I am Villain Cultivator
Chapter 57: Kilvish Arthur, Founder of Kilvish Clan

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Kilvish Arthur, Founder of Kilvish Clan

The air itself seemed to hold its breath as the last remnants of divine light faded from Jane and Mia’s bodies. Their eyes shone with newfound understanding not just of the trial’s secrets, but of their own hidden bloodlines. The revelation hung between them like unspoken lightning.

Kaal was the first to step forward, his bare feet crunching on the scattered debris of the shattered statues. His crimson gaze swept across the five towering gates that now dominated the clearing, each one thrumming with primordial energy.

"Truth. Courage. Wisdom. Strength. Destiny." He spoke the words like tasting unfamiliar wine. "Not trials. Not tests. Choices."

A cold wind whispered through the grove as the massive doors began to glow, each emitting a distinct hue that painted the assembled cultivators in eerie light:

Truth pulsed with unsettling silver

Courage burned battle-red

Wisdom shimmered scholar’s blue

Strength radiated warrior’s gold

Destiny thrummed with unstable violet

Divya’s black flame cloak flickered in response to the energy. "We’re meant to choose," she realized aloud. "But how?"

Ashen’s fingers twitched toward the Truth gate before stopping himself. His knowledge of the novel’s plot was crumbling by the hour, yet one certainty remained - in cultivation stories, gates like these were never simple.

Jane touched the crescent moon mark that had appeared on her wrist after the trial’s evaluation. "The voice said our bloodlines were dormant," she murmured. "Perhaps the gates are key to awaken our hidden bloodline..." She looked at Kaal with hidden excitement

Mia bounced on her toes, her usual exuberance tempered by awe. "Do we pick one? Can we try all five? What if-" She paused when she saw Kaal touch the Strength Gate, radiating warrior’s gold colour.

As soon as Kaal laid his palm on the Gate of Strength, a golden radiance surged across its surface. The brilliance resembled the aura of ancient warriors, bold, unwavering, and fierce.

The massive door shuddered once. Then slowly creaked open.

Kaal’s body tensed instinctively, but when nothing emerged from the shadows beyond the threshold, he let out a quiet breath of relief. Still, his eyes remained sharp, wary of whatever lay ahead.

He turned to Jane and Mia, who were watching him intently from behind.

"Pick the gate that calls to your instinct," Kaal said calmly. "That’s the only real guide we have."

Without waiting for a response, he stepped into the golden-lit doorway and vanished into its depths as the gate sealed shut behind him.

Kaal only sees Darkness. It swallowed everything. There was no floor beneath his feet, no walls to touch, no sky above. An empty void.

Then, as if answering his presence, the voice returned.

That same ancient, cold, mechanical voice he had heard at the Stone of Will.

[ "Player detected. Grade: S — Heaven-grade genius.

Scanning complete... Bone Age: 15. Cultivation Stage: Foundation Realm, Fourth Stage.

Initiating Strength Trial." ]

A soft click echoed through the void.

A floating lantern appeared mid-air, casting a warm, flickering light that chased away the darkness. Below it, a circular stone platform rose from the ground beneath Kaal’s feet.

In the center of the platform, something shimmered.

A phantom image began to form, tall, muscular, radiating a commanding presence. A man in his forties with jet-black hair, a broad frame, a longsword hanging from his waist, and eyes as dark as obsidian, gleaming with mischief and fierce pride.

The projection grinned at Kaal.

"If this... hologram, wait, you probably don’t know what that means. Let’s say, phantom, if this phantom is appearing in front of you, then it means you’re my descendant."

He gave an exaggerated wink.

"Greetings, young one! I am Kilvish Arthur, the Founder of the Kilvish Clan. So, tell me, does the clan still exist? Is my tale sung in every corner of the continent?"

He paused, then narrowed his eyes.

"If not? Then that lazy bastard Helbert is in serious trouble! I told him to record every glorious moment of my heroic saga!"

He coughed dramatically, then straightened his robe.

"Ahem. What I meant was... the clan must never forget the sacrifices I made. If you’re seeing this, then you are my descendant who possesses a talent comparable to mine."

He pointed directly at Kaal, a mischievous smirk tugging at his lips.

"I gave the system one rule: Only show this message to a Heaven-grade genius. Which means... you, kid, you’re the real deal, though maybe still a little behind me."

The phantom’s tone dropped into something deeper.

" Listen carefully, My descendant, I have left this Phantom to convey a strong warning. The Divine Realm is not the end of cultivation. It’s only the beginning. You must reach the Divine Realm before your hundredth birthday. Only then will you have a chance... a real chance... to go beyond the Divine realm."

Then he grinned again, flashing perfect white teeth.

"Oh, and one more thing, I’ve left behind my greatest legacy. My Golden Finger, I mean, my Dao, my path, my method of transcending the heavens. You’ll receive it only if you complete the Third Trial. Think of it as a gift from your favorite ancestor."

The projection began to fade into flickering mist.

"And when you’re powerful and famous, make a statue of me in Gold. Life-size. Nothing less."

With that, the phantom dispersed into glowing dust and vanished.

Silence returned.

Then—click.

A new formation beneath the stone platform lit up in complex runes. From the center of the glowing array, a figure slowly emerged from the swirling mist.

A boy.

Fifteen years old. Black hair. Black eyes. His features were identical to Kilvish Arthur’s younger self, arrogant, playful, and brimming with unshakable confidence.

He grinned at Kaal.

Then, the system voice echoed again:

[ "Second Trial Initiated."Objective: Defeat the clone of Kilvish Arthur at age 15.

Failure Condition: Core Destruction.

Reward: Kilvish Arthur’s Cultivation Technique." ]

Kaal’s breath was steady, his gaze locked on the figure before him.

The younger clone of Kilvish Arthur himself. His ancestor.

Kaal took a step back, his mind reeling.

The legendary image of the Founder, Kilvish Arthur, so carefully built up in his imagination over the years, began to crack.

That dramatic speech, the playful tone, the absurd talk about statues and a lazy historian named Helbert... It wasn’t the awe-inspiring warrior-poet he had pictured, but a strange, eccentric genius more human than myth.

Kaal muttered under his breath, voice low with realization, "It confirms it... The Founder wasn’t from this world. He came from the Blue Planet. That ’system,’ that ’golden finger’, they’re cheats. Just like the ones from the anime and manga I read in Raven’s memories."

He glanced around the circular platform again, his mind piecing things together with growing intensity.

"To get that system," Kaal whispered, "I have to pass the Third Trial. But this... this is only the second. And even now, the reward is already the Founder’s personal cultivation technique. A Legend-grade technique..."

His breath quickened, not from fear, but exhilaration.

He turned his gaze back to the clone the fifteen-year-old version of Kilvish Arthur standing tall with a cocky grin, waiting silently for the battle to begin.

Kaal’s expression darkened slightly.

"The Founder disappeared hundreds of years ago. The world assumed he entered the Death Forest, the barrier that separates the Four Continents, and died there... But this recording... this phantom implies something else."

He clenched his fists, his eyes glinting with dangerous excitement.

"He didn’t die. He ascended. He’s above the Divine Realm."

In all of the Elysian Cultivation World, not a single person had ever stepped beyond the Divine Realm. It was considered the pinnacle, the peak of mortal cultivation. But now, standing within this trial, Kaal had seen proof that a higher realm existed.

His memories flashed of the demonic figure who had commanded hundreds of demons when he had fully absorbed the Origin Core.

’That being... it wasn’t in the Divine Realm. It was beyond it.’

The realization hit him like thunder. There was a path forward hidden, forbidden, almost mythical.

Kaal’s excitement was short-lived, however. His eyes narrowed, and the fire in his chest cooled to razor focus.

But the system’s warning echoed once more in his mind:

"Failure Condition: Core Destruction."

A chill ran down his spine.

If he failed this trial... his cultivation core would be destroyed. That would be the end of everything his strength, his growth, his future.

No second chances. No forgiveness. No way back.

His hands tightened at his sides, and he stared at the youthful clone of Kilvish Arthur, who now drew his sword in silent challenge.

Kaal’s face grew grim.

"Founder..." he whispered, his voice low and steady, "I don’t know what you were like in real life... but to reach your level, I’ll walk through hell itself."

Then, he took his stance.

The clone cracked his knuckles. "Try not to die too quickly... descendant."

Kaal’s crimson eyes burned. The platform’s edges flared, and the battle began.

The second trial... had begun.

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