I Really Am A Villain

Nocturne waved his right hand, and the people around him immediately surrounded Jiang Mozhi and the students.

Each of them glared fiercely, their killing intent thick in the air.

“Nocturne, what are you trying to do?” Jiang Mozhi demanded. “Don’t tell me you’ve lost your temper and now want to abuse your authority. The great Ghost God Collegium, supreme among academies, has such a petty stomach?”

“I’m not that small-minded,” Nocturne said evenly. “But I now suspect that you’ve colluded with the Evil Spirit. So, you must cooperate with our investigation. Until the matter is fully cleared, you and your people are not going anywhere.”

After speaking, Nocturne turned to Xu Zimo. “Young Master Xu, this is an internal affair of the Ghost God Collegium. It has nothing to do with you. If you wish to leave, the north gate is open at all times. You’re free to go.”

Xu Zimo smiled faintly. Nocturne’s reasoning was clever, reasonable enough that he couldn’t be faulted by others.

“But what if I insist on getting involved?” Xu Zimo replied.

He glanced at Jiang Mozhi, who, along with the other students, looked at him pleadingly.

“If they truly have ties to the Evil Spirit, I wouldn’t interfere in your academy’s business,” Xu Zimo said calmly. “But this? This is clearly just meant to disgust me. You’re trying to rattle the tiger by striking the mountain, aren’t you?”

“Interpret it however you like,” Nocturne said coolly. “It’s still an internal matter.”

“If that’s how you want it, then I’ll make your ‘internal matter’ mine,” Xu Zimo shot back.

“Nocturne, why waste words with him?” one of the Four Symbols Elders said coldly. “Just take them down.”

Nocturne hesitated, weighing the risks, unsure if he could truly match Xu Zimo’s strength.

“What’s the hesitation for?” another elder snapped. “If you won’t move, I will. As an elder of the Disciplinary Hall, do you lack even this much courage?”

“Enough,” Nocturne cut him off, his tone sharp. “Form the array.”

The four Four Symbols Elders rose into the air, positioning themselves around Xu Zimo and his group.

“You killed many of my Black Tortoise lineage’s disciples,” said the elder of the Black Tortoise Branch coldly. “Today, you’ll pay with your life.”

“With just you four?” Xu Zimo chuckled.

The Black Tortoise Elder didn’t answer. He simply reached into his robe and took out an item, a shrunken tortoise shell.

He tossed it upward, and it instantly expanded a thousandfold, covering a quarter of the sky. Mysterious runes flared across its surface, radiating ancient power.

Next, the Azure Dragon Elder produced a dragon scale. The scale shimmered, transforming into a vast dragon that coiled across the sky, its roar echoing as its might swept over the field.

The White Tiger Elder held a tiger’s eye, the third eye of a white tiger. The eye burst with dazzling light, and a colossal tiger manifested, its aura ferocious enough to crush the heavens.

The Vermilion Bird Elder held a crimson feather, vivid and lifelike, flickering with flames. When he cast it skyward, it transformed into a blazing Vermilion Bird. Its cry pierced the air, and fire swept across half the heavens, turning the sky deep red.

The four stood at the four cardinal points, surrounded by their respective divine beasts. Their combined aura shook the heavens, dragon and tiger clashing, bird and tortoise resonating.

As the Four Symbols took form, four immense waves of power surged skyward, and a luminous barrier descended from above, sealing the battlefield.

“Young Master Xu, it’s not too late to regret your decision,” Nocturne said as he floated into the air.

“You insects aren’t worth regretting,” Xu Zimo replied coldly.

“Since you refuse our courtesy, we’ll stop holding back,” Nocturne said, extending his hand. The Diagram of Mountains and Rivers appeared in his palm.

“What now? You’re using a formation meant to suppress the Evil Spirit against me?” Xu Zimo sneered.

“You’re no different from him,” Nocturne retorted.

The Diagram of Mountains and Rivers expanded, sealing off the heavens above. Vast landscapes surged within it, the weight of mountains and the flow of rivers descending like a divine judgment.

The Four Symbols roared in unison, shaking the sky into chaos.

“Seal of Mountain and River!” Nocturne shouted, thrusting his right palm downward.

A massive seal of earth and sky fell toward Xu Zimo and the others.

“Protect them,” Xu Zimo said to Xie Changliu.

Then he looked up at the heavens, drew Shadow Tyrant, and slashed. The blade shattered the seal instantly.

He stepped into the air, his saber intent surging like a storm, slamming against the shimmering barrier above.

Thunderous booms echoed as the sealed light trembled violently.

“Four Symbols Suppression!” the four elders roared, channeling endless power into the barrier to stabilize it.

Xu Zimo laughed coldly. “Ten Forms of Demon. Fifth Form: Mortal Demon.”

‘The silence of all things.’

As his words fell, his Hell-Suppressing Demon Physique ignited, boundless infernal energy burst from within him, flooding the sky.

The power coursed through every vein, every organ, every spark of life in his being.

“The silence of all things!” he roared, gripping Shadow Tyrant tightly. His eyes burned with demonic light.

Each swing of his saber struck the barrier with cataclysmic force, growing stronger with every strike.

With every blow, the power multiplied tenfold, until even the heavens seemed to quake.

“Hold the line!” Nocturne shouted, his eyes narrowing.

The four elders gritted their teeth, pouring every drop of power they had into the barrier.

But Xu Zimo’s strikes only grew faster, his aura more terrifying.

After dozens of blows, a final strike cleaved through everything.

The blade, carrying a torrent of demonic energy, shattered the barrier in one thunderous explosion.

Dark energy erupted into the sky, filling the entire void like a storm.

Xu Zimo stepped into the air, his presence towering as the Four Symbols’ cries faded, the divine beasts falling one by one.

He pointed his blade at Nocturne.

“The Diagram of Mountains and Rivers! Protect me!” Nocturne shouted in panic.

Xu Zimo snorted coldly and pulled out the Codex of Life and Death.

It flared with black-and-white light, flying toward the Diagram of Mountains and Rivers.

The two artifacts, each with its own spirit, clashed in midair, their wills battling violently.

Xu Zimo advanced step by step, Shadow Tyrant dragging a trail of killing intent behind him.

“Primal Chaos Palm!” Nocturne roared, his hands glowing with swirling energy as he struck forward.

But Xu Zimo’s blade flashed past.

The palm wind disintegrated. Blood splattered through the air. Deep gashes opened across Nocturne’s palms.

“Tell me,” Xu Zimo said coldly, “how do you want to die?”

Nocturne met his gaze for a brief moment, then turned and bolted toward the inner grounds of the Ghost God Collegium.

Xu Zimo sneered. “You think you can run?”

He swung Shadow Tyrant once more. The saber light tore through space at lightning speed, faster than Nocturne could flee.

A flash of light.

A scream.

Then silence.