Su Feng, who had been quietly listening to the conversation between his older brothers and sisters, suddenly opened his eyes wide.
A cold, mechanical voice resonated directly in his mind.
[Congratulations to the host for activating the Villain of Destiny System.]
His breath caught for a moment.
"What… is this?" he asked himself, completely bewildered.
It was the first time he had heard such strange terms.
System…?
Villain of Destiny…?
His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he tried to make sense of it.
"What do these things mean…?"
[As the host attacks the various Children of Destiny and seizes their opportunities, the system will grant villain points according to the value of those opportunities.]
The mechanical voice continued, cold and indifferent.
[Villain points have multiple uses. They can be used in lotteries, or exchanged for skills and items at the system's shopping center.]
"…?" The more he listened, the more confused he became.
The mechanical voice went on.
[A Child of Destiny has been detected near the host.]
[Child of Destiny: Wu Huang]
[Identity: First Brother of the Celestial Sword Sect]
[Bloodline / Spiritual Root: Human Bloodline | Common Spiritual Root]
[Cultivation Realm: Seventh Stage of Qi Refinement]
[Destiny Value: 5000]
[Once their destiny value has been fully looted, it is possible to eliminate them without fear of Celestial Dao retribution.]
The more he heard…
the more it felt like a dream.
An absurd one.
An impossible one.
Wu Huang immediately noticed his strange state and gently moved him aside from the group, looking at him with concern. But Su Feng, overwhelmed by the flood of information, could barely react.
"I'm… a villain?" he murmured in a trembling voice. "My elder brother is the Child of Destiny… and I have to kill him?"
His pupils trembled.
Gradually, his expression changed.
His eyes became fierce.
"Don't try to trick me," he said through clenched teeth, staring into the void as if he could see the source of the voice. "Get out of my head right now."
His tone rose, uncontrolled.
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
A wave of rejection and rage surged within him.
Not toward his brother, but toward that… system.
[Once linked, separation is impossible.]
The voice responded with the same mechanical calm as before.
His eyes grew even fiercer; this system—or whatever it was—was testing his patience.
But quickly realizing that his mind was too unstable, Su Feng closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.
Without wasting time, he began executing the Pure Heart technique.
His breathing slowed, evened out.
The emotions that had been on the verge of overflowing… dissipated gradually, like waves returning to the sea.
When he opened his eyes again, his gaze had regained clarity.
Now, with a calm mind, he could think.
"What happens if I do nothing?" he asked calmly.
[The system will not grant any rewards.]
"Then… I can just continue as usual?"
[Correct, host.]
The response came without hesitation.
For a moment, Su Feng felt some of the pressure lift.
But then…
[An opportunity from a Child of Destiny has been detected nearby.]
[If you obtain this opportunity, you can steal their destiny value and convert it into villain points.]
The system continued explaining, but Su Feng no longer paid attention.
His mind had focused on something else.
"Elder brother… has an opportunity?" he murmured, confused.
Without hesitation, he started moving toward where Wu Huang was.
[Calculating Child of Destiny's position…]
Su Feng ignored the message. Considering the time, his elder brother should be at his residence.
[The Child of Destiny is in the general market.]
Su Feng frowned.
Wu Huang was not exactly poor. In fact, he had so many resources that it would be difficult for him to run out anytime soon. Moreover, as inner disciples of the main peak, any material or resource they needed could be easily obtained by simply asking.
"What is he doing there…?" he muttered, heading toward the location indicated by the system.
The market's bustle soon filled his ears. Among the crowd, he quickly spotted the familiar figure of his elder brother.
He approached.
"Hello, elder brother…" he greeted, with a slight tone of unease.
Wu Huang, not expecting to see him there, was momentarily surprised. But his expression quickly softened into a warm smile.
He raised a hand and gently patted Su Feng's head.
"Looks like you've recovered. I'm glad."
Feeling that gesture… hearing those words…
All the negative emotions Su Feng had accumulated since hearing the system dissipated instantly.
As if they had never existed.
"What is elder brother doing here? I looked for you at your residence but couldn't find you," he asked curiously.
Wu Huang, casually observing the various market stalls, replied without giving it much importance:
"Nothing in particular, just seeing if anything interesting was here."
Su Feng followed his gaze and scanned the area.
He couldn't help but ask in his mind:
"System… does this have anything to do with destiny?"
[To some extent.]
The answer came… but clarified nothing.
Su Feng furrowed his brow slightly.
"As always… you answer without answering…"
Still, he continued observing his surroundings.
Among the various objects, his gaze suddenly stopped on something.
It was a small, broken jade piece with no apparent value. Amid the countless junk items, it didn't stand out at all.
But, for some reason… he felt that object was a little… out of place.
[Child of Destiny opportunity detected.]
[Ancient jade fragment containing a map to a secret realm.]
"A… secret realm?" His eyes couldn't help but widen in surprise.
He pointed immediately.
"Elder brother, look at that… it seems unusual."
Wu Huang, who had been inspecting other items, followed the direction of his finger.
Seeing the jade fragment, his pupils contracted slightly… but in the next instant, his expression returned to normal.
"Yes… looks interesting," he said calmly.
He took it in his hand and asked bluntly:
"How much for this broken jade?"
The vendor smiled ingratiatingly, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
"Ten low-grade spiritual stones."
Wu Huang frowned.
Even a single spiritual stone was already a high price for an apparently useless item…
But he didn't hesitate.
He produced the stones and tossed them directly to the vendor.
"Here."
Then, without even examining it further, he handed the jade to Su Feng.
Su Feng was a little stunned.
"Eh…? For me?"
But before he could say anything further—
[You have stolen the Child of Destiny's opportunity.]
[Child of Destiny's destiny value: -100]
[You have obtained 1000 villain points.]
The message appeared without warning.
Su Feng's heart stopped for a moment.
His gaze slowly fell on the jade in his hand, disbelief written all over his face.