Great Villain: Starting by Humiliating the Son of the Heavenly Fate

Hearing the reactions, another cultivator in the crowd explained, "It’s to prevent cheating."

"Who knows if those cultivators pretending to be spectators could be bribed to secretly interfere?"

"Exactly, this is the safest method."

"Hmph, I wonder if that person has been bought off?"

"Stop overthinking it. Daoist friends from the Dao Comprehension realm and above, let’s move on."

As they murmured, bright streaks of light rose into the air, heading toward the special viewing area set up by the Ageless Spirit Heavenly Sect.

The area was located far away from the Immortal Martial Grand Assembly venue, making it impossible for anyone to secretly help.

The cultivators left in the circular audience seats, with the strongest only at the Inquiring Journey realm, were separated from the competition stage by a barrier. They couldn’t possibly help the participants cheat.

Soon, everything was set.

The host’s loud voice rang out again, "We now announce, the Immortal Martial Grand Assembly officially begins."

"The first event is a test of combat ability! To keep it fair, this event has two main parts. The first part is a standard test of combat strength."

With a firm tone, he added, "Now, all participating prodigies, please enter the competition field!"

With a rustling sound, thirteen competing cultivators jumped up, passing through the formation passage, and entered the large arena.

"Why is one missing?" a voice quietly asked.

"Where is the Holy Son of Purple Heaven Holy Land?"

One by one, the cultivators frowned, looking around the stage.

Suddenly, a figure appeared out of nowhere among the group of prodigies, as if he had been there from the start.

It was Jiang Chen.

"Ha!" one prodigy gasped.

"What a powerful technique!" another exclaimed. "I didn’t see anything unusual at all!"

"Is that the Holy Son of the Purple Heaven Holy Land? There’s no aura coming from him; it’s impossible to tell his strength!"

"Such a strong presence; my hand is shaking!"

The prodigies were shocked, with beads of cold sweat forming on their foreheads.

Some cultivators showed defiance, their eyes filled with disdain. One of them snorted, "Hmph!"

Another added with contempt, "All show, no real skill! Just pretending!"

But deep down, even these cultivators felt a strong sense of worry and unease.

Outside the stage, the cultivators in the circular seating area murmured, their eyes fixed on Jiang Chen.

Meanwhile, Jiang Chen didn’t even glance at the so-called geniuses around him. Using his Villain Eye, he had already assessed them. They were all just ordinary passersby, with no supporting character among them.

This meant that no protagonist would appear during this Immortal Martial Grand Assembly, which made Jiang Chen feel more at ease.

Then, the host’s voice echoed through the venue once again, "For the first phase, to ensure the contestants stay safe, we’ve specially set up fourteen steles to measure real combat strength. Each minor realm’s combat power is divided into a hundred segments."

He continued clearly, "All steles are available for the talented contestants to choose from. Contestants, give it your best effort and strike the stele. You can use any method, except for weapons."

Next, fourteen towering steles rose from beneath the stage, positioning themselves around the edge of the circular platform.

Each stele, standing hundreds of meters tall, was made from special materials strong enough to withstand multiple strikes from cultivators of the Dao Palace realm.

Inside each stele, a formation was set up to measure the strength of the blows.

"The competition begins now!" announced the host.

One by one, the talented contestants approached their chosen steles, their faces serious and focused as they gathered their strength.

Only Jiang Chen remained still, calm and relaxed.

One of the talented cultivators stepped forward and struck the stele with all his strength.

Boom!

The stele didn’t move but glowed softly, and words appeared: "Orchid Stone Domain, Wu Xiaoman, True Combat Power, Late-stage Dao Comprehension realm, Thirty-Seven Segments!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

One after another, the other contestants approached, launching their strongest attacks on the steles.

Even those in the Inquiring Journey realm gave it their all. They knew their chances were slim against the stronger contestants, so a higher score was their only advantage.

Soon, all thirteen contestants had taken their turns. Their combat abilities ranged from the Early-stage Dao Comprehension realm to the Early-stage Dao Palace realm, with a few approaching the Middle-stage Dao Palace realm.

Now, only Jiang Chen remained.

"How strong is Jiang Chen, really? We’re about to find out," a spectator commented.

"I’d guess he’s at the Middle-stage Dao Palace realm at most."

"I think it’s the Late-stage Dao Palace realm; anything stronger seems unlikely."

As whispers and speculations filled the air, Jiang Chen didn’t even move toward the stele. He simply raised his hand and slapped it.

Bang!

With a loud crash, the stele shattered on the spot, leaving no chance to measure any results.

"What... What just happened?" a cultivator exclaimed, eyes wide. "How can he have such power?!"

"He destroyed the stele with one strike! That’s a stele that can withstand blows from someone in the Late-stage Dao Palace realm!"

"His combat power must be beyond the Late-stage Dao Palace realm, almost reaching the Transcendence realm!"

"We clearly underestimated him. So the rumors were true—Holy Son Jiang Chen really did decapitate a demon from the Transcendence realm!"

"He’s on another level, truly peerless! All hail the Purple Heaven Holy Son as the strongest in the world!"

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the shattered remains, completely stunned, their faces a mix of shock and admiration.

Those who had doubted Jiang Chen earlier now looked embarrassed, as if they had just been slapped in the face.

On the stage, the talented contestants stood still, completely stunned.

Some were tempted to question the authenticity of Jiang Chen’s stele, but they had no reason to doubt it. After all, Jiang Chen had only made his choice after everyone else had picked theirs.

"Stay calm, there’s more to come!" A voice from the crowd shouted.

"Get a grip!"

"This is just the beginning!"

Cultivators from different regions cheered on the prodigies representing their areas.

Hearing the support, competitors like Peng Shi quickly regained their confidence.

...

At the same time, deep within the northern seas of Ageless Spirit Heavenly Island, Bo Lang, Jiu Xiaoyin, and a few others were hiding inside a formation.

Spies kept them updated on the progress of the competition, and Jiang Chen’s impressive performance took them by surprise.

For Bo Lang, Jiu Xiaoyin, and the others, Jiang Chen hadn’t been on their radar. They only knew his name and heard about his fight with Long Tianlu.

However, they found it hard to believe that Jiang Chen had actually beaten Long Tianlu.

In their minds, Long Tianlu’s defeat must have been because of the powerful support from the Purple Heaven Holy Land.

This belief partly explained why they were hesitant to directly confront the Purple Heaven Holy Land.

"This Jiang Chen, even if he didn’t truly defeat Long Tianlu, is clearly skilled," Bo Lang thought aloud.

Jiu Xiaoyin added, "The details of Long Tianlu’s death are unclear, but it’s possible that Jiang Chen used the power of the Purple Heaven Holy Land."

"Yes, with the backing of the Purple Heaven Holy Land’s Supreme Elder and their secret weapon of the Transcendence rank, it’s likely he played a part in Long Tianlu’s downfall."

Members of their group now looked at Jiang Chen with a mix of surprise and respect.

However, their newfound admiration was soon replaced by dismissive smirks from other powerful figures of the demon race.