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

Under the stunned gaze of everyone in Red Maple City, Mo Hao made his entrance—bold, loud, impossible to ignore.

Power surged around him, crackling in the air. He was at the Middle-stage Dao Palace realm, his presence undeniable.

"In our city… we had someone this strong?" someone blurted out in disbelief.

A scoff followed. "So what? Unless he's in the Transcendence realm, he's just another weakling."

"Exactly. To a Transcendence realm powerhouse, a Dao Palace realm cultivator is no different from a mortal—just another ant."

"Tch. Look at him, acting all high and mighty. Either he's clueless or completely delusional. What a joke."

The crowd's doubt and hopelessness hung heavy in the air. No one believed Mo Hao stood a chance against the terrifying demon leader.

At first, the demons were caught off guard by Mo Hao's loud declaration. Then their lips curled into cold, mocking smiles. To them, he wasn't even worth a second thought.

And that was exactly what Mo Hao wanted.

Hah! Go ahead, laugh at me now, he thought, his eyes flashing with amusement. The bigger your doubt, the more satisfying it'll be when I crush you all.

With that, he prepared to leap into the sky, ready to tear into the demon army himself.

But just as he was about to move, a firm, aged voice rang out from within the city.

"Step back, boy."

The air suddenly shifted. A powerful aura—faint but undeniable—swept through Red Maple City. It was old, worn down, but still strong enough to shake the battlefield.

At the edge of the formation, a figure slowly emerged.

An old woman, hunched over, her form blurry like a shadow in the wind. But despite her frail appearance, her presence alone made the ground tremble.

Peak-stage Dao Palace realm. Almost at the Half-step Transcendence realm.

Of course, this old woman was none other than Shangguan Ning, perfectly disguised under Jiang Chen's instructions.

As a member of the Fox Demon Clan, deception was second nature to her. Pretending to be a Dao Palace realm elder? Child's play. Not a single flaw in her act.

"What?!" Someone gasped. "We actually had an expert like this in our city?!"

"She might be at the Half-step Transcendence realm! Maybe she's some hidden master, someone who's been in seclusion all this time, only stepping forward now because Red Maple City is in danger!"

"But… can a Half-step Transcendence realm really take on a true Transcendence realm?"

A heavy silence followed.

"No way," someone finally muttered. "She's probably just stepping forward to die."

For a brief moment, the crowd had felt hope. But just as quickly, it crumbled, drowned out by the overwhelming sense of doom hanging over them.

A cold snort came from the demon side.

"Hah! Another Dao Palace realm?"

"Two in this tiny city? That's a bit surprising." A demon chuckled darkly. "Not that it matters. They're still just ants."

The demon army erupted into laughter, their eyes filled with mockery as they sized up the old woman—Shangguan Ning in disguise.

To them, this was already over. Their leader would crush her in an instant. Like stepping on a bug.

At the same time, Mo Hao glanced at the old woman, a flicker of surprise flashing in his eyes. Then he shook his head.

A Half-step Transcendence realm? Against a true Transcendence realm? Yeah, right.

And not just any Transcendence realm expert—the demon leader was at Middle-stage Transcendence realm. If anyone had a real shot at catching him off guard, it was him, Mo Hao.

With a smirk and a casual wave of his hand, he looked at her and said, "Elder, you might wanna rethink this. No need to throw your life away..."

Honestly, a Half-step Transcendence cultivator was the perfect audience for his usual showboating. He was about to keep going when—

BOOM!

Before he could finish, the old woman made her move!

Her aura exploded outward, and in an instant, the sky turned an electric blue. Bolts of lightning rained down like a divine punishment, flooding the land outside Red Maple City in a sea of crackling energy.

"AAAGH! IT HURTS!"

Demons screamed in agony.

"NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"

"HELP ME! I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

The Middle-stage Transcendence realm demon and tens of thousands of his soldiers were vaporized on the spot. The lightning left nothing behind—just charred ground and the lingering crackle of raw power.

For a moment, silence.

Absolute, deafening silence.

The entire city stood frozen, eyes wide, mouths open. It was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

Mo Hao, usually so cocky and full of himself, just stood there, staring. His lips trembled.

"N-n-no… m-m-my ki…" His voice barely came out, his words turning into a jumble of nonsense.

The shock inside him twisted into something worse—deep, bitter frustration.

This… this wasn't how things were supposed to go!

No way… NO WAY!

Mo Hao had finally found the perfect chance to show off. Tens of thousands of demons, including a Middle-stage Transcendence realm powerhouse—right in front of him!

If he had pulled it off, he would've raked in an insane amount of Pretentious Points. This was supposed to be his moment!

But just when it mattered most… everything fell apart.

"Aaagh! NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" Mo Hao suddenly screamed, his voice sharp with despair. "WHY?! WHY DID YOU STEAL MY KILLS?!"

His outburst shattered the heavy silence in Red Maple City like glass.

Everyone flinched, whipping their heads toward him.

What… what was he even saying?

The entire demon army had just been obliterated. This should've been a moment of celebration! And yet… this man was wailing like he'd just suffered the greatest loss of his life?

"He's… he's lost it," someone muttered, eyes wide.

"No doubt about it. Only a lunatic would charge out like that."

"Does he really think he could've wiped out the entire demon army? He's just a Dao Palace realm cultivator! The guy's completely unhinged!"

"What a shame," another sighed. "So much potential… wasted. Truly tragic."

Murmurs filled the air, quickly turning into hushed sighs of pity.

Meanwhile, Mo Hao was seething. He turned toward the old woman, his eyes burning with frustration.

"Who are you?!" he demanded, barely keeping himself together.

"WHY?! Why did you act before me?! Why did you exterminate them?!"

His voice cracked with sorrow.

"Couldn't you have left some demons for me?!"

"Young man, what on earth are you talking about?" The disguised Shangguan Ning blinked, her elderly voice laced with confusion. Her act was flawless. "Have I been in seclusion so long that I don't understand how the world works anymore?"

"Aaagh—!!"

Mo Hao let out a wail of pure agony, then shot into the sky like a madman, vanishing in an instant.

At the same time, a system notification rang out in Jiang Chen's mind.

[Ding! You've slightly altered the plot, successfully stopping Protagonist Mo Hao from showing off and humiliating others. Mo Hao's Heavenly Fate Value has dropped by 3,000 points!]

[Ding! You've earned 6,000 Villain Value points!]

Jiang Chen's lips curled into a cold smile. Heh. Another win.

Mo Hao's the type to dust himself off and try again. He won't stop looking for ways to show off. I'll have to keep an eye on him.

With that in mind, he quietly absorbed the qi and blood energy from the fallen demon army, as well as a portion of their cultivation, without drawing attention.

A short while later, he returned to Red Maple City—this time as himself.

The moment he revealed his true identity, the remaining cultivators gasped in shock.

"The old woman was Lord Jiang Chen all along?!"

"Unbelievable…!"

But their surprise quickly turned into admiration. Whoever he was, he had saved their lives. Their gratitude remained the same.

Jiang Chen didn't waste time. He opened a spatial channel, leading directly to the Immortal Martial Cave Heaven.

"Go," he commanded. "There's nothing left for you here."

One by one, the remaining residents stepped through.

Before long, Red Maple City was empty—nothing but silence.

Next, Jiang Chen closed his eyes and spread out his divine sense, scanning the area. He wanted to see if any new supporting characters had popped into existence.

With his current strength, his cultivation had soared to the Late-stage Transcendence realm, and his combat power had even touched the Nirvana Peering realm.

His divine sense? It had expanded massively—from covering just two million kilometers to an insane ten million kilometers!

That was nearly ten times the range of Mo Hao's!

And thanks to the Death Calamity Dark Star Moon Dao Embryo Bloodline and the soul techniques he had learned from Nangong Wan and Shangguan Ning, his divine sense was almost undetectable.

Tracking Mo Hao? Easier than ever.

But Jiang Chen wasn't just focused on Mo Hao. He paid even closer attention to Mo Hao's supporting characters.

Wherever they showed up… Mo Hao wouldn't be far behind.

And sure enough, he soon picked up on a new group of them.

What caught him off guard, though, was where they were.

They weren't on the surface.

They were underground—deep inside a massive sinkhole, completely hidden from sight.