Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

The Clocktower.

This is the massive, levitating gothic structure located high above the academy city, a monument of great authority suspended in the clouds where the wind howled relentlessly against stained glass windows.

It is the sanctum where the legendary Ten Sages and several highest-ranking Master Teachers gather to orchestrate the destiny of the empire’s youth.

It represents the pinnacle of institutional power, a place where a single decree could alter the fate of every students currently studying in the academy.

And not just current students, but even those who have already graduated.

There were a time when the Empire is being invaded by demonic cultivators or barbaric tribes from the vast wilderness, and the Academy simply sent a word, and every students who had graduated from the academy all rallied together and resist the invasion, saving the entire empire.

Right now, the entire assembly of the Ten Sages, with the sole exception of the missing Ye Hongyan, was seated here in the main courtroom.

The chamber was a grand amphitheater of carved dark stone, lit by the flickering glow of ancient essence lanterns.

Here, on elevated obsidian thrones, they decide how to run the academy, manage resource streams, and maintain the fragile balance of power within the empire.

Normally, meetings that would require the attendance of more than half of the ten sages already concerns the entire empire.

But at this moment, nine of them have actually gathered.

Venerable Sky Cloud, the leader of the Ten Sages and a man who said to be the closest to becoming a Rank 11 Master Teacher, looked incredibly solemn.

His long, snow-white eyebrows were tightly knit, and his hands rested heavily on the armrests of his grand throne.

Earlier this morning, just as the first rays of dawn broke over the horizon, crystal clear videos of one of their high ranking elders almost killing a student and brutally insulting one of the Ten Sages had spread like wildfire through every single communication matrix and transmission array across the campus.

The public outrage was palpable, threatening to shatter the immaculate reputation of the Imperial Academy.

They had gathered here in this emergency session today specifically to discuss how to deal with the catastrophic aftermath, to draft a public response, and to figure out how to handle the compromised Elder Mu Chen.

However, before they can even begin their formal deliberations, before the first scroll could be unrolled or the first vote cast, the doors had been unceremoniously breached, and they were stopped completely.

Venerable Sky Cloud stared intently at the young figure standing directly in the center of the courtroom floor, looking all nonchalant, smiling playfully at the gathered highest ranking leaders of the academy while showing absolutely no ounce of fear or respect.

"Heiress of the Gu Clan, what exactly do you mean by this?" asked Venerable Sky Cloud, his deep, resonant voice vibrating through the stone chamber, carrying the heavy pressure of his cultivation.

That’s right. Standing right in front of the ruling council of the academy is none other than Gu Xunyi, her dark purple qipao fitting perfectly on her body, emphasizing her great feminine curves, as she stood with her arms crossed comfortably under her chest.

"I don’t mean anything by it, honored elder," Gu Xunyi chuckled softly, her voice melodic yet carrying an underlying tone of chilling amusement.

She raised her slender, pale hand, casually using her index finger to slowly twirl the long, dark tips of her purple braid that was hanging casually over her shoulders.

"Then why have you come here to interrupt our sacred council?" one of the elderly Sages on the left terrace asked, his voice sharp with indignant fury at her lack of protocol.

"That, too, without even asking us for formal permission to enter our chambers," said another one of the Sages on the right, slamming his palm against his desk, the spiritual shockwave dissipating harmlessly against the room’s defensive arrays.

Gu Xunyi stared at them, her blood-red eyes slowly scanning the elevated thrones, completely matching the heavy gazes of the absolute masters of the institution without flinching for a single fraction of a second.

"Honored sages, let us not waste precious breath on formalities. I just came here because I want to stop you all from interfering in the events unfolding below today, that’s all."

"Interfering?" The sages stared at each other, thoroughly confused and deeply insulted by the sheer audacity of her demand.

Did a freshman truly just walk into the supreme court to command the rulers of the academy to sit on their hands?

Besides, they don’t even know what she meant by not interfering. They didn’t do anything that somehow made them offend the Gu Clan, did they?

However, Venerable Sky Cloud’s expression turned even more solemn, a flash of profound, weary realization dawning in his old eyes as he connected the pieces of the puzzle.

He knew the background of the young man involved, the one Elder Mu had offended, and he knew the ruthless nature of the Immortal Lineages, especially the Shen Clan.

"So in the end... that boy still wouldn’t let Mu Chen go," said Venerable Sky Cloud, letting out a heavy, defeated sigh that seemed to echo the tragic inevitability of the situation.

He doesn’t even need to investigate, he knew that Shen Haoran was driving this entire play from behind the scenes.

That ten million points was only used to buy Mu Chen some time, but not completely save him.

Gu Xunyi shrugged her shoulders casually, an incredibly amused smirk splitting her pale face.

"He’s a Shen, after all. Pettiness, extreme possessiveness, and beautiful hypocrisy are woven directly into their very genetic code. If someone scratches their shield, they destroy that person’s entire world. You should know this by now, Elder."

Venerable Sky Cloud stared at her, his spiritual aura flaring slightly, causing the air in the courtroom to turn heavy and suffocating.

"So you are truly going to stand there and try to stop us from interfering? You do know that we hold the absolute highest authority in this academy, right? Our word is law within these walls, Student Gu."

Gu Xunyi chuckled, shaking her head slowly as if she were listening to a small child boasting about a wooden sword.

"Honored Elder, it seems you and your council have enjoyed the fleeting sweetness of prestige and institutional power for so long that you have completely forgotten the fundamental reality of this world..."

She took a slow step forward, the manic, predatory light in her crimson eyes flaring to life as she looked up at the thrones.

"...The Shen Immortal Clan was the exact power behind the founding of this entire academy, and we, the Gu Clan, were the ones who generously provided every single shred of ancient knowledge, cultivation scrolls, and historical archives that you can find within your precious library. In other words, the Immortal Clans built the foundation you stand upon."

At that blunt, chilling declaration, the entire chamber of the Ten Sages went completely silent.

The heavy, suffocating aura of the masters instantly froze.

Indeed. Because the legendary, aloof Immortal Clans rarely ever send their true direct descendants to study here—and even when they occasionally did in the past centuries, they would only send the lowest, peripheral branch members who were still weak enough to be afraid of institutional rules—the council of Sages had completely forgotten this fundamental, terrifying fact over the generations.

Those high and mighty Immortal Clans were the true, unyielding core of this entire empire.

The Imperial Academy? It was not built out of a noble desire for education. The Shen Clan had forcefully dictated the terms to the Imperial Family, forcing them to establish this massive institution solely so that the clan could harvest the ambient worldly luck generated by gathering thousands of young geniuses in one place.

And seeing the immense benefits, the other supreme Immortal Clans had all followed suit, treating the academy as a convenient playground to filter talent.

Although the Ten Sages did indeed hold the highest day-to-day administrative authority within the Academy, that was only because the true masters of the Immortal Clans simply couldn’t care less about managing the mundane details of the school, so they allowed the Sages to play at being kings.

But now, the true Heiress of the Gu Immortal Clan was standing directly before them, acting as the explicit proxy for the direct heir of the Shen Clan, physically preventing them from making a single move to protect their elder.

If they chose to force their way past her, if they dared to defy the unspoken boundary she had just drawn... they wouldn’t even know what catastrophic retribution would befall the academy before the sun set.

The wrath of two Immortal Clans could erase the entire academy dimension from the entirety of existence.

"Now that we’ve got that little history lesson out of the way," Gu Xunyi smiled beautifully at them, her blood-red eyes glinting with a sharp, lethal intensity that promised absolute devastation if refused.

She rested her hands back on her hips, her tone dripping with mock politeness.

"Stay right here in your beautiful tower and don’t interfere with what happens on the ground today... would you kindly?"

The Sages remained absolutely silent, their hands clenched on their thrones, entirely paralyzed by the unyielding weight of the true masters of the world.

However, one of them still wanted to speak out and enforce justice.

He stood up, "Student Gu, maybe we can—"

Gu Xunyi raised a finger and put it in front of her lips, stopping him from speaking. Then, she smiled at him, tilting her head, "When a man chooses, a slave must obey.... So, would you kindly?"

A slave.

That’s what she thinks of these Sages praised and honored throughout the empire.

And honestly, they couldn’t even do anything about it.

They simply stared at her, and said nothing.