Zhou Nan

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Zhou Nan (周南)
Alias(es)	Zhou Taoyao — her personal name before becoming Emperor 41
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Zhou Kingdom
Occupation/Role	Emperor of the Zhou Kingdom
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Background / History

Zhou Nan is the Emperor of the Zhou Kingdom, a vast otherworldly empire. As a child, she received a revelation that the imperial surname would change and that she would become the last Zhou-surnamed emperor; it also foretold that her husband would wield the imperial scepter. 1

After arriving in the modern world, she was encountered at an abandoned zinc factory while dismantling its structures with the Emperor's Hammer. Gu Qing'an, a subject from the Zhou Kingdom, presented her with an e-book revealing that their lives had been recorded as the novel My Wife is the Empress of the Zhou Kingdom. When Gu Qing'an identified himself as the story's male protagonist and her implied future husband, Zhou Nan killed him with a single response. 1

She subsequently struck the novel's author, Ma Shilong, with the Emperor's Hammer. Ma survived through rebirth as a pig, and Zhou Nan compelled him to continue writing the unfinished novel. She believes that restoring the novel's connection to the Zhou Kingdom may reconstruct a passage back to her homeland; Ma is allowed temporary returns to human form in exchange for writing that satisfies her. 3 37

In the modern world, Zhou Nan removed the Zinc Factory, an old steel bridge, and later the Huangtuliang Dam and its surrounding reservoir, river channel, and mountains. She established a concealed temporary palace and barrier array within the dam site. 9 24 38

Appearance

Zhou Nan is a short, slender girl with exquisitely refined features and a cold, indifferent gaze. Her dark hair is cut in a princess style, or hime cut, with bangs brushing her eyebrows and neatly trimmed side locks. 1 3

• Her clear pupils can appear more animated when she is confused or intrigued. 1
• Her shoes remained spotless despite walking through the dust of the abandoned factory. 1
• She has appeared in black armor and a cape while wielding the Emperor's Hammer. 40 41
• At her temporary palace, she wears a high-ranking Zhou Kingdom military uniform resembling those depicted on the bridge's historical statues. 40

Personality

Zhou Nan is composed, emotionally restrained, and accustomed to unquestioned authority. She receives extraordinary revelations—including the knowledge that her world may be fictional—without panic, but responds decisively when she sees a threat to her position or autonomy. 1

Her conduct reflects the mindset of an emperor: she treats Ma Shilong and Qin Luming primarily as potential means to return to the Zhou Kingdom, attempting to imprison and force both men to write for her. 37 40 42 She is also deeply committed to the Zhou Kingdom's historical legacy, regarding herself as the inheritor of its accumulated will and power and insisting that she must return to it. 42

Abilities & Skills

Emperor's Hammer

The Emperor's Hammer is Zhou Nan's imperial token and divine artifact. It embodies the Zhou Kingdom's essence, energy, and spirit; successive emperors empower it, allowing each successor to generally exceed the previous emperor in personal martial strength. 9

• Represents the legitimacy and authority of the Zhou Kingdom's emperor. 9
• Can be used as a massive physical weapon capable of demolishing industrial structures and killing Gu Qing'an and Ma Shilong. 1 3
• Contains divine arts inherited from Zhou Kingdom emperors. 9 38

Great Dao Third: Stripping

A divine art of the Emperor's Hammer that removes a specified material object from existence and stores it in the hammer's internal space. 9

• Removed the entire Zinc Factory, including its buildings, equipment, smokestack, water tower, workshops, and waste facilities. 9
• Was likely used to remove the Mentougou steel bridge and the dam complex. 24 38
• Can be imbued with the Power of Order, which suppresses widespread social disruption caused by an object's removal. 9
• The Power of Order cannot fully erase all anomalies, but lower-powered beings cannot correct or destroy its effects. 9

Enlightenment

Enlightenment is a divine art attached to the Emperor's Hammer. It alters a target's mentality by imposing a process of realization and acceptance. 38

• Zhou Nan used it on Ma Shilong after his rebirth as a pig. 38
• Altered his perspective, values, and self-image until he regarded his pig form as his true and desirable state. 37 38

Imperial Edict Arts

As Emperor, Zhou Nan can wield Imperial Edict Arts: divine commands that embody the collective will and authority of the Zhou Kingdom. 41

• Commands the Emperor's Guardians and other assets of the Zhou Kingdom. 40 41
• Ordered the Sword Bearer to enforce her decree against Qin Luming. 40
• Her commands can be disrupted by a sufficiently powerful opposing will, as Aizen King's arrival temporarily interfered with the Emperor's Guardians. 41

Barrier Array and Imperial Constructs

Zhou Nan established a large magical barrier around her dam-based temporary palace. The array conceals the true site from ordinary perception and contains a bridge lined with animated statues and divine inscriptions. 38 39

• Conceals the dam, reservoir, river channel, mountains, and palace behind an illusion. 38
• Animates bridge statues to attack intruders. 40
• Deploys two colossal Emperor's Guardians: a sword-bearing guardian and a staff-wielding guardian. 40
• Draws upon statues of twenty-four legendary Zhou Kingdom emperors for defense; their inherited will protected Zhou Nan from Aizen King's solar-flare storm. 42

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Emperor's Hammer — divine imperial artifact and vessel for Great Dao Third: Stripping and Enlightenment. 9 38
• Whip — extends in length to seize fleeing targets; used to capture Ma Shilong and pursue Qin Luming. 40
• Greatsword — carried while presiding over her temporary palace. 40
• Emperor's Guardians — two massive imperial defenders stationed at the barrier's perimeter. 40 43
• Legendary Emperor Statues — twenty-four imperial statues used as a defensive formation. 42

Relationships

• Gu Qing'an — Zhou Kingdom subject and the novel's male protagonist. He claimed to be her foretold husband; Zhou Nan killed him after reading the novel's implication. 1
• Ma Shilong — author of My Wife is the Empress of the Zhou Kingdom. Zhou Nan forced him to continue the work in hopes of reopening a path to the Zhou Kingdom; he serves as her Black Rider General while transformed into a pig. 37 39
• Qin Luming — a modern-world writer whom Zhou Nan identifies as another possible means of continuing the novel. She attempts to capture him after he resists her authority. 40 42
• Regent Jin — Regent of the Zhou Kingdom and a trusted subordinate who advises Zhou Nan during the confrontation with Aizen King. 42
• Aizen King — self-proclaimed King of the Divine Kingdom. Their encounter escalates into a direct clash after Aizen King attacks Zhou Nan with solar flares. 41 42

Story Role / Major Arcs

Arrival and Gu Qing'an's Death

Zhou Nan's arrival establishes the danger posed by fictional characters entering the modern world. Her immediate killing of Gu Qing'an overturns the expected protagonist-and-harem trajectory of My Wife is the Empress of the Zhou Kingdom. 1 13

The Disappearances

Her use of Great Dao Third: Stripping causes the disappearance of the Zinc Factory and later the Mentougou steel bridge. Qin Luming traces the locations into a line leading toward the Huangtuliang Dam. 9 24

The Dam Palace

Zhou Nan transforms the dam area into a concealed domain and temporary palace. Ma Shilong reveals that she had considered taking the world's largest hydroelectric power station, but temporarily abandoned the plan after his persuasion. 38

Conflict with Qin Luming and Aizen King

Zhou Nan imprisons Ma Shilong after he tries to flee and orders her constructs to pursue Qin Luming. Qin's summoning brings Aizen King into the barrier, where Aizen King's solar-flare attack damages the array and forces Zhou Nan to defend herself with the legacy of past emperors. 40 41 42

Notable Quotes

“Then die.” 1