I'm About to Become Emperor, Yet the World Still Thinks I'm a Nobody

The Great Jing collapses, the realm falls into chaos, and warlords contend for supremacy.

Xiao Heng, a royal clansman of the former dynasty and a renowned general entrusted with defending the nation, raises an army and carves out a domain in Jiangnan, claiming the title of king.

Everyone mocks him as the most useless of all the lords. He controls rich, fertile lands, yet spends his days indulging in wine and women, neglecting military and political affairs, and bowing and scraping to every power around him. He's the very picture of a foolish prince.

No one knows that deep within his mansion, where music and revelry continue night after night, weapons and armor are forged around the clock and stores of grain grow year by year. Talented warriors from humble backgrounds and peerless strategists have long been gathering under his command, unnoticed.

While the warlords fight until the land is piled with corpses, he watches from the sidelines, secretly absorbing remnants of their armies and snapping up overlooked talent.

When powerful clans obstruct him and secretly sabotage his plans, he stays calm and quietly cuts off the foundations of their wealth.

The warlords laugh at him for being too cowardly to compete for the Central Plains. He says nothing, simply expanding his territory threefold.

By the time the lords have fought each other to exhaustion, leaving the Central Plains scorched, they finally remember the rich prize that is Jiangnan.

Then an iron army in black armor emerges, blotting out the sky. Xiao Heng dons his armor and takes up his sword. He now commands half the realm, with elite troops and abundant provisions, the strongest ruler of all.

Only then do people realize: he was never a debauched prince, but a hidden dragon. From the start of this chaotic age, he had already laid out the board for the entire realm!