I Really Am A Villain

At the very least, the people of the Radiant Court would never attack the Fire Keepers. Doing so would bring them no benefit whatsoever. The Radiant Court and the Fire Keepers had long held a sacred pact between them.

“Whether or not you’re from the Radiant Court doesn’t matter,” Xu Zimo said. “But I must know about the Ancestral Flame you guard.”

Behind him, Shadow Tyrant trembled faintly, as if it could unsheathe itself at any moment.

“You can give up on that,” Lie Zhongyan sneered coldly. “Even if you kill me, I’ll never tell you.”

“You might not,” Xu Zimo said calmly, “but what about them?” He pointed to the other Fire Keepers behind Lie Zhongyan.

“The Fire Keeper clan does not fear death,” Lie Zhongyan replied with an unshakable smirk.

Xu Zimo turned to Xiao Anshan and Shangguan Xian.

As a human, he didn’t particularly care whether the Fire Keepers lived or died. The affairs of the Fire God Race meant nothing to the Human Race.

But since he was traveling with two Fire God Race members, he knew that killing the Fire Keepers would be crossing a line. Threatening or restraining them was already the limit. If he truly killed one, these two would never accept it.

“I’ll leave it to you two,” Xu Zimo said, patting Xiao Anshan’s shoulder. “If you can’t get any useful information out of them, then don’t blame me if I start killing.”

He walked a short distance away, giving them space to handle the negotiation themselves. Matters of the Fire God Race were best settled by their own kind.

As Xu Zimo left, Realm Lord Bai followed at his side.

“Master Xu,” she said suddenly, “you’re not really here for the Ancestral Flame, are you?”

“Why do you think that?” Xu Zimo smiled faintly.

“The Fire God Race’s Ancestral Flame is useless to us humans,” she said. “And with your strength, I doubt ordinary opportunities in this place could even interest you anymore.”

Ever since they met, Xu Zimo had consistently shattered her expectations. In Realm Lord Bai’s mind, he had to be at least at the Saint Sovereign level. And once one reached that realm, like the Violet Mist Saint Sovereign, such places no longer held much value.

“Both yes and no,” Xu Zimo said ambiguously.

He wasn’t here for the Ancestral Flame. He didn’t need it himself. But he also couldn’t allow it to fall into enemy hands.

And besides, if he acquired it, he could always “sell it as a package deal.” That kind of thing could fetch quite the premium.

“As for you,” Xu Zimo continued, “focus on finding your own opportunity. My goals don’t concern you, and trying to guess them won’t benefit you.”

As they talked, Xiao Anshan and Shangguan Xian finished negotiating with Lie Zhongyan. Being Fire God Race themselves, communication came easier.

The Fire Keepers still clearly distrusted Xu Zimo, the human among them.

“How did it go?” Xu Zimo asked.

“He agreed to take us to their Guardian Grounds,” Xiao Anshan said with a wry smile. “But on one condition, we’re not allowed to touch the Ancestral Flame.”

That, of course, was the entire reason they wanted to go there. Without the Ancestral Flame, what was the point? But it was the Fire Keepers’ final line in the sand. If they didn’t agree, the Fire Keepers would rather die.

So they were stuck.

“Agree to his terms,” Xu Zimo said at once.

“What?” Shangguan Xian blinked. “Then what’s the point of going?”

“The condition is we can’t touch the Ancestral Flame,” Xu Zimo said with a grin. “But it doesn’t say someone else can’t.”

“If someone else takes the Ancestral Flame, and we take it from them afterward, well, that’s a different story entirely.”

“You mean to lure others to the Ancestral Flame,” Xiao Anshan realized instantly.

“Why not?” Xu Zimo replied casually.

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Xiao Anshan admitted after a pause, nodding slowly. But then he asked, “Once we get the Ancestral Flame, how do we divide it?”

“Divide it?” Xu Zimo laughed. “Don’t kid yourself. You follow me, so the Ancestral Flame belongs to me.”

“Then I get nothing?” Xiao Anshan protested.

“Not necessarily,” Xu Zimo said. “You can cultivate near the Ancestral Flame. For someone of the Fire God Race, that alone will be incredibly beneficial.”

He added, “And besides, the Ancestral Flame is the root of this world. Do you really think the Radiant Court would let you take it out even if you could?”

“The Radiant Court said anything we find here belongs to us,” Xiao Anshan argued.

Xu Zimo snorted. “And you really believe that? Why do you think the Radiant Court let you enter the Ancestral Lands in the first place? Don’t be naive. You’re just here to make up the numbers. You should know what’s fair game and what’s not. No wonder Fire Ancestor asked me to look after you, you’re a foolhardy kid.”

“How can you insult me like that?” Xiao Anshan shot back, offended.

“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to follow me,” Xu Zimo said dismissively, waving a hand and ending the argument.

Shangguan Xian then went over to inform Lie Zhongyan that they had accepted his condition.

Only then did the Fire Keepers release their bindings. As they stood, their eyes were filled with open hostility toward Xu Zimo.

“Human,” Lie Zhongyan said coldly, “for attacking the Fire Keepers, you will one day face the wrath of the Fire God.”

“Too bad your Fire God is already dead,” Xu Zimo replied with a casual smile. “Otherwise, I’d have liked to meet him.”

Lie Zhongyan glared but said nothing. He led the way forward, the other Fire Keepers following, with Xu Zimo’s group close behind.

Along the way, Xiao Anshan made small talk with Lie Zhongyan, gathering bits of information about the Ancestral Lands.

It turned out the Ancestral Flame here was not unique.

There were six Ancestral Flames in total, each corresponding to one of the six elements. Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, and Lightning.

These six forces intertwined to form the Ancestral Lands itself.

Strictly speaking, though, this world was only a half-formed, broken realm. It had no potential for growth, it would always remain as it was. And even then, the balance of the five elements had to be maintained carefully. A single disruption could destroy everything.

“If you dare seize the Ancestral Flame and doom this world,” one of the Fire Keepers warned, “we’ll all perish together, and you will bear the guilt of its destruction forever.”

Xu Zimo only smiled faintly.

The Fire Keepers didn’t understand. They never could. After all, they were created beings, not true lifeforms.

After following them for roughly half an hour, the group finally arrived before a massive cave entrance.

The tunnel descended straight into the earth, dark, deep, and strangely silent. It swallowed all perception; even Xu Zimo’s divine sense couldn’t penetrate it.

“This is the place?” Xiao Anshan asked.

“Follow me,” Lie Zhongyan said. “But don’t wander off. If anything happens, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Bringing you here at all is already breaking the rules. Don’t get me killed for it.”

The group nodded lightly.

Lie Zhongyan stepped up to the mouth of the cave, pressing his palm against the stone.

From where his hand touched, countless tiny runes began to ripple outward, spreading across the cave’s surface in all directions.