The Substitute Exam Taker Becomes a God

From Beggar to King of Chu: My Road to a Comeback

A car accident sends a modern-day exam failure into another world, where he wakes up as a street beggar. To stay alive, he assumes someone else's identity and sits the imperial exams, astonishingly winning first place and becoming the top scholar! He hopes to live quietly as an honest official and serve the people, but corrupt ministers frame him and the emperor grows suspicious. Twice, he is thrown into a death-row prison. But he refuses to give up. He invents refined salt, brews potent liquor, makes new paper, develops gunpowder, and upgrades cavalry weapons. Six groundbreaking innovations that benefit the people win their hearts. When a foolish emperor tries to take the woman he loves, and a new emperor seeks his life, he finally stops holding back. Three thousand death-defying soldiers, a palace coup in a single night, and gunfire decide the fate of the realm. He does not claim the throne. Instead, he supports a young ruler and takes control of the government, ushering in a thousand years of prosperity for Great Xia. The commoner who clawed his way out of the mud ultimately rises to the pinnacle of power.