The Cruel Tyrant

Description

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Forcefully snatching handsome men and imprisoning them into his harem is nothing out of the ordinary. mu*der and arson is everyday life. Exterminating entire families and massacring whole cities are just recreational hobbies.

The common people wish daily to rip his tendons and flay his skin. The court officials and chancellors desire strongly to see his death. His royal brothers itch to swallow him whole. Warding evil spirits during the day and expeling demons at night – he is the tyrant who strikes terror in the hearts of the common people.

Creating the foundation of a thousand year dynasty, leaving behind accomplishments that change generations – he is the controversial Emperor of Qing debated over in history texts.

Note: The Qing in this story is 青, which is made up and different from the existing Qing 清 dynasty of China’s history.

Associated Names
One entry per line
暴君
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Back To The Beginning Of Ming To Do Charity (3)
How to Survive As a Villain (2)
Royal Road (2)
This Lord is Too Cruel (1)
His Majesty And Ministers (1)
The Wulin Alliance’s Private Records (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Completed Novels 2
  2. BLs I Like
  3. BL Harem
  4. Best, Ok and Great BL
  5. BLs that suit my taste

Latest Release

Date Group Release
12/27/21 The BL Muse c131 (end)
12/24/21 The BL Muse c130
12/22/21 The BL Muse c129
12/20/21 The BL Muse c128
12/17/21 The BL Muse c127
12/15/21 The BL Muse c126
12/15/21 The BL Muse c125 part2
12/15/21 The BL Muse c125 part1
12/13/21 The BL Muse c124
12/10/21 The BL Muse c123
12/08/21 The BL Muse c122
12/06/21 The BL Muse c121
11/26/21 The BL Muse c120
11/24/21 The BL Muse c119
11/22/21 The BL Muse c118
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Review
46 Reviews


auryworry
auryworry
Feb 06, 2021
Status: Completed
The translation is great, and I continued with mtl, which is quite readable but reading the translation first helped with understanding things that might be too difficult otherwise.

MC is transmigrated from modern world to be a tyrant crown prince of a poor kingdom. He deals with the politics and affairs of running a kingdom on the brink of destruction. He uses his knowledge from modern world to keep his kingdom afloat, while some parts made me cringe overall it's not too bad. It's the genre after all. [Edit: this particular... more>> golden finger will get more eyebrow-raising in the later chapters, but I say don't let it deter you from enjoying the other aspects of the story]

MC is smart and handles his new role really well. He's tough and doesn't cower in helplessness. He knows how to act his station as someone in charge of a kingdom and as someone who is well known to be cruel. He's not afraid to kill, since he's originally a ruthless person too. In the face of the original's reputation as a manic tyrant, he could only make use of it. As in Yun Feiyu's words:

Spoiler

Even if the prince is not as cruel as the previous prince, he is definitely not a saint.

[collapse]

It's clear from the very first line that MC is a shou, but he sure acts like a gong and it's another point of attractiveness for me. The members of his harem wish to kill him to some degree or another while also hooked with his beauty and sensual allure, so things will develop later of course. They all have different personalities and their own depths. There's the smart type, flamboyant but sly and scheming type, meek and childish type, silent and strong type, feisty and playful type, all you can choose. They chase and fight for MC's affection in their own brand of trickeries. Their interactions are entertaining to read, though it's my first time reading NP novel so I don't have much ground to compare.

Smut scenes are glossed over and not overly explicit. <<less
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albeldayuia
albeldayuia
Mar 09, 2021
Status: Completed
What drew me the most is the freshness of the premise. At least, for me. How a modern man deals with being transmigrated as a tyrannical ruler. The answer is, he gave in to his character background so easily.

The MLs are archetypal and fleshed out only just enough but I like them and enjoyed their interaction with each other or with MC. The crown prince's past feels too forced but the emotional impact hooked me. And the ending left me hanging and got me asking 'that's it?'
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mangafan000
mangafan000
May 05, 2021
Status: Completed
great novel.

MC, Su Mo (shou) is awesome.
the real one was completely crazy but the reason is explained from the first chapters.

his ML (gong) are all awesome and hot.

i love their relationship.
it is really a harem novel, but they are not in a harem.
they all have very important positions.

this new Su Mo manages to conquer them and finally the MLs are no longer afraid of him and it shows very quickly in bed.

the women in this novel are fighting for real and for really hard things, but not like women in a harem.

I love s*x scenes, it's hot.

the first extra wasn't good, but the others were great.

thanks to the author

thanks to the translator
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Sophiethebunny
Sophiethebun
Aug 16, 2021
Status: c40
Very disappointing. A random white collar person all of a sudden transmigrates and now he’s easily killing people, making military decisions, and being still really good at martial arts he inherited from the original body. He got into this cruel tyrant role really quick huh. This novel tried to be like “back to the beginning of Ming” but it’s not. “Back to the beginning of Ming” is my all time favorite which is the only novel I completed via mtl and which I’ve read three times.
the cruel tyrant’s plot is weak, the kingdom building is weak, characters are not developed enough. I kept reading until chapter 40 to see if it’s gonna get any better but I’m left disappointed. I don’t know if I wanna continue reading at this point.
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Alexcia
Alexcia
Aug 08, 2021
Status: c49
Honestly, this thing makes me feel bad.

I have a high standard on both the characters development and the story plot.

And the most frustrating thing of all is that IDK who is the bottom and who is the top, in addition the translator censored even one sentence of smut activity like what?

Additionally, the story plot is good overall but the guy Su Mu development is terrible, he went from being a top tyranny prince to a lame pathetic idk bottom. So, I dropped it in this chapter. Again, this is me... more>> ranting on this frustrating novel and solely based on my preference, so if anyone wanna read it just give it a try. <<less
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AmoraLareine
AmoraLareine
Sep 13, 2022
Status: c45
'''if you are looking for some threesome or gang s*x then this one is great but if you are looking for a great one with good plot and interesting guys in harem then I don't recommend you reading this''''

Although I don't expect much from these kind of novel, still it is so disappointing.

At first I thought the shou (MC) would be powerful enough to control his concubines (ML) but later that' not the case. Also, the start of the plot is good with the scenario of MC trying his... more>> best to stabilize the Qin Country but later the plot becomes tr*sh bcz of MLs (who only think about raping or having s*x with MC) Especially YE QingFeng (that one is truly disgusting). He is the first guy who forced MC just for his pleasure. Surprisingly, our MC is also kind enough to forgive him though he said don't, f*ck you, I'll kill you but still he just sits and does nothing. Hey, MC is the crown prince and ML is his concubine but MC can't even stop ML from raping him.

Seriously, plz author nim if you want to portray MC as a powerful and smart One then don't make the plot tr*shy with the r*pe scenes......

Smart and brave (in other cases) but silly and weak in bed (being r*ped but can't do nor doesn't do anything to MLs) MC shou

and

Some tr*sh MLs only thinking about s*x all day and can't control their lower parts....... <<less
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ya-oy
ya-oy
Dec 30, 2021
Status: Completed
5/5

I don't really like to read harem but I gave this a chance when I saw 5* reviews and I didn't get disappointed. I started this yesterday afternoon and finished it this afternoon too

... more>>
Spoiler

I hated Shi Emperor and Wu Crown prince but I low-key wanted them to be a part of the harem XD I was kinda sad when they died

[collapse]

I want to reply to sophiethebun, did you at least tried to understand or use your brain while reading this novel? Random white collared worker? Really? Maybe if you didn't drop this at chap 40 and continued reading until the end then maybe you would understand better and realize that your review is s*upid.

Dang I just read all the reviews and realized that everyone who rated 3* and below have very dumb reasons, did y'all read with your foot? ML became a pathetic bottom? Since when? You even had the guts to say you have a high standard HAHAHAHA <<less
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Berlin
Berlin
Oct 15, 2021
Status: c103
This one is 4-5* for me but I'm upping the rating because it's really addictive to read. Also, I saw some of the reviews rating it down cause of confusion over censored text from the translator but they removed it now. All the smut is there except one part early on. I compared it with the Chinese.

The MC appears cold and ruthless, less so than the original self, but I feel that he actually isn't as 'heartless' as he says he is, given how he (Big spoilers ahead) : ... more>>
Spoiler

didn't really want to kill YFY after finding out the betrayal, helped HX escape after thinking he might have left him, and went to save YQF from a marriage when a war was looming.

[collapse]
I think that having a hardened character suits the story because it's set in a warring period, and the overall events will be very different if we have a kind or more lenient MC. In fact, the country wouldn't survive under a soft ruler.

I also really liked the original MC's backstory. It's sad and shed a lot of light on how he is the way he is. Doesn't excuse his unscrupulous killing but it helps the reader to understand the character and sympathise a bit.

About the MLs, I haven't finished the whole story yet so I'm not 100% sure if this is the final lineup due to some things that happen mid story regarding a certain character, but it should be going by character screen time (Don't read this spoiler if you want to guess them and experience the most drama and some angst) :

Spoiler

There are 5 and each is different, including the way they cough, f*ck, cough.

A lot of people will like HX the most, I think, because his relationship with the MC has the least trouble and is a cinnamon roll... at least on the outside. YQF is also another one I like, cause his roguish, easygoing, frivolous chasing of the MC was a balm to have when certain MLs left him.

LX acts like a little concubine, and GYZ has a lot of ust with MC during their sword fights. But my personal fav has to be YFY. I feel that his relationship with the MC went through the most development, and as a character he has the most depth. He and MC seem the most on par with each other, seeing how even early on, the MC relies on him to deal with court matters, and how he undeniably admires the MC's strategies.

I feel that the author could have gone off with a whole 1v1 with him and the MC if they wanted to, with a huge potential for angst. My heart still hurts whenever I think about him... that's all I'm gonna say.

[collapse]

Story pacing is fast and rather action-packed, which is how I got hooked. And sometimes you get surprise smut that is hot as hell. It's quality over quantity. I am not gonna lie. I upped the rating for the smut.

MC has gold fingers when he
Spoiler

pioneers in industrialization and modern values. In reality, obviously this won't go down well with the ancient beliefs, but in fiction, I can still believe that he manages to pull it off with his sheer inhuman martial arts power which scares the sh*t of everyone.

[collapse]

The MLs aren't 'useless' towards the end either. Each fills their own role:
Spoiler

as a little wife (lol sorry LX that's how I see you XD) ok he also helps MC as a spy sometimes, imperial doctor, right-hand man/ scholar official, assassin head, jianghu secret agent.

[collapse]
A reviewer said that the MC seems to have collected an RPG party - Healer, fighter, assassin, thief, strategist. Lol, they are right.

This turned out to be a surprisingly satisfyingly and addictive read. I hope the ending isn't butchered with some inane plot, but it's still going on my favourites shelf regardless. <<less
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LadyFancy69
LadyFancy69
Jan 13, 2021
Status: Completed
Writing a review since there are not that many people commenting. I read this mlt and found I could still understand it. It was really interesting to read as well as the story line was interesting to read. Our MC is struggling to keep his kingdom functioning from the previous mess that the original host caused, but it's proving difficult with everyone wanting to assassinate him. The only good thing is that there is very anyone out there that can defeat him in martial arts. You know, the only other... more>> 2 are in his harem and they only pin him down when it gets fun.

MC tries his best to make money, improve the political state, and the people around him to make his kingdom stable. But it gets complicated when others want to size his land and kill him depending on the person. Overall, I would recomend this to read.

The harem MC keeps is quite interesting, since most of them have a grudge with the original MC and wish him death. They come around eventually and like the new MC, but it's not a smooth road ahead for them. <<less
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takame
takame
Nov 14, 2023
Status: Completed
I want a kickass shou / I want a cool emperor / I want a villain

This novel: YES.

I like the MC. He is a pretty interesting kind of main character. Totally has the villain vibe in him with a beautiful face. And a very manly too, haha. That is why people could never imagine he's the one below. The Harem Fight among his concubines is such a highlight everytime. More than just a palace drama, it oftentimes became a fist fight. It's funny to see big men be beautiful and... more>> show jealousy. Tho the brawls never got that bad as MC is good at controlling them as he's the strongest of them all. As a note, he is very OP indeed.

OFC aside from that, there is also some sort of plot going on. Still, readers have to be clear that this novel is more about SMUT. The story is there for the MC not just to fix things around but also to lay down the backstory of the lovers he catches. Just from that, you'd see how the plot points are more of an assistant to take MC into different bed plays and locations. If you want something to pour your high expectations on, avoid smutty BLs (and just stay in your shounen-ai lane). Yaoi just generally care for the kink, let's be real. Aside from that, it did it's job as a harem novel. It concentrated more on the characters and everything else is not complicated like the palace politics. <<less
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stellaries
stellaries
Apr 09, 2022
Status: c131
my first cn bl novel

ok first of all I LOVE this I was just trying out reading this only because of the harem tag but I ended up also reading for the plot, I do agree with the other reviews that said that the ending was kinda rushed and I also sometimes had some trouble with the sudden changes of the locations (tho I dont really mind)

now for the characters

... more>> i do love the mc/shou, I love that he is still a smart and ruthless leader

as for the male leads, love the characters but I do have my favorites which is liu xi (i love his cat-like, emotional, malewife character) and yun feiyu (yes, I love pretty gongs)

i love that it still have harem ending bcs I know that liu xi wont be picked if they went with 1 pairing only ending lol but I wish that some male leads have more moments with su mu (yes im talking about liu xi yet again)

genuine question what the heck happen with that one concubine 😭 kinda forgot his name but I think it was qing ye?? Anyway just realized I didnt see a single hair of his since that yun feiyu scene either its a plot hole or I just did not pay attention which is more likely the case also my dumb brain can’t comprehend what tf is going on in the last chapter <<less
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orztodaempress
orztodaempre
May 02, 2022
Status: Completed
Overall rating: 3.5

Gonna be honest here, the reason I read the whole thing through was for the smut.

It was decent. I thought Su Mu (MC) was a gong protagonist or power bottom in the beginning but nope. It's nothing out of the ordinary so if you like some classic papapa this will be your cup of tea. The level of detail varies, but there is enough to definitely qualify for the smut tag (because some novels don't). Though it does get a little more experimental in the extras.

The pacing is... more>> good but the author definitely seems to have rushed it at the end.

My biggest complaint is the world-building. Some the side characters seemed to have been candidates for Su Mu (MC) 's harem but the author just changed their mind. Not to mention, many of the recurring side characters' motives / personalities don't match up from arc to arc, making it blatantly obvious that the author is just using them as devices to move the plot forward.

The plot doesn't seem to have a clear trajectory is either. The way the author concluded the story just made the MC's actions feel like they were building up to nothing.

Spoiler

Sure, Su Mu brought many technologies to China and they advanced centuries early, but the author doesn't bother expanding further about how this could result in a butterfly effect that possibly makes China the most progressive country in an alternate universe. Instead, the author seemed to take the lazy route and decided the MC's contributions ultimately doesn't effect anything and the West would still spearhead the industrial revolution. And Su Mu's technologies were never understood by the Chinese people.

[collapse]

In a word: lazy writing. So read it for the smut not the plot.

P.S. Translations were great. Much thanks to TheIronTreeBlooms for providing quality translations for all 131 chapters <3 <<less
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Jasminefalls
Jasminefalls
Feb 01, 2022
Status: Completed
Note: This is based solely on my reading experience.

What I liked about this book

  • The smut and the harem. It is embarrassing but yes it is the best part.
  • The political intrigue.
    Spoiler

    I liked how every kingdom was out for blood for each other.

    [collapse]
  • A capable but not OP MC.
    Spoiler

    Yes, he has some sort of golden finger but we see that as a human he also makes mistakes and it shows how cunning his enemies are.

    [collapse]
What I disliked about this book

  • The smut was good but the romance has a lack of development.
    Spoiler

    I even felt that it was Stockholm syndrome at some point.

    [collapse]
  • Spoiler

    The author made a sad back story of the original body for nothing.I admit it felt more comfortable to read after learning that but also should've written a memorable arc about it.

    [collapse]
Rating : 7.5/10 (A good historical politics BL with a solid plot. But if you are looking for a slow burn romance, this is not for you.)
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Tianshi
Tianshi
Jan 09, 2022
Status: Completed
I can say that looking at the comment first will make you want to drop the novel... What I did first is this which made me want to drop it on the first chapter but I still continued and when I learned that it was actually a Transmigration novel I continued and it turns out it is good. But I am still curious of something like....... more>>
Spoiler

where did that first man I think he was surnamed Qi go he just dissapeared hahaha

[collapse]

Reader has a different cup of tea so before deciding on not reading try to give it a chance.

Spoiler

I was still hoping for a good ending on Su Mochi like also transmigrated on the modern day and was able to find his fated lover. He just got ruthless because of his bad childhood losing people which made him so violent plus that old man hmmph!

And also MC and his Gong's will transmigrate to modern time to hehehe and xxoo there hahahahahahah lels

[collapse]

Amd I just hope people discovered that he is a shou hahahaha <<less
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iamblair
iamblair
Jan 06, 2022
Status: Completed
This novel could have been very interesting but the ending and the way the author wrote the novel were really lacking.

The MC was OP. Not much was mentioned about his life before he transmigrated, only that he used to be a CEO and was involved in a car accident.

The MLs have their own areas they excelled in (a scholar, a spy, a doctor, and two martial artists-one was skilled in qinggong and the other was as powerful as the MC). Most of them actually had grudge towards the MC since... more>> they were kidnapped and tortured by the original body before the MC came then fell inlove with the MC later on.

The plot focused on the MC making money, unifying the kingdoms with the help of the MLs, defeating the antagonists, and developing his relationship with the MLs.

The ending felt abrupt and a little disappointing though the MC and MLs succeeded. I think that the translation is good though. It was simple and coherent. <<less
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AliceJ
AliceJ
Nov 30, 2021
Status: --
Holy sh*t this was good! I didn't expect to like this novel but I did for some reason.

I've never read a harem novel before so this was quite a new experience for me and I didn't hate it at all. Maybe it's because of the way the author tells the story but yeah it was nice.

The Mls are all interesting, maybe in the first few chapters you wouldn't see that, as the author focuses more on the MC but as the story progresses everyone gets the limelight they deserve, and... more>> back story. It was amazing uncovering such details along with the MC!

The palace intrigues and the journey of the MC becoming a successful emperor was written beautifully and it honestly satisfied my 21st-century ass. Tho I have some complaints
Spoiler

we really lost track of the time at some point but it was soon corrected by the author, also some details were not so clear

[collapse]
other than this it was nice.

as for my naughty people out there: there's no smut in the first chapters since the author just time skips but it gets more exclusive as time goes by. So if you haven't found smut in the first chapters don't be sad! There's a lot later (it seems like the author got bolder lol)

Lastly, I would like to thank the translator for the super nice quality translation, they've done a great job. THANK YOU! <<less
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Caramellatte
Caramellatte
Aug 07, 2021
Status: c80
This gotta be my no 1 favourite transmigration novel so far. I like the concept, it's a bit different from the transmigration themed novel I've read. Please don't let the harem tag put you off though, I didn't even like harem novel before but this novel changed my opinion. The writing is fluid, the comedy is entertaining, and MC is a lovable character. The pace of the novel is just right too, not too hurried but not too slow either. There are political issues in this novel but I don't... more>> find it too heavy. Kudos for translation theme for doing a good job on this novel. <<less
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whereismori
whereismori
Jan 12, 2021
Status: Completed
3.5 stars

I read all of this in one go so I don't know how its going to age or if I'll still remember it in 2 months, I came to see how someone who transmigrated would deal with the reputation of a tyrant. The whole concept was interesting to me, but there was a lot and I mean a lot of s*x. To the point where I skipped over it to get back to politics. I liked it enough, it was a fun read.

Note: This is a actual BL harem... more>> and theres no specific ML. <<less
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Doodoo
Doodoo
Sep 10, 2023
Status: Completed
I binge read this in 2 hours. Even though there seems to be a lot of chapters, they are all very short so it was quick work.

To be honest, the main character is unlikeable. Even now I still dislike his behaviour and actions. The original owner of the body was just a straight up scum, but the MC is not much better either. They are both cruel, lust driven, evil tyrants. Like the title says. The only difference is the MC goes about it in a slightly better way. But... more>> you don't need to like the MC to enjoy the novel, except if you expected some sort of redemption arc for the MC.

The MLs are the real reason I kept reading. They were all reasonably written with a variety of cliches imbedded. There's the gentle one, the frivolous playboy, the cold silent one, the puppy type, etc etc. I found them to be entertaining and quite likeable!! They all start liking the MC out of the blue just because he changed yada yada, neglecting the fact that the MC did some truly horrific things to them. I wonder how they can still love him after what he put them through.

Plot wise, some very dumb concepts introduced that I thought were incongruous with the story or weren't developed enough.
Spoiler

There was a mild attempt at feminism by building a women's school but it just seemed like a pandering plot device. The MC wanted to build trains... but didn't consider the other thousands of things that needed to be developed first. Plus the ending truly s**ked. I didn't even realise it was the ending as it just came out of the blue after the MC nearly died. A lot of things weren't resolved in the main story and had to be mentioned in passing during the extras. Just why?!

[collapse]

Anways, it was an ok read. The translation was confusing in some parts but it got better. Read to past time!! <<less
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Vonbielefelt
Vonbielefelt
Dec 14, 2022
Status: Completed
This was a surprisingly good read considering the summary. The novel starts off rather comedically with the MC already OP and only having enemies, including in his harem, in his impoverished and falling apart kingdom. While trying to keep the kingdom from destruction, he builds relationships with his pre-made harem members. Each harem member has their own moment to shine with the MC in both war and personally without the increase in affection seeming abrupt. The MC's opponents aren't slouches either. They're pretty likeable characters despite everyone being ruthless, and,... more>> unlike faces slapping novels, their IQs stay online when facing the MC. There's reasoning behind why the plot moves the way it does and why the characters choose what they do, be it the MCs lovers, court, or enemies. This isn't a perfect novel--flaws already covered in other reviews--but it's pretty entertaining. <<less
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