The morning sun cast its golden rays across sprawling mountains that seemed to pierce the heavens themselves. Clouds wrapped around jagged peaks, giving the entire landscape a dreamlike, ethereal quality. Waterfalls cascaded from cliffs into misty valleys, and endless rows of pavilions, training grounds, and spiritual fields sprawled across the Azure Cloud Sect like a celestial kingdom.
From the high vantage point of his new residence, Chen Yu gazed out at it all, his heart still racing from last night's revelation.
So this is the cultivation world…
It was a world where the strong ruled and the weak were trampled without mercy. He could feel it in the very air — rich, vibrant qi flowed everywhere, seeping into his skin with every breath. Compared to the polluted air of Earth, it was as if he had been suffocating his entire life and only now learned what it meant to breathe.
But his awe didn't last long. The flood of memories belonging to this body reminded him of who "Chen Yu" was here.
The Azure Cloud Sect wasn't just any sect. It was a middle-ranked sect in the Heavenly Sky Region, with thousands of disciples and a long, illustrious history. Its disciples were divided into outer sect, inner sect, core disciples, and elders. At the very top sat the Sect Master, a Nascent Soul cultivator whose power could shake mountains.
In this hierarchy, the original Chen Yu was a laughingstock — the pampered son of a minor elder, spoiled by privilege, feared by weaker disciples, and despised by stronger ones. He bullied those beneath him, flattered those above, and squandered resources that most could only dream of obtaining.
And in the original story, his ending had been pitiful. Crippled by the sect's protagonist in a duel, abandoned by his father, and ultimately killed like a dog in the streets.
Chen Yu clenched his fists, his knuckles whitening.
Not me. Not this time. I won't die like that.
"System," he muttered under his breath. "Show me my status."
The cold mechanical voice immediately echoed in his mind.
[Villain System Status Window Opening…]
Host: Chen Yu (Transmigrator)
Identity: Villainous Young Master (Azure Cloud Sect)
Cultivation Base: 3rd Layer Qi Condensation
Fate Value: -100 (Doomed Villain)
Destiny Points: 0
System Functions:
Villain's Fate Plunder: Defeat protagonists, seize their fortune and luck.
Villain's Treasure Sense: Detect hidden opportunities around fate-bearers.
Villain's Shop: Exchange Destiny Points for cultivation techniques, treasures, or items.
Chen Yu's lips curled into a smirk. "So I really am the villain. But at least… I've got a cheat."
The system was simple but terrifying. If used correctly, it would allow him to flip the script entirely. But there was one problem — he was weak. Laughably weak.
Qi Condensation, 3rd layer… tch. Trash.
At this level, he was only slightly stronger than a mortal. In a sect filled with geniuses, he was bottom-tier. Worse, one of those "geniuses" was fated to kill him: Lin Tian, the so-called protagonist of this world.
In the memories, Lin Tian was everything Chen Yu wasn't: a hardworking orphan with a mysterious background, a heaven-grade spiritual root, and an iron will. He had the sect's favor, a destined encounter with a divine sword, and eventually… Chen Yu's head under his feet.
The thought alone made Chen Yu laugh bitterly. "So the script wants me to play cannon fodder? Fine. But I'll be the kind of cannon fodder that explodes and takes the whole battlefield with him."
"Brother Yu!"
A voice called from outside his residence. A moment later, the door slid open and a tall young man entered. He wore Azure Cloud disciple robes, though the crest on his chest indicated he was only an outer disciple. His eyes flickered with nervousness as he bowed respectfully.
Chen Yu recognized him instantly — Wang Ping, the lackey of the original Chen Yu. A coward who followed him around, laughing at his jokes, feeding him flattery, and betraying him at the first sign of trouble.
"Oh, it's you." Chen Yu forced a smile, suppressing his disdain. He needed to play the role for now.
"Brother Yu, there's news from the training grounds," Wang Ping said quickly, leaning in. "That brat Lin Tian… he's broken through to the 5th layer of Qi Condensation!"
Chen Yu raised an eyebrow, though he had expected it. In the original story, this was the moment Lin Tian's rise truly began. Within a month, he would challenge Chen Yu, cripple him, and take his resources.
But now, Chen Yu wasn't going to just roll over.
"Is that so?" Chen Yu said, pretending to sneer. "That dog really thinks he can rise above me? Hmph. Interesting."
Inside, however, his mind raced. He couldn't face Lin Tian head-on yet. He needed to prepare, grow stronger, and — most importantly — figure out how to plunder Lin Tian's fate before the duel.
"Wang Ping," Chen Yu said suddenly. "Tomorrow, we'll go to the Spirit Herb Valley."
"Eh?" Wang Ping blinked in surprise. "The Spirit Herb Valley? Brother Yu, isn't that where the inner sect disciples gather herbs for alchemy? What would you—"
"Are you questioning me?" Chen Yu's eyes flashed coldly.
Wang Ping flinched and immediately lowered his head. "N-no, of course not! As Brother Yu commands!"
Chen Yu smirked inwardly. The Spirit Herb Valley wasn't just an ordinary place. In the original story, Lin Tian had gone there and stumbled upon a hidden opportunity — a spiritual herb that elevated his cultivation by two whole layers. This was his chance to strike first.
The system's voice chimed in his head.
[Detected: Protagonist's Fateful Opportunity nearby.]
[Villain's Treasure Sense Activated.]
Chen Yu's smirk widened. "Lin Tian, Lin Tian… let's see how you rise without your little miracles."
That night, as the sect bustled under a crescent moon, Chen Yu sat cross-legged in meditation. His mind was calm, yet his heart surged with ambition.
He was no longer the pathetic office worker chained to mediocrity. No longer the doomed villain awaiting death.
This was the Azure Cloud Sect, a land where the strong ascended to immortality and the weak were trampled into dust.
And he, Chen Yu, had a villain system that turned destiny itself into a weapon.
His path to the apex had just begun.