I Really Am A Villain
Ch. 305 - Lan Ke'er

"Our clan must choose a new Demon Slayer. This honor and responsibility will fall upon them. You are the most outstanding disciples of the Lan Clan in this generation. I’ve gathered you here today to decide who will become the Demon Slayer."

"Patriarch, how will the warrior be chosen?" a young man eagerly asked.

"Bring forth the Demon-Suppressing Drum and the Demon-Slaying Sword," Lan Juntian shouted.

A pitch-black drum and a sharp, black crystal longsword were carried in.

All the youths present looked on in awe and curiosity.

"Beat the war drum!" Lan Juntian shouted.

He picked up the drumstick and began striking rapidly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosive sound echoed all around.

Dark demonic energy swirled atop the black drumhead.

The drumstick in Lan Juntian's hand emitted a golden radiance, and with each strike, the golden light grew brighter, and the demonic mist was gradually suppressed and dissipated.

Every beat of the drum seemed to shake the hearts of everyone present.

The reverberations lingered in the courtyard, refusing to fade.

Many of the youths saw flashes of blood-soaked visions, fragmented images of battles between generations of Demon Slayers and the Heaven Demons.

The sound of the Demon-Suppressing Drum felt like it tore through the heavens, shaking the sky.

It carried ancient memories, damp earth and the stench of blood, that weighed heavily on everyone’s chest.

Black mist blanketed the courtyard, mixing with the melancholy autumn wind, rising toward the heavens with a tragic force.

Every victory of the Demon Slayers had come at a cost of sacrifice and brutality.

Lan Juntian's face was flushed, his chest heaving.

When the drumming finally ended, he slowly set down the drumstick.

The black mist in the courtyard began to dissipate.

Most of the young disciples had collapsed to the ground.

Only three remained standing.

"You three, step forward," Lan Juntian said, looking at the Demon-Slaying Sword on the stone platform.

Among the three was Lan Ke'er.

"Lift this Demon-Slaying Sword. If you gain the approval of the sword spirit, you will be the Demon Slayer of this generation."

Upon hearing this, the first youth stepped up immediately.

He took a deep breath, spiritforce of the Paragon Meridian Realm surging around him.

He gripped the hilt with both hands and shouted, veins bulging on his forehead, muscles trembling as he tried with all his might to lift the sword.

But no matter how hard he tried, the sword did not move at all.

After a long struggle, he collapsed to the ground in frustration.

"That’s enough. Everyone only gets one chance. If you can’t, then you can’t," Lan Juntian said flatly, noting the youth’s dissatisfied expression.

The second youth stepped up next, but the result was the same as the first.

"You try now," Lan Juntian said to the remaining candidate, Lan Ke'er.

"Brute strength won’t work."

Lan Ke'er frowned slightly and walked up, placing her hands on the sword.

Instead of forcing it, she closed her eyes and tried to sense the sword, its emotions and the meaning it wished to convey.

Since the Demon-Slaying Sword had a sword spirit, it must have a will of its own.

In her mind, everything went dark. Even Lan Ke'er didn’t know where the sword spirit had taken her consciousness.

Endless demonic energy surged around her, filled with violence and despair.

Various emotions mixed together, trying to erode Lan Ke’er's mind.

Her eyes gradually turned blood-red. Few could resist such demonic energy.

Just as she was about to be consumed by it,

A brilliant blue light suddenly burst from her body.

Bathed in blue light, her hair turned azure, followed by her eyes and then her entire skin.

In this state, Lan Ke'er remained eerily calm.

No matter how wildly the demonic energy raged around her, it could not disturb her heart.

She looked around in surprise. From the day she began cultivating, she discovered she could enter this state.

She never knew why, but in this form, her combat ability increased exponentially.

Most importantly, she was completely unaffected by external influences.

Cold to the extreme.

"Maybe I really am born to slay demons," Lan Ke'er muttered with a wry smile.

The black mist before her dispersed, and at last she saw the sword spirit within the Demon-Slaying Sword.

…

Outside, Lan Ke’er slowly opened her eyes.

She smiled at Lan Juntian, then gently lifted her right hand.

The Demon-Slaying Sword rose easily into the air.

"How is this possible?" some of the youths exclaimed in disbelief.

Seeing this, Lan Juntian finally let out a sigh of relief.

He pointed toward the failed candidates and said, "Take them away and erase this memory. Until the Heaven Demon appears, no one is allowed to leak anything about the Demon Slayer."

Then he turned to Lan Ke'er and smiled. "Ke’er, come with me. There are things I need to tell you."

…

Xu Zimo slowly closed the book in his hand.

"Demon-Slaying Clan," he said with a faint smile, gazing into the distant sky. "Lan Ke’er, huh."

He continued browsing the shelf and came upon a book titled Age of the Empress, which caught his attention.

Sunlight poured through the window. Xu Zimo sat on the floor and began reading with interest.

She was hailed as one of the greatest emperors in the history of the True Martial Sacred Ground.

Perhaps her life alone could be called legendary.

…

Jiang Mochou stepped out from the Endless Sky Sea, eyes gazing toward the distant direction of the Supreme Primal Sacred Ground.

His master, the Lord of Nihility, had told him,

There was no retreat in the battle against the Infernal Lord. Once he set foot on that path, there would be no return.

He knew that before starting his journey, he had to visit the Supreme Primal Sacred Ground.

Tan Jiulin, guided by the Evil God List, finally met the sage who created the list and prepared his second battle physique.

The great era was about to begin. The stage was set.

Whether they were common folk or powerful figures, everyone had their role, their destiny,

And their story.

In a remote mountain ravine far in the west,

Baili Xiao slowly crawled out of a cave.

Here lay the fortune of her past life.

She had once been the Jade Purity Immortal.

Before reincarnating, she had hidden her legacy here, just in case.

With this inheritance, she could begin her path to power more quickly.