The Nine Flames Heavenly Clan's ancestral plaza glowed with a thousand floating lanterns. Disciples filled the square, elders sat upon thrones of jade, and in the center stood the Heavenly Bloodline Testing Altar—a colossal stone pillar inscribed with runes that shimmered in firelight.
Today, all eyes turned to a single youth.
Feng Xuanlong.
At sixteen, he stood tall, with long black hair bound in a crimson clasp, his sharp eyes gleaming with pride. The clan had waited years for this moment—the day the boy with the strongest bloodline in centuries would awaken his true potential.
Yet, as he laid his palm upon the altar, a violent dizziness struck him. His vision blurred. His heart pounded.
And then—
Memories. Torrents of memories, flooding his soul like an endless river.
He saw words. Pages. A novel.
This world—his world—was nothing but a story. In it, he was not the hero, but the villain: a once-in-a-generation prodigy destined to be a stepping stone. In the novel's plot, his brilliance would dazzle the heavens, until the "true protagonist" arrived—a Heaven's Chosen with plot armor, treasures, and heroines fated to adore him. Feng Xuanlong would be defeated, humiliated, and cast aside.
He staggered.
So that's my fate? To be a stepping stone?
Rage burned through him, but before despair could consume him, a cold, mocking voice slithered into his mind.
[Villain System initializing…]
[Scanning soul… Recognized: Reincarnated Villain.]
[Designation bound: Feng Xuanlong.]
A shadowy interface materialized before his eyes, invisible to all but him. Rows of crimson text floated in the void:
Villain Points (VP): 0Fate Energy: 0Villain Quests available.
"Welcome, Child of Malice," the voice purred. "Do you wish to remain a stepping stone… or seize destiny itself?"
Feng Xuanlong's lips curled into a smile.
"Begin the test!" an elder roared.
The altar flared. Runes danced, and scarlet fire erupted around his hand, climbing into the sky like a burning dragon. Gasps swept through the plaza.
"Such power! His bloodline surpasses all ancestors of the last thousand years!"
"This is… the Supreme Flame Body!"
Cheers echoed, but Feng Xuanlong's mind was elsewhere. His newfound memories told him what came next.
The novel's script.
At this moment, just as he shone brightest, a Chosen One would appear—an outsider genius, carrying Heaven's blessing—to overshadow him. His destiny was humiliation.
And sure enough—
A streak of golden light split the horizon. A youth in white robes descended upon the plaza, bathed in divine radiance. His aura was arrogant, his presence suffocating.
"I am Ye Tianxing, disciple of the Celestial Star Sect," the youth declared, his voice echoing with Heaven's will. "By Heaven's decree, I challenge the Nine Flames Clan's prodigy."
The elders stirred but did not stop him. Fate had already twisted their hearts. This was Heaven's Chosen.
Feng Xuanlong's memories whispered: in the original tale, he would lose. His defeat would shatter his arrogance, and Ye Tianxing would steal the admiration of the clan's young geniuses—and even the affection of his fiancée.
But this time… things were different.
The Villain System chimed:
[Villain Quest issued: Humiliate Ye Tianxing before the clan. Reward: 1,000 VP + unlock Heaven-Swallowing Palm.]
His smile widened.
The duel began.
Ye Tianxing raised his hand, summoning starlight into a spear of pure celestial qi. "Kneel, and I may spare your life."
"Kneel?" Feng Xuanlong chuckled darkly. His voice resounded across the plaza, colder than steel. "I am no one's stepping stone."
Power surged within him, the altar amplifying his bloodline flames. But beneath that fire, another power stirred—an abyssal hunger awakened by the system.
Dark runes flickered across his palm.
He extended his hand, fingers curling into a grasping motion.
The sky darkened.
A vast shadow bloomed above him, blotting out the lanterns, blotting out the stars. It took shape—a palm the size of mountains, etched with black cracks that pulsed like veins. Its presence pressed down upon the plaza, suffocating.
"Heaven-Swallowing Palm…" Feng Xuanlong whispered.
The colossal palm descended. The air howled. Qi, fire, even the radiance of Ye Tianxing's star spear bent and shattered, dragged into the abyssal vortex of that palm.
"What—!?" Ye Tianxing's eyes widened in horror as the very foundation of his cultivation trembled. His spear dissolved into motes of light, sucked into Xuanlong's dantian.
The crowd screamed.
"This… this power is heretical!"
"He's devouring the Celestial Star Dao itself!"
Ye Tianxing roared, struggling against the pull, but it was useless. His starlight cracked, his aura crumbled. With a final scream, he was slammed into the plaza's stone tiles, coughing blood. His body lay sprawled before the watching clan.
Humiliated.
Defeated.
The system's voice rang in Feng Xuanlong's mind:
[Quest complete. Reward: 1,000 VP.]
[Heaven-Swallowing Palm permanently unlocked.]
Applause did not come. Instead, silence—stunned, fearful silence. Elders gaped. Disciples shivered. For the first time, they looked at him not as a prodigy, but as something beyond mortal comprehension.
Something that even Heaven could not bind.
Feng Xuanlong looked down at Ye Tianxing, the so-called Heaven's Chosen.
"Your fate was to trample me," he murmured, voice low, meant only for the fallen youth. "But I choose to devour fate itself."
He raised his eyes, staring into the night sky where Heaven's stars still glittered. For a heartbeat, he swore he felt the heavens shudder with malice, as if the cosmos itself had noticed his defiance.
Good.
Let Heaven take notice.
Let destiny rage.
He would devour it all.