I Really Am Not a Tyrant!

Xiao Ling was struck by a bolt of heavenly lightning and turned into a prince of the Northern Xia Kingdom.

The good news: he ascended the throne, going from prince to emperor, the supreme ruler.

The bad news: On the day of his coronation, the Northern Xia Imperial Preceptor prophesied, "The one who will destroy Northern Xia is the tyrant Xiao Ling. Anyone may kill him to appease Heaven's wrath and the people's resentment, and Northern Xia will be saved." Then he smashed his head against a pillar and died. A strange phenomenon appeared in the sky, and the setting sun was red as blood.

From then on, rumors spread everywhere, and assassination attempts came one after another.

Worse still, he was forced to bind himself to the "Wise Ruler System," which demanded that he defy fate and transform from a tyrant into a wise ruler admired by all throughout the ages.

If he defied the System, he would suffer the pain of being sliced apart by a thousand knives day and night, with no escape.

Enemies on all sides. A disastrous start from the very beginning.

Xiao Ling's response?

This is terrifying! He wanted to go home!

So Xiao Ling humored the System while investigating how to get home.

Step one: To protect himself, Xiao Ling stayed in his bedchamber, setting traps, collecting weapons to practice with, and building his strength to prevent assassination attempts.

Step two: To find the rules governing time travel by studying the movements of the sun, moon, and stars, he ordered books on astronomy to be gathered, emptied the entire library of the Observatory, and summoned the new Imperial Preceptor for questioning.

Step three: He ordered meteorites and all kinds of artifacts from beyond the heavens to be brought into the palace, extracted the materials he needed, and sent everything to the military camps whenever an experiment went wrong, so nothing would go to waste.

Step three: He summoned talented people from far and wide to secretly build a time machine…

Who could have guessed

The emperor never attended court. When the chancellor lifted his robe but failed to kneel outside the palace hall, he nearly got shot by the emperor's bow. The officials were all on edge.

The new Imperial Preceptor stood guard over an empty tower. The emperor tricked him into believing in warnings from the stars, and he was terrified that he would be implicated in his predecessor's claim that the tyrant must be killed. He lived in constant dread.

Before the Grand Tutor could even offer advice, he caught sight of the emperor holding a blood-red sword, murderous intent flashing in his crimson eyes. The old man was so frightened that he retired to his hometown. "I have nothing left to teach. Your Majesty, please let this old servant go home."

When the emperor's guards received all sorts of weapons and firearms they'd never heard of before, the generals trembled. "His Majesty must be warning us not to harbor any disloyal thoughts!"

An enemy spy who had just entered Northern Xia territory was mistaken for an alchemist and brought into the palace. He trembled with fear. "The tyrant has eyes and ears everywhere, and his power reaches everywhere. He's terrifying!"

When Xiao Ling happened to hear people saying he was truly a tyrant through and through, he was baffled.

So, to keep my throne secure, I'm ruthless and scheming, eliminating dissenters, using both kindness and force, and exercising power everywhere?!

I only want to go home!

Content warnings:

1. This is a misunderstanding comedy. From beginning to end, everyone sees the protagonist as a fearsome "tyrant."

2. Please add this to your collection. I'm begging you!

Theme: Hope lies ahead!