Reborn As The Villain

The surroundings were silent. The villagers stared at the young man with blank faces and blinking eyes.

Seeing their dumbfounded expressions, they didn't seem to know what he was talking about. Well, they were common folk so this shouldn't come as a surprise. Perhaps there were rumors that spread amongst them but none could verify the authenticity of it.

He turned his attention to the soldiers.

"P-Please let me go, I-I'm new here so I can't refuse an orde—"

"Did you think I'll let you get away after everything you've done out of pure enjoyment?" the young man asked with a raised eyebrow, making the shivering soldier go silent, "But I'll make an exception. Answer my question if you want to live."

"E-Eek, I don't know! I'm sorry!" said soldier dropped his sword and pleaded on his knees to spare his life.

"Alright, come here." The silver-haired lad beckoned that man who quickly followed his order.

"You know, I would've been easily fooled if you lied. That information could've saved your life." A small smile appeared on the silver-haired lad's face.

"Ah… Ah…!" the soldier tried to run upon sensing the danger but his head was grabbed from behind and crushed like a water melon that fell from a high height.

"A-Attack him together! Ten martials on a lower level can take down a martial one rank above theirs!"

"Roger!" without hesitation, the soldiers charged at the silver haired man.

"None of you know?" the young man sighed in frustration before lifting his hand, "Luxtivin, come out." A dark purple blade materialized out of nowhere and flew towards the fast-approaching soldiers.

A second later all of them were sliced in half from the stomach.

The young man caught his sword and wiped it off with one of the soldiers' clothes.

The villagers watched the scene unfold in stunned silence, their expressions a mixture of fear and disbelief. The mothers clutched their children, pulling them close as they stared at the silver-haired young man, their eyes wide. Murmurs rippled through the crowd, but no one dared speak too loudly.

The smell of blood filled the air, and a few villagers turned away, unable to bear the sight of the brutal slaughter. One man in the back tried to usher his family away, but their feet remained glued to the ground, paralyzed by the violence before them.

A young boy asked in a trembling voice, "Is he a demon? Will he hurt us?" but his mother quickly hushed him, her eyes never leaving the silver-haired man, who now calmly wiped his sword clean as if nothing had happened.

The tension hung thick in the air as the villagers stood motionless, waiting—unsure if they were next, or if they had just witnessed the end of the horror.

"T-T-Take whatever you need from our s-storage warehouse, Y-Young Lord. In return, p-please spare our lives." One of the elders said to the young man while trembling.

Everyone else had the same reaction to the overwhelming power they just witnessed. Even the chief, who was at the far back of the crowd, was stunned in silence. Judging by the weapon in his hand, he was planning on fighting the soldiers if things turned out different.

The young man ignored him at first and walked over to the burning houses. He took out a scroll and tore it up. Instantly, a magic circle appeared above his open hand and manifested a blue dragon.

The dragon shot a few jet streams of water at the burning houses, instantly getting rid of the blue fire.

The children looked up at the shiny blue dragon—that cast a brilliant light in their surroundings—with sparkles in their eyes.

After he was done getting rid of the fires, the young man looked back at the elder who spoke to him earlier.

'That was… magic… but from a scroll.' Scrolls containing magic spells were non-existent in this country since no one knew how to inscribe them into scrolls and no one could cast magic since it's akin to a myth in this nation. But runes and magic items are used by the wealthy, nobility and organizations that require them.

This young man was either acquainted with wizards or he comes from a different world where magic is used more widely than here.

"Show's over. Go back to bed." Without saying anything further, he walked over to one of the bodies and began rummaging in its pockets. He pulled out a scroll, reading through it in silence. After not getting what he wanted, he went on to the next… and the next… If they didn't hear his earlier question then the villagers would've thought he was looting these bodies.

'He's not going to extort anything out of us…?'

There had been quite a few vagabonds who helped this village in some way over the years and demanded many unreasonable things. Lian, known as the famed attractive doctor, was almost always what they were looking for.

She had expected to be forced into that sort of situation again. It seems the young man wasn't interested in anyone or anything as payment at all and is genuinely just looking for this book.

Lian knew what book he was talking about.

"We can't just let him get away, Chief! He'll be of great help in our fight against Ko Johun!" another elder said to the chief, "With him fighting side-by-side with Rasuke, we will no doubt defeat that tyrant!"

The chief glanced at the elder and spoke in his hoarse deep voice, "Even if he agreed to join us, what can we offer a martial with his kind of strength? He might end up demanding we hand over everything we have… Even the armor I fought with as a commander in battle… I can't give that up."

"I can hear you scheming back there. I'm not interested in fighting for strangers or taking their stuff." The young man dusted off his pants and got up, "If you want my help, tell me how to get the martial book I'm looking for. I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine."

"That is…" the chief looked at Lian who nodded at him.

"I know what you seek, young lord, but it is far more difficult to find it now that both Funiji and Ko agreed to lock it away somewhere secure after many martials attempted to steal the book from the sacred temple."

"People had access to it before?" the young man came up to Lian and asked.

"First, let us go inside." The chief suggested, "We shall formally introduce each other over a cup of tea."

**

The silver-haired young man followed the chief to his house, which was not far from the site of the earlier fight. Despite the chief's request to speak privately, many villagers trailed behind them, unwilling to stay behind. Expecting the flood of questions they would ask if he told them to wait outside, the chief chose not to protest, allowing them to quietly observe the conversation.

Inside the great hall of the chief's residence, the chief and his wife sat on the throne at the center of the room. The villagers spread out along the walls, watching in silence. The throne itself was an unusual piece—more of a backrest with armrests than a traditional chair. A cushion rested at its base, forcing anyone seated to sit cross-legged.

The chief bowed slightly, his voice carrying the weight of age and authority. "My name is Soryu," he began. "I was once known as the [Sky Dragon Fang] when I served as the commander of the emperor's Elite Martial Unit. That was fifty years ago. Now, I am 130 years old, and my strength fades with each passing year."

Lian proceeded to introduce herself, "My name is Lian Tersurai, a doctor of this village. Might we know your name, young lord?"

"Arnold." That was all he said.

"…You do not come from any of the former most powerful sects that were destroyed by the martial masters, do you?"

If he did then he'd proudly proclaim his surname and sect affiliation.

"No. Tell me about the pure martial art book now."

"…" Soryu looked at Lian to explain. She nodded.

"Currently, only the inner court of both parties know its location, besides the lords of both armies."

The chief beckoned for two of the female servants behind him to sit next to the young man. Both of them moved swiftly, one carrying a plate full of snacks while the other had wine and a glass. They sat next to him silently.

Without regards to manners, the young lord took a handful of the sliced meat and swallowed them in one gulp. He took the wine from the other servant and downed that as well.

After waiting for him to finish chewing, Chief Soryu continued:

"Inner court refers to the lords' closest subordinates and family members. Ko Johun, the lord who rules the castle located in the city near our village, is the current emperor of the region so his inner court would be his Elite Martials. To find out the book's location, Lord Arnold would need to become an Elite Martial and gain the lord's trust."

"How?"

"A tournament is held once every month to determine who qualifies as a candidate for a role as an Inner Martial. The lord uses this method to bring more powerful martials to his side. Only the top 10 become candidates, who then compete in a smaller tournament to determine the final victor who will join the Inner members. It's a very convoluted process, or so I've heard."

"A tournament and a little competition, huh… That sounds tedious. Can't I just go to Ko Johun's castle and interrogate him?"

"""""…."""""

To say something like that so casually… Was he really just confident in himself or arrogant?

Then again, none of them have seen his true power so he might even be below the Divine Dao realm, given how easily he killed Earthly Ascendents.

"…I am not going to say I doubt your strength but you must understand that Ko and Funiji have been fighting each other for years now, each battle lasting weeks. They always need to fight in a remote location otherwise they could endanger everyone and destroy everything in a hundred-kilometer radius."

She was basically telling the young lord to not act arrogant.

"I'm going to assume both of them are on a demigod's level then. I've had enough of fighting these kinds of bastards." He groaned in frustration.

'He fought actual demigods!?'

Not just Lian but everyone else inside and outside this house looked at him with widened eyes.

"Infiltration it is. It would leave a bad taste in my mouth to start a big battle in a populated place again. Hold on, if Ko's goal is to get more powerful martials on his side… Why did he get rid of the powerful sects that ruled these lands before?"

"…It was probably out of hatred and jealousy. Neither Ko nor Funiji come from powerful families with prestigious backgrounds from what we've investigated. I'm unsure how they rose to power but there's a rumor that both of them were blessed by mysterious martial gods who have extreme hatred for one another. Or are martial gods themselves fighting over the inheritance of another martial god."

"They'd be abusing the Divine Code if it's that much of a petty reason. And with that comes consequences which aren't to be taken lightly by any means. No, we should assume it's something else. How likely is it that both of them are in a state of Equilibrium?"

That would explain their strength, thought Arnold.

"H-How do you know about that!?" the chief asked bewildered, "The younger generation don't even know the origins of meridian healing, how could they possibly know about knowledge more ancient than that!?"

"…My master taught me about the spirit realm and how there's a connection between it and Equilibrium."

'So, I'm not the only one who knows about the spirit realm's connection to natural equilibrium…' Lian thought to herself, 'Is his master also a Divine Dao?'

Entering the spirit realm is possible only to those with special abilities—like her—or those who have contracted with a Martial Spirit.

The young man—given his immense strength—was definitely of the latter. His master would be no different, she pondered.

"We're getting off-topic. When is the next tournament happening?" not bothering to satiate their curiosity, he moved on.

Lian looked at Soryu.

"A tournament is actually already taking place," Soryu answered, "There's something called a [Latecomer] program that allows more martials to join after a schedule and roster is already drawn up for the fighters. There's a time limit to this however, that being that the tournament organizers will only allow new martials in the first three days of the tournament since this gives them enough time to plan the roster. That aside, young lord, the examinations are extremely brutal and unfair since they're both difficult and have high requirements."

It was to deter those the nobility considers to be "weaklings".

"It doesn't matter. I can handle it."

"Hmm…" Lian and the chief shared yet another look before she spoke up, "If it pleases you, I can have you registered tomorrow—if the lines aren't too long, of course."

"It's that easy?"

"There are some hoops to jump through but as long as an even number of martials join, they can be added to the program." She added.

"Does the young lord possess Ki? To be honest, I can sense nothing of the sort from you." The chief said, "The tests for latecomers will expect you to use your Ki as well as this determines how many points you receive, which also determines your place in the roster."

"Ki? No, I use Aether." Saying so, a dense white aura surrounded his hand. It was gentle and not overbearing as everyone had heard, so this meant the man in front of them had mastered Aether to the point where he could control the pressure it emits.

""""""….."""""

Their desire to bring this man on their side became even stronger.

He was no doubt a Divine Dao.

**

The chief told one of the servants to lead Arnold to a guest room to rest, even though he didn't need to or want to. However, after persuading him that Lian will wake him up before the sun rises so that they can go to the city arena for the tournament, he conceded.

The villagers were filling up this entire house, all of them interested in who this young man is and how he was so strong.

After a moment of staring at each other, one voice could be heard.

"An Aether master… I've heard they're as rare as Divine Aura users described in legends but one appeared in front of us today…" The village chief's wife, an elderly woman by the name of Helga dressed in a yukata, said from beside the chief. She joined the discussions after coming back from visiting a neighboring village.

There is an alliance between several villages that will aid Rasuke and the chief in any way they can once the day to kill Ko Johu, arrives.

"How will we get him to aid us in the fight against the masters?" a villager from among the crowd expressed his concern, "He sounded confident enough to beat Ko Johun."

"There have been many to have that foolish confidence…" The chief cut himself off before continuing with a 'but', "—He has clearly mastered Aether, a power only Ko Johun and Funiji should be capable of using. Before them, the only Celestial Saint was capable of using it for a short period before combustion."

"But those tyrants killed that martial."

"Mm. Whether they held a grudge against that man or if their reasons for killing him was out of deep jealousy, we will never know." Soryu sighed.

"Husband, just like the sect families that those tyrants destroyed, they will target the young lord if they hear of his mastery over Aether. Their irrational fear of a martial, capable of defeating them being born, will push them to execute him. I suggest we let the young lord know about this…"

"No, we should let him do as he pleases." A wide grin appeared on the chief's wrinkled face, "If I were him and had that much power, I would be unable to hide my power. Rather I would proudly show it to the world."

'Of course he would… Chief Soryu has always been a prideful man.'

That's exactly why he would've drawn his sword and shown his true power had Arnold not been there.

"Let's leave the decision in his hands. I doubt someone in this era besides Ko and Funiji could push him to use that power. What is everyone's suggestion to bring him to our side?"

The room fell silent when the whispers ceased. None of them seem to know what they could offer that man. They had no riches; the harvest had been poor for over a year of struggling. No land; their village barely stretched beyond the fields and forest's edge. No treasures, unless one considered the rusty heirlooms tucked away in old wooden chests. What could they possibly give to a man who seemed to need nothing from the world but the strength of his own body?

As the weight of their collective silence grew heavier, some exchanged nervous glances. Thoughts began to form, unspoken yet somehow shared in the air thick with unease. They had one thing left, didn't they? Not gold or goods, but blood and kin—their daughters and the wives of dead martials who died in the wars waged by the two tyrants.

With that collective thought, a few of the girls were about to volunteer themselves as tribute to that great man—

"Chief, I think I know a way to get him on our side." Lian spoke up before anyone else could, "Did you feel that something was leaking when he was in this room earlier?"

"Hn? I suppose I did. It was faint but still there."

Experienced martial artists rely on their instincts to sense enemies during battle, an ability made possible by the unique presence of leaking energies like Ki or similar. This energy creates a distinct sensation, allowing martial artists to gauge whether they are safe or within an enemy's awareness. The process is akin to how demihumans instinctively shiver when danger lingers in their surroundings. However, this is not the same as "warrior sense," which merely sharpens physical senses and has no impact on natural instincts. Remarkably, martial artists can harness this ability even in the safety of calm environments.

In this case, only Lian and Soryu were able to sense it since one was an experienced medical professional and the other a veteran soldier.

"I think I have an explanation for his mastery of Aether," she glanced at everyone, "The leakage I felt earlier was that of internal energy, something martials get from ancient artifacts, magic fruits, weapons or other external factors. But his is different from all those sources I mentioned, stronger and strangely familiar to me. His internal energy is from the purest and strongest source that I still can't identify. Unfortunately for him, he isn't experienced enough in maintaining his internal energy so it leaks even outside of battle. Even if it is faint, no martial wants to lose their precious internal energy."

If he loses all that internal energy then his Aether—which is most likely relying on his internal energy to work—will no doubt crush his body from the inside out.

"What are you suggesting, Lian?" the chief asked with a curious expression.

"I'll tell him about a method to keeping his internal energy intact and even replenish it."