I Really Am A Villain
Ch. 405 - Vermillion Bird Ancestor

“Stop. This is a forbidden area. Do you have the dean’s decree?”

One of the black-robed men said to Xu Zimo.

“No, because we’re forcing our way in,” Xu Zimo replied with a light smile.

Before the two black-robed men could react, Xu Zimo waved his right hand.

Spiritforce surged, and the two of them were sent flying backward.

Xu Zimo kicked open the main gate. The gate was protected by a formation, so he used considerable force.

As the gate opened, the light inside was dim.

Xu Zimo and Yue Qingli entered the tall tower together.

The tower had a hundred floors. The walls of the first floor were inlaid with luminous pearls.

The interior was spacious but held only a few shelves.

On those shelves were some spiritual tools, though their grade seemed low.

As they entered, the entire space on the first floor began to ripple.

Spiritforce surged, and a figure in a red robe stepped out from the space.

The wide red robe covered the figure completely.

Yue Qingli stared, realizing this figure wasn’t human, but a puppet shaped like a person made of metal and wood.

“Defeat me, and you may take the weapons on the shelves and proceed to the next floor,” the puppet said calmly.

“So we’re clearing stages,” Yue Qingli said, turning to Xu Zimo.

“How annoying,” Xu Zimo snorted.

With a wave of his hand, a giant palm of spiritforce descended from the sky and smashed the puppet into pieces.

Xu Zimo grabbed Yue Qingli by the collar and flew upward.

Though there were barriers between each floor, none could stop Xu Zimo.

As they broke through floor after floor, the guardians became stronger, and the items displayed more rare and valuable.

By the time they reached the hundredth floor, Xu Zimo had seen many precious artifacts.

There was the Southern-Fire of the Vermillion Bird, left behind long ago.

There were also various universe-grade mystical herbs and meridian techniques.

...

But none of these things stopped Xu Zimo. When he arrived at the top floor, the space there was much more expansive.

At the center stood a high platform.

On top of the platform was a fire-red orb.

Surrounding the platform, the ground was covered in a sea of fire.

From the fire came sharp bird cries, as if something was being nurtured within.

Xu Zimo narrowed his eyes slightly and told Yue Qingli to stay put.

He stepped into the air and flew toward the platform to retrieve the Blazing-Vermillion God-Sparrow Physique orb.

Just as he took off, a ripple in space appeared and a black-robed elder emerged.

“Who dares to steal the physique orb?” the elder shouted, eyes sharp as he looked at Xu Zimo.

“Who are you?”

The elder’s aura surged, his pressure that of the Saint Vein Realm.

His black robe and bald head gleamed red under the reflection of the flames.

Xu Zimo didn’t respond. With a light shout, he waved his hand.

A massive hand formed of spiritforce descended to suppress the elder.

The elder’s face changed, and his true fate quickly manifested.

It was a ball of flame, his true fate was the Vermillion Bird’s Southern Fire.

As it burned, the surrounding flames grew violent.

Within the crimson flames, a hint of light blue flickered.

That small trace of blue burned with frightening intensity.

The elder waved both hands, and a sea of fire surged up, covering the entire space.

The fire sea roared and rolled, condensing into a massive fireball that crashed toward Xu Zimo.

Xu Zimo remained calm. His spiritforce-formed hand rose into the sky and slammed down with great force.

Boom!

The fireball was obliterated.

The fire sea vanished completely.

As the flames disappeared, the temperature plummeted.

The giant hand, still powerful, continued pressing toward the elder.

The elder tried to dodge, but the space on the hundredth floor was limited.

The hand nearly covered the entire space.

“Enough!” came a light shout at that moment.

A streak of radiant light shot in from outside the tower, directly dispersing Xu Zimo’s spiritforce hand.

Xu Zimo turned to see a white-robed elder flying in, accompanied by Zhao Changfeng.

This elder carried an ethereal aura.

His eyebrows, beard, and hair were all completely white.

His long beard gave him a sage-like appearance.

His white robe was embroidered with several Vermillion Birds, all stitched with red thread.

The moment he arrived, the entire space seemed to fall silent.

An immense immortal pressure subtly radiated from his body.

Though it wasn’t released intentionally, it still suppressed the entire area.

...

Seeing the white-robed elder, the black-robed elder quickly bowed in respect.

“Greetings, Vermillion Bird Ancestor!”

“Vermillion Bird Ancestor?” Xu Zimo glanced over and finally took a serious look at the old man.

The founder of Vermillion Bird Academy, regarded as one of the most mysterious ancestors in the academy’s history.

Xu Zimo knew a bit about his story.

Long ago, the Heavenly Dao Academy spread its teachings across the entire Primordial Heartlands.

But with five continents separated by endless seas, many students couldn’t travel to the academy, which was on the Middle Continent.

So the academy’s headmaster at the time sent four disciples to the east, west, south, and north continents to establish branch academies.

Thus began the grand mission of spreading the Dao across the entire world.

The Vermillion Bird Ancestor was one of those four disciples.

Looking at the white-haired old man before him, Xu Zimo knew that countless geniuses and legends had once walked out from this man’s guidance.

Though the Vermillion Bird Academy couldn’t rival the Heavenly Dao Academy, it was still the sacred academy in the eyes of many in the Northern Continent.

No other academy could compare.

“Young man, that’s enough,” said the Vermillion Bird Ancestor calmly.

“If you want to stop me, you’d better have the strength,” Xu Zimo replied just as calmly.

The Vermillion Bird Ancestor didn’t get angry. He simply looked at Xu Zimo.

Then he raised his hand, and immense immortal pressure spread from his body.

The sky seemed to rumble with thunder.

His white beard and hair floated without wind, and light shone in his eyes.

Every movement he made carried the truth of heaven and earth.

A casual wave of his hand felt as if half the sky had collapsed.