I Really Am A Villain

After shaking off the Fire Venom Beasts, the group stopped in the middle of the gorge.

Their expressions were dark and unpleasant, being ambushed was never a good feeling.

“When we first tried to enter that ancient site, they blocked us,” Lun Wu said angrily. “I thought they’d gone in already, but no, they were still waiting nearby, planning to ambush us again.”

He didn’t know about Xu Zimo’s past conflict with the Undying Fire God Realm and assumed those people were targeting them instead.

“They’re just ants,” Xu Zimo said calmly. “Annoying, maybe, but still ants. We’ll find them, kill them, and then go into the ancient site.”

“How do we find them?” Xiao Anshan asked. “They’ve probably gone into hiding.”

“They won’t have gone far,” Xu Zimo said with a faint smile. “They won’t give up on that ancient land. And as long as they’re nearby, finding them won’t be hard.”

He raised his hand, and a compass, the Traceless Compass, floated into the air.

When it came to tracking people, Xu Zimo had never met anyone better than himself.

The compass spun rapidly as he began tracing the auras of the Undying Fire God Realm cultivators.

In less than three minutes, the rotation stopped.

The arrow pointed east.

“Follow me,” Xu Zimo said, stepping into the air and flying eastward.

The others followed close behind, diving deeper into the misty gorge.

From above, the area stretched endlessly, a vast, ancient forest of tangled wilderness.

Finding a few people here would normally be like finding a needle in the ocean; even a few hundred could vanish without a trace among these trees.

Deep in the gorge, before a giant tree, Su Fangyun stood at the center.

At his sides were two young men, the one on the left named Qiang Hu, and the one on the right named Mu Ze.

Both were personal disciples of the Undying Fire Realm Lord and ranked among the most powerful of the younger generation in the Undying Fire God Realm.

In truth, they were both stronger than Su Fangyun.

But Su Fangyun’s status was different, he was the Realm Lord’s youngest son.

Born with privilege and showered in resources, his position made even these two bow their heads before him.

Qiang Hu spoke first. “Those wanderers have teamed up with the Chaos Fire God Realm. That’s bad news for us.”

“That bastard from the Chaos Fire God Realm, I hadn’t even gone looking for him yet, and now he’s come right to me,” Su Fangyun said bitterly.

He still burned with humiliation from his last defeat at Xu Zimo’s hands, nearly killed, saved only because his father intervened. He had never suffered such disgrace in his entire life.

“You can’t be impulsive,” Mu Ze warned. “We’re no match for them in a head-on fight.”

“I know that,” Su Fangyun said through clenched teeth. “But I can still make them miserable, even if it costs me. If we can’t enter the ancient site, then neither can they.”

Qiang Hu lifted his head toward the sky. “They’re searching for us,” he said.

“In this endless forest?” Su Fangyun sneered. “They could search for a lifetime and still not find us.”

“Wait, they’re flying this way,” Qiang Hu said uncertainly.

“Impossible. It’s just coincidence,” Su Fangyun said. “Hide, and we’ll see what they’re planning.”

Up above, Xu Zimo and his companions hovered over the forest canopy.

He scanned the surroundings, then glanced at the Traceless Compass floating above his head. A faint smirk tugged at his lips.

“Well?” Xiao Anshan asked.

“Come out,” Xu Zimo said casually. “No need to hide any longer.”

There was no response, only silence.

“Maybe you were wrong?” Lun Wen asked.

Xu Zimo gave a cold snort and drew his sword, Shadow Tyrant.

With a flick of his wrist, he hurled it.

The blade flashed like lightning, piercing into a nearby tree trunk.

A scream echoed through the forest.

Blood began to flow from the bark, and Qiang Hu’s body was thrown backward, crashing to the ground.

“H–how did you find me?” he stammered, terror in his eyes.

“You’ve no idea who you’re dealing with,” Xu Zimo said with a smile.

“Die!”

From behind a tree, Su Fangyun burst out in a sneak attack, purple Undying Flames erupting around him.

A phantom of the Undying Bird spread its wings behind him, shrieking sharply as its heat melted the very air. The surrounding trees caught fire instantly.

“I was waiting for you,” Xu Zimo said with a grin.

He stepped back just as Su Fangyun’s strike swept past him.

As they crossed paths, Xu Zimo lifted his right leg.

A shockwave burst from his kick.

With a deafening boom, Su Fangyun was sent flying, smashing into the ground.

“You all right?” Qiang Hu ran to help him up.

“And the other one?” Xu Zimo asked calmly. “Not planning to show yourself?”

From another tree, Mu Ze slowly stepped out. “What do you want?” he asked.

“I want you dead,” Xu Zimo said, grinning.

“You can have the ancient site,” Mu Ze said quickly. “Take it. We’ll back off.”

“You think I need your permission?” Xu Zimo laughed coldly. “Once you’re dead, the site will still be mine.”

“So, there’s no talking this out?” Mu Ze said flatly.

“Kill them,” Xu Zimo said, glancing at Shangguan Xian.

Shangguan Xian raised her hand, forming a blazing palm of fire, and struck toward Su Fangyun.

Among the three, Su Fangyun had the highest status, naturally, Qiang Hu and Mu Ze rushed to protect him.

Mu Ze stepped forward and met Shangguan Xian’s palm head-on.

But she was no longer the person she’d been before. Having reached the Saint Sovereign Realm, her power surged like an ocean in storm.

Mu Ze was blown backward, his body smashing through a line of massive trees.

Crack after crack rang out as more than ten trees split in half.

“Run!” Mu Ze shouted.

Just one exchange told him everything, they were completely outmatched. Staying to fight would be suicide.

Qiang Hu and Su Fangyun scrambled to their feet and fled deeper into the forested gorge.

“Can you really escape?” Xu Zimo said with a faint smile.

Shadow Tyrant flashed in his hand, unleashing countless arcs of blade energy.

The air filled with shimmering sword light, a hellish sea of blades raining down over them.

The three activated their True Fate manifestations, enormous violet Undying Birds blazing with Undying Flames, spreading their wings to shield them from above.

If they’d been up against another Grand Emperor, they might have stood a chance.

But between a Saint Sovereign and a Grand Emperor lay an unbridgeable gulf.

With a thunderous explosion, the two stronger disciples, Qiang Hu and Mu Ze, barely managed to withstand the onslaught, their bodies battered and bleeding.

Su Fangyun, however, was not so lucky.