Emerging on the rift's other side, the group appears on a familiar terrace.
Placed onto the spacious dinner table is an array of uncooked food with two hotpots.
"…"
Peeling off the recognition inhibiting mask, along with the winter coat, Long Hua tosses it all into his storage pouch.
Similarly, the others do the same, prior to seating themselves.
Adding in Wu Xiao, Yun You, Nuo'er, and the two Zhen siblings, they have a total of 11 people seated around the long table.
Seated to Long Hua's left is Wu Xiao, and to his right is Tian Cheng.
Pushing a cup of wine to Long Hua, Wu Xiao asks—
"So, how does it feel to play the role of a villain?"
Taking a sip of the wine, Long Hua answers—
"Hard to say."
Raising an eye, Yun You asks—
"Surnamed Long, have you ever regretted the deeds that you've committed?"
Towards Yun You's question, Long Hua chuckles, and answers—
"There's no medicine for regrets in this world. What's done is done. Feeling regretful of the past isn't going to change the present, so why bother?"
"True."
Letting out a light chuckle, Yun You raises his cup in Long Hua's direction, to which the latter does the same, prior to downing their cups at the same time.
As Nuo'er begins to toss items into the hotpot near her, Long Hua turns to Zhen Qing Huai, and asks—
"Lao Zhen, you know the plan?"
Heaving a sigh, Zhen Qing Huai leans an elbow onto the armrest of her wheelchair, and answers—
"Still finding it difficult to believe, but… Ai…"
Shaking her head, Zhen Qing Huai is forced to accept the situation as it is—having gone through some of the most recent yield reports on the Zhen family's spirit stone mines.
"In any case, preparations have been made back at the village. We're ready to take in whatever materials you manage to find in that city."
Receiving this answer from Zhen Qing Huai, Long Hua turns to Bai Wen, and says—
"Lao Bai, I expect you to put in some effort. If things go well, I could very well create a fire elemental source to finally make my long-awaited breakthrough."
Peeling the shell of a prawn, Bai Wen says—
"Naturally. I can't possibly leave it completely up to you—to take part in something so amusing. Plus, my Spirit Assimilation realm cultivation method is riding on this as well."
Turning to Long Hua with a look of amusement on her face, Zhen Rong asks—
"Long-shao, interested in knowing what they are calling you on the internet?"
"Hm? Let's hear it. The food will take a while to cook anyways."
Saying this, Long Hua tosses a few scallops into the hotpot.
"Maneater Immortal, sick bastard, lunatic in blue, final boss."
"Hahaha!"
Laughing aloud, Bai Wen says—
"Final boss seems best."
"Lao Bai, just wait till you get something similar yourself."
"…"
Following Long Hua's comeback, Bai Wen turns mute.
"Lady Zhen, what about me?"
Towards Qing Ming Yang's question, Zhen Rong takes out her smartphone, and browsing through the forums and comments related to this livestream, she shakes her head.
"Nothing so far. Ah, but Lin-shao does have one."
"Oh?"
"They call you, the Spear Lord."
"I like it."
Towards Lin Yu Heng, who has a smug look on his face, Qing Ming Yang downs a cup of wine with a bitter expression on his face, while Zhen Rong remarks—
"Well, in terms of flashy performance, Qing-shao really didn't do much."
"…That's the problem?"
"People like flashy stuff on the internet, Qing-shao."
Twitching his lips, Qing Ming Yang sinks into thought—on what he can do to make himself stand out a bit more; but rather quickly, he realizes that—
(Wait… The hell is the point of making myself stand out in this world? I should be trying to think of ways to stand out in the Everlasting Spirit Realm. Hmm.)
Ignoring the odd look on Qing Ming Yang's face, Long Hua asks—
"Xiao Rong, what's the public's opinion on the Immortals in general?"
"Hmm."
Opening the thread that is dedicated to this topic, Zhen Rong answers—
"Some are panicking, most are thinking it doesn't matter. I'd say, the majority simply hasn't come to terms with reality yet."
"Figured as much."
As Long Hua refills his cup, Yun You asks—
"Killing off so many weapon spirits—in the process of provoking them, don't you think that you might be overdoing it?"
Setting the pouring vessel down, Long Hua replies—
"Those incapable of utilizing their Weapon Spirit True Bodies, they're nothing more than cannon fodder—once harvest season arrives. Why not kill them off sooner—to create unrest and to pressure their stronger peers to better themselves?"
Shaking his head, Yun You directs a look of amazement at Long Hua, while replying—
"Ai, a person of your nature… I can only say, you're one hell of a piece of work. The average practitioner probably doesn't even possess a quarter of your viciousness."
Laughing lightly, Long Hua picks up his cup for a sip, while Tian Cheng scoops the cooked scallops into a bowl.
"I wasn't always like this."
"…?"
"…?"
Other than Tian Cheng and Wu Xiao, everyone else simultaneously looks at Long Hua—as if he had just said something utterly ridiculous.
"The hell is up with all of you? Isn't it obvious that a person isn't born as twisted as I am out the womb?"
Towards these words, Wu Xiao replies—
"Logical, but since they only know the current you, none of them can possibly imagine the sight of you being innocent and pure."
"Un."
Nodding in agreement to this, Zhen Qing Huai adds—
"Indeed. If anything, the more harmless you look—now that I know your true character, the more I'm inclined to think that you're up to no good at all."
"What Lao Zhen said."
"…"
Blinking his eyes, Long Hua turns the cup in his hand.
(*-laoban, accept it. You can't be anything but twisted and evil. You're destined to become the Chosen Villain of the Heaven.)
Shaking his head with a sigh, Long Hua, in a casual tone, says—
"In the Zang Luo Realm, my shizun—according to my current memories, he was a special existence. He possessed the key to a legacy that everyone coveted. A legacy—according to rumors and legends, is capable of turning anyone who obtains it, be it a practitioner or even a mortal, into a monarch. For the sake of obtaining that legacy, the two of us were hunted down by many; and those who had been kind enough to help us—all of them, were cut down in cold blood by the greedy. The entirety of the world was our enemy; we couldn't possibly be light with our methods. Poison capable of turning an entire ocean into a cesspool, curses capable of turning millions into walking corpses, divine arts that required a massive number of sacrifices to be cast; we practically used everything at our disposal to kill as many enemies as possible. But the enemies' numbers were as boundless as their greed. Eventually… Eventually, who knows? I got backstabbed by someone who I thought I could trust, and died like a fool—only to end up here."
Raising a lighthearted smile, as if he is only telling a very common story, Long Hua adds—
"Telling you all this, it isn't me—trying to seek for your understandings, nor to make any excuses for my twisted methods. I simply just want you all to know—that any amount of evil that I concoct at this point, it's all just a product of my time as a worldwide fugitive. Besides, in the eyes of my greatest nemesis, all the lives that I take—on my conquest towards killing them, it's all just nothing more than a droplet of water in the vast oceans."