Take Down That Proud Dragon

A collection of short stories

There are women who are beautiful, intelligent, powerful, and ambitious. They are the heroines of their stories, standing above all others.

But the words before "above all others" are:

The Outcast.

And that person is their overpowered male match.

The heroines: But I don't want to be beneath anyone.

Then we'll just have to ask the male leads to get out of the way.

[Story 1]

"Your Majesty, to secure your position as empress, you must win the emperor's favor and give birth to a legitimate heir as soon as possible!"

When her mother pressed the fertility medicine into Shu Yunyao's palm, Shu Yunyao did not refuse.

Not because she had finally come around and decided to give her husband a legitimate son.

She was lost in thought.

Shu Yunyao wondered:

Why should I need a man's favor to secure my position as empress?

Why can't I... decide whether the throne is secure based on my mood?

[Story 2]

After Duke Elwin passed away, his only daughter, Elizabeth, became a duchess in her own right, inheriting his lands and army.

At that moment, two royal heirs were waiting outside.

Whoever won her heart could use the powerful army and vast territory of the Duchy of Elwin to win the war for control of the continent.

They said, "I'll make you empress, the most honored woman on the continent."

Elizabeth accepted their gifts and tossed them into storage.

She summoned her most loyal knight. "I think I can become the most honored woman on the continent without those two useless men."

She would become the ruler of the continent herself.

[Story 3]

Ruan Zhao had a dream.

In it, she married her junior fellow disciple, then spent her family fortune for him, fought demon beasts, stole spirit herbs, and refined immortal pills, finally raising him into the greatest Sword Sovereign under heaven.

After waking up, Ruan Zhao thought: Was the version of me in that dream seriously ill?

She had a Heavenly Spirit Root, the legacy of a Pill Sovereign, and was even a sword cultivator rich enough to rival a nation.

With all that going for her, wouldn't it be better to raise herself?

Ruan Zhao: Let's start with a small goal: become the Supreme of the cultivation world!

[Story 4]

During a spaceship's warp jump, Imperial Marshal Zhao Ying saw herself in a parallel world.

That version of her had left the military, married the emperor, helped him consolidate his power, and shared an angsty romance with him.

Zhao Ying (furious): I spent years fighting and bleeding on the frontier, and now I'm supposed to miscarry and cry over some pretty boy?

Zhao Ying flips the table and rolls up her sleeves.

"The throne changes hands in turn. This year, it's your turn to yield to Grandma Zhao!"

The stories may appear in any order, and there will be more than the number mentioned in the blurb.

The heroines stand on their own and won't suffer for love in this life. They reject romance from the start and go on to rise through the ranks, make a fortune, and become overpowered heroines. Some supporting characters may have one-sided feelings for them, but there will absolutely be no romance plots.

Theme: Heroines should be self-reliant.