I'm a villain in the superhero world.

"I'll be frank, why did you come here? Don't try to fob me off with the reason that it was Emperor Sutoku."

Lü Buyi was essentially asking Xu Fu a question with a pre-existing standard answer in mind.

But theoretically, he shouldn't know why Xu Fu was coming—

Therefore, asking this question during the conversation is essential.

Surprisingly, Xu Fu was quite candid.

Or perhaps he believed that at their level, aside from the fundamental purpose which couldn't be shared, there was no need to deliberately hide many other things.

"The Snake Princess, my foolish disciple, wants to rely on the power of the sun to transform from a snake into a dragon, and I happen to want to try to refine a dragon core..."

"So, in order to gather all the materials, I hope she can do what she envisions."

"This plan was supposed to be foolproof, but then you suddenly appeared out of nowhere with unclear intentions, and then beat my child to the point of almost disappearing without any explanation."

"So of course I should come and see, and see if I can move the plan forward, right?"

Cunning, difficult to deal with... This was the first thought that came to Lü Buyi's mind after hearing Xu Fu's answer.

See, he didn't hide what he was going to do at all, but as long as he concealed some appropriate information, others wouldn't be able to guess what he was going to do next.

If Lü Buyi didn't know the original plot, he probably would have really thought that Xu Fu's purpose was as he claimed.

But from another perspective—when no one knows the future, who could have predicted that he and Hu Hai would use the Sun Dragon Pill to indirectly interfere with the Dragon Emperor's seal?

"Is that so?" Lü Buyi smiled. "Then it seems this is still my fault?"

Xu Fu waved his hand: "I didn't say that."

"However... I don't care why you're even near the sun."

"But you two were destined to be rivals, so I'm curious why you're protecting him?"

"Oh... let me see, the person who inherited the other half of Taiyin is here too, how interesting—"

"Compared to my little purpose, I'd like to ask you what you want to do?"

Xu Fu moved closer, genuinely curious about the purpose behind Lü Buyi's various actions:

"Leaving aside why you abandoned the long night meeting, what are you doing now?"

"You protect the sun, yet after discovering that the Snake Princess and my grandson were involved, you still allowed the truth to be leaked, only choosing to teach him a lesson afterward."

"You are well aware of the desire of various forces in the Far East for the sun, and you are also aware of your own and his destiny, yet you do not take him away, leaving him standing in the public eye..."

Xu Fu's ageless face stared directly at Lü Buyi, his words carrying a hint of mockery:

"What exactly are you doing? And what is your purpose in doing all this?"

Lu Buyi gave his answer to this question almost without thinking.

"Is my approach so hard to understand?"

"I came to him simply out of a friend's duty to help him with his unavoidable troubles and to respect his own choices."

"I don't care who he ends up with; I only care if it's a choice he makes from the bottom of his heart."

"I discovered that the retired Emperor Chongde was plotting against him, so he received a small lesson."

"That's all, what's there to be curious about?"

At this point, Lü Buyi paused, pretending to have thought of something, and tapped his temple.

"Tsk... With my brain, and you having no friends, of course you wouldn't understand."

Such mockery did not anger Xu Fu; at his age, there was almost nothing that could cause him to have a significant emotional reaction.

"You're right. I don't have any friends, so I don't really understand your attitude towards friends."

Xu Fu continued to smile gently, but as he looked at the blue sky and white clouds in the winding landscape, he did not stop asking questions.

"So, is it possible for you to back down on this?" he asked.

"Regression...what do you mean?" Lu Buyi asked back.

Xu Fu turned around and looked at him quietly: "According to the agreement I made with the previous leaders of the ruling council, I cannot act arbitrarily in the secular world."

"Therefore, if we want to refine the Dragon Pill, my foolish disciple's plan and ideas are indispensable—"

"Can you refrain from interfering in how this matter unfolds?"

"Impossible." Lü Buyi gave his answer in an extremely straightforward manner.

"I don't see what benefit it would bring me to take a step back here, and it might even make me blind to the future my friends might face."

"Besides... from childhood to adulthood, when have you ever seen me back down so easily? Just because of a few words?"

"That's really a headache..." Xu Fu rubbed his temples, pretending to have a headache.

"But I'm determined to get this done—"

"So, you want to be my enemy?" Lü Buyi's expression calmed down, but then he laughed again:

"You're determined to get it, all for a single dragon pill? You still dare to say you have no ambition for the Dragon Emperor's resurrection?"

"This is a very serious accusation. How do you think I should use the Dragon Pill to revive His Majesty?"

Xu Fu remained calm and composed.

Although Lü Buyi knew the answer to this question, he did not say it aloud.

He shouldn't have known the answer; revealing it wouldn't have surprised Xu Fu, but would have brought unnecessary trouble.

"Say what you will..." Lu Buyi snorted lightly, not pressing the matter any further.

"In short, I cannot compromise on the issue of the sun unless you can get the Snake Princess to obtain the power of the sun from him through means other than force."

"Otherwise, everything else is out of the question."

Lü Buyi's current toughness is something Xu Fu never expected.

Anyone who knows the destiny of the Child of Yin and Yang would probably be confused by Lü Buyi's actions and not understand his purpose in raising a tiger to cause trouble.

"Is it really not open to discussion?" Xu Fu asked one last time.

"No," Lü Buyi said decisively, then raised one hand again: "What? Can't reach an agreement? Want to fight?"

"To be honest, apart from that old man Nolan Nur, I've never actually fought a demigod."

Lu Buyi had thought that Xu Fu would at least have some reaction at this point.

But he remained calm and did not even consider taking action.

It was as if the plan, which was gradually spiraling out of control because of Lü Buyi, wasn't that important to him.

"There's no need for a fight. I'm just an old woman, all alone, and I'm too weak to even kill a chicken."

Xu Fu's figure began to fade, but his tone remained unchanged throughout.

"Since there's nothing to talk about, then it's my choice to back down between the two of us."

"However, my disciples and children are not under my control, so if they offend me in the future, I hope you will show mercy."

"See you again someday, you child who doesn't like your elders—"

Xu Fu's figure disappeared with a smile, but Lü Buyi frowned because of his words.

Someone else might have actually been fooled by Xu Fu's appearance.

But how could Lü Buyi, who was well-versed in the original work, not know that he could not possibly make any concessions on this matter?

"so……"

"Will one of the teams from three days later be able to hold me back, preventing me from focusing on Ji Mingyang for a short period?"

"There's no mistake. Only in this way would Xu Fu speak like he just did, so that I would lower my guard."

Lü Buyi quickly deduced the most likely scenario.

Then he had to think about who would be the person to hold him back.

There are very few that can do this, but there are actually a few in the Far East right now.

"The Zen master is in the midst of a long night meeting, and even if he were to return then, he would have no time to attend to it."

"The modern-day 'Indra' would not leave the territory without permission for this."

"There are several others, who are bound by their own responsibilities and unable to leave..."

So in the end, it seems there's only one candidate left.

Lü Buyi sighed softly, involuntarily thinking of that person's tall figure.

And the strangely shaped weapon in his hand...

Black Sword!