I Really Am A Villain

But how could Xu Zimo possibly give him such a chance?

His overwhelming power surged endlessly around him. Xu Zimo reached out with one hand and seized the Black Serpent Saint Sovereign’s divine soul in his grasp.

Power coiled through the air like a storm, but no amount of struggling could change the outcome.

“Release me!” the Black Serpent roared furiously.

“You still dare talk back?” Xu Zimo snapped coldly, and his fists came crashing down.

Blow after blow struck the serpent’s soul until its vision swam; his spirit form trembled and dimmed.

Unless one cultivated a special method, a divine soul separated from the flesh was far weaker than before, this was common knowledge.

A soul could not linger outside its body for too long; otherwise, even the spirit itself would perish.

“What are you going to do?” the Black Serpent asked, panic creeping into his voice.

“What do you think?” Xu Zimo said, gripping the serpent’s soul in one hand while raising his saber, Shadow Tyrant, with the other.

“No! Don’t! Spare me! I’ll withdraw from this battle!” the Black Serpent pleaded, thrashing desperately. “Sumeru, help me!”

Seeing this scene, Sumeru Buddha no longer dared to fight. He turned and fled, retreating toward the other Saint Sovereigns of the Sun-Moon Temple.

Only by staying near them could he feel any semblance of safety.

As for the Black Serpent? Better him than me.

Shadow Tyrant fell, its endless blade aura tearing through the void.

With a thunderous crash, space itself split open, forming a deep, swirling vortex.

The Black Serpent Saint Sovereign’s soul was obliterated in a single stroke.

But Xu Zimo knew that killing a Saint Sovereign was never so simple. As long as their Life-Death Soul still existed, they could be resurrected.

He took out the Traceless Compass.

It spun rapidly in midair, searching.

Moments later, it revealed the hidden location of the serpent’s life-and-death soul.

Xu Zimo summoned two blazing flames of Zhurong Fire, thrusting them into the void.

The twin fires followed the trail revealed by the compass, burning along the ether.

No matter how well-hidden the serpent’s soul was, it would soon be consumed by the flames.

…

With the Black Serpent Saint Sovereign slain and Sumeru Buddha driven off, Xu Zimo finally turned his gaze toward Shangguan Xiongba and Du Mingxiu.

“You two can come at me together,” he said calmly. “To die by my hand is at least a dignified end.”

At his words, both men’s expressions twisted in fury.

Shangguan Xiongba glared at Celestial Tiger Sovereign and shouted, “Is this how you protect us?”

He had never imagined that the Sun-Moon Temple’s Saint Sovereigns would be so useless, unable to even restrain Xu Zimo.

But then he remembered the Five Elements Saint Sovereign of the Shangguan Heavenly Clan, and his anger eased.

He was not afraid of death, but the thought of dying before avenging his clan was intolerable.

“Celestial Tiger Sovereign,” he said coldly, “my Divine Crow God Realm has joined this war. If I die here, the Fire Domain will withdraw its support from you.”

Celestial Tiger Sovereign frowned helplessly.

Finally, he turned to Bright Sun Sovereign and said, “Brother Bright Sun, assign a few more Saint Sovereigns to protect Brother Shangguan. It seems our brother has lost his nerve.”

“You seem quite brave yourself,” Xu Zimo said, his eyes fixing on Celestial Tiger Sovereign.

Celestial Tiger Sovereign stiffened instantly.

He forced a laugh and said, “Young Master Xu, we’re only here to protect Brother Shangguan. We mean no offense.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Xu Zimo said flatly. “Since you’re on their side, I see no reason to spare you.”

He charged forward, saber in hand.

“Help me! Quickly!” Celestial Tiger Sovereign’s panicked shout was even louder than Shangguan’s.

Just as Xu Zimo’s saber was about to fall, a pair of hands infused with yin and yang energy appeared, intercepting the strike.

Xu Zimo looked up.

A young man stood before him.

His long hair flowed over his shoulders, half of it black, half white.

He wore the robes of a scholar, and the aura around him shimmered with the balance of yin and yang.

He appeared about the same age as Xu Zimo, though one could never judge the age of cultivators by their faces.

Some chose to let time mark them naturally; others kept their youthful appearances forever.

“Yin-Yang Sage Monarch,” the Light Lord Sage Monarch said grimly from above.

Within the Sun-Moon Temple, there had been many Saint Sovereigns, but only a few whose power inspired true fear.

And among them, none could be ranked without mentioning this one.

The Yin-Yang Sage Monarch.

When the Sun-Moon Temple and the Sun Sect once jointly ruled the Inferno Crucible Heaven, this man had been one of their greatest figures.

Now, the Yin-Yang Sage Monarch raised his hand, releasing a wave of power that blasted Xu Zimo backward.

“Light,” the Yin-Yang Sage Monarch said with a faint smile, “it’s been a long time.”

“It has indeed,” replied the Light Lord Sage Monarch, his expression complicated before he finally smiled. “But you shouldn’t have come. The Sun-Moon Temple’s defeat is inevitable. Coming here only ensures your death.”

Long ago, few knew that these two had once been the closest of friends.

They admired each other deeply, journeyed and trained together, and once shared the bond of true brothers.

But their sects’ opposing faiths had ultimately forced them onto opposite sides.

Old friends had become enemies.

“To tell you the truth,” said the Yin-Yang Sage Monarch, shaking his head, “I didn’t want to come. After that great war, I devoted everything to reaching the Infinite Dao Realm. The affairs of the Sun-Moon Temple were long handed down to the younger generation.”

He smiled faintly. “But now, with the sect striving to rise again, I must do my part as an elder. Whatever happens, I’ll lend my strength.”

“After a million years of cultivation, and still no Infinite Dao,” the Light Lord Sage Monarch sighed.

In truth, he was no better off himself.

“It’s far too difficult,” Yin-Yang Sage Monarch said with a soft laugh. “I’ve lost all hope of it in this lifetime.”

“Old friend,” he added, his tone hardening, “enough reminiscing. Today, we stand as opponents.”

It was clear that among the Saint Sovereigns who had come with the Sun-Moon Temple, Yin-Yang was their leader, the strongest and most senior of them all.

“How shall we fight then?” asked the Light Lord Sage Monarch. “Do you mean to tear apart my Radiant Lands, or punch a hole through the Inferno Crucible Heaven itself?”

A battle among so many Saint Sovereigns could shatter the entire realm.

The Yin-Yang Sage Monarch tilted his head slightly, smiling. “Why should we fight ourselves? This time, we act under the command of our Ancestor.”

“Ancestor?” Light Lord Sage Monarch’s heart skipped a beat, his face darkening.

“Which ancestor are you talking about?”

“Light, have you forgotten?” Yin-Yang replied softly. “The Sun-Moon Temple has only one true Ancestor, the Sun-Moon God himself.”

“That’s impossible,” Light Lord Sage Monarch said, disbelief in his voice. “Didn’t your Sun-Moon God die long ago, slain by our own Ancestor?”

“Don’t be foolish,” Yin-Yang said, his eyes glinting coldly. “Did you really think the Sun-Moon God could die so easily?”