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* MightyWhitey: Subversion, Parody and Deconstruction. Averted in that the protagonist bests him. Played straight in that it's strongly implied he had killed dozens of challengers with his [[ThisIsMyBoomstick Mirabelle]]. And he's just some random shipwrecked guy! Of course, his views of the Empire are a bizarre mixture of legitimate and... not so much.

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* MightyWhitey: Subversion, Parody He's a parody of this concept as a pompous foreigner from the setting's equivalent of Europe who attempts to assert his dominance by shooting people in the face, and Deconstruction. Averted in that is largely treated as an annoyance by the protagonist bests him. Played straight in that it's strongly implied locals. While he had killed dozens of challengers with his [[ThisIsMyBoomstick Mirabelle]]. And he's just some random shipwrecked guy! Of course, his views of the Empire are a bizarre mixture of does have legitimate and... points of criticisms about the Jade Empire, he's also a believer in various crackpot theories (most notably, the book he gives you is a book about Trepanning, and it boosts your knowledge in that you learn to ignore everything it says).
* NeverBringAKnifeToAGunfight: Played with in that his gun is indeed powerful but as pointed out in the debate against him, if his enemy closes the distance with him then there's
not so much.much he can do.


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* StayInTheKitchen: If confronted by a female Spirit Monk, he states that unless they're the queen, the women know their place where he's from.
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Trope was cut/disambiguated due to cleanup


* GutturalGrowler: He speaks with a growling baritone.

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* LackOfEmpathy: Subverted. This is stated by Master Li...... misleadingly. While Death's Hand acts without remorse or pity, that is because it cannot act otherwise due to being controlled by the Emperor. He turns out to be the Li brother with the most remorse and pity, and if he remains in existence but has his control cut, he wanders the Earth seeking to atone. In contrast, Master Li is the original owner of the armor and actually fits the description.

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* LackOfEmpathy: Subverted. This is stated by Master Li......Li... misleadingly. While Death's Hand acts without remorse or pity, that is because it cannot act otherwise due to being controlled by the Emperor. He turns out to be the Li brother with the most remorse and pity, and if he remains in existence but has his control cut, he wanders the Earth seeking to atone. In contrast, Master Li is the original owner of the armor and actually fits the description.


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* TheUnfought: Subverted. The first time you come face-to-face with him, he's beyond your ability to fight, but then Sagacious Zu's HeroicSacrifice kills him. But then Sun Li revives him, seeing him as too useful to give up. Next time you encounter him, you've fully awakened your Spirit Monk powers and can fight him on an even footing.


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* ClimaxBoss: You fight her right after her JustBetweenYouAndMe speech reveals that everything you knew about the plot was backwards.

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* AffablyEvil: Even after revealing his sinister nature, he still acts in a composed and polite manner for the most part. He's genuinely respectful toward you, but don't mistake that for kindness.



* FauxAffablyEvil: Even after revealing his sinister nature, he still acts in a composed and polite manner for the most part.

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He's the direct antagonist behind the game's plot. Sun Li is the Big Bad, Sun Hai is a Disc One Final Boss.


* BigBad: Master Li turns out to be the true overreaching antagonist and PostFinalBoss of the game. He orchetrated the player's journey so that they could kill Hai and allow him seize the throne and the Water Dragon's power for himself. Also, it was only thanks to the Glorious Strategist's ingeniousness that Sun Hai managed to steal the Water Dragon's power in the first place, being the true villain of the work.



* GreaterScopeVillain: Master Li turns out to be the true overreaching antagonist and PostFinalBoss of the game. He orchetrated the player's journey so that they could kill Hai and allow him seize the throne and the Water Dragon's power for himself. Also, it was only thanks to the Glorious Strategist's ingeniousness that Sun Hai managed to steal the Water Dragon's power in the first place.s
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* MultiEthnicName: An odd mix of English, Spanish[[labelnote:*;]][[FamousNamedForeigner And a pretty famous Spanish name as well!]][[/labelnote]] and German. Appropriate, as while he projects several British mannerisms, he's more of a representation of European colonialism in general.
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* ObviouslyEvil: RedAndBlackAndEvilAllover Check. Head of the secret police who massacres dissidents like it is going out of style? Check. It doesn't take geniuses to conclude he is behind what is wrong with the Empire. Which is why he is both a subverted and invoked example, being used as a patsy by his brothers to avoid scrutiny for their real plans. Sun Kin himself was not exactly a saint, but he was by far the least evil of his brothers and the only one to have genuine remorse over what he did.

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* ObviouslyEvil: RedAndBlackAndEvilAllover RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver Check. Head of the secret police who massacres dissidents like it is going out of style? Check. It doesn't take geniuses to conclude he is behind what is wrong with the Empire. Which is why he is both a subverted and invoked example, being used as a patsy by his brothers to avoid scrutiny for their real plans. Sun Kin himself was not exactly a saint, but he was by far the least evil of his brothers and the only one to have genuine remorse over what he did.
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* EunuchsAreEvil: Symbolically fits this role, as Chancellor of the Empire, head of the Lotus Assassins, and right hand man of the Emperor, complete with a crushing physical impairment that makes him less than a full man. It's just that in his case, [[AnimatedArmor he is missing significantly more of his body than merely the parts a Eunuch would lose]]. He's also arguably a deconstruction of this trope, since he not only is BrainwashedAndCrazy but also bluntly implies all kinds of questions about [[EvilEmperor what sort of Emperor]] would employ [[ObviouslyEvil such an obviously evil chief advisor.]]

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* EunuchsAreEvil: Symbolically fits this role, as Chancellor of the Empire, head of the Lotus Assassins, and right hand man of the Emperor, complete with a crushing physical impairment that makes him less than a full man. It's just that in his case, [[AnimatedArmor he is missing significantly more of his body than merely the parts a Eunuch would lose]]. He's also arguably a deconstruction of this trope, since he not only is BrainwashedAndCrazy but also bluntly implies all kinds of questions about [[EvilEmperor [[EvilOverlord what sort of Emperor]] would employ [[ObviouslyEvil such an obviously evil chief advisor.]]
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* EunuchsAreEvil: Symbolically fits this role, as Chancellor of the Empire, head of the Lotus Assassins, and right hand man of the Emperor, complete with a crushing physical impairment that makes him less than a full man. It's just that in his case, [[AnimatedArmor he is missing significantly more of his body than merely the parts a Eunuch would lose]].

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* EunuchsAreEvil: Symbolically fits this role, as Chancellor of the Empire, head of the Lotus Assassins, and right hand man of the Emperor, complete with a crushing physical impairment that makes him less than a full man. It's just that in his case, [[AnimatedArmor he is missing significantly more of his body than merely the parts a Eunuch would lose]]. He's also arguably a deconstruction of this trope, since he not only is BrainwashedAndCrazy but also bluntly implies all kinds of questions about [[EvilEmperor what sort of Emperor]] would employ [[ObviouslyEvil such an obviously evil chief advisor.]]



* HateSink: Invoked. As the brutal leader of the utterly hated Lotus Assassins and feared by pretty much everybody, people conclude he is behind what is wrong with the Empire. Which serves the actual source of the problems just fine, since it means the attention is on an empty suit of armor serving as an unwilling puppet and not on them.

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* HateSink: Invoked. As the brutal leader of the utterly hated Lotus Assassins and feared by pretty much everybody, people conclude he is behind what is wrong with the Empire. Which serves the actual source of the problems people who are actually behind what is wrong just fine, since it means the attention is on an empty suit of armor serving as an unwilling puppet and not rather than on them.



* ObviousVillainSecretVillain: He's a Fantasy Wuxia Darth Vader, and so it's no surprise he's not exactly an angel. Which is why he serves as such a useful distraction for his brothers, and why the reveal of his true nature is a surprise.

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* ObviousVillainSecretVillain: The most obvious of the obvious villains in game. He's a Fantasy Wuxia Darth Vader, and so it's no surprise he's not exactly an angel. Which is why he serves as such a useful distraction for his brothers, and why the reveal of his true nature is a surprise.
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Darth Vader Clone is a disambiguation, not a trope.


* ObviouslyEvil: RedAndBlackAndEvilAllover Check. DarthVaderClone Check. Head of the secret police who massacres dissidents like it is going out of style? Check. It doesn't take geniuses to conclude he is behind what is wrong with the Empire. Which is why he is both a subverted and invoked example, being used as a patsy by his brothers to avoid scrutiny for their real plans. Sun Kin himself was not exactly a saint, but he was by far the least evil of his brothers and the only one to have genuine remorse over what he did.

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* ObviouslyEvil: RedAndBlackAndEvilAllover Check. DarthVaderClone Check. Head of the secret police who massacres dissidents like it is going out of style? Check. It doesn't take geniuses to conclude he is behind what is wrong with the Empire. Which is why he is both a subverted and invoked example, being used as a patsy by his brothers to avoid scrutiny for their real plans. Sun Kin himself was not exactly a saint, but he was by far the least evil of his brothers and the only one to have genuine remorse over what he did.

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* BigBad: Sun Hai rules the Jade Empire with an iron fist, and is represented primarily by Death's Hand and the Lotus Assassins, who [[DoomedHometown burn Two Rivers]] in their search for Master Li. His attack on Dirge years ago, to steal the power of the Water Dragon, [[TheDeathOfDeath directly caused the plague of angry, increasingly insane ghosts that now ravages the Empire]]. [[spoiler:Sadly for him, Sun Hai turns out to be a UnwittingPawn to the ''true'' villain of the story Sun Li, who carefully orchestrates the Spirit Monk's rise to usurp his brother and claim the Water Dragon's power himself]].

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* BigBad: Sun Hai rules the Jade Empire with an iron fist, and is represented primarily by Death's Hand and the Lotus Assassins, who [[DoomedHometown burn Two Rivers]] in their search for Master Li. His attack on Dirge years ago, to steal the power of the Water Dragon, [[TheDeathOfDeath [[DeathTakesAHoliday directly caused the plague of angry, increasingly insane ghosts that now ravages the Empire]]. [[spoiler:Sadly for him, Sun Hai turns out to be a UnwittingPawn to the ''true'' villain of the story Sun Li, who carefully orchestrates the Spirit Monk's rise to usurp his brother and claim the Water Dragon's power himself]].


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* DeathTakesAHoliday: The Water Dragon is the Jade Empire's {{Psychopomp}}, and her disappearance prevents the souls of the dead from passing on to the afterlife. With nowhere else to go, they now wander the countryside and slowly descend into violent madness. [[spoiler:It's revealed to be because her living body has been suspended in an agonizing half-life, and the solution is to destroy the machines keeping her alive so she can "pass on" and resume her job.]]

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* BodyHorror: If you keep Death's Hand and take the Water Dragon's power for yourself, the epilogue reveals that your increasing power eventually turns Death's Hand into something physically horrifying that can't be contained by Sun Li's armor.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: It turns out Death's Hand is a walking distraction who is forced to be completely loyal to whoever holds his strings. The idea that Death's Hand was manipulating the Empire or that the emperor was weak enough to allow it were the greatest fears of many citizens, though little was said for fear of reprisals. This is in fact the direct opposite of the truth, but drew focus off of the Emperor's real colors.

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* BodyHorror: If you keep Death's Hand and take the Water Dragon's power for yourself, the epilogue reveals that your increasing power eventually turns Death's Hand into something physically horrifying that can't be contained by Sun Li's armor.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: It turns out Death's Hand is a walking distraction who is forced to be completely loyal to whoever holds his strings. The idea that Death's Hand was manipulating the Empire or that the emperor was weak enough to allow it were the greatest fears of many citizens, though little was said for fear of reprisals. This is in fact the direct opposite of the truth, but drew focus off of the Emperor's real colors.



* EnemyWithout: The Spirit Monk defeats him by releasing the spirit of Sun Kin, which defeats Death's Hand.

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* EnemyWithout: The Spirit Monk defeats him by releasing the spirit of Sun Kin, which defeats Kin to fight Death's Hand.



* EunuchsAreEvil: Symbolically fits this role, as Chancellor of the Empire, head of the Lotus Assassins, and right hand man of the Emperor, complete with a crushing physical impairment that makes him less than a full man. It's just that in his case, [[AnimatedArmor he is missing significantly more of his body than merely the parts a Eunuch would lose]] and has been reduced to being [[BrainwashedAndCrazy significantly less of a man than Eunichs.]]

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* EvilMakesYouMonstrous: If you keep Death's Hand and take the Water Dragon's power for yourself, the epilogue reveals that your increasing power affects Death's Hand, causing him to transform into something physically horrifying that is unable to be contained within Sun Li's armor.
* EunuchsAreEvil: Symbolically fits this role, as Chancellor of the Empire, head of the Lotus Assassins, and right hand man of the Emperor, complete with a crushing physical impairment that makes him less than a full man. It's just that in his case, [[AnimatedArmor he is missing significantly more of his body than merely the parts a Eunuch would lose]] and has been reduced to being [[BrainwashedAndCrazy significantly less of a man than Eunichs.]] lose]].



* ObviousVillainSecretVillain: He's a Fantasy Wuxia Darth Vader, and so it's no surprise he's not exactly an angel. [[spoiler: Which is why he serves as such a useful distraction for his brothers, and why the reveal of his true nature is a surprise.]]
* OptionalPartyMember: Right before the final chapter of the game, he ''can'' be enslaved to the player's will.

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* ObviousVillainSecretVillain: He's a Fantasy Wuxia Darth Vader, and so it's no surprise he's not exactly an angel. [[spoiler: Which is why he serves as such a useful distraction for his brothers, and why the reveal of his true nature is a surprise.]]
surprise.
* OptionalPartyMember: Right before the final chapter stretch of the game, he ''can'' can be enslaved to the player's will.

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* LongGame: Sun Li's plan to overthrow his brother and claim the Water Dragon's power involved laying low for the better part of ''twenty years'', raising the Spirit Monk from infancy to be a TykeBomb.



* TheSlowPath: His plot to overthrow Sun Hai and claim the Water Dragon's power involved raising the Spirit Monk from infancy and laying low as a humble martial arts instructor for the better part of ''twenty years'', carefully designing the player's quest to prey on their assumptions as a protagonist, and [[{{Sabotutor}} engineering a subtle flaw in their fighting style that only he could exploit]].



* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:He died a while ago, but continues to rule as a ghost.]]

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* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:He died a while ago, but continues to rule as a ghost. He seems to use sorcery to keep up appearances, but when the Spirit Monk confronts him, [[GameFace the mask comes off]].]]



* DivineRightOfKings: His motive. [[spoiler:Specifically, the heavens ''revoked'' his divine right to rule, and sent the Long Drought to end his dynasty. All of Sun Hai's villainy is an effort to ScrewDestiny and retain his power at any cost. This references China's idea of the Mandate of Heaven, which is similar to the European idea of the trope, but is considered to be revoked from rulers who fail their responsibility to keep the kingdom prosperous (which in turn is used to justify overthrowing them in response to, say, a severe drought).]]

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* DivineRightOfKings: His motive. [[spoiler:Specifically, the heavens ''revoked'' his divine right to rule, and sent the Long Drought to end his dynasty. All of Sun Hai's villainy is an effort to ScrewDestiny and retain his power at any cost. This references China's idea of the Mandate of Heaven, which is similar to the European idea of the trope, but is considered to be revoked from rulers who fail their responsibility to keep the kingdom prosperous (which in turn is used by their enemies to justify overthrowing them in response to, say, a severe drought).them).]]



* GameFace: [[spoiler:He's actually a ghost masquerading as human, but when confronted he reveals his ethereal true form, which sports a TorsoWithAView housing the crystal heart of the Water Dragon.]]



* NoBodyLeftBehind: [[spoiler:He dissolves upon his defeat like the enemy ghosts.]]

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* NoBodyLeftBehind: [[spoiler:He [[spoiler:Since he's a ghost, he dissolves to nothing upon his defeat like the enemy ghosts.defeat.]]


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* TorsoWithAView: [[spoiler:The crystaline heart of the Water Dragon is embedded in Sun Hai's ribcage, which is fleshless and missing its sternum. He normally keeps this feature hidden under his clothes, but [[RedRightHand his true spirit form bares it]].]]
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* DivineRightOfKings: His motive. [[spoiler:Specifically, the heavens ''revoked'' his divine right to rule, and sent the Long Drought to end his dynasty. All of Sun Hai's villainy is an effort to ScrewDestiny and retain his power at any cost. This references China's idea of the Mandate of Heaven, where rulers are said to have divine right that ensures their rule will be prosperous -- if their rule suddenly stops being prosperous (which very often leads to Emperors getting overthrown), its said to be because the Mandate was taken from them.]]

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* DivineRightOfKings: His motive. [[spoiler:Specifically, the heavens ''revoked'' his divine right to rule, and sent the Long Drought to end his dynasty. All of Sun Hai's villainy is an effort to ScrewDestiny and retain his power at any cost. This references China's idea of the Mandate of Heaven, where which is similar to the European idea of the trope, but is considered to be revoked from rulers are said to have divine right that ensures who fail their rule will be prosperous -- if their rule suddenly stops being responsibility to keep the kingdom prosperous (which very often leads in turn is used to Emperors getting overthrown), its said to be because the Mandate was taken from them.justify overthrowing them in response to, say, a severe drought).]]

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[[folder:Master Li '''(Unmarked spoilers)''']]

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[[folder:Master [[folder:Sun Li '''(Unmarked spoilers)''']]



%%* OldMaster

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%%* OldMaster* OldMaster: The elderly teacher of the Spirit Monk and other students at the Two Rivers dojo, and he demonstrates his credentials by effortlessly slaying a Lotus Assassin and sinking a ship with his bare hands.


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* TheSlowPath: His plot to overthrow Sun Hai and claim the Water Dragon's power involved raising the Spirit Monk from infancy and laying low as a humble martial arts instructor for the better part of ''twenty years'', carefully designing the player's quest to prey on their assumptions as a protagonist, and [[{{Sabotutor}} engineering a subtle flaw in their fighting style that only he could exploit]].


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* DivineRightOfKings: His motive. [[spoiler:Specifically, the heavens ''revoked'' his divine right to rule, and sent the Long Drought to end his dynasty. All of Sun Hai's villainy is an effort to ScrewDestiny and retain his power at any cost. This references China's idea of the Mandate of Heaven, where rulers are said to have divine right that ensures their rule will be prosperous -- if their rule suddenly stops being prosperous (which very often leads to Emperors getting overthrown), its said to be because the Mandate was taken from them.]]
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* EunichsAreEvil: Symbolically fits this role, as Chancellor of the Empire, head of the Lotus Assassins, and right hand man of the Emperor, complete with a crushing physical impairment that makes him less than a full man. It's just that in his case, [[AnimatedArmor he is missing significantly more of his body than merely the parts a Eunich would lose.]]

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* EunichsAreEvil: EunuchsAreEvil: Symbolically fits this role, as Chancellor of the Empire, head of the Lotus Assassins, and right hand man of the Emperor, complete with a crushing physical impairment that makes him less than a full man. It's just that in his case, [[AnimatedArmor he is missing significantly more of his body than merely the parts a Eunich Eunuch would lose.lose]] and has been reduced to being [[BrainwashedAndCrazy significantly less of a man than Eunichs.]]
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* EvilEunich: Symbolically fits this role, as Chancellor of the Empire, head of the Lotus Assassins, and right hand man of the Emperor, complete with a crushing physical impairment that makes him less than a full man. It's just that in his case, [[AnimatedArmor he is missing significantly more of his body than merely the parts a Eunich would lose.]]

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* EvilEunich: EunichsAreEvil: Symbolically fits this role, as Chancellor of the Empire, head of the Lotus Assassins, and right hand man of the Emperor, complete with a crushing physical impairment that makes him less than a full man. It's just that in his case, [[AnimatedArmor he is missing significantly more of his body than merely the parts a Eunich would lose.]]



* ObviouslyEvil: RedAndBlackAndEvilAllover Check. DarthVaderClone Check. Head of the secret police who massacre dissidents like it is going out of style? Check. It doesn't take geniuses to conclude he is behind what is wrong with the Empire. Which is why he is both a subverted and invoked example, being used as a patsy by his brothers to avoid scrutiny for their real plans. Sun Kin himself was not exactly a saint, but he was by far the least evil of his brothers and the only one to have genuine remorse over what he did.

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* ObviouslyEvil: RedAndBlackAndEvilAllover Check. DarthVaderClone Check. Head of the secret police who massacre massacres dissidents like it is going out of style? Check. It doesn't take geniuses to conclude he is behind what is wrong with the Empire. Which is why he is both a subverted and invoked example, being used as a patsy by his brothers to avoid scrutiny for their real plans. Sun Kin himself was not exactly a saint, but he was by far the least evil of his brothers and the only one to have genuine remorse over what he did.



* ObviousVillianSecretVillain: Is at the very inner, most secretive layer of the "Obvious Villain/Secret Villain" Matryoshka Doll involving his brothers, being the Secret Villain to Sun Hai's Obvious Villain.

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* ObviousVillianSecretVillain: ObviousVillainSecretVillain: Is at the very inner, most secretive layer of the "Obvious Villain/Secret Villain" Matryoshka Doll involving his brothers, being the Secret Villain to Sun Hai's Obvious Villain.

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