CHAPTER 121: CHAPTER 121 - HUGE RETURNS ON INVESTMENT

"What? Are you mocking me—"

"No," Tianlong interrupted smoothly, his red eyes shifting from amused to something more thoughtful. "Why would I do that to my own grandson?"

The simple statement hit Zhao Chen like a physical blow. The casual acknowledgment of their blood relationship, delivered without malice or mockery, somehow made his rage feel... petty. Foolish, even.

Yu Xiang blinked in surprise, her enhanced senses picking up the subtle shift in energy. There had been no lie in those words, no hidden cruelty. Just a grandfather speaking to his descendant with matter-of-fact clarity.

Tianlong’s lips curved slightly as he accessed his system interface, invisible to all others.

’System, show me breakthrough pills suitable for Core Formation advancement.’

[Harem Point Shop - Cultivation Aids]

[Low-Grade Core Formation Breakthrough Pill: 500 Harem Points]

[Mid-Grade Core Formation Breakthrough Pill: 1,200 Harem Points]

[High-Grade Core Formation Breakthrough Pill: 2,800 Harem Points]

’The mid-grade should be sufficient.’ He mentally selected the option, feeling the points drain from his reserves.

[Purchase Complete: Mid-Grade Core Formation Breakthrough Pill acquired]

[Current Harem Points: 2,800 remaining]

A small jade vial materialized in his palm, containing a single pill that radiated gentle golden light.

The energy signature alone was enough to make nearby cultivators’ meridians resonate with hunger.

Yu Xiang’s breath caught in her throat. Even from several feet away, she could sense the pill’s quality—pure, refined, worth more than most sects’ entire treasuries.

Her fingers unconsciously gripped the fabric of her robes as she realized what she was looking at.

’A mid-grade breakthrough pill? Even there were just a few in the Immortal Sect, they’ were reserved for core disciples... no, even they were of low grade...’

Tianlong extended the vial toward Zhao Chen, his expression calm and measuring, as if weighing his grandson’s very soul.

"Here. This should help with your advancement."

Zhao Chen stared at the offered pill, his bronze eyes widening as he felt its potent aura. For a moment, genuine shock replaced his anger.

The casual generosity of it—offering something so valuable without ceremony or condition—made his prepared defiance waver.

But then his pride reasserted itself, fueled by years of resentment and the Heaven’s Will that marked him as the chosen protagonist.

’He thinks he can buy my loyalty with trinkets?!’

His hand clenched into a fist, knuckles whitening until small drops of blood welled from where his nails bit into his palm.

"I don’t need your filthy pills!" he snarled, batting the vial away with the back of his hand. "Get that insulting trash out of my sight!"

The temperature in the courtyard plummeted.

Zhang Wuji’s killing intent erupted like a blade being drawn, sharp enough to cut without the blade landing.

Zhao Chen’s body broke into a cold sweat instantly, every survival instinct screaming as he felt the legendary swordsman’s focused attention.

His enhanced physique—trained through countless battles—began trembling involuntarily under the weight of absolute death.

Yet his pride was far stronger than the fear resonating as he clenched his jaws.

"Control your dog, Zhao Tianlong," Zhao Chen said quietly, his voice more of a mutter born from his pride while his lack of courage kept himself steady even as his hands trembled. He further added, "or I will kill him."

Inwardly, Tianlong was laughing. ’How could someone be such a complete fool?’

Indeed, he had read web novels and saw how in them the sons of heaven were shown to be arrogant and stupid. But now standing here, he realized they were not inherently stupid; they were geniuses. It was just that due to getting everything so easily, while influenced by the aura of the villain, they acted foolishly.

But outwardly, he simply shook his head, a clear smirk forming as he slowly leaned forward, enough to act as if he was telling some secret.

Naturally, in front of so many cultivators, it was useless, but he did it to make it look like it was an important matter as he saw Yu Xiang’s ears perk up.

"It seems you’re still angry about that, my son?" he said cryptically. But what he meant was that this guy was his son, born out of the infidelity he had committed with Chen’s mother.

At least this was the story he wanted Yu Xiang to understand.

Zhao Chen’s confusion was immediate and obvious, with clear anger. "What? What Son—"

But Tianlong had already turned away, dismissing him entirely as he focused on Yu Xiang, who stood frozen with her violet eyes fixed on the discarded pill vial.

She was calculating frantically, her ambitious mind racing through possibilities.

The casual way he had offered such a treasure, the mention of Zhao Chen referred to as "Son," and all that...

"Here," Tianlong said, retrieving the vial and extending it toward her with the same casual grace. "Since my son doesn’t want it, you can have it. It’s useless to me anyway."

Yu Xiang’s heart nearly stopped.

The pill that had been casually dismissed by the arrogant young master was now being offered to her—a pill worth more than kingdoms, capable of guaranteeing breakthrough success without the usual risks of cultivation deviation or foundation damage.

Her hands trembled slightly as she reached for it, violet eyes meeting his red gaze as she tried to read his intentions.

"I... Emperor, this is too valuable. I couldn’t possibly—"

"Take it," he interrupted softly, and there was something in his voice—not command, not seduction, but simple certainty. "Beauty should be appreciated, don’t you think?"

The words sent complex emotions racing through her.

Not desire for her body, not political calculation, but an almost artistic appreciation. That just made her more confused.

Having already seen too many men, she knew exactly what they wanted when they complimented her, but he was just giving her the pill while saying that and casually turning away, not even caring to show any hint of expression. That was just making her feel more confused as to what exactly he wanted from her.

’Do you like me or not?’ She could just ask this confusedly, yet clenched the pill tightly before turning and swiftly leaving that place. She could not delay any longer. She needed to make a breakthrough now.

’YOU—!’ Zhao Chen watched in growing fury as the woman he had been trying to impress accepted what he had rejected, her leaving like that without looking at him making his own pride look crude by comparison.

’She took his bribe! How dare she—’

"By the way," Tianlong interrupted suddenly, his casual tone cutting through Zhao Chen’s internal rage like a blade through silk, "you have to drop the idea of ever becoming the Emperor."

The words hung in the air like a death sentence.

Zhao Chen froze mid-thought, his bronze eyes widening in shock as he slowly turned to face Tianlong.

"What... what did you say?" His voice came out as barely a whisper, disbelief warring with the first stirrings of genuine fear.

’Did this bastard just—’

"If not, then I will kill you," Tianlong said simply, his voice carrying the weight of absolute certainty.

The threat wasn’t delivered with anger or passion. It was stated as pure fact, like observing that water was wet or that the sun would rise.

Zhao Chen’s jaw clenched as he fought against the suffocating pressure, his pride warring with his body’s desperate need for survival.

:: Stop, Disciple, he is strong and also not alone :: The voice of his master was enough to make even the support he was relying on to kill Kian Long vanish, making him bite his own lip tightly enough for it to bleed before turning his head down in visible rage and humiliation.

"I... understand," he managed to grit out through clenched teeth, each word torn from his throat like a physical wound.

[DING!]

Blue windows exploded across Tianlong’s vision in a cascade of notifications:

[System Alert: Son of Heaven Humiliation Sequence Complete]

[Achievement Unlocked: "Crushing the Chosen One’s Dreams"]

[Successfully forced the Heaven’s Will protagonist to abandon his primary life goal through overwhelming display of power]

[Reward: +2,500 Harem Points]

[Achievement Unlocked: Divine Mandate Denied]

[Made a Heaven-blessed protagonist acknowledge your superior authority]

[Reward: +1,800 Harem Points]

[Achievement Unlocked: Breaking the Unbreakable]

[Forced genuine submission from someone with absolute plot armor]

[Reward: +3,200 Harem Points]

[Bonus Achievement: "Psychological Warfare Master"]

[Delivered crushing defeat without physical violence]

[Reward: +1,500 Harem Points]

[Special Condition Met: Manhood Authority]

[Used woman to maximize emotional damage]

[Reward: +800 Harem Points]

[Total Harem Points Gained: +9,800]

[Current Balance: 12,600 Harem Points]

[Additional Effect: Protagonist’s Dao Heart Cracked]

[Target’s cultivation foundation destabilized]

[Future breakthrough difficulty increased by 300%]

[Plot armor effectiveness reduced by 15%]

’Now, this seems a good return for investment.’