When They Finally Realized, I Was Already the Strongest Villain - Chapter 1:

Chapter 1: Transmigrated Into a Xianxia Novel, The Villain Senior Brother

[Note: This life is the real crematorium, marking the beginning of suppressing the protagonist’s plot. The previous lives should be regarded as setup and background development.]
[This is a Xianxia crematorium-type novel—those who know, know. But rest assured, there will be no redemption arcs.]

…

“Senior Brother! What are you still waiting for!? Junior Brother Qingyun can’t hold on much longer!”

A sharp female voice pierced through the air, abruptly waking Gu Han from his daze.

“Did I… transmigrate again?” he muttered. “This rebirth point feels a little different…”

Feeling his body still at its peak, Gu Han was momentarily stunned.

A flood of memories surged into his mind, bringing with it the recollection of countless past lives. He quickly realized he was now inside the world of a Xianxia novel called The Imperial Monarch.

From the title alone, it screamed old-school wish-fulfillment, the typical ‘Dragon-Ao-Tian’ genre. But in reality, it had once taken the internet by storm as a massively popular harem novel.

The protagonist, Ye Qingyun, rose to power unhindered. From a cold and aloof master, to a playful junior sister, a cool and proud senior sister, the saintess of the Central State, and even the empress of an empire—all of them became his women.

By the later chapters, the number of female leads was so high, the author stopped naming them altogether.

And Gu Han? He had become the villainous senior brother.

He was Ye Qingyun’s first major antagonist, the boss the protagonist would trample beneath his feet for experience, a stepping stone on his path to greatness.

As someone who had read parts of the original plot, Gu Han naturally wouldn’t sit still and await death. From the moment he transmigrated into this world and discovered his role as a disposable villain without any cheat-like golden finger, he immediately sought ways to survive.

He swore to become a righteous senior brother who cared for his fellow disciples, even willing to risk his life to protect them.

But under the unstoppable influence of the plot, everything he did was ultimately futile.

In his first life, before Ye Qingyun had even entered the sect, Gu Han had plenty of time.

He poured all his effort into building a close relationship with his junior sister, Chu Youwei, who was destined to become a future Empress.

After all, having a future Empress as a backer could help him escape a miserable villain ending.

Taking advantage of her young age, he treated her with complete sincerity and care. When someone bullied her, he would be the first to storm in and demand justice on her behalf. When she lacked cultivation resources, he would constantly accept missions at the task hall to earn enough for her.

Yet the moment Ye Qingyun joined the sect, all his efforts were in vain.

In less than a month, the little junior sister he had raised grew deeply fond of Ye Qingyun. And Gu Han, the senior brother who had sacrificed so much, became a tragic figure who had prepared a wedding dress for someone else.

In his second life, he remained unwilling to give up. He still tried to change his fate as a cannon fodder villain by walking the path of righteousness.

His master had long suffered from a cold poison that made her sleepless at night. To rid her of it, he bravely ventured alone into the Demonic Sect’s territory and risked everything to seize a rare secret treasure that could cure her.

But Ye Qingyun framed him again.

Not only was he accused of having improper intentions toward his master, but he was also labeled a Demonic Sect spy. The rare treasure he fought so hard to acquire was taken by Ye Qingyun, who claimed to have found it himself and gifted it to their master, moving her deeply.

In the end, Ye Qingyun became the white moonlight in both his master’s and junior sister’s hearts.

Gu Han, unable to explain himself, was treated as a hypocrite hiding behind a righteous mask. Hated and scolded by all, he was finally locked in the Demon Suppression Tower.

In his third life, he decided to learn from his past mistakes.

Instead of investing in others, he would invest in himself.

He threw himself into cultivation with everything he had, determined to raise his strength and change his fate through his own power.

But fate had other plans…

In one of the great battles to resist a wave of rampaging demonic beasts, several of his junior sisters, in a hurry to rescue the protagonist—who had only suffered minor injuries—abandoned their assigned defensive positions. This led to him being completely isolated and surrounded, ultimately overwhelmed and torn apart by beasts swarming from all directions.

In the fourth life.
In the fifth life.
…

From the fourth life onward, he began trying to play the role of a true villain, confronting the protagonist head-on with various methods. Yet the results were always the same—he died faster and more miserably each time.

Under the influence of the protagonist’s halo and the overarching plotline, every plan he devised would inexplicably fail.

The life he remembered most clearly was this one.

He and several fellow disciples had entered a secret realm for a trial. The protagonist, Ye Qingyun, with absurdly high luck, found a plant called the Sun-Moon Divine Grass, which could cleanse the meridians and greatly enhance one’s potential.

However, this divine herb was guarded by a terrifying demonic beast whose cultivation had reached the 9th stage of the Spirit Palace Realm—only one step away from the Unity Realm.

According to the rules, provoking such a beast was strictly forbidden. The only correct move was to retreat immediately.

But Ye Qingyun desperately wanted that Sun-Moon Divine Grass. Somehow, he came up with a method: he would draw the beast’s attention himself, while the “tool girl” Liu Ruyan would sneak in and harvest the herb.

The result? The enraged beast went berserk.

Not only did it chase Liu Ruyan madly, it also dragged in other disciples who had nothing to do with it.

In the end, as the person leading the team, Gu Han had no choice but to engage the near-Unity Realm beast in a brutal battle. With several fellow disciples either severely injured or dead and himself gravely wounded, he finally killed the beast.

But that battle left him with serious internal injuries, and eventually, even his cultivation started to regress.

What chilled him to the bone was what followed.

The protagonist casually shifted the blame onto him, saying the casualties were due to his incompetence as the senior brother.

The other junior sisters, unaware of the truth, didn’t defend him. Instead, they blindly believed Ye Qingyun.

Even Liu Ruyan, the one he had risked his life to save from the beast’s jaws, not only ignored his lifesaving act, but also supported Ye Qingyun’s version of the story.

In the end, Gu Han’s reputation was completely destroyed. He was cursed and rejected by the entire sect.

Later, because of his irreparable injuries and stagnant cultivation, he was expelled from the sect as a useless cripple, left to fend for himself.

The most absurd part was this—those junior sisters he had taken special care of, the ones he had even risked his life for multiple times, didn’t even glance his way as he was being cast out of the sect.

They were too busy joking and laughing with Ye Qingyun.

He remembered that day with painful clarity.

He walked alone through the cold night.

The snow was falling heavily. He felt so cold.

His body was cold, but his heart was colder.

His life ended quietly in that snow-covered world.

…

Looking back on the past eight lives, none had a good ending. No matter which path he chose or how hard he tried, he could never escape the fate of being a cannon fodder villain.

Either he died miserably in the streets, or was locked away in the Demon Suppression Tower.

And now came the ninth life.

Since no matter what he chose he would still die, why bother trying anymore? Might as well lie flat and embrace an early death for an early reincarnation.

“Senior Brother! What are you still standing there for!? Hurry up and do something!”

At that moment, Liu Ruyan’s urgent voice snapped Gu Han out of his thoughts.

ROAR!!

During his brief daze, the half-step Unity Realm beast had already gone into a full rage. It was now chasing Ye Qingyun like a mad beast.

Feeling Liu Ruyan gripping his arm tighter and tighter, Gu Han frowned, then suddenly yanked his arm free and threw her aside.

“Senior Brother Gu, you…”

Liu Ruyan stumbled to the ground, stunned, completely forgetting to get up. She looked at her senior brother in disbelief.

In her memory, this senior brother had always doted on her. He would rather risk his life than let her get hurt even slightly.

Why was he now casting her aside so ruthlessly?

“Make a move? Why should I make a move?” Gu Han’s voice was cold as he said, “Before entering the secret realm, I clearly emphasized the rules. Do not provoke the powerful beasts within.”

“You all insisted on courting death yourselves. Why should I bear the consequences for you?”

Liu Ruyan’s face turned pale with disbelief. She never imagined that the senior brother who had always cared for her would say something so heartless.

“But that beast is only at the Spirit Palace Realm. Senior Brother, you’re also at the Spirit Palace Realm. If you just step in, then—”

Before she could finish, Gu Han interrupted her with a sneer.

“Aren’t you at the Spirit Palace Realm too?”

“As a junior sister, shouldn’t you also have the ability to deal with this beast?”

“Why don’t you go instead?”