Villain Alliance

The great hall was silent.

Elder You and Elder Ming had left at some point.

They had guarded Lu Yuan for over a decade and knew what they should hear and what they should not.

A long while passed.

One of the future great villains said indignantly, "What makes you so certain? How do you know the Child of Destiny's beliefs will definitely conflict with mine? And Tianxiao Continent is so vast—will I necessarily encounter a Child of Destiny?"

The others voiced their agreement. They did not hold back their opinions simply because of Lu Yuan's status.

Lu Yuan looked at the speaker with approval.

"What you said makes some sense. In the past, I truly could not guarantee whether you would encounter a Child of Destiny. But now, I can say with certainty that you will. Everyone here will as well."

"Because there is more than one Child of Destiny—there are over a hundred. Their influence is immense. They have family, friends, masters, and factions they belong to. If you provoke any one of them, you will eventually draw the attention of a Child of Destiny."

"If you still do not believe me, then each of you may speak about your ideals and what you have done for them."

Lu Yuan looked at the crowd. "But remember: the Children of Destiny represent justice. If your ideals violate conventional ethics and morality in any way, they will clash with the beliefs of the Children of Destiny."

Soon, a burly young man with a fierce face stepped forward.

"My name is Dugu Ao. I come from the Blood Refining Demon Palace of the Southern Domain, and I am the current Holy Son of the Blood Refining Demon Palace. My ideal is to turn the Southern Domain—even all of Tianxiao Continent—into a place of bloody slaughter. In my view, people should be valued for quality, not quantity. Only through baptism in blood and trials of life and death can the strongest be forged!"

"And one supreme powerhouse is worth tens of billions of people. To that end, I cultivated diligently and fought in every direction for the Demon Palace, turning city after city, kingdom after kingdom, into lands of blood refinement."

"However, the Blood Refining Demon Palace understands the principle of not draining the pond to catch all the fish. Our blades will not be turned upon ordinary people or the weak. On the contrary, the Blood Refining Demon Palace provides them with cultivation methods and resources, allowing them to cultivate. We provide them with a stable and safe environment in which to grow."

"Only after they reach a certain level will the Blood Refining Demon Palace send them to blood-refinement lands to fight and temper themselves. The final victors will be able to join the Blood Refining Demon Palace."

Upon hearing Dugu Ao's words, everyone wore different expressions.

They were no strangers to the Blood Refining Demon Palace.

The Blood Refining Demon Palace was one of the ten great demonic factions of Tianxiao Continent.

One Demon Palace was the equal of three sacred lands.

After Dugu Ao finished speaking, a young man with delicate, feminine features stepped forward.

He swept his gaze across the crowd and said, "My name is Dongfang Baitian. I come from the Dongfang Family of the Central Domain and am the current Eldest Young Master of the Dongfang Family. My ideal is to overthrow the First Central Empire and make the Dongfang Family stand at the pinnacle of Tianxiao."

"To achieve this, I cultivated diligently and used every possible means to grow stronger. If there was a treasure I did not possess, I seized it. If there was a treasure I did possess, I found ways to obtain more of it, all to strengthen my foundation. Any genius from the First Central Empire, I would do everything in my power to kill, nipping them in the bud. I also tried every means to approach the Eldest Princess of the First Central Empire. As long as I married her, I could enter the core of the First Central Empire. Even though that Eldest Princess utterly despised me, I still shamelessly approached and flattered her."

"But in truth, I have someone I love, and I find that Eldest Princess equally disgusting. Yet for my family's foundation and its ten-thousand-year plan, even though the outside world calls me the greatest bootlicker under heaven, I have never given up."

"Hiss..."

Hearing Dongfang Baitian's words, everyone drew a sharp breath.

The First Central Empire was one of the top three superpowers of Tianxiao Continent.

As for the Dongfang Family, they had also heard of it.

The Dongfang Family was one of the Five Great Families of the First Central Empire.

The Dongfang Family's ancestor had even been a founding hero of the First Central Empire.

Next, one young man after another stepped forward to speak.

One or two hours later.

Everyone fell silent.

Because they had all realized that what they had done for their goals violated conventional ethics.

In other words, if they continued down their current paths, they would all eventually encounter a Child of Destiny.

For a time, the atmosphere around the villains became somewhat oppressive.

After a while.

"Young Master, you did not gather us here merely to tell us how powerful the Children of Destiny are and that we are villains, did you?"

The speaker was a handsome young man with an elegant bearing.

From his appearance alone, no one could tell that he was the Young Master of the Sky Demon Palace, the number one demonic faction on Tianxiao Continent.

Lu Yuan smiled. "Of course not. I gathered you here to save you."

"How will you save us?"

Everyone became energized.

Lu Yuan said, "The Children of Destiny are not invincible. At least in my eyes, their strength is limited. My goal is to eliminate every Child of Destiny. In other words, you and I are allies standing on the same front."

"Eliminate every Child of Destiny?"

"Allies?"

The young men's eyes lit up.

They did not know who Lu Yuan was, but they understood that his background surpassed all of theirs.

Having such a figure as their ally was like taking a reassuring pill.

Lu Yuan said, "If you want to deal with the Children of Destiny, you can no longer fight alone. You must band together. Therefore, I will establish the Villain Alliance, and you will be its first members."

With a sweep of his sleeve, more than a dozen streaks of light landed in the hands of the young men.

"Keep the item in your hands safe. It is called Void Jade, and it can grant entry into a space known as the Void Realm. As long as you hold the Void Jade, you can enter the Void Realm no matter where you are. From now on, you will communicate within the Void Realm. Naturally, so will I."

The Void Realm?

The young men exchanged strange looks, all eager to try it.

Lu Yuan smiled. "Do not be impatient. Let me finish first."

"The Children of Destiny are powerful for four reasons. First, they are protected by destiny. Second, they possess deep backgrounds. Third, they have great foundations. Fourth, they possess exceptional natural talent."

"So, to defeat a Child of Destiny, you must first surpass them in these four aspects."

"Of course, you do not need to surpass them in every aspect. If you exceed a Child of Destiny in just one or two, you will have the strength to fight them. Surpass them in three, and you can defeat them. Surpass them comprehensively in all four, and you can utterly crush them."

"As the leader of the Villain Alliance, I have both the obligation and responsibility to help you strengthen these four aspects."

"Now, everyone, enter the Void Realm and experience it for yourselves."

"Simply place your spiritual will upon the Void Jade."

With that, Lu Yuan also took out a piece of Void Jade and was the first to enter the Void Realm.