I am Villain Cultivator
Chapter 59: Ghost Gale Steps

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Ghost Gale Steps

The air crackled with tension as Kaal and the Founder’s clone locked eyes. Blood dripped from Arthur’s lips, his smirk never fading, even as his arm hung slightly limp. Kaal, on the other hand, stood firm, his crimson gaze unyielding.

"You’re learning," Arthur mused, rolling his shoulders. "But let’s see if you can keep up."

Then, he blurred.

This time, Kaal’s Mind Eye flared brighter, his perception sharpening to an almost painful clarity. He saw it the way Arthur’s footwork bent Shadow, the way he flickered between positions like a glitch in reality.

Not teleportation. Not pure speed. A system-based movement, this movement is based on the opponent’s eyesight, distracting his qi sense, creating an illusion that the person has disappeared and reappears in an unexpected direction.

The moment Kaal’s Mind Eye caught the Founder’s movement, a flicker of shadow from the left, he reacted. And he vanished in front of the founder clone’s eyes.

Not with the flawless silence of the Founder’s technique, but close. His own version, raw and unrefined,

"Shadow Step."

For a heartbeat, it worked. The air rippled as Kaal reappeared, his body shifting through space like a phantom. But then—

Tssk!

A single, almost imperceptible sound. The faintest scrape of his foot against stone was the result of incomplete shadow steps because a real shadow step is silent as a soul ripper; it does not produce sound like that.

Sure enough, this tiny mistake was all it took for the founder clone to locate Kaal’s position.

The Founder’s clone materialized in front of Kaal, his eyes gleaming with amusement. The dagger flashed, a silver streak aimed straight for Kaal’s heart. Kaal’s instincts were screaming, and he twisted his body, but not fast enough.

Shhhk!

The blade carved into his shoulder instead, blood spraying in a crimson arc. Pain flared, but Kaal barely registered it. His mind raced, analyzing, learning.

"Wow," the Founder mused, tilting his head. "You copied my Shadow Step. Even though it is incomplete... are you a genius?"

Kaal didn’t answer. He moved.

"Blood Art: Crimson Spear Rain!"

Dozens of razor-sharp blood projectiles erupted from his palms, hurtling toward the Founder with lethal precision. But the clone didn’t dodge. Didn’t even flinch.

He simply smiled.

And then—

The blood spears dropped.

Like water losing its form, they splattered harmlessly against the ground. Kaal’s breath hitched. His vision blurred. A creeping numbness slithered through his veins, his skin turning an ugly shade of purple.

"Poison Qi," Kaal said in shock.

"But it’s a pity," the Founder sighed, twirling his dagger. "You’re going to die once again."

Kaal’s legs gave out. His muscles seized, his control over Qi unraveling like a frayed thread. The Myriad Thousand Demon Body has many benefits, including unstoppable raw physical strength, regenerative abilities, perception, and a sixth sense, but it has one fatal weakness that is Poison.

The same weakness that he had used to kill Raven. Now, the same weakness is being exploited with terrifying precision, but soon he was unable to open his eyes.

Darkness swallowed him.

[ Death Count – 4. Respawning... Revival complete. Remaining Lives: 6.]

When Kaal opened his eyes again, his gaze locked onto the Founder’s clone with razor-sharp focus. The thrill of battle burned brighter than ever.

He had died. Again.

But with each death, he learned.

The Founder wasn’t just an opponent; he was a teacher. A brutal, merciless instructor who wielded shadow and poison with effortless mastery. And Kaal?

He was a quick learner.

His lips curled into a grin.

"Again."

Kaal stood still in the blood-soaked arena, the sting of defeat still lingering in his body. His crimson eyes didn’t track the Founder clone’s movements. Instead, they slowly closed. He turned inward. His mind drifted to the past, to the battle with Kevin Haze. The memory unfolded with vivid clarity.

Kevin, the youngest Blessing Realm cultivator of the Storm Clan, had stood before him like a tempest given human form. His lightning was fury, his wind relentless. And at the heart of that storm had been his greatest technique, Divine Punishment, a devastating strike born from the fusion of lightning Qi and wind Qi, focused entirely on speed and overwhelming power.

Back then, Kaal had done the impossible.

He had taken that very technique... and made it his own.

By replacing the elemental cores with Azure Qi and Blood Qi, Kaal had reshaped Divine Punishment into something uniquely his. And with it, he had brought Kevin to his knees.

But now—

Now, he was faced with something even more terrifying.

The Founder clone’s footwork, Shadow Step, was nothing like Kevin’s.

Where Kevin’s movements were like roaring thunder and crashing storms, Arthur’s clone moved like a phantom in the fog. No pressure. No sound. Just absence. He didn’t rush like a gale; he appeared like death itself.

And yet... both styles followed a rhythm. A flow of Qi.

Kaal focused, diving deeper into memory. He visualized Storm Step Kevin’s signature movement technique, feeling again the explosive surge of Qi through the legs, the rapid acceleration through the core, the rotational burst across the spine and shoulders.

Then he turned to Shadow Step Arthur’s silent, invisible gait. He saw the suppression of presence, the controlled dispersal of Qi, the folding of space along tightly wound paths.

Speed. Silence. Presence. Absence.

Kaal’s breathing slowed.

And then—it clicked.

Like two puzzle pieces finally aligning, the flows of Qi intersected within his mind. A new path revealed itself.

A way to merge the speed of the storm with the stillness of the shadow.

Kaal’s body began to glow.

Softly at first. Then brighter. A pure, radiant light pulsed from within, bathing the arena in a gentle aura that defied the blood and violence staining the floor.

He sat down in the lotus position, hands resting calmly on his knees.

He had forgotten about the trial. Forgotten about death. Forgotten even about victory.

In this moment, he sought only the truth.

Across the arena, the Founder clone paused.

His eyes widened, and the dagger in his hand stopped spinning.

"Epiphany..."

His voice was low, reverent.

"He’s in the Epiphany State..."

A rare, mystical condition, Enlightenment.

A state no pill, no scroll, no divine treasure could artificially grant. Only those who walked the edge of life and death, who stared into the abyss of their own limits, and dared to ask what lies beyond, could achieve it.

Only sages, or true geniuses, ever touched it.

"To think... this child... actually stepped into it here," the Founder whispered, awe flickering in his voice. "What a terrifying talent."

He made no move to attack.

Instead, he crossed his arms and waited silently, like a master observing the birth of something greater than himself.

Time passed.

A day.

Then two.

Then five.

By the seventh day, the blood mist had long since dispersed. The arena was silent save for the faint hum of Kaal’s aura, which had now grown serene, deep, and boundless.

Then—

His eyes opened. Not with fury. Not with desperation.

But with clarity.

He stood slowly, no longer radiating aggression or impatience. His presence had changed. Calmed. As if the chaos within had given way to something deeper.

He faced the Founder clone.

"Thank you for waiting," Kaal said softly, his voice steady.

The Founder clone smirked and waved his hand casually. "I hope you can give me a satisfying battle now."

Kaal didn’t reply. He stepped forward. His foot touched the stone floor without a sound.

And then, he sank into a fighting stance.

The silence between them shattered in an instant.

The Founder clone shifted subtly, his body relaxing into the first form of Shadow Step, ready to melt into the air like a ghost.

But then he saw

A blurred figure.

Faster than instinct. Faster than thought.

Before the Founder clone could even complete the flow of Qi to his feet, a sharp pain bloomed in his chest, sudden, cold, and final.

His eyes widened. He looked down slowly.

There, in the center of his chest, was a gaping hole burned at the edges, clean through, still steaming with the aftershock of condensed Qi.

Blood dripped slowly.

His body trembled.

Then, sensing something behind him, he turned—

And saw Kaal standing there.

Silent. Calm.

In his hand, a still-beating heart throbbed once... twice... then slowed.

Thump.

Thump...

...

Silence.

The Founder clone’s lips parted, but not in rage or agony.

In awe.

He looked at the heart in Kaal’s hand, then at the boy’s eyes, no fury, no arrogance. Only calm conviction.

"What is the name of this footwork technique?" the clone asked, voice thin but sincere.

Kaal held the heart a moment longer, then let it fall to the stone floor with a soft, wet thud. He looked up with quiet respect.

"Ghost Gale Steps."

A name born from fusion.

The speed of the Storm Step.

The silence of the Shadow Step.

A technique forged not by inheritance, but through experience, death, and epiphany.

The Founder clone gave a final, genuine smile, proud.

"A wonderful technique," he said softly.

Then, like dry leaves caught in a breeze, his body disintegrated, drifting into ash and vanishing from the arena without resistance. No scream. No struggle. Only peace.

Then—

DING!

A sound echoed directly in Kaal’s mind.

[System Notification:]

[ "Congratulations, Player. Second Trial Completed."

"You have passed the Founder’s Strength trial."

"Reward Unlocking..."

"Calculating Compatibility..."

"Reward: One Cultivation Technique Granted." ]

A glowing scroll materialized before Kaal, suspended in mid-air. Golden runes danced across its surface, flickering with ancient power.

Kaal stepped forward slowly and extended his hand.

The moment his fingers brushed the scroll, it unfolded, revealing its title in bold, elegant script, one that pulsed with raw primordial Qi.

His eyes widened. His breath caught in his throat.

He whispered, almost in disbelief:

"This is..."