An Unexpected Turn: Villain Becomes Dad

It was enough to kill a half-step Soul Transformation cultivator with a single blow, but it had been blocked.

This red dragon, though not entirely real, was as close to solid as one could get. Its aura was so intimidating that even she felt a bit unsettled.

The phoenix mark on her forehead sensed this aura and began to glow with an icy blue light.

“Mother-in-law, although your Feng family possesses the Ice Phoenix bloodline, it has been passed down for tens of thousands of years, and the bloodline has become very diluted! In the Northern Spiritual Domain, you may still reign supreme, but in the Central Continent, heh! The Central Continent is vast. In the Central Continent, even cultivators beyond the fourth stage of the Soul Transformation Realm are numerous and hardly considered the strongest!” Long Tianyu’s tone brimmed with arrogance.

Opportunities to boast in front of his cold and noble mother-in-law were rare, but these words made Feng Yuwan’s jade-like fists clench tightly, her eyes growing colder.

“Long Tianyu, are you threatening me? Do you really believe I can’t kill you?” Feng Yuwan felt her authority being challenged.

As the City Lord of Ice and Snow City and a cultivator who had broken through to the fourth stage of the Soul Transformation Realm, her dignity was something she would not allow anyone to question.

True energy surged from Feng Yuwan’s body, filling the entire hall with an overwhelming chill. The Ice Phoenix bloodline within her was fully awakened. After refining the Holy Ice Lotus, her Ice Phoenix bloodline had undergone a profound transformation. Most of her blood had been converted into Ice Phoenix blood, and when fully activated, she could even transform into a physical phoenix.

This was her intention now. She refused to believe that her Ice Phoenix bloodline was inferior to the red dragon standing before her. But just as she was about to transform into her phoenix form, a gentle hand rested on her shoulder.

“Wan’er, there’s no need for this,” Yang Chen whispered softly into her ear.

His distinctive voice, coupled with the familiar way he addressed her, caused Feng Yuwan’s icy, resolute body to suddenly soften. Yang Chen’s presence brought a calming influence, and Feng Yuwan’s anger began to subside.

The overwhelming chill that filled the hall slowly dissipated, and the intense pressure from the Ice Phoenix bloodline receded.

Her mind cleared, and she realized the extent of her reaction.

“Yang Chen …” Feng Yuwan murmured, feeling the tension drain from her body. His words had a soothing effect, reminding her of the power she wielded and the control she needed to maintain.

Long Tianyu, watching this unfold, felt a surge of frustration. His one chance to see Feng Yuwan unleash her full strength was slipping away. Yet, there was nothing he could do. Yang Chen’s mere presence seemed to command respect, even from someone as powerful as Feng Yuwan.

“Mother-in-law, it seems your esteemed self is too easily swayed,” Long Tianyu sneered, trying to provoke her once more.

But Feng Yuwan didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, she took a deep breath and focused her gaze on him, her expression icy but calm.

“Long Tianyu, you have no idea what forces you’re meddling with,” she said coldly. “You may have survived today, but do not mistake this for leniency. Your time is running out.”

With those words, Feng Yuwan turned away, her authority reasserted, while Yang Chen’s hand lingered lightly on her shoulder, grounding her. Long Tianyu’s arrogant facade faltered as he realized that his attempts to dominate the situation had failed.

The presence of Yang Chen had not only defused the immediate conflict but had also left Long Tianyu feeling more vulnerable than before. Despite the true soul of the Red dragon, he was painfully aware that his position was tenuous. Yang Chen’s quiet strength was undeniable, and his influence over Feng Yuwan was something Long Tianyu could neither understand nor counter.

As the red dragon’s form gradually faded from the hall, Long Tianyu stood there, his bravado ebbing away, leaving behind only the stark realization of how outmatched he truly was.

***

“Chen, Brother Chen! Why?” Feng Yuwan’s voice was soft, her beautiful eyes filled with confusion.

Yang Chen didn’t respond. His gaze fixed on Long Tianyu’s chest, and a trace of golden light appeared in his pupils.

Suddenly, through Long Tianyu’s clothing and flesh, a dragon-shaped jade pendant gradually materialized before his eyes. The dragon-shaped jade pendant hovered beside Long Tianyu’s heart, emitting a Red glow that nourished it.

It seems that Yu’er’s reliance all this time has been this dragon-shaped jade pendant. The red dragon in the great hall must have also originated from this jade pendant. Heh. If I take it away, Yu’er will be heartbroken.

“Yu’er, don’t be rude! Disrespecting your mother-in-law is the same as disrespecting me, your father! Apologize to your mother-in-law immediately, and make that red dragon disappear. If you do, I won’t hold you accountable!”

Yang Chen clasped his hands behind his back, looking down at Long Tianyu with an air of authority. His gaze carried reproach, as though he truly were Long Tianyu’s father.

“Father? Yang Chen, you bastard!” Long Tianyu’s eyes turned red at Yang Chen’s self-proclamation.

This bastard is going too far. Just wait, it won’t be long before you meet your end.

Grinding his teeth, Long Tianyu forced down his anger and said coldly:

“The true soul of the Red Dragon is my protective dragon soul. It appears when I’m fatally attacked. I have no control over whether it disappears or not! If any of you feel your bloodline being suppressed and uncomfortable, you’re welcome to leave. Humph!”

Long Tianyu looked around at the Feng family cultivators who were struggling against the pressure from the Red Dragon’s true soul, feeling quite satisfied with himself.

However, this was exactly what Yang Chen wanted.

“Yu’er, stop being childish! You summoned this Red Dragon, so how can you not be able to retract it? Can’t you see that the Feng family members here are struggling to endure its pressure? There are many Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators here. If their Dao hearts are affected, it could cause serious problems! Listen to me, as your father, and put away the Red Dragon immediately! As for your marriage with Qian Ning, I can make the decision and leave it up to you two!”

Yang Chen adopted the posture of a strict father, commanding Long Tianyu from above.

“Bastard! I swear I’ll tear you apart!”

Long Tianyu was seething with rage. He could no longer hold it in.

“Yang Chen, stop taking advantage of me, damn it! The Red Dragon’s true soul—I said I can’t retract it, and I can’t! Aren’t you the Holy Son of Xuantian? Why don’t you try?”

Long Tianyu glared angrily at Yang Chen.

The Red Dragon’s true soul could withstand even an attack from Feng Yuwan, who was at the fourth stage of the Soul Transformation Realm. It could also resist Yang Chen. After all, Yang Chen couldn’t kill him anyway.

His father was arriving soon. There was no need to fear this bastard anymore.

“Long Tianyu, how dare you!” Seeing that Long Tianyu dared to be disrespectful towards Yang Chen, a group of elders from the Feng family glared at him.

Feng Yuwan’s true energy surged, and her beautiful eyes were filled with killing intent. She was about to make a move.

But Yang Chen stopped her. Looking at Long Tianyu with amusement, he said, “Yu’er, since you are so stubborn, your father will no longer persuade you with kind words! Sigh, the power of an external object has clouded your eyes! As your elder, I must punish you!”

As Yang Chen finished his words, a golden dragon shadow emerged behind him. An overwhelming dragon might suddenly filled the entire hall. The pressure from the Red Dragon True Soul just now had merely made people’s hearts tremble.

But at this moment, the vast dragon might emanating from Yang Chen made all the Feng family cultivators in the hall kneel directly on the ground. Yang Chen’s current physique was no less than that of a true dragon, and even surpassed it. Although it was a human body, at this moment, it was like a pure-blooded true dragon.

Even Long Tianyu knelt at this moment. No matter how unwilling he was in his heart. The True Dragon bloodline within him faced this deep, innate suppression, leaving only fear.

His legs couldn’t stop trembling. He found it hard to stand.

“Ah!” Long Tianyu roared lowly, his eyes bloodshot. To be forced to kneel under Yang Chen’s pressure was an absolute humiliation to him. However, no matter how much he roared, he could not stand at all.

Yang Chen’s eyes were golden, gazing at the Red Dragon True Soul hovering above the hall.

“Descend!” Just that simple word made the Red Dragon True Soul, which had been wantonly releasing dragon might, fall heavily to the ground. Its eyes, as large as a water jar, were filled with fear. Next, the dragon body turned into streaks of Red light and converged into Long Tianyu’s chest.

“How is this possible!?” Long Tianyu knelt on the ground, his eyes full of disbelief. The Red Dragon True Soul had been nurtured by countless generations of their Red Dragon family for hundreds of thousands of years, using the life essence of countless sages, before it was born within the Dragon Blood Jade.

But now, it was dispersed by a single word from Yang Chen?

This? This is impossible!

Before Long Tianyu could understand, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. The Dragon Blood Jade, which had been residing near his heart, seemed ready to break out of his body.

This?

Long Tianyu suddenly raised his head. He saw Yang Chen reaching his hand towards him.

With a firm grasp, a burst of fresh blood splattered from his chest. Then, a dragon-shaped jade pendant emitting a Red glow flew out of his body.

It flew directly towards Yang Chen.

“No! Give it back to me!” Long Tianyu let out a hoarse roar. The Dragon Blood Jade was his greatest reliance. It was also the ancestral treasure of their Red Dragon family.

He couldn’t lose it! But at this moment, he had no way to stop it. The dragon-shaped jade pendant was forcibly stripped from Long Tianyu’s body by Yang Chen.

It trembled violently in his hand, trying to escape. However, Yang Chen retracted the pressure that had filled the hall, focusing it all on the dragon-shaped jade pendant.

Gradually, the jade pendant calmed down.

“Yu’er, you have repeatedly injured others, and even unleashed that Red dragon, relying on this dragon-shaped jade pendant! There is a dragon soul within this object that you cannot control! Your father will safeguard it for now. Once you reach the Nascent Soul Realm, I will return it to you!”

Yang Chen spoke indifferently, putting the dragon-shaped jade pendant away.

“Yang Chen, you bastard! I swear I will tear you to pieces!” Long Tianyu roared, his eyes almost bleeding. That was the ancestral treasure that their Red Dragon family had passed down for hundreds of thousands of years!

Safeguard it for him? This bastard was blatantly robbing it!