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

High above, Jiang Chen heard a light chime echo through his mind.

[Ding! You've made a minor change to the plot. You've interrupted Protagonist Mo Hao's perfect grandstand. Mo Hao's Heavenly Fate Value has dropped by 300 points.]

[Ding! You've gained 600 Villain Value Points!]

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, Well, I didn't stop him completely… but it's good enough.

He shrugged it off. Whatever. He didn't get much anyway.

With that, he guided Ying Luo—the massive silver dragon—down through the cold skies. They landed on a snowy peak above the ravine where Mo Hao and the others were hiding.

THUD!

Ying Luo hit the ground like a falling star, her four claws digging deep into the frozen earth. Ice cracked beneath her weight, and the wind kicked up swirls of snow that danced through her flowing dragon mane.

Down below, Mo Hao felt a chill crawl up his spine. It found us, he thought, swallowing hard.

But right after, his eyes lit up. Perfect. My moment's here!

He gave a cool little smile, trying to look like some noble hero ready to face a great threat.

He didn't even get a word out.

Before he could speak, Ying Luo's voice rolled out like thunder, sharp and mocking.

"Heh heh!"

"You? Trying to act cool? Please. I've seen through your little game from the start."

Her snort was full of disdain.

"Even now, when everything's falling apart, you're still trying to use these poor people to boost your image? Pathetic."

She sounded like she was scolding a child, or maybe stepping on bugs.

Thanks to a special technique she was using, her voice came out deeper, older—filled with ancient power.

Mo Hao's face froze for a split second, then he quickly waved his hand and spoke up, trying to clear the air. "Hey, don't get the wrong idea! I've been hiding my aura so the demon army doesn't track me. That's all."

He put on his friendliest smile—the kind that said, Look, I'm harmless!—and continued, "You're clearly a powerful dragon stuck here on the Immortal Martial Continent, right? Well, I'm not from here. I come from the Prosperous Stone Immortal Star. I can take you to the real Starry Seas!"

He stepped forward, sounding all serious and heroic. "Why don't we team up? We can wipe out the demon race together. After that, I'll show you the way to the Immortal Star."

It might've sounded good on paper, but Ying Luo wasn't buying it. With Jiang Chen silently guiding her, she scoffed, her dragon voice thick with disdain.

"Tch! You?" she snapped. "You've got no real power, no deep roots in cultivation. Why would I travel with someone like you?"

But Mo Hao wasn't ready to give up—not with a majestic dragon right in front of him. He stepped up, eyes blazing with determination.

"I am qualified!" he said, almost like he was making a vow.

"Yeah, maybe I don't have a strong base yet. Maybe I'm not all that powerful right now—but that won't last. I'll get stronger, way stronger, and fast!"

He stared at Ying Luo, full of passion. "If you don't believe me, then let me prove it!"

The dragon raised an eyebrow—well, the dragon equivalent of one. Her voice was sharp, but there was a bit of curiosity behind it now.

"Hmph. I have no idea where you get all this confidence from," she said with a mocking chuckle. "But... you've got my attention, just a little."

She paused, then added, "Alright then. I'll humor you. Go ahead—show me what you've got."

They were here for one reason: to keep a close eye on Mo Hao, ruin his big moments, and steal the spotlight before he could grab it. So, of course, Ying Luo had to go with it.

Meanwhile, Mo Hao had no clue any of that was happening behind the scenes.

The second he heard Ying Luo agree, his whole face lit up.

Ahahaha! She said yes! he laughed in his head, practically bouncing with excitement.

She thinks she's giving me a chance? Ha! Joke's on her—I'm the one doing her a favor!

He smirked, feeling way too pleased with himself. Doesn't she realize how lucky she is to be standing in front of someone like me? I've got a system, after all!

He chuckled to himself like a cartoon villain in training.

Looking up at the silver dragon towering above him, Mo Hao felt like he was staring at the ultimate jackpot. She was strong, proud, and definitely not someone easy to impress.

Exactly the kind of audience he wanted for his next big look how cool I am moment.

A true dragon, already at the Late-stage Transcendence realm... If he managed to pull off his act in front of her, the rewards would be huge. Way better than showing off to regular cultivators.

And if everything went as planned? He'd blow her away with his potential, win her over, and then—

Jackpot. Dragon mount acquired.

That thought alone had him grinning again, eyes sparkling. He could already picture it: him riding through the skies, dramatic wind, flowing robes, and everyone staring in awe.

Man… this is gonna be great.

At the same time, the group of terrified cultivators—who had been frozen in place just moments ago—finally snapped out of it. One by one, their eyes widened as they stared up at Ying Luo with joy and relief spreading across their faces.

It finally hit them.

That roar from earlier... it came from her! From this massive, majestic silver dragon!

And judging by what they were seeing now, this dragon didn't seem like a threat at all—not to them, anyway. If anything, she looked like she hated the demon race just as much as they did. Maybe even more.

That could only mean one thing: she was on their side.

And then—shock of all shocks—the dragon actually agreed to Mo Hao's ridiculous offer!

That really sealed the deal.

Someone in the crowd couldn't hold it in anymore and blurted out, "Heavens… a true dragon is really going to travel with us?!"

Another added, "This is huge! A dragon this strong? The demons won't even think about coming near us now!"

"We're saved! Lady Dragon, thank you! Thank you for protecting us!"

They all dropped to their knees and bowed toward Ying Luo, full of admiration and gratitude, their voices practically trembling with emotion.

As for Mo Hao?

Yeah… no one believed him. Not even a little.

In their minds, the dragon was probably just being kind. Pitying him, maybe. No way she took him seriously—not with those wild claims he made.

They figured she was too noble, too good-hearted to crush his silly hopes right in front of everyone. That must've been it. What a righteous and graceful dragon! Truly worth worshiping!

Too bad they had no idea what was coming next.

This was only the beginning. Mo Hao's big show was just getting started—and they were all about to be humbled in the most dramatic way possible.

In the original timeline—back when everything followed Heavenly Fate's plan—these people were supposed to eat their words real soon. Mo Hao was meant to show off so hard that they'd be left in awe, finally realizing he was way more incredible than they ever imagined. Heck, even more impressive than the true dragon herself.

Mo Hao shot a sideways glance at the crowd, his eyes full of annoyance.

Hmph. How dare they not worship me?

He clenched his fists slightly, itching to slap some sense into them.

Just wait. They'll see how badly they've underestimated me. And when they do… A smug grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. They'll be begging to follow me.

But what he didn't know—what he never saw coming—was that Jiang Chen was watching everything from nearby. And with him pulling strings from the shadows, Mo Hao's big moments rarely went the way he planned. Nine out of ten times, they crashed and burned. And that one time it did work? It was never perfect.

Still in her proud, towering dragon form, Ying Luo looked down at the humans. Her voice rang out, calm and powerful.

"Rise, humans."

Then she dipped her head slightly toward Mo Hao.

"Follow your Transcendence realm cultivator here. We'll lead you to a safer place first."

Right away, the air filled with grateful voices.

"Thank you, Lady Dragon!"

"We're forever in your debt!"

"Everyone, bow again to show our thanks!"

Like clockwork, the group dropped to their knees, pressing their foreheads to the snow in deep respect. After that, they stood up and got in line—right behind Mo Hao.

Whether they liked him or not didn't matter now. He was their ride to safety.

Before setting off, Mo Hao turned to Ying Luo with a respectful look on his face.

"Lady True Dragon, may I ask…" he said carefully, "do you have any idea where the demon army might be right now?"

Ying Luo gave him a cold look and snorted. "The demon army? I just woke up, genius. What do you think?"

That shut him up for a second. His smile twitched a little, but he kept going.

"Well then… where exactly are we going?" he asked, trying to sound calm but clearly hoping for a real answer. "There's gotta be a destination, right?"

He added seriously, "You might not be aware yet, but most of the Immortal Martial Continent is crawling with demons. Almost every region's been taken over by five or six Transcendence realm monsters, each leading armies of fifty, sixty thousand. It's a disaster out there."

Ying Luo raised an eyebrow and tilted her head, acting like she had no idea what he was talking about.

"The continent's really in that bad of a state?" she asked, pretending to be surprised. "Other domains have fallen too?"

Then she looked over at the group of human cultivators behind Mo Hao. There was something soft in her eyes for a second—almost pity.

"So… you all really have nowhere else to go?"

"No, Lady True Dragon!" one of them answered quickly, nervous but hopeful.

An older cultivator stepped forward, rubbing his hands anxiously.

"However," he said, "the ruler of this continent—Lord Jiang Chen—he set up a place called the Immortal Martial Cave Heaven. It's huge and safe, and most of the survivors have taken shelter there."

"We ended up like this because… well, we couldn't get in. Things didn't work out for us."

Then he looked up hopefully. "Would you… would you be willing to reach out to Lord Jiang Chen? Maybe ask him to open another portal so we can enter too?"

Just the thought of getting into the Cave Heaven filled them with hope. If they could just step inside that place, they'd finally be safe.

But the moment Mo Hao heard that name—Jiang Chen—his mood soured in an instant.

His eye twitched. His jaw tightened.

Jiang Chen again… always Jiang Chen…

In his mind, that guy—and his mysterious master—were the reason everything kept going wrong. Every time Mo Hao was about to pull off a perfect moment, they showed up and ruined it.

If not for them, he was sure he'd already be in the Nirvana Peering realm by now. No doubt about it.

Instead? He was stuck playing second fiddle. Again.