Martial King

Martial King is a long Eastern fantasy novel by the web author Du You, serialized on Qidian Chinese Network from 2012 and completed in 2013, about 2.004 million characters in 919 chapters. The story's starting point is a genuine "accident": an ordinary office worker on Earth, Mu Han, dies after getting drunk, and his soul lands in the body of a bullied illegitimate son of the Mu family in Lieshan City of the Yue Kingdom. The original owner died after being beaten by a youth of the same clan, and when Mu Han wakes he inherits only a frail body and a blurry memory. The turning point comes from a jade pendant left by his mother, Mu Zhaoyi. In the center of the pendant is carved a purple palace, with the two characters "Zixu" clearly visible; after Mu Han awakens, the pendant stirs and finally sinks into his brow. This treasure, called the "Zixu Divine Palace," opens for him a vast inner palace and also heals his injuries. The novel's cultivation setting is based on the "inner palace," the broader the palace the better the aptitude; Mu Han is initially judged a cripple with "no inner palace," when in fact the divine palace has not yet manifested. Thereafter, starting from the Mu family's Xuanfeng Academy, he cultivates techniques such as the Purple Jade Rising Smoke Formula, distinguishes himself in tests of strength on the black tortoise crystal pillar and in correcting the lineage registers, then leaves Lieshan City for wider worlds such as Wuji City, the Heaven-Climbing Tower, and the Senluo Realm, making enemies and crossing swords with forces like the Yulong Heavenly Sect and the Beihai Li clan, rising all the way through a world of wondrous techniques, rare dao artifacts, and ancient powerhouses, ultimately seeking the pinnacle of martial arts and moving toward "ten thousand heavenly domains, where martial arts alone reign supreme." The whole book is a typical transmigration leveling story, brisk in pace and dense in cathartic payoffs, built around "martial arts."