I Am the Fated Villain
chapter-617

Princess Xuan Dea’s surprise was written all over her face. She didn’t think there would come a day when she would see Ah Qing again. Initially, she was riddled with worry when she learned that Ah Qing went into the Space Rift alone to find her father. She even thought that she and Ah Qing would never see each other again. Seeing Ah Qing here again today was an unbelievable and pleasant surprise to her.

“Xuan Dea!” Ah Qing let out a rare smile and walked towards Princess Xuan Dea and everyone else.

Ah Qing was the one who begged Gu Changge to save them when she saw them in danger. That expert from the Upper Realm, too, only left when he felt Gu Changge’s presence.

There was a hint of surprise in Princess Xuan Dea’s beautiful eyes when she looked at Gu Changge and Ah Da behind Ah Qing. She couldn’t help asking, “These gentlemen are…”

She hadn’t forgotten how the expert retreated earlier after he glanced in Ah Qing’s direction. Not only that, his attitude was extremely respectful and apprehensive.

[Was it because of this handsome extraordinary man in front of me?] Princess Xuan Dea grew vigilant at the thought of that. It couldn’t have been an anonymous person or someone from the Profound Sword World if this man managed to scare away a Master of that calibre; a Master halfway in the Eighth Realm. Although Gu Changge did save her, he was still someone from the Outer Territory. It was difficult for her to tell whether he was a friend or a foe.

Moreover, Gu Changge felt extremely mysterious and powerful to her. Even the burly figure behind him, who looked like his subordinate, exuded an unnerving aura. Judging from all this combined with how frightened the expert earlier was, Princess Xuan Dea could guess that Gu Changge was no ordinary person.

“This is Young Master Gu, who is also my saviour. Don’t worry. Even though he is not from our world, he bares no evil intention towards us.” Ah Qing didn’t know how to explain the reason Gu Changge came, so she only made the long story short by starting with a simple introduction.

Princess Xuan Dea nodded in acknowledgement. Despite Ah Qing’s words, she still felt uneasy. However, it was true that he saved them. If Gu Changge hadn’t appeared and scared off the Upper Realm expert, she, along with her many followers, would have died a horrible death here.

At that moment, she cupped her hands at Gu Changge and said with a solemn expression, “Thank you for saving my life, Young Master Gu. I will definitely repay you if there is a chance.”

With an easy-going and indifferent smile on his face, Gu Changge replied, “No trouble at all. Please don’t worry about it, Princess.”

The rest present could tell that Gu Changge was someone extraordinary. Furthermore, it still wasn’t clear whether he was friend or foe. So after thanking him, everyone stayed quiet out of uneasiness and wariness. After all, he might look gentle and elegant, but at the end of the day, he wasn’t from the Profound Sword World.

Despite noticing this, Gu Changge kept lightly smiling. He didn’t seem to care. It was true that he didn’t hold any malice towards the living beings of this world. Still, he was here for the World Source.

…

Princess Xuan Dea promptly remembered an important matter, and she couldn’t help asking Ah Qing even though Gu Changge was right beside them. “Ah Qing, what did you encounter after you went through that Space Rift? Did you see the seniors and the source of the disaster?”

The rest grew solemn when they heard those words, and they perked up their ears. Back then, four Earth Sword Immortals went to the Space Rift together, to find and remove the source of the disaster. However, they disappeared without a trace after going there. That was the last anyone had heard from them. Many people speculated that they fell after the Soul Lamps the four Earth Sword Immortals left behind ended up extinguished for some reason.

People tried to find their whereabouts after that, but none of those who went to find them came back alive. It could be said that Ah Qing was the only one who came back alive. That was why they were eager to know what happened to Ah Qing in the other world.

“I was caught by the Otherworldly Sky Demons as soon as I passed through the Space Rift, and then I was taken to their world, where they kept me imprisoned for a few months. I would have been dead by now if Young Master Gu hadn’t rescued me. I wouldn’t have made it back.” A myriad of emotions flashed across Ah Qing’s face as she recalled the experience. For her, it was an extremely dark and bleak past. She was imprisoned in a dark dungeon without a hint of light. Gu Changge’s appearance at that Hunting Event was her first and only ray of light in the darkness.

“I see…” Princess Xuan Dea couldn’t help feeling a lingering fear upon hearing that. She didn’t think Ah Qing was so close to dying. [To think she had even gone through so much…]

Meanwhile, the rest were a little disappointed. They thought they could find out a lot of information about that world from Ah Qing.

Concerned, Princess Xuan Dea asked again. “What about your father and his group?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t found anything about them.” Ah Qing shook her head. She then threw out some shocking news. “That world is beyond our imagination. The power they wield is beyond anything we are capable of. Even this large-scale invasion, it is a force that is nothing to them.”

“Nothing?” Princess Xuan Dea bitterly asked. [We can’t even fight them off even though it is an insignificant army to them? How despairing.]

“Princess!” Right then, a voice called out from a distance, and several figures with anxious looks on their faces quickly approached and descended from the sky. Ah Qing looked over to see an Eighth-Realm guardian from the Southern Light Empire. The rest of them were at least of the Sixth Realm. There were also many young men and women among them with Sword Cliff’s logos on their sleeves.

Southern Light Empire was the most powerful empire among Sword Cliff’s affiliated forces. It was a given that Sword Cliff would send their disciples over when Southbarren City was under attack.

Sword Clif deserves to be the true ruler of the Southbarren State. After all, its current Sect Master was the Snow Sword Immortal, who was known as the Most Graceful Damsel of Southbarren State. Princess Xuan Dea happened to be her disciple.

“Guardian Chen?” Princess Xuan Dea and the others let out a long sigh of relief when they saw the Eighth Realm expert. He must have been immediately sent here to rescue them after the Southern Light Emperor learnt that Southbarren City had been breached.

“Princess, I’m glad that you are fine.” Guardian Chen was completely relieved when he saw that Princess Xuan Dea was safe and sound.

The rest of the Sword Cliff disciples behind him also worriedly surrounded her. “Thank goodness you’re okay, Junior Xuan Dea!”

Suddenly, someone who recognised Ah Qing exclaimed in surprise, “Huh? Isn’t this Lady Ah Qing?”

As Ah Qing was one of the Four Young Paragons of the Profound Sword World, many of the younger generations had been defeated by her. Her father was even an Earth Sword Immortal, who was so powerful that he had the world at his feet!

There had been rumours about Ah Qing stepping into the Space Rift to find clues regarding her father’s whereabouts.

[Why is she here?] The disciples couldn’t help feeling doubtful and puzzled.

“Princess? I see you have company,” Guardian Chen mentioned. His heart had skipped a beat when he glanced at the nonchalant Gu Changge and Ah Da. His divine sense was telling him that this smiling young man in front of him was as profound and deep as an unknown space.

In fact, Gu Changge was overflowing aura made Guardian Chen’s heart tremble. It was even more intense than what he felt with the Snow Sword Immortal. Knowing better than to underestimate Gu Changge, Guardian Chen suddenly grew vigilant towards him.

“This is Young Master. Gu. He was the one who saved our lives just now. If it wasn’t for him, we would have been killed by that Otherworldly Sky Demon, just like the Elder.” Princess Xuan Dea explained and made a simple introduction by repeating Ah Qing’s words.

“What?! The Elder is dead?!” Guardian Chen and everyone else were taken aback at first before sadness washed over them. They couldn’t believe that a Seventh Realm expert would be killed before they got here. The thought of how Princess Xuan Dea and the others lived because they got lucky filled them with fear. Princess Xuan Dea might have been reduced to a pile of bones by the time they got here if Gu Changge hadn’t helped them.

“Thank you for your help, Young Master Gu. His Majesty will definitely offer his gratitude after we return to the Capital.” Even though Guardian Chen didn’t know of Gu Changge’s origin, he still cupped his hands and spoke respectfully.

“I didn’t do much. It’s fine,” Gu Changge replied with a smile.

A young and fit Sword Cliff disciple had a curious glint in his eyes when he blurted out, “Young Master, you are powerful despite your age. May I know whom you study under?”

They were curious about who Gu Changge was and who his Master was. After all, Gu Changge seemed to be about the same age as them. However, it would take someone from the Eight Realm or higher to force a being who had easily killed a Seventh Realm expert to retreat.

Princess Xuan Dea frowned upon hearing the question. Her silky locks swayed with the wind, and she had skin as fair and smooth as milk. Adorning her heart-shaped face was a pair of lively, beautiful eyes. She was a refreshing sight to behold.

She hesitated to speak because she didn’t know how she could explain to everyone that Gu Changge was also from the Outer Territory. However, just when she had decided to speak, Gu Changge let out a faint smile and replied, “I am from the Outer Territory. As for who I studied under… It is a little hard to explain everything. What I learnt is complicated, after all.”

[What? From the Outer Territory?] Both the disciple and Guardian Chen froze in shock upon hearing that. When they came back to their senses, a gust of cold air swept from the crown of their heads, causing their expressions to change drastically as they stared at Gu Changge in disbelief and fear.

“The Outer Territory?” A few disciples from Sword Cliff choked as they turned pale. They couldn’t help taking a few steps back.

Guardian Chen, too, stared at Gu Changge with wary eyes while he quietly covered Princess Xuan Dea.

Seeing this, Ah Qing sighed and explained so that everyone would lower their guards. She had already expected this to happen. “Actually, those from the Outer Territory are not like what you guys imagine. Young Master Gu is a good person. He has no ill intentions.”

Princess Xuan Dea also spoke up to tell Guardian Chen and the rest of them to be at ease.

Even so, Guardian Chen and the others did not dare treat Gu Changge as casually as they did just now. They keep feeling goosebumps all over their bodies.

“We will talk about Ah Qing after we return to the Capital. Southbarren City has fallen into ruin. We can’t stay here anymore,” Princess Xuan Dea said.

Southbarren State was boundless, and Southern Light Empire, a vast territory, was located in the depths of the state. After leaving this place, everyone only arrived at the capital after they used space runes to cross endless mountains and rivers and the void a few times.

This enormous ancient city was incomparably majestic. Like an indestructible immortal city in the sky. It exuded an ancient, momentous feeling. The city gate was as tall as a hill. It wouldn’t be crowded even if a group of beasts walked through it side by side. The mottled walls, on the other hand, had energy fluctuations on them. In case of an enemy invasion, divine light would flow out of them and protect the entire ancient city.

The purple air in the centre of the city soaring into the sky was dense as it turned into the shape of a dragon. One could tell at a glance that this was the place where Dragon Veins gathered and the essence of the universe flowed. A magnificent place for cultivation.

Many sword cultivators with powerful auras had gathered around as they turned into streaks of divine rainbows that flew across the sky with their swords under their feet. Princess Xuan Dea, Guardian Chen, Gu Changge, and everyone else teleported using arrays, moving through space, before they emerged outside the city gate.