The throne room of the Blade Sect hummed with tension.
Nex sat motionless on a seat of honor, eyes closed. The seat itself was a statement—carved from purple jade, positioned at the right hand of the Blade Master. The kind of seat that made men uncomfortable.
He had been in this body for less than a day.
The truck that hit him on a Tokyo crosswalk felt like a distant memory. He'd been ready for oblivion.
Instead, he'd woken up here.
"How dare a mere low-rank disciple presume to court the Blade Master's daughter?"
Nex opened one eye.
Lu Zhong. The name came immediately, dragged from this body's memories and reinforced by something deeper.
Imperial Diaries of Cultivation Followers, Volume 3. He'd read that web serial when he was seventeen—Lu Zhong had been the righteous protagonist, destined for impossible ascension.
Seeing him now, flushed with indignation, Nex felt the ghost of anticipation. Except now he was on the receiving end of that protagonist's fury.
The irony was almost refreshing.
"She should be betrothed to someone of proper standing," Lu Zhong continued, his voice climbing. "Not to some random young master playing politics with my future!"
The Blade Master's expression darkened. Ling Feng, seated at Nex's left, looked increasingly uncomfortable.
Nex remained silent.
This was the pre-protagonist arc, the part before Lu Zhong's talent awakened. Nex had read enough to know the rough strokes. Right now, Lu Zhong was mid-tier with exceptional potential but no real power.
Right now, Nex was theoretically safe.
If I don't do anything, he thought, if I just sit here—
A sound erupted in his mind like glass shattering.
[VILLAINOUS LIFESPAN EXCHANGE SYSTEM INITIATED]
[Host: Jin Yun Ho | Lifespan Remaining: 365 days]
[Villain Points: 0 | Daily Drain: 100 VP]
[Fated Protagonist Detected - Lu Zhong (78% Heavenly Fate)]
[Active Quest: "Humiliate the Righteous Hero" | Reward: 50-200 VP]
Nex's breath caught.
I'm doomed.
The chatter continued, though his attention had fractured into pieces.
"He's gone mad," one elder muttered. "Talking to the Blade Master as if he had a say in anything."
"Don't you know who that boy belongs to?" another replied. "The Jin clan. Those monsters. That's their third young master."
Fear replaced indignation in the eyes of those with sense.
The Blade Master stood, and the shift was immediate. His aura bled into the air—layers of deep crimson and gold, stained with bloodlust.
"You dog," he said to Lu Zhong. Each word fell like a hammer. "Just because your cultivation has progressed smoothly, you think yourself worthy of eyeing my daughter?"
The bloodlust spiked. Several younger disciples dropped to their knees, gasping.
Ling Feng turned toward Nex with wide eyes. She was older than he expected—thirty-three, a woman who had spent her youth training rather than courting. Now facing a sudden marriage prospect.
"Young... master... please don't..." she whispered, her hand trembling near his sleeve.
Nex opened both eyes, meeting her gaze for a moment before turning back to Lu Zhong.
The protagonist was flushed with anger, but there was fear underneath. Fear of the Blade Master. Fear of the Jin clan.
Not fear of Nex.
Not yet.
[SYSTEM RECOMMENDATION: Face-slap combat. Non-lethal. Estimated Reward: 50-200 VP with creative psychological impact.]
So you want me to let someone who's going to become a nightmare for me live, Nex thought bitterly. Just so I can farm him for points later.
[AFFIRMATIVE. Lifespan is currency. Long-term humiliation yields superior returns.]
He sighed. One day in a new body and he was gambling with fate.
One year. Three hundred and sixty-five days, draining by the second.
He needed one hundred villain points per day just to stay alive.
Lu Zhong snapped mid-argument, his eyes locking onto Nex with new venom.
"Jin Yun Ho," he spat, "you retard. Relying only on your family's prestige to steal Miss Ling Feng away from—"
An elder's voice cut like a blade.
"You commoner! How dare you speak the name of a clan master without honorifics!"
"Lu Zhong, you fool!" another added, his face pale. "Don't you understand what the Jin clan is?"
Nex stood.
The movement was slow, deliberate. Every head in the throne room turned.
He looked at Ling Feng fully—at the soft curve of her jaw, the elegant lines barely concealed by silk robes. Thirty-three years old, untouched, a blade master's daughter wrapped in loneliness.
Yeah, he thought. I see why he's after her. And I see why I'm not leaving her either.
"Let me handle him," Nex said.
"But young master," an elder protested, "he's rank 4. You are—"
"Rank 3?" Nex finished, with the kind of arrogance that came from nothing to lose. "You think the gap between ranks matters when you carry the Jin name?"
The elder bowed his head.
Lu Zhong laughed—a sharp, bitter sound.
"So you've finally stepped down from your throne, you worthless young master."
Nex's lips curved.
"I'd prefer if you called me Nex," he said.
System, now would be a good time.
[ADVERSITY RESONANCE ACTIVATING]
The world shifted. Nex felt a door opening in his chest—a sudden surge of power flooding through his meridians. His cultivation expanded.
Rank 4. Rank 5.
The throne room gasped. Disciples staggered backward.
The Blade Master's eyes widened—a fraction, but enough to register genuine surprise.
"Remarkable," he murmured. "The Jin clan wouldn't produce failures, but this... this is beyond my expectations."
Nex opened his arms, letting energy flow off him in visible waves.
"Behold the power of this venerable one, disciple of the Blade Sect," he said, and the words felt right. "Does rank 5 suffice for you?"
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Duration - 10 minutes remaining]
Lu Zhong's face went white.
"Even if you're one rank higher—" he started.
Nex moved.
Pure, brutal, enhanced strength channeled through a fist that had no business holding this much power.
The world compressed, then exploded.
Lu Zhong flew backward like a discarded doll.
He hit the jade wall—reinforced stone designed to withstand this kind of assault—and the crack echoed through the hall like a temple bell.
Nex shook out his wrist with deliberate slowness.
"That much only," he said. "With all that crap talk, you should invest in better cultivation techniques next time."
Several younger female disciples began whispering, their eyes bright with admiration that came from watching power in equal measure. The Blade Master laughed—a deep, genuine sound.
"Haha! Master Jin, you are a worthy candidate for my daughter indeed!"
Ling Feng stared at Nex with an expression that mixed fear and something else. Something softer. She was old enough to recognize security when it walked into a room.
[SYSTEM REWARD: +50 VP for humiliation combat]
[SYSTEM REWARD: +5 VP for arrogant boasting]
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Protagonist survival confirmed. Future confrontations available.]
Disgusting, Nex thought. But another figure was stepping forward—taller, older, rank 5 cultivation. A friend of Lu Zhong's, clearly.
"I'm rank 5 as well," the disciple announced. "Why fight weaker ones? Fight me. See if your power is real or just borrowed from your name."
"I can't suddenly move up another rank right now," Nex said smoothly. "But that won't matter. You're eyeing the same woman as your friend. That's shameful."
He released his aura then—not the borrowed power, but something deeper. The bloodline ability of the Jin clan. Demonic qi that flowed through their veins like inherited sin.
It poured out of him in waves. Suppressive. Absolute.
The disciple dropped like his strings had been cut, trembling, his face pressed against stone.
Nex leaned close.
"Trash," he whispered. "You sure have a way to fall."
The murmuring started immediately.
"He's not from that clan for nothing."
"His aura alone suppresses even elders."
"And he's called the worst of their clan..."
Ling Feng stumbled at the table, overwhelmed by demonic energy. But she didn't look away. She looked thoughtful. Calculating.
A woman who recognized security when it stood before her.
[SYSTEM REWARD: +30 VP for intimidation]
[SYSTEM REWARD: +20 VP for psychological suppression]
Nex walked past the fallen disciple, stopping beside Ling Feng. He took her hand gently—stark contrast to the violence of moments before—and brought it to his lips.
"Now that we have been formally betrothed," he said, low enough that only she could hear, "will you join me for an outing this evening? I believe we have much to discuss about our future together."
She was flushed, startled. But she nodded.
The Blade Master laughed, clearly pleased.
Nex left the throne room with measured steps. Behind him, the noise of the sect began again—excited whispers, speculation, the carefully maintained pretense of normalcy returning.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Daily VP Requirement met. 100 VP earned.]
[REMAINING VP: 5]
One day down, Nex thought, walking through silk-lined corridors. Three hundred and sixty-four to go, no wait....did it not take those points yet..
He smiled despite himself.
Let's find more idiots to humiliate, shall we?