I am Chosen Villain

Night draped Azure Sky City in an eerie stillness, broken only by the occasional flicker of lanterns swaying in the evening breeze. The streets, once bustling with merchants and scholars, now lay abandoned—save for the watchful eyes of unseen figures lurking in the shadows.

Atop the rooftops, a solitary figure moved like a ghost.

Gu Tianxian.

Wrapped in his newfound Shadow Veil Technique, his presence blended seamlessly with the night. His breath steady, his footsteps silent, he made his way toward his target—Xu Qingyang, the so-called chosen one of fate.

A hero in the making.

A corpse in waiting.

Beneath him, the Heavenly Sword Sect's outer disciple quarters stood like a fortress, its stone walls laced with glowing runes of protection. The air thrummed with spiritual energy, a testament to the powerful cultivators residing within.

But Gu Tianxian did not fear them.

He crouched on the tiled roof, gazing down at a dimly lit courtyard. There, seated beneath an ancient plum blossom tree, was Xu Qingyang.

The boy's posture was calm, his wooden training sword resting across his knees. His eyes, clear and determined, reflected the moonlight like the edge of a blade.

A righteous soul, brimming with potential.

Gu Tianxian's lips curled into a smirk.

"Potential means nothing in the face of inevitability."

He reached into his sleeve and retrieved a Soul Piercing Needle—a slender weapon forged to bypass a protagonist's divine protection. Its surface shimmered with a faint purple glow, humming with suppressed lethality.

The system had chosen well.

[ Mission: Eliminate Xu Qingyang. ]

[ Status: Unaware. ]

Gu Tianxian positioned the needle between his fingers, his energy coiling around it like a viper ready to strike.

A single throw. One clean kill.

His muscles tensed. He exhaled.

And then—

Xu Qingyang moved.

Not out of fear. Not out of instinct.

But as though he had felt something.

His head lifted, his brows furrowed, and his gaze turned—not toward the rooftops, but toward the heavens.

"He senses it?"

Gu Tianxian's crimson eyes narrowed.

No, this wasn't conscious awareness. It was something else—a ripple in fate, a thread quivering before being severed.

A flicker of divine protection.

Gu Tianxian's smirk deepened.

"How amusing."

With a flick of his wrist, the needle sliced through the air—silent, invisible, merciless.

And yet—

CRACK!

A sudden burst of wind erupted around Xu Qingyang, his wooden sword rising as if guided by unseen hands. The needle struck its surface, veering off-course at the last moment, embedding itself into the stone tiles behind him.

A narrow miss.

Xu Qingyang's breath hitched. He turned sharply, scanning his surroundings, a cold sweat forming on his brow.

"He doesn't know what happened. But he knows something happened."

Gu Tianxian remained still, concealed in the embrace of the Shadow Veil Technique.

He should retreat. Another night, another chance.

But something within him burned—a desire not just to kill, but to witness.

To see how far fate would go to protect this so-called protagonist.

Xu Qingyang's hand clenched around his wooden sword, his knuckles turning white.

And then—

A voice.

Soft, almost imperceptible, drifting through the night air like the whisper of fate itself.

"Who's there?"

Gu Tianxian smiled.

This was going to be fun.