The Wicked Monkey

Nongmin ShushuQidian2015

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Word count
1.5M words

Tags

Male-Oriented Fiction Xianxia and Wuxia XianxiaInspirationComplex HumanityMoral DilemmaIllustrated GuideAcademic StudyFemale Perspective

Summary

On the Xuanzhou continent, four Emperor Stars launch an assault on the sun; the Taiyin Star intervenes to block them, and the four Emperor Stars, gravely wounded by the sun's fire, fall in four directions to be reincarnated. A seed of solar fire drops into the mountain forests and is swallowed by a female Bifang, which unexpectedly lays a golden egg. From that egg hatches Sun Qi, born with both a human soul and the body of a demon monkey. Neither human nor demon, yet both, he enters the savage world of cultivation under the name of a freak rejected by heaven and earth. The Three Pure Ones Sect, the Ninth Heaven, the Western Sect, and the demon clans all seek to claim the reincarnated Emperor Star. Caught between these great powers, Sun Qi devours spirit herbs, tramples divine birds, befriends a band of oddball companions, and kicks up chaos from the Golden Crow Altar all the way beyond the nine heavens, step by step embarking on a path of defying heaven and slaying the Dao.

Editor's review

Suited to readers who enjoy primordial-fantasy, beast-protagonist, and monkey-lead stories. The draw is the protagonist Sun Qi's rascally personality and the dense barrage of bickering dialogue; the pace is breezy and the payoff direct. The author layers Emperor Star reincarnation and demon-kin identity onto one person, opening up a broad field of factional maneuvering. The weaknesses are clear too: early subscription numbers were modest, some passages feel like filler, and the later subplots drag somewhat; readers who want rigorous worldbuilding and polished prose should brace themselves.

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Reading tips

  1. Read the prologue and first few chapters to confirm you can take the playful bickering narrative voice before committing to a long series
  2. Watch the hidden thread of the Three Pure Ones Sect, Ninth Heaven, Western Sect, and demon clans all vying for the Emperor Star; it helps make sense of the mid-to-late faction landscape
  3. Read the chapters on the ten incarnations and the Sun Wukong legacy together to grasp the reveal of the protagonist's origins in one go

About the publisher

Qidian

Qidian is a platform whose catalogue brings together online literature, with about 45,000 titles in the library spanning categories such as male-oriented fiction, Eastern fantasy, xianxia and wuxia, science fiction, selected fiction and quality web novels. Representative titles include Reincarnation Paradise, War Soldier Leon, The Fairy Is Fierce (also known as Tai Mang), The Expert Is Right Beside Me, Dragon Herder, You Should Cross the Mountains Like a Hero, The Adventures of a Clever Girl and Summoning Heroes of All Ages in Another World, with themes extending from fantasy and xianxia to science fiction and adventure. Representative authors available in the library include Na Yi Zhi Wen Zi, Chi Gua Zi Qun Zhong, Guan Guan Gong Zi, Chenxing LL, Luan, Chen Mo De Ai, Piao Yi Dao Zhang and Dong Tian Bu Leng. Their works mostly appear as serialized web fiction aimed at readers who prefer long genre fiction. Public information on its founding background and scale is limited, so no inferences are made here; the description is based solely on the library's titles and categories.

FAQ

Where was this book first published, and is it finished? It debuted on Qidian and began serialization in January 2015. It is complete, with 562 chapters.
What is the protagonist Sun Qi's identity? He is both the reincarnated Emperor Star and a demon monkey—neither human nor demon, yet both.
Is there an audiobook version? Yes, a multi-voice audio drama launched on Himalaya in 2020.

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About the author

Nongmin Shushu Author

Nongmin Shushu, whose English name is rendered as Nongmin Shushu, is an author in the field of Chinese online literature; details such as nationality and dates of birth and death have not been made public. Four of the author's works are currently included in the library, with representative titles including Xie Hou, Aoshi Nitian, and Bu Xiu Huang. The works are commonly listed under categories such as premium fiction, fantasy fiction, fiction for male readers, xianxia and wuxia, and Eastern fantasy, with the subject matter concentrated in Eastern fantasy and xianxia and wuxia, aimed at readers who prefer male-oriented fantasy fiction. Because public information is limited, systematic details about the author's personal background, writing chronology, and writing style remain insufficient; this profile outlines the author's creative scope mainly on the basis of work categories and representative titles.