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

Chapter 240: Into the Lustrous Yang Domain

As Jiang Chen examined his information panel, he thought, ’My combat power has nearly reached the peak of the Dao Palace realm!’

In more straightforward terms, his strength had already surpassed that of a typical Late-stage Dao Palace cultivator. This meant that even with just his base combat abilities, Ji Mingxiu standing before him had no chance of competing. Satisfied, a confident smile crept onto Jiang Chen’s face.

Meanwhile, overcoming his initial shock, Ji Mingxiu finally composed himself, unable to contain his astonishment. "Have... have you really broken through?" he stammered, his entire worldview shaken by Jiang Chen’s progress.

"Absolutely!" Jiang Chen nodded sincerely, affirming, "Master, I have indeed broken through!"

Ji Mingxiu’s face broke into a radiant grin, and he burst into laughter. "Hahaha! You’ve really done it! You’ve reached the Dao Comprehension realm—a Dao Comprehension cultivator at only twenty!"

With rising pride, he continued, "Our Purple Heaven Holy Land is on the verge of unprecedented greatness!"

His joy was so immense that he exclaimed, "Hahaha, Jiang Chen, my heart could burst with happiness!" His hearty laughter echoed, filling the air with his elation for a long while.

"Thank you, Master, for providing such an abundance of resources for my cultivation!" Jiang Chen expressed his gratitude. "Without those spiritual plants, I couldn’t have achieved this breakthrough so quickly."

"We merely added the finishing touch," Ji Mingxiu chuckled. "From now on, Jiang Chen, we’ll be basking in your brilliance!"

"Every kindness deserves repayment," Jiang Chen declared solemnly. "I’ll never forget those who have supported and cared for me."

"Jiang Chen, don’t worry too much about us!" Ji Mingxiu said with a satisfied glint in his eye. "Your mission is to keep growing until you can firmly protect the Immortal Martial Continent!"

Then, his expression turned serious. "Also, something feels off with that Gu Ran. You should head to the Lustrous Yang Domain soon; we can’t afford any delays."

"Understood!" Without hesitation, Jiang Chen prepared to set off immediately.

"Hold on a moment," Ji Mingxiu suddenly called out, remembering something important. "Now that you’ve entered the Dao Comprehension realm, your old weapons aren’t suitable anymore."

With that, he took a longsword from his storage ring. "This is the weapon we prepared for you upon reaching the Dao Comprehension realm, though we didn’t expect it to happen so soon!"

He handed Jiang Chen the sword, adding, "This middle-grade Dao Palace-rank treasure is the Purple Sun Thousand-Mile Sword. It’s one of three swords crafted by our ancestor ten thousand years ago, modeled after the legendary Purple Heaven Immortal Sword. It fully embodies the Slashing trait of the Sword Dao."

The Purple Sun Thousand-Mile Sword bore an uncanny resemblance to the Purple Heaven Immortal Sword. Its hilt and guard were a rich, deep purple, while the blade gleamed white and crystalline like fresh snow. Its edge, thin as a cicada’s wing, emitted a faint purple shimmer.

A Dao treasure! The highest weapon rank within the Second Step of the Cultivation Path! Jiang Chen took hold of the Purple Sun Thousand-Mile Sword, his eyes alight with excitement. This sword would undoubtedly enhance his strength.

At the same time, Jiang Chen’s Villain Eye discreetly scanned everyone present. He quickly noted that each of these individuals had low Fate Values—they appeared as though they were living on borrowed time.

"Honorable Holy Son!" an eager yet humble cultivator from the Jing Clan, currently in the Inquiring Journey realm, spoke up. "We aren’t yet in the Lustrous Yang Domain. Please accompany us a bit further!"

Jiang Chen’s courteous demeanor had eased their collective anxiety. Previously, they had expected this prodigious figure from the Purple Heaven Holy Land to be unbearably arrogant and difficult to approach.

"Lead the way," Jiang Chen replied with a slight nod.

He understood that the distance between the Everflowing Truth Domain and the Lustrous Yang Domain was too vast for a single teleportation array to cover.

Following the guidance of the Jing Clan cultivators, Jiang Chen and Liu Xiong traveled through five teleportation arrays before finally arriving in the territory of the Ageless Spirit Heavenly Sect.

The Ageless Spirit Heavenly Sect’s territory spanned a series of large and small islands across the Ageless Spirit Heavenly Sea, creating a landscape both unique and beautiful.

At Jiang Chen’s request, their movements remained entirely covert, ensuring maximum secrecy.

Regarding Gu Ran, Jiang Chen intended to gain an informational edge by proceeding stealthily. With the enemy in plain sight and himself concealed, he could deploy more strategic options.

On a modest-sized island, Jiang Chen finally met Ji Yilan, Ji Mingxiu’s elder cousin.

"Greetings, Honorable Holy Son!" Ji Yilan and her small entourage bowed in respect.

"Nice to meet you, Aunt Ji Yilan," Jiang Chen replied warmly, reciprocating her greeting with humility.

A wave of relief and excitement washed over Ji Yilan. Hearing Jiang Chen address her with such respect, and observing his genuine demeanor, she found him free of the arrogance often seen in Holy Sons of powerful sects. It seemed her cousin, Ji Mingxiu, hadn’t exaggerated when he described his disciple as approachable and easy to talk to.

For Jiang Chen, finally meeting Ji Yilan—this unwitting pawn used by Heavenly Fate to link him to the new protagonist—stirred a mix of thoughts. As Ji Ruxue’s husband, he was already caught in the web of resentment Gu Ran felt for her family.

The deep-seated grudge that Gu Ran harbored toward Ji Yilan now extended to him by association, not to mention that the Ten Thousand Stars Dao Embryo Bloodline had originally been intended for him.

This time, relying on his usual trick of feigned goodwill, like he’d used with Lin Feng and Fang Yuan, was out of the question. The natural suspicion and caution a protagonist like Gu Ran would have, especially toward him, made that strategy far too risky.

From any angle he considered, befriending Gu Ran while hiding his own hostility seemed bound to fail.

’It seems I’ll have to handle Gu Ran as I did with Ye Fan,’ Jiang Chen thought. ’As for the details, I’ll have to play it by ear.’ With only a limited understanding of this new protagonist, this was the best decision he could make for now.