The pain struck him suddenly. It wasn't just any pain—it was intense, as if thousands of sharp blades were piercing his mind, tearing through every corner of his being. It was overwhelming, almost unbearable.

Qin Mo's eyes snapped open, gasping for air, cold sweat clinging to his skin. His breathing was ragged, and his heart pounded fiercely, as if he were in the midst of a battle. Around him, everything was blurry, but gradually, he began to recognize his surroundings: the dark wooden furniture, the faint scent of incense, the carefully arranged cultivation scrolls on the shelves. He was in his room, in the Qin Manor.

But something felt off. Something was... wrong.

Suddenly, memories that weren't his own began flooding his mind. Images of a completely different world, an advanced civilization, cultivation techniques that defied everything he knew. And among those memories, a terrifying truth emerged:

This world was nothing more than a novel.

And he wasn't the protagonist.

He was just a minor villain, an insignificant obstacle destined to be crushed.

A shiver ran down Qin Mo's spine. Scenes played out in his head like an endless film, showing him over and over again his own downfall. In the original story, his arrogance and cruelty would lead to his public humiliation by Ye Fang, the true protagonist, during the Heavenly City Tournament. His fiancée, Bai Xue, the heroine of the story, would abandon him to follow Ye Fang. His own clan would see him as a disgrace and cast him out, condemning him to a life of obscurity and a death without glory.

"No..." he murmured, clenching his fists tightly.

He couldn't accept it. He wasn't willing to be dragged along by a destiny someone else had written for him.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm the chaos in his mind. The headache began to subside, but the reality remained, cold and unyielding. He had reincarnated into Qin Mo's body, but not as the hero of the story—rather, as a disposable character, a pawn in the grand game of fate.

"If this world is a novel... then I'll change the story," he said to himself, with a determination he hadn't known before.

A bitter laugh escaped his lips. He couldn't just sit back and wait for fate to crush him like an insect. He had to act, and quickly. His first goal was clear: strengthen his cultivation before Ye Fang even set foot in the city.

With a sudden movement, he got out of bed. His body was still weak, nothing compared to the prodigies who dominated this world, but inside him burned something new: an unshakable resolve. He walked over to the bronze mirror hanging in the room and stared at his reflection. The face looking back at him was that of a young man with sharp features, dark eyes, and an arrogant expression that now felt foreign to him. He wore a blue robe embroidered with the Qin Family emblem.

This was him. Qin Mo.

But he was no longer the same.

"If Ye Fang is the protagonist... then I'll be the anomaly," he said quietly, a spark of rebellion in his eyes.

The sound of hurried footsteps interrupted his thoughts.

"Young Master Qin!" An anxious voice came from the other side of the door.

It was Xu Jian, his personal servant. A loyal young man, though not particularly skilled in the art of cultivation. In the original story, Xu Jian would end up paying too high a price for his loyalty, accused of treason and executed after Qin Mo's downfall.

"What is it?" Qin Mo asked calmly, though a storm of thoughts raged in his mind.

The door opened carefully, and Xu Jian entered with a look of concern etched on his face.

"Young Master, Miss Bai Xue has come to see you."

A shiver ran down Qin Mo's spine.

Bai Xue. His fiancée. The woman destined to become the heroine of the story and fall in love with the true protagonist, Ye Fang.

In the original novel, Bai Xue and Qin Mo were engaged through an arrangement between their families, but she had never taken it seriously. To her, Qin Mo was nothing more than an arrogant talentless fool, and when Ye Fang appeared, she would find the perfect excuse to publicly break off the engagement, humiliating him even further.

Qin Mo took a deep breath. This was his first test.

"Let her in," he ordered calmly.

Xu Jian nodded and left. A few seconds later, the door opened again, and she entered.

Bai Xue walked gracefully, her white robe flowing softly with each step. Her black hair cascaded like silk over her shoulders, and her cold eyes looked at him with a mix of disapproval and disinterest.

"Qin Mo," she said bluntly.

She didn't call him "fiancé." Not even "Young Master Qin." Just his name, spoken with a chill that cut like ice.

Qin Mo smiled inwardly. It was exactly as he remembered.

"Bai Xue. To what do I owe the honor?" he replied in a calm voice, without a trace of the arrogance or desperation she expected.

Bai Xue frowned slightly. This wasn't the reaction she had anticipated.

"I heard you were unconscious for several days," she said, crossing her arms. "My father asked me to visit you, but I don't have much time."

"My father asked me to visit you." So it was nothing more than an obligation, not genuine concern.

In the original novel, Qin Mo would have exploded in anger, demanding her loyalty and attention. That would only have pushed Bai Xue further away.

But this time, he did something different.

"I understand," he said simply, showing no emotion.

Bai Xue raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.

"That's it?"

"What else do you want me to say?" Qin Mo shrugged. "I don't need your concern, and clearly, you don't want to be here either. So we agree on something, don't we?"

For the first time, Bai Xue seemed genuinely puzzled. In the original story, Qin Mo would have tried to impress her with empty words or beg for her affection, which would only have reinforced her disdain.

This time, Qin Mo simply showed indifference.

And that threw her off.

"Hmph." Bai Xue averted her gaze, clearly annoyed, though she wasn't sure exactly why. "In any case, you'd better prepare yourself."

"Prepare myself?"

"The Heavenly City Tournament begins in three months," she said, her voice firm. "The most powerful clans will send their young elites, and you will represent the Qin Family."

Qin Mo allowed a faint smile to cross his lips.

He knew what would happen at that tournament.

It was the event where Ye Fang would make his first appearance. Where he, Qin Mo, would be publicly humiliated.

But this time...

Things would be different.

"I'll keep that in mind," he said calmly.

Bai Xue stared at him for a few more seconds, as if trying to decipher something in his expression. Then, without another word, she turned and left the room.

Xu Jian closed the door behind her and looked at Qin Mo in amazement.

"Young Master... you... you really didn't get angry?"

Qin Mo chuckled softly.

"It's not worth getting angry over the inevitable."

Xu Jian swallowed hard. Something had changed in his young master.

And soon, everyone would notice.