I Really Am A Villain
Ch. 171 - Grand Emperor San Dao

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There were many stories about Grand Emperor San Dao bearing the weight of Heaven’s Will.

Though every generation of Grand Emperor was awe-inspiring, each one had to forge their path through blood and fire, carving their legacy from a road of slaughter.

Yet among all the Grand Emperors who carried the weight of Heaven's Will, the path of Grand Emperor San Dao was undoubtedly the most brutal and awe-inspiring.

His story begins from the moment he picked up his three curved blades.

It was that spring, the Immortal Trees were blooming with Undying Flowers, crimson blossoms exuding a fragrant scent as they bloomed in the season of renewal.

On the road leaving True Martial Sacred Ground, the spring breeze rustled gently. The Immortal Trees lining the sides stood tall like giants anchored in the mortal world, silently watching the tree-lined avenue as they always had.

From one side of the path, it looked as if one were standing in a sea of crimson fire.

Both sides of the road were filled with unwavering Immortal Trees, covered in countless blooming Undying Flowers.

As the breeze whispered softly, the blossoms swayed and waved farewell to their mother tree.

They followed the wind, chasing the freedom they had long yearned for.

But the wind vanished without warning, and the fiery petals fell in unison.

Along that tree-lined road full of Immortal Trees, the Undying Flowers blanketed the ground in a thick layer.

Amid the storm of petals, Grand Emperor San Dao stepped forward, his aura sharp as blades, walking atop the fallen blossoms.

He stood between the trees and raised his hand in farewell to True Martial Sacred Ground.

…

In that lifetime, the Heaven's Will manifested in the Dark Ridge.

Other holy sons, daughters, prodigies, and freaks were all escorted by their elders, guardians, protectors, powerful escorts.

But Grand Emperor San Dao declined all companionship. He walked the heavenly path alone, one that led to either hell or divinity, no one knew which.

All he left behind was the image of a man in a blood-red robe and the glint of three world-shaking curved blades.

Even the Undying Flowers seemed to fall for his departure.

And after that, he became a Grand Emperor.

The day he inherited Heaven's Will, ten thousand miles of sky were clear.

He became famous in a single day, known across the world.

He stood atop the heavens, carved his Imperial Title into the heart of the Primordial Heartlands, this vast, surging world…

And left behind a legacy entirely his own.

…

Many years passed.

The Immortal Trees still bloomed every year. The Undying Flowers still drifted down along the tree-lined road at the same time.

But the world never again saw the man who bore three curved blades upon his back, clad in crimson.

The Immortal Trees and Undying Flowers still danced in the wind, and the words that man once spoke still echoed in the red-lit air:

I am willing to entrust my entire life… to my blades.

If I never return from this journey,

Then let me and my blades bloom our final splendor atop the heavens, before the eyes of the world.

Remember my name.

I am San Dao.

I once walked this world.

…

In the Dark Ridge, countless prodigies floated in midair.

Their auras shattered space into black holes. Heaven’s Will roared across the skies. It was a battle that drew the attention of the five continents.

Those once awe-inspiring geniuses and freaks, at this moment, meant nothing. They looked like weeds in the crowd, like nobodies.

At a glance, every person here was a sacred ground’s heir, a beacon of hope for their sect.

But with one slap, even the so-called "monsters" turned to dust, just ants before the storm.

And here, the man called San Dao unsheathed his first blade.

“Slay Immortals.”

The world once asked me: Are there truly immortals? I only know, if I strike with this blade, even immortals will be reduced to ash.

Under Heaven's Will, within the mundane world, he drew his second blade.

“Slay Demons.”

The world once asked me: What is a demon? I only know, when I strike, even demons are mere insects.

I’ve slain immortals. I’ve cut down demons. But through it all, I remained myself.

So then, he drew his third and final blade.

“My True Self.”

…

The Dark Ridge, true to its name, was enveloped in boundless blackness.

Everyone present had once been famed across the lands.

Had once shaken the world.

Some held Grand Emperor True Treasures.

Some brought ancestral elders who had stepped into the Path of Immortality.

But on that day, a single man with three blades slaughtered them all.

Demons, ghosts, monsters, none were spared.

He was not invincible.

He was not untouchable.

He was knocked down again and again…

Yet he always stood back up.

Just like in that spring when the Undying Flowers bloomed, he made a vow: “I entrust my entire life to my three blades.”

He said it, and he meant it.

Blood soaked the Dark Ridge.

Grand Emperor San Dao fought from the front of the ridge to the back…

Then from the back to the front again.

Heaven shattered. Earth darkened.

The so-called geniuses were massacred. The monsters begged. The saintly heirs screamed in despair.

And all of it, was to pave his road to the imperial throne. For one man’s glory, countless bones were left in ruin.

The path to becoming Grand Emperor has always been cruel.

But Grand Emperor San Dao brought its brutality to its absolute zenith.

In the end, he stood atop the sky, soaked in blood, at the peak.

Heaven’s Heaven's Will roared. The world watched in awe. Beneath him lay a sea of corpses.

…

Aside from Grand Emperor San Dao ascending the throne, the Dark Ridge itself was drowned in blood that day.

Countless Grand Emperor True Treasures were lost in the battle. With the fall of the Dark Ridge, it was buried forever in darkness.

The place was renamed Silent Extinction Ridge, and the people of the Primordial Heartlands listed it as one of the Ten Forbidden Grounds.

Unlike the other nine, which all had fixed locations, the Silent Extinction Ridge was like a floating continent.

Its whereabouts were strange and unpredictable.

It had no permanent place.

It might stay in one place for a long time… then suddenly vanish, jumping through space to reappear elsewhere.

For this newly formed forbidden ground, the danger wasn’t the only lure, it also held countless opportunities.

So many Holy Sons and Daughters of Imperial Lineages across the five continents died there that no one knows how many Grand Emperor True Treasures were lost inside.

To this day, many imperial lineages are still searching for the Ridge, hoping to recover their lost artifacts from that battle.

But Silent Extinction Ridge rarely shows itself, usually hidden deep in the folds of space, shrouded in mystery.

…

Xu Zimo and Little Gui walked deep into the Grand Myriad Mountains. Along the way, they encountered many Beast Tribe settlements.

Some were friendly, inviting them in as guests.

Others tried to rob them with strength in numbers.

But in the remote parts of the mountain range, few were powerful. The strongest Xu Zimo had seen was only at the Imperial Meridian Realm.

One day, as the two of them traveled along a narrow path through the mountains, thunderous explosions suddenly echoed across the sky.

The heavens churned. Clouds twisted and scattered.

A divine pressure rolled down from above.

A boundless aura of annihilation spread across the sky.

From the unseen space above, a massive floating landmass slowly descended.

Booming blasts resounded from the sky, earth-shattering, ear-splitting, as if doomsday had come.

The sky was covered in shadow.