Reborn as the Novel’s Villain: Cultivation Lost, Female Leads Take Control

As the half-hour mark approached…

“Urk!”

Li Cangxuan suddenly coughed up blood, his eyes snapping open as he looked desperately at Shangguan Shu.

“City Lord Shangguan, did I pass?” he asked, his tone urgent.

Shangguan Shu checked the time, then smiled. “Had you woken any later, you would have been disqualified!”

Li Cangxuan blinked, then broke into wild laughter. “Haha! I never imagined my willpower would be rated as high-quality!”

The scene he faced in his heart inquiry was a vivid memory from when he was six years old, encountering an old beggar who blocked his path, insisting on selling him a cultivation technique. When he refused, the beggar beat him up so badly that he eventually tearfully bought the technique.

To his dismay, the technique was a scam, and every attempt to cultivate it ended in failure. This incident haunted him as one of his most frightening memories.

The first time he saw the beggar in the vision, he tried to run, but no matter where he turned, the beggar kept appearing in front of him, smiling as he held out the scroll. When Li Cangxuan refused to buy it, the beggar beat him up again, muttering that he deserved a lesson. After enduring countless beatings, Li Cangxuan finally dug into his pocket and bought it.

Then he was beaten again, repeatedly, until finally, he mustered the courage to refuse, despite the threat of more blows. The beggar sighed deeply, looking at him with disappointment. “Seems we were never meant to meet, kid.”

The illusion shattered, and Li Cangxuan awoke. He laughed briefly but then felt a pang of emptiness, as if something important had vanished from his life, though he couldn’t quite place what it was.

After a moment, he looked at Shangguan Shu and asked with a frown, “City Lord, I didn’t end up third, did I?”

“You’re second. Xiao Ye has yet to wake up,” Shangguan Shu replied calmly, secretly pleased.

The time limit had passed. Even with Xiao Ye’s supreme talent and battle prowess, he couldn’t become a Purple Cloud Peak disciple now. Shangguan Shu no longer had to worry about any retaliation from him.

Li Cangxuan was shocked as he looked over at Xiao Ye. He hadn’t expected that the arrogant Xiao Ye would be found lacking in willpower. A laugh almost escaped him.

Inside the jade pendant, Elder Li looked at Xiao Ye’s rapid breathing and flushed face with a tinge of bitterness.

His disciple had likely been ensnared by lust and was trapped beyond recovery.

This was a complete disaster!

Meanwhile, in the crowd below the stage, laughter and mocking comments spread like wildfire.

“Look at that! Xiao Ye still hasn’t woken up!”

“The half-hour mark has passed; he’s lost his chance to join Purple Cloud Peak!”

“So what if he has supreme talent and godlike battle skills? He’s going to be disqualified just like the rest of us!”

“He dared insult me? Without the protection of a Purple Cloud Peak title, I’ll have him dead here in Heavenly Origin City!”

“Yan, count me in!”

“Me too! My father’s already sent two Core Formation experts to make sure he doesn’t escape!”

Xiao Ye’s enemies had formed a veritable alliance of revenge, plotting to turn Heavenly Origin City into his final resting place.

Inside the jade pendant, Elder Li’s face was grim as he listened to the crowd’s uproar. No matter how powerful he was, he couldn’t save Xiao Ye from a city-wide hunt, especially when his own soul power was still depleted and the mink was left recovering at the inn.

Xiao Ye seemed destined to die here.

For some reason, Elder Li felt a faint sense of relief.

At this moment…

Xiao Ye was still lost in the illusion.

“Husband, come here!”

“Alright!”

…

“Husband!”

“Say no more, my dear!”

…

Over and over, it repeated.

“Husband…” The alluring woman by his side leaned close, seducing him with a soft gaze.

This time, however, Xiao Ye’s eyes cleared. He slapped her hand away, sneering, “A mere illusion, trying to trap me? Break!”

The illusion shattered instantly under his righteous glare.

An hour later, Xiao Ye’s eyes opened. He looked around, his gaze now that of a wise sage who had seen through worldly illusions. With a sneer, he announced proudly, “Hmph, as if this Heart Inquiry could ever stop me.”

He then looked over at Shangguan Shu with haughty confidence. “I must be the first place winner, no?”

??

Both Liu Beifeng and Li Cangxuan, who had been waiting, exchanged glances, baffled.

Shangguan Shu’s face remained expressionless. “Xiao Ye, you took a full hour to wake up. Your willpower is rated as low. I’m sorry, but you failed the Heart Inquiry test. Please step down.”

“What?!”

“You’re saying I’m worse than them?”

“You must have tampered with the test!”

“I knew it—you were never going to let me become a Purple Cloud Peak disciple!”

Xiao Ye shot to his feet, his eyes blazing with fury as he glared at Shangguan Shu.

Elder Li had once told him he was a child of destiny, fated to become a peerless figure. How could his willpower possibly fall short?

Shangguan Shu’s face darkened. “Xiao Ye, I’ve conducted this Immortal Ascension Conference impartially. Everyone here has witnessed it. Speak another word out of line, and I will not be lenient!”

At Shangguan Shu’s rebuke, the crowd erupted in support, agreeing loudly.

“Xiao Ye, we saw everything. The city lord even waited an extra half-hour for you!”

“If you’re not up to snuff, just admit it! Quit stirring up trouble—it’s disgusting!”

“How could fate bestow supreme talent on someone like you? Ugh!”

“Get off the stage and stop embarrassing yourself. It’s sickening!”

Surrounded by derision, Xiao Ye didn’t reflect on his actions but instead clenched his fists, his teeth grinding in anger.

“Fools, all of you, to be deceived by this man!”

“I demand to see Fairy Xue! She’ll see the truth and make things right!”

“Disciple…” Elder Li’s voice tried to interject from the jade pendant.

“Master, you saw it, didn’t you? They’re all in on this plot against me!”

“Once I become a Purple Cloud Peak disciple, I’ll slaughter Shangguan Shu, the mastermind, then kill every last one of these fools!”

His frenzied muttering left Elder Li deeply unsettled.

‘What happened?’

Xiao Ye’s behavior had changed drastically. Although timid and lustful before, he’d always maintained some degree of sanity in tough situations.

But now…

Had Elder Li been wrong about Xiao Ye’s destiny? Was the Qingming Sect not a place of opportunity for him but rather a place of doom?

“Envoy Xue is someone of high status—do you really think you’re worthy to meet her?”

“Exactly! And you keep calling her ‘Fairy Xue’ so shamelessly. You lost the right to become a Purple Cloud Peak disciple!”

“If I were you, I’d slink away with my tail between my legs.”

“Take my advice—leave now while you still have a chance. Stick around, and death is certain!”

As Xiao Ye ranted, a figure in a flowing green dress descended from the sky.

“Shh, Fairy Xue is here!”

“Wow, she’s even more beautiful in person!”

“Shut up, you sycophant. Fairy Xue is like the eternal moon, unchanging and pure.”

“Well, if Xiao Ye won’t leave, now he’ll truly make a fool of himself in front of Fairy Xue!”

“Acting like everyone’s against him—he should just train harder if he’s so bad at this test!”

…

Amid the crowd’s whispers, the woman in green touched down gracefully on the Ascension Platform. She looked at Xiao Ye, then pulled out a jade slip from her waist to confirm something before striding towards him on long, elegant legs.

Xiao Ye’s heart raced with excitement.

Could it be that Fairy Xue had taken notice of him all along?

Maybe she’d even used a recording crystal to capture his image without him noticing?

Did she… could she like him?