[{"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-698":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},1433473,1885,"Chapter 698 - Meeting The Eternal Godly Monarch","i-really-am-a-villain-chapter-698",698,"\u003Cp>Xu Zimo didn’t linger on the second level. With another palm strike, the two faceless men were reduced to dust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he reached the third level, he found the pattern continued: three faceless men, each three minor realms higher than his displayed cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside, due to Jiuyou’s performance, many had become curious and turned their attention to Xu Zimo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The layers of the God Ascension Staircase lit up one by one, not quickly, but steadily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the sixth level lit up, many people’s expressions grew animated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wow!” a burst of noise came from the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The seventh level! He reached the seventh level!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the astonishment could even settle, the dark gold wall of the eighth level lit up immediately after.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The eighth level?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd seemed to erupt. Since the God Ascension Staircase had been built, millions had tried to ascend it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no one had ever reached the eighth level. This completely shattered the record.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Yue Lun, who was still recovering below, furrowed his brow and looked toward the staircase, deep in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forget the eighth level, just the seventh was already inhumanly difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seven faceless men, each seven minor realms above him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By Yue Lun’s estimates, those enemies were already at the Grand Empyrean realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seven Grand Empyreans at once, he had no chance of winning. As for the difficulty of the eighth level, he didn’t even dare imagine it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Yue Lun could process his thoughts, someone nearby nearly bit their tongue and stammered, “N-ninth level.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following the crowd’s gaze, Yue Lun saw that person had cleared the eighth level and reached the highest level of the staircase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His pupils contracted, and he stared blankly toward the God Ascension Staircase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did that person just meet the Godly Monarch?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the staircase, after Xu Zimo effortlessly defeated the enemies on the eighth level, he proceeded directly to the ninth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eighth level’s enemies had indeed been powerful, their numbers and strength exponentially greater. For most people, passing that level was nearly impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon entering the ninth level, Xu Zimo found it different from the dark spaces of the previous levels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It resembled a grand hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All around were statues, some with human faces and beast bodies, some vicious beasts with eight claws.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were figures wielding giant axes, seemingly ready to split the heavens in two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others brandished swords that could cause half the world to collapse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides the lifelike statues, the hall's walls were made of finely carved blue stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The carvings depicted scenes of war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zimo glanced over them and realized they told the story of the invasion from beyond the Immortal Dao Bridge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the front of the hall, a pillar of light shot toward the sky, illuminating the entire chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside that beam stood a figure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An elderly man in a green robe, appearing to be in his twilight years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hair was white, and his face was lined with deep wrinkles. He looked like he could pass away at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve arrived,” the elder smiled as he watched Xu Zimo approach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you the Eternal Godly Monarch?” Xu Zimo asked cautiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Strictly speaking, I’m just a fragment of the Godly Monarch’s soul. But you can call me Godly Monarch,” the elder smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“May I ask your name?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xu Zimo,” he replied plainly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I sensed it from the moment you entered, this staircase can’t hold you,” the elder said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even Grand Empyreans struggle to reach the top here. Only true peerless talents, or another Godly Monarch, can defy the rules.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s one way to put it,” Xu Zimo replied with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why have you come, if I may ask?” the elder smiled. “I doubt you care much for the inheritance here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not really here for anything. Just curious when I saw the staircase,” Xu Zimo chuckled. “Where is your true self?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When you cross the Immortal Dao Bridge, perhaps we’ll meet again on the other side,” the elder replied with a smile. “When do you plan to go there?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No rush,” Xu Zimo shook his head. “Can you tell me about the world beyond the Immortal Dao Bridge?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In truth, this soul fragment isn’t connected to the main body. I don’t know what he's done in that world,” the elder said, shaking his head regretfully. “But I can tell you about the great war back then.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zimo nodded slightly. He wasn’t in a hurry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He believed that the Great World the Grand Emperors reached after ascending, whether it was the Outer Heavens or beyond the Immortal Dao Bridge, was all the same place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So before going to Outer Heavens, he had to be fully prepared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elder took his time, reminiscing about the past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After he finished, Xu Zimo asked in surprise, “So you're saying that even now, there are still remnants of the Outer Heaven forces on the Eternal Lands?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes,” the elder nodded. “We destroyed their main force in the war, but many of their remnants survived. They might know more about the other world than I do.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see,” Xu Zimo nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you leaving now?” the elder asked with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No point in staying longer,” Xu Zimo replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve been alone here for tens of thousands of years. Would you spar with me before you go?” the elder smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Same realm, no spiritforce, pure technique.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you want to test me, then come on,” Xu Zimo smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the elder's expression turned serious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood in a Tai-Chi stance, bowing slightly with both hands. His right arm pulled back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Guarding the Palace,” the elder said softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With no spiritforce used, he still crossed dozens of meters in a blink, appearing behind Xu Zimo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Guarding the Crane,” he called out again, reaching to seize Xu Zimo’s right arm in a grappling move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when he grabbed Xu Zimo’s arm, it was like grabbing a block of iron, solid and immovable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elder understood, they weren’t using any abilities, only technique and form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re still not enough,” Xu Zimo smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He threw a punch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elder felt a bizarre sense of inevitability, he couldn’t dodge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn’t felt that way in years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He clapped his hands together and took the punch head-on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the force of it exceeded expectations, and he couldn’t hold his stance, he was sent flying uncontrollably.\u003C\u002Fp>",1058,"2026-06-06T01:06:54.961Z",1,"novelbin.me","cf2a81e240940f262e270a44c5b76a9f1ece31170c89be1a906575c4c9e7d762","i-really-am-a-villain-chapter-699","i-really-am-a-villain-chapter-697",1822,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-really-am-a-villain-cover.jpg"]