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

Jiang Chen looked over the attribute panel, a cold smirk creeping onto his face. Now this is detailed. So this is what they mean when they say—know yourself and your enemy, and you'll never lose a fight.

Over a hundred thousand Heavenly Fate Value, huh? That's nearly forty thousand more than Mo Hao. No doubt this guy's going to be a lot harder to handle.

But that trump card of his… still activating? What's it gonna be? Mo Hao had a system—doesn't that mean this Lu Yi probably has one too?

He swept his divine sense over Lu Yi. Heh, seriously? Just some half-dead old man? Yeah, this guy's probably another transmigrator with a system tucked away.

His eyes narrowed briefly, a flicker of interest crossing his face.

Then he turned to the rest of the panels. Anyone who can be scanned like this… definitely has to be a supporting character.

This time, a flood of panels popped up.

Jiang Chen quickly filtered out the nobodies, brushing aside the ones he figured were just background extras. He focused on the ones that actually mattered—the key supporting characters.

Right at the top were the three Nirvana Peering realm powerhouses from the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace. The strongest of the bunch was Zhong Yushan, already at the peak of that realm.

There were also five Transcendence realm cultivators holding down the fort in Burning Sun City. All of them were from the Purple Crest Immortal Sect.

Those three Nirvana Peering realm cultivators have to be from the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace. They're here, but holding back… probably waiting to catch the Purple Crest Immortal Sect in the act, Jiang Chen figured.

If they grabbed Lu Yi too early, the Purple Crest Immortal Sect could just claim it was all a setup. That'd turn into a messy stalemate and weaken whatever pressure the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace was trying to put on them.

No—what they want is proof. Catch them red-handed, and the Purple Crest Immortal Sect won't be able to talk their way out of it.

He quickly pieced together the strategy behind the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace's move.

After that, Jiang Chen started thinking about how the original plot might play out. Lu Yi's a human-demon hybrid, caught between two worlds. Neither side wants him—not the humans, not the demons. If he were just some regular half-blood, maybe he could lay low. But he's got the blood of a top-tier demon running through him.

Once that heaven-defying trump card kicks in, it's over. He's going to flip everything on its head. Hated by everyone, pushing back against the whole world... yeah, classic lone-wolf protagonist energy. The kind who fights his way through hell with no one at his side.

He ran a hand along his chin, already piecing things together.

Next up, the Purple Crest Immortal Sect is definitely going to try and wipe him out. But with the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace already in the city, that's not going to be easy. There's no way the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace just sits back and watches. Most likely, the two sides will clash.

Lu Yi will get hunted down by those Transcendence realm cultivators, almost die… and then turn it around and kill them instead.

Still, that's just the expected path. With a protagonist like him, you never know—things could take a wild turn at any second.

Jiang Chen's eyes sharpened. He was already planning how to throw a wrench into it all.

Just then, a flash of light burst out from the Teleportation Hall in Burning Sun City, and three figures appeared.

The teleportation arrays inside had been sealed off to prevent Lu Yi, the half-demon, from slipping away—so anyone using them now had to be from the Purple Crest Immortal Sect.

Jiang Chen activated his Villain Eye and took a closer look. Just as he thought—they were supporting characters from the Purple Crest Immortal Sect.

Their cultivation was nothing special, only at the early stage of the Transcendence realm. Judging by their robes, they weren't exactly big shots in the sect either.

A diversion, Jiang Chen thought with a smirk. The Purple Crest Immortal Sect's playing it smart. Sending these low-level cultivators out to poke around makes it look like they don't really care—like they're just following protocol because of some rumor.

But their real plan's obvious. The real experts are probably already on the move to take Lu Yi out. With this two-step setup, they're hoping to clean things up without leaving any loose ends. If it works, they might even flip it on the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace and accuse them of spreading lies.

Too bad they're underestimating the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace. That sect came ready for war. If the Purple Crest Immortal Sect thinks they're going to walk away from this clean, they're dreaming.

With that thought, Jiang Chen swept his divine sense across the land.

Almost instantly, he picked up on four Nirvana Peering realm cultivators, expertly hiding their presence as they rushed toward Burning Sun City.

No doubt about it—these people were from the Purple Crest Immortal Sect.

Jiang Chen didn't waste any time. He activated his Villain Eye for a closer look.

Their main cultivation method wasn't the sect's signature Purple Crest Immortal Gold Record, but their other techniques were clearly similar to Sun Tianlin's.

That sealed it. These four were definitely from the Purple Crest Immortal Sect.

Just as expected, Jiang Chen thought, a faint grin tugging at his lips as he flew toward Burning Sun City.

...

Time kept slipping by.

Inside Burning Sun City, cultivators were still searching nonstop for Lu Yi, but no one could find a trace of him.

Some started to think he'd already slipped out of the city and expanded their search to the nearby regions.

Others believed the old saying—the most dangerous place is often the safest. Maybe Lu Yi was still hiding somewhere in the city, disguised and lying low.

So the hunt inside the city didn't stop.

More and more cultivators began sharing what they knew, focusing especially on unfamiliar faces no one could place.

...

Soaking in the sun from his courtyard, Lu Yi checked the system activation progress and rolled his eyes. Why the hell isn't it done yet?

The system had always been slow to boot up. Even though it had picked up speed lately, it was still stuck at 72.66%.

He could feel it—more and more people were starting to eye him with suspicion. If this kept up, someone was going to figure out who he really was.

Just then, a man in black Daoist robes flew overhead. His cultivation was at the peak of the Dao Palace realm. He paused midair, staring down at Lu Yi with a thoughtful look.

"What are you staring at? Never seen a dying old man before?" Lu Yi muttered, glaring back through cloudy eyes. Even raised in irritation, his voice came out thin and brittle.

"Apologies, elder. You seem to have lived a long life. Have you been in Burning Sun City for some time? Do you happen to know someone named Lu Yi?"

The cultivator landed in the courtyard, curiosity flickering in his eyes.

"Lu Yi?" Lu Yi blinked slowly, playing up the part of a confused old man. "Heard the name, but I don't know him."

"You've heard of him?" The Dao Palace realm cultivator perked up. "Do you know where he might be? What does he look like?"

"I've only heard the name," Lu Yi said with a shrug. "With how loud everyone's been shouting about him, even someone half-deaf like me would've heard by now."

The cultivator's face twitched. He started to turn away—then paused and looked back at Lu Yi.

"Elder, you don't look like you've got much time left," he said, eyes narrowing. "Why not hand over your cultivation resources? I'll make sure you get a proper burial."