Can a Scholar Be Called a Villain

Murong Lin only had enough time to see Tang Can’s figure vanishing in front of him before he lost consciousness.

And after his body was reduced to nihility, it transformed into a wisp of bloody air that flew inconspicuously out of the imperial palace.

By now, the battle within the imperial palace was almost over.

The Qing Yi Tower, guided by their skilled floor masters, overwhelmed the imperial guards despite their knowledge of the palace’s layout. The attackers’ coordinated assault swiftly crushed the guards’ resistance, tilting the balance of power decisively.

As the ‘Flowering Steel Trees’ tightly ensnared Murong Tong, the relentless onslaught of their forces had already brought the entire imperial palace under their control.

Amidst the unfolding situation with the Willow Sword Saint in the east, Murong Jiao, the other Sky Reaching realm expert of the Murong clan, had departed from the capital.

Eager to provide their assistance in the dire situation, the members of the Murong clan faced a significant obstacle in the form of the Qing YI Tower. Under the calculated and premeditated arrangements of the floor master, Qing Miao Lou, they endured devastating losses.

Amidst the ruins of the once-prosperous capital, the Wang clan stood as the only remaining great clan. However, their great ancestor made the controversial decision to remain a passive bystander due to the annihilation of the Xue clan and their own unresolved internal conflicts.

With a deliberately slow pace, the great ancestor of the Wang clan made his way towards the imperial palace. However, by the time he arrived, the tumultuous battle had already reached its conclusion.

No one had noticed the wisp of bloodied air that floated in the sky, and it safely made its way to a small courtyard.

This was a remote courtyard within the capital. Surrounded by a dreary atmosphere, there were no signs of nearby life.

The wisp flew into the house.

The interior of the residence was a horrifying sight, the ground was strewn with crimson crystals. These were none other than blood crystals, forged from the blood of demons, and even humans. 

In the heart of the crimson crystals, a woman lay motionless.

A blood-red insect rested ominously on her forehead.

The blood-red insect had a striking crimson-coloured body adorned with a sinister black stripe running along its back. A distinct and eerie scent of blood wafted from its presence. With its eyes shut tightly, the creature’s six thin legs and two red wings were neatly tucked close to its body.

As if it could sense the encroaching bloody air, it chirped happily as it started to flap its wings, dancing in the air.

The bloody wisp entered the insect’s body slowly.

Its body warped and writhed restlessly, expanding in size.

Simultaneously, the malevolent aura around it grew in intensity. As the transformation continued, the insect’s form slowly morphed into that of a human. 

It was none other than Murong Lin.

The wisp of bloody air that entered the crimson bug was none other than Murong Lin’s innate talent, ‘Bloody Poisonous Insect Acupoint’, which enabled the bug to intercept and block incoming attacks on behalf of its master.

As the transformation of the bug into Murong Lin reached its completion, the naked figure of Murong Lin now held the ‘Bloody Poisonous Insect’ in his hands. Afterwards, the insect simply exploded and vanished from the mortal realm.

And as the master of the insect, Murong Lin suffered the backlash from its death and a mouthful of blood seeped from the corners of his lips.

Murong Lin’s ‘Bloody Poisonous Insect Acupoint’ now lay empty and on the verge of collapse.

“Fuck, too close.” Murong Lin glanced outside with a fearful gaze as blood dripped from his chin.

Once again, Murong Lin had felt the cold grasp of death. 

And the overwhelming sense of powerlessness and disorientation that came with it.

It was definitely something he didn’t want to experience again!

“It’s a pity, I kept it as a precaution against Sheng Yi. I never expected myself to waste it on Tang Can.”

Murong Lin wiped the blood on his face with his hand.

 The spiritual power within him worked diligently to restore his battered body, yet the ‘Bloody Poisonous Insect Acupoint’ remained empty.

His gaze shifted down to the woman lying amidst the crimson crystals.

It was Ru Meng’er.

In the Apricot Flower establishment, Murong Lin had forged a strategic alliance with Ru Meng’er. With the help of his Blood Spirits, he bestowed upon her the power needed to rapidly boost her strength. 

But Murong Lin never revealed his true intentions to her.

It was a bloodline.

As siblings sharing the same father but different mothers, Murong Lin and Ru Meng’er possessed remarkably compatible bloodlines. Their connection ran deeper than even the compatibility Murong Lin had with his own parents.

And for Murong Lin to restore the Bloody Poisonous Insect, he needed such a bloodline.

He walked forwards, patting Ru Meng’er’s face.

Under Murong Lin’s own arrangements, Ru Meng’er was intentionally captured and rendered unconscious by the people of the Qing Yi Tower once she entered the Origin realm.

Her unconscious body was then placed in this courtyard that only he and Bai Lao Bo knew about.

The three that stood outside in green clothes were also people from the Qing Yi Tower.

Murong Lin circulated his spiritual power and slapped Ru Meng’er awake.

As Ru Meng’er stirred from her slumber, her eyes were clouded with disorientation, seemingly oblivious to where she was.

She only noticed the blood crystals around her, forming little heaps around the two of them, and the Murong Lin that stood before her.

The nude Murong Lin.

A momentary blush coloured Ru Meng’er’s face, but she swiftly regained her composure.

“What did you do?” She asked.

As her mind gradually awakened from its deep slumber, Ru Meng’er’s wit and sharpness returned. Taking in her surroundings, she quickly deduced that her unconscious state was not a natural occurrence.

Ru Meng’er came to the undeniable realization that her own brother, the undressed Murong Lin, had orchestrated her capture and brought her to this secluded place. 

While she was willing to give up her body, she couldn’t shake the need to understand why he chose this method.

Murong Lin hadn’t even accomplished what he promised her.

Without wasting any time on words, Murong Lin approached Ru Meng’er and pierced his finger into her forehead. Through this physical connection, he injected his spiritual powers into her, establishing a direct link with the ‘Bloody Poisonous Insect Acupoint’ in his own body.

“You!” Ru Meng’er could barely speak as she felt the strength within her body slipping away. It felt as though her very life force, her blood, and her spirit were being drawn upwards to her head and absorbed by Murong Lin’s finger.

Her body convulsed and collapsed to the ground powerlessly.

Murong Lin sat before her, meticulously adjusting the intensity of his absorption as he closed his eyes, 

“Don’t resent me. If it weren’t for my help, you wouldn’t have attained this level of cultivation either.

Regarding your desire for Murong Tong’s demise, I regret to inform you that I am no longer able to fulfil that wish. Instead, you shall have the opportunity to confront him in the depths of hell very soon.

Farewell, Ru Meng’er.”

In a sudden surge of strength, Murong Lin’s complexion flushed. Within his body, a black dot slowly materialized in the Bloody Poisonous Insect Acupoint—the Bloody Poisonous Insect.

As Ru Meng’er stared at him, her emotions a mix of confusion and hatred, her life came to an end.

Murong Lin drew every ounce of blood from her body, a fitting tribute to her potent Origin realm blood, precisely what the materializing Bloody Poisonous Insect needed to gain strength.

As her body withered from the depletion of blood, Murong Lin delivered a single decisive strike, causing it to disintegrate into a mere cloud of dust.

At the same time, a Bloody Poisonous Insect appeared once more in Murong Lin’s body.

With a nod of contentment, Murong Lin channelled his spiritual powers once more, guiding the newly born insect to emerge from his body.

Although the newly born creature’s strength was still feeble, it fluttered in a circular pattern above Murong Lin’s head before setting off towards the mountain of blood crystals in the distance.

With great speed, the insect absorbed the wisps of bloody air, rapidly growing in size and strength with each passing moment.

Despite not being fully recovered, Murong Lin decided against purchasing any items from the system shop to aid in his recovery. There was no need.

The system’s voice reverberated in his mind relentlessly.

“Ding! Master has successfully killed a protagonist, the reward is a gift bag.”

“Open the gift bag.” Murong Lin spoke in his mind.

“Ding! Congratulations to master for obtaining a strength-instilling card, a character legacy card, and a fragment of the ‘Great villain halo’.”

“Use the strength-instilling card.”

Murong Lin spoke calmly. 

“Ding! The strength-instilling card was successfully used.”

Almost instantaneously, Murong Lin’s pale complexion transformed into a healthy rosiness as the spark of vitality returned to his eyes.

And Murong Lin’s strength started to rise gradually in a steady manner.

His cultivation that collapsed due to his injuries had immediately recovered to the fifth layer of the Manifestation realm.

The fifth layer of the Manifestation realm……

The sixth layer of the Manifestation realm……

The seventh layer of the Manifestation realm……

The eighth layer of the Manifestation realm……

The ninth layer of the Manifestation realm……

The peak of the Manifestation realm!