I Really Am A Villain

The bound figure looked indifferently at Xu Zimo.

“How did you enter this hall?” he asked.

“Anywhere I wish to go, I go,” Xu Zimo replied.

“This place is ruled by my Primal Daos,” Lu Sheng said. “It’s not somewhere others can simply walk into. I see… it must be the avatar helping you.”

“That’s not important,” Xu Zimo said. “Legend says you were the first Saint Sovereign known to be slain by the White Emperor. But it seems you’re very much alive.”

“Living like this, is it any different from being dead?” Lu Sheng replied flatly. “Why have you come?”

“I stumbled upon this strange city and entered out of curiosity,” Xu Zimo said.

“Then can you help me leave?” Lu Sheng asked, but before Xu Zimo could answer, his eyes dimmed.

“No… never mind. My life and death souls have been severed. Even if I leave, what would it change?”

His body, bound by chains, swayed weakly. His long, tangled hair covered his face.

With a bitter chuckle, he recited.

In ancient days I roamed beyond the three realms;

Spirits and gods obeyed my command.

Now I rot within this prison of Primal Dao;

Ten thousand years, and none remember my name.

Truly, life is absurd, absurd indeed.

Xu Zimo walked slowly up to him. It was clear that the once-proud, unrestrained Saint Sovereign was gone.

What stood before him now was a broken, miserable remnant of that legend.

Saint Sovereign Lu Sheng raised his head and met Xu Zimo’s gaze.

“Do me a favor,” he said suddenly.

“What is it?”

“Kill me,” Lu Sheng said with unwavering resolve. “Let me die with dignity, worthy of my saintly title.”

“In the past, I fought the White Emperor here. He could have killed me outright, but because my greed ruined his grand plan, he instead destroyed my soul and imprisoned me here, to suffer eternally, unable to die.”

“To die like this, isn’t that shameful for a Saint Sovereign?” Xu Zimo asked.

“And what of all those trapped here? Are they not more pitiful still?” Lu Sheng countered.

“What is this city, really?” Xu Zimo asked. “When I entered, everyone seemed to have the power of a Saint Sovereign.”

“Are you sure those were people?” Lu Sheng asked suddenly.

Xu Zimo paused, realizing something.

“Don’t bother guessing,” Lu Sheng continued. “Those weren’t people, they were manifestations of my own Saint Sovereign Primal Dao.”

“My Primal Dao is the Primal Dao of Formlessness. Without heart, without form, it embraces all things. When I was slain, my hair became the bamboo-banana forest, my limbs were bound to suppress the Demonic Tower, my body sank into the Hell Sea, and my Primal Dao solidified into this Solitary City.”

“If you die, won’t these Primal Daos disappear? Wouldn’t that be a pity?” Xu Zimo asked.

“This is what you’re after, my Primal Dao,” Lu Sheng said with a faint smile. “But don’t even think about it. Without reaching the realm of the Saint Sovereign, even if I gave you my Primal Dao, what use would it be?”

“How would you know if I didn’t try?” Xu Zimo countered. “If we only do what everyone else can, then what’s the point? Only by doing what others cannot can we achieve what others never will.”

Lu Sheng gave a small laugh. “You make a fair point. But why should I give it to you?”

“Because if I carry your Primal Dao forward,” Xu Zimo said, “and reach the peak of this world, your name will not be forgotten.” He added, “If you have any last wish, tell me. I’ll see it done.”

He knew he might be pushing too far, but it was all he could offer.

A Saint Sovereign’s Primal Dao was beyond anything he had ever touched before, and he couldn’t deny his desire for it.

Lu Sheng fell silent for a long time before finally speaking again.

“I have only one wish,” he said quietly.

Xu Zimo’s eyes lit up.

A wish is good. What I fear most are those who desire nothing.

“Tell me.”

“I was born into the Lu Heavenly Clan of the Demi-Ghost Region,” Lu Sheng began. “Long ago, I severed ties with them. After becoming a Saint Sovereign, I never returned.

“Later, I learned that back when I was pursuing the Dao to become a Grand Emperor, my family offended a powerful enemy. Fearing they would delay my ascension, they cut me off. For all these years, I’ve wanted to go back, but fate never allowed it. Now it’s impossible. Go to the Lu Heavenly Clan for me. If they need help, help them. That is my only wish.”

“Alright, I promise,” Xu Zimo said with a nod.

“I can assist you,” Lu Sheng said. “But remember this, my Primal Dao belongs to the realm of the Saint Sovereigns. If you cannot wield it, that’s your own burden to bear.”

Xu Zimo nodded slightly, then raised Shadow Tyrant, aiming to cut through the chains binding Lu Sheng.

Just then, the air beside them began to ripple.

The robed scholar and the child Xu Zimo had seen back at the White Emperor’s Mausoleum appeared nearby.

“So you finally decided to show yourselves,” Lu Sheng said mockingly. “I thought you’d hide forever.”

“We didn’t come for you,” the scholar replied calmly.

He turned to Xu Zimo. “Young master, we meet again.”

“Not exactly a meeting I wanted,” Xu Zimo said flatly.

“I understand,” the scholar said with a faint smile. “You wish to save him. But those imprisoned by the White Emperor cannot be released so easily.”

“You think you can stop me?” Xu Zimo asked, his eyes narrowing.

“I have no desire to be your enemy. Otherwise, you’d never have made it this far,” the scholar said lightly. “But the White Emperor has his rules. Things must be done accordingly.”

“Then what’s the rule for saving him?” Xu Zimo asked. “Don’t tell me it’s about inheriting someone’s will again.”

“If you don’t wish to do that, there’s another way,” the scholar said.

“What way?”

“Kill everyone in this place. Become the sole survivor of this final battleground, and you’ll be granted one wish. With that wish, you can save him, and I won’t interfere.”

Xu Zimo looked at the scholar, then at Lu Sheng, and smiled.

“That was my goal from the beginning,” he said. “And my companion outside?”

“She’s fine,” the scholar replied.

“Then I’ll wait here for your result,” he said.

“Be careful of the Demonic Tower and the Hell Sea,” Lu Sheng said gravely.

Xu Zimo nodded. If Lu Sheng went so far as to warn him, those two places were surely extraordinary.

After Xu Zimo left the hall, Lu Sheng turned to the scholar.

“What is your true purpose?” he asked coldly.

“Just providing nourishment for the White Emperor,” the scholar said with a calm smile. “Don’t worry. They seek inheritance, we seek sustenance. It’s a fair exchange.”