I Really Am A Villain

New Novel🪶

Rather than calling it a particle world, it would be more accurate to say that this place existed beneath a vast sea of molten lava. Endless magma stretched as far as the eye could see, like an ocean of fire, and the Chaos Fire God Realm had been built within it.

Strangely, despite being surrounded by molten rock, no one seemed affected by the heat. Even Zhang Hengzhi, a human, could stand there comfortably, only feeling a faint stuffiness, not true scorching heat.

“For the Fire God Race, this is indeed an exceptional place to live,” Xu Zimo remarked.

“It’s nice, but still a bit inferior to our Divine Crow God Realm,” Shangguan Xian said with a slight smirk.

“That’s not quite right,” Zhang Hengzhi replied, chuckling. “I’ve been to the Divine Crow God Realm. Sure, it’s built within the body of the Divine Crow itself, but since the Divine Crow’s death, your flames have grown weaker and weaker. Sooner or later, you’ll be surpassed by the Chaos Fire God Realm. These volcanoes here will never go out.”

“So what?” Shangguan Xian countered playfully. “For now, we’re still stronger.”

Her tone held pride, she clearly felt a strong sense of belonging to the Divine Crow God Realm. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been trying so hard to recruit Xu Zimo.

“Young Master Xu, my offer still stands,” she said teasingly. “You can join the Divine Crow God Realm anytime you wish.”

“Let’s first take a look at how the competition’s shaping up,” Xu Zimo replied, turning his gaze across the vast expanse of the Chaos Fire God Realm.

The world was immense, filled with strange and wondrous flame-born trees, grand towers that floated in the air, and countless powerful fire-type beasts roaming freely.

Beneath the molten surface lay towering halls and temples. The entire realm glowed crimson, its architecture varied and untamed, built according to the will and temperament of its inhabitants.

This was the Chaos Fire God Realm, a place remarkably tolerant of all races.

As they walked down the main streets, Xu Zimo noticed members of many different races mingling freely.

In other cities, the Fire God Race tended to look down on outsiders. Not out of personal malice, but because within the Inferno Crucible Heaven, the Fire God Race carried an innate sense of superiority.

Still, Xu Zimo thought to himself, If they ever left this heaven, humans would teach them humility soon enough.

In the Nine Heavens, humanity was the most numerous, and not lacking in power either.

…

“The Myriad Flames Tower has posted the rankings! Let’s go check them out!”

“The Tower’s lists are rarely wrong! Once we see the ranking, we’ll know how to place our bets!”

Crowds surged forward, all heading in the same direction.

Xu Zimo and Zhang Hengzhi didn’t quite understand what was happening, so Shangguan Xian explained with a grin, “The Myriad Flames Tower is an intelligence organization. Practically anything that happens in the Chaos Fire God Realm, they know about. Even the Chaos Fire God Realm relies on them for information sometimes. Whenever a major competition is about to take place, the Tower gathers intelligence and releases a ranking list, predicting who’s most likely to win.”

She smiled again. “Whenever those big events happen, the gambling houses go wild. Everyone checks the rankings before placing their bets, it gives them confidence.”

“Now that sounds interesting,” Xu Zimo said with a chuckle. “Let’s go have a look.”

“Agreed,” Zhang Hengzhi nodded. “Let’s see what kind of geniuses this Chaos Fire God Realm has. Maybe we’ll even see your name on it, Miss Shangguan, or yours, Young Master Xu.”

“What about Lin Huohuo and your disciples?” Xu Zimo asked.

“They went to find an inn,” Zhang Hengzhi replied. “We’ll meet them there tonight.”

Xu Zimo nodded.

…

The Myriad Flames Tower stood in the very center of the main street, prime location, and massive in scale. Its insignia depicted several spiritual flames converging into one emblem of fire.

Before the grand entrance hung a massive crimson scroll, the Myriad Flames Ranking.

The Tower itself had thirteen floors, and the scroll hung from the third floor all the way down to the ground. It listed a full hundred names.

By the time Xu Zimo and the others arrived, a huge crowd had already gathered.

At the very top of the scroll, three golden characters blazed brightly.

Myriad Flames Ranking.

Below them, the names followed.

1st place: Xiao Anshan

2nd place: Spectral Prince

3rd place: Army Breaker

…

The list was long. Xu Zimo scanned down until he saw Shangguan Xian’s name, ranked twelfth.

Given her background and strength, that surprised him. Even Zhang Hengzhi was puzzled.

But Shangguan Xian only smiled. “The Chaos Fire God Realm is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Honestly, this ranking is higher than I expected.”

“This first-place, Xiao Anshan, who is he?” Zhang Hengzhi asked, frowning. He had never heard the name before.

He knew the Chaos Fire God Realm fairly well and recognized most of the other names. But this Xiao Anshan, he had no memory of him at all.

“Do you remember what happened a hundred years ago in your Chaos Fire God Realm?” Shangguan Xian reminded him.

“What do you mean?”

“There was a child born that year,” she said softly. “When he came into the world, the heavens trembled, and a sun descended from the sky, fusing into the child’s brow.”

As soon as she spoke, Zhang Hengzhi’s eyes widened in recognition.

That event hadn’t only shaken the Chaos Fire God Realm, it had caused an uproar across the entire Inferno Crucible Heaven.

But the sensation had faded as quickly as it came. Within days, no one spoke of it anymore. The child disappeared from public view.

“Could it be…?” Zhang Hengzhi began.

“Yes,” Shangguan Xian confirmed. “That child’s name was Xiao Anshan. He was taken in by the Chaos Fire God Realm and raised here. They’ve been cultivating him ever since. His strength now is formidable, very likely already at the Grand Emperor Realm’s God-Unity Stage.”

“Then we have no chance,” Zhang Hengzhi sighed. “That sun must be some kind of special physique, right?”

“Exactly,” Shangguan Xian replied. “You’ve heard of the old Chaos Fire Progenitor, haven’t you? He possessed one of the Ten God-King Physiques, the Primal-Chaos God-King Physique. But the Fire God Race, being obsessed with flames, refined that physique even further into what’s now known as the Primordial Flame God-King Physique. If I’m not mistaken,” she continued, “Xiao Anshan was born with that very physique, the Primordial Flame God-King Physique.”

As they finished discussing, Xu Zimo suddenly smiled. “So, are you two going to place any bets?”

“Bet on Xiao Anshan?” Zhang Hengzhi asked. “His odds are too low. Even if he wins, there’s no real profit.”

“Bet on me,” Xu Zimo said, still smiling.

Zhang Hengzhi froze for a moment. He knew Xu Zimo was strong, astonishingly so, and he had great faith in his future. But this confidence, so casually stated, still caught him off guard.

“I believe in Young Master Xu,” Shangguan Xian said with a grin. “Then I’ll bet on you too.”

To her, the wager itself didn’t matter. But earning Xu Zimo’s goodwill, that was worth far more than gold.