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

"You think you can use the chaos to rob me?" Lu Yi's eyes widened for a split second before a cold sneer spread across his face. "Hmph. Let me give you a little advice, kid—try it, and you'll die."

On the surface, he was just a Peak-stage Dao Palace realm cultivator. But if he went all out—if he stopped holding back—his real strength at the Transcendence realm could erase this guy in a heartbeat.

"Try it and you'll die? You really are senile," the other cultivator scoffed. "Fine by me. I'll take the resources... and I'll even make sure you get buried."

He stepped forward slowly, eyes filled with scorn that quickly sharpened into killing intent.

Seriously? I just got here and I'm already fighting for my life? Lu Yi cursed inwardly. This world's insane.

Quietly, he braced himself. If it came to it, he'd strike first—and make sure the other guy didn't get back up.

More and more people were starting to notice what was happening in the courtyard.

Some were regular cultivators still out searching for Lu Yi. The moment they recognized the Dao Palace realm cultivator, they backed off, wanting no part in it.

Watching from a distance were also the three experts from the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace. They had been quietly keeping tabs on Lu Yi the whole time.

"That guy's really planning to make a move on Lu Yi?"

"Wait, he's just a Dao Palace realm cultivator? And he doesn't look like he's from the Purple Crest Immortal Sect."

"Must be some local thug. He's just trying to take advantage of the mess to rob someone. Probably thinks Lu Yi's an easy target."

"Lu Yi really is a waste. After everything Lu Tingyun gave him, he still ended up like this? Pathetic."

"Enough. Let's deal with that Dao Palace cultivator."

"Who's taking the shot?"

"Doesn't matter."

Zhong Yushan and the other two enforcers from the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace kept their discussion low and quiet.

Not far away, a faint smirk tugged at Jiang Chen's lips. The light in his eyes grew sharper by the second.

Oh? The system hasn't even finished booting up, and we're already jumping into a counter-kill? Alright then... guess it's showtime.

...

In the courtyard, the Dao Palace realm cultivator stepped closer, eyes full of malice. He leaned in and muttered, "Old man, your time's up."

A split second later, his right hand turned into a claw and shot straight for Lu Yi's head.

"I told you—try it and you'll die." A cold grin spread across Lu Yi's face as he released a burst of energy far beyond anything a Dao Palace realm cultivator should have.

But before his power even fully surged, the light in the man's eyes vanished. He dropped to the ground—dead.

"…What the hell? I didn't even do anything yet." Lu Yi blinked, genuinely stunned. "How'd he just keel over like that?"

Right after that, a sharp wave of pain shot through his whole body. He quickly pulled back the energy he'd released and nearly collapsed into the chair, struggling to catch his breath.

Why did that guy die so suddenly? Is someone secretly protecting me? Maybe someone Lu Tingyun sent?

He thought about it for a moment, then shook his head inwardly. No, that doesn't make sense. If Lu Tingyun really had people watching over me, Xin Tong wouldn't have been able to betray me so easily. It has to be someone else.

My identity as a human-demon hybrid has already stirred up a storm… and now I'm right in the middle of it. Just thinking about it makes my chest feel heavy.

A chill ran down his spine.

...

Just then, a system prompt rang out in Jiang Chen's mind.

[Ding! Plot alteration detected! You've successfully stopped protagonist Lu Yi's counter-kill moment. Lu Yi's Heavenly Fate Value has dropped by 1000 points.]

[Ding! You've gained 2000 Villain Value points.]

Heh, looks like the appetizer's here, Jiang Chen thought, a small smile tugging at his lips as he listened to the system chime in.

...

Meanwhile, the three Nirvana Peering realm enforcers from the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace had also noticed the Dao Palace realm cultivator drop dead.

None of them found it strange.

He's dead, huh? Must've been one of the others who did it. Looks like a soul attack—clean and quiet. Not bad at all, Zhong Yushan thought as he glanced at the corpse. What he didn't know was that the other two were thinking the exact same thing.

Each assumed someone else in the group had taken the shot.

What none of them realized… was that Jiang Chen was the one who'd killed the guy.

As for the other cultivators scattered around Burning Sun City who'd witnessed the scene—they slipped away fast, wanting nothing to do with it.

This fight involved Peak-stage Dao Palace realm and even Transcendence realm cultivators. To powerhouses like that, ordinary cultivators were nothing more than ants. Why stick around just to get caught in the crossfire?

In the blink of an eye, the crowd around Lu Yi's courtyard scattered.

Lu Yi didn't pay them any mind. He was already deep in thought.

The Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace and the Purple Crest Immortal Sect… two tigers on the same mountain.

Xin Tong must've tipped off the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace, letting them land a heavy blow to the Purple Crest Immortal Sect's reputation. But the Purple Crest Immortal Sect won't take that lying down. They'll definitely try to wipe me out—to make the whole thing blow over. And if they can, they'll probably use it to strike back at the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace, too.

Burning Sun City's under the Purple Crest Immortal Sect's control. I'm basically walking on a tightrope. Still… someone's clearly watching my back from the shadows—probably someone from the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace.

But they're not doing it out of kindness. I'm just a pawn to them.

Once they land a solid blow on the Purple Crest Immortal Sect, they'll probably turn around and get rid of me in public. Tie up loose ends.

By now, both sides have likely pulled their people into the city. When the fighting breaks out, that'll be my shot to escape. But that only works if the system actually activates. Otherwise, everything falls apart. Come on, system… hurry up already!

The more he thought about it, the more restless he got. Every second that ticked by made him more desperate for the system to finally kick in.

...

At that moment, hidden from sight, Jiang Chen hovered high above Burning Sun City, quietly watching Lu Yi below.

Lu Yi didn't seem to notice a thing.

Maybe the clash between his human and demon bloodlines is hitting him harder than expected. Even with Heavenly Fate backing him, he's basically useless without that system online.

Jiang Chen's gaze shifted to the three regular disciples from the Purple Crest Immortal Sect.

They wandered through the city with lazy, uninterested looks, eventually regrouping with the City Lord and a few others.

After that, they went right back to searching the city, keeping up appearances.

"There's no such person as Lu Yi! A half-demon? Please. Our Prosperous Stone Immortal Star is tucked away in the back of the Profound Jade Immortal Domain. Where would demons even come from?" A Transcendence realm disciple from the Purple Crest Immortal Sect sneered. "Looks like the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace is about to make a fool of itself."

"Exactly! I never bought that human-demon hybrid story," someone else chimed in. "And saying he's the son of our Supreme Elder, Lu Tingyun? That's just ridiculous!"

"Yeah, obviously just some made-up rumor. The Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace should apologize for spreading this crap!"

"Hold on, let's clear things up first."

"Right—get the facts straight!"

After a bit of back-and-forth, the City Lord stepped in. Wasting no time, he called all the cultivators together and publicly announced that Lu Yi didn't exist at all—that the whole thing was nothing but baseless gossip.