[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-really-am-a-villain":3,"chapter-i-really-am-a-villain-i-really-am-a-villain-chapter-397":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","I Really Am A Villain",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1432922,1885,"Chapter 397 - Vermillion Bird Academy","i-really-am-a-villain-chapter-397",397,"\u003Cp>The pouch only contained some broken silver. Most of Xu Zimo’s valuable items were stored in his storage ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And just earlier, he had noticed something different about the little boy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he didn’t expose him on the spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yue Qingli ran panting into a hidden alleyway and ducked inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took out the pouch he had just stolen, opened it, and found several silver pieces and a few scattered spirit stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He chuckled and put both into his own pocket, tossing the money pouch aside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Looks like he’s worth something. At least I won’t go hungry today,” he said smugly, walking out of the alley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as he turned the corner, he saw someone standing at the alley’s entrance, the very person he had just stolen from.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yue Qingli tried to run, but realized it was a dead-end alley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the only way out was now blocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless he had already reached the Desolate Meridian Realm and could fly, there was no way to escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No one ever told you stealing is wrong?” Xu Zimo turned and walked over with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you want?” Yue Qingli backed up to the farthest end of the alley, alert.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Return what’s mine,” Xu Zimo said calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yue Qingli hesitated, then quickly picked up the discarded pouch from the ground, stuffed the money back in, and handed it over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grinning, he said, “Hey, what if I told you I just picked this up, would you believe me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you think?” Xu Zimo asked back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Take off your hat. I don’t like talking to people who hide their faces.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No,” Yue Qingli shook his head quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I already gave the pouch back and I can apologize, but I won’t take off the hat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying that, he tried to run past Xu Zimo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zimo chuckled and waved his right hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A wave of spiritforce shot out and knocked the black hat off Yue Qingli’s head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what was revealed made Xu Zimo freeze slightly in surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the hat, there was nothing. No neck, no head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just the middle of a torso.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re from the Three-Eyed Demon Race,” Xu Zimo said in surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He quickly lifted the boy’s long robe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And saw a face growing where his belly button should be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked strange and bizarre.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a mouth, a nose, and two eyes, all centered on the stomach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the defining trait of the Three-Eyed Demon Race.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their heads were not on top like other creatures, but in the center of their bodies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was said that their ancestors were actually trees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A tree called the Three-Eyed Demon Tree, which gained a miraculous opportunity and transformed into a humanoid form, but something went wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s how they ended up with such a deformed appearance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of how they looked, many of the 3,000 known races either disliked or discriminated against them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So members of the Three-Eyed Demon Race often used all kinds of disguises when traveling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The “three eyes” referred not just to their face,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>but to a hidden third eye located within their heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In their clan, it was said that anyone who could open the third eye was a rare martial prodigy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were not a large race and not even ranked among the Thirty-Six Empires.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To put it simply, they were a minority group with very few members.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that his identity had been exposed, Yue Qingli panicked and picked up the fallen hat, putting it back on his “head,” trembling all over as he did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he turned and bolted out of the alley in a panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zimo didn’t stop him. He was indeed surprised to see someone from the Three-Eyed Demon Race.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that incident over, Xu Zimo lost interest in walking the streets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As night fell, he returned to the inn to rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vermilion Bird Academy’s student recruitment was happening in the next few days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zimo planned to stay in the city a while and witness the spectacle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, on the five continents, the Heavenly Dao Academy and its four branches were very well known.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the next few days, Xu Zimo stayed inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ever since he met the previous generation’s Infernal Lord in the Blissful Empire and obtained the scripture called Demon, he had not yet fully explored its ten styles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the inheritance had a kind of enlightening effect, Xu Zimo still felt he hadn’t reached the full potential of the battle technique.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dao is infinite. The deeper your understanding, the stronger you become.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Dao can never be completely understood, at least in the history of the Primordial Heartlands, no one had ever fully comprehended it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one had ever truly opened all twelve meridian gates and transcended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After nearly five days of seclusion, the recruitment day finally arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zimo stepped out of the inn. The streets were bustling with people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crowds surged toward the direction of Vermilion Bird Academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hundreds of meters from the academy gates, the roads were jammed with bodies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only youths from Vermilion Bird City, but also from other parts of Slaughter Empire and beyond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Countless youths from all directions gathered here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many were accompanied by family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along the tree-lined road in front of the academy, dozens of students in red robes stood guard, maintaining order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire avenue was packed with young hopefuls seeking admission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zimo stood at the back of the line, looking ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A commotion nearby suddenly caught his attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He saw a group of teenagers surrounding a boy in black robes, mocking and jeering him loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As more people gathered, the black-robed boy curled up in a corner, trembling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zimo saw clearly, it was the same Three-Eyed Demon Race kid who had stolen his money days earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come see the freak! Even monsters want into Vermilion Bird Academy!” someone shouted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He should be kicked out. People from the Three-Eyed Demon Race don’t deserve to enter a sacred academy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the crowd’s shouting grew louder, more people took notice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy’s strange appearance, his head growing from his waist, made him disliked by both humans and beasts alike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you doing?” a voice cut through the noise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd parted as a Vermilion Bird Academy student stepped forward to maintain order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a young man in a blue robe, carrying a rust-covered longsword on his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sword was still sheathed, but the sheath was so rusted it had lost its shape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s Senior Mingyu!” someone in the crowd recognized the student and shouted.\u003C\u002Fp>",1096,"2026-06-06T01:06:40.721Z",1,"novelbin.me","caab01b51f44621368e7f91b27823173197e7a23c4c6e25afac2c3f00ec287ef","i-really-am-a-villain-chapter-398","i-really-am-a-villain-chapter-396",1822,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-really-am-a-villain-cover.jpg"]