A boy loved reading and hearing fables of 'Heroes' to the point of idealizing them meets the harsh reality of the unfair world. The same boy was bestowed the title of 'Villain' for taking vengeance for his loved ones and protecting those others deemed beyond saving... Out of his ventures, he got blessed by the Heavens with a second chance at life, but not without its cost... In his second life, he faced the moral dilemma of whether to defy fate and become a hero, fall deeper into the abyss and become a true villain, or just ignore everything and isolate himself from the world. This is the story of a boy who was born in a cultivation world where might is right, strength reigns supreme, and he was deigned weak. Yet the world had no place for the weak, be it his family, his fellow cultivators, commoners, powerful elites... Against all odds, the boy reigned supreme, only to fall at the ploy of fate... He returns to the past, with the item he was being hunted for in the first place. Now, what shall his destiny be? This story is anything but a cliché, where a kid fights the world's strongest and saves the world from doom. No, he might as well be the one bringing the world to its doom. ====== Reader disclaimer: Please read the *Important: Read Before the Novel* in the Auxiliary Volume. Warning: Read at your own risk!! R18: gore, violence, deaths, tortures, indirect or direct references to explicit scenes. The MC is a villain, not some anti-hero or anti-villain, so it might be a bit brutal for some of the readers. ====== Well, I know what I have in mind for this novel. So, I am hoping I can continue the novel to its end, and you can just ask any questions regarding the book, and I'll answer them. I am a newbie author, so do tell me about any errors, and please bear with me! Thanks!! 1000~1300 words per chapter with 2 chapters daily minimum ~100,000 Words Free!!!! [All character arts and covers were made using AI] ////////////////////////////////////////////////// I have entered this novel for the WSA 2024 contest, so if you like reading this novel, do give it some power stones, golden tickets, and gifts. Thanks for reading and your support!! Join my Discord if you like: https://discord.com/invite/Qb86VeyvzP (You need to copy and paste the link to your browser.)
As Raon fell unconscious in the seclusion chamber, the elixir seemed to be coursing through his gut to his entire body.
All his acupoints and meridian pathways seemed to be lit up with iridescent colors carrying a dark red hue.
Before the dark red hue could encroach them as well as Raon entirely, his pendant lit up letting out an ethereal mist.
The mist shot straight to his heart increasing his heart rate as the mist as well as blood coursed through his veins at a frightening pace.
While the mist-infused blood was fighting against the dark red hue, the pendent shone once more but this time with a white-blue glow.
The glow was so bright that it would've blinded Raon had he been conscious whereas a chilly silence descended in the chamber to complement the scene.
Only some whirring and blood-curdling noises could be heard as the two glows were clashing whereas a third glow started to condense over the pendant.
As the pendant lost all its luster, the white-blue glow seemed to brighten with a tint of yellow before finally condensing into a milky white crystal.
The crystal carried a tint of yellow and blue as it shot straight to Raon's forehead and seemed to seep through it without any blockage.
The two glows that were fighting immediately got into an intense struggle after the crystal entered Raon's body.
It took almost 6 hours before it got calm as the two glows were on the verge of exhausting themselves but in the end, they stopped fighting.
As the two glows were at a stalemate, the milky white crystal resurfaced on Raon's forehead as the white and dark red forms mingled with each other.
The blue and yellow tint from the crystal were also taken away alongside a part of the crystal making the remaining part as small as a toenail.
As the white, dark red, blue, and yellow colors mixed to form a crescendo of colors that would be called beautiful by anyone if seen.
Yet the process was anything but that as Raon's entire body was twitching due to it being destroyed and rebuilt from his insides.
The process lasted for more than 12 hours before finally, the toenail-sized crystal went back into his forehead leaving no clue of its presence behind.
*Bzzt*
*Bzzt*
*Crackle*
*Crackle*
Amongst such noises, Raon's skin layer seemed to crack open, bringing about a new layer of skin as well as hair.
His hair now reached his shoulders while his face looked the same except for his closed eyes which were shining with a red color.
The outside look of his body was also the same yet it was many times stronger than those at the same cultivation realm.
Even his foundation and dantian were stronger than average cultivators while all his internal injuries were healed as well as impurities purified.
Unfortunately, Raon was unconscious for the next 7 days after the process was over where he seemed to have met someone.
As Raon woke up after 7 days, he noticed the changes in his strength almost immediately while also experiencing an intense headache.
He decided to stay in the seclusion chamber for a little longer to confirm his strength as the Daiyu Sacred Land's recruitment was coming close.
As he spent the next month there, he was unaware of the great chaos ongoing across the major powers on the planet.
The Daiyu Sacred Land was just the major power on their continent but there were several such continents across their enormous planet.
Just the population of a titled Empire like the Arcane Empire is in the trillions let alone the entire Daiyu Continent.
Even if Raon was outside nothing would change for him as he would have no idea about the great chaos due to his low status.
The only two beings aware of the reason for it were far far away from the planet itself and didn't seem to care about what they did at all.
As soon as Raon came outside, he didn't linger around or fight in the ranks like an idiot but went to take some missions as well as meet Altair if possible.
However, it didn't seem like things would go according to his plans as he noticed everyone looking at him weirdly and curiously for a second and then ignoring him.
The only reason was his shoulder-length long black hair as well as his deep black eyes that were fluctuating with a blood-red sheen ever so often.
As if that wasn't enough his cultivation was also now the same as the top 1000 in the Inner District while he had defeated Rank 976 in a duel but his rank didn't change as it wasn't a rank fight.
The only one who wanted to do anything with him was Elric who surprisingly was still alive as well as ranked 879 in the Inner District.
As cultivation gets harder the further one gets, the top 100 are all in the peak stage of their realm while the lower ones are also at least in the middle stage.
Yet, Raon defeated a middle stage while being at the peak stage of a lower realm, staining their strength as he refused all duels unless for a bet.
He had won a hundred rank-2 stones from that bet and that was the reason he fought without masking his strength which ended up drawing Elric.
Elric had been keeping to himself since he entered the Inner District despite the unbridled rage he held towards Raon and Aria as he entered the Inner District by joining a faction whereas those two didn't join any.
Let alone joining any faction, those two are the weird ones that don't work in teams. Arialyn still goes on team missions and is also a part of Ziya's group that she joined after failing and losing all her teammates.
The three main bloodline ones from the Tesra family fared a little worse as one of them died while the other two had to take Ziya as their superior.
The only difference was that they were in charge of everything as Ziya was more strength and result-oriented but she formed a team as well as a faction only to be able to stand by herself and avoid marriage.
Raon was the true loner of the sect as he had done team missions solo as well as only taking solo missions most of the time.
If some missions required teamwork from the hirer then also he would do it alone totally ignoring such requirements yet he never failed a mission as he never took certain types of missions.
Unknowingly, Raon triggered a series of events that would lead him out of the selections for the Daiyu Sacred Land.
No one knew the entire matter of his sister Raelyn and the Elder but she was selected as the Leader of the participants to enter Daiyu this time as she would be nearing the age limit while also being the strongest in that group.
Raon had no clue about such things as he wasn't even a core district disciple reducing his chance further to be allowed but it is still a decade away.
As Raon went on mission after mission to collect resources, his cultivation and comprehension speed got a massive boost, decreasing the time required to break through.
He broke through to the middle stage in only three years and to the late stage in the next six years but his true strength could be compared to the initial stage of the next realm.
As the time for the Entrance Test was approaching, a certain event struck the Arcane Empire as untimely beast tides started hitting them in remote areas in the past decade.
It seemed like demon beasts were dead set on conquering those pieces of land as it had been going on for nearly a decade already drawing the neighboring kingdoms'/queendoms' greedy eyes.
Obviously, no one would bother about some villages of an unranked Kingdom except themselves but the neighboring kingdoms also started experiencing the same problem.
No one understood anything before suddenly, the seven kingdoms' Royal Family members were killed and the survivors became the new rulers as the seven allied to protect themselves.
They announced their alliance as a Tier-1 Kingdom elevating their status but the loss of people as well as territory struck them to the point an entire kingdom's worth of land was lost.
Now, one might think that it was probably targeted by some hidden alliance or some internal struggle but when it happens to 7 at the same time, it is unmistakable that they were getting targeted.
But would anyone believe it if you tell them that it was done by one person alone, then it would seem possible but they would need to be immensely strong.
Well, it was without a doubt Raon but under an entirely different persona as well as name, he wore a mask to hide his face but his demon-like red eyes forgo any resistance after being pummeled by him.
It was not like he was absurdly strong but with the right artifacts, weapons, and exceptional strength, it was a foregone conclusion to take over a few unranked Kingdoms via diversions.
He wasn't a kindred soul that would be bothered about the loss of life or some stuff as he was a cultivator and so were the dead ones.
Anyone who lives in this world knows that they can die anytime, so he wouldn't stop to feel guilty or sad but of course, he wouldn't massacre people either.
With the deadline for the participants to go to Daiyu approaching, he had no other option than to leave and try it there as the beast attacks continued to increase the battle experience of the cultivators as well as demon beasts.
Thanks Kevin2164 and karthyaveeryarjuna for the power stones!
4 PS for 1 extra chapter this Sunday.
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