Chapter 247

In the preview for Episode 10 of the Throne of the Aberrant Realm anime, the Cloud Soarers emerged as the Lower District's representative team after advancing into the tournament's second stage. Meanwhile, the Crown Prince secured the undisputed first-place position in the Upper District with overwhelming dominance.

The common people of the Lower District eagerly discussed the Ability Tournament in every street and alley until a figure dressed in pure white, accompanied by a tall knight, entered the frame. The conversations came to a halt. Then smiles filled with admiration and longing spread across every face.

"It's the Saintess..."

"The Saintess has come to the Lower District to offer free medical consultations again."

"She truly carries herself like a noble and compassionate lady."

Everyone watched the Saintess's retreating figure as she stepped into the church. She remained wrapped in quiet mystery. Those outside the screen could see nothing more than her white dress and flowing black hair.

In the preview's final scene, the mysterious Saintess finally turned around. A faint smile rested at the corners of her lips. Her long black hair drifted gently as she closed the church doors. That fleeting glimpse of her face disappeared behind the ancient, weathered doors.

The screen instantly faded to black. The preview was over.

【The place where the dream begins】

【!!! A brand-new hot topic is about to explode!】

【Is there seriously anyone still reading Throne who doesn't know Ye Zheng?】

【Kids, this is the true hottest topic in Throne. Lady Hot Zheng Zong is making her grand entrance!】

【Go ahead and look her up. One search and you'll drown in ocean-view-house-level merch. You'll learn your place then...】

【I'm not dreaming, right? Your Zheng actually debuted this early?】

【Aaaah is she the one who killed Sykes? I can't accept this】

【(clapping emoji)】

The instant Tang Mingxi saw Ye Zheng's appearance in the preview, the sound she let out resembled a kettle reaching full boil. After a piercing burst of whistling, she immediately rushed across the internet to spread the glorious news.

Thankfully, the animation studio still understood which side their bread was buttered on. They knew perfectly well who the true traffic king of Throne of the Aberrant Realm was, so they'd moved Ye Zheng's debut forward.

Perhaps they'd even flesh out everything the manga had left untouched, showing how Ye Zheng gradually grew into the Saintess she became, as well as the countless schemes she'd quietly set into motion behind the scenes.

The anime's level of refinement couldn't compare with the manga's artwork, yet watching a living, moving Ye Zheng brought Tang Mingxi a feeling that reading the manga never could.

It was as though Ye Zheng had drawn closer to them, closer and closer.

Before she encountered Ye Zheng, Tang Mingxi had never been able to understand why people became so devoted to two-dimensional characters. Pouring genuine emotions into a fictional existence and never receiving a real response in return... what could possibly be enjoyable about that?

Now, Tang Mingxi understood. Compared with real people, fictional characters could embody far more idealized rays of hope.

However, she'd always believed Ye Zheng was different. Ye Zheng possessed an incomparably idealized image, yet she wasn't some distant, unreachable mirage. She had warmth. She breathed. She was looking straight at you... and she'd tell you, "I love you."

"Aiya."

Tang Mingxi patted her cheeks. She was obviously a steadfast career fan and mom fan. She must've read far too much Steam Empire content lately. As punishment, she ought to binge a few more self-insert fanfics.

Fresh notifications continued pouring onto her phone. The Zheng fan group chat had already climbed past 99+. Compared with the public forums, the Zheng fans' private chat possessed even greater destructive power.

【Anime Saintess Zheng has such overwhelming authority. Animation team, you've done every good deed under the heavens!】

【This is literally where the dream began. I fell into the rabbit hole because of Ye Zheng's appearance, then wandered farther and farther down the path of career fandom...】

【Feels like there are going to be Ye Zheng cosplayers everywhere at conventions. Please don't turn my girl into another fashion trend.】

【I've already seen plenty of people outside the fandom calling Ye Zheng "husband" under her edit videos. I'm a little heartbroken...】

【Girls, "husband" has such a stinky vibe. Even if Ye Zheng herself showed up, she'd be driven off by that word.】

【Please don't add any male-gaze shots or shove in random romance plots. My animation-induced PTSD is flaring up. Does anyone understand?】

【Animation team, please do justice to the original story!】

【Some Zheng fans have already gone into the official comment section to leave friendly reminders. Their comments are right at the top. Everyone, go boost them!】

【Someone's saying Zheng fans are restricting the animation team's creative freedom and artistic freedom. It's such a classic take I laughed so hard I nearly pissed myself...】

【And there are still people mourning at Sykes's grave. The only chubby-cat character in Throne. Who'd even dare take a sniff?】

【Sykes's greatest contribution was giving Ye Zheng the image of the empire's "cold, pure Buddhist Daughter."】

【Whoever came up with "cold Buddhist Daughter" is an absolute genius too. (Ye Zheng with hands pressed together manga screenshot)】

【The anime already moved up her debut. Can we dare dream about a side manga or even a theatrical spin-off movie? (starry-eyes emoji)】

【Relax, sisters. Fall in love with Ye Zheng, and you'll have everything!】

【Look at the antis making another fuss lately. Maybe it'll actually happen. It's not uncommon for hugely popular characters to get their own spin-off manga.】

Tang Mingxi switched back to the forums to keep an eye on the direction of public opinion. The community had also been surprised by Ye Zheng's early appearance, but the overall reaction wasn't especially shocked. After all, her popularity and momentum spoke for themselves. Even male characters backed by blockbuster anime adaptations couldn't surpass her popularity. It wasn't remotely surprising that the animation team had expanded her role with extra scenes.

Even so, posts like 【Please pay attention to the actual protagonist of your Throne!!!】, 【Absolutely no one wants to watch protagonist-abuse storylines】, and 【What do you do when the anime and manga plots are miles apart after finishing the anime?】 continued surfacing across the forums.

Tang Mingxi couldn't even be bothered to click on them. After browsing for a while, she noticed that there were suddenly quite a few more posts from Sela fans.

In the latest chapter, Pei Xi and Sela had clashed in a duel. Although Sela appeared to lose before retreating, no one could deny how spectacular the fight had been. Her wild, almost feral bearing as she rode atop the giant dragons was striking, and the battle had earned her another surge in popularity.

【1L: Baby, you're a golden retriever Beagle!】

【2L: Feels like the moment Sela realizes Ye Zheng has used her again, she'll really start barking "woof woof" in rage haha】

【3L: Can't help it. Who told this girl to be such an easy fish to hook nine times out of ten? When you don't read much, it's way too easy for clever women to run circles around you. She's adorable.】

【4L: Before fighting Pei Xi, she was still thinking Ye Zheng would come... Ye Zheng, you've committed the unforgivable crime of abandoning a puppy!】

【5L: The manga gives Sela far too little screen time. Judging from the scattered clues, I think she and Ye Zheng must've reached some kind of cooperation during the Western District incident. They fell out afterward though. I lean toward Sela being the one who broke things off first.】

【6L: Things are finally looking up for us S-Zheng sisters too. Does anyone understand the despair of accidentally clicking into the S-Zheng tag back in the day...?】

【7L: He's a straight-up paranoid lunatic of a villain. I genuinely don't understand how a certain someone can still be that popular.】

【8L: This world is still far too forgiving toward hyper-masculine types. Thankfully, Ye Zheng has never indulged that brand of hyper-masculinity.】

【9L: If a certain man were still around, his fans would've probably smelled the title and rushed in to derail the thread. Ye Zheng has truly eliminated a public menace, both inside and outside the manga. (nodding)】

【10L: I liked Sela the moment she first appeared. I thought she'd be a throwaway minor villain, but she just kept getting more and more compelling. All hail the golden-retriever puppy who'll conquer the world!】

【11L: Back in the early days, stanning the female characters in your Throne was honestly suffering. Male-character fans were constantly riding our faces. Making it this far really wasn't easy.】

【12L: This Lu Qi mom has already shattered in silence. My daughter is practically getting pushed to the sidelines. Is a lively, cheerful little sunshine really that unpopular? (tears emoji)】

【13L: At least Lu Qi got to show up as background scenery this chapter. My Bai Muqing has completely vanished off the radar. Does she still have a chance to enter the main storyline?】

【14L: I've got a feeling Sela's future screen time won't be small. She truly fights everyone without discrimination. Whoever stands in her way gets beaten down. Her personality is ridiculously satisfying!】

……

【55L: The author's entire artistic talent has been poured into Ye Zheng. She's the only biological daughter, so naturally all the other female characters get sidelined.】

Seeing that someone once again couldn't resist exposing themselves, Tang Mingxi rolled her eyes so hard they nearly flipped over, her fingers flying across the keyboard.

【56L: Wow, it's so hard to tell. Is the darling of the 55th floor actually male or female?】

【57L: Gross. Male-treasure dads are crawling under female-treasure moms' skirts again. (covering-nose sticker)】

【57L: If your Throne didn't have Ye Zheng, who'd even dare stan female characters in this male-stink manga?】

【58L: The truth is there are still way too many male characters, so of course the female cast gets sidelined. I fully support Ye Zheng killing off a few more of them.】

【59L: I'm laughing my ass off. The people who hate Zheng only dare stir up shit in posts about other female characters. Didn't expect your Throne's female-treasure moms to be this united, did you?】

【60L: Since the 55th floor cares so much about female characters, then come support Throne of the Aberrant Realm becoming an all-female manga with me.】

【61L: All-female works are only loved by men, huh? That's how female-treasure moms love women, like they're vegetables. Without male characters, who'd give a damn about this pile?】

【62L: I was just thinking... the most popular works in male-oriented web novels, manga, and anime are almost always driven by male leads, male supporting casts, and male-centered drama, while female characters are little more than decorative side dishes for fan service, aren't they? If a series has a slightly better reputation, it just means there's one or two relatively well-written women squeezed into a cast full of fleshed-out male characters. Then people turn around and praise it for "respecting women" and "loving women."】

【63L: Male readers start cursing the second they realize a novel was written by a woman. If they loved female characters the way female-oriented works love male characters, then the rankings on a certain site would've been dominated by big-female-lead novels long ago.】

【64L: I really hope the person above is reverse-roleplaying. Reading a woman hate women to this extent is honestly unimaginable.】

【65L: @Ye Zheng, doesn't this call for Goddess Zheng to step in and grant our wish?】

【66L: Just wait until Ye Zheng wipes out these people's favorites. They'll fall in line soon enough. When that happens, cry louder so I can enjoy listening.】

【67L: Speaking of which, @Ye Zheng, this teacher hasn't shown up in ages.】

【68L: Zhengzheng's probably swamped lately. After exposing the truth behind the dragon bones, she'll definitely strike while the iron's hot and go after the Imperial Family. Then she'll have to consolidate even more power. She won't be getting a break anytime soon.】

【69L: Sis is completely immersed, hahaha. @Ye Zheng, this episode fits the character setting perfectly.】

【70L: I bet the person behind the account is busy preparing for the college entrance exam. Probably doesn't have any free time lately.】

【71L: Could be the high school entrance exam too.】

【72L: Or maybe she's out having a barbecue.】

……

While the readers argued and joked noisily, Ye Zheng, in another world, truly didn't have the luxury of pulling out a phone to interact with them. Just as they had guessed, exposing the truth about the dragon bones had only been the opening act.

The delayed broadcast still echoed throughout the palace. Chaotic voices erupted from beyond the doorway, followed by a deafening bang as the doors were violently thrown open. Bai Yi appeared at the entrance.

Ye Zheng, having just finished the broadcast, reclined casually against the high-backed chair, a cup of water in her hand as she took slow, unhurried sips.

Even when the uninvited guest burst into the room, she didn't so much as glance his way. Only after finishing half the cup, when the cool water had finally soothed her throat, did she leisurely set the teacup down and lift her eyes toward him.