I Really Am A Villain

The Immortal Lord continued, “Since our matter is settled, I assume you won’t interfere with what I do next.”

“I’m taking him with me,” he said, and his overwhelming pressure instantly locked onto Xu Zimo.

Indeed, from beginning to end, Xu Zimo had always been their primary target. Manipulating the Radiant Court was merely something they handled in passing while exploiting the Sun-Moon Temple. To the Heavenly Court, Xu Zimo was the true threat, their greatest concern far beyond any sect or individual. They were willing to abandon matters concerning the Radiant Court if it meant seizing him.

Xu Zimo frowned. He understood that with his current strength, he could not confront the Heavenly Court, or an Infinite Dao powerhouse. But if pushed into a corner, he wouldn’t hesitate to unleash the power left behind by the previous Infernal Lord. If he did, whether it was the Immortal Lord or any Infinite Dao existence, they could all be buried with a flick of his hand.

Yet he knew that every use of that power consumed what he had left. It was his final safeguard, something he would never use unless he faced true life-and-death danger.

Hearing the Immortal Lord’s words, Primordial Flame let out a cold laugh. He looked at Xu Zimo and said with a smile, “Infernal Lord, how about we make a deal?”

“I know exactly what kind of deal you want,” Xu Zimo replied. “And I refuse.”

He shook his head. He could easily guess Primordial Flame’s intentions. He carried the Myriad Streams on him, something the Radiant Court would desperately want. He also possessed several fires belonging to the Fire God Race. Primordial Flame’s “deal” would be nothing more than offering protection in exchange for those treasures.

Xu Zimo had planned for far too long to let everything go to waste just because the Immortal Lord showed up.

He looked toward the sky, where the Immortal Lord remained hidden in the void, suppressing an entire region. Xu Zimo said with a smile, “I know you’re strong, but do you truly think you can take me? Push me too hard and I’ll bury you here today. I’ll lose some things, sure, but you’ll disappear. I only wonder whether that old Holy Progenitor of yours is watching.”

The Immortal Lord let out a heavy, furious snort. Xu Zimo’s words clearly enraged him.

Primordial Flame, however, chuckled. “Infernal Lord, even with what you said, I’ll still protect you. The Myriad Streams of our Fire God Race cannot be allowed to fall into the Heavenly Court’s hands. I’d rather deal with you than with them. Besides, the fight between you two would make quite the spectacle.”

Hearing Primordial Flame’s gloating tone, both Xu Zimo and the Immortal Lord snorted at the same time.

“So, Immortal Lord,” Primordial Flame asked, “what’s your choice? Fight or crawl away?”

“Because you’re here today, Primordial Flame, I’ll give you some face,” the Immortal Lord replied. His gaze returned to Xu Zimo. “Infernal Lord, your ending will always be death. No matter how you struggle, it won’t change anything.”

“Death doesn’t concern me,” Xu Zimo said with a smile. “Someone just said something earlier that I liked. Death is just one stop in my life, not the end. Life and death cycle without ceasing. Death only makes others shine brighter.”

The Immortal Lord gave another cold snort, and his presence slowly faded. The crushing pressure that had been weighing on everyone likewise dissipated. While he hadn’t targeted anyone else directly, his aura alone had kept the crowd in a state of suffocating oppression.

Xu Zimo looked up at the sky and finally let out his own cold snort.

Primordial Flame turned his gaze toward the Sun-Moon God trapped within the formation and sighed softly. “You are already dead. You should find peace.”

He waved his right hand, releasing wave after wave of Primordial Edict power. It wrapped around the Sun-Moon God, as if attempting to strip away the monstrous resentment clinging to him. The Sun-Moon God roared wildly. Though he no longer possessed consciousness, the hatred between him and Primordial Flame, hatred spanning tens of millions of years, still burned.

He broke free from the binding Primordial Edicts and charged at Primordial Flame with murderous rage.

Primordial Flame sighed. “If you seek battle, then let it be outside the heavens. Let this end your life. You began with me, and you’ll end with me.”

He flicked his right hand, and the distorted void swallowed both of them, dragging them away.

With their departure, the Light Lord Sage Monarch was freed from the formation. He looked to the shaken crowd and smiled. “Everyone, I apologize for the fright you suffered today. I hope you won’t spread today’s events. They have nothing to do with any of you.”

“Sage Monarch, when can we leave?” someone asked. Their safety was still their biggest concern.

“You may leave at any time,” the Sage Monarch replied. “However, the Radiant Court has prepared a grand feast to make up for the distress caused today. You may choose to stay or go, we won’t stop you.”

Some people wished to leave immediately, but others recognized this as a rare chance to build a relationship with the Radiant Court.

Once the crowd was calmed, the Light Lord Sage Monarch approached Xu Zimo. “Young Master Xu, our Progenitor will return shortly. He asked me to escort you into the Radiant Court for rest.”

“Relax, I’m not going anywhere,” Xu Zimo said. “Not before I squeeze a hefty price out of your Radiant Court.”

The Sage Monarch laughed awkwardly. He had guessed parts of Xu Zimo’s identity and knew a little, but after today, he realized he knew only the tip of the iceberg. Seeing how even Primordial Flame treated Xu Zimo, he dared not comment further. Only Primordial Flame himself could discuss these matters.

Xu Zimo was invited into the Radiant Court, where he was treated like an honored ancestor. Earlier, the Sun-Moon God had smashed the hall with a single strike, but the Radiant Court was a treasure capable of self-repair. As long as it wasn’t completely annihilated, it could regenerate.

Xu Zimo sat in a courtyard within the hall. Two maids of exceptional beauty stood guard at the entrance, serving him. Before long, the void beside the nearby pavilion silently split open, and Primordial Flame stepped out.

He took a seat. He appeared as a middle-aged man in a long, flowing black robe. His red hair draped behind him, and his face was marked with ancient black lines, mysterious patterns filled with an unfathomable aura. Aside from these markings, he had returned to a natural, unassuming state. He looked like an ordinary man, ordinary yet enigmatic, with strange overlapping auras surrounding him.

“Seeing you isn’t easy,” Xu Zimo said with a smile.

“Well, here I am,” Primordial Flame replied with a smile of his own. “It’s not that I didn’t want to show myself. The Immortal Lord was watching me. We were secretly competing. Neither of us wanted to step out first. But in the end, I won.”

Seeing him smile, Xu Zimo said, “Your ‘victory’ came from me risking my life to kill the Yin-Yang Sage Monarch.”