Before joining the Underworld, the Demon Exorcism True Monarch was a man from the Zhongnan region, originally surnamed Zhong. He lost his parents at a young age, leaving only a sister to rely on each other since childhood.
Zhong, the elder brother, had the nickname Ah Chou. He had a greenish face with round eyes, and his appearance was ugly, so people had called him Ah Chou from an early age.
Ah Chou had a straightforward personality and couldn't stand others insulting him. Because of this, he often fought as a child.
Ah Chou decided to learn martial arts because of this. Coincidentally, next door to his home lived an old master who had retired from martial arts. The old man was quite skilled; he could handle a four to five hundred-pound millstone effortlessly, and even in the coldest winter, he could go bare-chested, steaming with heat!
Ah Chou thought, people mocked him because they thought he was easy to bully. If he learned excellent martial arts, who would dare laugh at him?
The old man's son next door was afraid of hardship and didn't want to practice martial arts. The old man didn't wish for the younger generation to enter the murky waters of the martial world, but he couldn't let his skills disappear...
Zhong's boy happened to have a good bone structure, but the art is not passed lightly. The old man didn't want to easily pass on his skills to others.
As they say, "What is gained easily is easily lost; what is gained with difficulty is difficult to lose."
The easier it is to obtain something, the less it is cherished.
So the old man deliberately showed off in front of Ah Chou every day, whenever Ah Chou came back bruised and battered, he could always see the old man next door vigorously performing.
The manner was quite similar to street performers crushing stones on their chests, piercing throats with silver spears, or using mighty golden fingers, the only difference being perhaps that the old man's performances seemed more genuine!
One day, Ah Chou couldn't contain the urge within and went to the old man's house, bowing his head to worship.
The old man almost shed tears, not out of emotion but because he had waited three whole years!
If Zhong's boy didn't come soon, he would have had to send paper offerings during the day, and deliver dreams to teach martial arts at night.
The old man didn't make things difficult for Ah Chou; the two clicked instantly and became secret master and disciple.
Why secretly? In the end, the old man didn't want the name of master and disciple to drag his family back into the martial world.
The old man made it clear: if Ah Chou caused trouble in the future, he couldn't say he was the master's disciple. If he dared reveal anything, the old man would show no mercy and deal with him personally!
Ah Chou truly kept his promise, never disclosing his martial arts origins to anyone.
At the age of fifteen or sixteen, Ah Chou was unmatched in the village, even defeating the bandit fort fifty miles outside the county with his bare hands, forcing them to surrender!
But Ah Chou discovered that while the villagers respected him more, nobody wanted to marry their daughters to him.
Ah Chou asked the village elders, "Is it that ugly people are doomed not to marry?"
The elder replied, "That's not right. Ugly people can also marry virtuous wives."
"Then why doesn't anyone want to match with me?"
"Because you're so ugly, you don't look human, child!"
"..."
Ah Chou was deeply hurt.
Others might have been discouraged long ago, but Ah Chou only grew stronger with setbacks.
There's a saying, "With books in the belly, one's spirit glows." What if he's so ugly he doesn't look human? As long as he reads extensively and has aspirations for success, why worry about not improving his looks?
So Ah Chou farmed by day and studied by night. After ten years of hard work, he finally succeeded, passing the local examination, county examination, prefectural examination, township examination, and academy examination, intending to go to the Capital City to take the imperial exam.
Ah Chou was full of ambition, but it was at this time he realized a serious issue—he lacked the funds to travel for the exam.
Fortunately, an old fellow villager, Du Ping, a righteous person, cherished his talent and was willing to help him with gold to take the exam. He and Du Ping also had some connections.
Du Ping's father was the one who taught him martial arts years ago.
Ah Chou, grateful for the Du family's kindness, vowed to achieve academic success to return the favor.
At the time, the national capital was not in Tianjing but in Chang'an.
When Ah Chou first entered the Capital City, passing by Wei Bridge, he encountered a fortune-telling stall. Nearby, there was a pair of fortune-telling couplets written on a flag saying:
Hiding the sun and moon in the sleeve, viewing the ebb and flow of tides over a thousand years, it's nothing but the sea turning into mulberry fields.
Calculating myriad phases in the mortal world, lamenting who is right or wrong over three hundred generations, all is but a fleeting spectacle.
With a horizontal inscription: "A pot of universe."
"Such bold words!"
Feeling inspired, Ah Chou approached the Divination Master to engage.
The Divination Master before him had his hair tied, a beard, deep-set eyes, dressed in simple deep-colored clothes, exuding an ethereal aura.
He claimed to be Yun Zhong Jun, Ascendant Fuluan, saying he was an expert in the art of fuluan divination.
Ah Chou's journey was only to take the imperial exam in the Capital City and achieve fame, so he decided to consult about this matter.
Ascendant Fuluan smiled, took out a blank paper, and let Ah Chou write a word on it.
Ah Chou thought for a moment and simply wrote the character "馗."
Ascendant Fuluan stroked his beard, smiling, "Kuai means leader! This time, you will surely achieve top honors and be inscribed on the golden list, only it's a pity..."
Seeing Ascendant Fuluan laughing, shaking his head, Zhong Kui raised his eyebrows and asked, "There are three joys in life, achieving top honors being one of the greatest, what could be a pity?"
Ascendant Fuluan pointed at the word and said, "The character 'Kuai' breaks down to nine and head, now it's September, you're here at the right moment."
"It's a pity the head part of 'Kuai' is thrown aside by the tail part of nine, not entering the exam."
"May the master end up empty-handed!"
Without regard for the changes in Ah Chou's expression, he continued, "Failing to enter the seat is nothing; the real danger is yet to come. Head means person! Removing the head of leeks allows growth, but without a human head, living is impossible!"
"The head in 'Kuai' being thrown aside signals decapitation, a major calamity, if I were the master, I would turn back to protect myself first."