![The Emperor Without An Empire [Book 1 & 2 Complete]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.royalroadcdn.com%2Fpublic%2Fcovers-large%2F148588-the-emperor-without-an-empire-xianxia-transmigration.jpg%3Ftime%3D1773049363&w=640&q=75)
by Drew Royston
They stole my empire, my cultivation, even my name. Their mistake was leaving me alive. This body was called Shen Taros, so that's who I am now. Seven hundred years of experience packed into an eighteen-year-old with the spiritual capacity of wet parchment. At least now I’ve got the numbers to tell me how far I’ve fallen. A cultivator with god-like powers will hunt me within the year. If I haven't rebuilt my strength by then, well, that would be embarrassing in a rather permanent way. So here I am, slumming it by opening meridians one painful breath at a time, learning alchemy from a terrifying mistress, and picking entirely avoidable fights with powerful people who consider themselves beyond justice. Frankly, between all of that, working in a decrepit fish warehouse, and dodging loan sharks, I'm making remarkable progress. They wanted this Emperor permanently retired. I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint them. What to expect - Slice of life - System-lite LitRPG, although the numbers still ramp up as the chapters go by - Non-traditional cultivation - Base and community building - Crafting, combat, and the merest dash of politics - Chapters M-W-F
| # | Title | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ch 1: "The audacity stung worse than the headache" | 0 |
| 2 | Ch 2: "Triumph and pride shone in his eyes as he raised his sword" | 0 |
| 3 | Ch 3: "But I wasn't going to let him off that easily" | 0 |
| 4 | Ch 4: "Impossible. I liked impossible" | 0 |
| 5 | Ch 5: "Ordinary people have no idea what it means to be a prodigy" | 0 |
| 6 | Ch 6: "This city housed both danger and opportunity." | 0 |
| 7 | Ch 7: "fill 'em with lead and turn 'em into grapeshot" | 0 |
| 8 | Ch 8: "Hope you're not afraid to get your hands dirty" | 0 |
| 9 | Ch 9: "I had done the impossible" | 0 |
| 10 | Ch 10: "I now possessed more experience than all those ancient masters combined" | 0 |
| 11 | Ch 11: "Bring me back knowledge. I'll be here when you return." | 0 |
| 12 | Ch 12: "Power, once again, coursed through my limbs" | 0 |
| 13 | Ch 13: "No one hurt them without there being consequences" | 0 |
| 14 | Ch 14: "This really was ill-advised, but some things transcend even an emperor's cold logic" | 0 |
| 15 | Ch 15: "With a whisper for now, but soon with a defiant roar that would shake the very heavens" | 0 |
| 16 | Ch 16: "If you want a fight it's this way" | 0 |
| 17 | Ch 17: "The decision to fight was ultimately no decision at all" | 0 |
| 18 | Ch 18: "This was going to hurt" | 0 |
| 19 | Ch 19: "He toppled to the ground with a thud that echoed through the stunned silence" | 0 |
| 20 | Ch 20: "Now it was just a case of reeling them in" | 0 |
| 21 | Ch 21: "Consider it payment and a promise" | 0 |
| 22 | Ch 22a: "It was all strangely exhilarating" | 0 |
| 23 | Ch 22b: "One surge of overwhelming power could end this" | 0 |
| 24 | Ch 23 "This injustice would not stand" | 0 |
| 25 | Ch 24: "Sooner rather than later, Old Xu and I would be having a little talk" | 0 |
| 26 | Ch 25: "I would hate for there to be any misunderstandings" | 0 |
| 27 | Ch 26: "When my vengeance landed, the guilty would know who had delivered it, and why" | 0 |
| 28 | Ch 27: "Man's either untouchable or made of glass" | 0 |
| 29 | Ch 28: "You think you can come in here and steal my family business?" | 0 |
| 30 | Ch 29: "If I was going to make trouble for you, I've had plenty of time to do it before now" | 0 |
| 31 | Ch 30: "A wonderfully brutal education" | 0 |
| 32 | Ch 31: "Was that manly enough for you?" | 0 |
| 33 | Ch 32: "You're an even bigger fool than I thought" | 0 |
| 34 | Ch 33: "This was the end of a man's life's work" | 0 |
| 35 | Ch 34: "What do you think, Master Wei? Ambitious enough?" | 0 |
| 36 | Ch 35: "Theft and extortion" | 0 |
| 37 | Ch 36: "I knew what mercy demanded" | 0 |
| 38 | Ch 37: "Lesser Beasthunter" | 0 |
| 39 | Ch 38: "Honest work, and improved meridians" | 0 |
| 40 | Ch 39: "I didn't think I could hate Yin Chi more than I already did" | 0 |
| 41 | Ch 40: "The plan has a lot of moving parts but it's sound" | 0 |
| 42 | Ch 41: "Really? I needed a vacation" | 0 |
| 43 | Ch 42: "If I was a fraction too slow that would signal my end" | 0 |
| 44 | Ch 43: "He had already dug that hole. All I was going to do was push him in." | 0 |
| 45 | Ch 44: "At worst, I would never leave this basement" | 0 |
| 46 | Ch 45: "If I was to avenge him, and myself, I needed to focus on getting stronger" | 0 |
| 47 | Ch 46: "I have a different proposal" | 0 |
| 48 | Ch 47: "It would be madness to even try. Wouldn't it?" | 0 |
| 49 | Ch 48: "A pale hand slapped the quill from my grasp and sent it clattering" | 0 |
| 50 | Ch 49: "I knew exactly where to take out my frustration" | 0 |
| 51 | Ch 50: "Persistent aren't you?" | 0 |
| 52 | Ch 51: "Sometimes the sensible thing wasn't the right thing" | 0 |
| 53 | Ch 52: "This was my one chance. If I missed it I wouldn't be alive to regret it" | 0 |
| 54 | Ch 53: "Worth it though. Absolutely worth it." | 0 |
| 55 | Ch 54: "I allowed my instincts to take over and imposed my will" | 0 |
| 56 | Ch 55: Epilogue. "I wouldn't stop until I answered every wrong done to me" [End of Book 1] | 0 |
| 57 | End of book 1, Taros's status, and Book 2 | 0 |
| 58 | Ch 56: "And if I died in the attempt? Well, that was a risk I had accepted" [Start of Book 2] | 0 |
| 59 | Ch 57: "Time was my enemy now" | 0 |
| 60 | Ch 58: "No sense drawing attention by finishing too quickly" | 0 |
| 61 | Ch 59: "Most impressive, Senior Brother" | 0 |
| 62 | Ch 60: "His attempt at intimidation was delightfully quaint" | 0 |
| 63 | Ch 61: “I was about to be shouted at, and I was pretty sure I deserved it” | 0 |
| 64 | Ch 62: “Don't do it. Trust me. Don't walk away, run” | 0 |
| 65 | Ch 63: “I admired the integrity and the ruthlessness” | 0 |
| 66 | Ch 64: "It's simple. You have to fight me for it" | 0 |
| 67 | Ch 65: "I was transformed from where I had been" | 0 |
| 68 | Ch 66: "I do so enjoy a surprise" | 0 |
| 69 | Ch 67: "Now I was looking at a killer" | 0 |
| 70 | Ch 68: " I had to fix this, and fast" | 0 |
| 71 | Ch 69: "Every passing moment made my discovery more likely" | 0 |
| 72 | Ch 70: "This whole thing was a performance anyway" | 0 |
| 73 | Ch 71: "When it ended, I was gasping and covered in cold sweat" | 0 |
| 74 | Ch 72: "The words hung in the air like the death sentence they were" | 0 |
| 75 | Ch 73: "My pulse quickened as I focused again" | 0 |
| 76 | Ch 74: "I have failed and disrespected you" | 0 |
| 77 | Ch 75: "Inevitability has a momentum all of its own" | 0 |
| 78 | Ch 76: "You'll get yourself killed" | 0 |
| 79 | Ch 77: "I'll walk away, and you'll never see me again" | 0 |
| 80 | Ch 78: "You have the luck of the dammed" | 0 |
| 81 | Ch 79: "Tarry, Tarry, Taros. The Man-os. The Myth-os. The Legend-os" | 0 |
| 82 | Ch 80: "It's just possible you won't embarrass me" | 0 |
| 83 | Ch 81: "Not everyone has been pleased by your success" | 0 |
| 84 | Ch 82: "I knew I was being baited. But now I didn't care" | 0 |
| 85 | Ch 83: "I will happily crush you for fun" | 0 |
| 86 | Ch 84: "Anyone who remains accepts the risk of death" | 0 |
| 87 | Ch 85: "It would give me great pleasure to confound them" | 0 |
| 88 | Ch 86: "What was it that came before a fall?" | 0 |
| 89 | Ch 87: "This is something I will not forget." | 0 |
| 90 | Ch 88: "I needed to be very, very careful around her" | 0 |
| 91 | Ch 89: "I'll wear it with pride during the tournament" | 0 |
| 92 | Ch 90: "I wasn't going to be the one who broke" | 0 |
| 93 | Ch 91: "You really don't understand what you've done, do you?" | 0 |
| 94 | Ch 92: "The longer they underestimated me as a naive, lucky fool, the better." | 0 |
| 95 | Ch 93: "No point staying for the bloodshed" | 0 |
| 96 | Ch 94: "If I can pull this off they'll love it" | 0 |
| 97 | Ch 95: "He was a coward as well as a bully" | 0 |
| 98 | Ch 96: "Win the crowd, and you can do anything" | 0 |
| 99 | New Story announcement!!!! | 0 |
| 100 | Ch 97: "There's no way he'll survive this" | 0 |
| 101 | Ch 98: "I could be wrong, but I didn't think it was happy" | 0 |
| 102 | Ch 99: "I had one chance left" | 0 |
| 103 | Ch 100: "From his perspective, it was turning into an extended humiliation" | 0 |
| 104 | Ch 101: "Relax and focus" | 0 |
| 105 | Ch 102: "She didn't even scream" | 0 |
| 106 | Ch 103: "I lifted my head slowly and searched through the chaos" | 0 |
| 107 | Ch 104: "Forty feet of muscle and magic closed the distance between us" | 0 |
| 108 | Ch 105: "You might actually be an interesting apprentice" | 0 |
| 109 | Ch 106: "Lord Shuilin isn't asking any more" | 0 |
| 110 | Ch 107: "No one put that much effort into protecting corpses" | 0 |
| 111 | Ch 108: "There would be no half measures" | 0 |
| 112 | Ch 109: "Forgiveness wasn't on the table" | 0 |
| 113 | Ch 110: "His skill with talismans was undeniable" | — |
| 114 | Ch 111: "Horror washed through me" | — |
| 115 | Ch 112: "Are you going to sacrifice your honor for a dead weakling?" | — |
| 116 | Ch 113: "There was a hint of relief that he wouldn't have to do it all by himself just yet" | — |
| 117 | Ch 114: "It was time to find out what she really thought" | — |
| 118 | Ch 115: "This world would start to see me as the cultivator I really was" | — |
| 119 | Author's note. End of book 2. Book 3 news. Status sheet. | — |
| 120 | Book 3: Ch 116: "Don't forget where you came from. We're not going to forget you" | — |
| 121 | Ch 117: "We won't leave her if she's in danger" | — |
| 122 | Ch 118: "You know they're not going to leave it at that" | — |
| 123 | Ch 119: "I want the decision to be yours" | — |
| 124 | Ch 120: "If he was me, then who was I?" | — |
| 125 | Ch 121: "There was an inevitability to where this was heading" | — |
| 126 | Ch 122: "The light was fighting everything, shredding at me the whole way" | — |
| 127 | Ch 123: "With him back at my side it restored another part of who I was" | — |
| 128 | Ch 124: "Whatever I decided would have a significant impact on both of our futures" | — |
