To summarize the beginning, the MC, the elder son of a powerful family, has an exceptional talent and is very intelligent, but for some reason, he chose not to learn martial arts and lived solitary.

(For whatever reason) he was imprisoned in a horrible condition and tortured. His limbs were chopped, his eyes were gouged out, and so on.

At one point, while imprisoned, a voice spoke to him, and after a conversation, he decided to enter into a contract with it (the ruler of darkness).

... more>> Genre:

It's billed as a "martial arts" (or "murim") novel, but it's really more of a "politics, mystery, horror, and gore" read.

Pros:

1. The protagonist is really smart and talented, but the side characters are also savvy enough to be believable, and the main characters are savvy enough to make you appreciate the MC's brain.

One review I read even drew parallels between this novel and The Three Kingdoms. I don't know about that, but those who have read enough chapters seem to be obsessed with its intellectual battles.

2. The MC is not only clever but also powerful. Of course, given there are Cultivation Ranks, he is not overpowered from the start. (There are immortals and such.)

3. You'll watch the MC's fights through the eyes of his opponents, which is really cool.

Cons:

1: It's not your typical martial arts; it's mixed martial arts, and it's brutal and dark.

2: It's a bit too dark, so you may not like it.

Spoiler

MC eats people; that's how he levels up.

[collapse]

To the reviewer below me:

Spoiler

She's using him as a safe haven, and he knows it, but he's letting her remain anyhow.

Not to mention that he knows her from his past life (maybe she was one of those who tortured him, maybe something else). The point is that you can't judge him this early.

She isn't slow-witted, thanks to her eyes, but her eyes aren't working on him, so

If it wasn't for the strange hunger he felt at that time; I don't think he would have asked for a maid.

[collapse]

<<less

At this point the novel is good enough to be considered a 4.6/4.7 and if it continues to be this good of a quality to the end it can be a 4.8 even

The MC makes fun of a supposedly responsible, likable, and overall capable maid for doing things that follow etiquette.

He twists her words to his benefit and she's supposed to be subordinate to him and his ally (in the story). Like she didn't do anything wrong. And in response to his words, all she can do is say "eh..", "ah!", "uhm, " and the like. That's not at all what a maid of her great caliber (as described in the story) should be responding with in tense situations.

Other factors also contribute... more>> in her appearing very slow-witted, even when she's said not to be.

Also he expects her to cook, clean, and garden the whole 15k courtyards by herself.

Very disappointed at the level of this world's intelligence. <<less

OP as hell Munchkin MC drowned in edgelord anti-hero wish fufilment fantasies. It's honestly very cringe to read.

The author also commits one of the cardinal sins of storytelling. Creating a "brilliant protagonist" but being unable to convey that convincingly. He's smart because the author says he is, that's it.

Dont know if its Korean culture or just the MC. But this guy is s*upid and the people around him are even dumber. Like there has to be a baseline for s*upidity and they somehow cross that

For those who are reading my comments for the first time. I dont always say this, mostly because not everyone calls their MC brilliant and a genius at the very beginning. For someone who reads a lot and is supposed to be a scholor, he doesnt know a lot of things.

Even basic knowledge on... more>> household management was lost on him. Like the guy gave a small kid the jobs of multiple fully grown men in the first two chapters. If that was it then it would have been okay. But this guy simply cannot be described as a genius in any way.

Its like saying a bodybuilder who has no clue the basic fundamentals of bodybuilding is a genius simply because of him body. No that is called possibly raw talent or someone who takes steroids. My best guess it this MC is going to be another power hungry idiot who becomes OP faceslapper.

Idk why or if koreans believe this is what anyone smart or dumb do but I feel this is very s*upid. Like below IQ s*upid. And in that case, I have officially given up on KR novels. A few people recommended this novel to me and even told me to only read the first few chapters which I did.

A massive let down. S*upid MC, Dumb characters and brainless side characters combined with OP power system and everyone is basically powerless before the MC. Thank you 'The Ruler of Darkness' for showing me the path that Korean entertainment (at least novels) are mostly garbage. Maybe thats taking it too far, a better way for saying is perhaps it is more of a break from manga which are historically better made for an international audience compared to korean novels I guess. I would only recommend this if you are completely tired of japanese typical MC's and are looking for brainless faceslapping, though I would recommend CN rather than this. Better quality, more quantity and they clearly display chinese ideals rather than hiding it like the korean counterparts do. <<less