In his final moments, Lin Xian looked up at the sky… and laughed.
The blood pouring from his mouth was warm, but the sword lodged in his heart was cold. Too cold. Just like the betrayal he never saw coming.
He collapsed on the shattered tiles of the Cloudfall Pavilion, body broken, soul flickering. Thunder rolled above as rain began to fall — not as salvation, but mockery. Even the heavens seemed eager to wash him away.
"How does it feel, Senior Brother Lin?" a voice sneered from above.
Lin Xian turned his head weakly. A familiar face hovered above him — Zhao Feng, his junior, his disciple brother... the one he had once saved from a demon beast and sheltered during sect wars.
Now, that very sword piercing his chest… belonged to Zhao Feng.
"You should've been born a dog, always barking about righteousness and loyalty. In this world, only strength matters," Zhao Feng spat. "And you, Lin Xian… you were weak. Naïve. Trash."
Behind him stood others. Faces Lin Xian recognized. Faces he had protected, mentored, even loved.
They all looked down on him like he was a roach.
He tried to speak. Blood gurgled out instead.
"Save your breath," said a soft voice. "Your time is up."
Lin Xian's dimming eyes trembled. That voice...
"Li Qianru..."
She stood there, in a white dress soaked by rain, expression unreadable. The woman he had once hoped to marry. The woman he had defied the sect for. The one he had given his fate token to…
And now, the one who held the sealing talisman that paralyzed his meridians.
"You loved me too purely, Lin Xian," she said gently, almost sorrowfully. "But purity is a burden. You were never meant to shine in this cruel world. You didn't belong."
The sword twisted. Lin Xian's heart cracked.
Not from steel — but from betrayal.
"Why?"
His voice was weak. But it carried the weight of a soul breaking.
Zhao Feng snorted. "Because the heavens favor villains. Heroes like you are just stepping stones."
Thunder boomed. The skies above shattered with light.
Lin Xian's vision faded — but just before darkness claimed him, a voice echoed in the depths of his dying soul.
A voice that didn't belong to gods, men, or demons.
[Villainous Fate Detected.][Would you like to overwrite your destiny?][Y/N]
His soul trembled.
Was this… a hallucination? A dying illusion?
[Cost: All mercy. All compassion. All hesitation.]
Lin Xian's lips twitched. He laughed bitterly. "Yes," he whispered.
[Acknowledged.][Initializing Villain System… Transfer complete.]
Suddenly, the pain disappeared.
The cold vanished.
The rain… stopped.
His soul was pulled from his corpse like a thread unraveling from the fabric of existence — and thrown across time, space, and fate.
BOOM.
Lin Xian's eyes shot open.
He gasped for breath, and the world around him was blindingly bright, filled with spirit qi so dense it almost choked him.
A surge of memories flooded his mind — not his, but someone else's.
Or was it... him?
You are now Lin Xian — First Young Master of the Lin Clan.Innate Talent: Heaven-Ranked Dragon Bone PhysiqueCultivation: 6th Stage of Core Formation RealmStatus: Arrogant, Cruel, Untouchable.
He blinked. The voice was no illusion.
It was real.
[Villain System Activated.]Welcome, Lin Xian. Your second life begins now.
He sat up, body brimming with unfamiliar power.
Gone was the weak, kind-hearted cultivator. This body was stronger than anything he'd ever dreamed of. The blood in his veins pulsed like divine thunder. His skin glowed faintly with runes hidden beneath.
He was in a vast room of white jade and gold pillars. Attendants in fine robes kneeled nearby.
"Young master!" one of them gasped. "Are you well? You fainted during your cultivation—"
"Silence," Lin Xian said calmly.
The voice that left his mouth startled even him. Deep. Cold. Dominating.
The attendant bowed low, trembling.
Lin Xian stood and walked to a mirror carved from obsidian crystal.
He stared.
A young man — around 17 — looked back at him. Slender but tall, with a perfect jawline and golden-black eyes that radiated arrogance. His long hair flowed like dark silk, and his aura…
It reeked of villainy.
He smiled.
"So this is me now… Hmph. I look like a protagonist's nightmare."
Suddenly, the system's voice returned.
[New Mission Detected!]Mission: Ruin the Heavenly Sword Sect's proposal ceremony.Target: Ye Qingxue — Saintess of the Heavenly Sword Sect.Threat: Mu Yihan — Sword Prodigy, Fated Protagonist.Reward: Yin-Yang Demon Physique + 3,000 Villain Points
Lin Xian's eyes narrowed.
A memory surfaced: in this world, Ye Qingxue was the dream goddess of countless geniuses. She was engaged to him by clan arrangement, but now… the Heavenly Sword Sect planned to cancel the engagement so she could marry Mu Yihan, a righteous protagonist with a destiny halo.
If this were a normal story, Lin Xian would be publicly humiliated. He'd be the villain stepping stone.
But not this time.
He cracked his neck slowly, smiling.
"A protagonist dares to covet what is mine?""Let's show him how a villain reclaims his fate."