I've Become the King of Villains in the Game

Half a day later.

Close to evening.

Lin State’s Cold Leaf City looked exceptionally serene under the setting sun.

A figure suddenly appeared outside the city, but his steps were unsteady, nearly slipping on the icy ground.

"Phew... finally made it."

Polaris steadied himself, exhaling a breath of white mist. He looked up at the town ahead, and a smile appeared on his face.

He had departed from the Royal City and had been traveling non-stop for several hours. If it weren’t for his advancement to Sequence Six [Aerial Acrobat], which allowed him to learn the skill "Cloud Leap," he might not have made it to his destination in such a short time.

Though the Spirit World could also provide rapid travel, unfortunately, Polaris had not found the current-world anchor coordinates for Lin State’s Cold Leaf City. Traversing recklessly could result in getting lost.

After drinking a bottle of thirst-quencher and resting for a bit, Polaris finally stepped forward and entered Cold Leaf City.

He quickly found the location of the Generous Church by asking for directions, but was stopped at the door by two black-clad missionaries.

"It is not the church’s open hours right now. If you wish to pray, please come back by nine o’clock tomorrow morning."

The priest Lisman said politely.

"Uh, I am not a worshipper but a student of Mr. Jack Spett... This is my token."

Polaris took out the Silver Serpent Ring and handed it over.

Lisman and the other priest exchanged a surprised glance before taking the ring to inspect it. They did not expect that His Majesty Jack would accept an Undead Foreigner as a student.

After a while.

Lisman returned the ring to Polaris without making things difficult for him and let him pass.

"Please enter. His Majesty Jack should be in the residential area at the back of the church. Just follow the path straight ahead."

"Thank you."

Polaris put away the ring and thanked him.

He then took a deep breath and walked inside.

Along the way, Polaris saw many black crystal puppets patrolling back and forth, and a few robust puppets made entirely of blue-green crystal stones wrapped in grey robes, scanning their surroundings.

He was secretly astonished. Those black crystal puppets would be manageable; with his current strength, he could handle dozens of them simultaneously. However, the storm crystal puppets were much stronger; Polaris did not feel confident in withstanding an onslaught from more than three of them.

"The circus is indeed getting stronger..."

Polaris sighed.

He soon stopped walking, as he saw a black-hatted gentleman leaning lazily on a wooden bench beside the path, supporting himself with an ivory white cane, watching him quietly.

"You have arrived, Polaris."

The man spoke with a faint smile.

Polaris’s face lit up with joy. He quickly stepped forward and respectfully saluted:

"Teacher."

The man was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly sighed.

"You have slacked off."

Polaris was puzzled. Suddenly, he felt his body become immensely heavy, as if a mountain were pressing down on his shoulders.

Boom!

He couldn’t stand any longer and fell to his knees with a thud.

The stone path cracked under the pressure of his kneeling.

Polaris did not understand why his teacher had suddenly taken action, nor did he know what kind of power this was. At this moment, all he could do was think, as his body was completely out of his control, pinned to the ground by an invisible force.

"Stand up."

Chen Lun spoke calmly.

Polaris gritted his teeth and exerted all his strength, but the pressure was so overwhelming that his body, which had just started to straighten up, was pushed down again.

"If you cannot stand, then you will not be going on this educational journey."

Chen Lun lowered his eyelids and locked eyes with Polaris.

"A few days ago, a Magic Saint joined my ranks, and he brought an Undead Foreigner, asking me to take care of her. Upon reflection, she is a bit more outstanding than you, so I may take her instead."

"?!"

Polaris’s eyes widened suddenly, his pupils shrinking.

An Undead Foreigner?

A player!

He even overlooked the sensational news of a Saint joining the circus, focusing only on the player.

"Teacher Jack actually said that the player is more outstanding than me... Who could it be? Is it the new student that teacher took in? No way! I cannot miss this opportunity, nor can I let the teacher look down on me!"

Filling with anxiety and urgency, Polaris clenched his fists.

He let out a low roar, veins bulging on his forehead, and regardless of the cracking sounds from his body, he stood up with sheer determination and willpower.

Though his body was still trembling, Polaris stood straight and, through gritted teeth, said:

"Teacher... I, I stood up!"

"Hmm."

Chen Lun examined him, then nodded slightly.

"Your willpower is passable, barely qualifying."

Buzz!

The invisible pressure quietly dissipated.

Due to inertia and exhaustion, Polaris almost fell backward, but in the next second, he saw Teacher Jack extend a finger clad in pitch-dark shadow, and his body was promptly caught by a gravitational force, stabilizing him in place.

"Thank you, teacher."

Polaris forced himself to thank him.

Chen Lun slowly stood up from the bench, then patted his shoulder, speaking earnestly:

"In the mystic realm, survival of the fittest. Do not slack off."

"Yes, teacher."

Polaris quickly lowered his head.

He speculated privately that the reason the teacher was disciplining him was probably because of the unfamiliar player... The urgency in his heart grew even stronger.

Chen Lun lightly turned around and said without looking back:

"Follow me, I’ll introduce you to your junior sister."

"Junior sister..."

Polaris was taken aback at first, and then his heart sank deeply.

His suspicion had come true.

That unknown player had indeed been accepted as a student by Teacher Jack!

Full of restlessness and unease, Polaris followed the black-hatted gentleman, walking towards the depths of the church district. Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t even realize when they arrived at a clearing.

"Hello, Brother Bei."

Suddenly, a sweet and soft girl’s voice came from ahead.

Polaris looked up, slightly stunned.

A cute, round-faced white-haired girl, dressed in a white floral dress, was standing sprightly in front of him, extending her hand:

"Hey, I’m Sunny Xiaoyu. You can call me Xiaoyu... I’ve only heard of Brother Bei’s reputation and never seen you in person. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

Polaris composed himself, extended his hand for a brief shake, and said calmly.

"You are the president of ’Silver Fox,’ I’ve heard of you too."

"Oh? Really... I’m honored that Brother Bei has heard of me!"

Sunny Xiaoyu said happily.

Polaris couldn’t tell if this woman was acting or not, as her reaction seemed a bit exaggerated. After a brief scout, his eyes flashed with surprise.

’She’s level 80, no wonder Teacher thinks she’s even better than me... The recent patch update was likely triggered by her.’

Polaris thought to himself.

"Wow! Brother Bei, you’ve already reached Sequence Six!"

Sunny Xiaoyu suddenly discovered something, widened her pretty eyes, and said with a face full of admiration.

Although Polaris knew she was complimenting him, his heart was still pleased. He smiled faintly and shook his head, saying:

"Just lucky."

"Luck is also a part of strength!"

Sunny Xiaoyu said with a chuckle.

"I too am fortunate to have been accepted as a student by Mr. Jack. From now on, you’ll be my senior brother! With a great master like you around, no one will dare to bully me, yay!"

Polaris looked at her but remained silent.

In his heart, he thought, ’Who would dare to bully you?’

Not to mention that Silver Fox has now joined the ranks of the elite guilds, with many masters within. Even Sunny Xiaoyu herself is already a top-tier level 80 player, a Sequence Seven Mage.

She is even about to become the first Arcanist in the entire server!

Polaris shook his head and then looked beside him.

The black-hatted gentleman had been standing there from the beginning, leaning on a white cane with a serene and kind smile, looking at the two of them with eyes full of peacefulness, kindness, and gratification.

Polaris and Sunny Xiaoyu exchanged smiles at this sight.

However, what they didn’t know was that the teacher’s inner thoughts were quite different.

’Hmm... These two students should make fine guinea pigs.’

Chen Lun smiled to himself and nodded secretly.

Since he needed to absorb knowledge from adjacent paths to gain greater power, the expert of the Destiny Faction and the expert of the Magic Faction before him were just the right candidates for control experiments...

"We will depart soon for the Byron Kingdom. You two can prepare yourselves."

Chen Lun adjusted his black hat and spoke softly.

"Okay, Teacher!"

Sunny Xiaoyu responded quickly.

Polaris thought for a moment and then asked:

"Teacher, what exactly are we going to do in the Byron Kingdom?"

"Learn magic knowledge."

Chen Lun replied with a smile.

"Magic?"

Polaris was quite surprised.

"But, I am not..."

Chen Lun knew what he wanted to say and didn’t mind enlightening him a little, so he gave a simple explanation:

"Destiny, Nature, and Magic are adjacent paths closely related to each other, with much to learn from one another."

As he spoke, he lifted his forefinger slightly.

The blue top hat on Polaris’s head suddenly flew up and then, with a puff, turned into a blue pig in the white mist.

"Do you think this is a magic trick of destiny or a magical transformation?"

Chen Lun asked with a smile.

Polaris stared blankly, finally opening his mouth but not knowing how to respond.

"In fact, it’s both."

Chen Lun waved his hand.

The blue pig turned back into a hat and settled back on Polaris’s head.

"The ability I once taught you, ’Survival of the Fittest,’ is essentially developed by drawing nutrients from the Nature path... Now do you understand?"

Chen Lun stood with one hand holding a white cane and the other behind his back, asking.

Polaris took a deep breath, excitement hidden in his eyes, and nodded immediately.

"I understand, Teacher... Extraordinary power can become stronger by absorbing knowledge from adjacent paths!"

"Good, as long as you understand."

Chen Lun nodded in gratification.

Sunny Xiaoyu beside him covered her mouth, seemingly shocked by this unknown secret she heard.

She and Polaris exchanged glances and both understood from each other’s expressions that this was an opportunity for them and that this secret must not be easily divulged to other players!