Great Villain: Starting by Humiliating the Son of the Heavenly Fate - Chapter 51

Chapter 51: From Hero to Zero Chapter 51: From Hero to Zero [Ding!

You have successfully led the protagonist, Lin Feng, to the dark side, causing his character to collapse and reducing his Heavenly Fate Value to zero!] [Ding!

Lin Feng’s Heavenly Fate Value has been downgraded to a regular Fate Value, stripping him of his status as the protagonist!] [Ding!

Lin Feng is now vulnerable to being killed!] [Ding!

You have earned 3,500 points of Villain Value!] System notifications reverberated in Jiang Chen’s mind, bringing him a sense of triumph.

Yet outwardly, he had to keep up a facade of sadness and disappointment.

At the same time, Ning Xian and Qiu Liaoxi stared at Lin Feng in shock.

The master and disciple realized they had misjudged Lin Feng, but they never expected him to turn so evil.

Meanwhile, the crowd erupted in angry outbursts.

“He’s lost it!

This guy’s completely crazy!” someone exclaimed.

“That’s right, talking about reaching the Inquiring Journey realm, even surpassing it?

The strongest person on the Mysterious Truth Continent is only at the Heavenly Origin realm.

Lin Feng is totally out of touch with reality!” another chimed in.

“This Lin Feng has not only lost his mind, he’s also showing his true colors.

He even insulted his own master, which is absolutely disrespectful!” a third person remarked.

“This guy should be shunned by everyone!” “…” Amidst the commotion, some voiced their anger genuinely, while others sought to curry favor with the Jiang and Zhou Clans.

In any case, the mockery and jeering completely drowned out Lin Feng’s voice.

“What a load of nonsense!” Lin Feng shouted, boiling with rage.

“How dare you judge me!

You can all just drop dead!” he yelled, his eyes blazing with a murderous look, as a powerful aura burst forth from him.

“What?!” someone gasped in shock, “This power…

it’s the Half-step Mysterious Platform realm!?” “Lin Feng seemed like just an ordinary cultivator; how can he release such an intense aura?” another person wondered aloud.

“Quick, fall back!

We can’t be this close to a battle of this magnitude!” someone else urged.

“…” The large crowd of onlookers was stunned and fearful, hastily retreating in every direction.

“Half-step Mysterious Platform realm!

I guess I underestimated you,” Zhou Ruiyu admitted, a flicker of surprise in his eyes before he coldly added, “However, the Half-step Mysterious Platform realm is nothing compared to the actual Mysterious Platform realm.

You’re going down today!” “Surrender now!” demanded Jiang Xingtai, his expression growing grim, clutching a top-grade longsword of the Spiritual Awakening rank.

Off to the side, Jiang Chen stated, “Just end it yourself, and I’ll let you keep your dignity.” His voice was icy, like a cold wind sweeping through.

“Ridiculous!” Lin Feng scoffed, his eyes wild with madness, as a bright crimson flame suddenly burst forth from his body.

“What!” Jiang Xingtai blurted out, recognizing something unusual about Lin Feng’s flame, having fought him before.

The flame was way stronger than before €“ it had actually reached the Mysterious Platform realm.

Zhou Ruiyu was just as shocked.

It was clear that Lin Feng had been at the Soul Refining realm earlier; how could he now unleash a fire attack at the Mysterious Platform realm?

It made no sense!

Jiang Chen alone knew that Lin Feng had once been the protagonist.

Even though he had lost that status, the power within him remained.

For a former protagonist, having a potent method to temporarily increase combat ability was only to be expected.

Just as Jiang Xingtai and Zhou Ruiyu were reeling from the surprise, Lin Feng roared, “Die!” He launched an incredibly fearsome flame attack, targeting Jiang Chen directly.

He despised Jiang Chen the most, and among the three encircling him, Jiang Chen was the weakest, only at the Spiritual Awakening realm.

Instantly, numerous voices shouted out in alarm.

“Jiang Chen, get out of the way!” “Young Master Jiang Chen!” “Chen’er, don’t go head-to-head with him!” “…” These were the voices of Ning Xian, Qiu Liaoxi, Jiang Xingtai, and other Jiang Clan members, their worry evident.

Jiang Xingtai also went all out, launching a fierce attack on Lin Feng’s back, trying to force him into a defensive position.

Zhou Ruiyu clenched his right hand, brandishing his top-grade Spiritual Awakening-level spear and quickly thrust it towards Lin Feng.

However, Lin Feng’s sudden burst of speed was incredibly fast, and he quickly closed the distance to Jiang Chen.

The terrifying flame, capable of burning everything in its path, was just about to engulf Jiang Chen.

“Damn it!” Jiang Chen cursed, ‘panic’ flashing across his face as he unleashed a combination of three martial skills €“ the Violent Tiger Power, the Explosive Persona Force, and the Clear Sky Flash €“ narrowly escaping Lin Feng’s intense flames by the smallest margin.

“Hmph, you might dodge the first strike, but you won’t escape the next,” Lin Feng remarked coldly, not bothering to continue the attack.

Instead, he quickly moved away from the spot where Jiang Chen had just evaded.

Although Lin Feng was capable of exhibiting combat power at the Mysterious Platform realm level, he hesitated to face two cultivators of the same realm simultaneously, unless he resorted to using the Burning World Red Lotus more extensively.

But the Burning World Red Lotus was already significantly depleted.

Each time Lin Feng tapped into its power, it weakened further, much like an avalanche.

When the time came for him to restore the Burning World Red Lotus to its full strength, it would be a daunting task.

He couldn’t even begin to estimate the number of spiritual plants that would be needed.

A tactical retreat seemed the wiser course of action.

He planned to search for the hidden treasures in the river, consume them to ascend to a higher realm, and then return for a final, decisive battle.

“Chase him!

Don’t let him get away,” Zhou Ruiyu commanded, swiftly taking off after Lin Feng with remarkable speed.

Not just him, but even the Spiritual Awakening realm cultivators who had arrived later joined in the pursuit.

Since Lin Feng was also at the Spiritual Awakening realm, their combined efforts could potentially turn the tide in their favor.

“Chen’er!” Jiang Xingtai called out, quickly moving to Jiang Chen’s side.

Jiang Chen had previously planned with him that if they ever managed to corner Lin Feng, they should let others wear him down first before stepping in.

So, rather than joining the immediate chase, he checked on Jiang Chen’s condition.

This approach seemed logical to the observers as well.

“Jiang Chen, are you alright?” Ning Xian asked, rushing over to him, her eyes full of worry as she examined Jiang Chen.

“I, I’m fine,” Jiang Chen replied, pretending to be weaker than he was and quickly swallowing a medicinal pill.

He then looked at Jiang Xingtai and urged, “Uncle, let’s go after him!” “Alright,” Jiang Xingtai agreed, promptly lifting Jiang Chen and sprinting off without a moment’s hesitation.

The rest of the Jiang Clan cultivators were ready to join the pursuit, but a message from Elder Ge arrived, directing them to stay back and immediately escort Ning Xian and Qiu Liaoxi to the Jiang Clan’s estate.

The reason was twofold: to avoid unintentionally ’empowering’ Lin Feng through the crowd’s presence and to ensure Ning Xian and Qiu Liaoxi’s safety, given that the threat of the Illusory Slaying Tower hadn’t been completely eliminated.

“Will Jiang Chen be okay?” Ning Xian wondered, watching Jiang Chen disappear into the distance.

Remembering his pale face, she couldn’t help feeling anxious.

“Don’t worry,” Qiu Liaoxi reassured her, taking Ning Xian’s hand.

“You have to trust Jiang Chen.” …

As Lin Feng fled at breakneck speed, he almost resembled a fiery dragon.

Zhou Ruiyu was hot on his heels, shouting, “Stop right there, you villain!” The two of them, one ahead and the other following, quickly left the city behind.

Just moments later, Jiang Chen and Jiang Xingtai appeared outside the city.

Jiang Chen looked at Jiang Xingtai and said, “Uncle, keep after him!” The earlier signs of weakness on his face had completely disappeared.

“I’ll change direction and try to cut him off,” he continued.

“Alright, but be careful,” Jiang Xingtai replied, nodding gravely.

‘Lin Feng, are you heading there?’ Jiang Chen thought to himself.

With a slight shift of his stance, he quickly changed direction, aiming for the forested area where Lin Feng had previously hidden.

Earlier, Jiang Chen had sent two of his men with the Aura Finder Smoke to track Lin Feng’s movements.

These men pretended to be hunters and herb gatherers while they kept a watchful eye on Lin Feng’s location.

Considering the time it took for Lin Feng to travel from his prolonged hiding spot to the site of Zhou Yihe’s demise, the speed at which Lin Feng moved, and the distance from the location identified by the Aura Finder Smoke to where Zhou Yihe died, Jiang Chen could estimate the probable location of Lin Feng’s hideout at that time with some simple calculations.

While investigating the incident, Jiang Chen noted that all the storage artifacts belonging to Zhou Yihe and his group were missing, presumably looted.

Yet, none of these items were found on Lin Feng.

Furthermore, the medicinal scent typically associated with Zhou Yihe and his companions was not detected on Lin Feng.

From this, Jiang Chen deduced that Lin Feng probably hid those storage artifacts near his previous hiding spot.

It was also possible that Lin Feng had discarded them somewhere along his escape route.

Over the past few days, Jiang Chen had arranged multiple search teams to find these artifacts, but so far, they had been unsuccessful in locating them.

Given Lin Feng’s activation of his power-up mode today, it was clear he had tapped into some hidden reserve of strength within his body.

However, this power seemed to have limitations, as evidenced by Lin Feng’s decision to flee rather than continue the fight.

It was likely that he needed to conserve his energy, and considering his ability to grow stronger by consuming spiritual plants, his next step might involve retrieving those hidden storage artifacts to potentially turn the tables.

As for why Lin Feng didn’t simply steal spiritual plants in the city, the reason was the loss of his protagonist halo.

Without his former luck, he left the city without coming across a single medicine shop.

Furthermore, even if he had found a medicine shop, it wouldn’t have mattered.

Since the trade fair, the Jiang Clan had strategically purchased any items that could be advantageous to Lin Feng on a regular basis, effectively cutting off his access to beneficial resources.

At this critical juncture, Jiang Chen was betting that Lin Feng would attempt to retrieve those hidden treasures.

Even if this assumption turned out to be wrong, it wasn’t a major concern.

Since Lin Feng had been stripped of his status as the protagonist, he had become just a minor obstacle, and Jiang Chen knew that he would have numerous opportunities to toy with Lin Feng and eventually kill him.

Meanwhile, as Jiang Chen altered his route, Lin Feng, who was fleeing at top speed, was visibly troubled.

‘This is bad!

If I go on like this, the Burning World Red Lotus won’t last much longer.

I need to circle back and find those storage artifacts I hid in the river,’ he mused to himself urgently.

With the thought of acquiring those spiritual plants to weather this storm, Lin Feng quickly adjusted his course, subtly changing his direction.