[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-journey-to-become-the-zenith":3,"chapter-journey-to-become-the-zenith-journey-to-become-the-zenith-chapter-1":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Journey to Become the Zenith",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":18,"prevChapterSlug":19,"totalChapters":20,"novelImage":21},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":12,"translator":16,"content_hash":17},1828538,2432,"Chapter 1: The Day the Demon Emperor Chose to Die","journey-to-become-the-zenith-chapter-1",1,"\u003Cp>The Day the Demon Emperor Chose to Die\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sat upon the obsidian throne, bored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruler of a silent world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not the peaceful kind of silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dead kind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The kind that rots the soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sort that takes root deep inside when dreams lie dead behind you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Far beneath my feet spread the Grand Abyss Hall, hollowed out of black stone and ancient bones. Mountains could not match the girth of its towering columns, each holding up a roof painted with star patterns. Long ago, shouts filled this space - kings arguing, vows sworn in anger, lives weighed like coins on a scale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each breath I took bounced off the walls, filling the silence where sound once lived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Freed from every chain I’d once known.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At journey’s close stood I, known as Anos Superbia, sovereign of demons supreme.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not geographically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Existentially.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had done what no ruler in history had achieved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I united demon clans that had butchered each other for ten thousand years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I crushed the endless tide of human heroes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I broke the holy kingdoms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I bent the Beast-Kin war tribes beneath my banner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I forced the proud Elven Kingdom to kneel and turned their sacred tree into my vessel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shattered the Vampire Courts and made their immortal king swear loyalty in his own blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I bound the Spirit Realms with ancient contracts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I hunted the dragons from the skies and turned their corpses into palace pillars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every race resisted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every race fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This world now had only one ruler.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that was the problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was unbeatable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in doing so, I had killed the only thing that ever made me feel alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a thousand years, war had been my heartbeat. Every wound, every near-death struggle had sharpened me. But now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no one left who could even wound me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not even my own children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dozens of sons and daughters born from centuries of queens, generals, and political marriages—monsters by any standard. Yet when they stood before me, I felt only disappointment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They feared me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They revered me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They could not challenge me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A king without rivals is already dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immortality had become a cage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victory had become rot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I lifted a goblet of crimson wine—ceremonial, offered for my three-thousand-year reign. A vintage pressed from spirit-fruit and phoenix marrow. My eldest son had presented it himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is a king,\" I murmured to the empty hall, \"when there is no world left to challenge him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I drank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flavor was sharp. Bitter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A heartbeat later, my vision blurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My fingers loosened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...Strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I, who could drink dragon poison like water, felt my body grow heavy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Interesting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was no ordinary toxin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My limbs sank as if filled with stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My connection to mana... was being severed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Footsteps echoed across the throne room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Confident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I smiled faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So it has finally come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A tall young man stepped into the brazier light. Silver-black hair. Abyssal red eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My eldest son.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kael.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him stood a circle of robed archmages, staffs glowing with binding sigils.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kael bowed politely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good evening, Father. You seem unwell.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His smile was light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Relief hid behind it like a crack in glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I chuckled as numbness spread through my veins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Kael... you’ve finally grown a spine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A deep laugh rose from my chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So you chose poison over steel?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kael met my gaze without flinching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The wine contained a relic compound extracted from the World Tree’s root. It does not weaken the body. It severs a demon’s soul from the mana sea itself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elegant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cruel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brilliant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I laughed loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hahaha... excellent. Truly excellent. I was beginning to think my bloodline had gone soft.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He frowned. \"You’re not angry?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Angry?\" I leaned forward on the armrest. \"No. Relieved.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For centuries I have ruled a world with no future,\" I said quietly. \"A king who cannot fall becomes a god. And a god becomes a disease. I have outlived my era.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My eyes burned with long-buried hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But I will not die in a bed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I rose slowly, leaning on my sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How disappointing. I trained you better than this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His jaw tightened. \"You trained me too well. I know I cannot defeat you fairly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least he understood reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I spread my arms and laughed again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hahahaha... at last. A blade aimed at my throat again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even stripped of mana, my body was still forged by ten thousand wars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I drew my greatsword from its throne mount.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Steel sang through the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kael’s eyes widened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So you still intend to fight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I only laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He frowned. \"You’re smiling.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course I am. I have waited centuries for this moment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Waited?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stepped down from the throne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You think I grew careless?\" I said softly. \"No, Kael. I grew tired.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hall trembled beneath my footsteps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A demon lord must die by betrayal or battle. Anything else is an insult.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I walked, my gaze lifted to the vast ceiling carved with stars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the privacy of my own mind, memories stirred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A dying city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A small apartment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A worthless man running from police sirens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one here knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one ever would.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had conquered this world for the same reason I once stole in that other life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To feel alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A ruler without challenge is a corpse sitting upright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I raised my sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I do not want a throne without war. I do not want eternity without struggle.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I lunged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The floor shattered beneath my step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Come. Kill me properly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time in his life, Kael hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I sealed your mana, but your body is still monstrous. I brought magi for a reason.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Coward.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I surged forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CLANG!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kael barely raised his blade in time. The shockwave hurled him across the marble. He slid, boots carving trenches, blood spilling from his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The archmages panicked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chains of light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gravitational spears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Void-binding circles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without mana, every spell struck fully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My flesh tore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bones cracked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, I advanced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I crushed one mage’s skull with my bare hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Impaled another through the chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Magic kept coming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Layer after layer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A spear of condensed gravity pierced my chest and pinned me to the throne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My legs failed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sank to one knee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Breathing hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood soaking the obsidian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So this is how it ends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kael approached slowly, trembling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even like this... you’re still a monster.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I coughed blood and laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good. If I were easy to kill, you would not be worthy to replace me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised a black crystal dagger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Heart-Sunderer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A relic that destroys a demon’s core directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So this was his true plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not a battlefield execution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A king’s assassination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, he looked like a son again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I met his gaze and smiled warmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do it. Prove you are not my shadow, but my heir. My firstborn. My son.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His jaw clenched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dagger plunged into my heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Agony exploded through my soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My demon core fractured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world dimmed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet I smiled wider than ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Excellent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At last.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The strongest Demon Lord did not fade quietly into history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I died standing, pierced through the heart by my own blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And for the first time in centuries—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt alive again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My vision darkened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kael knelt before me, voice breaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You were the greatest emperor in history.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I smiled bloodily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No. I was a challenger.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Darkness closed in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My last thought was not regret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So this is death again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I whispered into the void:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good... now let’s see where I wake up next.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Supreme Demon Emperor, ruler of all races, conqueror of worlds—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Died smiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still hungry for war.\u003C\u002Fp>",1293,"2026-06-09T06:06:36.650Z","novelbin.me","5256e49ecbf39e1fb397677d67c050766c32b0c49269e6fcf22ba2eb97efe667","journey-to-become-the-zenith-chapter-2","journey-to-become-the-zenith-chapter-200",253,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fjourney-to-become-the-zenith-cover.jpg"]