Villain Saves the Beauty

"Who the hell are you?!" The assailant yelled.

"Courting death!" Another added. Of fucking course. That was the only line they seemed to know. I wished these morons could expand their vocabulary.

Fortunately, they didn't waste too much time shouting threats and insults. They were professionals, so they went straight for the jugular. Unfortunately, the alleyway was far too narrow for them to spread out and surround me. I was able to channel them into a narrow space from the front and attack them one by one.

"What…?"

I vanished into the shadows and appeared right next to the first guy, stabbing him with my sword. Then I disappeared into the shadows when his companions spun around to avenge him, popping out of the wall to clave another guy apart with Shadow Sword Strike.

Jumping back, I then conjured a hail of swords and rained it down upon them. My Shadow Sword Storm ripped through the stunned assailants before they could react, impaling them and pinning them to the ground. Within a few seconds, a sea of blood flowed underneath their writhing bodies.

"Ugh!"

"How?!"

"Who the hell is this guy?!"

Good thing I had kept my mask on. If they identified me, they would surely come to seek revenge on me later. Of course, I had no intention of letting them live, but I didn't save Bai Ning Shuang just to kill her. She was a friend of Lan Bei Er, which was the only reason why I was helping her.

I was about to finish them off when a powerful blast of wind struck me. I managed to block it with my sword, but the gust of wind hurled me against the wall with enough impact to shatter it and bury me under debris. I didn't even have the time to duck into the shadows.

"Argh…!"

For a moment, it appeared that I blacked out. When I came to, I was lying underneath the rubble, dazed.

"You trash…can't even deal with a single cultivator."

An arrogant voice drifted through the alleyway. A young man in green and white robes sauntered into the darkness, fanning himself with a…well, fan. Windy aura blew around him, creating a sense of strength.

His subordinates groaned, and he snorted. With a swipe of his hand, he sent gusts of wind blades hurtling throughout the narrow space, finishing them off in an instant.

"You…you would even kill your fellow sect disciples?!" Bai Ning Shuang gasped. "Feng Zi, you are a monster.

The guy named Feng Zi burst out laughing. "I can't leave them alive…otherwise they'll report back to the sect about what I'm about to do to you. Besides, I can always tell the others that you were the one who killed them."

"You…!" Bai Ning Shuang tried to back away, but there was no strength in her limbs. "What do you intend to do?"

"Enjoy your body, of course." Feng Zi licked his lips. "The number one ice beauty of the Azure Water Sect. Who wouldn't lust after you? It'll be an honor to be the one man who dominated you."

"You…you dare?!"

Girl, of course he dared. He was a bona fide villain. Not on the same level as me, but still…

"Be obedient and just strip for me!" Feng Zi howled and pounced on her. Bai Ning Shuang cursed and slashed with her sword, but he slapped the blade away with his fan. Gusts of wind pummeled her and she cried out, her clothes slowly ripped by the vicious air currents.

"It's useless, Bai Ning Shuang! You're my woman now!" Feng Zi laughed, continuing to assault her and tear away at her dress. "Just give up and be my woman!"

How much more cliché could he get?

"Despicable…" Bai Ning Shuang struggled to defend herself with her sword, but to no avail. Faint frost coalesced in the air, only to be shattered by the mighty winds. "If you didn't resort to underhanded tactics and poisoned me, you would be no match for me!"

"This is called using strategy, you understand? Who would engage a genius like you in a direct fight? You have the Divine Spirit Constitution, a rare prodigy in a millennium! There's no way I can beat you in a direct contest of strength. However…" Feng Zi gestured toward his head. "What's the use of us humans having brains and the highest intelligence of all living things if we don't make good use of it, huh?"

Who the f uses their brains to plot rape…this guy was hopeless. He was wasting his intelligence on the wrong thing.

"Now be mine!" Feng Zi crowed and continued his sexual abuse of his victim.

Shaking my head and clearing the last of the dizziness, I kicked the debris out. The huge chunk of stone flew and struck Feng Zi in the head, sending him sprawling several meters away from a stunned Bai Ning Shuang. Adjusting my mask, I then hopped out and strode to confront him.

"How are you still alive?" Feng Zi howled madly before he lunged at me. Swinging his fan, he sent hurricane-like gales steaking toward me. However, I simply cut them apart with my sword. He blinked in surprise. "That's…a spirit sword!"

Shaking his head, he sent more gusts of wind blades arcing toward me, but I simply retreated into the darkness. Emerging elsewhere, I executed Shadow Sword Strike from range, but Feng Zi conjured a wind barrier to protect himself from the sharp black qi. Even so, he could see cracks around the transparent shield and the impact sent him skidding a few paces back.

"Those techniques…was he from the now destroyed Black Shadow Sect?" Bai Ning Shuang wondered. "But I've never seen that sword technique before…it's more powerful than the Shadow Strike!"

Right, of course she wouldn't know about it. Shadow Sword Strike was a new technique created by the innovative Hui Ying.

"Die, you scoundrel!" Feng Zi hollered in frustration, swinging his fan and sending more razor-sharp gusts of wind billowing toward me. I dodged them, diving into the shadows and showing up once more. This time, I got in close, my sword snaking toward him, but the wind barrier came to the fore again. However, my direct attack managed to penetrate the wind barrier, the black blade slicing through the transparent screen and hurtling toward my opponent.

Feng Zi desperately parried my sword with his fan, and Abyssal Edge bit deeply into its metallic wired frame. Swearing, Feng Zi kicked, but I jumped above his leg and spun about to deliver my own kick. He blocked my foot with his upper arm, only to be sent staggering. Then he ducked under my second kick before thrusting his fan upward in a stabbing maneuver.

I twisted my body about to avoid the blow, and then I dropped to the ground before kicking the dude in the chest. He opened his fan to catch my foot, but he stumbled a couple of steps back with a grunt.

"Hurricane Howl!" he hollered, allowing extreme winds to burst from his body and smash me aside. I was able to tuck my body in and roll into a shadow, emerging many meters away with a groan. Blood dripped down my body, indicating that I wasn't able to fully escape the blow unscathed. Coughing, I straightened up.

Then another gust of wind smacked into me, almost dislodging Abyssal Edge from my hand. More cuts opened up across my arms and body and I cursed in pain.

"You're not the one who has control over the weather," I growled and raised my free hand. Dozens of shadow swords materialized in the air and streaked downward, hammering into Feng Zi and breaking apart his hastily conjured wind barrier. He groaned and jerked as he was impaled by the many shadow swords, his blood splattering across the ground.

"How dare you…a mere trash like you…hurt me?!" He screamed like the deluded little bitch he was.

"What the hell is that technique? Is that really from Black Shadow Sect?" Bai Ning Shuang was watching everything in disbelief. "I've never seen such esoteric techniques before!"

Feng Zi was less impressed. He ripped the shadow swords out of his body with a gust of wind before hurling them back at me. I simply had them dissipate before they reached me but then Feng Zi suddenly appeared beside me, his speed boosted by the winds. Before I could react or hide in the shadows, he struck me with his fan.

Fortunately, I was somehow able to parry his razor-sharp fan with Abyssal Edge. Sparks flew between us, and then I found myself buffeted by ferocious winds and blown away. Hitting a wall, I nearly blacked out from the pain and impact. Once again, I found myself buried under debris.

"Ha ha ha!" Feng Zi crowed triumphantly, only to snort when he saw me stagger from beneath the rubble. "Why won't you die?"

"Why won't you leave her alone?" I asked, pointing at Bai Ning Shuang. Feng Zi laughed.

"So that's how it is. Hero saving the beauty? It's good to dream, but perhaps I should wake you up to the harsh reality. All those fools who want to play hero only have one outcome – death!"

"Ah, but you're mistaken." I wagged a finger at him. "I'm not a hero. I'm actually a villain. So many you can call this villain saving the beauty…though, honestly, that doesn't sound right. Let's just say I'm doing this for my own benefits."

"That's enough!" Bai Ning Shuang shouted, almost on the verge of tears. "Please go! You're no match for me! You have no obligation to die on my behalf! I'll figure a way to deal with this person myself!"

"Ha ha ha! You bitch, how will you deal with me? You're poisoned and your qi is sealed. After I kill this idiot, I'll enjoy myself with your body."

I sighed, getting sick and tired of the whole thing. Raising a hand to bury my face in my palm, I realized that I was wearing a mask.

Oh, right. I was wearing a mask. So why the hell should I be afraid of revealing my identity?

Grinning underneath my mask, I took a step forward. Feng Zi was still guffawing, preparing another big technique. His hand lashed out and vicious winds curled around his fan, ready to be unleashed. Then he blinked.

"Huh? Where did that trash go?"

That was when he spotted the shadow cast over his face. He looked up, only for my foot to smash into his face. Before he could yell out in outrage, I executed Seismic Step.

Feng Zi ceased to exist. His body pulped and flattened, his bones shattering into a million pieces, blood spraying across the alleyway and strips of flesh fluttering like scripts of burned paper (or hell notes) flaking in the air during the seventh month festival. I slowly descended amidst the massacre.

"Fuck. I should have done this from the start. Wasted so much time and took unnecessary damage."

"You…you…" Bai Ning Shuang stammered. I raised my head and stared at her.

"Don't worry. I have no intention of hurting you."

Then I turned to leave, only to stagger and fall over. My vision was fading to black and I felt my head hit the ground with a solid thunk.

Bloody hell. I really should have smashed that son of a bitch from the get go instead of getting all fancy with the new techniques I had learned from Black Shadow Sect. I was still a long way from being able to compete with the so-called orthodox techniques.

To think that I would be reduced to such a pathetic state by a Core Formation Stage cultivator. Oh, well…at least I knew where I stood in terms of orthodox cultivation. I was still far from being the best. I had best think of an alternative…

Closing my eyes, I allowed myself to drift off for a few seconds.