The Villain: Bound by Fate, Saved by Her

Ling Ye ignores everyone around him, his crimson eyes fixed solely on the girl before him.

She is broken—her cultivation destroyed, her body reduced to little more than a wreck. Yet, despite her condition, she remains standing.

"What's your name?" Ling Ye asks, his voice calm and indifferent.

"Zhuge… Qingchan," the girl replies, her voice weak but steady.

"I happen to need a military advisor. Let's go," Ling Ye states simply.

Then, without another word, the void distorts around him, swallowing his figure whole.

Zhuge Qingchan stands frozen in shock.

Did he… just take her with him?

To be his military advisor?

For a moment, disbelief grips her. Then, as the realization sinks in, a flicker of excitement flashes across her face.

At the very moment when she had lost everything, when despair had consumed her—he appeared.

The Spirit Clan cast her out, stripped her of her power, and crippled her body, leaving her for dead.

They didn't want her.

But someone stronger did.

With newfound determination, Zhuge Qingchan lifts a trembling hand, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth. She glances coldly at the patriarch, at every face in the hall.

Then, under the stunned gazes of the Spirit Clan, she takes a step forward—weak, slow, but unwavering.

Step by step, she walks toward the distortion left by Ling Ye.

Humm…

The void ripples, then closes behind her.

Silence falls over the hall.

It is as if nothing ever happened.

Ling Ye came, took their most sacred treasure, and left.

And yet, he did not kill a single one of them.

For the Spirit Clan, that brief encounter felt like the end of the world.

Only now, as the tension fades, do they realize their bodies are drenched in sweat.

A false alarm—but one that left them shaken to their core.

"Lord Patriarch… he… he came just to take our Spirit Stone?" someone finally dares to ask, voice trembling.

The patriarch exhales slowly, his expression grim. "It seems so."

He pauses, then adds, "Without our ancestral treasure, we are no longer the Spirit Clan. The Spirit Stone must be recovered."

"But… how?" No one dares to speak too loudly, as if afraid Ling Ye might return at any moment.

"Right now, we cannot retrieve it ourselves," the patriarch admits. "Our only option is to ally with the Heaven and Earth Alliance. Only with Lord Ye Tian's help can we stand a chance."

A collective murmur spreads through the hall.

If that is the only way—then so be it.

Their path is clear.

The entire Spirit Clan begins mobilizing, preparing to join the Heaven and Earth Alliance.

---

In the Void

Zhuge Qingchan follows Ling Ye, watching his broad back as they drift through the void.

She wants to speak, but the words do not come.

She never expected that the legendary Blood Shadow Demon Lord would take her in.

Was it because he overheard her words back in the hall? Or did he truly see potential in her?

Either way, he has made his decision.

And so has she.

If he wants her as his military advisor, she will prove herself worthy.

With her intellect, she will become his right hand.

After a long silence, she finally gathers the courage to speak.

"You just… why didn't you kill them?"

The question had been gnawing at her. If Ling Ye had taken her in, they needed to talk, didn't they?

Ling Ye glances at her, his expression unreadable.

"You hate them?" he asks lightly.

"I…" Zhuge Qingchan falters.

Ling Ye's gaze sharpens. "Hate is hate. If you hate, admit it. There's no need to wrestle with guilt or hesitation."

She clenches her fists.

"I… hate them," she whispers.

Then, louder, her voice filled with raw emotion:

"I hate them! I hate them all!"

Of course, she does.

She has hated them her entire life.

They killed her parents.

They tormented her for being half Spirit Clan.

If not for her mixed blood, she wouldn't have cared about their fate at all.

If every last one of them perished, she wouldn't shed a single tear.

Ling Ye nods slightly, as if expecting this answer.

"I won't kill them," he says. "You chose to follow me. That means I want you to win."

His eyes glint coldly.

"I want the people you hate to watch you win."

Zhuge Qingchan's breath catches.

He wants her to rise—so high that the Spirit Clan will have no choice but to regret everything they did to her.

Ling Ye doesn't kill anyone anymore. Even if they are traitors under him, he refuses to take their lives.

He wants everyone to witness the final outcome—to see the day he emerges victorious. He wants them to regret their choices.

Ling Ye had seen something in her. Something useful.

She will not disappoint him.

Biting her lip, Zhuge Qingchan's eyes burn with renewed determination.

"Demon Lord," she says firmly, "you will win. And you must win."

A pause.

"Can I… do something for you?"

Ling Ye casts her a sidelong glance.

"What do you know about fixed rebirth?" he asks.

Zhuge Qingchan blinks.

"Fixed rebirth?" she echoes, puzzled. "You mean… resurrection in a specific location?"

Her curiosity sparks.

"Why do you ask?"