I am Villain Cultivator
Chapter 53: The Fire Beneath the Ashes, A Touch That Mends

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: The Fire Beneath the Ashes, A Touch That Mends

Kaal stood in silence, his fingers trembling as he stared down at the broken token in his palm.

The Lifelight Token of his father that is broken, Kaal’s heart was burning, his mind clouded by grief and the unquenchable thirst for vengeance. But first... he needed to get out of this place.

He turned to Ashen, eyes sharp and laced with suspicion.

"Where is the first trial?" he asked coldly.

Ashen didn’t flinch. "Follow me."

Without another word, he moved through the forest’s winding path, his steps silent but sure. The others followed, weaving between crystalline trees that sparkled under the glow of spiritual light. Vines shimmered like veins of the world itself, pulsating with rich Qi.

Eventually, they arrived at a clearing encircled by towering jade pillars. At the very centre stood a massive slab of black stone, obsidian-like, smooth as glass, and utterly unmarred by time.

Ashen came to a halt and pointed.

"This," he said, "is the Stone of Will. The first trial."

Kaal stepped forward, his gaze narrowing as he examined the impossibly perfect surface. The stone didn’t carry a single blemish, not even a scratch.

"What do we have to do?" he asked, still cautious.

Ashen looked at Kaal’s eyes and realised he couldn’t lie

Ashen said to Kaal, "You must leave a mark on it."

Mia raised an eyebrow, letting out a half-laugh. "That’s it? Just leave a mark? That sounds... way too easy for a Founder’s trial."

Ashen gave a tight, knowing smile. "That’s what I thought, too. I tried everything: swords, fists, even tried to burn the stone, and offer my blood. Nothing worked; I was desperate. Then one day... I placed my palm against it, and a mark appeared. The trial accepted me."

He paused, then added, "I don’t know how. Passed the trial"

But that was a lie, he thought to himself.

’The Stone of Will doesn’t respond to strength. It responds to purpose. To resolve that was stronger than the fear of death. Back then, I had nothing. A body that is incapable of cultivation, no strength, just fear. I had been thrown into this world, where death waited at every corner. All I wanted was to live. That desire, that sheer will to survive... It’s what left the mark.’

He said none of this aloud. They wouldn’t understand. Not yet.

Divya stepped forward, lips pressed in concentration. "If it’s that simple," she said, drawing her twin chakrams, "then let’s see for ourselves."

She slashed with deadly precision. Sparks danced across the surface, but the stone didn’t even flinch. Not a crack. Not a blemish.

Kaal stepped forward, his blood already boiling. The death of his father weighed heavily on his soul. Revenge burned behind his eyes.

He summoned the Dark Emperor Sword, its aura crackling with wrath. Strike after strike, he unleashed his fury. Fist. Blade. Flame. Qi. Blood. He even tried to pierce its essence with the gaze of his Mind Eye.

Nothing happened.

The obsidian stone stood unshaken, as though mocking him. Panting, Kaal dropped to a knee, sweat running down his face, his arms trembling.

"Sure enough..." he muttered bitterly. "The Founder’s trial... isn’t that simple."

His fists clenched.

{ A week passed. }

Kaal stood before the obsidian slab, sweat-streaked, bruised, and hollow-eyed. His entire body ached, and blood seeped through the bandages that barely clung to his arms. He hadn’t slept in days. And yet, he remained standing only because of the Myriads of Thousand Demon Body, a physique known for granting monstrous strength and stamina, like a living Hercules.

Every day, he tried to scar the stone.

First with a sword.

Then with an axe.

He followed with his fists, with Qi-infused strikes, with the Dark Emperor Sword Technique, with blood manipulation, and finally his Mind Eye, hoping to reveal the weakness of the stone.

Nothing worked.

Every time he failed, he pushed harder, becoming more reckless. Bruises became gashes. Blood caked his knuckles. Bones in his hand cracked and shifted. He didn’t care. He couldn’t.

Each night, when his strength was spent and his fury hollowed, Jane and Mia waited quietly. They applied herbs to his wounds. Jane, with her knowledge of herbs, effortlessly gathered medicinal plants and food from the Qi-rich forest. Mia would prepare the meals, silently urging Kaal to rest.

But he didn’t. He couldn’t.

Even Divya had tried. Using her black flames, her chakram, her immense Qi reserves, but the stone remained untouched. She was determined, but not obsessed.

Ashen, too, did not waste his time. He had built a shelter of wood near the waterfall where Divya meditated, giving the group a temporary home in the middle of the trial realm.

Yet it was only Kaal who looked like he might break first. Before leaving a mark on stone.

One night, bloodied and exhausted, Kaal sat by the fire, staring at the flickering flame.

’Why can’t I do it?’ he thought.

’I understand what this trial is. It’s not just strength, it’s will. It’s about leaving a mark... not with force... but with purpose.’

He had long abandoned the idea of brute force.

He’d thought about revenge. He’d tried it.

He pictured Adaeze, Fang Mo, the Mirror Immortal, those who had destroyed his clan, killing his father.

But even when those emotions consumed him... the stone remained still.

’My resolve isn’t enough?’

His eyes were blank. He looked at his hands. They were mangled, and his gaze was fixed on the broken Lifelight Token in his hand. The silence around him was deafening.

Jane stood nearby, watching him. She didn’t need to ask what he was feeling.

She already knew.

As she stood there, Jane’s thoughts drifted to the past. Kaal was always someone others couldn’t understand. But after being with him for so many years, she could proudly say no one understood him better than she did.

Jane quietly approached, sitting beside him with a bowl of herbal paste. She looked at his hands. They were mangled. Without a word, she took his hand in hers and began applying the salve.

Jane didn’t speak immediately. Instead, she let the moment settle like dust.

Kaal winced but didn’t pull away.

He looked at her.

Then, gently, she said, "Do you remember the day we met?"

Kaal didn’t react, but she continued.

"I do. Six years ago... I was ten. Locked in a cage. Filthy. Starving. Sold for a handful of gold coins by the people who brought me into this world. My father and my Mother"

Her voice trembled slightly, but her eyes remained steady.

"They trained us like animals. Beat us for speaking out. Broke our bones for disobedience. Taught us to smile when we were scared. And the worst part?" She paused. "They made us believe it was normal."

Kaal finally turned his head slightly. His gaze met hers.

Jane smiled, soft and sad. "But even in that nightmare, there were lights. A girl, younger than her, who’d wipe my tears. Who’d share her food when I had none? She was Mia, and we survived together."

She looked up at the stars now, her voice quiet. "Then came the auction. Shackles. Chains. People bidding on us like livestock."

Her hand slowly reached up and rested gently on Kaal’s head.

"And then... You appeared."

Kaal’s eyes widened.

Jane leaned in slightly, her touch tender. "A boy in purple robes, holding his mother’s hand. You didn’t see us as property. You didn’t ask for our worth. You only asked if we were in pain."

A faint tear rolled down her cheek, but she smiled anyway.

"That day, I decided something. I may have lost my family... but I found someone worth following. Someone worth protecting."

Kaal tried to speak, but Jane silenced him with a look. Her hand stayed firm on his head, grounding him.

"I considered my family dead that day," she whispered. "But life went on. And eventually... good times came. Because you were there."

She paused, then said the words softly, like a vow etched in the soul:

"If you are born into this world... then you have to live. Even if life is poison... You have to drink it."

Jane gave a faint smile, but her eyes were shadowed with memories that never healed.

"Grief doesn’t vanish, Kaal. But it changes you. Makes you harder. Sharper. It can destroy you... Or forge you."

He stared at the cracked token for a long moment, then slowly stood.

The wind stirred around him as a faint pressure leaked from his body, his Qi beginning to respond to the shift in his heart.

"Then let it forge me."

He turned toward the temple and raised the broken token high, as if offering it to the heavens.

"I swear by my blood and soul," he declared, voice strong now. "I will destroy every single one of them. The Storm Clan, the Jeral Clan, Thunder Spear Sect, Spirit Beast Hall, every last one of them. Not just those responsible... but their descendants, their legacy, their name. Until their bloodline fades into dust!"

Jane stood beside him, her expression unreadable, but there was a glint of fierce respect in her eyes.

"Then I’ll stand with you," she said. Kaal nodded once, his jaw set, grief now transformed into a burning resolve.

The heir of the Kilvish Clan had been broken. But from that brokenness, something darker had begun to rise.

Kaal’s breath hitched. Something deep inside him cracked not from pain, but release. He lowered his head into her lap, his shoulders trembling not with rage, but grief.

And finally... healing. Something surged in Kaal’s chest.

A desire not to destroy but to protect.

Suddenly, something clicked.

Without a word, Kaal stood and turned back toward the obsidian monolith.

He approached it slowly, every step trembling. Then, with calm certainty, he placed his bloodied palm on the cold stone surface.

His thoughts turned inward, not to wrath, but to protect.

He remembered his mother’s gentle smile, Bella Darwin, her lullabies, her warmth.

He remembered Jane’s silent care, her laughter, her defiance.

He no longer wanted to avenge the past. He wanted to protect what was left.

’If I must die to do that... I will.’

And then it happened. A glowing palm print shimmered to life beneath his hand. The stone pulsed with light.

A brilliant pillar of radiance shot into the sky, illuminating the entire hidden grove.

Kaal stumbled back, staring in disbelief. From behind, Ashen stood up slowly, his face calm but his eyes gleaming.

"So... you passed, Kaal."

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