I Really Am A Villain
Ch. 22 - The Chang Clan

"Didn’t you just say I had a unique, nonconformist charm?" Xu Zimo chuckled. "And now you’re turning your nose up at me? Hah… women."

"It's just that knowing someone's face doesn’t mean you know their heart," Ji Baiyu replied coldly.

"Then maybe we should take the time to get to know each other better," Xu Zimo said, grinning at Ji Baiyu’s clearly irritated expression as he left with Vastsky.

As Xu Zimo’s back disappeared from view, Ji Baiyu clenched her fists and turned to Elder Blackwood.

“Grandpa Blackwood, do you really believe he can carry the Heaven's Will?”

“Becoming a Grand Emperor means being the strongest of an entire era. It’s not something just anyone can do,” the old man shook his head.

“Then why give him the Imperial Blood?” she asked, confused.

“If he had activated that jade token earlier, I might have barely escaped with my life, but you would be dead,” Elder Blackwood said with a sigh. “Don’t be fooled by that cheerful attitude. I can see it in his eyes, this man is absolutely capable of killing when needed. He would’ve killed you without hesitation to take the Imperial Blood.”

“Despicable,” Ji Baiyu muttered, glaring in the direction Xu Zimo had gone.

Meanwhile, on the street, Vastsky asked curiously, “So that really was the Imperial Blood?”

“Want to drink it and find out? One drop and you could become an immortal,” Xu Zimo said with a laugh.

“Not interested,” Vastsky replied coolly. “Even if it’s powerful, it’s still external help. My path in sword cultivation must be carved by my own hands.”

When they got downstairs, they saw Lin Ruhu and Guan Zhenhai still in the private room.

Guan Zhenhai had a girl in each arm, laughing and having the time of his life.

Lin Ruhu, meanwhile, was completely focused on the food, devouring dishes like a man on a mission, paying no attention to the women around him.

"Senior Brother Guan, enjoy yourself. We're heading back first," Xu Zimo said with a smile.

"So soon, Junior Brother Xu?" Guan Zhenhai said with a wink, casting him a teasing look. "You need to take care of yourself, you know. Don’t overdo it, bad kidneys are no joke!"

“Get lost,” Xu Zimo said with a laugh, and left with the others.

Back at the Chang Clan estate, the clan head Chang Tianxiong was deep in thought after hearing his son Chang Wei’s report.

He was a burly man in a pale blue robe, embroidered with clouds along the collar and cuffs.

His face was rugged, but his mind was sharp. Stroking his thick beard, he asked, “Did that disciple say anything about his background?”

“No,” Chang Wei shook his head. “He’s probably just another useless brother of that loser Guan Zhenhai. Birds of a feather, as they say.”

“Don’t be careless,” Chang Tianxiong said seriously. “If he’s just an ordinary inner court disciple, we have some influence in the True Martial Sacred Ground. But if he’s one of the elite inner disciples… or even a core disciple, then this could get messy.”

“What should we do?” Chang Wei asked nervously. “I just wanted to impress the Third Prince by reserving Bright Moon Tower for him.”

“Has our man from the sect branch reported back yet?” Chang Tianxiong asked. “Guan Zhenhai’s benefited plenty from us over the years, he owes us.”

“They were kicked out,” Chang Wei replied. “Didn’t even get to see Guan Zhenhai.”

“Then we wait,” Chang Tianxiong said, voice cold. “Let’s see what kind of beast or demon this person really is. And try to let the Third Prince hear about this. If we can drag the royal family into this, all the better.”

“I understand,” Chang Wei nodded.

Later that afternoon, Chang Wei was publicly punished, beaten with a hundred heavy strikes in front of the clan elders and clansmen.

The story spread quickly: Chang Wei had clashed with a disciple from the True Martial Sacred Ground while preparing to host the Third Prince at Bright Moon Tower.

Rumors swept through the entire Chang Clan.

As night fell and a crescent moon hung in the sky, in a side room in the back of the Chang estate, a young man and an old man stood by the window.

The young man was strikingly handsome, dressed in a blue and white robe, radiating natural authority, like someone born to rule.

The old man was quiet and nearly invisible. If you didn’t look carefully, you might miss him entirely.

He wore a plain gray robe, his gaze deep as a black hole. His hair was mostly black but streaked with white, giving him the air of someone near the twilight of life.

“What do you make of the rumors outside, Your Highness?” the old man asked.

“The Chang Clan stirred up trouble with the True Martial Sacred Ground and now they want to drag me into it,” the youth said with a chuckle. “But the sect's disciples are seriously arrogant.”

“Please be cautious, Your Highness,” the old man quickly warned. “Some things are not ours to comment on.”

“Is the True Martial Sacred Ground really that powerful?” the prince asked skeptically.

He was the Third Prince of the Violet Sun Empire, one of the two great empires in the Western Region.

His father was an Imperial Meridian Realm powerhouse, and the empire had close to a hundred Paragon Meridian Realm experts, with countless Desolate Meridian cultivators.

Yet the True Martial Sacred Ground towered over them like a mountain, and everyone bowed before it.

The prince found that hard to accept.

“Your Highness, even if the Emperor himself came, he would still show deference to the sect,” the old man said gravely.

“Do you know how the An Clan came to rule the empire?”

“Wasn’t it through generations of conquest and strength?” the prince asked.

“The Violet Sun Empire has existed for nearly ten thousand years. Many dynasties have come and gone. The last ruling Clan wasn’t even surnamed An. They grew arrogant and began resisting the orders of the True Martial Sacred Ground,” the old man said, shaking his head.

“Then one day, an old man walked out of the sect. Within a single day, the ruling family, all its relatives, and anyone connected to them, were wiped off the face of the earth. Not a single trace was left. Only after your An Clan passed the sect’s test were you allowed to take the throne. So remember, power, empire, royalty, none of that means anything in front of absolute strength.”

“I understand,” the prince nodded. “I don’t want to clash with the True Martial Sacred Ground either. But I’ve come all the way here to the Chang Clan as part of the succession struggle between me and my brothers. The Chang Clan has been dragging their feet on supporting me. If we help them deal with this matter, maybe we can win them over as allies.”

“Let’s see who shows up tomorrow first,” the old man said after a pause.

“If it’s just an ordinary disciple, we can handle it. But if it’s a true disciple, then even we can’t interfere.”

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