Pain... Unbearable pain...
Chen An lowered his head slightly and saw the tip of a sword protruding from his chest, having run him clean through from behind. The strike was brutal, the placement precise, and sword qi surged along the blade, instantly shattering his spiritual sea. For a cultivator, the spiritual sea was everything—the root of their cultivation.
Without it, even a powerful Mahayana stage cultivator like Chen An would fall to the mortal realm, never to walk the immortal path again. All his earth-shaking cultivation was now meaningless. The sword tip gleamed bright white, and even the blood on its edge couldn't dull its brilliance. Anyone who saw it would have praised it as a fine blade.
"Master... surprised?" A trembling female voice came from behind him. "You, once peerless and untouchable, did you ever think you'd meet your end like this?"
She was clearly trying to hold back her joy, barely keeping herself from laughing aloud. After ten years of endurance, she had finally taken her revenge. How could Su Chichi not be thrilled? How could she not be overwhelmed with emotion?
"Thirty years ago, you killed my parents, slaughtered my entire village. Did you ever imagine this day would come?"
When the man before her stayed silent, Su Chichi spoke again. With every word, the suffocating weight in her heart loosened bit by bit. Even the bottleneck in her cultivation began to shift—she was about to break through from Nascent Soul to the Tribulation stage. Was this the clarity that came with conquering one's inner demons?
Su Chichi felt a pleasure unlike anything she'd ever known. Tears welled up in her eyes, her face flushed unnaturally, and she had the urge to throw her head back and howl to the heavens, to offer her victory to her parents and the three hundred sixty-one souls of Su Village.
Father, Mother… she could barely remember their faces anymore, but those warm childhood memories remained vivid, playing again and again in her mind. She released the sword and half-knelt on the ground.
The weapon hit the floor with a sharp, clear cry like a dragon's roar. A divine weapon with a spirit of its own—it, too, was celebrating her vengeance. Su Chichi trembled, her shoulders shaking as she let out soft sobs that sounded almost like laughter. Her hair was scattered over her shoulders, tears ran down her face, and her beauty was breathtaking. Suddenly she crawled forward and pulled Chen An into her arms.
"Say something! Say something!" she cried. "Why won't you say anything... sob..." Then her expression changed.
Panic spread across her face. "No, no, Master..." she stammered. "Chichi's here, I'll save you, I'll save you..." She scrambled to treat the terrifying wound, but the sword had pierced his heart, and the sword qi had turned his organs into a mess of pulp.
Even a legendary Medical Immortal, if reborn, could only sigh and walk away.
Her sobbing turned strange, a mix of weeping and bitter laughter, echoing through the cave. No one could possibly understand what it felt like to kill the man who had raised you for twenty-five years. It was a storm of emotions too complex for words. After a long time, Su Chichi finally dared to look straight at the man in her arms—her master.
The man who cared for her, taught her, forgave every tantrum and whim with a smile. But today, she had thrust her sword into him, shattered his spirit platform, and severed all his paths forward. Even with heaven-defying abilities, there was no hope left for him.
She stared into his face, expecting pain, rage, or perhaps resignation. But there was nothing. His expression was as calm as ever. Even as life drained from him, his deep eyes held no emotion.
"It's over," Chen An whispered with his last breath.
Su Chichi sat dazed, holding his body. Blood ran down, soaking her bare feet. It's over... yes, everything was over. The cave, which held so many memories, collapsed in a roar. Su Chichi remained motionless. A moment later, clouds gathered across the once-clear sky, thunder rumbling overhead. She lifted his body in her arms and looked up blankly. Her heart demon shattered, her cultivation surged—Su Chichi had entered the Tribulation stage.
Wind roared in Chen An's ears. When he opened his eyes again, he was stunned. It wasn't the familiar stone-walled cave. It was a blue sky. He was back—back to the beginning, standing on the school rooftop. After nine lives, in the end, it was all just a speck in the sea, like a fleeting dream.
"Congratulations, Host. The ninth villainess has been successfully cultivated. With all nine worlds complete, you can now enjoy your well-deserved peaceful life. Reward: Immortality granted."
Villainess Cultivation System.
After receiving it, Chen An had traveled through nine different worlds across nine lifetimes, cultivating one female villain each time. Su Chichi was the ninth. As planned, once she killed her master, she would fall fully into the demonic path. As they say, redemption weakens a person, but corruption multiplies their strength tenfold.
Su Chichi's power would skyrocket, and she'd overturn the righteous alliance, becoming a pillar of the demonic world. For the next ten years, she would begin her reign of terror.
But that had nothing to do with Chen An anymore. Maybe in his first or second life, he still felt something. But now? His mindset had changed completely.
I'm just a tool. Why should I care? Eat when it's time to eat, drink when it's time to drink. Besides, if you really think about it, I'm the one who's been hurt the most. Nine different deaths—who could understand that pain?
Take Su Chichi, for example. The truth she believed in was just that—a belief. Hatred had blinded her. She couldn't tell illusion from reality. That so-called Su Village, those so-called parents, were in fact all demonic cultivators. They saw her innate Dao Body and put on a perfect show just to keep her heart pure for later harvesting.
Why not explain? There was no need. Chen An had aimed for this outcome from the start. So better to lie flat and enjoy being the tool.
Ignoring the system's voice, Chen An walked to the edge of the rooftop and stretched out his arms. A peaceful life... is it really mine now? He fell silent, thinking back over those nine worlds. After a while, he said, "System, erase all memories of the ninth villainess."
"Host, you've already erased memories of the previous eight. Are you sure you want to erase the last one too?"
"I'm sure."
In an instant, everything about Su Chichi faded from his mind like a dream, leaving behind only vague fragments he could never piece together again.
And that was fine. Chen An let out a long sigh and turned toward the rooftop's iron door. Just then, it swung open from the other side. A girl in school uniform walked in. When she saw Chen An, her steps faltered. Her eyes widened slightly, clearly not expecting to find anyone else there. Chen An politely stepped aside to let her pass. She hesitated briefly but then walked straight past him.
Her steps didn't stop. She walked all the way to the edge where Chen An had just stood. She peeked over and immediately felt dizzy. Her palms were slick with sweat. She turned away quickly, too afraid to keep looking. Her slender frame swayed slightly, then stiffened up again. Her legs, hidden beneath her uniform trousers, began to tremble.
She looked up and saw that the boy was just about to step through the door and leave. Finally, she couldn't hold back and called out in a trembling voice, "Hey!"
Chen An turned around. "What is it?"
The girl bit her lip and stared at him. "Can't you at least try to talk me out of it?"
Chen An was momentarily stunned. Then he replied, "Respect others' fates. Let go of your savior complex."
He waved a hand. "If you want to jump, just jump. It's not that big of a deal."