Chapter 1 of 100

Chapter 1

12 min read2,901 words

Outside the city of Luoyang.

A desolate village, an ancient temple.

The stars dotted the sky, and the moonlight washed over everything.

The bonfire crackled, the flames reflecting the spread wings of an eagle on the chest, as if it were about to take flight.

Everyone was dressed the same, in flying eagle uniforms, Fan Yang hats, and black leather boots that reached to the knees.

The silent people stared at the orange flames, as if trying to discern some profound truth of life from them.

"Why did the Maitreya Sect know we would act tonight?"

The hoarse voice carried a mix of frustration and anger, as if both questioning and muttering to oneself.

"Who knows? Hmph! These scoundrels, in the south we can't reach them, and now they're causing trouble in Luoyang! If this continues, they'll surely reach Chang'an! What are they trying to do? Seek death?"

A man stood up from around the bonfire, his face twisted, his eyes full of ferocity.

"The Southern Liang fell because of these deceiving devils! We, as the emperor's personal army, cannot ignore them. However, we must consider the present! We just discovered this Maitreya Sect's base, and it took us only half an hour to decide to act. Including the head of the hundred-household, we only had four people who knew. How could they have found out? And where are Wu Fan and Wu Xiaoqi? He was the one who passed the message, where is he?"

"He said he was going to see the head of the hundred-household, didn't he just leave?"

Behind the ancient temple, in the Zen courtyard, a man stood straight in front of a broken Buddha statue, dressed in a flying eagle uniform, wearing a Fan Yang hat, and stepping in black leather boots that reached to the knees. He held a black box about five feet long. Under the moonlight, his face was pale, almost sickly, and his head was slightly bowed, so his eyes were not visible.

In front of him stood another man, about thirty years old, with a short beard and a naturally bald head, looking very fierce. He was dressed the same, but his flying eagle uniform was white silk embroidered with a black eagle, the opposite of the others. The white silk and black eagle symbolized his status as the head of the hundred-household.

The bald head of the hundred-household grinned, "Wu Xiaoqi, why did you come to see me? Do you have something to report?"

"I just wanted to ask why the hundred-household is so happy and laughing so joyfully when the raid on the Maitreya Sect's base failed."

Wu Xiaoqi and Wu Fan slowly raised their heads, revealing a slightly handsome but pale face and a pair of long, bright eyes.

The smile on the bald head of the hundred-household froze, his eyes widening in obvious anger.

"Ha ha ha...!"

With a low laugh, Wu Fan said, "I was just joking, sir. I came... to borrow something from the hundred-household!"

The bald head of the hundred-household, though suspicious, had to comply with the young man, who was the top of his subordinates, and coldly said, "What do you want to borrow?"

Wu Fan pressed his thin, pale lips together, his voice trembling slightly, speaking seriously and somewhat reservedly, "A head!"

"What?"

With an unchanged smile, Wu Fan repeated seriously, "Your head!"

As he spoke, he moved.

"Click click...!"

The black wooden box opened, and a flash of light appeared at the throat of the bald head of the hundred-household...

"You... you... huh huh...!"

The bald head of the hundred-household clutched his throat, unable to speak coherently.

Removing the Fan Yang hat, Wu Fan shook the blood off the fine steel saber in his hand, squatted down, and stared at the bald head of the hundred-household's eyes, saying, "I know you are not a traitor, really! I can tell you... there is no so-called traitor, no so-called Maitreya Sect devils. This is a setup, a setup I created for you. Not for anything else, I need you to die! If you don't die, how can I advance? It's just that you are too stupid and incapable! Goodbye! Respected hundred-household!"

"Oh! I forgot!", Wu Fan pulled out a white jade Maitreya Buddha pendant from his pocket, smiling and throwing it onto the bald head of the hundred-household, "I even prepared this for you! I got it five days ago when I raided the 'Yishui Marquis' mansion! I didn't expect to use it here. Anyway, goodbye!"

"Swish—!"

The blade flashed, and the head rolled.

Holding the head, picking up the pendant, and putting the black box on his back, Wu Fan strode out of the Zen courtyard, came to the ancient temple's main hall, and shouted, "The hundred-household of the Eagle-Brave Guard, Chen Yuc, has colluded with the Maitreya Sect devils and has been executed by me! I hope you all will come with me to the thousand-household office to testify!"

...

Half an hour earlier.

Sitting alone in a corner of the hundred-household office, Wu Fan did not move or talk to anyone, just leaning against the wall, lazily basking in the sun, looking very isolated. Under the Fan Yang hat, his face was dull and lifeless.

Wu Fan was not daydreaming but had entered a strange space, something he brought from another world, called the "Great Villain Cultivation System."

In the system space, vast and boundless, the only bright area was a circle of about twenty meters around him. Wu Fan was intently practicing martial arts because... if he didn't practice, he might die.

The reason was the identity of this body, which shared his name and even had an eighty percent similar appearance. This person was "the Great Sui Empire, the Imperial Guard, the Eagle-Brave Guard, the Luoyang Thousand-Household Office, and the subordinate small flag," a long string of titles that could be summarized as "the imperial watchdog."

In this new world, many things were the same as in Wu Fan's original world, but many were different. According to the system's explanation, it was a chaotic parallel space. The reason was... Dong Zhuo, yes! The Inspector of Liang in the late Eastern Han.

Originally, this world was completely parallel to Wu Fan's original world, from the Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties to the Eastern Zhou, the Spring and Autumn, and the Warring States periods, and the Qin and Han dynasties, everything was fine. But by the late Eastern Han, things changed.

The Inspector of Liang, Dong Zhuo, after years of plotting, finally seized the opportunity and entered Luoyang, where he was seduced by the prosperity and fell. According to the historical course in Wu Fan's original world, this man would surely have fallen further and further, but in this world, when surrounded by the eighteen warlords, he suddenly became strong! He mobilized all his resources from Liang, defeated most of the eighteen warlords, and then held the emperor hostage, using him to command the world. In just ten years, he swept away the chaos, donned the yellow robe, and usurped the Han to become emperor! Historically known as: Wei.

Although the rule of the Dong Wei dynasty lasted only three generations before it fell, it thoroughly changed the course of history. Many historical figures familiar to Wu Fan were erased from history, with only a few remaining prominent... truly, the wheels of history rolled forward, but when the front wheel stopped, the back wheel took over, and the path diverged.

After the fall of the Dong Wei dynasty, the Jin dynasty emerged, and then... it skipped the Northern and Southern Dynasties and directly entered the Great Sui Empire. By now, the Great Sui Empire had been in power for two hundred years, completely different from the short-lived second-generation dynasty. The current emperor, Yang Jian, was the eleventh emperor of the Great Sui Empire.

To put it simply, the Imperial Guard was the emperor's personal army, responsible for "directly serving the emperor, patrolling, and capturing criminals," and the Eagle-Brave Guard was one of the three guards under the Imperial Guard. But from Wu Fan's perspective, it was a military intelligence agency, very similar to the Jinyiwei! They often set up secret prisons, raid families, and exterminate clans...

"Breath, breath!"

Wu Fan leaned on the fine steel saber, panting. This body had a good martial arts foundation, but he still relied on the system and the tripled time outside to practice intensively, making his skills improve rapidly. He practiced so hard because he was shocked when he first arrived in this world.

He was so scared he almost wet himself.

Wu Fan saw with his own eyes a man over nine feet tall casually lift a thousand-pound stone lion and throw it at the carriage of the head of the Luoyang Thousand-Household Office of the Eagle-Brave Guard, shouting, "Dog traitor! Die!" Although this man was eventually hacked to death and the head of the Luoyang Thousand-Household Office of the Eagle-Brave Guard contemptuously called him "only strong, no brains," Wu Fan realized that in this world, there were some very frightening things!

Later, Wu Fan learned that this man was not even that strong, just a small shrimp. The truly powerful super experts could condense their qi into a force field, single-handedly sweeping through thousands of enemies like a storm! For example, one of the three great generals who just conquered the Southern Liang, the General of the Cavalry, who with one strike split the largest warship of the Southern Liang... it was said that the ship was sixty feet high and two hundred feet long. Wu Fan did the conversion and decided to practice martial arts. Not for anything else, but because he was now wearing the flying eagle uniform, representing the imperial watchdog! He might be ambushed and assassinated by martial artists at any time! As the older Eagle-Brave Guard members said, if you haven't been assassinated a few times after becoming the emperor's personal army, your life is incomplete.

The creation of these non-human beings was also closely related to Dong Zhuo, known as the Great Emperor of Wei. His grandson, the third emperor of Wei, was ambitious and built a palace on Mount Tai to celebrate his achievements. Unexpectedly, while building the palace, he discovered the "Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon" left by the Yellow Emperor, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of ancient times. The Inner Canon began to spread and was continuously modified by martial arts experts, leading to the creation of many magical techniques. By now, it had formed a system, with combat techniques for the battlefield and fighting techniques for the martial world, with many different paths.

"First, you need to open all 365 meridian points in your body, 'Internal Vitality.' Then, you need to expand your dantian and generate your own internal energy, 'Gathering Qi into the Sea.' You also need to accumulate internal energy to the point where it can be released externally. 'External Release of Internal Energy' must be followed by 'Condensing Qi into a Force Field'... There are just too many paths!"

Wu Fan lay in the system space, grumbling nonstop.

"Ding! The system space has been updated and the exchange service is now available."

"Exchange service? No more lotteries?", Wu Fan sprang up, facing the light screen that suddenly appeared above his head, "Explain!"

The light screen was blank, but a voice came through, "Ding! This space is called the 'Great Villain Cultivation System,' and the host is the person to be cultivated. The host can earn villain points by emulating the villainous actions of the Three Kingdoms' Cao Cao, and use these points for exchanges. The lottery service will still exist, with lotteries held on the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Spring Festival. Future system updates will consider this, please stay tuned."

"Villain points? Isn't this forcing me to be a bad person?", Wu Fan's mouth twitched for a long time, but suddenly his eyes lit up, "You mean... as long as I have enough villain points, I can exchange for anything in the system?"

"Ding! Correct! You are indeed a natural villain! In the Great Villain Cultivation System, any item can be exchanged, as long as you have enough villain points. Additionally, the system is updating other services, please stay tuned."

The light screen flashed, and the voice disappeared. On the screen, an enticing image appeared, like a spinning wheel, divided into six sections: "Famous Generals," "Divine Weapons," "Skills," "Pets," "Miscellaneous Items," and "Techniques." These six sections continuously displayed images, such as "Bawang Spear," "Rejuvenation Pill," "The Thirty-Six Stratagems," "Red Hare Horse," "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear Technique," and more, all with prices marked in the thousands.

Staring at the image of the historical famous general, with the name Xiang Yu, marked with thirteen million villain points, Wu Fan felt a sense of despair. Without the system's explanation, he knew it was very expensive, expensive enough to make him grind his teeth.

Still hoping that "these things might be cheap," Wu Fan asked, "What kind of bad deeds would I need to do to exchange for Xiang Yu?"

"Ding! The historical famous general Xiang Yu you see is at the peak of the previous world. Even in this world, without internal energy, he still ranks among the top with his innate strength and unparalleled skills. He is equipped with the top divine weapon, the Bawang Green Dragon Halberd, the top horse, 'Wuzui,' and the top armor, the Golden Lion Swallowing Armor..."

"Does this mean that the generals in the system are actually different from the generals in this world? The reason is the appearance of internal energy after Dong Zhuo changed history? So, the generals in this world are divided into two stages?", Wu Fan interrupted the system, pondering, "This is really complicated! Just tell me what I need to do to have enough points to exchange for Xiang Yu!"

"Ding! Just in terms of people, holding the emperor hostage and commanding the world is enough... As for the previous question, yes! But not necessarily, as long as the host is willing to spend the points, they can exchange for top skills in the 'Skills' section and apply them to the exchanged general."

"Phew!! You're just greedy for money! No, holding the emperor hostage, do you think anyone can do that? It's a death sentence!"

"Ding! To add, a complete set of equipment requires a coup and usurpation..."

"Phew!! I never asked!"

Wu Fan clutched his chest, "Suddenly, I feel both anxious and scared..."

After a long while, Wu Fan sighed, powerless to comment, "Villain... can you explain what makes a villain? Don't tell me the template is Cao Cao, I'm not Cao Cao, and I can't possibly imitate everything he did. And in this world, Cao Cao is not a villain of the chaotic times but a capable minister of the peaceful times! He is the General of the Western Expedition, isn't he!"

"Ding! A villain is roughly a step or thirty steps lower in morality and principles than a hero..."

Wu Fan's mouth twitched, speechless: Is this even an answer?

"Can I live an ordinary life? Just like my name suggests?", Wu Fan suddenly said very sincerely, "I don't want to be a villain or a hero, can you find someone else?"

"Ding! The host has grasped the essence of villainy, hypocrisy, and is trying to use oneself as leverage. Excellent insight, rewarded with 300 villain points! Congratulations!"

"Ding! A system bug has been detected and will be fixed in a short update. In the future, the host will not be able to use oneself as leverage to gain benefits from the system."

"Ding! Automatic exit, automatic exit, automatic exit..."

Exiting the system space, Wu Fan's consciousness returned to his body. He felt a mix of amusement and frustration. His original intention was truly not to become a villain, but the system thought he was trying to quit and quickly gave him some benefits, then exited to fix the bug, ensuring such things would not happen again. In other words, the system would soon give Wu Fan a reason that he must be cultivated...

Villain points? Can exchange for anything? Villain...

Wu Fan looked down at the box in his hand. This box was one of the rewards he received on the first day in this world, apart from the "language package," from the system's lottery, called the "Fourteen Postures of the Great Ming."

Yes! No mistake, it's the thing from the movie "The Jinyiwei." According to the system's explanation, in the system, any divine weapon or tool exists, but only cold weapons.

Putting the box, which he had abbreviated as the "Fourteen Postures," on his back, Wu Fan squinted his eyes, a sudden, uncontrollable idea forming in his mind! It was like a fierce tiger, awakened!

Pressing his lips together, looking at the approaching hundred-household of the Eagle-Brave Guard, Chen Yuc, Wu Fan slightly curled his lips, sighing in his heart: [I really am a natural villain! Since I'm definitely not going to be a good person, I might as well be a carefree villain! Let me climb up first and see what the view is like up there...]