I Truly Am The Villian

This is a vast transit hub.

From here, one can take the Teleportation Array to reach most of the cities on the Eastern Continent.

Xu Zimei disembarked from the airship, and all the passengers scattered, keeping their distance from him.

Xu Zimei prepared to teleport to a city under the rule of the True Martial Holy Sect.

He first went to a nearby tavern hoping to grab some food.

By the window, the shopkeeper brought over a pot of wine and several dishes of meat.

As Xu Zimei was eating, a group of people burst into the tavern.

"Hand it over, kid," a man with a long knife heavily struck Xu Zimei’s table and said dispassionately.

"Hand over what?" Xu Zimei looked up and glanced at the group.

This group, consisting of around a dozen people, was dressed in black robes, each with a belligerent look and a face full of scars.

"They’re from the Green Sand Gang, everyone better scatter,"

someone exclaimed as they saw the group.

"What’s the Green Sand Gang?" some people asked, confused.

"They’re the biggest gang at this transit station. Rumor has it they have a strong backing, they’re incredibly overbearing, and many people have suffered at their hands," someone explained.

"Don’t play dumb, kid," the leader snorted coldly.

Looking at Xu Zimei, he said, "Do I need to spell it out? The treasure of Immortal Island."

"You folks sure aren’t afraid of dying," Xu Zimei shook his head slightly.

"What treasure? I was just lucky to pick up a life."

Without a doubt, someone had spread this news on the airship before.

After all, Xu Zimei was the only one who had come out of Liubo Island.

"I don’t believe it, unless I search your Storage Ring," the leader said.

"Really ruining one’s appetite during a meal," Xu Zimei shook his head slightly.

He shouted to the tavern shopkeeper, who had already hidden himself, "Shopkeeper, come out, there are bodies to collect."

No sooner had he spoken than the group of people hadn’t even had time to react.

The only thing they felt was a chill at their necks, and when they tried to speak, all that remained was the sound of their heads falling to the ground.

Everyone stood frozen in place, then along with their heads, collapsed to the floor.

"Disappointing," Xu Zimei glanced at the wine and meat on the table and stood up to walk out of the tavern.

Only after he had left did those who had hidden themselves carefully come out.

As they looked at the Green Sand Gang’s corpses scattered on the ground, they all felt a headache coming on.

Xu Zimei headed straight to the teleportation site.

He looked around and finally decided to teleport to Dragon Tiger City.

Dragon Tiger City was situated within the domain of the True Martial Holy Sect and was one of its many governed cities.

There weren’t many people going to this place, and after queuing for half an hour, Xu Zimei entered the Teleportation Array.

During the prolonged journey through space, Xu Zimei was also diligently cultivating.

As Destiny began to take shape, the pressure on everyone was mounting.

The Power Vortex inside his body had condensed to a thousand, almost reaching its limit, and making any further condensation would require a full-scale breakthrough in his physique.

He was now attempting to enter the second stage, to condense the Power Vortex within his Divine Soul.

This had to be done with great care and caution, because the Divine Soul is fragile and its recovery speed is slower than that of the body.

As the old saying goes, "Cultivation knows no years," and after a long while, Xu Zimei slowly opened his eyes from cultivation.

The Space in front of him split, and he stepped onto the land of Dragon Tiger City.

Dragon Tiger City was not considered a large city.

It was located to the east of the True Martial Holy Sect, within a mid-sized city.

The city was neither bustling with prosperity nor desolate with inactivity.

Dragon and tiger were the symbols of this place.

When Xu Zimei arrived at Dragon Tiger City, it was just in the morning.

Dawn was breaking, and vendors were just starting to push their carts up and down the streets.

The entire city seemed to wake up from a night’s sleep.

In the center of the city stood a huge dragon and tiger carving.

This statue had the head of a dragon and the body of a tiger, standing proud in the midst of this vast city.

Around the statue was a railing, preventing anyone from getting close.

As the weather turned cooler, residents of Dragon Tiger City began to gather around the dragon and tiger statue one after another.

"Hurry up, today is the day of worship, and if we’re late, we won’t find a good spot," someone in the crowd urged.

"What’s the rush? It’s all the same worship anyway. Could the Dragon-Tiger God possibly play favorites?" another person retorted, unconvinced.

"Besides, we’ve been worshipping for so many years, and I haven’t seen the Dragon-Tiger God manifest. You people are just superstitious," said some youths in the crowd, questioning.

"There isn’t any Dragon-Tiger God in this world, we’re better off practicing," another said.

"Shut your mouth, the Divine Spirits are not for you to debate," an old man beside them, infuriated, cursed loudly.

The young person shrank his head and dared not speak anymore.

Xu Zimei watched from the side, finding it amusing.

He stepped forward and asked with a smile, "Old man, I just arrived at Dragon Tiger City today, may I know what you all are preparing to do?"

"Young man, you’re in luck," the elder looked Xu Zimei over, then said with a smile.

"Today happens to be the day to worship the Dragon-Tiger God. Join in the worship, and you’re guaranteed good health and smooth sailing in the future."

"What is the Dragon-Tiger God?" Xu Zimei followed the crowd, asking as he walked.

"That’s an ancient legend," the elder paused for a moment, then said.

"Long, long ago, Monster Beasts ravaged the lands outside the city. Dragon Tiger City was remote and every time residents went north, it was a near-death experience.

Late on, the Dragon-Tiger God arrived and expelled the Monster Beasts, protecting the city and thereby granting us peace until now.

It’s said that whenever the city faces a life-and-death crisis, the Dragon-Tiger God will appear and bless us."

Hearing the old man’s words, Xu Zimei smiled.

He noticed that the crowd gathering here in the city was growing larger and larger.

The throng almost took over the entire square, even those running street stalls brought incense and offerings to this place.

Xu Zimei wasn’t particularly interested in the Dragon-Tiger God, so he didn’t join the elder and his group’s excitement. He left the square and headed towards the city’s outskirts.

The layout inside Dragon Tiger City was quite peculiar.

A long river split half of the city in two, dividing Dragon Tiger City into two parts.

Inside Qinghe, lotus flowers blossomed in abundance, usually frequented by fisherman.

Today, as everyone went to the worship at Dragon Tiger City, the lively riverbanks were almost empty of people.

Xu Zimei looked around and noticed only one fish stall on the left where a middle-aged man wearing a yellow bamboo hat was singularly focused on gutting fish.

Behind him, the fishing boat that just returned was drifting there.

"Boatman, can I get a ride across the river?" Xu Zimei approached and asked.

"Would you like some fish?" The middle-aged man looked up, his face weathered with deep wrinkles and grooves, appearing to be in his forties.

"No fish for me. I just want to take the boat," Xu Zimei shook his head and said.

The middle-aged man nodded, silently put down the fish in his hands, and unhurriedly untied the black leather apron around his waist.

Then he started walking towards the boat and gestured for Xu Zimei to join him.