Great Villain: Starting by Humiliating the Son of the Heavenly Fate (Old Version)

"Thank you," Mo Hao said, offering Jiang Chen a slight bow before stepping into the spatial channel.

In an instant, he materialized in a secluded corner of the Immortal Martial Continentthe Black Wasteland Domain!

This domain, abundant with black soil yet sparse in cultivation resources, was sparsely populated.

"At last, I'm out!" Mo Hao sighed, glancing at the gradually closing spatial channel behind him. "It was indeed a bit rash to enter Jiang Chen's Cave Heaven world so directly."

Jiang Chen had already suspected that he was hiding something.

Luckily, Jiang Chen had underestimated the gravity of the secret he held, thereby showing no interest and refraining from taking any action against him.

Additionally, he hadn't expected the Cave Heaven world to be empty aside from Jiang Chen, rendering any attempt at pretense impossible.

'What sort of individual is Jiang Chen, actually?' Mo Hao pondered internally.

'On the surface, he seems kind, but I can't shake the feeling that he harbors ulterior motives.'

'Yet, he chose not to act against me in the Cave Heaven, even though that would've been an ideal chance. Whether I could've escaped or not remains uncertain.'

'Have I misjudged him, or are his plans too intricate and his goals too lofty for him to act hastily?'

'Enough pondering. My priority now is to find people I can show off to, slap them around a bit, and earn some Pretentious Points to grow stronger.'

'Jiang Chen, whatever your motives may be, if they're detrimental to me, don't blame me for serving you a slice of humble pie and using that to strengthen myself.' His face gradually lit up with a sense of excitement and anticipation as he settled on this thought.

Upon leaving the Cave Heaven, he felt as liberated as a bird soaring through the sky or a fish swimming in the boundless ocean!

"Let's head toward the crowds!" Mo Hao expanded his divine sense and swiftly located a sprawling city next to a massive lakeGlorious Obsidian City.

A large-scale cultivator hub, Glorious Obsidian City boasted a population of one million.

Constructed primarily of obsidian, the city emanated an aura of both strength and mystery.

"This is the place!" Mo Hao declared, propelling himself through the air toward his chosen destination.

Unbeknownst to him, this decision was precisely what Jiang Chen had been counting on.

At that very moment, Jiang Chen was positioned 3 million kilometers away, surveying the whole of Glorious Obsidian City.

All of a sudden, amidst the bustling crowds, a multitude of supporting characters materialized.

'So, supporting characters have made their appearance,' Jiang Chen thought to himself.

'It seems Mo Hao really did choose to go to the sprawling Glorious Obsidian City!'

'He's moving around, but it's not aimless wandering; he has an objective.'

'I was the one who selected the Black Wasteland Domain as his roaming location; Mo Hao didn't specify it. His quest for strength isn't tied to the area or even its cultivation resources. What he values most is interaction with people.'

'He can derive benefits from people. Given earlier speculations, it's highly likely that he operates on some sort of systemwhere acting pretentiously would yield him gains.'

'It could be another type of system too, perhaps one focused on amassing emotional points or something similar.'

'To ascertain the details, I'll need to closely observe Mo Hao's actions for more accurate information.'

'Now that Mo Hao has settled on Glorious Obsidian City, he's certain to commence his pretentious acts, duping others only to prove them wrong later. Typically, the more extensive and numerous his targets are, the greater the benefits he stands to gain.'

'The gains Mo Hao could accrue from acting pretentious in Glorious Obsidian City will likely be modest at best.

After all, he himself has already reached the Transcendence realm, while the most powerful beings in Glorious Obsidian City are merely at the Middle-stage Dao Palace realm,' Jiang Chen reflected as he surveyed the sprawling city below, his mind a battleground of clashing thoughts and emergent insights.

Ultimately, he chose to let Mo Hao's plot unfold undisturbed for the time being, opting to gather more comprehensive information instead.

After all, Jiang Chen had plans to offer Mo Hao a taste of sweetness, aiming not to push him too far into a corner.

Now was the ideal moment, given that Mo Hao's targets for his pretentious acts were relatively weak; the benefits he stood to reap would likely be limited.

'That settles it,' Jiang Chen thought, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Without delay, he produced a transmission jade token and reached out to a cadre of subordinates controlled by the Ten Thousand Soul Seed Secrets.

Following the events in the Bottomless Abyss, Jiang Chen had dispatched a considerable number of individuals to ensure order was maintained.

The majority hailed from the Prosperous Stone Immortal Star, including over a dozen individuals at the Peak-stage Dao Palace realm and even a few at the Half-step Transcendence realmoverall, a decent set of pawns.

With these individuals in place to maintain order, and the formation provided by Nangong Wan and Shangguan Ning set up to suppress the tearing of the spatial node, the challenge for the demon race to reestablish the spatial channels would be substantially heightened.

In the short term, concerns about the spatial node in the Bottomless Abyss could be set aside.

'What's next,' Jiang Chen pondered, 'is to tackle Mo Hao in earnest.'

"Wan'er, Ning'er, I can't step in personally this time, so the two of you will have to come up with a solution." With these thoughts in mind, he reached out once more to his two stunning assistants.

"Use the same trick we used to deceive Gu Ran," Nangong Wan suggested.

"With the concealing capabilities of the Death Calamity Dark Star Moon Dao Embryo, and with the aid of the Void Tribulation Soul, let us take over your physical form while you orchestrate everything from behind the scenes," Shangguan Ning proposed.

"In doing so, your body will appear as though it has morphed into someone else," Nangong Wan added.

"Even if Mo Hao remains suspicious due to the Heavenly Fate, he won't suspect it's you. He'll think it's someone else," Shangguan Ning concluded.

"Alright," Jiang Chen nodded in agreement.

"However, utilizing the Void Tribulation Soul is quite draining on both of you."

"Although you've managed to recuperate to the Middle-stage Transcendence realm thanks to Jiu Xiaoyin's Nether Soul Crystal, it would be wise to conserve energy."

"This time, only one of you will 'possess' me, while the other takes the opportunity to rest," he stated, making minor modifications to their original plan.

"Then let me take the lead this time," Shangguan Ning softly suggested, her smile faint yet warm. "It's been a while since I've had the chance to control a physical body."

Nangong Wan offered no words, her silence serving as a tacit agreement.

"Alright, go ahead," Jiang Chen nodded, unfurling the Void Tribulation Soul without a moment's hesitation.

In a mere moment, Shangguan Ning's soul melded seamlessly with that of Jiang Chen, almost as if they had become one.

Right after that, Jiang Chen withdrew his own consciousness, tucking it deep within the Void Tribulation Soul. This allowed Shangguan Ning's will to assume full control of the body.

Within a split second, a profound transformation overtook Jiang Chen's aura and demeanor.

Even his facial features softened, adopting a more delicate and nuanced expression.

Jiang Chen watched this transformation unfold before his own eyes. Though he wasn't particularly keen on assuming a more effeminate look, he found this minor inconvenience entirely acceptable in the grand scheme of handling the protagonist more adeptly.

After all, reverting back to his original form was always an option.

More important than the shifts in his demeanor, aura, and physical features was the crucial transformation in his divine sense. Now under the guidance of Shangguan Ning's soul, the chance of Jiang Chen's true identity being discovered was virtually nil.

"Let's begin, for now, focus on the supporting characters," Jiang Chen directed from within his sea of consciousness, pulling all the strings behind the scenes!

"Yes!" Shangguan Ning responded with a slight nod. She promptly activated the Death Calamity Dark Star Moon Dao Embryo to mask her form and suppress her aura, then proceeded to enter Glorious Obsidian City.

'This time, the Fate Value of most supporting characters aren't very low, none reaching a fatal level,' Jiang Chen silently pondered. 'It seems Mo Hao will kill fewer people, likely only eliminating those who truly deserve it.

After all, he has to give some face to me, the Lord of the Immortal Martial Continent.'

It wasn't long before Mo Hao made his entrance into Glorious Obsidian City as well.

With his Villain's Eye, Jiang Chen detected him at once.

He observed that Mo Hao had subtly changed both his appearance and clothing, while concealing his aura down to the Mysterious Platform realm.

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