《Demon Monarch》


 Prologue

    Prologue


    A lone man was roaming around a large library, at times picking a book, skimming it and then putting it back.


    He looked to be in his late thirties, but his aura, eyes and the way he held himself suggested he was even older. The man was constantly sighing every time he took a book and skimmed it. His sigh suggested boredom, but also tiredness.


    [So boring] he thought to himself.


    This man was the only one in the library and he was actually someone who could create waves in the world if he willed it. However, throughout the course of time he slowly was forgotten and faded away from the world. Once an unstoppable dragon, now a dragon that had lost its claws. The books in the library he was in took nearly his whole lifetime to gather, whether from recording or books that were taken from others. Now to him, this library was a prison. A prison waiting for him to rot.


    He had read through almost, if not all the books in the library. Each book had different contents and covered wide areas in that respect, some were practical, while some were theories. He did not go through the books in order, but always picked up a random one to read. First it was fun, now it was just tedious and he wished he had taken note before; otherwise he wouldn¡¯t right now be looking around for a new book to read. Occasionally, he would pick up a book that he had read before and would be dejected, only to put it back and continue searching. In this big, yet lonely library there was no other entertainment for him.


    BANG!


    He looked to the library doors and gave a small chuckle, then continued back to looking.


    He picked out a small book stuck between two thick books the size of a head and read the title.


    ¡°Heaven''s Star.¡± There was no author, but in the middle laid a lotus painted in the color of light blue.


    [I don¡¯t recall reading this before. Wonder where I got it from? Well, whatever].


    He opened up the book to the first page and started reading.


    BANG!


    During his time reading, there were constantly loud bangs on the library door, but it did not bother him at all, as if he was used to it.


    ¡°Hmm¡­this theory is quite interesting. Harnessing the power of the stars? Heh, perhaps if I was younger I would try it. Still, it¡¯s fascinating. The strain from even trying to absorb the essence of one would blow one up. Not to mention, one needs an extremely high amount of qi coupled with the fact that a star¡¯s essence is as rare as a phoenix¡¯s feather, no, perhaps even rarer.¡±


    BANG! BANG!


    The banging got even louder and it seemed as if the library door was starting to relent. There were growing signs of cracks.


    The man once again looked to the door again. His eyes did not show anxiety; instead it showed relief and a tiny bit of joy.


    ¡°Once, I felt like I was the king of the world. Now, I wait here awaiting my death. It took them quite a while to get through. Hah! As expected of the Tetra Barrier. Still, they would require a bit more time to get through.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    With that, his eyes went back to his book.


    BANG!


    BANG!


    By the time he finished reading, the doors were already looking as if one small push would break it. The barrages got louder and faster and when the man¡¯s eyes looked up, the door had been smashed apart.


    BANG! BOOM!


    Dust blew everywhere, but it did not block his vision. Instead, he could see perfectly who had intruded.


    ¡°Damn, this f****ing barrier and this f****ing door! I¡¯m going to slaughter this old man!¡± a rough man¡¯s voice yelled.


    ¡°Calm down. You know his strength, it was to be expected. In fact, not all of us will make it out alive fighting him.¡± Another man¡¯s said, except his tone was softer, but it still contained a hint of anger.


    ¡°Brother is right. It took us over 20 years of barraging to even get through. We can¡¯t waste all the effort.¡± This time it was a woman¡¯s voice, but there was obviously anger in her voice.


    He could see a huge group of people led by 5 in front of him. Some of them had traces of anger, while some were eager to seek the wealth of the library. However, what they all shared was a linger of fear in their eyes.


    ¡°Are you sure we can take him? Wouldn¡¯t he have recovered?¡± An arrogant sounding man¡¯s voice said.


    ¡°Hah?! You think that kind of injury could be healed easily? He doesn¡¯t even have the resources here!¡± This time it was a woman¡¯s voice, but it sounded hoarse.


    He looked closer at the 5 in front of him. They were no strangers to him, in fact they used to be his fellow brothers and sisters when his master was alive, but it seemed as if they were more wicked than he thought. They had trapped him and gravely injured him in a devious plot. He was always wary, but it seems he should have taken action earlier. He let their plan build up for a long time, until he fell for it. His only escape was his personal library during that time. He regretted he always regarded them as fellow brothers and sisters and not taking care of them sooner due to feelings of responsibility and his Master''s wish to get along.


    ¡°Ah senior brother! Excuse us for intruding into your library.¡± The rough man yelled.


    ¡°Yes, do excuse us. You even set up a barrier for us? We¡¯re fellow apprentices, why the need?¡± The arrogant voice taunted.


    ¡°Hmph. You filthy animals, I don''t know you guys! You are intruders and I shall deal with you all as I would intruders!¡±


    ¡°Senior brother, you are already injured. Why make it hard for yourself? Just hand over the Master''s manual and we¡¯ll let this slide. We¡¯ll just break a bit of your bones and your meridians and we¡¯ll call this even.¡± The softer man¡¯s voice said in a quiet, yet cold manner.


    ¡°Haha! You 5 were always eyeing this. Master''s manual...you mean this manual?!¡± The lone man took out a old, rough looking book and all 5 eyed it intensely. There was a fierce glint in their eyes, as if it was a divine treasure and they had to take it, however, they did not move as they were still wary of the man''s strength.


    To their dismay though, the lone man set the manual ablaze with a strange, mesmerizing black flame.


    ¡°WHAT THE F***K ARE YOU DOING?!¡± The rough man roared and he jumped in first. However, he was pushed back immediately by a strange golden arm.


    The rough man was flung back and slammed onto the ground. He coughed some blood out and stared at the man in horror. "What the hell was that?!"


    ¡°The book....He¡­he burned it?!¡± The hoarse woman¡¯s voice carried so much anger, she felt like vomiting blood. She had completely ignored the battle.


    ¡°First you betray and injure me, you intrude into my library, you seek Master¡¯s manual that was rightfully passed to me and now you also seek to steal my life''s work bringing along other greedy dogs. I would rather destroy it all than hand it over. Let it be lost forever. Let everything I have gathered be lost forever.¡±


    With that, the man waved his hands and the formation he had set up instantly activated.


    BZZZ!! BOOM!


    The library went up into flames immediately. Black flames constantly spewed about and burned everyone and everything. It seemed to be a never ending fiery hell.


    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Waves of painful shouting echoed, while those still alive tried to escape, however it was no use. There was a heavy barrier in place.


    ¡°What is this barrier?! How does he still have the strength?!¡±


    Indeed, he no longer had the strength to use a strong barrier, however this barrier used up all his remaining life force to create and thus no one currently could break it fast enough before the flames consumed them.


    As the library went up in flames, the 5 leaders tried to grab him, however the lone man was already falling into the flames. They stopped trying and only watched him with hateful gazes and despair in their eyes.


    [Serves you dogs right.....it''s.....so cold. Dying like this¡­.if I knew it was going to be this lonely¡­]


    .....


    On that day, the lone king died.

 Chapter 1: Demon Monarch

    Chapter 1 ¨C The Demon Monarch, My name is...


    A young beggar was leaning on a wall in an alley, he had not eaten for a long time and his will to live kept faltering. He could feel himself slipping away, bit by bit. He occasionally blanked out only to wake up startled; however, this gave him a bit of comfort. The life he lived was not worth living at all to him as he constantly starved, was bullied, suffered and was always alone from what he could remember. As he felt himself going into darkness again, this time he felt at peace, as if all his worries never existed. He gave a slight smile, yet that smile also carried a bit of unwillingness. He closed his eyes and then¡­all was quiet. The beggar had fallen into a slumber. A slumber he would never wake from. The poor beggar had passed away.


    However, strangely enough the body did not start dying. Instead, it jolted and then the beggar opened his eyes again, as if he closed his eyes just to rest them.


    The beggar looked around and then at his body.


    ¡°This¡­this¡­.¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­Hahahahaha!¡± The beggar crazily laughed and if anybody saw him now, they would certainly think he went insane.


    ¡°I¡¯m still alive. No¡­.I¡¯m no longer the same.¡± This was the lone king that had died before, the lone Demon Monarch. His memories were now intertwined with the beggar¡¯s memory and even though he did not know why he was in this body, he knew he had somehow reincarnated.


    ¡°Incredible¡­stuff told in stories. I never believed it, but I never thought I would get a taste of it.¡± He was fascinated as to why and how this worked, but then his stomach gave a loud rumble. His current body had not eaten for a long time so it was incredibly weak and painful for him.


    ¡°Agh¡­hunger. When was the last time I felt this?¡± The Monarch was happy as it had been so long since he last felt hunger.


    He tried to get up, but only to fall.


    He looked at the cause. It was his leg¡­his left¡­.it was crippled.


    ¡°¡­¡­.Hah.¡±


    ¡°Haha..hahahahahaha!¡± This time his laugh was of anger and anguish.


    ¡°F***king Heavens, you still play me! You give me a bastard fate, then you let me live only to give me this kind of body! I can only take so much! Do you believe I¡¯ll tear you the f**k down?! Have you not played me enough?!¡±


    After screaming for a while, he started to gather his thoughts, calmed down and started to think.


    [This isn¡¯t entirely bad; I just need enough qi or I can concoct something to heal me. Worst case I can¡¯t find the materials, I can just find a Doc-] That was when he remembered. This was no longer his old world. He searched around in the beggar¡¯s memories and he did not find anything resembling his world. What did he expect from a beggar¡¯s memories¡­? This world closely resembled his except more ancient, except it also had areas that were different. Things in this world were powered by qi; everyday uses were also used with qi. It seems using qi was the norm of this world. However, in terms of technology his old world was years ahead.


    Luckily for the Monarch, qi was also part of his world; however, technology was favored over it. Indeed, there were only some that had used it. However, the current him right now had almost no qi at all and was extremely weak, perhaps even a 5 year old with a bit of qi could beat him right now.


    ¡°What have I become¡­.From someone that stood on the peak to someone on the very bottom.¡± He gave a sigh, but there was a growing fire in his eyes.


    [There¡¯s still a way to fix my leg and rise to reach the top again. If I could do it before, I can do it again. This time though, I won¡¯t be stopped, even the Heavens cannot stop me. This world will learn of my name ¡°Demon Monarch¡±!]


    With a goal in mind, he got up again and proceeded to walk out of the alley¡­.while dragging his leg.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡±Goddamn.¡±


    _________________________________________________________________________


    A young man was walking on the streets currently while dragging his leg. He was dirty, skinny where you could see his bones and his clothes were tattered that every time a wind blew, the young man shivered.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The young beggar constantly felt his stomach rumble, it hurt him greatly along with his numerous body aches.


    [I also forgot¡­hunger is also a pain the ass sometimes. This body is also weak¡­I really have to do something or I¡¯ll be dead again for sure.]


    [Where can I find food? I don¡¯t think I can even steal with this kind of strength¡­Besides¡­the Monarch stealing food? That is too ridiculous!]


    Although he felt as if he was dying from starvation, his pride prevented him from actually stealing food. In his memories, the beggar from before stole when he could, but now he was no longer that person, so now the body abided by his rules! Indeed, this pride could kill him!


    The people around him avoided him like the plague, while some stole peeks at him out of curiosity or pity and looks of disgust were often. He was unfazed as he did not care and only looked for anything he could eat, minus the thrown out garbage he saw every so often.


    He was starting to get dizzy and started to stagger, he leaned against a wall for support.


    ¡°Damn. Isn¡¯t there anything edible? I feel¡­.¡±


    He slid off the wall and fell onto the ground and was motionless after that. Occasionally passersby would look at the man on the floor, shake their heads and move on. Nobody bothered to help him.


    A young girl was walking back home when she saw a beggar suddenly collapse near the middle of the street. She quickly dashed over to check his condition. She saw that he wasn¡¯t doing well and could die. How pitiful he looked she thought and felt terribly sorry, after some hesitation she hoisted him up despite his hygiene and with great effort from body and mind, she carried him to her home. The passersby, who saw this, some had their eyes open in surprise and some even admired her, however, none carried the thought of saving the beggar.


    _________________________________________________________________________


    In his hazy state, he felt some warmth and consciousness slowly returned to him. When he opened his eyes again, he was in a tub.


    [What? Where am I?!] He stood up in a hurry, only to realize he was naked, and quickly sat back down.


    [Did someone help me?] He was wondering who his savior was when suddenly a man entered the room. He quickly looked at the person and could see a tall man, perhaps in his early forties with a face that looked as if he was definitely handsome in the past, but it seems time or maybe stress had worn him down.


    [Did he help me?] The Monarch wondered.


    The man saw that the beggar was awake and looking at him with an alert gaze, but he only chuckled.


    ¡°Relax. I¡¯m not here to harm you. My name is Mu Bo. I was just checking up on you, at the request of my daughter. My daughter brought you home and wanted us to help you, so we did. You should thank her.¡±


    The Monarch relaxed a bit but did not put down his guard. That was when he remembered something. Something that made him sweat bullets.


    ¡°Who¡­who undressed me?!¡±


    The man understood what he meant and burst out laughing. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it was my wife. I carried you here and put you in, other than that my daughter didn¡¯t do anything.¡±


    [I¡­guess it¡¯s fine¡­She¡¯s married and she¡¯s more experienced and¡­] The Monarch thought of many excuses to convince himself.


    Seeing how he wasn¡¯t saying anything anymore, the man laughed again in knowing understanding.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. When you¡¯re done, come to the dining room. Do you¡­need any help?¡±


    The Monarch shook his head understanding what he meant by ¡°help¡±.


    Mu Bo nodded his head and he told him how to get there and with all he needed to say, he left.


    ¡°¡­..Isn¡¯t this great.¡± He grumbled, but washed himself up and found some new, neat clothes nearby. He put them on and before leaving, he looked at the water. It was black, ink black.


    While walking to the dining room, the Monarch started to think.


    [In order to fix my leg, I need to practice qi. Or I can get the resources to concoct a Restoration Pill. Wait¡­does this world even have the ingredients I need?] The Monarch understood what he needed to do. First he needed to understand this world a bit. Perhaps, the Mu¡¯s could help him.


    Upon reaching the dining room, he saw a feast. Although it wasn¡¯t big compared to what he had in the past, it was still big, bigger than what a family of 3 could afford at least. Perhaps the Mu¡¯s were special, or the economy here was better.


    Seeing the beggar, the Mu family greeted him with a smile and nodded. The daughter went over to help him into his chair, but the beggar politely refused and sat down on a chair by himself.


    Seeing the food, his stomach grumbled even more and loudly too. The Monarch was embarrassed, but tried to distract himself. He counted about 3 servants and this made him more curious. Was this a branch family? Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be able to have such a feast and have servants.


    The Mu family heard his grumbles and the man laughed, while the wife and daughter looked at him with pity.


    [So young and he has already experienced a lot of troubles¡­] The wife saw that the beggar still wasn¡¯t eating, so she smiled and motioned for him to eat.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about us.¡± The daughter also pitched in and smiled.


    Seeing this, he couldn¡¯t hold back anymore and proceeded to dig in. He never felt such joy, yet embarrassment in eating food before. Ah¡­hunger definitely is trouble sometimes.


    The Mu family watched him for a bit and they too started to eat, albeit slowly.


    While eating though, Mu Bo started to talk with the beggar.


    ¡°Where are your parents?¡±


    The Monarch stopped eating and thought back. He couldn¡¯t find any traces of his parents in his mind at all. All he remembered were his days as a beggar. [Did his parents abandon him?]


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any. I don¡¯t really remember too much besides begging.¡± Since, he did not remember, that was all he could say.


    ¡°Oh.¡± The man nodded his head, while his wife and daughter seemed to feel more sorrow and pity for this boy.


    ¡°How old are you, boy? Do you have a name?¡±


    Recalling his memories once again, he wasn¡¯t sure of his name, but an unfamiliar, yet familiar name kept popping into his head that was not his old world¡¯s name.


    ¡°I..think I¡¯m 17. My name is¡­Li¡­Li Yewu.¡±