I am Villain Cultivator
Chapter 27: First Day In Verdant Deathwood

Chapter 27: Chapter 27: First Day In Verdant Deathwood

The sky above the Verdant Deathwood shimmered with a silver hue as the space cracked open. One by one, participants were transported into the mystical forest. When Kaal landed, the first thing he noticed was the overwhelming density of spiritual energy. The trees were massive, their leaves humming faintly with life force. The atmosphere was damp, and a strange mist lingered at the base of the trees.

Kaal grunted, eyes scanning his surroundings. He moved quickly, trying to locate a place to rest and observe the terrain. After some trekking, he found a hollowed cliffside partially covered in moss. It would serve well as a temporary shelter.

No sooner had he begun clearing the area than he heard a rustle in the bushes. A hairy baboon, its fur matted and its eyes bloodshot, leapt at him. Kaal reached for the twin axes at his waist. With a low growl, he charged forward. The baboon screamed, swinging its arms wildly, but Kaal ducked, twisted, and with a slash infused with azure Qi, he decapitated the beast in a single swing. The air shimmered with a faint blue light sword aura, faint and unstable but present.

"Looks like I’m getting the hang of this," he muttered.

Not long after, Kaal activated Mind Eye to check his surroundings and paused, he had sensed something. A flicker of intent. His deep black eyes narrowed and locked onto a figure hiding behind a thicket. A young man with a nervous expression was another participant who had chosen to hide rather than fight.

Kaal didn’t speak. He just stared at the figure, his face twisted into a mocking smile.

It was Hiren who was hiding, he just wanted to find any place to stay at night when he heard a battle voice. He thought that he could take advantage of the situation. If the opponent were strong, he would run away; if not, then he would kill the participants.

’ How the hell my first participant I found turned into Kaal, in the whole fu*king forest I just find Kaal,’ thought Hiren, looking at Kaal, who was just staring at him

Fear gripped Hiren’s heart. The depth in those eyes was unnatural. Unable to bear the pressure, he turned and fled deeper into the woods.

"Coward," Kaal chuckled.

Determined to test more of his abilities, Kaal decided to try using the Qi Burst technique General Ruke had demonstrated. But instead of releasing it through his heart, Kaal tried something different. He focused the Qi into his axe. The axe began to glow with violent azure energy, pulsing and flickering like a storm barely contained.

"What the—"

Before he could control it, the Qi spiraled wildly. In panic, he hurled the axe at the retreating Hiren. The weapon streaked through the air, whistling as it traveled. It struck Hiren with a sickening crack, splitting him in half before embedding itself in a nearby tree.

The explosion followed.

BOOM!

A powerful blast erupted, sending shockwaves through the forest. The tree shattered. Kaal’s arms were thrown back, bleeding. His skin was torn, and the axe was nowhere to be seen. Blood dripped from his palms.

"I need to master that... or it’ll kill me first."

Meanwhile, deeper in the Verdant Deathwood...

A huge, horned bear rampaged through the underbrush, its hide as thick as iron and its two jagged horns glowing faintly with earthy spiritual Qi. Lauren Kilvish, his brown hair disheveled, his fox-like eyes narrowed, stood panting, his Shadow Sword Art technique active. Each movement was swift, surgical, striking like a viper in the dark.

Yet every time his blade met the horned bear’s hide, it barely scratched. The brute’s strikes came with the weight of a boulder, and even dodging them was exhausting.

"Tch... this isn’t working!" Lauren spat, leaping backward as a claw swiped where his head had been.

His sword movements turned desperate, and a heavy paw slammed him to the ground, his sword knocked from his grasp.

Just as the bear lunged in for the kill, a flash of silver cut across its eye. The beast roared, stumbling. Ashen appeared, calm and composed, blade in hand.

Together, the two coordinated a counterattack. Ashen targeted the legs, slowing the beast, while Lauren struck at its exposed eyes and throat.

But even with teamwork, it was clear: Lauren had lost the duel.

His strikes lacked the killing intent and precision needed. The bear’s sheer durability overcame his techniques, while Ashen had to deliver the final blow.

Lauren fell to his knees, panting. "Looks like... I need more training."

Ashen didn’t reply. He offered a hand to Lauren.

Lauren was a little hesitant to shake Ashen’s hand. Just a week ago, at the start of the True Dragon Competition, Ashen had been his servant. And now, barely days later, he was being saved by that very same person. Still, knowing the limits of his strength and current situation, he swallowed his discomfort. A smile flickered across his fox-like face.

"You’ve gotten strong. I almost didn’t recognize you," Lauren said, reaching out to take Ashen’s extended hand. "Congratulations on becoming an official member of the Kilvish Clan."

There was a hidden meaning behind his words, subtle, but Ashen caught it.

"Master," Ashen said in a low tone, helping him up, "whether I am a servant or not, I will always be on your side."

His voice was calm, but his thoughts were anything but. Ashen’s presence here was no coincidence. In the original novel, it was Raven who had helped Lauren defeat the horned bear. But Lauren later betrayed Raven and joined forces with Kaal. Ashen knew this all too well. One of the conditions that he promised Samrat was that he would kill Lauren, who joined the kaal side, that why he was acting right now; he wanted to kill Lauren right now.

But the entire event was being live-streamed outside. Any sudden action would draw unwanted attention. That was the only reason he restrained himself.

"Master, let’s team up to survive," Ashen said, hiding his real intentions behind a friendly expression.

Lauren nodded, wiping the dirt from his robes. "Alright. But you can stop calling me ’Master’ now. You’re free and a recognized member of the Kilvish Clan, declared so by the patriarch himself."

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Elsewhere, near a riverbank, Divya stood with blood trailing from her cheek. Her breathing was labored. Before her, a creature unlike any other screeched a Winged Skat, part spider, part crow. Its black chitin glistened in the savage nature, its wings spread menacingly, and its six glowing eyes locked onto her.

It lunged towards Divya,

Divya stepped back, forming a seal with her fingers. A black flame erupted from her hands, swirling like a vortex. The creature, seeing the flame, tried to escape, but the fire followed. With a scream, the Winged Skat was engulfed.

aaaaaarrrghhh!

As the flames consumed the spider-like beast, it shrieked in agony a bone-chilling, distorted wail that echoed through the forest like the death cry of a damned soul. Its blackened wings flailed wildly as the fire devoured it from the inside out. After a while, it stopped moving.

Looking at the burnt corpse of the ugly beast, Divya feels uncomfortable, but she knows that this world is where the strong prey on the weak, so she can’t display any weakness now, not in this Verdant Deathwood.