I Really Am A Villain

Xu Zimo walked out of the room. He took a long breath, letting the aura around him settle. The sharp metallic force slowly withdrew. He looked around and found the Light Lord Sage Monarch.

Traveling from the Inferno Crucible Heaven to the Absolute God Heaven was something only the Radiant Court could accomplish. Crossing from one domain to another wasn’t as simple as tearing through space. Xu Zimo had already experienced this when crossing the previous domains.

“When does Young Master Xu intend to leave?” the Light Lord Sage Monarch asked.

“Today,” Xu Zimo said with a smile. “Everything is wrapped up. There’s no reason for me to stay.”

“To reach the Absolute God Heaven, our Radiant Court does indeed have a method. To be honest, the Inferno Crucible Heaven and the Absolute God Heaven have been connected for a very long time,” the Light Lord Sage Monarch said. “But there are a few things I need to make clear.”

Xu Zimo nodded and listened quietly.

“A long time ago, an emperor from your small world, the Primordial Heartlands, ascended here. He was just like you, climbing through the Nine Heavens, aiming for their highest tier. His title was True Martial Saint Sovereign,” said the Light Lord Sage Monarch.

“I met him back then. He had just stepped into the Saint Sovereign Realm and wasn’t very strong yet.”

Xu Zimo froze. Of all things, was fate truly this coincidental? The True Martial Saint Sovereign, that was the founder of his own True Martial Sacred Ground, Grand Emperor Zhen Wu.

After Grand Emperor Zhen Wu created the sect, he bore the Heaven’s Will and left. After that, the sect produced three more emperors. Grand Emperor San Dao, Grand Empress Hongtian, and Grand Emperor Shen Xing.

Since arriving in the Nine Heavens, this was the first time Xu Zimo had heard news about his ancestors.

“Young Master Xu, what’s wrong?” the Light Lord Sage Monarch asked.

“Nothing,” Xu Zimo said, regaining his composure. “Go on.”

“When I met True Martial Saint Sovereign, he wasn’t strong, but he had a bold and carefree personality. He stayed in the Inferno Crucible Heaven for a while, and we became close friends. He once joked that when he reached the Absolute God Heaven, he would build a passage connecting it to our domain and bring the True Martial Sacred Ground up here to stand alongside the Radiant Court.”

Xu Zimo couldn’t help but smile. “And then?”

“That’s when things got interesting,” the Light Lord Sage Monarch replied. “I thought he was bragging. But the amazing part is, every boast he made came true. When he first entered the Absolute God Heaven, he was barely a new Saint Sovereign. But after a few hundred years, the True Martial Saint Sovereign had become famous throughout the Absolute God Heaven. Even the Ten God-Clans treated him with respect. And the True Martial Sacred Ground he established quickly grew into a force capable of competing with the Ten God-Clans. But the good times didn’t last. I don’t know the details, only that the True Martial Sacred Ground was eventually wiped out.”

“What? Wiped out?” Xu Zimo frowned.

“Yes. I don’t know how or why. We’re in the Inferno Crucible Heaven, tens of billions of miles away,” the Light Lord Sage Monarch said. “And no one from the Radiant Court has gone to the Absolute God Heaven in ages. Our teleportation formation linked to the True Martial Sacred Ground hasn’t been used in a long time. With the sect destroyed, we don’t even know if the formation is still stable. If you choose to travel there, I can’t guarantee the formation won’t malfunction.”

He paused before adding, “There is a safer route into the Absolute God Heaven, but it’s much more troublesome.”

“No need. I’ll take the formation directly to the True Martial Sacred Ground,” Xu Zimo said, shaking his head.

It was his sect. No matter what remained, he had to see it for himself. He had to find out what happened, and what became of the sect’s old patriarchs.

“If Young Master Xu insists, I won’t stop you,” the Light Lord Sage Monarch said. “I’ll have people prepare the formation.”

Xu Zimo nodded.

Because the formation had been unused for so long, Xu Zimo waited in the Radiant Court until late afternoon before the Light Lord Sage Monarch returned, saying everything was ready.

Xu Zimo followed him to the back mountain of the Radiant Court. The area was barren, clearly having been cleaned only recently. Xu Zimo sensed the surrounding space was embedded with spirit crystals, this was a large-scale formation. Activating it would consume an enormous amount of crystals.

The formation activated, and countless crystals released a powerful surge of energy. At its center, a circular formation appeared. Xu Zimo stood within it.

A powerful force twisted the surrounding space. The spirit crystals all exploded instantly, turning to dust. Xu Zimo was swallowed by the warped space and pulled into temporal transit.

He didn’t resist. And he noticed something else. The higher he climbed within the Nine Heavens, the stronger the spatial resistance became. When he ascended from the Mortal Ascension Heaven to the Ghost God Heaven, it was manageable. But when he moved from the Godfiend Abyss Heaven to the Inferno Crucible Heaven, he was nearly crushed and had to spend a long time recovering.

Now, he had no idea what awaited him.

The long stretch of temporal travel was dazzling and violent. His body was constantly torn apart by the void. Time passed, he had no idea how long. Eventually, he felt his physical body ripped completely apart, leaving only his soul and the Life-Death Soul intact. The Tree of Life’s power continued supporting him.

More time passed.

Finally, the tearing sensation faded. His consciousness was still hazy, but he began to recover.

…

At the former site of the True Martial Sacred Ground, a great destruction had once taken place. After the ruin, a new True Martial Sect was built here. But to stay low-key, they called it the True Martial Sect, not the True Martial Sacred Ground. Even so, the new sect was only a third-rate force. Its strongest member was a God Meridian cultivator whose lifespan was nearly exhausted.

Today was the sect’s ancestral memorial day. It was dedicated to honoring the sect’s former patriarchs.

Sect Master Wang Hengzhi led the elders and dozens of disciples to the ancestral burial grounds. Even at a glance, there were at least a thousand graves. The disciples began preparing offerings, while Wang Hengzhi and the core elders stood at the front, looking out at the mere thirty disciples remaining.

He sighed. “To think that the True Martial Sacred Ground once stood in unmatched glory. Revered by all directions. Who would have thought it would fall into decline in our hands?”

“Sect Master, you shouldn’t blame yourself,” a core elder said. “If not for our late ancestor guiding you, the True Martial line would have been wiped out completely. The fact that we’ve survived at all is a miracle.”

At that moment, a shout came from nearby.

“Sect Master! There’s a corpse here!”