Chapter 19

Forum trending thread 【Why Are We Boycotting the Female Lead? Boycotting the Romance?】

【1L: “Throne of the Aberrant Realm” is an outstanding hot blooded shonen manga. Its novel world building, strong character writing, and profound bonds between characters are the core of its success.

The protagonist team fought their way up from the lower district to become a world famous ability squad. Their friendship cannot be intruded upon by any outsider. Now the author wants to add a female lead. This not only disrespects the team’s bond, it denies the very theme of the manga.

Especially for Pei Xi. He embodies justice and lofty ideals. He would never pursue trivial romance. That would be a betrayal of his character.

As for Ye Zheng, a healing type Saintess, her role overlaps with Zhao Mei’s. She is an upper district celestial dragon, a sheltered young lady ignorant of the world. How could someone like her share a soul resonance with Pei Xi?

It’s not that I reject female characters. In male oriented works, women are often just tools for fanservice. As a female reader, I don’t want to see soulless female characters. I like independent big female leads. I came to male frequency stories precisely because I was tired of petty female frequency romance. I hope this manga does not fall into cliché.】

【2L: Male reader here. I support this. I don’t want to see any female protagonist at all. I usually read the “kill-your-sister-to-achieve-enlightenment” type anyway—women only slow down how fast you can draw your sword.】

【3L: Ahh, it’s so rare to see such a rational reader, sweetie! Other male readers always demand harems. Disgusting.】

【4L: Pure guy here. Please keep words like “sweetie” far away from me.】

【5L: Agreed. I only like independent big female leads. Male frequency works can’t portray them properly, so it’s better to have none at all.】

…

Ye Zheng read the denunciations without anger or sadness, only confusion.

“In the plot so far, I haven’t caused any trouble for the protagonist team. On the contrary, I saved them and even advised Pei Xi.”

“In this situation, shouldn’t readers be asking Pei Xi to be a proper independent big male lead? He’s the one who has caused me the most trouble.”

She did not understand. Readers accused her of lacking independence, yet in her view, she was far more independent than Pei Xi himself.

The system burst out laughing.

『Independent big male lead. What a niche term.』

『No one uses ‘independent’ to judge male characters.』

Ye Zheng grew even more puzzled. In her experience, men were the ones who most needed to pursue independence. Their fragile egos even required wives to tread carefully around them.

Still, readers claimed to love independent big female leads, though she did not fully grasp what that meant in this higher dimensional world.

Independent likely meant strong enough to need no one’s help. Big female lead probably referred to a woman with substantial narrative weight and presence. Her eyes brightened slightly. By that definition, she was already moving in the right direction.

If she accomplished her goals step by step, surely these readers would come to love her as their big female lead.

『Don’t take them seriously. They all say they love big female leads, but check their profiles. They’re full of male character pushes.』

The system understood all too well. What those readers truly meant by an “independent big female lead” was a woman who walked her own path without intersecting with male characters, in other words, one who never interfered with shipping fantasies.

If Ye Zheng truly seized the spotlight in a male lead oriented story, the system did not even dare imagine how violently those readers would react.

“System, how much popularity does ‘Ye Zheng’ currently have?”

『263. It’s growing slowly, but compared to what Zhao Mei brings you, it’s insignificant.』

Ye Zheng continued scrolling, occasionally pausing on certain comments.

【69L: Ye Zheng has only appeared three times so far, right? The author hasn’t even confirmed she’s the female lead. It’s just Pei Xi’s one sided feelings. I don’t understand why you hate her so much.】

【128L: She’s barely appeared a few times, yet you’re already calling her a fanservice tool with no soul. This level of hostility toward female characters is excessive.】

【370L: Got attacked as a character fan just for defending the new girl. Fine. From now on, I’m a Ye Zheng chef. Give me more of my girl’s plot.】

The scattered voices defending Ye Zheng were drowned out by the forum’s noise, yet her eyes curved with genuine satisfaction, far happier than when she learned she had gained 7500 popularity points.

【Thank you all.】

She posted this message of gratitude beneath the thread, a sentiment no one could truly understand. At most, passing readers might cast a curious glance at the unfamiliar IP before moving on.

“System, I will become a popular character.”

Ye Zheng spoke lightly, stating it as an undeniable fact rather than a vow.

The system felt a rare sense of satisfaction. When it had been assigned to this post, it had harbored no expectations for its KPI. As long as the female lead was not killed off due to insufficient popularity, that alone would have been a remarkable success.

Now, seeing Ye Zheng so proactive, perhaps even Zhao Mei could break into the top ten most popular characters in “Throne of the Aberrant Realm.”

What the system did not know was that the most viral character in the future of “Throne of the Aberrant Realm” would be neither Zhao Mei, who currently possessed 7500 popularity points, nor the overwhelmingly popular male lead Pei Xi.

It would be Ye Zheng, who at present had only 263 points.

✧✧✧✧✧

After the sensational announcement of the third stage’s competition rules, all participating teams entered a state of tense preparation.

Ye Zheng, however, appeared unusually idle. For the time being, she had no shared storyline with the protagonist team, and the crown prince disliked bringing her along for training. As a result, her primary daily responsibility was fulfilling the duties of the church’s Saintess.

Aside from providing charitable healing in the lower district, she was also required to tend to devotees of the God of Hope from the upper district within the church.

“Your injury is fully healed. May the God of Hope above bless you.”

The girl, clad in a holy bearing, knelt beneath the towering statue. She lowered her head, pressed her left hand over her heart, and performed the church’s ritual gesture toward the man standing before her.

“Thank you for healing me, Saintess. With the God of Hope watching over me, this lowly servant will never again knock over a cup and cut my hand.”

The richly dressed man twisted his obese body as he departed. Ye Zheng noted calmly that if he had arrived a little later, the scratch on the back of his hand would likely have healed on its own.

Once again, the vast church fell silent. Beneath the shadow of the colossal statue, Ye Zheng lowered her head and stood motionless, resembling a docile lamb offered up to the divine.

This was work she could not refuse. The church’s Saintess had always enjoyed lofty status yet wielded little actual authority. The title of “agent of the God of Hope” was merely a flattering veneer, lending divine legitimacy to her healing and serving as one of the church’s tools to curry favor with the powerful.

Ye Zheng rose. As light and shadow shifted across her features, her expression darkened. Her tasks for the day were complete. She had healed several more people who scarcely deserved to live.

“Saintess, the Pope wishes to see you.”

A cheerful male voice sounded from the doorway. A silver-haired youth leaned lazily against the entrance, his relaxed posture utterly unlike that of a priest in training.

“Yinkong, shouldn’t you be training? You are the captain of the Divine Academy team, after all.”

“And you were personally selected by the crown prince as a substitute member, yet I don’t see you taking it very seriously either.”

They walked side by side, polite smiles on their faces. If one ignored the barbed undertones in their exchange, they might appear to be close friends.

“Do you know why the Pope wants to see me?”

As they reached the door, Ye Zheng suddenly stopped and asked.

Yinkong flipped his wrist. A thick stack of cards materialized in his palm. With his other hand, he casually drew one and turned it outward. The illustration depicted a raging thunderstorm.

“How would I know what His Holiness is thinking? Shall I consult fate on your behalf?”

Under Ye Zheng’s impassive gaze, Yinkong turned the card toward himself. Upon seeing the image, he widened his eyes theatrically.

“Oh dear. It doesn’t look promising.”

“A storm is coming, Saintess. Good luck.”

The silver-haired youth waved lightly and strolled away. From her observations on the forums, Ye Zheng knew that Yinkong was also a popular character in “Throne of the Aberrant Realm.” Readers described him as a chaotic, morally ambiguous trickster, his abilities and personality alike shrouded in mystery.

Readers’ tastes were always incomprehensible to her. In her judgment, he was among those she needed to guard against the most.

His talent, 【Fate Cards】, was even more troublesome than Sykes’s 【Destruction】, perhaps because she detested the very notion of fate.

Ye Zheng turned with a cold expression, watching the silver figure disappear down the corridor. If necessary, she would eliminate him first.

For now, however, the more immediate threat was the Pope. Yinkong’s fate cards were never wrong. She stood silently before the door for a moment, then pushed it open.

“Come in, little Zheng.”

A middle-aged man dressed in plain white robes stood by the window, tending to a cluster of plants. His aura was gentle and approachable. Without turning his head, he spoke.

Ye Zheng stood behind him, watching as he watered the flowers with evident ease. Few would imagine that the all-powerful Pope could appear so mild and ordinary.

Yet her spine stiffened even more. Ever since she had become Saintess at fourteen, she had seen the true faces of everyone in the church.

“By the way, little Zheng, you’ve served as Saintess for three years now. How does it feel?”

The Pope finally lifted his head, revealing an utterly unremarkable face as he smiled warmly at her.

“Every day is fulfilling and joyful. I am grateful to the church for granting me this opportunity.”

Ye Zheng bowed respectfully, her answer flawless. The white-robed man stared at her in silence for a long while.

“Three years ago, when you competed for the position of Saintess under the scrutiny of all the church’s high officials, you wore the same impeccable expression.”

“Other girls your age could not conceal their fear or confusion. Only you. As though you truly were a Saintess sent from heaven, so composed that no emotion could be detected.”

The Pope chuckled softly. “Even then, I knew the church had finally found its true Saintess.”

“What is most precious, however, is that a girl like you chose this path willingly, devoting her entire life to serving the divine.”

Ye Zheng lifted her gaze and curved her lips into a gentle, yearning smile. “In the Sacred Citadel Empire, there is no one who does not believe in the God of Hope. It is my honor.”

The Pope regarded her with mild amusement. “For this honor, you concealed your true talent grade at the age of twelve. Otherwise, you would now be the crown prince’s fiancée rather than the church’s Saintess.”

Ye Zheng’s smile slowly faded. Beneath her lashes, her pupils trembled. The Pope waved a hand. “There’s no need to be so tense. I admire your ambition.”

“Although your ambition caused a bit of trouble in the upper district, compared to that trouble, you yourself are far more valuable.”

Ye Zheng forced her expression to remain steady and offered a grateful smile. “Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Holiness.”

Her activities in the lower district had indeed been discovered. Even her actions at age twelve had been investigated. What exactly did the church want from her?

“You are intelligent enough and capable enough. The decision to place you on the crown prince’s team was not made lightly. You must assist His Highness well.”

Ye Zheng raised her eyes, displaying a measured degree of confusion.

“The crown prince is different,” the Pope said with a smile. “One could say he also belongs to the church.”

He shook his head gently while stroking the roses by the window.

“In any case, compete well. The matter of the dragon bones is far more complicated than you imagine.”

“Once everything concludes, you will have the opportunity to truly join us, no longer as a puppet Saintess, but as one of the core holders of power.”

✧✧✧✧✧

Only after Ye Zheng had fully left the church did the tension in her spine ease slightly.

“System, to better fulfill the mission, I believe I have the right to know more, specifically about the third stage of the competition.”

The forces involved were far greater than she had anticipated. For the first time, Ye Zheng found herself doubting whether she could truly obtain what she sought from these murky waters.

『You may only view future plot points directly related to yourself through the manga app. Anything beyond that violates the rules.』

『However, I can tell you that the third stage is also known as the Dragon Bones Arc.』

『The Dragon Bones Arc is the true main storyline of this work. All hidden factions and forces will surface during it. At the same time, a large number of characters will die.』

Ye Zheng’s eyes darkened. As the designated female protagonist, what role would she play in the Dragon Bones Arc?

『The Dragon Bones Arc is about to begin, Ye Zheng. Prepare for a storm of blood both inside and outside the manga.』