I am Villain Cultivator
Chapter 56: The Awakening of the Five Gates

Chapter 56: Chapter 56: The Awakening of the Five Gates

Kaal turned to Jane and Mia, his expression softening under the warm light that lingered from the pillar of the Stone of Will.

"You two should try the trial as well," he said, voice calm but firm. "Even Ashen, who was once a servant incapable of cultivating, became stronger by passing it."

Jane and Mia exchanged a brief glance, understanding passing between them like an unspoken promise.

"We will," they said in unison, their voices steady with resolve.

With that, Jane stood up and dusted off her robes. "I’ll go fetch the food," she added, disappearing toward the forest with her usual quiet efficiency.

Mia, however, remained standing beside Kaal, her eyes locked onto the freshly prepared meal he had begun eating. Her gaze shimmered with longing, her mouth slightly parted, the scent of roasted spirit beast meat making her stomach growl audibly.

Kaal raised an eyebrow, amused. He noticed her not-so-subtle hunger and let out a chuckle.

"You glutton," he said with a teasing smile. "Stop staring at my food."

He tossed a ripe Belawar fruit toward her.

Mia caught it with both hands, her eyes lighting up like stars. "But, Young Master," she said, already biting into it, "you don’t understand! I haven’t eaten in three hours...whole three hours!"

Kaal laughed softly.

At that moment, Jane returned, holding a basket of spirit herbs. She shot Mia a half-exasperated, half-affectionate glare.

"Why are you always thinking about food?" she scolded. "Take these rosemary herbs that I have picked and burn them in the young master’s room. The smoke will keep the mosquitoes away."

Kaal leaned back slightly, glancing at Jane with a faint smirk. "Burning rosemary in my room... won’t that make it smell like herbs all night?"

She turned to Kaal and added, "Burning rosemary not only smells good, but it also drives insects away and wards off pests. Especially in these forest nights."

Mia, still munching on the fruit, saluted with a sticky hand. "Yes, sis!" she said through a mouthful, then bolted off into the woods with childish enthusiasm.

Kaal watched her go, then looked at Jane, who gave a sigh and shook her head with a small smile. For a brief moment, a gentle peace settled around them.

Kaal leaned back slightly, his smile lingering.

{ A full month passed. }

The days in the trial realm were long and gruelling, but peace hung in the air until, once again, the silence was shattered.

WOOOSH!

A brilliant pillar of light burst forth from the Stone of Will, shooting into the sky like a divine flare.

Kaal, resting beneath a spirit tree, looked up sharply. Jane and Mia stood beside him in shock, their eyes wide.

"She did it," Jane whispered.

It was Divya.

Clad in crimson robes soaked with sweat and soaked again by waterfall mist, she stood before the obsidian monolith. Her blue hair clung to her skin, glowing slightly in the light. Black flames danced around her shoulders like a living shawl. Her green eyes were alight with triumph and disbelief.

Then it came.

A voice echoed inside her mind, cold, mechanical, ageless:

"Player has passed the First Trial. Time to clear: One Month and one week. Evaluating performance... Grade: A. Earth-Rank Genius detected."

"Error: Designated reward unavailable. Allocating alternative reward... Healing all injuries."

Divya’s breath caught. Her muscles relaxed. The bruises from waterfall training, the internal strain of battling herself every day, all of it vanished in a pulse of divine warmth.

She staggered a step, not from pain, but from awe.

"So... Kaal was telling the truth," she murmured.

Just then, Ashen appeared he having run over the moment the pillar of light broke through the clouds. His feet slowed as he neared her, stunned by the sight before him.

Divya turned toward him, radiant.

"I did it," she said breathlessly. "Ashen, I was thinking... If I must die to reach my grandfather’s level, so be it. That thought... that resolve, it worked. I passed."

Ashen froze for a moment, his heartbeat picking up as he looked at her. To him, Divya had always been beautiful, but now, surrounded by flickering black flames and the trial’s light, she looked divine.

"I knew you could do it," he said with a smile, trying to steady his voice. "Congratulations, Divya."

Kaal approached slowly, his eyes unreadable. Jane and Mia followed behind him, the three of them watching the interaction closely.

Kaal didn’t say a word.

But his silence carried weight. A question.

Divya turned to him, and for a moment, their gazes locked.

She gave a small nod, already understanding.

"Yes, Kaal," she said seriously. "I heard the voice, too. It said: Player has passed the First Trial. It evaluated my performance as A, and... said I am an Earth-Rank Genius."

For a brief moment, the grove fell into silence again.

Kaal’s expression didn’t shift much, but in his eyes, something subtle flickered acknowledgement.

The ancient, emotionless voice. The categorisation of talent. It wasn’t a hallucination or a mistake.

Now, two people had heard it.

Ashen stood frozen. Divya’s words still echoed in the air:

"Player has passed the First Trial." Ashen’s mind reeled as Divya said these words.

’This... This never happened in the novel.’

The word Player rang like a bell in his skull, loud, impossible to ignore, and all too familiar. He clenched his fists, suppressing the tremor in his fingers.

’There’s no doubt now... That voice, that system-like tone. It means only one thing—’

’The founder of the Kilvish Clan... was from Earth.’

Ashen’s breath hitched.

’A transmigrator. Just like me. But unlike me... he got a system.’

A golden finger.

The cheat every reincarnated hero in manga and anime received. The divine gift that lets mortals rise to emperors, slay dragons, and flip destiny.

’And what did I get?’ Ashen’s eyes darkened. ’This trash body. Weak meridians. No spiritual roots. No powerful master waiting to guide me. No system... Nothing!’

His eyes widened ever so slightly, just enough for Kaal to notice.

’That reaction,’ Kaal thought coldly. ’When I mentioned the voice but left the word player, he barely blinked. But now? He looks like he’s seen a ghost. That word Player, he knows what it truly means.’

Kaal’s gaze sharpened. He took a slow step forward and asked, feigning ignorance:

"Divya... what is a Player?"

The moment the question left his lips, Ashen flinched. But in the very next breath, he composed himself and turned to Divya with forced curiosity.

"Yes... Divya. What do you think it means?"

Divya blinked at the two of them. "Player? I don’t know," she replied honestly. "Maybe it’s an old term. Something the ancient ones used...?" Her voice drifted, uncertain.

Before the tension could thicken further, Mia, who had been quietly listening, tilted her head and asked with innocent curiosity:

"Wait... then what is the second trial?"

All eyes turned to her.

She continued, "Young Master passed the first trial in one week... Lady Divya took one month... but it’s already been more than that, and still, there’s no sign of a second trial?"

Silence.

Ashen, Kaal, and Divya all exchanged glances. It was a question none of them had the answer to.

No clues. No voice. No direction.

So, in the absence of answers, they did what cultivators always did: they trained.

Kaal resumed his rigorous regimen.

He had begun experimenting with various weapons, greatswords, axes, and spears stored in his storage ring, but time and again, he found himself frustrated.

No matter how heavy or brutal the weapon, something felt... off.

It was as if his strength granted by the Myriads of Thousand Demon Body refused to be channelled through anything forged by others.

Eventually, he discarded the weapons entirely and focused on hand-to-hand combat.

Each strike, each movement of his fists and legs, made his power surge more fluidly, more naturally. It was raw, monstrous, and unfiltered.

Kaal was beginning to realize: his body itself was the weapon.

{ Another month passed. }

Then, one day, two pillars of light erupted from the Stone of Will.

Everyone ran toward the clearing.

There stood Jane and Mia, both panting heavily, sweat trailing down their cheeks, their robes scorched and torn from relentless training.

A mark of a palm and a fist was burned visibly onto the obsidian stone behind them.

And then, it happened.

A voice echoed in their minds, ancient, mechanical, emotionless:

"Player has passed the First Trial.Time to clear: Two months.Evaluating performance... Grade: C. Mortal-Rank Genius detected.

"Detecting dormant bloodline... Scanning... Scan complete."

Result: Unawakened Bloodline detected: Lunar High Elves [Purity: 88%]."

"Secondary Evaluation Initiated..."

"Talent Re-evaluating...""Previous Grade: C (Mortal-Rank)""Adjusted Grade: A+: low-Heaven Grade Genius detected."

Error: Designated reward unavailable. Allocating alternative reward...Healing all injuries."

Jane gasped as she heard a voice in her mind. Similarly, Mia was also in shock because she also heard an ancient emotionless voice, but what shocked her was that the voice in her mind told her that she also has a bloodline which is unawakened; she has a bloodline of Divine wolf Lineage [Purity: 83%].

The pain, fatigue, and injuries they had endured vanished in a pulse of divine energy. Their breath steadied. Their bodies lightened.

Jane looked at her hands in awe.

Mia laughed, tears pricking her eyes. "Young Master... we did it..."

Kaal, Divya, and Ashen stepped forward in silence.

But before anyone could speak—

The ground rumbled.

From deep within the ancient grove, the temple began to tremble.

The seven statues lining its inner sanctum had been silent watchers since they had arrived, shattered one by one.

Cracks split through the marble, then burst outward.

BOOM!

The pieces exploded into dust, and in their place, five massive gates slowly emerged from the earth, rising like titanic sentinels.

Above each gate, a glowing word was etched in celestial script:

TRUTH

COURAGE

WISDOM

STRENGTH

DESTINY

The trial was far from over. It had only just begun.

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