"The Great Villain Was Me All Along?"

"Hiss..."

Everyone drew a sharp breath. The way they looked at Paimon changed.

"A useless member of society?"

You're calling someone like him a useless member of society?

Only this little creature would dare say that.

"If I hadn't heard it from the little one, I'd never have believed His Excellency was a useless member of society!"

"His Highness the Crown Prince said His Excellency possessed extraordinary learning. Of course he was right. His Highness has an unerring eye."

"So young, so handsome, and he even has a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. His Highness the Crown Prince has an incredible eye for talent, recruiting a guest elder like him."

"Just looking at him, His Excellency carries an air of incomparable nobility. Every move he makes seems full of deeper meaning..."

Listening to the crowd's praise, Zhongli's eye twitched. Were they really that good at flattery?

He glanced at the onlookers, at a loss for words, but said nothing.

He looked toward Dai Mubai, who was still slapping himself. Zhongli parted his lips, then hesitated.

He had meant to reason with Dai Mubai. He had not expected him to drop straight to his knees.

Dai Mubai had made "bullying the weak and fearing the strong" look all too real.

"Punishment enough?"

As Paimon saw it, Dai Mubai knew he was wrong and had received the punishment he deserved. That should be the end of it.

Killing Dai Mubai? She did not even dare think about it.

Zhongli waved a hand. His Martial Soul Possession vanished, and the "Soul Rings" returned to his body.

For him, simulating a Soul Master's combat abilities could not have been easier.

Now that he had arrived in a world of Soul Masters, giving himself a disguise was only sensible.

That was why, after learning this was the Douluo Continent, Zhongli had made a pact with Paimon to have her pose as his Martial Soul.

Back on the Teyvat Continent, he had made himself a "real" glass bead so he could move through the world normally. That disguise had spared him a great deal of trouble.

Here on the Douluo Continent, posing as a Titled Douluo would spare him trouble that might otherwise arise. That was the wisdom of Morax!

"Even if he isn't the Vago Rock Emperor, he must have a profound connection to him."

Zhongli's appearance just now had differed quite a bit from the Vago Rock Emperor in her memories. But that familiar presence could not be faked.

Perhaps the Vago Rock Emperor was what Zhongli would become in the future.

"In this age, demons and gods rose on every side. Though I had no desire to vie for power, I knew the suffering of the people..."

Those words made it clear that the Lord of Geo had not wanted to use his power at first.

But with demons and gods running rampant and the people suffering, the kindhearted Lord of Geo had been forced to act.

For all the people under heaven...

Wait!

Qian Renxue's beautiful eyes narrowed. She felt numb.

She had been among those struck by his All-Devouring Void!

The great villain was me all along?

Qian Renxue had never imagined she would one day become the great villain of a play or novel!

After all, the Angel God had swept away the darkness and restored peace to the Douluo Continent.

Her descendants had followed her will, rooting out and punishing the fallen on the Douluo Continent.

How could I possibly be the great villain?

Was there some mistake?

Qian Renxue looked at Zhongli and Paimon and fell into thought.

In her dream, she and Zhongli had scarcely crossed paths.

Only at Jialing Pass, when the battle of the gods erupted, had she finally seen that figure.

The Sea God, the Asura God, the Angel God, the Rakshasa God...

Tang San!

Tang San?

Qian Renxue glanced toward the Shrek group.

Wasn't that unremarkable-looking boy named Tang San?

Before his Blue Silver Emperor underwent its Second Awakening, Tang San had looked utterly ordinary.

He could disappear into a crowd without a trace, with nothing to distinguish him.

And the Shrek Seven Devils!

The Shrek Seven Devils had distinguished themselves at Jialing Pass, killing many of Spirit Hall's elite.

If she could, Qian Renxue would recruit the Shrek Seven Devils early—or destroy them before they grew stronger!

Ever since Zhongli had "revealed" his strength, the way Zhu Zhuqing looked at him had changed. She did not notice "Xue Qinghe" looking at her.

That familiar feeling could not be wrong.

He was Morax!

If that was a past life, would we still become friends in this one?

Zhu Zhuqing kept the question to herself.

Her dream and Qian Renxue's were nothing alike. They were two extremes.

They might as well have been two separate dreams.

It was Zhongli who had taught her to be strong...

"Smack..."

"Smack..."

Dai Mubai was still slapping himself. Zhongli had not told him to stop, and he did not dare stop on his own.

When Zhongli withdrew his "Martial Soul," Dai Mubai breathed a little easier. At least he would not die.

This Excellency seemed satisfied with his display.

The strong needed no reason to kill the weak.

Just as nobles or Soul Masters needed no reason to kill commoners without Soul Power. They could also make up some slight against them, and that would serve well enough.

Earlier, Dai Mubai had merely wanted to beat Zhongli up for fun and vent some of the resentment he had picked up at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

And the way Zhu Zhuqing looked at Zhongli had enraged him, giving him even more reason to strike.

But he had become the entertainment instead.

After the time it took an incense stick to burn, Dai Mubai's face was unrecognizable. Even his companions could hardly bear to watch.

Ning Rongrong and Dai Mubai had once had their differences. But after their trip to the Star Dou Great Forest, those differences had faded. Dai Mubai had even offered to stay behind and face the Hundred Thousand Year Titan Giant Ape so the others could escape.

Faced with life and death, any lingering resentment had vanished. When danger came, Dai Mubai had shown himself a real man.

"Senior brother, Dai Mubai has been punished. Could you help us and ask His Excellency to let him off this once?" Ning Rongrong asked "Xue Qinghe" quietly.

Calling him His Highness the Crown Prince now would sound too distant.

Calling him senior brother might strengthen their connection. Add a little appeal for sympathy, and perhaps it would work.

Who there could not hear Ning Rongrong?

Even Dai Mubai, kneeling on the ground, heard every word.

He had never imagined that the person speaking up for him now would be Ning Rongrong, whom he had once threatened!

He would be lying if he said he was not moved.

Youth was the age of rash decisions, but also of burning passion.

Ning Rongrong's gesture nearly made Dai Mubai want to give her everything he had...

At her words, "Xue Qinghe" snapped out of his thoughts and gave Ning Rongrong a surprised look.

His eyes held a complicated expression.

It was not because she had asked him for help.

Ning Rongrong was one of the Shrek Seven Devils too.

"Junior sister Rong Rong, your friend did wrong. He ought to be punished."

"Mr. Zhongli's talent is unmatched in a thousand years!"

"If Mr. Zhongli had lacked the strength to defend himself today, and I had not arrived, such a talent might have vanished from this world."

"But..."