The day of the registration had arrived.
The banners of the Qingyun Sect fluttered proudly above the mountain. Spiritual bells echoed through the clouds as elders in ceremonial robes descended slowly from the sky, surrounded by carefully controlled spiritual energy designed to impress the thousands of young hopefuls gathered below.
Adrián Valmont watched the spectacle from a side platform.
Part of him wanted to admit that it was magnificent.
The other part—the businessman—saw only one thing.
Marketing.
"A recruitment ceremony designed to make ordinary people dream of becoming extraordinary," he murmured.
A faint smile crossed his lips.
"Efficient."
Thousands of youths crowded the plaza beneath him.
Some clenched their fists.
Others stared toward the upper platforms with almost religious determination.
Every one of them wore the same expression.
The expression of someone convinced they were destined for greatness.
Adrián knew that look.
He had seen it in young entrepreneurs.
In ambitious politicians.
In heirs who believed their family name was a prophecy.
The only difference was that nobody here was pretending.
This world truly worked that way.
Talent was destiny.
Luck was destiny.
Bloodline was destiny.
A far more honest version of the systems he had known.
Adrián folded his arms.
He wasn't here to be chosen.
That had happened years ago.
His identity within the sect was surprisingly convenient.
The grandson of a minor elder.
Not the kind of elder whose name appeared in history books.
Not the kind who could split a mountain with a flick of his hand.
Just someone important enough that people preferred not to bother him.
Privileges:
A respectable residence.
Limited access to selected libraries.
Superficial respect.
Nothing more.
The perfect punishment.
The ideal place for someone destined to be a supporting character.
Then the bells changed.
The crowd fell silent.
Adrián looked up.
She appeared on the central platform.
Lin Yue.
The Saintess of the Qingyun Sect.
She looked exactly as expected.
White robes.
Perfectly arranged hair.
A calm expression that seemed to have been practiced for years.
It wasn't a cold smile.
Nor was it a warm one.
It was the precise smile a public figure was expected to wear.
Adrián watched her for several seconds.
He noticed the distance separating her from everyone else.
The way people spoke about her.
Never to her.
Someone stepped beside her.
A young man laughing naturally with several new disciples.
He lacked the arrogance common among prodigies.
He didn't need to prove himself.
People simply gravitated toward him.
Adrián studied him.
His posture.
The way everyone reacted to him.
The effortless manner in which the world itself seemed to make room for him.
He didn't need an explanation.
He understood.
"So... it's you."
[Confirmation]
[Entity Identified: Destined Protagonist]
Adrián sighed.
Of course.
Naturally.
The world couldn't simply send him to an ordinary cultivation sect.
It had to send him to the exact place where someone else's story began.
But something else caught his attention.
Lin Yue was standing beside him.
Not as an admirer.
Not as someone dazzled by his talent.
As a friend.
The System hadn't mentioned that.
Adrián narrowed his eyes.
"Interesting."
[Inquiry?]
"The Saintess isn't waiting for the hero."
A pause.
"She already knows him."
The System remained silent.
For the first time since arriving in this world, Adrián felt something resembling genuine curiosity.
Because if the story had already begun before he arrived...
Then something didn't fit.
And flaws were the only things that had ever truly interested him.
Heaven believed it had assigned him a role.
A supporting character.
A man destined to support someone else.
Adrián smiled faintly.
What a shame.
He had spent his entire life learning one fundamental truth:
Systems always made the same mistake.
They confused power with stability.
The strongest characters weren't the hardest to break.
They were simply the ones bound by the greatest number of rules.
A booming voice echoed across the mountain.
"Let the registration begin! The talents of all disciples shall be judged by the will of the heavens!"
Adrián nearly choked.
"The will of the heavens?" he muttered.
"Dramatic bastards..."
Then he felt it.
⚠ Narrative Role Activated ⚠
The System appeared.
Without warning.
Without courtesy.
Role Confirmed: Early-Stage Villain
Primary Functions:
Provoke conflict. Underestimate the protagonist. Be publicly defeated.
Note:
The villain's humiliation is necessary for the Son of Heaven's growth.
Adrián closed his eyes.
He inhaled slowly.
Counted to three.
"No," he said quietly.
"I'm not doing that."
Silence.
Then came the cold, mechanical reply.
Correction:
This is not a choice.
Adrián smiled.
Not with anger.
Not with fear.
But with the smile of someone who had already finished reading the manual...
...and was wondering how to exploit its flaws.
"Relax," he whispered.
"I'll cooperate."
A pause.
Across the plaza, one participant after another stepped forward for evaluation.
Soon, the protagonist would reveal absurd talent.
Soon, the elders would gasp in astonishment.
Soon, someone like Adrián would have to mock him...
Challenge him...
Receive Heaven's righteous punishment.
The script was painfully obvious.
What Heaven didn't know was this:
Adrián had no intention of winning.
No intention of standing out.
No intention of challenging the protagonist.
He intended to do something much worse.
End the entire scene as quickly as possible.
In the distance, Lin Yue applauded softly, unaware of everything.
The Son of Heaven was about to step onto the stage.
And the villain assigned to oppose him...
The trials concluded exactly as they were supposed to.
The protagonist shone.
Not with an overwhelming brilliance—not yet—but enough to make the elders lean forward, the disciples whisper among themselves, and the Saintess smile just a little more than necessary.
Outstanding talent.
A flawless spiritual root.
Exceptional comprehension.
The script advanced without resistance.
Heaven was satisfied.
Then Adrián's turn arrived.
The System stirred impatiently inside his mind.
Secondary Mission Activated:
Display jealousy toward Lin Yue. Provoke the Son of Heaven. Initiate a public conflict.
Adrián looked up.
Lin Yue stood beside the protagonist, speaking to him in a low voice.
Nothing intimate.
Nothing obvious.
But it was enough.
Adrián looked at her.
With hatred.
Not loud hatred.
Not theatrical hatred.
Cold.
Focused.
As though she herself were part of the problem.
And that...
That wasn't in the script.
Lin Yue felt it.
She didn't know why, but she turned her head.
Their eyes met for only a few seconds.
It was enough.
That Adrián—the quiet grandson of Elder Lin—had never looked at her like that before.
His eyes had always carried admiration.
Hope.
A clumsy longing for affection.
But now...
It wasn't jealousy.
It wasn't unrequited love.
It was something far worse.
Rejection.
Lin Yue frowned unconsciously, as though something she had always taken for granted had vanished without warning.
Heaven didn't notice.
Heaven didn't understand human eyes.
Lin Yue remained beside Ye Chen.
Too close.
Not for coincidence.
For a story.
Adrián observed the scene for several seconds.
Then he understood.
Of course.
The villain never appeared because he hated the protagonist.
He appeared because, according to the story, the protagonist had taken something the villain believed belonged to him.
The formula was simple.
Pride.
Jealousy.
Possessiveness.
It didn't matter whether any of it was true.
It didn't matter whether it made sense.
The System didn't need Adrián to be right.
It only needed him to look guilty.
[Narrative Pattern Detected.]
[Provocation Phase Available.]
Adrián smiled faintly.
Perfect.
If the System wanted a villain...
He would give it one.
He walked toward the stone arena.
The whispers began before he even arrived.
Not because he had done anything.
But because everyone already knew the role he was supposed to play.
The grandson of Elder Lin.
The Saintess of Qingyun.
The newly arrived genius.
A combination far too convenient.
Adrián stopped in front of Ye Chen.
The young man regarded him cautiously.
"You're Ye Chen?"
"That's right."
A brief pause.
"And you are?"
Adrián inclined his head slightly.
"Someone with a question."
The crowd fell silent.
Adrián turned toward Lin Yue.
"Tell me something."
Ye Chen waited.
"How long have you believed you had the right to stand beside the Saintess of Qingyun?"
Silence blanketed the plaza.
Lin Yue's eyes widened.
She had heard that tone from Adrián for years.
The difference was that before, it had always been accompanied by admiration.
Hope.
An almost childish desire to earn her acknowledgment.
Now there was none of that.
Only a flawless performance.
The System immediately recorded the reaction.
[Emotional Response Detected.]
[Interpersonal Conflict Confirmed.]
Adrián continued.
"A newcomer arrives."
He looked at Ye Chen.
"He gains everyone's attention."
His gaze shifted back to Lin Yue.
"And suddenly everyone expects the rest of us to accept our place."
A faint smile appeared.
"I have to admit..."
"It's a remarkably convenient story."
Ye Chen frowned.
"If you have a problem with me, say it plainly."
Adrián stepped forward.
This was exactly what the System wanted.
The perfect moment.
The perfect line.
The perfect wound.
"Very well."
A pause.
"Prove that you deserve to stand at her side."
Adrián had to physically stop himself from closing his eyes in embarrassment.
Inside, he almost felt nauseous.
The crowd reacted immediately.
Whispers.
Excitement.
The conflict had begun.
[Condition Fulfilled.]
[Provocation Successful.]
Adrián smiled to himself.
Perfect.
The System had obtained its scene.
He silently reviewed the information.
Then he looked at the young man before him.
Ye Chen.
The protagonist.
The man who, according to the story, was supposed to crush him before the entire sect.
Adrián sighed.
"Predictable."
[Warning: Behavior incompatible with assigned role.]
He ignored it.
He studied Ye Chen carefully.
Not as an enemy.
As a problem.
The young man's stance was flawless.
His breathing steady.
His spiritual energy circulated with remarkable precision.
Real talent.
That was inconvenient.
Fake geniuses were easy to manipulate.
Real ones required a different approach.
The referee raised his hand.
"Begin!"
The crowd held its breath.
Everyone knew this scene.
The useless grandson of Elder Lin would provoke the newly arrived genius.
He would be humiliated.
Ye Chen would prove his superiority.
The world would continue exactly as written.
Adrián stepped forward.
"Ye Chen."
The young man looked up.
"Yes?"
Adrián inclined his head.
"Your talent surpasses mine."
Silence fell over the arena.
[Error.]
[Expected Event: Provocation.]
[Actual Result: Acknowledgment.]
[Recalculating...]
Adrián continued as though he had heard nothing.
"Your spiritual root is purer than mine."
"Your control over spiritual energy is superior."
"Even your combat stance has fewer flaws."
The disciples began whispering.
This wasn't provocation.
It was an evaluation.
From the platform above, Lin Yue watched in silence.
Something didn't fit.
This wasn't the Adrián she knew.
The old Adrián would have tried to prove he was superior.
This one simply seemed... honest.
Ye Chen frowned.
"Are you admitting you're inferior?"
Adrián shrugged.
"Yes."
The System flickered.
[Conflict Detected.]
[Processing...]
[Conflict Level: Insufficient.]
Ye Chen stared at him in confusion.
"Then why are you here?"
"Because my mission requires me to confront you."
A brief pause.
"It doesn't require me to pretend I have any chance of winning."
[Warning.]
[Assigned Personality Deviating.]
Adrián took another step.
"If we fight..."
"I'll lose."
Silence.
"I surrender."
The words landed on the stone arena like a falling blade.
The referee blinked.
"You forfeit?"
"Yes."
The crowd failed to react the way it was supposed to.
There was no laughter.
No cheers.
No triumphant celebration.
Only confusion.
Ye Chen remained standing.
He had won.
But no one felt as though they had just witnessed the birth of a hero.
The System appeared once more.
[Result Recorded.]
[Antagonist Defeated: Confirmed.]
[Mission Completed.]
Adrián smiled.
"Perfect."
Then another notification appeared.
[Warning.]
[Narrative Outcome Incorrect.]
Adrián stopped.
[The protagonist has not received sufficient recognition.]
Silence.
A second line appeared.
[The antagonist's defeat failed to generate perceived superiority.]
Another followed.
[Required humiliation did not occur.]
Adrián stared at the screen.
For the first time...
The System seemed uncertain.
[Analyzing Variables...]
[Error.]
[Analyzing User Behavior...]
[Error.]
[Searching for Automatic Correction...]
A long pause.
[Impossible.]
Adrián smiled.
"You can't fix it, can you?"
No answer.
"But I completed the mission."
[Confirmed.]
"The provocation?"
[Partially Confirmed.]
Adrián raised an eyebrow.
"You're mistaken."
"I challenged him publicly."
Silence.
[Condition Partially Fulfilled.]
"I challenged his authority."
[Fulfilled.]
"I was defeated."
[Fulfilled.]
Adrián looked at Ye Chen.
"Then the problem isn't me."
A pause.
"The problem is that you wrote a scene where the outcome occurred..."
"...but forgot to create the reason."
The System remained silent.
Because it had no answer.
It couldn't punish him.
It couldn't reset the event.
It couldn't declare the mission a failure.
Adrián had followed every rule.
He had simply proven...
that the rules themselves were insufficient.