I Truly Am The Villian

"Ah," Xu Zimei had just stepped into the forest when a painful scream pierced her ears.

Turning her head to look, Xu Zimei saw a body hanging from a tree branch not far away through the dense forest canopy.

By his attire, he was evidently a disciple from Scenic Skies Peak.

The branch had pierced through his back and chest, directly gouging out his heart.

Shortly after, the tree astonishingly grew eyes and a mouth; it tossed the heart into its mouth and, while chewing, sneered at Xu Zimei creepily.

"Provoking me?" Xu Zimei’s eyebrows raised slightly as she delivered a palm strike. The tree didn’t even have the chance to react before it was obliterated under her palm.

Xu Zimei discovered an interesting fact; she had barely taken a few steps into this forest, and now, she couldn’t even find the exit.

It was as if the forest were continuously shifting and changing.

...

At this moment, within the depths of the Demon Mist Forest, Xue Qingming was leading a group of disciples from Great Skies Peak in a desperate flight.

"Xue Senior Brother, what should we do?" a disciple anxiously asked by his side.

"This forest is probably not so simple; running haphazardly like this, I’m afraid hope is bleak," he said.

"It’s all Green Skies Peak’s fault, setting us up like this," another disciple snorted coldly.

"They’re our senior brothers, yet they left us for dead."

"Don’t you know the rule? ’Every man for himself,’" Xue Qingming said indifferently.

"If danger comes later, don’t worry about anything else; just crush the Spatial Token straight away."

While fleeing swiftly, everyone kept a vigilant watch on their surroundings.

Suddenly, a tree branch lashed out from nearby.

Before they could even dodge, innumerable intertwined branches began to enclose them from below.

"What kind of cursed place is this," grumbled a disciple.

Four or five disciples, wielding longswords, chopped at the branches continuously, but it was in vain; the branches seemed to regenerate endlessly.

Not only the branches, but even the surrounding mist had thickened substantially.

It obscured the view, making the direction from which the branches struck even more deceptive.

"At this rate, it looks like we’re all going to end up trapped in here," said a disciple, fraught with anxiety.

"What else can we do? This is the only option now," Xue Qingming remarked.

As the branches around them grew denser, their progress became ever more arduous.

Finally, after about ten or so minutes, they were completely enveloped by the thick branches, sealed tight from the inside and outside, layer upon layer.

More importantly, thorns began to sprout from these branches.

One of the disciples carelessly got caught by a thorn and instantly melted into a puddle of thick liquid.

"Crush the tokens," Xue Qingming said helplessly.

"We’ve been waiting for the Nine Skies grand event for ten years, and it’s going to end like this?" said a disciple, unable to accept their fate.

"If you want to die, then keep holding on," Xue Qingming said coldly.

"Only by surviving can we have endless hope."

"Yo, what lively action we have here," a light laugh broke the heavy atmosphere at that very moment.

A flash of Blade Qi from Wu Geng slashed through, turning the cage of branches into pieces.

The surprised disciples looked up, only to see Xu Zimei standing nearby, looking intrigued by the situation inside.

"Lin, Senior Brother Lin Qiu," one disciple said in astonishment.

"Not leaving yet? Want to be encased again?" Xu Zimei asked.

"Oh, oh," the four disciples finally came to their senses and hurriedly made their way through the gap in the branches.

"You just now?" Xue Qingming looked at Xu Zimei with a complex expression on his face.

The Blade Qi from earlier, an attack of such power, Xue Qingming admitted to himself that he was incapable of achieving it.

"Is there something wrong?" Xu Zimei asked indifferently.

"Nothing," Xue Qingming said, head bowed, his expression unclear as he shook his head slightly.

"Senior Brother Lin, you must stand up for us," cried a nearby disciple.

"Stand up for what? You’re dumb and you blame others?" Xu Zimei countered.

The disciple was left speechless by the retort.

"Have any of you seen Shen Lang of Green Skies Peak?" Xu Zimei asked.

"You mean the First Blade of Green Skies?" another disciple chimed in.

"Yes, we’ve seen him. It was he who tricked us into this Demon Mist Forest just now."

"Lead me to him," Xu Zimei demanded.

"He went north a moment ago, but we must first leave this Demon Mist Forest," Xue Qingming interjected from the side.

"That’s easy," Xu Zimei said as he lifted his hand, a ball of flame condensing in his palm.

"Burning Prairie," he uttered softly, and the flame instantly spread into a sea of fire, spreading and descending around them, setting the entire forest ablaze.

The "crackle and pop" of the flames resounded all around, forging a great path through the fire in front.

Surprisingly, the trees around them seemed to come to life, extending their branches and constantly battling the flames.

Unfortunately, these were no ordinary flames. Anything that touched the fire was instantly consumed by it.

"I know you can understand me, clear a path and I will cease the fire.

Otherwise, I don’t mind going to the trouble of burning down this forest," Xu Zimei spoke calmly.

No sooner had his words fallen than the trees throughout the forest began to move.

In an instant, they cleared a path and even the surrounding fog was dispelled.

"This," the bystanders marveled at the scene before them.

"Senior Brother Lin, how could you before..." a disciple asked, looking dazedly at Xu Zimei.

"How could I be so useless?" Xu Zimei asked with a smile.

"No, it’s just that you’ve concealed it so well," the disciple took a moment to find the right words to say.

Xu Zimei shook his head slightly; he certainly couldn’t tell them his predecessor truly was a waste.

The Misty Forest was continuously shifting, and before long the group found the exit.

When they looked back, they saw the forest receding into the distance, disappearing into the mist.

"Which direction?" Xu Zimei inquired indifferently.

"North," Xue Qingming pointed ahead and added, "However, he’s not alone. He’s accompanied by several disciples from Green Skies Peak."

"No matter," Xu Zimei shook his head and started walking north.

...…

At this moment, atop Great Dao Feng Peak, those who witnessed this scene all frowned slightly.

"Peak Leader Lin, your son sure knows how to keep a low profile," Wang Yuntian remarked from the side.

"Qiu’er, he..." Lin Beisheng frowned slightly, suddenly recalling Xu Zimei’s previous boasts.

How he had spoken so casually about counter-killing Yang Cheng and fighting Lin Feng, the Imperial Heir. Where did such confidence come from?

Many thoughts flickered through Lin Beisheng’s mind, and he found himself increasingly unable to see through his son.

"It’s indeed him," Mu Changge furrowed his brows at the front.

His heart now certain of the one who had killed Green Jiao, his earlier hesitations were only due to Xu Zimei’s young age.