CHAPTER 123: CHAPTER 123 - SON OF HEAVEN: SWALLOWED HIS PRIDE?

A month had passed since my ascension shook the foundations of the realm, and the results were... satisfactory.

Seated in the newly renovated imperial palace—formerly the Immortal Sect’s grand headquarters—I gazed out through crystalline windows at the sprawling territories that now bore my banner.

The transition had been smoother than even I had anticipated.

When a Great Vehicle realm cultivator personally visits your sect compound and politely suggests you accept the authority of an ascended emperor, most rational leaders tend to see the wisdom in compliance.

The major sects had fallen into line with barely a whisper of resistance.

The Azure Dragon Sect’s leadership had practically prostrated themselves when Zhang Wuji arrived with my decree.

The Blood Moon Valley had dissolved their demonic practices overnight, their elders scrambling to prove their newfound righteousness.

Even the stubborn Mountain Bear Sect had eventually bent the knee after I’d casually leveled one of their outer peaks as a "demonstration."

Of course, there were always the proud fools who mistook stupidity for courage.

A handful of smaller sects and rogue cultivators had chosen defiance over wisdom, believing their numbers or hidden techniques could somehow bridge the impossible gap between their pathetic foundations and my cosmic authority.

They were being called to meet me personally today—those few stubborn ones strong enough to dare challenge, even though they were far weaker than a Great Vehicle realm emperor.

Human pride, it seemed, had a way of rejecting even the most obvious threats.

But their eventual fate wasn’t what occupied my thoughts as I sat behind the massive obsidian desk that now served as the seat of imperial power.

No, what truly confused me was the scene playing out before my eyes.

"Please, grandfather," Zhao Chen said, his head lowered in a posture of submission that would have been unthinkable just a month ago. "Help Yu Xiang to cultivate."

The last of my servants were filing out of the throne room, their footsteps echoing against the marble floors as they left us in relative privacy.

But my attention was fixed entirely on the two figures standing before me.

My grandson—the supposed Son of Heaven—stood with shoulders slumped and golden hair falling across his face, every line of his body radiating defeat and desperation. But it wasn’t his posture that shocked me.

It was the woman standing beside him.

Yu Xiang.

Her violet eyes gleamed with that usual sharpness that seemed to pierce straight through pretense, while her long black hair cascaded like a midnight waterfall around a face that was truly beautiful.

But the way her hand rested possessively on Chen’s shoulder, fingers tracing small circles—it was clear that beauty came with too much brain.

I was genuinely impressed that she had been able to make that stubborn idiot understand—whatever "understanding" had passed between them.

The Zhao Chen I remembered from the novel had been proud, arrogant, convinced of his own destiny as Heaven’s chosen champion. To see him reduced to begging on behalf of a woman he’d known for barely a month...

The first doubt that crept into my mind was obvious: had she offered her body to him?

But I rejected that possibility almost immediately.

During the past week, I’d finally managed to recollect the complete memory of this particular heroine.

The harem in the original novel had been so vast, with so many characters appearing and disappearing, that minor details often got forgotten.

But Yu Xiang’s background was too significant to overlook once I focused on it.

She possessed a unique physique—the Pure Yin Celestial Body. Her cultivation would be permanently transferred to whichever man claimed her virginity first.

It was both a blessing and a curse, making her incredibly valuable to ambitious cultivators while simultaneously making her a target for those who would use her as nothing more than a cultivation resource.

She was an ambitious woman who had appeared in many later plots throughout the story, using her intelligence and beauty to navigate the treacherous world of cultivation politics.

She’d remained relevant until far better and stronger heroines eventually overshadowed her, but her cunning had always been her greatest weapon.

Given that knowledge, there was no way she would surrender her most valuable asset—her virginity—to someone like Chen. Not when doing so would leave her powerless and at his mercy.

So how had she managed to tame the Son of Heaven?

I studied Chen’s body language more carefully, noting the subtle signs of infatuation mixed with frustration.

His aura flickered between early Core Formation and something slightly higher—evidence of recent advancement, but nothing dramatic. Meanwhile, Yu Xiang radiated the steady power of middle Core Formation, her cultivation clearly more stable and refined than his.

That was... amusing.

The protagonist was actually weaker than one of his supposed future conquests.

But it also revealed the truth of their relationship. She hadn’t given him her body—she’d given him hope.

Most probably—if my guess was correct—she had told him about her special physique and how she wanted to hand it over to Zhao Chen, while acting like a sacrificial maiden and all that.

’I guess she thinks she can kill that guy.’ It was amusing but also understandable. This woman probably intended to use Zhao Chen to cultivate—using him as a bridge between me and her, and once she gained power, she would be strong enough to kill Zhao Chen, let alone give herself to him.

It was masterful, really. And profitable for me.

She was a snake, like those women in my past life colleges who kept simps and nerds for homework while chatting with their crush.

The closer he grew to her, the more attached he became, the more it would hurt when I inevitably took her for myself.

Because that was exactly what I intended to do—not out of any particular desire for Yu Xiang herself, but because I wanted to ruin that bastard in every way possible.

I couldn’t kill the protagonist directly—Heaven’s plot armor would intervene.

But I could make him suffer in ways that were arguably worse than death.

Watching the woman he’d debased himself for moan under his grandpa—yeah, I’d need to change that title to "father" soon—that would leave scars no cultivation technique could heal.

"Fine," I said aloud, giving a measured nod. "I will come to Bloom Peak every week to assist with her cultivation."

Both Chen and Yu Xiang visibly relaxed, relief flooding their features.

But I wasn’t finished. Not until I screwed that beautiful face of Miss Bitch.

"However," I continued, noting how Chen’s body language immediately tensed again, "I have a condition."

Chen’s frustration was visible in the set of his shoulders, the slight clenching of his fists as if I was about to ask for his ass.

Yu Xiang’s violet eyes narrowed with calculation, clearly trying to anticipate what I might demand—sometimes I thought she was really attractive simply because of that ambitious brain of hers.

"What do you want?" Chen asked, his voice tight with barely controlled emotion.

"Chen will also have to live together with Yu Xiang during this entire period. Constant proximity will be necessary for the cultivation techniques I have in mind."

Chen’s eyes widened slightly, and I caught the flash of a smile he tried to hide.

The fool actually thought I was doing him a favor, giving him unlimited access to the woman who’d been keeping him at arm’s length like some simp.

Yu Xiang, however, was clearly shocked. Her sharp mind hadn’t expected this particular twist, and I could practically see her recalculating her strategies in real time.

But that was exactly what I wanted.

I needed this woman to become accustomed to receiving outcomes her clever brain didn’t anticipate.

Because if Yu Xiang thought she could manipulate everyone around her with the same ease she’d shown with Chen, she was in for some very unpleasant surprises.

Looking at the dynamic between them, it was obvious what had happened.

She’d used Chen’s attraction to her to manipulate him to this level of submission.

His willingness to swallow his pride could only mean one thing—he was completely infatuated, while she was using him as a stepping stone toward greater power.

So shouldn’t I be generous and let him see what skin-to-skin techniques I teach her every time I visit?

That way, I could watch his small frustrations grow daily until eventually ravaging her in front of his eyes. It would be a truly exquisite harvest of despair.

The fact that her unique physique meant she would never actually surrender her body to Chen just made it more entertaining.

Like a boy nursing a hopeless crush on a woman, only for the school bully to fuck her mindless...

’Wait.’

I paused mid-thought, turning to look out the window as a disturbing realization crept over me.

Did I have this kind of kink too?

The more I considered the scenario I was orchestrating, the more excited I became about it.

There was something deeply satisfying about the idea of stealing away the woman Chen had debased himself for, of demonstrating just how thoroughly I could cuck him.

’No, right?’ It was confusing as hell—was I excited because it would hurt the Son of Heaven? Or was there something darker in my own nature that found genuine pleasure in such kinks?

’Sigh...’ I’d discovered a hidden side of myself, apparently.

A kink I hadn’t even known existed until this moment.

The realization should have been disturbing. Instead, I found myself grinning.

Before I could explore that particular psychological rabbit hole any further, a familiar voice interrupted my thoughts.

"May I enter, husband?"

Both Chen and Yu Xiang flinched visibly at the words, their heads snapping toward the entrance as one of my wives appeared in the doorway.