I'm A Minor Villain In A Martial Arts Novel (38 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 1
I stared blankly at the man standing before me.
He was a truly stunningly handsome middle-aged man.
‘It’s astonishing that this face belongs to an old man.’
I knew his real age.
Looking at his face, I forcibly suppressed the hiccup that was about to escape.
In front of this man, even if I were a baby, I couldn’t afford to appear foolish.
His already sharp gaze, veiled in suspicion, looked anything but kind toward me.
Glancing down at my blankly raised hand, I suddenly realized one thing.
‘Right—I am a baby.’
A hollow laugh escaped me out of sheer disbelief.
I had become a baby.
Worse, an infant whose limbs wouldn’t even move properly.
“The young lady hasn’t slept at all. She seems rather fussy.”
Hearing Yun Ling’s words—my personal maid—the man’s expression hardened further.
I bit back a curse inwardly.
Yun Ling belonged to my granduncle. She’d never say anything favorable about me.
I could feel Nangong Jintian’s icy stare.
If I were an ordinary child, I would’ve burst into wailing sobs right then.
But knowing just how heartless and tearless this man before me truly was, I did my utmost to hold back my tears.
Orthodox Sect.
Number One Under Heaven.
Nangong Jintian.
The living legend of the Nangong Clan and ruler of the entire martial world.
And the novel I’d possessed myself in—Heavenly Demon Sovereign’s….
‘Number One Under Heaven.’
I had become his granddaughter, Nangong Lin.
Grandfather rose from his seat without uttering a single word.
At his cold reaction, Yun Ling looked at me with eyes laced with mockery.
But I refused to yield.
“Gah!”
When I gazed at him with a beaming smile, Grandfather’s brow twitched.
His eyes, fixed on me, were colder than ice.
‘Grandfather despises me.’
According to the family, I’d devoured my own father before being born.
Grandfather, who’d cherished my father, surely loathed me as well.
‘What did I even do wrong?’
His gaze was so chilling—more like staring at an enemy than an infant—that hiccups threatened to surface again.
I genuinely felt my life was in danger, yet I couldn’t back down now.
If I cried here, Grandfather would brand me as useless and worthless forever.
“You have quite the nerve.”
Fortunately, my efforts seemed to pay off—Grandfather muttered those words and strode out the door.
I released a breath of relief.
‘At least I won’t have to see him for eight years.’
My grandfather, Nangong Jintian, was the leader of the Wulin Alliance. He’d soon depart for the alliance and remain away for a long while.
As leader, he had endless duties, leaving him virtually no time to care for the Nangong Clan.
I felt her sigh in irritation as she roughly pulled me into her arms.
“Ugh, useless thing. So annoying. Both parents dead—I just want to finish you off quickly since you don’t have long anyway….”
“…….”
“Lord Clan Head doesn’t seem to care about you anyway….”
Yun Ling’s eyes, fixed on me, brimmed with annoyance.
With those words, she shoved my head down hard.
My infant body was overwhelmed by intense pain, yet I clenched my teeth and held back my cries.
Sobbing here would only irritate Yun Ling further.
At that, Yun Ling muttered in disbelief.
“Stubborn brat. Just like someone who devoured her own parents.”
True to her words, even at my birth, Nangong Jintian hadn’t shown me any interest.
Yet he’d come looking for me for a reason.
My father, Nangong Xian, had gone missing after fighting against villains of the martial world.
Ever since, people had branded me as the child who devoured her parents.
‘I also heard my mother died giving birth to me.’
Already rife with internal conflict, the Nangong family now placed my life in grave peril.
Sighing inwardly, I acknowledged my parents’ deaths—but since I’d barely seen them, their loss didn’t strike me deeply.
After all, one had to be alive to feel shock.
‘My life is the real issue.’
With that thought, I turned my gaze toward the door Grandfather had exited through.
He hadn’t shed a single tear over his own son’s death.
There was no way he’d care for his granddaughter.
‘If things continue like this, I’ll die.’
The novel I’d reincarnated into, Heavenly Demon Sovereign, was literally about the Heavenly Demon as the protagonist.
And the Nangong Clan would eventually be annihilated by that very demon.
Of course, I wouldn’t even last that long—I’d die even earlier…
Specifically, at the hands of the novel’s protagonist, becoming the first victim of his bloody revenge.
‘Why did I have to possess this role of all roles? To torment the protagonist only to be killed by his hands?’
That’s right.
I’d reincarnated as a minor villainess in Heavenly Demon Sovereign.
If only I’d been a true top-tier antagonist, wreaking havoc—that would’ve made more sense. But even within the Nangong Clan, I was utterly despised.
‘My cousins will scorn me, and Grandfather won’t care about me at all.’
It seemed fate had denied me familial fortune yet again.
Yun Ling roughly set me down and left the room.
Only then did I quietly sniffle.
[This is the timeline separator]I lay staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.
Though to any outsider, it probably just looked like a baby spacing out.
But there was nothing I could do.
At first, I’d denied reality—but after seeing Grandfather, everything became clearer.
‘The fact that I’ve been reborn into Heavenly Demon Sovereign.’
Whether reincarnation or possession—either way—
I’d awakened inside this novel, and my future ahead was undeniably bleak.
Having my fate predetermined felt utterly foul.
‘So what if I’m the granddaughter of the Number One Under Heaven? Grandfather doesn’t care about me anyway.’
And it wasn’t just indifference.
Within the entire Nangong Clan, not a single person stood on my side.
I wanted to sigh.
“Ahh!”
But against my will, my body moved.
This infant body was terribly inconvenient—my only freedom lay in thought.
Frowning, I began mentally planning what I must do next.
‘First, I have to survive.’
Though I’d unfortunately possessed Nangong Lin’s body, there was a silver lining.
The Nangong Clan was where Ji Tianwu—the protagonist of Heavenly Demon Sovereign—had spent his childhood.
‘Ji Tianwu had been a servant doing odd jobs at the Nangong Clan.’
Thus, the Nangong Clan appeared frequently throughout the original novel.
True to wuxia protagonist fashion, Ji Tianwu had gained countless opportunities here.
‘He practically stripped the Nangong Clan bare.’
I remembered grumbling about how absurdly unrealistic it was for him to obtain so many opportunities.
But if I stayed close to Ji Tianwu, I’d have endless chances to seize those opportunities myself!
With that, I resolved firmly.
‘I won’t play some insignificant villainess role!’
I’d befriend Ji Tianwu.
No way would I take on the role of the cruel girl who torments him only to meet a gruesome end.
Though my ultimate goal was to leave the Nangong Clan, I had no intention of creating bitter ties with Ji Tianwu beforehand.
‘Once I can move properly, I’ll start hunting for those opportunities.’
I recalled the closest one available.
I needed to verify whether the novel’s plot would unfold exactly as written.
Ji Tianwu had acquired so many opportunities—surely taking a few for myself wouldn’t even be noticed.
‘Alright, I’ll live hard.’
I didn’t want to die.
Since I’d become Nangong Lin, I intended to live a long, long life—until my hair turned white.
‘Ji Tianwu, let’s get along well.’
Clenching my tiny fists, I made that vow.
[This is the timeline separator]Eight years had passed since then.
‘Now I can finally walk around freely.’
I sniffled.
Though my sniffles had decreased as I grew older, winter made them unavoidable.
Winter in this martial world was too harsh for me.
I’d assumed that being born into the prestigious Nangong Clan meant I’d live carefree—but reality proved otherwise.
Every day demanded I fight just to survive.
I looked down at my hands.
They were dark and calloused.
Turning my gaze to the mirror, I saw a child’s face—still youthful and innocent.
‘Your life really is tragic.’
Nangong Lin’s life was even worse than I’d seen in the novel.
After eight years living as Nangong Lin, I finally understood why she’d become a villainess.
After my parents’ deaths, my granduncle Nangong Xianzong had taken responsibility for me.
‘And he truly despised me.’
He’d even assigned people to my quarters—all of whom were there solely to spy on and torment me.
One of them was the maid before me now: Yun Ling.
I looked directly at her.
“You’re really bothersome. Just handle a simple fever yourself.”
She stared at me as if I were a nuisance.
I recalled my sorrowful eight years.
Yun Ling had cared for me just enough to keep me from dying.
Pinching hidden spots and hurling insults were her daily routine.
‘She prevented me from learning martial arts and often starved me.’
Because of that, I was shorter and thinner than other Nangong children.
Learning martial arts early was crucial—yet Nangong Xianzong claimed I wasn’t worthy yet and barred me from training.
Their abuse had always been cruel, but it only worsened with time.
“Sniff.”
I sniffled again.
My head spun, and cold sweat dripped from my forehead.
Yun Ling tapped my forehead with her finger.
“What’s so cold? If you’re of the Nangong Clan, you should endure this much.”
When male lead is the homewrecker
“I know she doesn’t love him.”
I’ve read the novel below twice already. Girls, I’m highly recommending it to you!
The female lead? Not a good person.
The second male lead? Not a good person.
The male lead? Willingly plays the third party, breaking up the female and second male lead’s relationship despite all the warnings from his friends—so yeah, he’s definitely not a good person either.
Basically, nobody in this novel is simple-minded or without scheming.
The female lead starts off as the male lead’s secretary, but don’t worry—later on, she takes over the company while the male lead steps back to support her. He won’t steal her spotlight, overshadow her, or dull her shine.
I love novels where men are out here snatching wigs, tearing each other down, and going to war just to win the female lead’s affection. And this is exactly that kind of novel. Most of Hai Dai Ran’s works have this dynamic. You’ll see the male characters’ emotions being pushed to the absolute extreme.
There’s even a scene where the second male lead exposes the male lead online for being a homewrecker. The brotherhood immediately gangs up on him, dragging him through the mud. I find it compelling —it completely flips reality on its head, where usually, women are the ones fighting over a man and getting torn apart by the sisterhood.
For me, female leads in the novels I read should only struggle in their careers, not in love. But if the brainless romantics in the story are all men? I have zero complaints.
I’ve pretty much read all of Hai Dai Ran’s novels and even translated all of them—her works are just my thing. I’ll slowly upload everything here. One day, when my website is official, I hope I can invite her to join as one of the star authors.
Here’s the story synopsis:
One-line summary: She is his lifelong obsession, to the point where he was willing to be a third wheel, scorned by society, just to wedge his way into her relationship with her fiancé.
Cold-hearted and indifferent female lead + Scheming and subservient CEO male lead
Intro 1:
“I know she doesn’t love him.”
With blood trickling from his clenched fist, Rong Xiu gazed at the woman before him, his eyes clouded with anguish. Hidden in the wardrobe, he had witnessed Fan Xia – the woman he desperately loved – in an intimate embrace with her fiancé. Yet his heart still yearned for her, defying all reason.
Fan Xia, the elegant and composed assistant, carried something mysterious in her eyes whenever she looked at her fiancé, Wen Lan Sheng. Strange occurrences began to surface – secret meetings with the young Gu Jin Yi, an unexplained withdrawal of 5,000 yuan… Then suddenly, her fiancé’s sister, Wen Jing, violently attacked her.
In this matriarchal society, Rong Xiu had risen to become the chairman of a powerful healthcare conglomerate, breaking through gender prejudices. But for the first time, he willingly stepped into the shadows as the other man, disregarding his friends’ warnings to become her secret lover.
Because he had discovered the truth – Fan Xia wasn’t the pure angel everyone believed her to be. And perhaps, he was the only one capable of helping her execute her mysterious plan…
Intro 2:
Rong Xiu’s biggest regret in life was missing out on Fan Xia.
He secretly loved Fan Xia for 7 years.
Watched her go public with her boyfriend.
Watched her kiss her boyfriend at their wedding.
Until that man blissfully nestled in Fan Xia’s arms, obtaining everything he could only dream of.
The crazy jealousy stripped away his hidden secret love, layer by layer, burning like wildfire.
Fan Xia, how can I have you!
【Reading and Trigger Warning Guide】
1. Female dominant, male submissive, male pregnancy
2. Male lead schemes his way to the top, male competition
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
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Omg I love him so much. Thanks for helping our little one😭
Lol she is the best. Good job honey. You were amazing 😂🤧
Omg I am gonna cry. I hope he isn’t dead. Please come for your daughter