I Really Am A Villain

The Shadow Tyrant flashed from its sheath.

Xu Zimo steadied his stance, and as the ghostly head lunged to bite him, he jammed the blade straight into its mouth.

The tip of the blade pressed against the ghost’s upper jaw while the hilt pinned its lower.

When the ghost tried to bite down, the blade pierced through its lips. A surge of pain, sharp as lightning, tore through every nerve of its body.

Even that spectral being howled in agony.

“So that’s all you’ve got?” Xu Zimo said casually, waving his hand.

He flipped through the air, landing with both feet on Gui Jie’s chest.

Then he yanked the blade free and drove it viciously into Gui Jie’s neck.

A wet series of puff, puff, puff sounds followed.

His neck was soon riddled with bloody holes, and crimson gushed out like a burst of exploding sap.

Gui Jie’s body went rigid and fell to the ground of the ancient battlefield, eyes wide open, clearly unwilling to accept his death.

Blood continued to pour from his neck as his corpse lay there, staring blankly at the sky.

The method was brutal, so much so that the silence of the field seemed haunted by the echo of Gui Jie’s dying screams.

Xu Zimo kicked the corpse hard, sending it flying through the air.

It crashed to the ground before the Shangguan Heavenly Clan, raising a cloud of dust.

“Next time, you come,” he said, glancing at Shangguan Wan’er with a faint smile.

Shangguan Wan’er met his gaze without backing down.

“Then let’s hope,” she replied coolly, “you’re not like Wang Chong, good only for talking.”

The air between them crackled with challenge.

Above them, the Light Lord Sage Monarch smiled at the right moment. “This match goes to Xu Zimo,” he declared. “Since Gui Jie is dead, his position will now belong to Young Master Xu.”

Normally, if a fighter surrendered like Wang Chong had earlier, they would lose the match but keep their qualification.

But with Gui Jie dead, someone had to fill his vacant spot.

Xu Zimo stepped down from the ancient battlefield.

He had originally planned to invite the Violet Mist Saint Sovereign to join him, but since the Saint Sovereign was human, he had no interest in exploring the Fire God Race’s Ancestral Lands.

Xu Zimo looked around. No one else seemed particularly close to him.

So, he decided to give the spot to Realm Lord Bai.

She could hardly believe it. The Ancient Eternal God Realm had only come to watch and broaden their horizons, and now she suddenly had a qualification to enter the Ancestral Lands.

It felt like a dream.

When the duels were over, the Radiant Court, of course, gave a ceremonial speech.

Mostly empty words. Xu Zimo didn’t bother listening.

It wasn’t until the end, when the Sage Monarch announced that the Ancestral Lands was about to open, that he perked up again.

The Light Lord Sage Monarch stood at the forefront, holding a crystal shaped like the sun.

“To tell you the truth,” he said with a smile, “the Ancestral Lands lies right beneath your feet.”

Gasps spread through the crowd.

The surrounding mountains looked perfectly ordinary.

No one had ever entered the Ancestral Lands before, so no one knew where it was located, but nothing about this unremarkable mountain range suggested anything divine.

Yet in the next moment, all doubts vanished.

Because the mountain began to glow. A grand formation had been hidden there all along.

As it activated, endless light erupted from the ground, shining over everyone.

A thunderous rumble followed as the world around them began to twist and shift.

The earth moved. The sky merged with the void and other dimensions.

Above the mountain peak, a gateway appeared.

It led directly into the Ancestral Lands.

On the left side of the gate, a fiery dragon roared. On the right, a blazing tiger bellowed in fury.

They barred entry to all.

But the moment the Sage Monarch raised the sun-shaped crystal, both dragon and tiger immediately lowered themselves in submission.

They were the guardians of the Ancestral Lands.

And one must never underestimate them, they possessed the power of the Origin itself.

To challenge them was to challenge the entire Ancestral Lands.

“You may now enter,” said the Light Lord Sage Monarch. “Know this, this is the birthplace of our Fire God Race. Its history runs deep. Long ago, countless ancestors of the Fire God Race lived within this place. Before our people ever set foot in the Inferno Crucible Heaven, we had thrived here for generations.”

He smiled faintly. “This is a journey of fortune. Whatever you gain inside will belong solely to you. If you gain nothing, then fate has simply not chosen you. You will have two days. After that, the Land will expel everyone automatically.”

With those final words, the Sage Monarch stepped aside.

The fifty chosen participants surged forward, flying straight toward the radiant gateway.

Xu Zimo was among them, of course, his left hand holding Shangguan Xian’s, his right hand Realm Lord Bai’s.

Xiao Anshan, though dissatisfied, had no choice but to follow. Under the Fire Ancestor’s orders, the Chaos Fire God Realm’s representatives had to stay together.

When they passed through the flaming gate, they felt no distortion of time or space, only a smooth transition into another world.

The world wasn’t vast, but when they looked around, they saw an endless carpet of lush green grass.

The air was crisp and full of oxygen. The temperature was mild, the scenery bright.

Blue skies, white clouds, mountains, rivers, it was a paradise untouched by fire or ash.

For a people known to revere flames, it was almost unbelievable.

The Inferno Crucible Heaven was surrounded by flame and crowned with nine suns.

Who could have imagined that the Fire God Race’s birthplace would look like this, vibrant, peaceful, serene?

“Are we sure we didn’t end up in the wrong place?” asked Realm Lord Bai, puzzled.

“How could that be?” Xiao Anshan shook his head. “That gate of fire definitely led here.”

“Still,” she said, “this place doesn’t look like it has anything to do with the Fire God Race.”

“No one’s ever been here before,” Xu Zimo said, waving his hand with a smile. “There’s no point being surprised by what we see.”

“So what now?” Realm Lord Bai asked.

By rights, they should be seeking opportunities, but how could they, when they knew nothing about this world?

“Well, we do have someone who knows a thing or two,” Xu Zimo said, glancing at Xiao Anshan with a grin.

If Xiao Anshan had been sent here by the Fire Ancestor, then he must have been told something about the Ancestral Lands.

“The Ancestral Lands are not very big,” Xiao Anshan began. “It’s composed of the Five Elements. Of those five, fire is the strongest. The other four are weaker, but long ago, when they joined forces, they could still challenge the fire element’s dominance. As time passed, though, the balance shifted, and eventually, fire became supreme.”

He continued explaining what he knew.

“Because this world was incomplete, our ancestors of the Fire God Race left the Ancestral Lands and went to the Inferno Crucible Heaven to find a new home.”

“So that’s your Fire God Race’s history,” said Realm Lord Bai thoughtfully.