From his hidden spot high in the sky, Jiang Chen glanced down at Man Feicai and the others with a sneer.

What a bunch of idiots. With Lu Yi's strength, he'll tear through that barrier like paper.

And once that happens? These guys'll be pissing themselves before they even know what hit them. Perfect setup for Lu Yi to put on a real show.

Not that the show matters all that much—but it still needs to be stopped. Especially since Nirvana Peering realm cultivators have started showing up in other cities too.

He turned his gaze westward, his expression darkening.

His divine sense had expanded to a ridiculous 140 million kilometers.

Thunderclap City wasn't the only place he was keeping an eye on—he was scanning seven cities at once.

Right then, in one of the western cities, four Nirvana Peering realm cultivators blinked into view inside a teleportation array. Their strength ranged from early-stage to late-stage.

The strongest one stood out immediately.

Gui Donghua, Jiang Chen noted.

The moment the group arrived, they stepped straight onto another teleportation array—this one locked onto Thunderclap City.

No doubt about it. These Nirvana Peering realm cultivators were Purple Crest Immortal Sect lackeys, sent here with one job: take down Lu Yi.

Right when Lu Yi smashes through the city's defenses, these four show up, Jiang Chen thought, eyes narrowing. That's how it played out originally—they were supposed to arrive just in time to become Lu Yi's stepping stones.

Four Nirvana Peering realm powerhouses? Yeah… those are mine now.

A sharp glint flickered in his eyes as he appeared near the edge of the city's barrier, quietly injecting a trace of his power into it.

At that moment, Lu Yi let out a cold laugh. "You really think this trash formation can stop me? Open up!"

A terrifying pressure exploded out from him as the Luminous Heavenly Fury Blade tore through the air in a savage arc.

Powered by everything he had, the Nirvana Peering-level immortal blade let out a crushing aura that weighed on the air like a storm about to break.

A heartbeat later, the Luminous Heavenly Fury Blade slammed into the barrier with a thunderous boom.

Shockwaves rippled outward like waves on a lake, shaking the sky and sending chills down the backs of everyone watching.

But instead of blowing apart like it should've, the barrier only cracked—just barely.

Lu Yi pulled back from the impact, eyes wide. He stared at the glowing shield below, stunned.

"What?! How the hell is this thing still standing? That slash should've blown it wide open!"

"Heh!" Man Feicai and the others sneered at Lu Yi, eyes full of contempt.

"That half-breed freak really can't break through the barrier," someone said, grinning.

"Those Nirvana Peering realm powerhouses are almost here. He's finished," another added, practically gloating.

At the same time, system notifications echoed through Jiang Chen's Sea of Consciousness.

[Ding! Plot alteration detected! You've successfully caused protagonist Lu Yi's performance to falter. Lu Yi's Heavenly Fate Value has dropped by 800 points!]

[Ding! You have gained 1,600 Villain Value points!]

Jiang Chen's lips curled into a faint smirk.

Hum! Hum!

A low vibration filled the air as a deep humming echoed from the teleportation hall in the heart of Thunderclap City.

Right after, four powerful auras emerged from the array—two Late-stage Nirvana Peering realm cultivators, one at Middle-stage, and one at Early-stage.

This setup was practically a feast—just waiting for Lu Yi to sink his teeth into.

"The mighty reinforcements are here!" Man Feicai and the others lit up when the four Nirvana Peering realm experts appeared. They rushed forward, all smiles and flattery.

But the newcomers didn't even glance at them.

"Drop the barrier," Gui Donghua said flatly, already surging toward Lu Yi without hesitation.

"Yes, sir!" Man Feicai scrambled to comply, quickly deactivating the city's shield.

As the four powerhouses charged straight for him, Lu Yi's face twisted in frustration.

What the hell?! I really couldn't crack that stupid thing?

Do I run for it? Or try to flip this mess into an opportunity? The thoughts raced through his mind as he bolted toward the horizon.

But with his current flight speed barely matching an Early-stage Nirvana Peering realm cultivator, trying to escape now was almost asking to be surrounded.

Realizing there was no way he could outrun them, Lu Yi quickly made up his mind—if he couldn't escape, he'd go down swinging.

In the next breath, a crushing aura exploded from him, spreading across all of Thunderclap City.

"Hand over your money! All of it!!"

He hovered mid-air, yelling loud enough for the entire city to hear. "Spirit stones, spirit jades—give me everything you've got! If you don't, I swear I'll bring this whole place down, even if it kills me!"

It was a bold move. With no way out, he'd decided to rob the entire city.

Before he came to this world, Lu Yi still had a conscience—some lingering sense of morality. At first, he'd planned to only hit the scum working for the Purple Crest Immortal Sect in the City Lord Mansion. If he hadn't held back for the sake of innocent cultivators, he would've already gotten what he needed.

But thanks to Jiang Chen ruining that plan, and blocking his shot at robbing Man Feicai and the others, Lu Yi was out of options.

Now, the whole city was fair game.

The moment Lu Yi shouted his threat, Thunderclap City exploded into chaos.

"That bastard's really turning on us?!"

"He said he'd level the whole city if we don't pay up… and I believe him. He's after our spirit stones and spirit jades—he won't just walk away after that."

"He's Nirvana Peering realm. If he wants us dead, we're gone in a blink. Just hand over the stuff for now—once he's taken down, we'll get it all back."

"Damn it, Lu Yi! Why'd I have to run into him today of all days?!"

Fear and fury spread like wildfire through the streets. People cursed Lu Yi's name, but that didn't stop the panic.

Some, too scared to take any chances, yanked piles of spirit stones and spirit jades from their storage rings and held them up with trembling hands, hoping it'd be enough to avoid getting turned into ash.

Nice! A grin spread across Lu Yi's face. With this many people, getting my hands on 111 low-grade spirit jades should be easy.

That was no small haul—111 low-grade spirit jades were worth over a million upper-grade spirit stones.

With more than ten million residents in Thunderclap City already handing over their valuables just to stay alive, the numbers worked in his favor.

Even if each person only had a single upper-grade spirit stone, that alone was more than enough to level up his system.

From his hidden spot above, Jiang Chen watched the whole scene unfold.

This guy really doesn't hold back. A typical protagonist wouldn't stoop to robbing innocent cultivators—but Lu Yi's not your average protagonist. As a human-demon hybrid, he's got the whole world treating him like the enemy.

And now here he is, looting an entire city full of cultivators. No doubt he's going to rack up enough spirit stones and spirit jades to give his system a serious boost.

His eyes narrowed slightly, thoughts racing.

I need to shut this down before it gets out of hand.

Right then, Lu Yi made his move. With a quick wave of power, he began pulling the offered spirit stones and spirit jades straight from the crowd toward himself.

But before he could collect much, Gui Donghua let out a furious roar.

"Anyone helping the enemy—dies!"

In an instant, a wave of searing heat swept across Thunderclap City, like invisible fire blanketing the streets.

The cultivators who had handed over their valuables were the first to suffer—engulfed in the blazing heat before they could even react.

At the same time, the other three Nirvana Peering realm experts launched their attacks. Divine techniques burst out in all directions, throwing the city into complete chaos.

Dozens were wiped out in a flash—gone before they could even scream.