Dark King

Sci-fi1,280 Chapters8.9M Views
Author: Ancient Xi
4.12
Overview
Table of Contents
Synopsis

Catastrophe erupted, it was the end of the world.

Survivors were surrounded by the impregnable wall, a new order was established...

The desire for power, faith, and darkness pervaded each other, layer upon layer of brands imprinted in every corner of the heart.

The virus wreaked havoc, were these humans' true colors?

"I unexpectedly survive, I want to live." –Du Dian

458 Reviews
4.12
Translation Quality
Stability of Updates
Story Development
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Nyko
Nyko

I was pretty astounded when I saw the ratings for this novel - if not saddened. This is... complicated. I was glad to see this on Qidian since I started to use this app and The Dark King was a pretty good and original novel IMO. I binged it up to around chapter 400 I guess ? Anyway, I was sad because I don't understand how people can give 5 stars to blatant copy pasta of typical xianxias, while trashing someone who, for once, did something a bit original. And succeeded at it. The Dark King is a post-apocalyptic novel about the survival of a young boy forsaken by the world. Clearly not the light-headed kind of novel, The Dark King brings the most out of its story by toying with the reader's emotions. I dunno if you ever cried reading a novel - I did - and somehow, I find it quite pleasant. It's a food for the soul - as some great man once said. The Dark King is, as usual in chinese novels, a story with a powerful main character. However, and this is where it differs from the norm, there is no oh-so-welcomed/blatantly obvious plot armor. Of course the main character won't die. Nevertheless it doesn't mean he'll never fail. The author tries to make it as realistic as possible, even if it means showing the readers the ugly side of humanity. So the hero is a normal boy starting as low as you can start : treated as a low-life by the lowest of low-lives. Nothing unusual. But surprisingly there is no multicolored thunder coming to make him a killing god, no sudden heaven-trashing artifact reversing single-handedly his fate. No, he simply just climbs the hierarchy using his guts and his wits. Such a shame that the author wouldn't allow the clever hero to live a blissful existence. Tragedy befalls him one after the other and he falls to a pathetic state. The author depicts the transition of cleverness to cunningness. Throughout the story the main character - who furthermore didn't live in a pink world of pixies and unicorns - gets the taint of society unraveled to him and becomes desillusioned. A very believable transformation happens. The hero wanted to survive, now, he wants to live. Even if it means being ruthless and using the most underhanded tactics. In a nutshell, the hero has to fight more against the human of the inside than the monsters of the outside world. He fights many action-packed battles, but prevail in the political curtains. He becomes strong both mentally and physically not through some heaven-sent opportunities, but because of what he experienced. So when I see this getting such a rating, I feel it is my duty to speak up. This is a wonderful novel. Thanks for your time.

7 years ago
420
xAnnnnnnx
xAnnnnnnx

Qidian! Please get someone to pick this up instead of going for new novels, this has been stagnant for months! Please pick it up or take it off your shelf!

6 years ago
125
mio
mio

one of my favorite stories! sadly, it probably won't get picked up again, ever, since Qidian has scared off any potential translator by half-forcing the previous one to post on their site. this is a good example of why qidian will end up failing; by the time those few novels on here are done, everyone will be translating novels that have nothing to do with them, and they'll become no more than a relic of the past. truly sad that such a great project ends up ruined by greed.

7 years ago
70
HotPot
HotPot

Yep, I've followed this novel in Wuxianation, though I'm not a comment addict, I really love the novel, especially when that part where.... ahem... Well, he just realized he couldn't trust.... ahem.... anyway, all of them should be 5 stars but there's (slight) a problem on the updating stability. Maybe I'm just anxious or maybe afraid because I've been (once) an F5 addict after reading the best part(s) *Ahem* and the update took 7 days (I think?). I think that problem happened because of the web transfers and should be updating stably since that problem's been solved. And lastly, this is the motto I've felt in this novel (so far), "TRUST NO ONE! YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN MC!!!!" tsk tsk tsk. (My fellow readers, this is a very heartfelt novel. In my opinion. T_T)

7 years ago
61
redlobster
redlobster

It's a mediocre attempt to repackage a reincarnation story into something more of a sci-fi. However at the end of the day plenty of plotholes and usual xianxia cliches turn up regularly. The MC is supposed to be a high IQ kid who's woken up after 300 years of hibernation. Instead he behaves like a 50 year old idiot who happens to have some more basic knowledge of science as compared to the tribal post apocalyptic world he is in. The 'villains' are usually meaningless and way laid at every stage. The sub plots rarely connect and the story gets broken into pieces each time just to move the challenge up to a higher level. It feels like a contrived long plot line to somehow take a science nerd and make him a ruthless evil or cruel ruler toward the end of the story. Worth reading in parts without investing too much into the sub-characters. They are all bound to disappear and become fodder for the path.

7 years ago
32
KunPengx
KunPengx

Guys we should complain about having no translator at this point, it caused the rating to drop from 50 something to 120ish. I mean it went from saying 4 chapters per week, we were only given 1 chapter, to 3, which gave us 1 chapter every 2 weeks, and now it says 1 chapter per week, which I assume means per month. This novel had potential to be in the top 10 if it was updated regularly and the first 500 chapters were edited.

6 years ago
21
FakeDao
FakeDao

Many of the rating in here are retarded, little kids rating. This is a very good novel, might not be 5 but not should not below 4.5 compare to many of the high retard rating (the strongest system, Avalon of the five elements,). Most of the novels rating in here are done by little kids with no brain. Don't miss out on this novel. If you are still in high school this might not be for you, under high school is definitely a no. My advice is to read a few chapters to get a feel of the quality of the novel.

7 years ago
14
Thousand_Chapters
Thousand_Chapters

I am angry. I am very VERY angry. Hey you Qidian people, I know that you own webnovel, so if you bother to look at this review I hope you take my views into account. I know this novel stopped because the translator got backstabbed or something, but what does that have to do with US? We are the people who read, and we want to read this novel. Why is there not a new translator? Are you going to ruin the book for use just because of your selfishness? Isn't the point of translating in the first place so that people like me who wants to read light novels but cannot read Chinese can enjoy the books? I don't really like normal English books, but I really clicked with light novels! So when I see a translator giving up, that's alright, but when I see a story dropped completely and never picked up again, that makes me go almost insane with rage. If I knew Chinese I'd definitely complain at your official website, Qidian, because you should just take this crappy story down if you are not going to finish it. I've experienced many times the feeling of reading a story and then stopping halfway, because there is no more chapters translated. That feeling is worse than eating poop, and it makes you want to eat the translator's skin and drink their blood. It's even worse when you know that you will never get to read those chapters, ever. So please, for the stability of my mind, so that I don't feel like eating your skin, drinking your blood and chewing on your bones, either get that original translator back here, or get another translator to continue translating this book in their stead. Thanks for listening to this angry fan who just had to say something. Also, I refuse to read this book until another translator starts to translate again. That's it, peace out.

4 years ago
13
Temedevil
Temedevil

Story wise i Love it but sadly they stopped translating so im really hoping that they somehow Pick it Up again. It is one of the few novels that are more scientifically accurat, which I really enjoy.

6 years ago
12
Mara_Sov
Mara_Sov

I dunno about rest of this novel, but start of this novel is TERRIBLE. Whole start is pretty much about "how MC didnt join multiple professions". At first he didnt want to be become gardener, instead he said he wants to be doctor, but it was just garbage. Then he didnt want to be needleworker and instead tried to become a lawyer. But that didnt last long and he went to be tested as "hunter". Again, that didnt work out for him and he went to school for "scavengers". While in school for scavengers he got oportunity to try becoming "Knight"... can you guess how it ended?? He didnt take it, again... and he even complained and "regretted" not taking the opportunity! OMFG! I have never seen more indecisive character! Currently I am at chapter 28 and I wonder if it can get any worse...

6 years ago
11
Akillyou2000
Akillyou2000

Love this novel but 5 chs/week is a lie been like a month now and 0 chapters. PLEASE make a new translator translate it!!! Love this novel but 5 chs/week is a lie been like a month now and 0 chapters. PLEASE make a new translator translate it!!! Love this novel but 5 chs/week is a lie been like a month now and 0 chapters. PLEASE make a new translator translate it!!!

7 years ago
10
Spenma
Spenma

The Dark King is a pretty good novel, although the translation has small errors and grammar problems that should be double checked. Besides that The Dark King is a really good book to read.

7 years ago
9
SemiDevil
SemiDevil

So Mad Snail goes from writing Tales of Demons & Gods to translating? No wonder TDG never finished. Anybody can confirm? That said though, the translation is quite okay. I've seen worse.

7 years ago
8
IEatFriedChicken
IEatFriedChicken

Reveal Spoiler

5 years ago
7
Dragonskeeper
Dragonskeeper

Qidian pleas find a translator for this novel yes new novels are good but I really need to see how this ends so please do a loyal fan a solid now I’m off to try to gimmick some more none premium reads to find a poor man can’t do much more than that at this moment

4 years ago
6