Chapter 246

【God loves the people of this world.】

【…And I, love you all.】

Within the manga, Pei Xi listened to the gentle whisper at his ear. His mind had gone almost completely blank, and a shiver ran across his scalp.

Outside the manga, readers stared at their screens without blinking. At that moment, the words themselves seemed to carry a voice. A soft, tender murmur brushed past their ears like a passing breeze, so faint and delicate that it almost felt imagined.

Li Yixin instinctively touched her ear, then found herself smiling at the thought. Of course, it was only her imagination.

The manga updated right on schedule. After finishing evening self-study and finally returning home, Li Yixin curled up beneath her blankets late that night, opened her phone, and began reading the newest chapter.

Keeping up with Throne of the Aberrant Realm no longer seemed to be about the story alone. More than anything, she'd formed the habit of returning simply to see Ye Zheng, to draw a little strength for her spirit amid the exhaustion and relentless pressure of everyday life.

In the newest chapter, Pei Xi and his two companions trained under General Bai Yi. Almost immediately afterward, word arrived of a Saints' uprising in the Western District. In response, the Imperial Family and the Church assembled a joint punitive expedition, with Pei Xi's trio joining the campaign.

The battle unfolded before the eyes of the entire empire through a live broadcast. Though formidable in appearance, the expedition's forces were hollow at their core and stood no chance against Sela. At the decisive moment, Pei Xi single-handedly reversed the tide of battle, bringing Sela's relentless offensive to a halt.

This chapter brought together every ingredient fans love in a classic hot-blooded battle manga: grueling training and hard-earned power-ups, breathtaking large-scale warfare, and a climactic finishing move that drove back the enemy beneath the gaze of countless spectators. Combined with artwork brimming with intensity, it kept readers on edge while delivering an exhilarating rush.

When the dust-choked sky finally cleared and Pei Xi emerged through the city gates, the manga's bullet comments welcomed a fresh surge of excitement.

【The author finally remembered who the protagonist is. Cause for celebration!】

【This chapter reminded me why I started reading this trash manga in the first place...】

【I hereby declare: Emperor Pei has returned to the throne!】

【That was so damn satisfying. Let me have a turn next chapter.】

【Bro, why'd you draw my daily life?】

Yet the instant Pei Xi uncovered the white bones buried beneath the fractured earth, and a soft whisper drifted into his ear... the moment the entire empire descended into chaos and religious fervor because of Ye Zheng's words, the triumphant momentum came to an abrupt halt. It was as though a basin of icy water had been poured from the heavens, snuffing out the excitement both within the story and among its readers.

【The Aston Imperial Family exploited us. They forced us to shoulder the threat of the Aberrant Realms while they sat upon their lofty throne, reaping the wealth and resources those Realms brought.】

【I, in my capacity as Pope, promise...】

【I, in the name of Ye Zheng...】

【...And I, love you all.】

Throughout this entire chapter, Ye Zheng never appeared on panel even once. There was no close-up of her expression or composure, no grand spectacle to frame her presence, not even a blurred silhouette from behind.

There were only a few quiet words at the very end, each one carrying the weight of a thousand catties, yet they effortlessly overturned everything that had come before, as though the protagonist's triumphant moment had been nothing more than the overture to her arrival...

No—Ye Zheng didn't even need to appear in person. Relying on nothing but her words and the prestige she'd built, she once again stirred up a tidal wave known as "Ye Zheng"!

【So satisfying. Throne of the Aberrant Realm is definitely my feel-good manga of the year!】【hot】

【1L: So satisfying. Throne of the Aberrant Realm is definitely my feel-good manga of the year!】

【2L: Kid, are you being sarcastic or are you serious?】

【3L: All I can say is, Throne of the Aberrant Realm isn't, but The Legend of Ye Zheng definitely is.】

【4L: As a diehard protagonist fan, I've already made my peace with it. The moment I started treating Ye Zheng as the real protagonist, everything suddenly made sense...】

【5L: I honestly didn't understand this chapter. Are the dragon bones being buried there really that important? And why do the people in the manga believe Ye Zheng so unquestioningly?】

【6L: Buddy upstairs, it's time to go home. Just... go home.】

【7L: The dragon-bone reveal completely caught me off guard. Former Pei Xi fan here. Back during the Ability Tournament, the Cloud Soarers' biggest motivation was obtaining the dragon bones. So in the end, we were completely played by the Emperor?】

【8L: The Emperor might not have known either. The dragon bones were buried by people five hundred years ago. What does that have to do with the current Emperor?】

【9L: The second the Emperor gets drawn looking even remotely human, someone's already lining up to kiss his ass. Anyone standing against Ye Zheng—how could they possibly be a good person?】

【10L: Ninth floor has the hierarchy completely backwards! Who's the actual villain of this manga?】

【11L: Honestly, the Emperor is pretty suspicious. He seems to know everything, yet he's obsessed with speaking in riddles. Maybe he's manipulating Pei Xi too.】

【12L: If it really is manipulation, that just makes him even more attractive... even better shipping material...】

【13L: Upstairs... have mercy on us old folks... have mercy on my eyes...】

【14L: Emperor fans feel like Kieran fans crawling back from the grave. Thick, juicy homoerotic fanfiction is making a comeback. I've had to blacklist the Throne of the Aberrant Realm tag all over again lately.】

【15L: I seriously don't even want to talk to anyone except Ye Zheng fans anymore. Do those Ye Zheng antis have any idea how satisfying this is for us?】

【16L: Goddess Zheng, Goddess Zheng, we'll follow you forever...】

……

【102L: Does anyone even understand the weight behind "I love you all"? Little Steam rises once again!】

【103L: A true big-female-lead feel-good masterpiece. This sapiosexual has respectfully planted a kiss. That scheming Papess doesn't even have to show her face, yet she still drives me insane with how unbelievably cool she is.】

【104L: The most sapiosexual-friendly episode to date.】

【105L: The moment this woman opens her mouth, the Steam Empire bot's submission inbox is going to explode overnight all over again.】

【106L: By the way, why haven't the Pei Xi fans invaded this thread yet? The manga's bullet comments still seem to have quite a few of them.】

【107L: They're probably too busy deleting all those "Emperor Pei returns to the palace" comments, kkk.】

【108L: It feels like Ye Zheng is playing an incredibly long game. Can't the official team release more side stories to flesh everything out?】

【109L: Right? Our little Zhengzheng is the real, cold-hard-cash top. The first woman to pioneer the second-dimension imperial harem. Forget side stories. Just give us The Official Biography of Ye Zheng, a Ye Zheng anime, and a full-blown Ye Zheng blockbuster movie already. Give her the treatment she deserves, okay?】

【110L: The Pei Xi fans are already so furious they've completely lost it. Careful, or those sarcastic remarks are going to turn into self-fulfilling prophecies.】

【111L: Ye Zheng antis activate S-Class Ability: Word Spirit!】

【112L: The entire Ye Zheng universe... I'll take all of it!】

【113L: Who was it that said Ye Zheng is just an overdramatic member of the imperial family? We Zheng fans are already this satisfied just from hearing her speak. What more could we possibly ask for?】

【114L: Then we Zheng fans have truly suffered enough (loudly crying emoji).】

【115L: The ones who really have it rough are still the antis. They spend all their time hating, only for Ye Zheng to end up with everything anyway (covering mouth laughing emoji).】

……

After making one round through the forums, it was difficult to find a single post openly questioning Ye Zheng. On one hand, the Zheng fans' combat power was simply overwhelming. They'd already established themselves as the undisputed overlords of the forums.

On the other hand, as the story continued to unfold, even readers who still disliked Ye Zheng had no choice but to acknowledge her overwhelming strength and quietly accept her utterly dominant position within the manga.

Even so, quite a few readers still held onto hope, waiting for the classic storyline where the growth-type protagonist ultimately defeats the seemingly invincible final boss.

Li Yixin couldn't stop herself from browsing the forums for a while longer. When she finally checked the time, she jumped in surprise, hurriedly put away her phone, and forced herself to go to sleep.

Today, Ye Zheng hadn't appeared on screen even once. Yet that single sentence, "I love you all," had somehow filled her exhausted, withered heart to overflowing.

That night, she dreamed the official team had released an official biography starring Ye Zheng as the protagonist, along with a theatrical anime adaptation...

When she woke the following morning, a faint sense of disappointment lingered. Li Yixin picked up her phone and began scrolling through the endless stream of fan-created content under 【Steam Empire】. Almost instantly, she found the motivation to crawl out of bed.

Then, all of a sudden, she stumbled across an animated clip featuring Ye Zheng. Her first thought was that it had to be another fan animation created by some sleep-deprived editor. She tapped into the comments to make sure, checking again and again, only to discover it was actually the preview for the next episode of the Throne of the Aberrant Realm anime!

According to the anime's pacing, Ye Zheng shouldn't have been able to appear in the first season at all. The moment the preview aired, Li Yixin's homepages across every platform were instantly overrun by ecstatic Zheng fans.

A message from Tang Mingxi shot to the top of her phone.

【The imperial-family heavyweight the antis kept begging for is finally here!】

【(QQ Flying Superman Zheng sticker)】