I Really Am A Villain
Ch. 452 - You Were Suppoused To Be A Dead Man

“Yes,” the two of them, Xu Zimo and Wenren Suo, knew they were in the wrong and didn’t argue.

“The situation in the Phoenix Perch Empire is already chaotic. One small move can affect everything. Be more restrained when you go out from now on,” Wenren Jingshi said calmly.

He could see the truth of the matter clearly.

But standing on the side of the Wenren Clan, and without solid evidence, he chose not to expose it.

After being lectured for a long time, Xu Zimo returned to the courtyard with a downcast Wenren Suo.

Looking at his injuries, Wenren Suo said helplessly, “Cousin, you really didn’t hold back.”

“If you don’t sacrifice the pawn, you won’t catch the wolf,” Xu Zimo laughed.

“Can’t make things hard for Grandpa, right? Now it’s all smoothed over.”

As he spoke, Xu Zimo handed a healing empyrean-grade pill to Wenren Suo.

After taking the pill, Wenren Suo’s injuries began to recover visibly.

“There are still three days until Grandpa’s birthday banquet. We’re going to be bored out of our minds till then,” Wenren Suo sighed. “Pity my Lady Xian’er.”

“Just another bag of flesh and bones,” Xu Zimo shrugged indifferently.

“Then cousin, is there someone you like?” Wenren Suo asked with a mischievous smile.

Xu Zimo stayed silent for a moment, thinking of the distant Demon Slayer Clan on the Middle Continent, the Lan Clan.

Life is often more dramatic than fiction.

The person he liked was part of the opposing force.

One day, he and the Demon Slayer Clan would have to settle everything.

After all, in their eyes, he was the real demon.

“Not answering means yes,” Wenren Suo grinned.

“No matter what kind of person I like, I won’t be used as someone’s pawn,” Xu Zimo replied calmly.

“Hearing that reminded me, I still need to help Lady Xian’er find that Dragon Tail Grass,” Wenren Suo said.

Then he rushed off to the Wenren Clan’s medicine pavilion in search of the herb.

Xu Zimo didn’t bother going with him and strolled around the Wenren estate on his own.

Though they weren’t allowed to leave the grounds, the estate was vast.

...

Xu Zimo wandered all around the Wenren Clan grounds and eventually found himself by a lake.

Weeping willows grew along both shores, and under the scorching summer sun, the lake shimmered with light.

In the center of the lake, a lotus flower slowly bloomed.

It was purple, an eerie and unusual color.

Purple spiritforce flowed from it, dyeing the lake water a shade of violet.

“Purple Dao Lotus,” Xu Zimo narrowed his eyes, staring at the lake.

Once the true weapon of Grand Empress Hongtian, the Myriad Dao Lotus was divided into eight petals.

Xu Zimo hadn’t expected the Purple Lotus to be hidden in his grandfather’s estate.

At that moment, a young man was sitting atop the Purple Lotus.

He was cultivating with his eyes closed, his entire body surrounded by dense purple energy that was being absorbed into him.

Sensing someone’s presence, the young man took in the last strand of energy, exhaled slowly, and opened his eyes.

Xu Zimo recognized him, he was the one he had seen at Wenren Jingshi’s Pavilion during his first meeting with his Grandpa.

His name was Wenren Tianming.

According to cousin Wenren Suo, he had originally been a member of a branch clan, but due to his exceptional talent, Grandpa had decided to cultivate him closely.

...

“Need something?” the young man asked, standing on the surface of the lake.

He walked across the water without making a single ripple, then stepped onto the shore.

“No, I just happened to pass by,” Xu Zimo shook his head slightly. Then asked, “Do you have some kind of conflict with my cousin?”

“To the direct lineage, branch members will always be considered inferior,” Wenren Tianming replied calmly. “So they won’t accept the fact that someone from a branch is stronger than them. In the Wenren estate, many people look down on me, not just your cousin.”

“You seem pretty calm about it,” Xu Zimo said with interest.

“You get used to it,” Wenren Tianming shrugged. “Grandfather kept me here and gave me the resources to cultivate. Otherwise, I would’ve left long ago. Though I might not have done as well on my own, this world is vast. I would’ve found a place for myself somewhere.”

Xu Zimo glanced at the Myriad Dao Purple Lotus behind him and understood that Grandpa was grooming him with full effort.

Maybe Wenren Tianming would be the Wenren Clan’s contender for Heaven's Will in this generation.

When it came to fate, and the legacy of a clan lasting for millennia, there was no difference between branch and direct, only loyalty mattered.

“No matter what, Wenren Suo is still my cousin. Unless he truly does something unforgivable, you’d better not kill him,” Xu Zimo said.

Now that Wenren Tianming had Grandpa’s support, his wings were fully spread. With his own talent and such focused cultivation, his future was boundless, unless he got himself killed.

As for his cousin, Xu Zimo could tell, he couldn’t match this opponent.

“Why should I give you face?” Wenren Tianming asked coldly.

He didn’t care for the Wenren Clan’s direct descendants, and since Xu Zimo was close to Wenren Suo, he wasn’t about to be polite.

“Why?” Xu Zimo smiled and slowly drew his saber, Shadow Tyrant.

“Is this saber enough?”

“You dare to threaten me?” Wenren Tianming narrowed his eyes.

Xu Zimo never played by the rules. He actually wanted to kill the guy outright.

To eliminate any future threat to his cousin, especially since Xu Zimo would soon be gone from the Northern Continent for a long time.

But because of his grandfather, Xu Zimo held back.

“How about this? Take one slash from me. If you can withstand it, I’ll walk away and act like I was never here. If you can’t, then you do what I just said,” Xu Zimo said calmly, holding Shadow Tyrant.

“That’s not a fair deal. If I take it, you do what I ask,” Wenren Tianming replied.

“Confident, aren’t you?” Xu Zimo shook his head.

He could tell Wenren Tianming was at the early stage of the Imperial Meridian Realm.

Clearly, Grandpa had given him plenty of resources, he was a true prodigy now.

A bit of arrogance was understandable.

Xu Zimo slowly raised his saber. He had learned a meridian technique called Sword-Drawing Technique.

He didn’t embellish it with fancy tricks, he simply poured the pure speed of the technique into the slash.

It was an extremely simple strike.

But in its simplicity, it carried a kind of return-to-origin feeling. Wenren Tianming didn’t even see Xu Zimo’s motion.

Before he knew it, the hair knot on top of his head was cut cleanly off, and the saber’s energy continued forward, slicing a weeping willow behind him in two.

“You were supposed to be a dead man,” Xu Zimo said calmly. “You should be grateful you’re a member of the Wenren Clan.”