Forced to Be a Villain: Starting With My Brain Extraction System Chapter 3: First Revenge

"What the fuck are you doing?"

The whole scene unfolded in a mere blink.

From that youth attempting a kick straight at Zhiran's belly to him slamming into the distant room corner and blacking out, barely a second elapsed.

Zhiran's movements were lightning-quick and merciless.

"What am I doing?"

Zhiran brought his leg down, a subtle strand of spiritual energy still lingering around it from boosting his kick's velocity and power.

A sly grin played on his lips as he eyed the burly man, his gaze sparkling with unmistakable thrill.

"Wu Kang, are you stupid?"

The question made the burly man's expression turn stormy in an instant.

No one had ever insulted him directly to his face... especially not someone from a lesser realm.

Spotting the mocking expression on Zhiran's face, Wu Kang's fists tightened, veins popping along his neck in furious anger.

His spiritual energy, at the 5th layer of Qi Condensation, started surging and flaring wildly, poised to burst forth.

"You bast—"

"Why should I stand there like a sitting duck when you're obviously stirring up trouble?"

Yet before he could unleash his fury, his gaze landed on a tiny slip of paper that Zhiran had suddenly produced.

A compact square of red paper bore jagged symbols resembling flickering flames.

Though it appeared pretty but ordinary, the instant Wu Kang recognized it, he and the other youth cried out in alarm.

"Crimson Burst Talisman!"

The Crimson Burst Talisman was a low-grade fire talisman usable by any Qi Condensation cultivator.

When activated, it packed enough punch to injure a 5th-rank Qi Condensation cultivator, even in its weakest form.

Within the Divine Cauldron Sect, it served as a favored trump card for novice cultivators and fetched a high price.

Zhiran possessed just one in his storage bag, reserved for life-threatening moments.

"Are you crazy?"

As expected, the sight of the talisman made Wu Kang shrink back defensively, evident fear in his stance.

He hadn't imagined Tianyu's brother could be this vicious.

They hadn't even begun tormenting him, yet he'd already knocked out one of his lackeys.

Now holding a low-grade talisman that even he struggled to counter, Wu Kang wondered if Zhiran was mad enough to trigger it right in his own quarters.

"Crazy? Maybe."

Sadly for Wu Kang, his fears proved right—Zhiran hadn't drawn the Crimson Burst Talisman merely as a threat.

Watching them flinch, he flashed a wicked grin and hurled the talisman their way, murmuring softly,

"Ignite!"

As soon as Zhiran flung it, the talisman burst into flames, swiftly amassing vast spiritual energy.

Before they could muster any defense, fiery sparks shot from the paper like blazing darts, and the surrounding air warped with intense heat and force.

"BOOM!"

A deafening blast erupted from the Crimson Burst Talisman, unleashing a shockwave that tore through the room.

The detonation was tremendous—beams of wood cracked apart, windows exploded outward, and walls fissured like they'd been hammered by an unseen force.

Thick dust and smoke clouded everything, turning the scene chaotic.

The rundown old shack, already crumbling, gave way completely under the blast's might.

Wu Kang and the other youth were hurled against a wall, their forms scraping across the ground as jagged shards lacerated their limbs.

Caught right in the blast radius, they suffered severe wounds with blood pouring from gashes, amid choking smoke and the acrid smell of charred timber.

Without their cultivator constitutions, the explosion would have shredded them utterly.

"Fuck!"

The other youth lay unconscious, but Wu Kang clung to faint awareness.

After all, he cultivated at the Fifth Layer of Qi Condensation and donned low-grade armor.

Even so, such grave injuries highlighted the devastating might of even a low-grade talisman.

"Cough... cough... bastard, I will kill you."

Rage forced curses from his lips as he hacked up blood.

Recovering from these wounds might demand over half a year, ignoring the setback to his cultivation progress.

Who could've guessed that while targeting easy prey today, he'd cross paths with a lunatic like Zhiran.

The guy hadn't hesitated to deploy his ace and wreck his own lodging just to hit back.

Facing Tianyu in combat, he'd surely lose but not end up this battered.

Now...

"Tch... tch... see? Didn’t I tell you you're pretty stupid?"

As Wu Kang struggled to steady himself amid relentless coughing, a voice murmured nearby with mocking amusement.

"Vowing to kill me while you're this messed up? How naive..."

Zhiran shook his head in clear disdain.

"Heh... so what? Cough... do you think you can kill me? Inside the Divine Cauldron Sect?"

Despite his dire state, Wu Kang refused to yield.

He snarled with venom,

"Don’t forget what kind of punishment you will face if you kill a fellow disciple."

Wu Kang understood the sect's regulations well, which was why he felt no dread toward Zhiran even after the beating.

"You are only at the 3rd Stage of the Qi Condensation realm. If not for that talisman and you taking me by surprise, do you think you are my match? Heh... jump while you can; your days are already numbered."

His words dripped with murderous intent, blood trickling unchecked from his mouth.

At this point, his loathing for Zhiran surpassed even that for Tianyu.

He vowed that upon recovery, he'd slaughter this fool personally.

"Haha... okay, I take back that you are stupid. You are a little smart."

Yet Zhiran showed no fear or concern at the sight—instead, he offered faint praise.

"Yeah, I indeed cannot kill you here."

He agreed with a nod, honoring the sect's longstanding rule.

Life-or-death grudges belonged in the trial arena, not outside, or you'd bear the fallout.

"But... what if I break your dantian?"