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

In the meantime, the one pulling all the strings—Jiang Chen—had already hidden his presence and slipped back to where Ying Luo and Mo Hao were.

He'd barely arrived when his divine sense picked something up.

A hundred thousand demons?! he thought, his eyes narrowing. That's the same legion Ying Luo escaped from before… and now they've got even more soldiers.

All that sneaking around, all that careful moving—and they still ran into them again.

But then Jiang Chen noticed something else. "Ah… that's why," he muttered to himself.

There's a nether soul demon mixed in with them. One whose divine sense has already reached Peak-stage Transcendence realm.

No wonder they'd been found.

Jiang Chen's Villain Eye lit up as he scanned the entire demon force.

Sixteen demons in total had power at the Transcendence level—but the real problem was that nether soul demon. He was already closing in fast, leading the whole army straight toward Ying Luo and Mo Hao.

There was no doubt about it now—Ying Luo was their main target.

Right then, Ying Luo also felt the demon army rushing toward them. She was just about to tell everyone to pull back—when a familiar warmth suddenly pulsed from above her dragon head.

She didn't even need to think. She knew right away.

"Big Brother's back!" she let out a soft, excited roar, her eyes lighting up with joy.

Jiang Chen floated down, his hand gently brushing one of her dragon horns. A rare, warm smile crossed his face. "Good," he said softly.

Without wasting a second, he reached out through the Void Tribulation Soulring and connected with Nangong Wan and Shangguan Ning. He told them his plan: It was finally time to practice a Nirvana Peering-level technique.

The two souls didn't hesitate. After a quick exchange, they both agreed on the best choice: the Myriad Changes Hidden Void Sword Technique.

This was a powerful space-based sword art Nangong Wan had kept tucked away. Once mastered, it would let Jiang Chen twist the space around his attacks—making them nearly impossible to block. Sharp enough for duels, wide enough for group fights… it was deadly no matter the situation.

Even though this sword technique only borrowed the power of space—it didn't fully control the Dao of Space—it was still way faster and deadlier than most normal moves.

Right around then, Mo Hao noticed something strange about Ying Luo. His eyes narrowed a bit.

"Lady True Dragon! What's going on with you?" he asked, sounding a little unsure.

Ying Luo waved it off like it was nothing. "Oh, don't worry," she said quickly, coming up with a reason on the fly. "This dragon's just about fully healed. And what perfect timing too—we've run into that hundred-thousand-strong demon army again!"

Now that Jiang Chen was back, she didn't have to run anymore. But of course, she couldn't say that out loud, especially not to Mo Hao. So instead, she straightened her neck proudly and struck a fierce pose.

"This dragon has made a decision. No more running. I'm going to face them head-on!" she declared with confidence.

She looked at Mo Hao seriously, sticking to the plan Jiang Chen had in mind. "You said you've got some kind of power-up thing, right? I'll handle their top fighters. The rest is all yours."

Mo Hao was so hyped he could barely speak. His lips trembled as he stammered, "What?! We've run into them again?!"

"And Lady Dragon—you're almost fully recovered?!"

"Perfect! That's perfect!" he shouted, fists clenching in excitement. "I'll definitely step up! Time to act like a badass, power up, and wipe out every last one of those demons!"

A demon army of a hundred thousand—what better backdrop for a grand performance?

And with a true dragon backing him up? He couldn't ask for a better setup to show off and get stronger.

This wasn't just a battle—it was a golden opportunity, and Mo Hao was ready to make the most of it.

What he didn't know, though, was that everything happening right now had been carefully set up by Jiang Chen… all to eventually take him down.

"The demons are closing in!" Ying Luo called out, already used to the way Mo Hao's eyes lit up every time the word "demons" came up. "Focus your senses toward the south!"

"Got it!" Mo Hao said, nodding with excitement as he sent his divine sense sweeping across the southern horizon.

Sure enough, he felt it—an overwhelming presence. That massive demon army was charging straight toward them.

And on the other side, the demons were just as pumped.

The Transcendence realm elites among them could barely contain their excitement. Bo Luncang had given a clear, no-nonsense order: Capture the true dragon alive. No matter the cost.

And to sweeten the deal, he'd promised huge rewards to whoever pulled it off.

Capturing a true dragon alive? That kind of thing was the stuff of legends. The benefits were off the charts.

Now, standing face to face with the real deal—the true dragon herself—how could they not be thrilled?

As for whether they could actually succeed?

Not a single demon had any doubts. Not one.

Taking down a true dragon after wearing it out with a hundred-thousand-strong army? That would be as easy as flipping your hand over—especially since the last thirty-thousand-strong army had already forced it to show most of its hidden moves.

"Move, move, move!" demons shouted as they surged forward. "The true dragon is right up ahead!"

"It's not running? Even with this huge army in front of it?" one of them yelled in surprise. "Is it really planning to fight us head-on?"

"Hah, that's dragons for you," another one sneered. "Too proud for their own good. They hate backing down—especially when they think they're facing equals."

"I love that kind of dumb pride," one demon laughed. "Let's go teach it a lesson!"

As they talked, the Transcendence realm powerhouses quickly split up and spread out into a wide crescent shape, trying to surround Ying Luo and Mo Hao. No way were they letting her slip away.

"Let's go, human boy!" Ying Luo roared low and fierce, then shot up into the sky like a rocket, her body stretching out and growing larger with each passing second.

In the blink of an eye, her full dragon form filled the sky—so massive she blocked out the sun and moon, casting a huge shadow over the battlefield.

Mo Hao took off after her, keeping his distance but staying close.

Down below, one of the strongest demons in the army shouted loud enough for everyone to hear: "The true dragon's making her move! All demons below Transcendence realm—stand back! We don't need friendly fire!"

The moment he gave the order, the lower-ranked demons stopped in place.

And then—boom!—sixteen Transcendence realm demons shot forward as one, charging straight at Ying Luo.

Four of them were Late-stage Transcendence realm experts, each with their own strange and deadly techniques. Together, their power climbed to something close to Peak-stage Transcendence realm.

Behind them came twelve more—Early to Mid-stage Transcendence realm demons—ready to swarm her and wear her down, bit by bit.

They were coming in fast, and they weren't holding back.

Meanwhile, Mo Hao noticed something interesting—the demon army was splitting into two groups. The weaker ones, all below the Transcendence realm, were hanging back.

His face lit up with joy. "They've split up! Hah! It's like the heavens are helping me win!"

He grinned to himself. Step one? Rack up Pretentious Points—because the more over-the-top he acted, the stronger he'd get.

With that in mind, Mo Hao picked his first target: the weaker demon troops. He activated his clan's secret technique to hide his true strength, making himself seem like just a Half-step Transcendence realm fighter. Then he rushed straight toward the demon army.

The higher-ranked demons didn't even glance at him.

They were all locked in on the true dragon. To them, Mo Hao was just some overconfident bug running into a firestorm. No one even bothered to stop him.

Up in the sky, the sixteen Transcendence realm demons reached Ying Luo in a flash, surrounding her with deadly intent.

At the same time, Mo Hao charged forward, completely ignoring the mocking looks from the demon army. Some looked at him like he was crazy. Others just rolled their eyes.

But Mo Hao didn't care. He kept striding ahead, head held high, looking like he was ready to die gloriously.

"Heh heh…" he chuckled darkly, eyes glinting. "Look closely, all of you! You're about to witness true pretentiousness!"

Just as everything was about to kick off—a low, deep snort echoed across the battlefield.

Nobody knew where it came from.

But in the very next moment, a terrifying aura slammed down on everyone like a mountain crashing from the sky.

The air froze. Every single person felt it—a bone-deep chill that made their skin crawl and their hearts stop. It was the unmistakable feeling of death approaching.

"W-What's going on?!" someone yelled in panic.

"Oh no! A human powerhouse has shown up!" another demon cried out. "That aura… it's Nirvana Peering realm!"

"How is this possible?! I thought the only Nirvana Peering realm expert was in the Pure Frost Domain!"

"There's another one?! Here? In the Immortal Martial Continent?!"

"No… no, no, no—I don't want to die!"

Even the mighty Transcendence realm elites—who had been so smug just moments ago—were now frozen in place, faces pale, eyes wide with fear. The rest of the demon army looked like they'd just seen a ghost.

And Mo Hao?

He was stunned too. His confidence vanished in an instant. A wave of cold sweat rolled down his back as pure dread settled in.

But his fear wasn't the same as the others.

This… this was familiar. That gut-wrenching chill. That sudden sense of being small. Like a spotlight meant for him had just been stolen—again.

Something was coming.

And deep down, Mo Hao already knew.