Can a Scholar Be Called a Villain - Book 1: Chapter 122: Chu Zes fury

After breaking through to the Sky Reaching realm, Murong Lin noticed that his progression began to slow down. He took a deep breath, purging the remaining impurities from his body before opening his eyes with a contented expression. However, his satisfaction quickly turned into disdain.

With a circulation of his spiritual powers, he cast a cleaning spell to freshen up and incinerated the impurities on the ground with his fire.

Following this, he took to the air and flew out of the cave.

He retrieved his array and then collected the sky-covering locusts. He could now feel that he was on the verge of reaching the coveted Cognizance realm, and a confident smile graced his face.

“The gains from this endeavour have been quite satisfactory. Now, it’s time to deal with that fellow, Chu Ze.”

The tumultuous events in the capital had already caused Chu Ze’s protagonist value to plummet by 50. And after Murong Lin’s confrontation with and subsequent killing of Lu Feng Xian, he had acquired another 50 villain value.

“Ding! The protagonist Chu Ze’s ‘little protagonist halo’ has completely shattered, his protagonist value has dropped by 50.”

“Ding! Congratulations to master for obtaining the villain value of 50, you may use it to purchase items in the system shop.”

Chu Ze’s protagonist value had dwindled to a mere 200 points, and Murong Lin was convinced that with the Qing Yi Tower’s influence, he could deal yet another blow to Chu Ze by inciting rebellions in certain territories.

Murong Lin began to make his way towards Chu.

With his current strength, he could navigate the Demonic Beast Forest and the surrounding regions with ease. Even within the Ridge Fir Alliance, his power was considered at the pinnacle.

During this time, both Chu and the Demonic Beast Forest were undergoing significant changes. The demonic beasts gleefully pursued Chu’s army, only stopping after chasing them several dozen lis into Chu’s territory.

This relentless pursuit sparked the rebellions that further infuriated Chu Ze.

In response, Chu Ze immediately ordered the soldiers attacking neighbouring countries to return and gathered a formidable army to advance into the Demonic Beast Forest.

Chu Ze decided to narrate the tragic tale of Lu Feng Xian, the other generals, and the army’s devastating losses to the public, hoping to garner their support for his actions.

However, the people had long harboured their resentment towards the continuous wars.

Before Chu Ze’s rule, Chu had actively repelled the annual beastwaves, but their actions were confined to the outskirts of the Demonic Beast Forest. Thus, there were no deep-seated grievances between humans and the demonic beasts.

But everything had changed with Chu Ze’s ascent to the throne and his declaration of war against the Demonic Beast Forest. Countless soldiers had ventured deep into the forest, leading to chaos along Chu’s borders.

After the relentless assault of the Blood Bat Locusts, although they hadn’t completely destroyed human settlements, hordes of demonic beasts had surged forth, chasing tens of thousands of Chu’s retreating soldiers.

Moreover, the commoners who had lived their lives in Chu had never heard of the generals summoned by Chu Ze from the mysterious system. These war-hardened generals held no favour in the eyes of the people.

Now, Chu Ze was proclaiming his intent to further invade the Demonic Beast Forest?

The citizens of Chu were left in shock and disbelief. They attempted to protest, demanding the freedom that Chu Ze had once promised. However, under the heavy-handed tactics of the Brocade-clad Soldiers, the rift between the imperial court and the general populace only deepened.

“What is King Chu Ze trying to achieve? Why is he hell-bent on sowing discord between us and the Demonic Beast Forest?”

“That’s right! Everything was peaceful, but he just had to pick a fight with the Demonic Beast Forest. Look at where we are now—embroiled in a war.”

“Sob, sob, sob! My older brother joined the army to suppress the beast wave in the Demonic Beast Forest, and he never came back! I despise those demonic beasts, and I despise Chu Ze!”

“I have an idea. Let’s unite and overthrow Chu Ze! We all know what a fool he used to be!”

The people couldn’t contain their anger and fear, and they openly criticized Chu Ze to vent their frustrations. However, they were cautious about taking any action, knowing that the Brocade-clad Soldiers were everywhere.

Nevertheless, their resentment continued to build, and once it reached a boiling point, it would only take a small spark to ignite a rebellion that could shake the entire nation of Chu.

Meanwhile, in the Demonic Beast Forest, a significant change had occurred as well. The demonic beasts had learned that purple wolf had left to lure away the Cognizance realm Lu Feng Xian and had led him to their ancestor, the Tiger-faced Verdant Dragon Python.

However, their big brother, purple wolf, had not returned. When they ventured to the lakeside where their ancestor resided, they found nothing but bare soil on the ground. Items that had once belonged to their ancestor floated to the surface of the lake.

Only then did they realize that something was amiss.

They scoured every corner of the Demonic Beast Forest, desperately searching for any sign of purple wolf and the Tiger-faced Verdant Dragon Python. They even mustered the courage to explore the lakebed where their ancestor resided, but their efforts yielded nothing.

Panic began to grip them.

Purple wolf, as their big brother, had handled many matters for them, and the Tiger-faced Verdant Dragon Python was the linchpin of their courage and strength.

Both had vanished without a trace.

“What’s going on? Where is our big brother, purple wolf? Where is the ancestor? Where have they gone?”

“I don’t know! We’ve combed through every inch of this place, and there’s nothing.”

“Could something terrible have happened? It can’t be.”

“Impossible! It’s definitely impossible! The ancestor isn’t like that!”

The demonic beasts were on the verge of panic due to the sudden disappearance of their leaders. It was at this moment that mountain pig made a discovery—the Sky Piercer Halberd.

As he laid his eyes on this weapon, his expression shifted to anger. Soon, the other demonic beasts also noticed the presence of this significant item.

The Sky Piercer Halberd was anchored to the ground with something impaled between its blades—a head.

It was the head of their big brother, purple wolf.

Mountain pig staggered forward, his massive frame collapsing to his knees as tears streamed down his face.

The demonic beasts behind him were a mix of shock, fear, anger, and grief, but one emotion was unmistakable in their expressions: hatred toward Lu Feng Xian and Chu.

Mountain pig let out a furious roar, “Big brother! Why did this happen?”

Purple wolf’s head appeared ghastly, his once-elegant purple fur now dry and lifeless, and even the vertical eye that had once graced his forehead was reduced to a lifeless hollow.

His death had been horrific.

There was no doubt in their minds—this had to be the work of Lu Feng Xian!

They had devised a plan in which purple wolf would lure Lu Feng Xian away, allowing them to attack Chu’s soldiers’ camp.

Lu Feng Xian had vanished, along with their revered ancestor. All that remained was purple wolf’s severed head, impaled on Lu Feng Xian’s Sky Piercer Halberd.

It was clear that purple wolf had met his demise during Lu Feng Xian’s relentless pursuit, and subsequently, their ancestor had pursued Lu Feng Xian to exact vengeance.

This seemed to be the most logical explanation for the grim scene before them.

Mountain pig carefully removed purple wolf’s head from the halberd and gave him a solemn burial. He then turned to his fellow demonic beasts, his eyes reddened with grief and anger, “We will not share the same sky with the human race!”

The other demonic beasts nodded in agreement, vowing to avenge purple wolf’s death.

However, they were not foolish enough to immediately gather their forces and launch an attack on the human city.

Their first priority was to await the return of their missing ancestor. They believed that, with the guidance of their Cognizance realm ancestor, their plan would carry far less risk.

But what they never expected, was that even before the return of their missing ancestor, was the arrival of the human army.

Translator’s note

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