Chapter 1: Qin Hongyi of the Ninth Life
The prison cell was dark, damp, and reeking of rot. In the middle of the cold stone floor knelt a thin young man with pale skin and long white hair. His head hung low, eyes shut, his breath so faint it was hard to tell if he was even alive.
Heavy iron chains clamped around his wrists and ankles, digging deep into his skin. Bruises and open wounds lined his limbs, and in places, the flesh had worn down so much that bone was starting to show.
Before him sat a full spread of food—steamed buns, roasted meat, rice and vegetables—but it had long been left to spoil. Flies swarmed the dishes, buzzing in the air thick with the stench of decay.
It was clear someone brought fresh meals here every day, but the man on the floor hadn't touched a single bite. He couldn't. Not in his condition.
Footsteps echoed through the corridor.
A moment later, a tall woman in a red dress walked into the cell. The air seemed to grow colder with every step she took.
Her beauty was impossible to ignore. Smooth skin, sharp eyes, long legs wrapped in crimson silk. Her scarlet hair flowed down her back like a burning waterfall, adding a dangerous charm to her already striking presence.
In her hand, she carried a fresh bowl of steaming food. The rich scent of meat filled the air, but her eyes were cold, sharp, and filled with a quiet, controlled rage. As she looked down at the kneeling man, a strange satisfaction flickered across her face.
"Shen Shuchou," she said quietly. "Do you regret it?"
Her voice was cold, but there was a subtle plea beneath the surface. "Say you regret it. I'll let you eat. I'll end your suffering."
The man didn't move.
He stayed kneeling, silent, as if he did not hear her at all.
Qin Hongyi's expression darkened. The air around her dropped several degrees as killing intent rippled from her body like frost spreading across stone.
For over a month, she had kept Shen Shuchou in this prison. She crippled his cultivation, locked him in chains, and fed him to the Devouring Heart Gu's every day. She tortured him with countless methods—physically, mentally—and left food in front of him just to remind him what he could no longer enjoy.
And every time he was on the verge of death, she forced a thread of true Qi into his body to keep him alive. Not out of mercy—but because she wasn't finished.
This man had once been her everything.
He had raised her, taught her to read, taught her how to survive. He protected her like a daughter, held her like family.
But it was all a lie.
Now, every time she looked at him, she felt both satisfaction and pain.
She crouched and grabbed his jaw, forcing his face upward to meet hers. His eyes stayed closed.
"The great Sword Saint," she said, her voice shaking. "Did you ever imagine you'd end up like this? Did you think of this moment when you murdered my family—thirty lives gone in a single night?"
"Just say it," she whispered. "Say you regret it, and I'll stop."
Fifty years ago, Shen Shuchou slaughtered her entire clan. She was six years old, standing among the bodies of her parents and brothers, drenched in blood she didn't yet understand.
For fifty years, she stayed by his side, hiding her hatred behind a perfect mask. She called him Master, smiled when told to, bowed when commanded. But inside, she was waiting for the day she could become strong enough to kill him.
Now that day had come.
She was the strongest cultivator on the continent. She had crushed the righteous path, built the Heavenly Demon Sect with her own hands, and had become the Empress of the Demonic Path.
And yet—what she wanted most was not revenge.
It was three simple words
"I regret it."
That was all.
Shen Shuchou, listening to her voice, let out a silent sigh in his heart.
He understood her pain. He felt it. He even admired her for it.
He knew all along that she hated him. That she had never forgiven him. But the love he gave her over the years was real. That love was the price he chose to pay.
Because her hatred would make her strong.
It was the only way.
Buried deep in his mind was a system. A cruel, merciless system.
—
Name: Shen Shuchou
Cultivation: Mortal
World: Ninth Life – Xuanming Continent
Main Target: Qin Hongyi
Note: Mission complete once host dies. Time remaining in this world: 3 days. Current duration: 57 days. Upon death, host may return to original world.
—
Shen Shuchou hadn't always been like this.
Once, he was just a high school student on Blue Star. He died in a traffic accident—run down by the "God of Dump Trucks" as internet legends liked to call it—and woke up in a fantasy world with a system in his head.
His mission: travel through nine different lives, find the destined heroines while they were still children, and turn them into the greatest villains their worlds had ever seen.
Not through guidance. Not through love. But through betrayal.
He was to plant the seeds of hatred so deep they would become unstoppable.
The more they hated him, the faster they would grow.
Qin Hongyi was no exception. He manipulated a misunderstanding, made her believe he was the one who murdered her family, and let that hatred simmer for five decades.
All so she could rise to power.
He pitied her. He hated that she had to suffer. But he gave her everything he had—his patience, his kindness, his warmth—because that was the only way he can give her the strength she needed to take the world by force.
Now, this was his last mission. His ninth and final life.
In three days, he can return home.
No more pain. No more manipulation. Just peace.
Even if she kills him now, it would all be worth it.
Qin Hongyi's grip on his jaw tightened.
"I'll ask you one last time," she said. "Do you really refuse to say it?"
Shen Shuchou remained silent.
Her patience snapped.
With a wave of her hand, a swarm of black insects appeared in her palm—writhing, venomous things known as Devouring Heart Gu's.
They slithered into his body like smoke and agony followed.
Shen Shuchou's face twisted, his limbs trembling violently as the worms chewed through nerves and muscle. It felt like a thousand knives slicing through his body, every cut precise, every inch of flesh peeled away with him wide awake for all of it.
Even after weeks of this torture, the pain still hit him like it was the first time.
Still, he didn't scream.
He didn't beg.
He just endured.
Qin Hongyi watched him writhe with a strange look on her face—half satisfaction, half something else. Her cheeks flushed slightly and her breathing grew uneven.
An hour passed.
She mocked him with every word, pushed him to the brink, and each time he nearly slipped into death, she forced a stream of Qi into him, keeping him alive by force.
But Shen Shuchou… he would've preferred to die.
Finally, she withdrew the Gu's.
Her gaze lingered on what was left of him. He was no longer a man, just a wreck barely breathing. She turned and walked out.
Just before she stepped out, her eyes drifted to the fresh bowl of food still sitting untouched on the ground. Her gaze flickered. Something almost like hesitation passed through her.
But it vanished.
With the sound of heels echoing behind her, she walked away.
And in the silence that followed, Shen Shuchou remained kneeling, motionless, like a broken corpse waiting for the end.