I Really Am A Villain

“That’s right. This matter isn’t exactly a secret among the Fire God Race,” Shangguan Xian said, stepping forward to add. “The Fire God Race moved to the Inferno Crucible Heaven because the Ancestral Lands had become uninhabitable.”

“But there’s one thing you don’t know,” Xiao Anshan replied. “Before the Fire God Race’s ancestors left, they did something to preserve parts of the Ancestral Lands. Otherwise, it wouldn’t still exist today, the imbalance among the Five Elements would’ve destroyed it long ago.”

“How did they preserve it?” Realm Lord Bai asked curiously.

“They introduced a new element, lightning,” Xiao Anshan explained. “Thunder is a force even more violent than fire. By using the power of lightning to suppress fire, they managed to restore balance to the Five Elements. That’s the only reason this place still stands.”

“So if we’re looking for opportunities, they’ll definitely be where the Five Elements meet the Lightning Element,” he continued. “Those areas will hold the greatest fortune.”

“You’ve got a map, don’t you?” Xu Zimo said with a faint smile.

“How did you know that?” Xiao Anshan looked at him in surprise.

The fact that the Fire Ancestor had given him a map was supposed to be an absolute secret. Not even the other high-ranking members of the Chaos Fire God Realm knew about it. Aside from the Fire Ancestor himself, no one else should have been aware.

“Relax,” Xu Zimo said, still smiling. “It was just a guess. If the Fire Ancestor hadn’t given you anything, that would’ve surprised me.”

“There is a map,” Xiao Anshan admitted, “but to be precise, it’s only a fragment.”

Without hesitation, he pulled it out.

No one could tell what material it was made from, but it was heavy in his hand. Its surface was smudged and worn by time, radiating a faint sense of age.

Xu Zimo took the map and unfolded it with interest. He knew the Fire Ancestor’s request for him to look after Xiao Anshan wasn’t just out of kindness, he clearly wanted these things shared.

The map was drawn in fine white lines.

“What place is this supposed to be?” they wondered aloud, staring at it in confusion.

Because it was only a fragment, they couldn’t locate their current position on it.

“Let’s move around a bit,” Xu Zimo said.

He memorized the map’s layout and then tucked it away. Since the surrounding area was thick with trees and dense grass, they decided to leave the forest first and get a better look at the terrain.

The four of them moved quickly.

In just half a day, they had already made their way out of the forest and reached open ground.

By now, the sky had darkened, and the world seemed to be veiled in a faint layer of black silk.

“Do you know what kind of dangers this world might hold?” Realm Lord Bai asked.

Darkness always carried an uneasy edge.

“In theory, when the Fire God Race ancestors left, they wouldn’t have left behind anything dangerous,” Xiao Anshan said with a laugh. “But after all these years, who can say for sure? Probably only the Radiant Court, since they’re the ones who visit here most often.”

“There’s a fight ahead,” Shangguan Xian suddenly said.

The others frowned at once.

At first, the shockwaves of battle were faint, too subtle to sense from afar. But now, they grew stronger, so strong that the ground began to tremble as if the heavens themselves were collapsing.

“Let’s take a look,” Xu Zimo said. “We’ll see whether it’s others who entered with us, or locals of the Ancestral Lands.”

The four of them turned into streaks of light and shot toward the heart of the battle.

Dust filled the air when they arrived, thick, swirling clouds that obscured everything. All they could sense were immense waves of power clashing within.

The battle was fierce enough that the dust never settled.

Xu Zimo’s eyes lit up as he activated one of the Ten Divine Arts, the Eyes of Reincarnation.

Through endless layers of void and dust, his gaze pierced down to the ground below.

There, he saw the combatants clearly.

On the left stood a group of figures clad in fiery red, elves.

Yes, elves.

The men were strikingly handsome, and the women stunningly beautiful. The females held staffs that glowed with light, while the males drew back elegant bows, loosing arrow after arrow.

A great power flowed around them, gathering at their sides.

It was hard to judge their strength. They looked fragile, delicate even, but each arrow they shot carried the force of an emperor’s strike, devastating and precise.

Their opponents on the right were hideous creatures, massive, monstrous beasts with grotesque forms like living mountains.

Each time they attacked, the ground quaked and the sky seemed to fall apart.

The shockwaves tore through the land, cracks spreading across the earth as the fight grew even more violent.

“What do we do?” Xiao Anshan asked Xu Zimo. “Should we help?”

He was following Xu Zimo’s lead, so whatever they did would depend on him.

Both sides looked like natives of the Ancestral Lands. If they could get information from them, that would be invaluable.

“Who do we help?” Shangguan Xian asked.

No one yet knew who was friend or foe.

Before they could decide, one of the elves suddenly called out to them.

“Friends ahead, are you nobles from the Radiant Court? Please, help us defeat these Fire Venom Beasts!”

That answered the question.

As soon as the beasts saw Xu Zimo’s group, their blood-red eyes flared with rage.

With a roar, one of the Fire Venom Beasts charged at them.

“Foolish creature,” Xiao Anshan said coldly, stepping forward. “Let me handle this.”

Flames surged from his hands, and his aura exploded with terrifying might.

His fists blazed like falling meteors as he struck, shattering the air itself.

The charging Fire Venom Beast was sent hurtling backward by a single blow.

It roared in pain, its massive body convulsing on the ground, the power behind that strike was no joke.

“Roar! Roar! Roar!”

The other Fire Venom Beasts saw this and immediately turned their attention away from the elves, focusing entirely on Xiao Anshan.

“Come then!” he shouted, his battle spirit surging.

Before the beasts could move, he launched himself forward, a crimson streak slicing through the night.

His Primordial Flame God-King Physique ignited, and waves of destructive energy burst outward. Every punch and kick erupted in explosions of flame and shock.

He had grown stronger since his last defeat, far more than before.

Though tiny compared to the massive beasts, he tore through them like a wolf among sheep.

In a matter of moments, the battlefield was ablaze. Flames devoured the earth, and the corpses of Fire Venom Beasts littered the ground.

“As expected of the mighty lords of the Radiant Court,” said an elderly elf, approaching quickly. “Your strength commands our deepest respect.”

Xu Zimo and the others didn’t bother correcting the misunderstanding.

Apparently, to these locals, the Radiant Court was the only power they recognized.