I Really Am A Villain

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“Tied for first?” Xu Zimo shook his head and laughed softly. “They really have blind faith in this Xiao Anshan.”

“To be ranked alongside him by the Myriad Flame Tower is already an enormous honor,” Bian Wenzhou said with a smile. “You don’t know how much confidence they have in Xiao Anshan. He grew up right here in the Chaos Fire God Realm. He has several masters, besides the Fire Ancestor himself, even the Tower Lord of the Myriad Flame Tower is said to be his teacher.”

He chuckled. “How could the Tower Lord’s disciple ever be seen as inferior to anyone?”

“If that’s the case, then the Myriad Flame Tower’s rankings mean nothing,” Xu Zimo said, shaking his head.

“They’re just a reference anyway,” Shangguan Xian said with a grin. “Even the Tower itself wouldn’t dare claim its list is perfectly accurate. But pride won’t matter in the end. When the real battle comes, I believe you’ll crush every ounce of their arrogance.”

Xu Zimo waved a hand dismissively. He didn’t care much for empty titles or fame. But since he had promised Bian Wenzhou, he would see it through.

He began to think ahead. Once he secured a place in the Chaos Fire God Realm’s delegation, what would his next destination be? He was considering traveling to the Departure Fire God Realm, which, rumor said, was now ruled by Water Beasts. He wanted to search for the new Blue Men, and perhaps discover clues to the inheritance of the Ancient Water God Gongtu.

That was the current plan, though he knew plans could change at any time.

During dinner, Xu Zimo suddenly remembered something. He turned to Bian Wenzhou and asked, “Did you handle those black-clad men from this morning?”

“Mostly,” Bian replied. “A few slipped away, but they won’t be a real threat.”

“No news from Blade Tyrant yet?” Xu Zimo asked.

“We did find some traces before,” Bian said after a moment of thought. “But they disappeared almost immediately. I have my suspicions, though I have no proof, and I’d rather not be right.”

“Let’s hear it,” Xu Zimo said.

“I suspect the Chaos Fire God Realm is protecting Blade Tyrant,” Bian said seriously.

“Why do you think that?” Shangguan Xian asked, frowning.

If the Chaos Fire God Realm truly had ties to Blade Tyrant, they would’ve sought revenge for him already, but there had been no movement so far.

“They want to test your strength, Young Master Xu,” Bian explained. “Because they can’t see through you. Someone they can’t control is a problem for them. That’s why, even when the referee cheated and placed you against Spectral Prince, no one stopped it.”

“They wanted to use Spectral Prince to see how much of your power you’d reveal,” Liu Huohuo said, suddenly understanding.

“Exactly,” Bian nodded. “And deep down, they’re all hoping Xiao Anshan wins. Otherwise, given how important this competition is, if anyone had really manipulated the matchups, the Fire Domain would’ve erupted in fury already.”

Xu Zimo laughed. “Forget Spectral Prince. Let your Fire Ancestor himself come at me, I’d like to see what he can really do.”

“Careful, Young Master Xu,” Liu Huohuo said nervously. “You can’t say things like that here. If the wrong person overhears, we’ll all be in trouble.”

She glanced around cautiously, and when she saw no one paying attention, she finally relaxed.

Xu Zimo smiled faintly. He was only telling the truth, though few would believe it.

He wasn’t yet a Sage Monarch, only a newly ascended Supreme Saint Sovereign, but with two Life-Death Souls supporting him, and his laws tempered again and again, he truly wanted to test how high his power ranked within the Saint Sovereign realm.

Because the conversation had turned to the Chaos Fire God Realm, the mood among the group grew heavier.

For people like Liu Huohuo and Zhang Hengzhi, the Chaos Fire God Realm represented the pinnacle, a height they admired but dared not challenge.

Bian Wenzhou, however, laughed it off. “No need to worry. The Chaos Fire God Realm is still a supreme institution. They wouldn’t resort to dirty tricks. At most, they’ll probe us a little. Once the competition ends, if Young Master Xu wins, all their scheming will fall apart anyway.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

After dinner, Xu Zimo returned to his room.

The further one progressed in cultivation, the more one could sense the vastness and immensity of the world. The higher your realm, the farther you could see, and the more you realized how much there was still to learn.

That was why so many great cultivators would seclude themselves for hundreds or even thousands of years. To them, such spans of time were as brief as the blink of an eye.

In the God World, Xu Zimo meditated before the Blue Man. The closer he drew to the Blue Man’s presence, the clearer his comprehension of the Heavenly Dao became.

Another silent night passed.

After the two rounds of eliminations yesterday, only twenty competitors remained.

Today was the final day of the competition.

By the end of it, the top three would be chosen to represent the Chaos Fire God Realm and journey to the Ancestral Lands of the Chaos Fire Progenitor.

Xu Zimo’s name had spread everywhere. Wherever he went, people turned to look.

“That’s the one who killed Spectral Prince, right?”

“Yeah, I missed yesterday’s match, damn, what a mistake! I heard that sadistic Spectral Prince got tortured to death instead. That must’ve been glorious.”

“Serves him right! I bet all my savings on him winning, and he lost that miserably. Good riddance!”

Voices buzzed all around. Xu Zimo stood quietly beside the arena, ignoring the chatter.

The match list for the first round of the day was about to be announced.

Footsteps echoed.

A man in a red robe, a Chaos Fire Envoy, stepped onto the stage. His cold eyes swept across the crowd. Instantly, the noise died.

After a moment of silence, the envoy finally spoke.

“For the next round, the twenty-to-six elimination, we will not proceed with the usual one-on-one matches.”

His words sent a shockwave through the crowd.

Changing the rules at the final stage?

Some were confused, others thrilled. Because what he described next was a battle royale.

All twenty contestants would enter the arena at once. The fight would continue until only six remained standing.

You could attack anyone, or form alliances. It didn’t matter.

Because the only rule of this match was, there are no rules.

“This is definitely aimed at you,” Shangguan Xian whispered softly to Xu Zimo.