I Really Am A Villain

At that moment, from the dissipating thunderclouds, a bolt of lightning shot forth with blinding speed.

“Found you,” the Eternal Emperor said coldly with a snort.

He lifted the Eternal Sword once more.

“Sword Technique, Third Form, Heaven-Shift Breath!”

It was as though a breath of heaven and earth gathered in his chest. The Emperor drew in deeply, then exhaled with focused intent. That energy flowed down his arm, infusing the Eternal Sword with immense force.

When the breath moved, even the heavens trembled.

“Kill!” the Eternal Emperor commanded.

The sound was like countless airbursts erupting at once. His sword cleaved through the sky, parting the clouds and slicing heaven and earth apart in a single arc.

Clouds rolled and light scattered. The very breath of heaven and earth stirred the firmament, growing ever stronger, ever more violent.

As the saying went, let him be as strong as he will; even if heaven and earth turn upside down, I shall stand unmoved, steadfast as the pine upon the mountain.

The power of this strike was overwhelming. As it descended, it gave the illusion that the heavens themselves were moving with the sword.

A thunderous explosion split the air when the sword collided with the lightning.

But in the next instant, the thunderbolt was obliterated effortlessly. The Eternal Emperor’s face changed.

“No… it’s a trap!”

He turned abruptly, but too late. A low chuckle sounded behind him, followed by a surge of terrifying blade intent.

“So much effort,” Xu Zimo’s voice came lightly, “just to deal with a cloud of lightning? That’s overkill.”

No one knew when he had appeared behind the Emperor. His blade, Shadow Tyrant, pierced straight through the man’s chest, impaling heart and body alike.

The Eternal Emperor stiffened, turning his head with difficulty to face Xu Zimo.

“For one such as you,” he said hoarsely, “why bother coming to Ghost-God Heaven?”

“What do you mean?” Xu Zimo asked, frowning slightly. Strength was strength, what did it matter where one went?

“This place is a prison,” the Emperor replied weakly. “Everyone here bears a mark, yourself included.”

“I don’t understand,” Xu Zimo said, shaking his head.

“You will… in time,” the Emperor murmured.

As his voice fell, a surge of sword intent erupted from within his body. It was still eternal in nature, but this time, it was utterly different from before.

The previous sword aura had been an art, the embodiment of a Dao.

But this, this was no art, no Primal Dao. It was something higher. A power that truly transcended death.

Xu Zimo watched closely as countless cracks spread across the Eternal Emperor’s body. From within, radiant light began to shine.

He understood. This was the Eternal-Sword God-King Physique, one of the Ten Divine Physiques, and the only one born of the sword itself.

Xu Zimo took a step back. The sword aura thickened until it filled the entire sky.

“Do you know,” the Eternal Emperor said softly, a trace of sorrow in his tone, “why the Eternal God-Clan, one of the Ten God Races, ended up trapped in this filthy, backwater Ghost God Heaven?”

“Why?” Xu Zimo asked.

“We were cast out,” the Eternal Emperor answered coldly, his eyes burning. “But… even fallen, the Eternal God-Clan is not to be humiliated!”

He raised his head toward the heavens, adopting a reverent stance, and said in a voice filled with conviction.

“Finger toward the stars, the Eternal grants the Azure Mountain.”

Behind him, his True Fate emerged. The meridian gates within his body burst open one after another, releasing the full weight of imperial might.

His True Fate took the form of a withered mountain, barren and scorched, stripped of all life, yet unyielding and towering still.

That was the Azure Mountain.

Xu Zimo stood calmly, watching him without expression.

“Suppress!” the Emperor shouted.

The Azure Mountain rose into the sky, descending upon Xu Zimo with the weight of heaven itself.

An invisible pressure crashed down, so strong it froze not just space, but time itself.

This was not merely the power of time and space, it was Heaven’s own power.

The Azure Mountain drew upon the will of the heavens, suppressing all before it. To resist was to stand against the universe itself.

Once the mountain fell, Xu Zimo’s body, his meridians, even the flow of his inner energy, all were sealed.

His power ceased to move; his strength was completely stilled.

The Eternal Emperor floated in the air. The Eternal Sword had vanished from his hand, for he himself was the sword, his entire being now forged into a blade of pure essence, indestructible and gleaming with eternal sharpness.

“Forever eternal, sword intent divine. The wounds caused by my Eternal-Sword God-King Physique will never heal,” he declared.

As his words faded, his form transformed fully into a beam of sword light, streaking across the void. In the next heartbeat, he appeared before Xu Zimo, aiming straight for his throat.

But as the sword light descended, Xu Zimo’s body erupted with a storm of demonic energy.

The Hell-Suppressing Demon Physique awakened. Dark, devouring energy engulfed the sword light completely.

“You think,” Xu Zimo said, “you’re the only one with a special physique?”

A pillar of black demonic light shot upward, striking the Azure Mountain. The mountain trembled as it responded, pressing down harder with divine might.

“The heavens might suppress me,” Xu Zimo sneered, “but you? You’re just a mountain. What right do you have to call yourself heaven?”

Billions of Power Vortexes within him spun violently, shattering the oppressive force. His sealed meridians burst open once more, and his strength roared back like a storm.

With a thunderous shout, his might tore through the heavens. A colossal phantom, like a giant shaking the sky, rose and flipped the Azure Mountain over with sheer force.

Dark energy surged through Xu Zimo’s hand as he seized the sword light itself.

“As this light fades,” he said quietly, “you’ll fade with it.”

Under the might of the Demon Physique, the sword light shattered, scattering like fragments of a dying star, strangely beautiful even in destruction.

The demonic energy devoured the fragments, biting deep into the Eternal Emperor’s soul. He struggled, thrashing within the maelstrom, but the dark power consumed him completely.

Outside, the demonic clouds thickened, swirling until, after a moment, they fell silent. The Emperor’s presence vanished.

Xu Zimo raised his hand. A faint sword mark had appeared on his wrist.

He stared at it in silence. The Eternal-Sword God-King Physique was indeed formidable, to have wounded him even after being utterly crushed.

Still, he had a feeling that his Hell-Suppressing Demon Physique was beyond comparison, perhaps even beyond what could be described as a mere “physique.”

The wound refused to heal, just as the Emperor had said, leaving a faint scar that would not fade.

Deactivating the Demon Physique, Xu Zimo looked around at the ravaged ruins of Royal City.

He had no interest in pursuing the Wang Heavenly Clan; they were too weak to matter.

Killing the Eternal Emperor was more than enough to repay the Lu Heavenly Clan’s troubles.

As he turned, Lu Nanyi approached, step by step.

“Many thanks to Young Master Xu for rescuing the Lu Heavenly Clan from disaster,” she said, bowing deeply.

“Disaster?” Xu Zimo frowned slightly.

“The Eternal Emperor is dead,” Lu Nanyi replied gravely. “The Eternal God-Clan will not let this rest. Our Lu Heavenly Clan, and you, Young Master, will surely be their next targets.”