Chapter 45: The Protagonist?

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: The Protagonist?

Unbeknownst to the four of them, someone else had been watching the entire exchange from a distance.

Lin Fan’s expression was unusually ugly, his gaze fixed on the two strangers who had just stolen what should have been his moment.

Damn it!

He was supposed to be the one who saved the two sisters.

According to the novel, when the spirit beast suddenly went berserk, it should have been Lin Fan who stepped forward at the crucial moment, subdued the beast, and became the hero who rescued the two beautiful sisters.

That single moment would have allowed him to leave a deep impression on Luo Qingya and Luo Qingxue. Their gratitude would eventually become the starting point of their relationship with him.

But now, everything had gone wrong.

Instead of him, some unknown person had suddenly appeared and taken the opportunity right in front of him.

Where did this John Doe even come from?

Lin Fan’s fingers slowly curled into fists.

There had never been anything like this in the novel.

This scene was supposed to belong to him.

For the first time since his transmigration, Lin Fan felt a faint sense of unease.

Yes, Lin Fan was a transmigrator and he even had the golden finger of the system with him

"System, how could something like this happen? Didn’t you tell me that nothing would go wrong?"

Five years ago, he had transmigrated into the world of The Path of Defying the Heavens, a novel he had once read in his previous life. More importantly, he had transmigrated directly into the body of the novel’s protagonist, Lin Fan.

The novel goes on like this

The original Lin Fan had come from the slums. His mother had passed away when he was only ten years old, leaving him to grow up alone. Later, his true identity would be revealed—he was actually the long-lost grandson of the Wenjian Sect’s Sect Master.

Before his identity was revealed, however, Lin Fan had been nothing particularly special. His appearance was ordinary, his innate talent was mediocre, and compared to the other talented disciples in the sect, he was practically at the bottom.

What he lacked in talent, however, he made up for with hard work and perseverance. His honest and hardworking nature gradually earned him the goodwill of those around him and was able to climb more steadily.

Unfortunately, his childhood friend, Yizhou, was a completely different story.

After entering the Wenjian Sect, Yizhou’s extraordinary innate talent quickly became apparent. As his cultivation continued to advance, he began looking down on Lin Fan at every turn, making Lin Fan’s life in the sect even more difficult.

To make matters worse, the token his mother had left behind—the very thing that could prove his identity—had also fallen into Yizhou’s hands. Without the token, Lin Fan had no way of proving that he was the missing grandson of the Wenjian Sect.

Fortunately, Yizhou’s true identity would eventually be exposed.

He was revealed to be a demon and was subsequently captured, allowing Lin Fan to finally retrieve the identity token his mother had left behind and reclaim his rightful place.

From that point onward, the protagonist finally ended his hardship in the beginning and the story became the typical feel-good protagonist journey.

With his identity revealed and his fortunes constantly improving, Lin Fan’s cultivation soared, opportunities came knocking one after another, and beautiful women from all over the world began falling into his arms.

By the end of the novel, he had gathered three thousand beauties, married them all, and lived a blissful and debauched life surrounded by countless wives.

A perfect protagonist’s life.

And now, that protagonist has become him.

Lin Fan, the transmigrator, had been a reader of this very novel in his previous life. After getting into an accident, he unexpectedly transmigrated into the body of the protagonist six years ago, shortly after the original Lin Fan had entered the Wenjian Sect alongside his childhood friend, Yizhou.

Back when Lin Fan had first awakened in this world, he had been completely confused.

He had suddenly found himself in the body of the protagonist of a novel he had once read, surrounded by unfamiliar people and thrown into a world of cultivation. At first, he had even wondered if he was dreaming.

Fortunately, the system had appeared just in time.

[Greetings, Host. I am the Protagonist System.]

[Do you want to become the true protagonist of this world?]

Lin Fan had naturally chosen yes.

After all, what transmigrator would refuse such an opportunity?

The system then explained its purpose to him.

[The Protagonist System exists to assist the Host in obtaining opportunities, increasing cultivation, gathering resources, and establishing relationships with important characters.]

From that moment onward, Lin Fan had begun following the missions given to him by the system.

At first, everything had gone exactly according to the novel.

Just like in the original story, Yizhou’s attitude toward him changed shortly after they entered the sect. The once-close childhood friend suddenly became distant, ignoring him whenever possible and looking at him with undisguised disdain.

Lin Fan had immediately recognized the familiar plot.

He couldn’t help gritting his teeth whenever he thought about it.

That damn demon bastard. Just wait until the time comes. Once I rise to the top, I’ll make you kneel before me.

However, he knew better than to provoke Yizhou prematurely, and the System itself said that Lin Fan should lie low for the meantime. Anyway, he already knew how the story would develop, and as long as he followed the plot, there would eventually be plenty of opportunities to deal with him.

For now, he had a much more important objective.

The beautiful women.

After all, this was a typical harem novel. The protagonist’s journey was practically built around meeting beautiful women, obtaining opportunities, winning their affection, and eventually bringing them into his harem.

The system had also issued many missions related to this.

[Ding! Capture Target Detected.]

[Target: Important Female Character Luo Qingya ]

[Target: Important Female Character Luo Qingxue ]

[Objective: Increase the target’s favorability and successfully capture her heart.]

[Reward: Protagonist Fate Points, cultivation increase, and additional opportunities.]

These missions had appeared several times throughout the past few years. Some targets were women he had already known from the original novel, while others were characters he had barely remembered. As long as he could raise their favorability to a certain level, the system would provide corresponding rewards.

For Lin Fan, this was naturally something he was more than willing to do.

After all, these women were not only beautiful, many of them were also destined to possess extraordinary opportunities in the future. Winning their affection meant gaining both beauties and resources.

It was practically killing two birds with one stone.

He had already memorized the important plot points and knew exactly when and where many of the future beauties would appear.

For the past few years, Lin Fan had followed the original plot almost perfectly.

He had relied on his memories of the novel to seize opportunities, avoid unnecessary trouble, and position himself exactly where he needed to be.

Even his arrival in the Northern Continent had been part of the original story. He had come to Xuánshuāng City to participate in the murder case that would eventually become one of the important arcs of his journey.

There was only one strange thing.

This arc had appeared far earlier than it should have.

According to the novel, the Xuánshuāng City incident should not have happened until a few years later. Yet for some reason, it had been brought forward.

At first, Lin Fan found this strange, but he quickly put the matter aside.

It didn’t really matter.

He already knew how this arc would develop. He knew who the culprit was, knew the important events that would happen along the way, and knew where the opportunities were hidden.

Even if the timing had changed, as long as the major plot points remained the same, he could still use his knowledge of the novel to stay one step ahead.

He simply needed to wait for his opportunities to appear.

However, for the first time since his transmigration, something happened that absolutely should not have happened.

According to the original story, when the spirit beast suddenly went berserk, it should have been Lin Fan who stepped forward and subdued it. He would have saved the two Luo sisters in the process, displaying his strength in front of them and leaving a deep impression on the two jade beauties.

That encounter was supposed to be one of his first major opportunities to gain the sisters’ favor.

Luo Qingya and Luo Qingxue were among the earliest women to enter the protagonist’s harem. Their initial gratitude toward him would eventually develop into something deeper, and later in the story, the relationship between the three would even progress to the point where they became his dual cultivation partners.

He had already imagined all the R-Rated scenes he could do and could not wait.

Everything had been arranged perfectly.

Except someone had just stolen his part.

Lin Fan stared at the scene in front of him, his expression becoming increasingly ugly.

That person wasn’t supposed to be here and neither was the other one.

These two people had appeared out of nowhere and taken the opportunity that should have belonged to him.

For the first time, Lin Fan felt a genuine sense of unease.

Could it be that the plot was beginning to change?

But after thinking about it for a moment, he quickly calmed himself down.

It was probably just a coincidence

So what if one opportunity had been taken?

He still knew the entire plot of this arc. He knew who the culprit was and what would happen next. There would be plenty of other opportunities for him to distinguish himself and win the Luo sisters’ favor.

He just needed to find another one.

As for those two people who had interfered with his opportunity...

Lin Fan’s eyes narrowed as he silently memorized their appearances.

He might not be able to do anything to them now, but he would remember their faces.

Once he became powerful enough in the future, he would make sure to properly repay today’s grievance.

After all, how could the future protagonist possibly forget someone who had stolen his opportunity?