter, Ye Zheng never once appeared on-panel. No close-up of her expression. No grand spectacle to frame her. Not even a blurry silhouette.
Only those silent words at the end—each one worth its weight in gold—effortlessly upending the tone of everything that came before, as though the protagonist's electrifying highlight had been nothing more than a prelude to her entrance…
No—Ye Zheng didn't even need to appear in person. Through her words and prestige alone, she unleashed yet another tidal wave bearing the name "Ye Zheng"!
[Incredible. King of the Demonic Domain is hands down my power-fantasy comic of the year!] [hot]
[#1: Incredible. King of the Demonic Domain is hands down my power-fantasy comic of the year!]
[#2: Kid, are you being sarcastic or serious?]
[#3: King of the Demonic Domain isn't, but The Chronicles of Ye Zheng sure is.]
[#4: I've been in therapy as a protagonist-only stan, but the moment I started treating Ye Zheng as the MC, everything cleared right up…]
[#5: I didn't really get this chapter. Does it matter where Dragon Bone is buried? Why does everyone in the comic just blindly believe Ye Zheng?]
[#6: Go home, child. Just go home.]
[#7: The Dragon Bone twist caught me off guard. As a former Percy stan, the biggest motivation driving Cloud-Soaring Squad during the Ability Tournament was winning Dragon Bone—and they were being played by the Emperor the whole time?]
[#8: The Emperor might not have known either. Dragon Bone was buried five hundred years ago—what does the current Emperor have to do with it?]
[#9: The moment the Emperor gets drawn looking halfway decent, someone's already kissing up. Anyone who's targeting Ye Zheng can't be a good person.]
[#10: Floor 9 has it completely backwards! Who's the actual villain of this comic?]
[#11: Honestly, the Emperor is really suspicious. He seems to know a lot and loves being cryptic. He's probably using Percy too.]
[#12: If he IS using him, that's even more compelling… even more shippable…]
[#13: Please spare the elderly… spare my eyes…]
[#14: The Emperor stan camp seems to have been reincarnated from the Kiran stans. The juicy long-form ship fic is back, and I've had to mute the KotDD tag again.]
[#15: I don't even want to talk to anyone who isn't a Zheng stan anymore. Do the Zheng antis have ANY idea how good we're eating?]
[#16: Lady Zheng, Lady Zheng—we will follow you forever…]
…
[#102: Who understands the weight of "I love you"? The Steam Empire fandom rises again!]
[#103: The ultimate female-lead power fantasy. This sapiosexual has been won over. Her Holiness the Pope doesn't even need to show her face to drive me insane with how cool she is.]
[#104: The most valid sapiosexual moment ever.]
[#105: The moment this woman speaks, the Steam Empire fan-submission inbox is going to explode overnight.]
[#106: By the way, how come the Percy stans haven't raided this thread? The comic comments seemed full of them.]
[#107: Probably busy deleting their "Emperor Percy has returned" comments lol]
[#108: It feels like Ye Zheng is playing an enormous game of chess. Can the official release some side stories to fill us in?]
[#109: Exactly—our girl Zheng is the real deal, the top earner, the first character in 2D history to build a royal dynasty. Forget side stories—give us The Ye Zheng Chronicles, a Ye Zheng anime, a Ye Zheng feature film. That's the bare minimum she deserves!]
[#110: The Percy stans have already lost their minds with rage. Careful—the sarcasm might become a self-fulfilling prophecy.]
[#111: Zheng antis activate their S-rank ability—Word Spirit!]
[#112: The Ye Zheng Cinematic Universe? Sign me up!]
[#113: Who's still calling Ye Zheng some scene-stealing side royal? We Zheng stans are overjoyed just to see her SPEAK. What more do you want from us?]
[#114: Being a Zheng stan is suffering though (crying emoji)]
[#115: Being a Zheng anti is worse—hate her all you want, and she still ends up with everything (stifled laugh emoji)]
…
A quick scroll through the forums revealed that openly bashing Ye Zheng had become nearly impossible. On one hand, the Zheng stans' combat prowess was fearsome—they had become the forum's ruling faction.
On the other hand, as the story progressed, even the most ardent Ye Zheng haters had to concede her dominance and accept her overwhelming position in the comic.
Still, plenty of readers clung to hope, waiting for the classic trope where a growth-type protagonist topples the ultimate boss.
Li Yixin couldn't help browsing the forums for a while. When she finally checked the time, she nearly jumped—and hurriedly switched off her phone, forcing herself to sleep.
She hadn't seen Ye Zheng appear today, yet a single "I love you" was enough to fill her deflated, weary heart to the brim.
In her dreams, she dreamed the official release announced a Ye Zheng-led main series… and a live-action movie adaptation…
The next morning, she woke with a vague sense of loss. Li Yixin picked up her phone, scrolled through the rich fan content on the Steam Empire accounts, and instantly found the energy to get out of bed.
Then she stumbled upon an animated clip of Ye Zheng. She almost mistook it for a labor-of-love fan animation—until she checked the comments and double-checked—it was the preview for the next episode of the King of the Demonic Domain anime!
Given the anime's pacing, there was no way Ye Zheng should appear in Season One. Li Yixin's feeds across every platform were instantly flooded with ecstatic Zheng stans.
A message from Tang Mingxi popped up at the top of her screen.
[The big royal the Zheng antis asked for is here!]
[(Flying Superman Zheng sticker)]
*
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