Chapter 7 - Protagonist's journey!

Far away from Ashen's mansion,

Han Yujin, treading the road, looked back in the direction of Ashen's Mansion. Gritting his teeth in anger, he muttered: "Just wait, I will return to take my revenge!"

He had run away from Ashen's mansion to become stronger. He, now with the desire to cultivate, moved in the direction of one of the top ten cultivation sects in the south of the empire.

His grandfather had left him a letter which said -

"After you turn eighteen, join the Phoenix Feather Sect. Show them my token and you can meet the Sect Master of the sect. He would tell you what to do after you show him my token"

In this world, At the age of eighteen, Your spirit would be mature enough to awaken.

Therefore, It was a common practice to awaken your spirit at the age of 18 and start your cultivation journey.

It has been 6 months since Han Yujin turned eighteen.

He had planned to take Li Xiran with him as well, therefore, he stayed at the village till now.

Yujin's grandfather had always been an aloof man, never staying in one place for more than a few days.

Yujin had come to the Carp Village with his grandfather, however, after some time his grandfather left, leaving him to the village head to take care of.

Yujin now had only one destination in mind, The 8th ranked sect among the top 10 cultivation sects of the southern empire, The Phoenix Feather Sect.

He, determined to take revenge, continued his journey.

Meanwhile, In Ashen's room...

Ashen, sitting on his luxurious chair, contemplated his next course of action.

After a while, standing up from the chair, He muttered: "Status window!"

Instantly, his status window appeared in front of his eyes.

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------STATUS WINDOW------

Name: Fang Ashen

Age: 20 years old.

Villain Points: 19,700

Cultivation: First Stage of the Bone Transformation Realm.

Cultivation Technique: None

Skills: Martial Fist

Bloodline: Dormant

Physique: Dormant

Spirit: 2-headed Sky flame Viper (2-star) [9-headed devouring Dragon] (dormant)

Weaknesses: None

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Ashen observed the status Window before instructing the system: "System, advance me to the Nascent soul realm"

This time, he didn't ask about the price, already knowing it. He had previously inquired about the same thing.

[Ding! Host, The system suggests you to spend 1000 Villain points on reducing the amount of Pain you will experience]

Ashen, smirking at the system, snorted: "Hmph! Do you think I would fall for your trick again? I can bear a little pain, bring it on"

Ashen had suffered at the hands of the System many times by now, He understood that this system wanted to extort Villain Points from him. Understanding that, he just ignored the system's voice.

Didn't he bear the pain of bone breaking for 2-hours? Can't he withstand the pain of cutting his soul a little?

Yes, to advance to the Nascent soul realm, You had to cut your soul into two parts, The larger part will become your original soul, taking the shape of the original soul. Though, the density of this new soul will be less, However, It will recover with time.

On the other hand, The smaller part of the soul will merge with your spirit, making your mind and soul connected to it.

You will be able to control your spirit with just a thought, even using it to fight. Although, using it in fights had risks but that would be neglected when the advantages were so major.

[Ding! Host, your wish is my command. Proceeding to advance to Nascent Soul Realm.]

Ashen, nodded at the system wearing a smile on his face. However, that smile soon turned into shock as his eyes widened, An agonizing pain struck his soul.

Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....

Ashen, screaming at the top of his lungs, felt his soul being torn apart. This Pain was more than ten times worse than the pain he felt when advancing to the Bone Transformation realm.

He, feeling regret for not accepting the system's advice, bit his lips to endure the pain.

He, enduring this pain for an hour, fainted multiple times but was woken up by the System.

Although this pain was hellish, still, when it left Ashen's body, it felt as if he was in heaven.

Ashen, Relieved of the pain, just kept lying on the floor for a few minutes before standing up.

[Ding! Host, Congratulations on advancing to the Nascent Soul realm]

The moment, Ashen lifted his body, standing up straight, he was greeted by the System.

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------STATUS WINDOW------

Name: Fang Ashen

Age: 20 years old.

Villain Points: 15,700

Cultivation: First Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm.

Cultivation Technique: None

Skills: Martial Fist

Bloodline: Dormant

Physique: Dormant

Spirit: 2-headed Sky flame Viper (2-star) [9-headed devouring Dragon] (dormant)

Weaknesses: None

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Ashen, observing the status, discerned that he had many Villain points left. Therefore, trying his luck, he asked: "How many points Do I need to Advance to the Origin realm?"

Instantly, a screen appeared with the answer.

[Ding! The Host requires 50,000 Villain Points to advance].

Ashen's eyes widened in surprise, However, after a bit of thinking, he found the price reasonable.

If it was that easy to advance, wouldn't he become all-powerful? Why would he even need to play any schemes? He could just kill every Protagonist he found.

There was only a little the world would be able to do to help the Protagonists when the power difference would be so big.

Ashen nodded before inquiring: "Then, how many points would it require to evolve my spirit to the next level?"

[Ding! Host, This spirit was Fang Ashen's and I can only evolve your spirit with Villain Points. Therefore, Awaken your spirit first]

Ashen's eyes popped open upon understanding what the system meant. He could have two spirits for himself. One, which was awakened by the original Fang Ashen and the second, which will be awakened from him.

Spirits were awakened through one's soul, therefore, another soul could awaken another spirit and that's what the system meant.

The System was connected to Ashen and could only evolve 'his' spirit by consuming Villain points.

A grin appeared on Ashen's face, a scheme forming in his mind.

Then, afterward Ashen just bought Five more fighting skills from the system depleting his Villain points reserves with only 100 points left.

Two for attacking, One for movement, one for defense and the last for stealth.

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Attacking -----------------

[Performs a spinning sword technique, creating a crescent moon-shaped arc of energy that slices through multiple opponents in its path.]

[Focused on precision, this technique aims to pierce through the opponent's defenses with pinpoint accuracy, exploiting the smallest openings in their guard.]

Movement -----------------

[Harnesses the power of the wind to move at incredible speeds, leaving afterimages in the wake.]

Defense -----------------

[Creates an impenetrable barrier of solidified energy, capable of withstanding even the strongest of attacks.]

Stealth -----------------

[Merges with the shadows, becoming nearly invisible and silent, perfect for covert movements and surprise attacks]

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"Your Highness! Your Highness!" An anxious and worried female voice, calling for Ashen, came from outside.

A frown appeared on Ashen's face upon hearing that voice. He approached the door before exiting his room.

As he exited, his eyes fell on Li Xiran, who was waiting for him. She had an anxious and concerned look on her face.

Right now, She was wearing her red night gown which was loosely falling on her supple breasts and highlighted her curvy ass. She appeared breathtaking.

Upon seeing Ashen appearing, She ran upto him, holding his hand, asking in a concerned and worry filled voice: "Your Highness, I can't find Yujin, He was not even in his room. When I asked Old Man Jie, he told me that you had sent him out"

Ashen frowned, holding his nose bridge. He then turned towards Xiran, grabbing her shoulders, he said: "He dared to accuse me of trying to steal you from him and not only that, he even attacked me in sleep.

It was thanks to me being a light sleeper that I woke up before he could finish me off. However, he ran away before I could do anything."

Next, He, turning away from Xiran, shook his head in helplessness, taking peeks at Xiran's expression in between. He sighed with a light grin, concealed from Xiran's eyes: "When my mother heard of this, She ordered to capture him and destroy the Carp Village. I could not do anything to stop her"

Xiran's pupils enlarged in shock. She couldn't believe that Yujin would do something like this, However, she knew Yujin was a little hotheaded when it came to her. It could've been that he attacked Ashen in anger.

However, what shocked her to the core was the order to destroy the Carp Village. She wanted to save the Villager at the very least and Turning to Ashen was her only choice.

She ignored Yujin's matter for the moment, The village mattered more to her.

She, turning to Ashen, begged holding his hand, pleading: "Your Highness, the Villagers are innocent. Please don't destroy the village. They treated you so well, please help them."

Tears began flowing out of her eyes as she continued: "If you want to punish, Punish Yujin, He was the one who attacked you. Please don't implicate the village into this!"

Ashen, after observing her for some time, turned towards her. He made a saddened face filled with sympathy and helplessness, He said: "I also don't want to implicate the innocent Village into this, however, my mother's anger is also justified and I cannot face her at this moment"

Upon hearing these words from Ashen, Li Xiran promptly knelt before him, her voice filled with desperation: "I beg you, please save them. I will do anything in return"

Ashen turned toward her, a reluctant expression appeared on his face as he acted to sigh in defeat:

"Alright, I will tell you, there is a way to save them!"

Upon hearing this, Xiran's eyes shined with hope and joy, She asked hurriedly: "What is it?"

A grin played upon Ashen's lips as he said: "Become mine and I will save your Village!"

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(A/N - Thanks For Reading. ^..^)