This Is What a Villain Is Like

Chapter 125: Chapter 85: What Is Heaven-Toppling Power For, If Not To Deliberately Intimidate Ling Zhuyun?

Ling Zhuyun glanced lightly at Fairy Miaoyin, ignoring her. She turned to the pot-bellied man in brocade robes and said, "If you want to avenge your junior brother, feel free to come find me. But if your skills are lacking and you die by my hand, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself."

"The Jasper Pool Sect really fancies itself a righteous sect, sweeping away all the injustices of the world..."

The man in brocade robes’ gaze was cold, and a powerful aura surged around him. A sinister black energy even materialized between his fingers. He was about to strike, but when he remembered the occasion, he forced himself to hold back.

There would be other opportunities for revenge, but to make a move on this occasion was tantamount to a slap in Jiang Lan’s face, thereby offending him.

Ling Zhuyun was completely unsurprised. Ignoring him, she led the female disciples of the Jasper Pool Sect behind her to a spot and sat down.

’This place is truly full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. So many famous young Celestial Prides from the Great Xia Empire have shown up...’

Ye Ming also took a seat to the side, marveling to himself.

’He had come from a small, insignificant place, climbing step by step to where he was today. To be sharing a table with these Celestial Prides, figures destined to stand at the very pinnacle of the Nine Provinces Land, filled him with a certain amount of pride.’

’If he had started on the same footing as these young Celestial Prides, he might have already surpassed them.’

"Today’s gathering is to brew tea and befriend one another. Why must there be such animosity? However, if any of you wish to spar and test your skills, I have prepared a martial arts arena for you to exchange a few pointers."

At that moment, the sound of a light chuckle came from not far away.

An aristocratic young master in wide, white sleeves walked over, escorted by his retinue. He had a slender yet upright figure and was flanked by two peerless beauties. They were stunningly beautiful—one pure, the other alluring, each with her own distinct charm.

"Young Master Jiang..."

Seeing Jiang Lan arrive, all the members of the younger generation present rose and bowed slightly with cupped hands.

Li Daoyi, Luo Ying, and the others were especially respectful, addressing him as "Young Master."

Ling Zhuyun’s gaze flickered, landing on Chu Chan beside Jiang Lan. It lingered for a brief moment before she looked away.

"Everyone, please, there’s no need for such formalities."

"I was held up by a small matter."

"I apologize for the wait."

Jiang Lan gave a slight nod and took the main seat. He then instructed his attendants to begin brewing the tea; after all, it wouldn’t be a tea-brewing gathering without tea.

At that moment, the young elites present were all inwardly astonished.

In truth, few of them had ever met Jiang Lan before. Many had subconsciously imagined him as a lecherous, debauched man worn down by wine and women. Seeing him in person today, however, left them all quite surprised.

Both his speech and his bearing exuded an air of otherworldly refinement.

His charisma was extraordinary. Despite being in the company of beauties, he showed no trace of vulgarity. Instead, he projected the image of a dashing, refined gentleman with the graceful bearing of an immortal.

Even Li Daoyi, a True Inheritor of the Taiyi Sect, lacked such natural, effortless grace. Standing behind Jiang Lan, he was so outshone that people might subconsciously overlook him entirely.

This filled many with a sense of marvel and awed admiration.

This was the foremost aristocrat in the truest sense of the word. His innate, lofty superiority was such that even with no cultivation to his name, he could still easily look down upon all the world.

However, more of the younger generation’s attention was drawn to a clean-shaven, middle-aged man standing behind Jiang Lan. Sensing the boundless, profound aura radiating from him—an aura as vast as the deep sea—their hearts jolted, and their eyes filled with unconcealable disbelief.

A Seventh Realm expert!

This was, without a doubt, a powerful master who had already stepped into the Dharma Realm.

At that level, one could unleash a Heaven and Earth Dharma Aspect and obliterate an entire city with a mere wave of the hand. It was an effortless feat.

And such a terrifying expert was shadowing Jiang Lan, never leaving his side, simply to ensure his safety.

The eyes of Han Yiming, Fairy Miaoyin, the True Inheritor of the Celestial Demon Hall, and others all widened slightly in shock before they impassively wiped all traces of it from their faces.

Only Li Daoyi and his companions looked completely unsurprised. For someone of Jiang Lan’s status, having such an expert for protection wasn’t strange at all.

Otherwise, how could his power be described as world-shaking?

Among the Jasper Pool Sect disciples, Chen Ning clenched her fists, staring at Chu Chan by Jiang Lan’s side. Her heart swelled with vexation and regret. ’That Chu Chan is so damn lucky! Why her...?’

’For Jiang Lan to have Chu Chan accompany him on an occasion like this was, in a certain sense, a sign of his immense favor.’

Jiang Lan remained outwardly impassive, but he had already taken in everyone’s changing expressions.

’He was deliberately building momentum, drawing everyone’s attention to the inheritance of the Purple Mist True Monarch.’

’This tea-brewing gathering had been in his plans for a long time.’

’Beyond that, there was another, even more important matter. The phenomenon he had caused on the Blood Red Plateau had already attracted the attention of numerous factions within Great Xia. Even the Observatory was investigating it closely.’

’At the time, he’d had no cultivation whatsoever. No matter how cautious he had been, he was bound to have left some traces. A perceptive individual could scrutinize those traces, unravel the clues, and eventually deduce the truth.’

’He wasn’t worried that Li Mengning would reveal he had been to the Blood Red Plateau, nor was he concerned that Song Youwei, the pawn he had left in place, would expose his identity.’

’But that other person, Ye Ming, was a different story.’

’Ye Ming had seen Li Mengning with his own eyes, and they had even encountered each other that day in the Drunken Immortal Residence before he fled in a panic.’

’All of this behavior clearly indicated that Ye Ming had guessed his identity.’

’Therefore, Jiang Lan now urgently needed a scapegoat to cover up the tracks he left on the Blood Red Plateau. And the best candidate, of course, was the Child of Fortune, Ye Ming.’

’The inheritance of the Blood Immortal Sect was a matter of grave importance with profound implications.’