I Really Am A Villain

“Defying the heavens and going against them are one and the same,” Xu Zimo said, shaking his head. “It’s just that sometimes, you’re too weak to reach the level where heaven even bothers to notice you.”

The white-robed man fell silent. His original intent had been to win Xu Zimo over, but the man’s talk of defying heaven was so audacious that he didn’t know how to respond.

“If you’re unwilling, then pretend I never said anything,” Xu Zimo waved his hand. “But as for the fate of your Eternal God-Clan, where do you think it’s heading?”

The white-robed man remained silent.

“By the way,” Xu Zimo said suddenly, “I want to ask you something.”

“What is it?” the man replied.

“The Eternal Emperor once told me that the Ghost-God Heaven is a prison, and everyone who enters it is branded with a mark. What does that mean?” Xu Zimo asked.

“Do you know how the Ghost-God Heaven got its name?” the white-robed man asked in return.

“It’s said that long ago, the Primal God Race and the Spectral Ghost Race fought a great war here, a battle so fierce that even the sun fell from the sky. Later, the gods and ghosts divided the world in half, hence the name,” Xu Zimo answered.

“That’s true, but not entirely,” the white-robed man shook his head. “To put it plainly, the Ghost-God Heaven is nothing more than the back garden of the Primal God and Spectral Ghost Races.”

“Their back garden?” Xu Zimo was taken aback. To treat one of the Nine Heavens as a mere garden was almost inconceivable.

“The Spectral Ghost Race needs souls of the dead, while the Primal God Race needs divine slaves. So the fate of everyone here boils down to two outcomes, either become a ghost’s soul or a god’s slave,” the white-robed man said.

“If someone wants to leave the Ghost-God Heaven, they must break through the decapitated path set up by both races. Fail, and you die there. Succeed, and you’ll bear their brand for life, hunted by gods and ghosts alike.” He sighed helplessly. “Even our Eternal God-Clan cannot escape this fate.”

“That’s strange,” Xu Zimo said. “I’ve been in the Ghost-God Heaven for so long, but I haven’t seen a single god or ghost.”

“That’s because of a great war in the Middle Ages,” the white-robed man explained. “The two races made a pact with that man, they could only remain within the Forbidden Lands and were forbidden from entering other regions.”

Having lived since the Middle Ages, he clearly knew much that others did not.

“Who was that man?” Xu Zimo asked.

“The one known as the End of Calamities,” the man replied. “Some say he was the savior of this world, though no one has ever truly understood his actions, not even I.”

“I’ve given you the chance,” Xu Zimo said calmly. “I’ll be staying in the Ghost-God Heaven for a while longer. If you change your mind, come find me in Sunflower City. As for the Lu Heavenly Clan, your Eternal God-Clan will stay out of their affairs from now on.”

He had no desire to continue the conversation. Seeing that the white-robed man remained silent, Xu Zimo turned and left the void world.

Only long after Xu Zimo’s departure did the white-robed man move. He stepped through the air and reappeared at the base of a vast mountain.

Viewed from the front, the mountain’s shape resembled a human face.

“God-Spirit of Azure Mountain,” the white-robed man called softly.

“Old ghost, what have you run into this time?” the mountain rumbled. Its eyes opened slowly, and its eyebrows were so long they nearly covered them.

The white-robed man briefly recounted his encounter with Xu Zimo.

“You’re thinking of joining him in defying the heavens?” the God-Spirit asked.

“The Eternal God-Clan has fallen too far. We can’t afford more wars,” the white-robed man sighed.

“You’re wrong,” the God-Spirit chuckled. “The Eternal God-Clan can withstand turmoil. So can those thirty billion clansmen of yours. As the saying goes, only through destruction can there be rebirth. Without breaking, how can you rebuild? At the peak of the Eternal God-Clan’s glory, it was your Eternal Progenitor who led them with unmatched might, conquering countless regions and worlds in the Absolute God Heaven. If there’s no special opportunity, returning there now is nearly impossible.”

“The ‘special opportunity’ you speak of, do you mean him?” the white-robed man asked.

“I never said that,” the God-Spirit of Azure Mountain replied mildly. “But you already know the answer.”

“I do,” the man admitted. “But defying heaven, it’s too far-fetched.”

“Then don’t think about it,” the God-Spirit said. “Perhaps he’ll die halfway, and there’ll be no such talk of defying heaven. But if he makes it to the end, then he’ll have earned the right to try.”

The white-robed man said nothing more. He stood there for a long time, lost in thought.

Leaving the Eternal God-Clan’s territory, Xu Zimo studied his map. The location wasn’t far from Royal City. Sunflower City lay within the Forbidden Lands of the Ghost-God Heaven.

According to what the white-robed man had said, it was the private garden of gods and ghosts alike, and Xu Zimo intended to see it for himself.

He headed north from Royal City toward the Forbidden Lands.

The area wasn’t large compared to other regions, but its position was unique, right at the junction of several major territories.

There were only two gates into the Forbidden Lands. One governed by the Spectral Ghost Race, the other by the Primal God Race.

The gate controlled by the ghosts was called the Nether Gate.

Because few dared venture there, rumors spread that one must first climb Dark Nether Mountain to reach the entrance of the Forbidden Lands.

Xu Zimo didn’t plan to return to the Lu Heavenly Clan. Having settled matters with the Eternal God-Clan, he’d repaid Lu Sheng’s favor, and their paths would no longer cross.

Summoning Chaos, he followed the map’s guidance and set off toward Dark Nether Mountain.

Meanwhile, some time after his departure, the ruins of Royal City were being rebuilt.

Then, from the distance, a tide of crimson demonic clouds rolled in, blotting out the sky.

People looked up in terror as a figure descended from the evil clouds, each step heavy with dreadful power.

It was the Abyssal Tyrant. His gaze swept coldly across the land.

With a grasp of his hand, several people were dragged helplessly before him from midair.

“Have you seen this man?” the Abyssal Tyrant asked.

A glowing image of Xu Zimo appeared in the void beside him.

The oppressive demonic aura made the captives tremble uncontrollably. One of them stammered, “We, we’ve seen him! A few days ago, he killed the Eternal Emperor!”

“Where did he go?” the Abyssal Tyrant asked again.

“We don’t, we don’t know!” they cried in fear.

Before they could finish, they were consumed by the demonic clouds, erased completely, without even bones left behind.

“Damn it… Late again,” the Abyssal Tyrant murmured, then smiled darkly. “No matter. It only makes the hunt more interesting. The rat can’t run forever.”

The power radiating from him was far greater than before. He had fully ascended into an Eternal Overlord.

The elders of old once said this.

Those who enter Dark Nether Mountain have opened the door to death, there is no road back.

And in time, what followed proved their words true.