I Really Am A Villain

When the Light Lord Sage Monarch said the fight was “brilliant,” he wasn’t talking about the exchange of blows. He meant the power Shangguan Wan’er had displayed, a strength that demanded attention.

With just a single palm strike, she had forced the Young Overlord Wang Chong to beg for mercy.

Wang Chong rose from the ground, his face dark with shame and frustration. Yet deep down, he knew that even if given another chance, he would still choose to surrender.

That was just the force of her palm wind, if the strike had truly landed, he might not have lived to tell the tale.

Everyone had heard tales of Shangguan Wan’er’s unmatched genius, a woman among the ages. Until now, most thought it was exaggerated rumor.

But today proved it was real.

Wang Chong quickly stepped down from the stage to avoid further whispers and pitying glances.

After this battle, the ancient arena grew quiet. Many who had been restless or eager to fight began to reconsider.

Opportunists like Du Bujie were rare, most of the participants sent from the Six Realms were truly formidable.

As silence hung among the thirty-six remaining contenders, the Shangguan Heavenly Clan head, Shangguan Xiongba, gave a subtle signal to one of them.

The man immediately understood.

He stepped out from the crowd and shouted, “I wish to challenge!”

He walked calmly onto the ancient battlefield.

He wore plain white robes, dotted here and there with black marks that looked like splashes of ink.

He was barefoot, walking across the ground with an air of wild freedom.

His face was stern, his eyes sharp and alive with energy. His back was straight, and behind him he carried a long spear.

The spear was over two meters long, entirely purple, its tip crackling faintly with thunder.

“It’s Gui Jie,” someone murmured in the crowd.

“His reputation isn’t great, but his strength has always been a mystery. They say he’s ruthless, and that his cultivation blends both the Extreme Yang and Extreme Yin energies.”

“I also heard he’s secretly supported by the Shangguan Heavenly Clan. Who knows if that’s true?”

The crowd buzzed with speculation.

After all, great families often nurtured many types of talents, and had many uses for them.

For matters that the Shangguan Heavenly Clan couldn’t openly handle for the sake of reputation, they would send someone like this to deal with it in the shadows.

Gui Jie was one of those, a mad dog loyal to the Shangguan Heavenly Clan. In return, he received resources for cultivation and a place of protection.

For a wandering cultivator, that was already more than enough.

“Who do you challenge?” asked the Light Lord Sage Monarch from above.

Gui Jie raised a finger, pointing toward the group from the Chaos Fire God Realm, then slowly leveled it at Xu Zimo.

“I’ve heard the Chaos Fire God Realm is full of talent,” he said coolly. “I’d like to see for myself.”

At that, a faint glint passed through the Sage Monarch’s eyes. He turned his gaze toward the Shangguan Heavenly Clan and seemed to understand.

A slight smile curled his lips as he settled back, watching with interest.

“Be careful, Young Master Xu,” Realm Lord Bai whispered.

Xu Zimo smiled faintly and stepped forward into the ancient battlefield. He stretched lazily and yawned.

“So,” he said casually, “how does it feel to be Shangguan’s lapdog?”

Gui Jie snorted heavily.

The long spear in his hand began to tremble.

Lightning flared along its tip, then roared into an explosion of thunder, until the weapon itself seemed to vanish within a storm of electric fury.

In that moment, Gui Jie looked like a god of thunder descending upon the world, his gaze sharp and commanding.

“Die!” he roared.

He thrust his spear forward.

Instantly, all the gathered lightning surged toward Xu Zimo like a flood unleashed.

Xu Zimo raised his head slightly.

He took a single step forward, his left foot striking the ground. His right hand turned into a palm and reached straight for the spear tip.

There was a thunderous bang!

Unafraid of the lightning, Xu Zimo’s bare hand gripped the spear’s tip and lifted it sharply upward.

Gui Jie’s body was hoisted into the air, then slammed violently into the ground.

“Stop playing with these childish tricks,” Xu Zimo said lightly. “Show me something interesting.”

Gui Jie climbed to his feet, his face twisted with anger.

“Thunder Punishment, First Form: Destruction Bolt!” he shouted.

A surge of power rippled across the field as countless bolts of lightning screamed toward Xu Zimo.

The sky itself became a sea of thunder, swallowing the ground in electric fury.

Xu Zimo stood motionless, letting the lightning crash down upon him.

Thunder exploded around him, yet he remained standing, calm in the heart of the storm.

Gui Jie’s face darkened.

“Thunder Punishment, Second Form: Celestial Deer, Floating Lion, Beast Thunder!”

As his voice fell, a divine deer charged through the air, hooves stamping lightning across the void. Beside it appeared a massive lion formed entirely of thunder.

The two thunder beasts rampaged, their roars shaking heaven and earth.

Xu Zimo only smiled.

He clenched his fists, two explosive booms rang out.

Where his fists struck, both thunder beasts were blasted away, their forms shattering into sparks.

“Thunder Punishment, Third Form: Endless Sky Thunder, Death Burst!”

This time, the divine lightning came even faster and fiercer.

The bolts didn’t just strike, they exploded, setting off chain reactions one after another.

The sky rumbled with endless detonations.

Lightning clashed with lightning; space itself tore apart under the pressure.

The chaotic storms of power twisted and screamed without pause.

“Still too weak,” Xu Zimo said, shaking his head.

He raised his right fist. From between his knuckles burst an aura of pure malice, thick and violent.

No matter how wild or mighty the thunder above became, his single punch shattered it all.

A resounding boom echoed through heaven and earth.

It felt as though the sky itself had collapsed.

The thunderous noise rang in everyone’s ears, those with weaker cultivation winced in pain as their eardrums buzzed.

From Xu Zimo’s fist, a dark whirlpool formed in midair, devouring all remaining lightning into a black vortex of annihilation.

“Damn you!” Gui Jie snarled.

He unleashed the final move of his Thunder Punishment art.

“Thunder and I, Become One!”

Thunder raged across his body. His form was wrapped in pale violet lightning, until he seemed to turn into a being of living thunder.

With lightning speed, he charged straight toward Xu Zimo.

Electric arcs burst from beneath his feet. When he was only a few meters away, a monstrous ghostly shadow appeared behind him.

A gigantic ghost head opened its blood-soaked jaws and lunged to devour Xu Zimo.

“That’s the Yin aspect!” someone in the crowd shouted.

Everyone knew that Gui Jie cultivated both extremes.

Supreme Yang and Supreme Yin.

The thunder represented pure Yang, heaven’s most forceful and destructive energy.

The ghostly shadow, meanwhile, embodied the ultimate Yin.

The ghost devoured everything in its path, snapping again and again toward Xu Zimo.

The interplay of Yin and Yang made Gui Jie’s power truly formidable.