I Really Am A Villain

After the explosion subsided, the figures of the little monk Grand Emperor Hidden Sky and Wrathful Emperor vanished completely from the void, erased into nothingness. Only faint traces of the blood sea flickered across the air, leaving a residual shadow in the emptiness.

“They… they’re dead?” Inside the White Emperor’s Mausoleum, everyone gasped sharply, someone’s trembling voice breaking the silence.

“Just like that? Dead?”

In the next moment, the projection hovering in the void shattered, and the stone stele of the White Emperor’s Mausoleum sealed itself tightly once again.

Everyone’s death meant that the battleground had come to an end. No one had passed.

For a time, the entire mausoleum fell into utter silence. No one dared to mock Xu Zimo anymore; they merely stared at one another in shock and disbelief.

The Hell Sea roared and churned. Finally, waves surged skyward like blood-red dragons, splitting the heavens apart.

From within the blood sea, a man clad in crimson robes rose slowly, sitting cross-legged as he ascended into the void.

His long hair hung loosely over his shoulders. The sides were black, but the middle streak was stark white.

His face was firm and sharp, his eyes deep and unfathomable, his nose high and straight, and his lips faintly tinged with purple.

The instant he opened his eyes, the world seemed to turn upside down. The blood sea raged like a flood breaking its banks, its current piercing through the entire void.

“Abyssal Tyrant,” came the voice of Moon-Pluck Fairy from above him.

The blood-robed man raised his head to look at her. The boundless pressure from his gaze alone made the void compress violently, as if it were about to crush Moon-Pluck Fairy into dust.

“I’m just the messenger,” she said quickly, producing a token from her sleeve.

At the sight of the token, the suffocating pressure around her finally began to fade. She gasped for breath, beads of cold sweat dripping down her forehead.

It was as though she had just walked out of the gates of hell.

“Speak,” said the blood-robed man indifferently.

“They brought you back to life to kill someone,” Moon-Pluck Fairy said as she gestured with her right hand. Spirit energy gathered in the void, condensing into the image of a man.

If Xu Zimo had been there, he would have immediately recognized the face, it was his own portrait.

“And then?” the blood-robed man asked after glancing at the image.

“That’s all,” Moon-Pluck Fairy replied.

“That’s all?” The blood-robed man gave a low chuckle.

“You released me… just to kill one man?”

“Once he’s dead, you’ll be free,” Moon-Pluck Fairy answered.

“Is that your idea… or someone else’s?” the man asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Of course, it’s from those above,” she said, tossing the token toward him.

“Deal.” The blood-robed man caught the token lightly. The next instant, his figure disappeared into thin air.

The crowd emerged from the White Emperor’s Mausoleum.

That year’s expedition had ended in total annihilation, something that took everyone by surprise.

“Lord Xu, did you perhaps know something beforehand? Is that why you came out early?” asked Chu Feiyang, who, as the event’s overseer, spoke first.

“No, not at all. I was just afraid, being a cowardly turtle,” Xu Zimo said with a small smile.

The few who had mocked him earlier stiffened at his words, embarrassment flashing across their faces.

“This isn’t the time for squabbling,” the abbot of the Desolate Temple said coldly.

“With a creature like that appearing in the battleground, none of us can stay uninvolved.”

“Judging from what happened, even Grand Emperors were like ants before him. He must be a Saint Sovereign,” agreed the monk from Primal Monastery, nodding gravely.

“If we don’t deal with him, we might not even be able to set foot in White Emperor Mountain.”

“Patriarch Chu, your Chu Heavenly Clan has always been close to the White Emperor. Do you know what that thing was?”

Everyone began to speak at once, pressing for answers.

Chu Feiyang could only respond, “This matter is far too ancient. I’ll have to ask our ancestor.”

“Then we’ll stay in White Emperor City for a few days and wait for an answer,” several people said at once.

Following Chu Feiyang back into the city, he arranged lodging for everyone.

Once the others had left, Jiang Mozi approached Xu Zimo with a knowing smile.

“Lord Xu, if there was something you couldn’t say earlier, could you tell me now? I promise to keep it confidential.”

“There’s nothing I can’t say,” Xu Zimo replied.

“After the White Emperor left, White Emperor Mountain has in fact been controlled by someone, the remnant of the White Emperor himself, a fragment of his divine form.”

“We’ve suspected that for some time,” Jiang Mozi nodded.

“But we’ve never seen the one behind it.”

“The Abyssal Tyrant that appeared this time was released by that fragment,” Xu Zimo continued, shaking his head. “As for the reason, I don’t know. But his strength is terrifying, among Saint Sovereigns, he’s one of the strongest. You’d best stay out of it.”

“Thank you for the warning,” Jiang Mozi said with a nod.

Now that he knew, he could at least form an idea of the situation.

By the time they returned from the Mausoleum, night had already fallen.

Everyone knew that one must never go out at night in the Ghost God Heaven, so they all stayed quietly in their rooms.

Xu Zimo sat in silence, pondering the matter of the Abyssal Tyrant, but no matter how he turned it over in his mind, he couldn’t find a clear answer.

He had the unsettling feeling that an unseen hand was pulling the strings behind it all.

The night passed without incident.

When dawn broke and Xu Zimo stepped out of his room, he was met with noise and commotion outside.

“Ji Jiuning is dead,” came the message from Jiang Mozi.

Xu Zimo froze for a moment. Just the night before, Ji Jiuning had returned to White Emperor City safely with him, how could she have suddenly died overnight?

He wasn’t grieved, but he did find it strange.

When he arrived at the courtyard where Ji Jiuning had stayed, the area had already been sealed off.

Several major faction leaders were already gathered there.

There was no sign of Ji Jiuning’s body, only traces of blood on the ground.

“What happened? She was killed here, in the Chu Estate?” Xu Zimo asked as he stepped forward.

“No idea,” Chu Feiyang said with a grave expression.

“Could it be that she left her room during the night?”

“Leave her room? For what? She wouldn’t be foolish enough to violate the rules of this world,” the abbot of the Desolate Temple said coldly.

“If you ask me, someone’s hunting the Northern Hills Fox Clan, and doing it right under our noses.”

“There are no clues. We should inform the Northern Hills themselves and let them handle it,” someone suggested.

“I’ve already done so,” Chu Feiyang replied.

“Patriarch Chu, did you ask about yesterday’s events?” Wu Daozi inquired.

“I did. Even our ancestor doesn’t know what that creature is,” Chu Feiyang shook his head.

“May I ask which ancestor you consulted?” Wu Daozi pressed.

“What, do you doubt me?” Chu Feiyang retorted.

“Of course not. It’s just that the matter of the White Emperor is so ancient that few would know anything about it,” Wu Daozi said with a faint smile. “If it were the Mad Ancestor, none of us would question it.”

The “Mad Ancestor” he spoke of was naturally Chu Kuangren, the legendary madman who had once been close friends with the White Emperor.

“The Mad Ancestor is in seclusion. I couldn’t meet him,” Chu Feiyang said curtly.

“Let’s not quarrel,” someone nearby interjected to ease the tension with a laugh.

“In my opinion, we should reenter the White Emperor’s Mausoleum and see what that Abyssal Tyrant’s true goal is.”