VILLAINS AREN'T STEPPING STONES!C26: Value
Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Value
The space within the Ogre Academy rippled with the subtlety of a ghost's breath as Qing'er manifested.
For a Saint-level expert, navigating the rudimentary defenses of a backwater institution was as simple as walking through a beaded curtain.
She didn't need to search; she merely stood in the shadow of a stone pillar and let the ambient chatter of the students wash over her.
It took less than a minute for the name "Chu Fang" to surface, whispered in tones of mockery by a passing group of disciples.
Blending perfectly into the architecture of the shadows, Qing'er made her way to the male dormitory.
She found him in his cramped bunk.
Chu Fang sat cross-legged, his eyes closed in deep concentration.
To a casual observer, he looked like any other mediocre student struggling with his breath.
But to Qing'er's divine sense, the world was laid bare.
She watched as he began to circulate a cultivation technique that she found, at first, quite novel.
The Qi did not follow the standard celestial orbits or the balanced paths of the Five Elements, something no other Cultivation Technique she had seen.
But in the next instant, her brow furrowed in visceral disgust as she tracked the energy's path.
The Qi surged through his veins, bypassed the higher spiritual centers, and swirled through his liver before settling with a concentrated, pulsing heat directly in his crotch.
Qing'er's lip curled in disdain.
From that single observation, the nature of his cultivation technique was clear: a dual cultivation technique.
While the Central Region recognized that certain dual-path methods were legitimate—sharing Yin and Yang to reach the Dao—they were still heavily frowned upon by the orthodox elite.
Such techniques were the final refuge of desperate perverts and those so devoid of talent that they had to rely on the life-force of others to progress.
And this Chu Fang, with his shifty eyes and stagnant foundation, seemed to be the embodiment of both.
She thought of Huo Yue, that woman who suffered for three years yet retained the pride and arrogance of a genius, but also had the mature and gray outlook of the world.
She thought of Lin Feng, who, while looking lazy and sleazy, was able to discover the talent and potential of Huo Yue, and was incredibly cautious and smart.
She thought of Tang Shan, although he has misplaced arrogance and incredibly egocentric, at least he has some abilities, actually able to not immediately collapse from her young master's pressure.
Then he looked at this Chu Fang... Are these four all really the same 'species'?
Just then, the silence of the room was broken as Chu Fang suddenly sat up as a triumphant, unsettling laugh escaped his throat.
To Qing'er's mounting irritation, he actually reached down, opened his pants, and stared at himself with a look of manic glee.
Qing'er felt her cheek twitch, a rare crack in her icy composure.
What is there to be happy about? she thought, her mind instinctively comparing the pathetic sight to her own master.
Shen Haoran's physique was a masterwork of the Heavens—toned, muscular, and carrying a divine weight, as if every inch of his skin had been perfectly sculpted by the gods from primordial jade.
To even look upon such a creature after seeing the Young Master was an insult to her eyes.
She watched from the darkness as Chu Fang composed himself, a smug, "protagonist-like" smirk plastered on his face, before he adjusted his robes and hurried out of the dormitory.
He walked with a new, swaggering confidence, oblivious to the fact that a Saint was trailing him like a silent reaper.
Qing'er exhaled a silent, weary sigh.
This is going to be a long day, she mused, her hand resting briefly on the hilt of the concealed dagger at her waist.
If it were up to her, she would have ended this farce seconds ago—snapping his neck, extracting his soul, and presenting the "Anomaly's" memories to Haoran on a silver platter.
But her Young Master was a perfectionist who enjoyed watching the threads of fate tangle before he cut them.
Until the order came to execute, she was merely a shadow in the wake of a pervert.
*
*
*
The setting sun spilled through the sheer silk curtains of the royal guest suite, painting the mahogany floor in stripes of orange.
Shen Haoran sat at the edge of the bed, his back a canvas of lean, corded muscle that glowed like polished marble in the light.
He was completely naked, showing an unbothered, sovereign indifference to his nudity as he held a delicate porcelain teacup in one hand and an ancient leather-bound scroll in the other.
Behind him, cocooned in heavy embroidered blankets, Ning Xueli stirred.
Her skin had a translucent, glossy glow—the unmistakable mark of a woman who had just crossed the threshold into adulthood.
As she sat up, a sharp, lingering ache radiated from her lower body, traveling from her core down into her thighs.
Haoran had been thorough and demanding, his strength far beyond what her body was accustomed to, stretching her into positions that had tested the very limits of her flexibility.
She pulled the blanket tighter against her chest, her gaze fixed on the broad, steady line of Haoran's shoulders.
The emotions swirling in her chest were a tangled, complex web. Did she hate him? Did she feel used because he had taken her virginity while explicitly stating he felt no obligation to be "responsible" for her heart?
Strangely, she didn't feel the weight of a loss.
In a world where power was the only true currency, she had traded something ephemeral for a chance at the sublime.
And if ever her path eventually diverged from his and she was forced to marry another for the sake of her clan, she would simply offer a silent apology to a future husband for her lack of "purity."
To her, the experience had been an awakening, a cold splash of reality that washed away the flowery illusions of her youth.
"How are you feeling?" Haoran asked. He didn't turn around, his eyes remaining fixed on the cryptic characters of the book.
"Sore," Xueli answered, her voice slightly raspy.
She was being honest; there was no point in playing the coy maiden with a man who had already seen every inch of her.
Haoran gave a curt, almost clinical nod. "That's normal."
Xueli tilted her head, a stray thought crossing her mind.
Is it truly? In the romanticized novels shared among the female disciples of the academy, the "morning after" was always portrayed as a dream of sweetness, tender whispers, and spiritual bliss.
There was never any mention of the bone-deep lethargy or the localized throbbing that made even shifting her weight a chore.
She cursed those authors in her heart for beautifying a physical act into something it wasn't.
"By the way," Haoran spoke again, his voice dropping into a more contemplative register. "What do you think of that boy, Chu Fang?"
Xueli blinked, the sudden mention of the "lazy junior" feeling jarring in the quiet of the room. "Chu Fang? I think nothing in particular of him. He was a student I felt sorry for, nothing more. Why do you bring him up now?"
"What would you feel," Haoran continued, finally setting the book down and taking a slow sip of tea, "if he were to... disappear?"
"Nothing, I guess?" Xueli didn't hesitate.
The protective instinct she had felt for the "bullied" version of Chu Fang had been eroded by the unsettling, predatory look she had seen in his eyes at the library.
"Although it would bother me for a few days, it wouldn't really affect me. It's like caring for a single piece of grass, if it were to grow and spread, then good, if not, then it's just a piece of grass. If he vanishes, it is simply the way of the world."
"Is that so?" Haoran paused, his golden eyes narrowing as he stared at the wall.
In the cold, calculating theater of his mind, Haoran began to think of his experiences since he traveled to this backwater place.
He had already encountered three anomalies in this region.
Huo Yue was an important asset for him, her talent for alchemy and her connection to an ancient soul, and her future as the Flame Empress made her a perfect long-term investment.
Lin Feng, the System-bearer, was a useful beacon—a "Protagonist Magnet" that would save Haoran the trouble of hunting.
Tang Shan and the Ogre Seven were the anchors for Ning Xueli, a way to ensure her loyalty without resorting to crude mental manipulation.
But this Chu Fang... he was different from the rest of the protagonist he had encountered.
He had no unique physique, no high-tier beast bloodline, no ancient soul master, and practically offered nothing to the ARC Foundation.
His only value lay in the memories of an ancient expert or a future expert, which he can easily extract like what his mother did with his cousin.
So basically, he has no value keeping alive.
'A soul without utility is just a pest that knows too much,' Haoran thought.
So since he has no value alive, then he should at least offer his life for the greater good.
"Qing'er," Haoran said softly, his voice carrying through the mental link. "I'm done with the observation. Extract the memories and erase the source. Do it before the sun sets."
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VILLAINS AREN'T STEPPING STONES!C27: Opportunity
Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Opportunity
Ogre Academy.
At this moment, in the fighting ring of the academy, hundreds of students watched in shock and awe at the scene before them.
"No way..."
"He really won?"
"That trash actually defeated senior Buo!?"
At the center of the ring, Chu Fang stood tall, his chest heaving with a mixture of exertion and intoxicating triumph.
At his feet lay Buo Li, a notorious bully and the son of an influential Inner Court Elder, groveling in the dirt.
For Chu Fang, this was the moment he had dreamed of during his long nights of regret in his past life; being able to finally get his revenge on his bully.
In his past life, this man relied on pills and his father's influence to reach the peak of Golden Core Realm, and even betrayed the Allied Forces and joined the evil Spirit Hall.
Chu Fang was merely a Foundation Establishment realm at that time, a foot soldier, and he has always wished that he can inherit an Emperor's Legacy and kill that bully who tormented him.
Now, that wish was granted, and he basked in the stunned silence, feeling the weight of the "Awe" and "Amazement" radiating from the crowd.
'Did you see that? Hahaha!' Chu Fang's laughed in his mind as he looked at his calloused hands, feeling the lingering heat of the Kama Deva Sutra's initial circulation.
'This is just the first step! My ascent to Nirvana only begins today!'
But, at that moment, Buo Li, bruised and humiliated, scrambled to his feet, his face was a mask of purple rage, his finger trembling as he pointed it at Chu Fang.
"This is impossible! How could I lose to you?! You're trash! You've always been trash! Cheating! You must have cheated!"
Chu Fang merely smiled, a condescending, protagonist-like smirk. To him, these teenagers were like children playing with sticks. "Cheating? Do you have proof of that, or are you just crying because your pride is as fragile as your ribs? How dare you accuse me without a shred of evidence?"
Chu Fang doesn't know where he got this confidence from, but he wanted to provoke and humiliate this guy despite knowing his father could crush him easily.
It was as if deep in his mind, something was telling him that nothing bad will happen to him.
"You definitely cheated!" Buo Li roared. "How dare you!"
Chu Fang simply snorted in disdain, "You say I cheated, so I cheated? By that logic, I say I fucked your mom! Would you call me daddy as well!?"
"You! You! You—!" Unable to come up with a counter, Buo Li turned away from Chu Fang and bowed deeply toward the officiating elder, a man named Elder Han who served as the day's referee. "Elder, please! I demand justice! Look at him! He was a zero yesterday—there is no way he could beat me fairly! He has insulted the sanctity of this Academy!"
At the same time, Buo Li also moved his neck, causing a necklace he wore to sway.
This necklace was given to him by his father, the symbol of his father and family, and seeing this is like seeing his father.
By showing this, Buo Li was basically threatening the elder.
Elder Han, a 1st Stage Foundation Establishment expert, of course knew this, and he felt a cold sweat break out under his robes.
With his spiritual sense, he knew exactly what had happened: Chu Fang had won fair and square with a sudden, explosive surge of refined Qi.
Buo Li lost because he was inferior, and there was no cheating involved.
But Elder Han was no hero; he knew that Buo Li's father was a Core Formation powerhouse who could end his career with a single letter, so he doesn't dare go against him.
He can only apologise for this student in his heart.
Steeling his heart for an act of blatant corruption, the elder stepped forward, his face hardening into a mask of "impartial" severity.
He approached Chu Fang, his aura pressing down on the boy. "Disciple Chu, if you have nothing to hide, you would not mind if I performed a cursory check of your meridians to satisfy Disciple Buo's concerns?"
Chu Fang snorted, crossing his arms. He was confident, after all he didn't cheat, he didn't even used pills! "Of course! Check all you want! Let everyone see that this 'genius' just can't accept a loss!"
Elder Han reached out and gripped Chu Fang's wrist, and even pretended to close his eyes in deep concentration, but beneath the surface, he was secretly crushing a small wax pellet of Crimson Root Powder—a substance that mimicked the residue of forbidden stimulants—into Chu Fang's sleeve.
Suddenly, the elder's eyes snapped open in feigned horror. "This... This is! A Sun-Burst Strengthening Pill! I can feel the volatile residue burning in your veins! Chu Fang, you have used a forbidden substance to boost your strength and draw out your potential! You have committed a grave crime against the Academy's rules!"
The crowd immediately erupted.
"What?! So he really did cheat?!"
"As expected! I knew there was no way Senior Buo could lose to a bottom-dweller!"
"How disgraceful! To use pills in a friendly spar!"
Chu Fang's world suddenly tilted. Pills? What pills? Where would he even get the money to buy pills!?
"What?! No! You're lying!" He tried to pull his arm away, his eyes wide with the realization that the "fair" world he thought he could conquer was rigged against him. "I didn't use any pills! You! Elder, is this how you uphold the law?! You're framing me!"
He finally realized, this elder was surely bought off!
The elder ignored his cries, his voice booming with authority. "Where is the Disciplinary Squad?! Call them immediately and take this boy for questioning! We must determine where he obtained such restricted medicine!"
Chu Fang's heart plummeted into an abyss of fear. "No! There must be a mistake! I didn't use a pill! Search my room! Search my body! I really didn't have any pills!"
But the machinery of the Academy was already in motion.
From the edges of the field, a group of disciples in stark black uniforms—the Disciplinary Squad—sprinted forward.
They moved with mechanical efficiency, pinning Chu Fang to the ground.
He then felt the cold bite of Spirit-Suppressing Handcuffs snapping around his wrists, binding his hands painfully behind his back.
"No! This is slander! You are slandering me!" Chu Fang roared, his face pressed into the dirt, the dirt he had just stood upon in triumph. "Let me go! That elder is a liar! I am a genius! I'm not a cheater! Just you wait, I will remember this!"
In a novel, during situations like this, the heroine would appear to save the protagonist, and in case of Chu Fang, his destined heroine was Ning Xueli.
So at this moment, Ning Xueli would have sensed the injustice, descended like a goddess, and used her family's prestige to shield him.
He would have been vindicated, and the elder would have been the one to crawl.
Then, using that momentum, he would slap everyone in the face, show his righteousness, and the heroine would gain some favourable image of him.
But at this moment, his destined heroine was miles away, her voice muffled by the silken sheets of a royal bed, her attention entirely claimed by a man who had already decided Chu Fang's fate.
No one was coming to save this anomaly.
Buo Li stepped forward, his smirk returning as he watched his rival being dragged away like a common criminal.
He cupped his hands toward Elder Han, his voice dripping with false humility. "Thank you, Elder, for upholding the justice of our Academy. The heavens truly have eyes."
The elder hummed, smoothing his beard as he watched the Disciplinary Squad haul the screaming Chu Fang toward the interrogation dungeons. "It is merely what I should do, Disciple Buo. The Academy has no place for those who seek shortcuts."
He sighed. What a pity for someone so young and talented. If he didn't challenge Buo Li, if he first gained favor from another elder to gain some backing, then things would've been different.
Alas... Still so impulsive. Elder Han shook his head. There is no need to think about that boy anymore, with Buo Li's connection, imprisoning him for the rest of his life would be easy.
"Elder Han, as a thank you for your service and also for your righteousness, I would like to invite you for dinner." Said Buo Li.
Elder Han now felt like abandoning that one student for a connection with Buo Li was not a bad deal.
"Ah, young master Buo, no need, no need, I am just doing my job."
Buo Li shook his head, "Please, elder Han, I insist."
"This... Very well, thank you for the invitation, young master."
And at this moment, Qinq'er, who was hidden in the shadows, watched the hypocritical exchange of this elder and young man in disdain.
But, with this, her job just became easier.
Her Young Master's order was clear: Extract and Erase, and the Academy's dungeons would provide the perfect, silent theater for the end of this anomaly's story.
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VILLAINS AREN'T STEPPING STONES!C28: Legacy
Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Legacy
"I am innocent!" Chu Fang's roar echoed through the damp, cold corridors of the Ogre Academy's underground dungeon.
The heavy iron door groaned on its hinges as the Disciplinary Squad shoved him into the darkness.
"I was framed! You have to believe me! That Elder lied! Damn it! Damn it all to hell!"
The door slammed shut with a final, metallic thud, leaving him in a suffocating gloom lit only by a flicker of a dying torch in the hallway.
Chu Fang slumped against the rough stone wall, his breath coming in ragged hitches.
The intoxicating high of his earlier victory had vanished, replaced by the bitter, cold reality of his powerlessness.
That Buo Li... just you wait, he hissed internally, his eyes burning with a vengeful light. I'll kill you. I'll slaughter you all. And that Elder—how dare you frame a regressor? Once I break out of here, I'll make every single one of you crawl through your own blood!
He began to frantically search his memory for the "Dungeon Escape" techniques he had trained as a soldier in his previous life.
He was a man who knew the future; surely, a mere cell couldn't hold a destined sovereign.
But then, the air in the cell began to warp, and Taro began to feel a suffocating kind of pressure.
A cold wind brushed by, and the torchlight flickered before dying, and a darkness more profound than night flooded the space, a vacuum so absolute that even the sound of his own breathing seemed to be swallowed.
Chu Fang's eyes widened as he scrambled to his feet, his back against the cold stone. "Who's there?! I am a disciple of the Ogre Academy! My master is the famous grandmaster! How dare you trespass here?!"
Of course, he was just bluffing. As someone from the future, Chu Fang never liked that arrogant but incompetent Grand Master, but he knew that his name still holds weight.
Just then, a ripple appeared in the center of the cell, and Qing'er stepped out of the void.
Her long black hair seemed to devour a light that shouldn't exist, and her eyes were like twin pools of blood frozen under the moonlight.
Chu Fang froze, his mouth hanging open.
Even in his two lives combined, he had never seen a woman of such ethereal, terrifying beauty.
For a fleeting second, the perverted instincts of the Kama Deva Sutra flared—a desire to possess such a creature.
But he never got the chance to speak as Qing'er's hand blurred, her slender fingers clamped onto his forehead with the force of a hydraulic press.
"Soul Search," she whispered.
"AAAAHHHH!" Chu Fang's scream was a guttical, soul-tearing sound that never left the room.
It felt as though a red-hot iron hook had been shoved into his mind, dragging his very essence out through his pores.
Every memory, every secret, every "future" event he had hoarded was stripped bare.
Just then, a golden orb, pulsing with the frantic energy of a dying consciousness, flew out of his forehead and hovered steadily above Qing'er's palm.
Qing'er stared at the orb, her expression one of cold, clinical detachment as she observed it.
She didn't peer into the memories, after all, as a perfect servant, she understood the boundaries of her position; the contents of this memories were for her young master alone, and what she needed to know is what her young master will tell her once he got this memories.
Thinking of that, she tightened her grip on the space around the orb, compressing it until it was no larger than a pearl and storing inside her Personal Space.
A Saint Realm expert can interfere with space, and can even create a pocket space for them to store things.
She then turned her gaze to what was left of Chu Fang.
He was still standing, but the light had left his eyes, his mouth was slack, a trail of drool escaping his lips.
The Soul Search had been a total mind breaker, destroying his personality, his memories, and even his cognitive functions had been incinerated.
He was a hollow vessel, a brain-dead husk.
This is the side effect of Soul Search, that's why this was normally only used to criminals.
With a flick of her wrist, the shadows at his feet rose like hungry serpents, and they coiled around him, dragging him down into the floor.
There was no blood, not even a struggle, he was simply swallowed whole, erased from the world as if he had never existed.
Qing'er adjusted her sleeve and vanished into the rippling air.
*
*
*
Back at the Royal Palace, the afternoon sun cast a warm, lazy glow over the royal garden.
The scent of blooming jasmine filled the air, and the distant sound of a fountain provided a soothing rhythm to the stillness.
Shen Haoran sat on a curved marble bench, leaning back comfortably.
He was fully clothed now in robes of ivory and gold, though his hair remained slightly disheveled.
In his lap lay Ning Xueli. She was draped in a light silk wrap, acting uncharacteristically spoiled as she lay with her eyes closed, using his thigh as a pillow.
Haoran's hand moved in a slow, rhythmic motion, caressing her dark hair.
He had indeed been "wild" with her earlier—showing a great display of dominance and passion that had left her physically spent.
Her skin still held a faint, glossy glow, and her breathing was the deep, heavy sigh of someone whose body had been pushed to its absolute limits.
Just then, the air shimmered, and Qing'er appeared, kneeling on the grass beside the bench.
She held her hand out, the golden orb of Chu Fang's life sparkling in the sunlight.
"Young Master," she said softly.
"Thank you, Qing'er." Haoran didn't stop caressing Xueli's hair, he merely waved a finger, and the orb floated into the air, drifting toward his brow.
And as it touched his skin, it dissolved, and the floodgates of a decade of "future" history opened in his mind.
Haoran's eyes remained open, but his pupils dilated as he processed the data.
He saw the rise of the Spirit Hall, the fall of kingdoms, the locations of ancient Emperor tombs, and the eventual stalemate of the Nirvana Rebirth experts.
He filtered through the dross—the perverted fantasies Chu Fang had about Xueli and Ziyan—and deleted them with a mental snort of disgust.
After a few seconds, he sat back, a genuine, amused smile playing on his lips.
"I can't believe that something truly interesting was actually hidden in this small, stagnant place," Haoran murmured.
His hand, which had been gently stroking Xueli's hair, stopped as he reached down and playfully poked her soft cheek. "Wake up, sleepyhead."
Xueli groaned, letting out a low, feline sound of protest as she turned over, burying her face into his stomach to block out the light. "Just five more minutes... you're the one who wouldn't let me sleep..."
"Do you want to be a Supreme?"
The words were spoken softly, but they had the effect of a thunderclap.
Xueli's eyes snapped wide open as she sat up so fast she nearly bumped her head against his chin.
Her hair was a mess, and her wrap slipped slightly, but she didn't care. "W-What? S-Supreme? As in... a Supreme Emperor?"
Haoran nodded, his golden eyes dancing with amusement. "Indeed. The path to the peak. Do you want it?"
To the people of the Eastern Region, a "Supreme" was a myth, a being of legend who could command the laws of the universe.
To Haoran, however, a Supreme legacy from a backwater region was merely a decent starter kit.
His own clan had living Supremes serving as guardians, completely hidden from the rest of the world.
This legacy of "Bright Silver Emperor" mentioned in Chu Fang's memories was a middle-tier power at best in the grand scale of the Central Region.
After all, there are different level of powers even amongst Supreme Emperors.
If this Bright Silver Emperor was truly powerful, he would've left legends in the central region, but he did not, and frankly, Haoran, who considered himself quite well versed in history, had never heard of him.
Still, it was the perfect "remodeling" tool for Xueli.
"I... I don't..." Xueli hesitated, her voice trembling. She looked at him, feeling a sudden, intense wave of imposter syndrome. "I don't think I'm worth that much, Haoran. I'm just a girl from a clan in a small region. To give me a Supreme Legacy just because... just because of what happened earlier... it's too much."
Haoran chuckled, reaching out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I am giving it to you, so you will take it. I don't like to repeat myself, Xueli. You are mine now, and I don't allow my people to be weak."
He leaned in, his voice turning more serious. "However, there is a catch. If you accept this legacy now, you will have to enter a state of deep meditative seclusion to integrate the Emperor's bloodline. You will have to miss the Regional Youth Tournament."
Xueli stared at him, her mind spinning. The tournament she had trained for her entire life, the glory she had sought for the Ogre Academy... she compared it to the promise of becoming a Supreme Emperor.
It was like comparing a copper coin to a sun.
She realized then that Haoran wasn't just being generous; he was testing her.
He wanted to see if she could let go of her "small pond" ambitions to grasp the ocean.
"The tournament..." she whispered, then a slow, resolute smile spread across her face. "Is a fight between kids more appetizing than the path to godhood? I'm not that stupid, Haoran."
She leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his. "Very well. Thank you... for everything. I'll take it."
Haoran smirked, satisfied. "Good. Qing'er, prepare the Profound Ark's cultivation chamber. We're going to give the Cao Yin Kingdom a Supreme Empress they never expected."
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VILLAINS AREN'T STEPPING STONES!C29: Worth
Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Worth
26
The Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range, located at the eastern most part of the Eastern Region, feared as one of the Seven Forbidden Lands of the Four Cardinal Regions.
It loomed like a jagged wall of obsidian against the horizon, its peaks perpetually shrouded in a thick, suffocating miasma.
This was the Eastern Region's ultimate frontier, a vertical graveyard that acted as the final barrier between the civilization of the Tian Yuan Empire and the unexplored, infinitely vast land of the Wild Lands.
Well, calling them unexplored is a bit off, since for the people of the Central Region, they knew that the Wild Lands has countless small kingdoms and independent city states, all away from the control of any empires.
However, the Empire really couldn't care less about those civilization; they don't have developed culture, economy, technology, and cultivation even compared to the Kingdoms in Eastern Regions.
The only reason why the Empire even knew about those civilization is because most Evil Cultivators used those civilization as their base of operations.
From time to time, the Empire would send their military to gain experience and eliminate tens of thousands of evil Cultivators.
Haoran himself has been into the Wild Lands more than once to gain experience and prestige.
This entire mountain range was actually man made, created by the First Tian Yuan Emperor to segregate the "barbarian" from the noble Tian Yuan Empire, now it serves as a domain where the laws of man were replaced by the laws of the fang and claw.
To most cultivators in the Eastern Region, venturing here was a death sentence.
Shen Haoran walked with an effortless stride, his golden-blonde hair a sharp contrast against the gloomy, vine-choked canopy.
Beside him, Ning Xueli stepped tentatively, her hand instinctively clutching the silk of her robes.
Every snap of a twig made her jump, her 8th Stage Qi Gathering aura flickering like a candle in a gale.
"A-Are you sure it's here?" Xueli whispered, her voice trembling. "Haoran, even the legends say a Saint once entered the depths and never returned. We are barely at the outskirts, and I can already feel eyes on us that shouldn't exist."
She was really afraid. As an 8th Stage Qi Gathering Realm Cultivator, her strength might be something in the Kingdom, but here? It was nothing.
It is said that the weakest beasts found here are 9th Stage Qi Gathering Demonic Beasts, and since Demonic Beasts are much stronger than human Cultivators at the same stage, those beasts could even threaten the life of a Core Formation realm Cultivator.
Haoran remained silent.
He was currently replaying the memories of the deceased Chu Fang.
In the "future" that had now been deleted, eight years from now, the Ogre Seven—then at the Core Formation stage—had retreated here, driven by the desperation of a lost war, searching for ways to increase their strength in hopes that they can contend against the power of Spirit Hall.
After all, from the legends, a Saint had once died here, so they thought to try their luck and see if that Saint had left an inheritance.
Turns out, what they discovered was far more impressive, the ruins of a tomb of a Supreme Emperor.
It was Tang Shan who had navigated these treacherous ravines, leading the Ogre Seven to that place.
Haoran's lip curled in a mix of disdain and genuine curiosity.
The "future" records claimed that within two years of finding this legacy, the group had jumped from Core Formation to Spirit Ascension, with Tang Shan reaching the Nirvana Rebirth Realm after receiving all the inheritance and legacy of the Bright Silver Emperor.
But to a scion of a Central Region Hegemon, this was statistically impossible.
No inheritance, no matter how potent, should be able to bypass the fundamental laws of time and soul-tempering, allowing a pitiful Core Formation realm kids to jump straight to Spirit Ascension and Nirvana Rebirth in just two years!
These "Anomalies" were literally being spoon-fed by the Heavens themselves!
'The favoritism of the universe is truly sickening,' Haoran thought. 'What are so special about these Anomalies anyway? Why are they so favored?'
He shook his head and glanced at Xueli. In Chu Fang's memories, she had also went with him to the Central Region, but since they didn't know about the Bright Silver Emperor Inheritance then, they didn't stay here for long.
He wondered if her path in that parallel timeline had been any easier? Hmm, maybe he should find a rebirth type Anomaly in the Central Region so he can gather some information.
Suddenly, the undergrowth exploded as a beast the size of a carriage lunged into the clearing, its fur a matted black that seemed to absorb the dim light.
Wisps of dark, violet flame licked at its paws, and its eyes burned with a malevolent, predatory intelligence.
"A Hell Tiger!" Xueli shrieked, stumbling back.
From its sheer presence, the beast was at the 9th Stage of Qi Gathering.
Despite its low-tier bloodline—capping at the Nascent Soul Realm—the Hell Tiger was a nightmare for local cultivators.
Its "Hellfire" was notorious for its soul-searing properties, capable of bothering even Spirit Ascension experts if they were careless.
Even among demonic beast of the same level, the Hell Tiger was superior!
In the Central Region, the strongest Nascent Soul Expert actually possessed a Hell Tiger Spirit!
The tiger let out a low, guttural roar that vibrated in Xueli's marrow.
It was a warning: Back off, or be consumed.
Haoran didn't even look at the beast. He turned his golden gaze toward Xueli, his expression as cold as the mountain stone.
"Fight it."
"Huh...?" Xueli's jaw dropped. She looked at the towering predator, then back at Haoran. "Haoran, you're joking, right? I'm a support-type cultivator! My spirit is designed for healing and auxiliary buffs. I can't even beat a 7th stage attacker in a fair duel, let alone a 9th stage beast!"
"Fight it," Haoran repeated, his voice dropping into a dangerous, icy register. "I don't like to repeat myself, Xueli."
"But... I'll die! It'll burn me to ash before I can even—"
"Xueli." Haoran stepped into her personal space, his aura pressing down on her with the weight of a planet. "I have no interest in keeping flowers that only look beautiful in a garden. If you can't even handle a simple beast, then tell me: what are you worth to me aside from your body? I don't keep useless trash."
He stared at Xueli. The reason why he was so interested in her in the first place was because of her spirit, that unyielding drive even against superior power, yet now...why did she become so timid?
Are you going to disappoint me, Xueli?
The words cut deeper than any claw, as Xueli bit her lip, the sting of humiliation and fear causing tears to prick at the corners of her eyes.
She felt small, discarded, and desperate.
She looked at the tiger, then back at the man who held her future in his hands.
"O-Okay..." she whispered, her voice breaking.
Haoran reached into his spatial ring and produced a weapon that seemed to capture all the light in the clearing.
It was a dagger, its blade forged from a crystalline material that shimmered in a kaleidoscopic spectrum of nine distinct colors.
"Take this," Haoran said, handing it to her. "The Nine-Colored Dagger. It is a Rank 2 Artifact. I forged it when I was a child during my Tier 2 Artificer Promotion Exam. It is a tool for beginners, but it should suffice for someone of your level. Pour your Qi into it to activate it."
Xueli took the weapon in a daze. The weight was perfect, and the hilt felt warm against her palm. "Y-You're an artificer?"
"I have mastered the foundations of all the great professions," Haoran said, stepping back and crossing his arms. "Now, enough talk. The tiger isn't going to wait for your biography. Fight."
Xueli took a deep breath, her fear being slowly replaced by a burning, frantic determination.
She didn't want to be "trash." She didn't want to be just a body. She wanted to be able to stand beside him with pride, her head held high!
She poured all her Qi into the dagger.
Immediately, the crystal blade erupted and a shimmering, prismatic aura surrounded her, weaving a kaleidoscope of lights into a protective and augmenting shroud.
Xueli felt her senses sharpen; her vision slowed the tiger's movements, and her strength felt as though it had tripled.
She stared at the Hell Tiger, and for the first time in her life, she didn't see a monster, but a stepping stone.
Confidence, fueled by the staggering quality of a Central Region artifact, bloomed in her heart.
Just like this, maybe she can win!
"I won't be your flower, Haoran," she hissed, her eyes glowing with the dagger's light. "I'll be your blade. So, watch me."
Haoran smirked, crossing his arms in recognition as he nodded, "Very well. Prove your worth to me, Xueli."
At that, Hell Tiger roared and lunged, but this time, Ning Xueli didn't scream.
She moved.
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VILLAINS AREN'T STEPPING STONES!C30: Reactions
Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Reactions
At this moment, the gates of the Ogre Academy, usually a place of quiet focus, were currently buzzing with an anxious, vibrating energy.
The morning sun had climbed high, casting long shadows over the now fully recovered "Ogre Seven"—the group of youths destined to redefine the martial history of the Cao Yin Kingdom.
At the center stood Tang Shan, his expression calm but his eyes sharp.
He was the anchor of the team, the man who had turned a "trash" plant spirit like the Bright Silver Vine into a weapon of surgical precision.
Flanking him were the other legends-in-the-making: Tai Yuhao, whose White Tiger spirit roared silently within his soul; Xiao Ruo, her rabbit ears twitching at every passing breeze; Mu Xiaojun, his chest puffed out with the arrogance of his "Phoenix" flames; Zhu Ziyan, standing like a statue of ice; and Xiao Ao, the group's Gourmet Hunter, whose culinary talents provided the buffs that kept them in the fight.
But the circle was incomplete, as the seventh spot—belonging to the heiress of the richest clan in the Eastern Region—was empty.
"Where could she be?" Xiao Ao muttered, pacing back and forth.
His fingers fumbled with a spirit-sausage he had prepared for the journey. It was no secret among the Seven that his heart beat specifically for Ning Xueli, and her absence felt like a physical weight on his chest.
And he was incredibly worried why Ning Xueli wasn't here yet.
"She couldn't have overslept, could she?" Mu Xiaojun asked, crossing his arms as a flicker of fire escaped his nostrils. "I know Xueli used to be a bit lazy before the Grandmaster beat that attitude out of her, but missing the opening of the Regional Tournament? That's pushing it."
Grandmaster Yu stood several paces away, leaning on a cane despite the miraculous healing of his legs.
Though the golden pills from Shen Haoran had mended his bones, his mood remained foul, and his pride was still in tatters, and now, one of his students was actually late, which would surely make him look like a fool on the world stage.
"If she isn't here in ten minutes," the Grandmaster growled, his voice thick with suppressed irritation, "we leave without her. The tournament starts in an hour, and the championships waits for no one. She can just catch up later."
Just then, the sound of rhythmic, heavy footsteps drew their attention, and they saw a middle-aged man in robes of exquisite silver-threaded silk approached.
It was Ning Xiao, the Patriarch of the Ning Clan, and father of their comrade, Ning Xueli.
The group straightened up immediately, and even the Grandmaster offered a stiff, respectful nod.
"Patriarch Ning!" Xia Ruo called out, her voice high with concern. "Is Xueli okay? We were about to head to the arena!"
Ning Xiao stopped before them, his expression a complicated tapestry of guilt, awkwardness, and a hidden, frantic excitement that he was trying desperately to suppress.
In his mind, the memory of his daughter's message from that morning was still screaming: 'I have the chance to inherit the legacy of a Supreme Emperor.'
'A Supreme Emperor!' the Patriarch thought, his heart hammering. 'The tournament is a game for children! Even if Xueli begged to join them now, I would tie her to the Profound Ark myself!'
"Everyone," Ning Xiao began, clearing his throat and offering a shallow, apologetic bow. "I apologize most sincerely. My daughter, Ning Xueli... she will not be able to participate in the tournament. Not today, and maybe not for the remainder of the event."
"What!?" Xiao Ao's sausage fell into the dirt. He looked as though he had been struck by lightning. "Is she hurt? Is everything alright?!"
"She is perfectly fine," the Patriarch said, a helpless, almost giddy smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "But something... most important... has come up. It was a sudden development, one that even I was only informed of at the break of dawn. It is an opportunity that concerns the very foundation of her future."
"An opportunity?" Tang Shan repeated, his brow furrowing.
He looked at the Patriarch's eyes and saw a glint of something that didn't look like worry. It looked like triumph.
"Patriarch, we are the Ogre Seven. We have trained together for years. To leave us without a support-type cultivator an hour before the fight... is there no other way?"
"I am terribly sorry," Ning Xiao replied, his tone final. He cupped his hands toward the group, his eyes lingering for a second on the Grandmaster. "I truly wish you all the best of luck. You are the pride of our kingdom. But as for Xueli... her path has taken a different turn. She might even, say goodbye to you all."
"W-What!? Say g-goodbye!?" Xiao Ao exclaimed, "P-Patriarch Ning, w-what exactly happened?"
Ning Xiao shook his head, "Ah. Once she is done with her business, she leave for the Central Region."
The Ogre Seven froze in shock.
The Central Region?! At that, they immediately thought of that young man who became their nightmare.
They remembered that he had invited Ning Xueli for dinner back then... Could it be something had developed between the two of them?
"That's why, I'm terribly sorry. Please find another comrade to fight with you." With that, he turned on his heel and walked away, his stride noticeably lighter, leaving behind a group of confused geniuses and a Grandmaster whose face had turned a dark, volcanic shade of red.
"She's going to the Central Region?" Mu Xiaojun whispered into the stunned silence. "And not just that, she wouldn't even participate in the tournament we had worked so hard for!? Just like that? Does this mean we have to find a replacement from the junior classes?"
The Ogre Seven looked at each other, the unity they had spent years building suddenly feeling fragile.
Xiao Ao dropped to his knees, feeling incredibly powerless. Ah, heavens, why? Why are you doing this to me!?
*
*
*
"I did it..." Xueli breathed heavily, her chest heaving as she slumped to her knees before the massive, smoking corpse of the Hell Tiger.
The kaleidoscopic aura of the Nine-Colored Dagger slowly faded, leaving only the scent of scorched fur and iron in the air.
Her hands were trembling, her robes torn and stained with soot, but her eyes held a spark of disbelief. "I... I actually killed a Hell Tiger."
"Impressive."
Shen Haoran walked beside her, his footsteps silent on the charred grass.
He looked down at her not with the cold disdain from before, but with a flicker of clinical approval as he reached into his sleeve and handed her a small porcelain bottle. "Take this and rest. You have done well, Xueli."
Xueli smiled brightly at the praise, her heart soaring higher than it had during any victory at the Academy.
To her, a word of recognition from this man was worth more than a thousand cheers from the crowds of Cao Yin Kingdom.
She took the bottle, uncorked it, and swallowed one of the fragrant pills.
Almost instantly, a cool, refreshing energy began to weave through her torn muscles and depleted meridians, jump-starting the healing process.
She crossed her legs, closed her eyes, and began to meditate, allowing the medicinal efficacy to guide her Qi through its cycles.
Haoran stood silently on the side, his arms crossed, watching the perimeter with an indifference that suggested he feared nothing in these woods.
Just then, the shadows at his feet flickered and stretched, and Qing'er emerged as if rising from a pool of ink.
"Young Master..."
"Have you found it?" Haoran asked, his voice low.
"Yes, Young Master. Just continue heading east for five miles," Qing'er reported, her voice a shadow's whisper. "You will find a thousand-meter-tall waterfall cascading into a deep basin. There is a cave hidden behind the curtain of water. Inside it lie the ruins you are looking for."
"Hm, thank you for the hard work."
"It is my honor." Qing'er bowed deeply, her form dissolving into the darkness once more before she vanished back into his shadows.
Haoran turned his attention back to Xueli.
As she sat in her meditative trance, a sudden, violent ripple of energy erupted from her body.
The surrounding leaves swirled in a mini-cyclone of crimson light, and her 8th Stage Qi Gathering strength surged, shattering the bottleneck and breaking through to the 9th Stage!
Xueli's eyes snapped open, and she stood up in sheer surprise, checking her hands and the purity of the Qi flowing through her veins. "I broke through?! How?! I just broke through a month ago! I thought I'd be stuck at the 8th Stage for at least another half a year!"
Haoran stared at her, his expression unmoving. "Don't be surprised. Qi grows much faster in life-or-death situations; the pressure of survival forces your meridians to expand, and the adrenaline tempers your foundation. That is why those cultivators who break through during the heat of battle are always much stronger than those who spend their lives in secluded cultivation. Their Qi is sharp, whereas the others was stagnant."
Xueli blinked, processing the information. The Grandmaster had always taught that safety and slow progress were the keys to a stable foundation. "Is that how it is? So the danger itself is the catalyst?"
Haoran nodded. "If you reach a bottleneck in the future, don't lock yourself in a room to cultivate. That is for those who are afraid to take a risk. Simply go to the wilds and fight a couple of demonic beasts that are stronger than you. If you survive, the breakthrough will follow."
Xueli nodded, her perspective of the cultivation world shifting under his influence. "I see. I understand. The path of the strong is written in blood."
With that said, Haoran turned and continued walking deeper into the range. "Let's go. Qing'er already found the ruins. We are close to the inheritance."
Xueli hurried to catch up, her new 9th Stage strength making her movements light and agile.
She reached into her belt and offered the Nine-Colored Dagger back to him. "Um, here. Thank you for letting me borrow it. It... it saved my life."
Haoran stared at the kaleidoscopic blade for a moment before shaking his head. "I didn't lend it to you; I gave it to you. Keep it for yourself. That thing will be useless once you reach the Core Formation realm anyway—it can't handle the density of Qi from people at that level."
Xueli's heart gave a little skip. To him, a Rank 2 Artifact was a disposable toy, but to her, it was a priceless treasure and her first gift from him.
"I-I see... thank you. I will cherish this, I promise." She smiled brightly, tucking the dagger away with a sense of pride as they ventured toward the thunderous sound of the hidden waterfall.
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VILLAINS AREN'T STEPPING STONES!C31: Silver Light
Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Silver Light
The thunderous roar of the waterfall was deafening, a relentless curtain of white noise that made the very air vibrate.
Haoran and Xueli stood at the edge of the basin, the spray of the water drenching their clothes in seconds.
From this close, the sheer volume of water falling from a thousand meters was terrifying; it was a wall of liquid kinetic force.
"I believe this is it." Said Haoran.
"Yeah, that thing could crush even a Foundation Establishment realm expert..." Xueli whispered, her voice barely audible over the crashing torrent as she looked at the cascading weight with genuine trepidation. "No, perhaps even a Core Formation expert won't be safe. Haoran, should we ask Miss Qing'er for help?"
Haoran didn't even glance at her, his golden eyes fixed on the center of the fall. "No need to trouble her for something so simple."
Suddenly, the atmosphere around Haoran changed as his golden Qi flared up, swirling around him like a solar flare before converging with violent intensity into his right palm.
The full, unbridled might of a Golden Core expert exploded from his frame, causing the ground beneath them to crack and groan.
He stepped forward and slammed his palm toward the roaring water.
"Wave Splitting Palm!"
A massive, glowing phantom of a golden palm materialized in the air, several meters wide.
It struck the waterfall with the force of a falling star, and much to Xueli's absolute shock, the thousand-meter-high curtain of water didn't just splash; it was torn apart, and even the clouds in the sky was completely split open!
The golden Qi acted like a divine wedge, forcing the water to flow to either side, exposing the dark, mossy mouth of a hidden cave.
Xueli marveled at the sheer destructive elegance of the move.
Golden Core? she thought, her mind reeling. Are you sure this is just the Golden Core stage?! This power is already as dense as a Nascent Soul's, isn't it?!
It was just now that she realized that Haoran's "Golden Core" was worlds apart from the Golden Cores she had heard described in the Eastern Region.
Before she could offer a word of praise, Haoran's hand shot out, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her into a blur of motion.
They shot through the gap in the water, their feet hitting the damp stone of the cave just as the golden palm dissipated.
Behind them, the waterfall came crashing back down with a sound like a mountain collapsing, sealing them in darkness.
Xueli leaned over, clutching her knees and gasping for air.
"That... that was too close." She looked back at the watery veil before turning her gaze to the cave. "So, this is the place, huh...wow, this is very—"
She paused, looking at the damp, stalactite-encrusted walls and the smell of wet earth and she couldn't help but let out a small groan of disappointment. "I wanted to say something poetic to mark the occasion, but this looks just like an ordinary, lame cave."
Haoran snorted in genuine amusement, the sound echoing off the jagged walls before he reached out and grabbed her hand, his fingers interlocking with hers.
"Let's go. Don't judge a book by its cover."
"Oh." Xueli nodded, her face warming slightly at the contact as she let Haoran lead her deeper into the mountain.
As they walked, the cave continued to live up to Xueli's "lame" description—it was narrow, damp, and seemingly endless.
Seriously, whoever left behind the inheritance behind this couldn't bother even decorating it?
Even placing an ever burning torch would be enough!
However, as they reached the final bend, the tunnel opened up into a massive, circular chamber.
In the center stood a pair of gargantuan, moss-covered stone gates, and unlike the rest of the cave, these were etched with intricate, flowing runes that glowed with a dim, haunting silver light.
"So this is it?" Xueli asked, her voice hushed with sudden reverence. "...gosh, even the inheritance site itself is underwhelming."
Haoran nodded, his expression turning sharp as he walked toward the gates and reached out, his hand touching the cold, ancient stone.
But the instant his palm made contact, the silence of the cave was obliterated as t gates erupted.
A blinding, supernova-like burst of silver light flooded the chamber, a light so intense that Xueli had to shield her eyes.
The entire mountain range began to tremble, rocks falling from the ceiling and the ground buckling in a violent quake.
Haoran's brow furrowed in a deep frown.
This was wrong. According to the memories he had extracted from Chu Fang, when Tang Shan found this gate, it had opened silently with a drop of blood.
This sudden, violent outburst contained the unmistakable aura of Supreme Qi—a signature so loud and piercing that it was effectively a beacon to every high-level expert in the region.
It was as if the tomb itself was screaming to the world that an intruder was here.
This didn't happen in the other timeline! Haoran realized. Could it be the Heavenly Dao? Is it trying to expose me because I'm an anomaly interfering with its favorite son's destiny?
The cave ceiling groaned, and a massive slab of stone plummeted toward them.
"Haoran!" Xueli screamed in terror.
But Haoran didn't flinch.
Just then, his shadow beneath him flickered and expanded with impossible speed, and within a heartbeat, a dome of absolute, impenetrable darkness rose from the ground, enveloping the two of them just as the mountain above gave way.
The sound of thousands of tons of rock crashing onto the dome was like the roar of a dying god, but inside the shadow dome, everything was deathly still.
*
*
*
In the heart of the Central Region, within the sprawling, celestial expanse of the Imperial Capital, sat the ancestral estate of the Shen Clan.
Here, the laws of the world seemed to bow to the sheer density of Spiritual Qi, and the very air hummed with the resonance of ancient, living power.
Chu Xueyu, the Matriarch of the Shen Clan and the mother of Shen Haoran, sat atop a throne carved from a single piece of Immortal Jade.
She had been immersed in the deep, silent rhythms of her cultivation, her presence alone stabilizing the space of the entire hall, when her eyes suddenly snapped open.
Her golden pupils—the same shade as her son's, but hardened by centuries of absolute authority—seemed to pierce through the very concept of distance and the fabric of the void.
Her gaze bypassed mountains, oceans, and the boundaries of provinces until it rested upon a desolate corner of the Eastern Region.
There, she saw Haoran standing amidst the rubble of a collapsing cave, a girl she didn't recognize clinging to his side, and the familiar, dark aura of Qing'er acting as a protective dome around them.
She shifted her gaze slightly, focusing on the source of the violent tremors: the silver Supreme Qi that was currently screaming its presence to the heavens.
Chu Xueyu let out a cold, sharp snort of pure disdain that caused the air in her throne room to crystalize into frost.
"An inheritance of a Supreme Emperor in that stagnant backyard?" she murmured, her voice like grinding gems. "Surprising, perhaps. But in the grand schemes of things, it is nothing more than a flickering candle. A Supreme of that level wouldn't even make a splash in this place."
She turned her gaze back to her son, her expression remained icy, but a glimmer of motherly love flickered in her eyes.
"Haoran, even a Supreme Emperor is still a Supreme, no matter how weak or pathetic their legacy may be. But this... this trash," she said, referring to the silver light, "it is not worthy of you. Could it be you are seeking it for that girl?"
She watched the way Haoran protected the stranger, then shook her head, pulling her divine sense back across the thousands of miles.
To a Matriarch of a Hegemon Clan, a Supreme Legacy from the "Desolate Region" was like finding a gold coin in a sewer—too bothersome to reach for, and certainly not worth dirtying yourself over it, especially when you're sitting atop a mountain of gold.
"With a commotion of this magnitude," she mused, leaning back into her jade throne, "those second-rate powers on the outskirts of the Central Region, those desperate for any scrap of heritage, will undoubtedly send their lackeys to investigate...hmm, it's just right."
As for true powers of the Imperial Capital? Those in the inner layers who walk the path of the Immortals? They wouldn't bother staining their boots for such a pathetic scrap.
She tapped her finger on the armrest of the throne, the sound echoing like a war drum. "Having Qing'er with him should be enough to quell any local pests. But it is time, Haoran."
A predatory, proud smile finally graced her lips. "It is time to stop playing in the mud and begin displaying your true talent. Let these 'geniuses' from the outskirts of the Central Region come for the silver light. Suppress them. Break their pride. Prove to the world that a scion of the Shen Clan stands above all."
She closed her eyes once more, the hall falling back into a heavy, sacred silence. "Proved your might, my son. The stage has been set."
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VILLAINS AREN'T STEPPING STONES!C32: Reaction
Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Reaction
While the Eastern Region trembled under the weight of the collapsing mountain, the ripples of the silver Supreme Qi traveled far beyond the borders of the desolate lands, reaching the senses of those who sat at the edges of the Central Region.
And the Blue Wind Kingdom also detected this.
In the eyes of the Four Cardinal Regions, Blue Wind Kingdom was a transcendent superpower, a behemoth with a genuine Saint guarding its borders.
Yet, within the predatory hierarchy of the Central Region, it was merely a third-rate power—a vassal state that jumped at the command of any pampered heir from the Imperial Capital's Great Clans.
At this moment, within the royal palace of Blue Wind, the Crown Prince Ao Long sat beneath the delicate pink petals of a peach blossom tree.
He was a man of striking beauty, with long blue hair that cascaded like a waterfall and eyes the color of a summer sky.
But his face, usually a mask of regal calm, was currently twisted in a knot of vein-popping fury.
Before him, a servant trembled in the grass. "Report... Your Highness. It has been confirmed that Lady Luo Mingye has been seen frequently in the company of the Yun Clan's heir, Yun Li. They were... they were seen at the Royal Public Park, holding hands."
CRACK.
The stone bench beneath Ao Long fractured as he felt as though a hot iron had been shoved into his chest.
One should know that he had pursued Luo Mingye for over a decade, offering her the treasures of the kingdom and the prestige of the crown, yet he had never even touched the hem of her sleeve.
And now, she was holding hands with Yun Li—a boy famously known as the "Trash of the Yun Clan"?
The trash who couldn't even break through Foundation Establishment Realm even at the age of 25!?
"That trash!" Ao Long stood up, his blue Qi swirling around him in a cold mist. "I will tear his—"
"Ao Long..." Just then, a deep voice, vibrating with the authority of a ruler, resounded throughout the yard.
Ao Long immediately checked his temper and cupped his hands, turning around behind him. "Father!"
"Hm." The King of Blue Wind stepped into the garden, his gaze steady. "Ao Long, a Supreme Inheritance has just awakened in the Eastern Region. Forget about that girl for a second. We need to act. We must secure that inheritance before the other third-rate kingdoms or the border clans catch wind of its location."
Ao Long's expression shifted instantly from jealous rage to cold calculation, after all in the grand scheme of things, a girl—no matter how beautiful—was a fleeting prize.
But a Supreme Inheritance was a ticket to higher standing. They might even have the chance to be promoted to the First Tier Power, or even a Transcendent Power with a real Supreme guarding it!
"I will have Old Hei accompany you," the King continued. "A Nirvana Rebirth realm expert should be more than enough to handle whatever trouble you encounter in that backwater place. The cultivators there are like children playing in the mud."
Ao Long nodded, but a trace of worry remained. "But father, what about the Great Clans in the Imperial Capital? If those from some Holy Lands or even some Transcendent Clan decide to intervene..."
The King shook his head dismissively. "No need to worry about those Hegemons in the Imperial Capital. To them, a Supreme Legacy from the Eastern Region is like a rusted copper coin. They wouldn't bother staining their robes for such a 'pathetic' find. It is beneath them."
"I see. Then I shall prepare for departure immediately," Ao Long replied, his eyes gleaming with a new purpose.
*
*
*
Meanwhile, in the sprawling estate of the Luo Clan, another conversation was taking place.
Luo Mingye, a woman whose beauty was whispered to be a match for the forest spirits of legend, sat on her knees upon a woven mat, her long green hair falling perfectly at her back.
Before her sat a muscular old man with a scarred face and green hair—the Elder Patriarch of the Luo Clan.
He sipped his tea with a rugged elegance.
"I heard you have gotten quite close with that brat from the Yun Clan lately?" the old man asked, his eyes sharp over the rim of his cup.
Luo Mingye offered a faint, mysterious smile. "Not that close, Grandfather. But Yun Li is... interesting. He is smart, cunning, and sees the world through eyes that are far too old for his body. I don't know why the city continues to label him as trash."
The old man sighed, setting his cup down. "It is likely political theater. The King has been wary of the Yun Clan's private military for years. If Yun Li had shown any talent, he would have met with an 'accident' long ago. The boy was wise to hide his true capabilities. But now, it seems the Yun Clan believes there is no longer a need for hiding."
Luo Mingye blinked, her emerald eyes widening. "You mean—?"
The Patriarch nodded. "Yes. That old monster, Yun Kuang, has successfully broken through to the Profound Saint Realm. His lifespan has been extended by another thousand years. With a Saint in the house, even the Royal Family must walk on eggshells. They can no longer act recklessly against the Yun bloodline."
Luo Mingye went silent, her mind drifting to the "trash" heir who had held her hand with such casual confidence.
"Indeed. A Saint is a troublesome opponent, even for the Royal Family. Not to mention the Yun Clan's military is loyal to them, not the crown." She shook her head, focusing back on her grandfather. "But let's forget about the local politics for a moment. Why have you called me here, Grandfather? You look as though you're preparing for a campaign."
The old man's expression turned deathly serious as he leaned forward, his voice dropping to a gravelly whisper. "I want you to head to the Eastern Region this instant. A Supreme Emperor's Inheritance has just awakened, and the silver light is visible even from our borders. Do everything in your power to get it."
Luo Mingye's breath hitched. A Supreme Emperor's legacy? In the Eastern Region?
She looked toward the east, a sense of excitement brewing inside her.
After all, this will be the first time she will leave the confines of their kingdom. "I understand, Grandfather. I will leave at once."
*
*
*
Deep within the sprawling fortifications of the Yun Clan, a youth sat motionless upon a bed of cold, spirit-attracting jade.
To the servants who passed his door, Yun Li was a mystery—a man once mocked as the "Trash Heir", but had suddenly shed his skin of incompetence to reveal a core of magnificent and talented brilliance.
Some thought he had been hiding his talent; others thought he had found a miraculous herb that had turned him into a genius.
But the truth was far more profound.
Yun Li was not the original owner of this body. He was a transmigrator from a distant, mundane world called Blue Star.
In his previous life, he had been nothing more than an ordinary college student, a face in the crowd until a fatal accident tore him from his reality and transmigrated into this world of Cultivation as the trash heir of the Yun Clan.
Not only that, he hadn't come to this world empty-handed, as deep in his soul, he carried the singular treasure that had facilitated his crossing: a yellowed, tattered page of old paper he had once bought from a shady street vendor for a few coins during a festival.
On that paper was inscribed the Falling Immortal Sutra.
It was a technique of staggering arrogance, as according to its cryptic introduction, if practiced to absolute perfection, even a lowly mortal would possess the strength to slay an Immortal.
And using that, in just one year of secret cultivation, Yun Li had utilized this singular page to shatter the chains of his "trash" talent.
He had surged from the 9th Stage of Qi Gathering to the 9th Stage of Foundation Establishment, a speed of progression that would make even the geniuses of the Central Region look like snails.
Just then, a rhythmic knock sounded against the heavy oak of his chamber door. Yun Li exhaled a cloud of turbid Qi, his eyes snapping open with a flash of cold, violet light.
"Come in."
The door creaked open, and his father, the Clan Leader of the Yun Family, stepped inside. His face was etched with a gravity that Yun Li had rarely seen.
"Father," Yun Li said, standing up and smoothing his robes. "Do you need something?"
The Clan Leader nodded, his voice dropping to a low, urgent whisper. "Son, you need to hurry up and go to the Eastern Region at once. An inheritance of a Supreme Emperor has just awakened, and I want you to do everything in your power to get it, no matter what. Old Hao will accompany you."
Hearing that, Yun Li's eyes widened for a moment.
"Supreme Emperor..." Yun Li muttered, a spark of awe flickering in his eyes before being replaced by a hunger for power.
Having been in this world for a year, he understood the weight of that title. A Supreme Emperor was the pinnacle, a being capable of flipping the heavens and crushing the earth with a casual gesture.
His current kingdom—a landmass larger than all the continents of Blue Star combined—didn't even possess a single trace of such power.
Only the legendary Hegemons within the Imperial Capital were rumored to have Supremes guarding their halls.
Yet, such a treasure had appeared in the Eastern Region—a place his father's scrolls described as a "Desolate Region" filled with low-level cultivators and stagnant bloodlines.
'Heh,' Yun Li thought, a confident smirk spreading across his face. 'Truly a case of a poor man sitting atop a gold mine, completely ignorant of the treasure hidden beneath his own feet. They are probably still hitting the stone with sticks while a god's power was waiting to be taken.'
"Very well, Father," Yun Li said, his voice ringing with a certainty that left no room for doubt. "I will head out at once. I'll make sure to bring that inheritance back to the Yun Clan."
Inside, his heart was pounding with the thrill of the hunt.
After all, he wasn't just a cultivator; he was a Son of Heaven, a transmigrator with a golden finger that no one in this world has heard of.
Could a man like him lose to a bunch of local, native "geniuses" who didn't even know the true scale of the universe?
'I'd be the laughingstock of the transmigrator brotherhood if I let some local brat beat me to the punch,' he thought, clenching his fist as the power of the Falling Immortal Sutra thrummed in his veins.
'Eastern Region, Central Region... it doesn't matter. Everything in this world is just a stepping stone for my ascension.'
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VILLAINS AREN'T STEPPING STONES!C33: Supremacy
Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Supremacy
The shadows of the collapsed cave still clung to the jagged rocks like ink as the black dome protecting Haoran and Xueli finally dissolved into mist.
Haoran stood in the center of the devastation, his arm possessively anchored around Xueli's waist.
They look around, and the landscape was now completely unrecognizable.
The thousand-meter waterfall had been choked out by the landslide, its roar replaced by a haunting, dusty silence.
Above them, the clear blue sky was revealed for the first time in who knows how many years, but the focal point remained the massive stone gate.
It stood defiant amidst the rubble, pulsing with a rhythmic, hypnotic silver light.
Haoran clicked his tongue, the sound sharp in the quiet air. Seriously, with this commotion, those people from the central region would surely send some people to check.
Although he wasn't afraid them, but it would be incredibly annoying.
"Qing'er, can you destroy that thing?" he commanded through their mental link.
"Apologies, Young Master," Qing'er's voice echoed in his mind, tinged with a rare note of helplessness. "The seal on that gate is woven with the remnants of a Supreme's life-essence. To forcibly shatter it would require the strength of a Heavenly Saint. Anything less will only trigger a defensive backlash that could level this entire mountain range."
Haoran gave a curt nod before he stepped forward and placed a palm against the cold stone.
This time, there was no supernova of light, no violent tremor—the gate simply remained eerily still, as if it were dormant, waiting for a specific key.
In the timeline Haoran had stolen from Chu Fang, Tang Shan had opened this gate while at the Core Formation realm.
Now, the "Protagonist" was still struggling in the Foundation Establishment stage. So is this gate unresponsive because it was waiting for him? Or is it waiting for another anomaly?
Heh, Heavens really doesn't want good things to fall into the hands of a villain like them.
Haoran let out a breath of irritation. Well, no matter, he can wait. He doubt there is anyone in this world who can take this inheritance right before him anyway.
With that thought, he reached into his spatial ring and pulled out a magnificent golden throne, made from the bones of a Golden Dragon.
He placed it squarely in front of the gate and sat down, crossing one leg over the other with the casual grace of a king waiting for his court.
"Um, Haoran... should we just wait?" Xueli asked, her voice small as she looked at the mountain of rubble surrounding them.
"There is nothing else we can do for now," Haoran replied, leaning his head back against the golden throne as he closed his eyes, as if to take a rest. "Besides, I find myself curious about the 'talents' who think they can claim a treasure under my nose."
"Oh, okay then." Xueli sat on the armrest of the throne, looking at the sky in boredom. "I hope it won't take long. I can easily get bored."
Right on cue, the sky began to bleed as the air distorted, rippling like heat haze, and one by one, dozens of massive Profound Arks began to emerge from the void.
These were not the crude vessels of the Eastern Region; these were the warships of the Central Region's outskirts, decorated with the banners of kingdoms like the Sun Bird and the Blue Wind, and other symbols.
Xueli trembled, her pitiful 9th stage Qi Gathering strength feeling like a candle in a hurricane as she stuck close to Haoran's side.
As the Arks appeared, the sky was suddenly filled with the overwhelming pressure of hundreds of experts.
'These are definitely not from Eastern Region.' Xueli thought.
Just then, dozens of streaks of light shot down from the hovering arks, slamming into the ground with enough force to kick up plumes of dust.
Then, out of the craters stepped groups of young men and women, all dressed in the extravagant silks of high nobility, their faces etched with the arrogance that comes from being the "number one" in their respective territories.
"Oh? It seems someone beat us to the punch." A young man with wild, yellow hair and a savage grin stepped forward. He wore a set of golden armor that shimmered with spirit-flame. "Hey, buddy! You the one who woke this thing up?"
The crowd behind him began to whisper, their voices filled with awe and fear.
"That's Jin Pei, the Crown Prince of the Sun Bird Kingdom! I heard he reached the Golden Core Realm at only thirty years old!"
"He's a maniac. They say he once slaughtered an entire branch family because their tea was too cold!"
"So even they were attracted by this inheritance."
"Fool. This is a Supreme's Inheritance!"
Haoran didn't even open his eyes, he simply leaned back into his throne, resting his chin on his hand.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Jin Pei growled.
Slowly, Haoran raised his other hand and pointed a single, lazy finger toward the dirt at his feet.
Jin Pei's grin faltered, his brow furrowing in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean, brat? Are you deaf?"
Haoran's voice was like a cold silk sliding across a blade. "I don't like talking to people while I have to look up. So... kneel down."
The silence that followed was absolute.
The gathered geniuses stared with wide eyes, their breath catching in their throats.
Most were shocked by his audacity, but a few—those who had been fortunate enough to visit the Imperial Capital—suddenly widened their eyes in recognition, before their faces turned deathly pale.
They recognized that golden hair, that overwhelming arrogance, and that bored, sovereign posture.
Four Years ago, when the heir of the Shen Clan turned Sixteen, they invited almost every first rate powers in the Central Region to attend his birthday.
And some third rate and second rate powers wanting to build connections shamelessly clung to some first rate powers just to attend.
There, they witness the overbearing pride and arrogance of that young man, who had even humiliated an Imperial Prince!
In the Imperial Capital, you might survive not knowing the face of a Prince, but if you didn't recognize the Heir of the Shen Clan, you were already a dead man walking.
Those who knew him took several steps back, their eyes darting around as they prayed Jin Pei's stupidity wouldn't splash onto them.
As for stopping Jin Pei...please! If they offended Shen Haoran over that and invited a disaster, then they wouldn't even have time to regret it!
"You—!" Jin Pei's face turned a violent shade of purple as he took a heavy step forward, his Golden Core aura erupting in a blaze of yellow flames. "Do you know who I am?!"
But the moment his foot hit the ground, the world changed.
A pressure as heavy as a collapsing star slammed into Jin Pei's shoulders, his innards immediately feeling like they were about to burst.
This feeling didn't come from just Qi, but something a dao.
Upon reaching Golden Core, a Cultivator's Qi undergoes a qualitative transformation, making it no longer just a neutral energy, but a Law-Imprinted Qi, a Qi that carries the cultivator's will, intent, and understanding of existence.
In other words, their Dao.
At this stage, their Qi behaves less like power and more like a partial law.
Two Golden Core cultivators with identical cultivation levels are never equal as victory is determined by whose Qi expresses a more complete law.
For Cultivators, a Dao is the path they walk, and they must firmly follow it until they reach the peak, to turn your back on your own Dao is to risk destroying yourselves from the inside out.
For Haoran, his Dao was simple.
Supremacy.
Jin Pei's knees buckled instantly, the stone beneath him shattering as he was forced onto all fours.
He tried to roar, to apologize, to scream—but before he could even draw a breath, Haoran's boot descended, pressing the Crown Prince's face deep into the dirt.
"Now," Haoran said, finally opening his golden eyes to look down at the groveling genius. "You can speak."
Xueli, who was still sitting on the armrest of the throne, stared at Haoran, her eyes literally sparkling.
'So cool!' she screamed internally, her heart racing. 'When can I be as cool as this?! Holy crap!'
Growing up as the heiress of the Ning Clan, Xueli had been a "Little Witch"—arrogant, mischievous, and spoiled.
She had looked down on many, becoming completely wild, doing whatever she wanted even in the presence of Kings and Royalties.
After all, her clan was the richest in the Eastern Region and her Grandpa Sword was recognised as the strongest Swordsman in the Region!
But now, looking at Haoran, she had realized that her "arrogance" was child's play, after all, even she had never even dreamed of making a Crown Prince of a foreign kingdom kneel just to facilitate a conversation.
This wasn't just arrogance; this was Absolute Dominance!
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