Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

Inside the absolute, sprawling luxury of the Falling Blossom Villa’s central grand hall, the atmosphere was nothing short of magnificent.

The towering columns of white jade and polished cedar wood were draped in woven silks that shimmered under the warm, ambient light of floating spiritual lamps.

A massive, roaring fireplace filled the back wall, casting a cozy, golden radiance across the entire room, illuminating the sheer volume of high-grade spiritual wines, roasted heavenly beast meats, and exotic crystal fruits piled high on the long banquet tables.

The heavy, oppressive air of the burning academy city outside was completely, utterly forgotten within this secure sanctuary.

In the center of the grand hall, positioned perfectly on a massive, plush velvet couch, sat Shen Haoran.

He leaned back into the deep cushions, his posture entirely relaxed, his long arms spread wide over the luxurious armrests with an air of absolute, nonchalant supremacy.

Sitting closely on his right side was the fiery, sharp-tongued Huo Yue, who was casually swirling a cup of premium crimson wine, her crimson eyes scanning the room with intensity.

She was waiting for anyone to bring up the bet, because she knew that she won!

On his absolute left side sat the elegant, flawlessly composed Gu Xunyi, who had just smoothly arrived from her tense standoff in the Clocktower, her gentle smile hiding a mind that had just thoroughly outmaneuvered the ancient sages of the realm.

Spread across the rest of the vast room, lounging on luxurious silk cushions, leaning against the banquet tables, and pacing around with drinks in their hands, was the complete assembly of the villa’s inner circle.

The full roster of the Shen Clan’s Ten Crowns was present: Shen Tao, Shen Fei, Shen Xinye, Shen Jian, Shen Ji, Shen Xun’er, Shen Hei, Shen Cai, Shen Bai, and the ever-listless Shen Ying.

Standing alongside them were the core ladies of the villa, entirely recovered from the day’s physical strain: Qian Yunxi, Ling Luochen, Luo Mingye, Xia Mengyao, Xu Xiansu, Ning Xueli, and Zhu Ziyan.

"I am telling you all, it was a work of pure engineering genius!" Shen Cai boomed loudly, standing on top of a low wooden stool in the middle of the room as he lifted a golden goblet of wine high into the air.

He was already thoroughly drunk, his face flushed red as he addressed the crowded hall. "The exact moment that old fossil Xiao Long pulled out his Spirit Avatar, I didn’t even flinch! I just slapped my baby—the Kind-of-Sort-of Academy Compliant And Campus Safety Approved Cannon—and stuffed a hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones right into its belly! BOOM! One shot! The giant popped like a cheap soap bubble! It was glorious!"

"For the love of the ancestors, Shen Cai, please stop calling it that ridiculous name," Shen Hei groaned from a nearby couch, heavily massaging his temples as he buried his face in his hands. "Every single time you shout that name out loud, I feel a piece of my soul actively wither away from pure cringe. You have a Rank 8 siege weapon, and you named it like an academy bureaucrat’s safety pamphlet."

"You just don’t appreciate the subtle, tactical beauty of compliance!" Shen Cai laughed hysterically, nearly slipping off his stool before Shen Bai silently, expressionlessly reached out a single hand and anchored his ankle to keep him from crashing into a fruit platter.

Shen Bai offered a slow, stoic nod toward Shen Cai. "The name is practical. It confuses the enemy before the blast vaporizes them. It is highly efficient."

"See?! Shen Bai gets it! Be always understands true art!" Shen Cai cheered, tossing a plump, glowing spiritual grape straight into his mouth.

"I still think my controlled cauldron explosion would have had a much cleaner, more devastating radius," Shen Ying muttered listlessly from her corner of the room.

She was sitting curled up into a tiny ball on a massive silk cushion, looking completely exhausted.

"If I had just snapped my fingers a second earlier, the concussive backlash of the exploding herbs would have turned both the master and the disciple into beautiful, colorful fertilizer for next spring’s harvest. What a waste of premium organic materials."

"Please, let’s not talk about that while we are trying to eat premium roasted dragon-pheasant," Shen Xinye sighed deeply, a polite but completely exhausted smile on her lips as she adjusted her robes.

Shen Ying shrugged.

"By the way, I’m curious." Luo Mingye spoke out, "What are you going to do with that mushroom earlier, sister Shen Ying?"

Shen Ying stared at her, went silent for a moment, before she mumbled. "...sell drugs."

Silence.

"... d-don’t you mean pills?" Asked Xia Mengyao, hopefully.

Shen Ying shook her head, "Literal drugs. The illegal kind. The kind that gets you so addicted you wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it."

"....but why?" Xia Mengyao asked, exasperated.

"Money. Power." Shen Ying mumbled.

Once she got the students here addicted to her drugs, it would be very easy to control them.

And if they returned to their respective powers in the future, it will be like controlling half of the cultivation world in her palms.

"...okay." Qian Yunxi tried to awkwardly switch the subject, "Sister Mingye, why don’t you play us some music?"

Luo Mingye’s eyes sparkled as she immediately stood up and took out her zither, "Alright! Leave it to me! I promise my music won’t disappoint everyone!"

With that, she started playing, and the rather awkward atmosphere slowly dissipated.

On the side, Huo Yue hummed along with the music as dhe leaned forward from the right side of the couch, her sharp eyes locking tightly onto Xu Xiansu, who was sitting abnormally quiet on a cushioned chair a few feet away.

Xu Xiansu was holding her wine cup with both hands, staring intently at the swirling liquid as if it contained the deepest secrets of the universe, her face still radiating a faint, unstoppable pink glow.

Ever since she had returned from the tree dimension, her usual sharp, combative, and proudly independent demeanor had been completely replaced by an eerie, soft silence.

"Hey, Xiansu," Huo Yue called out loudly, her voice dripping with a highly competitive, suspicious amusement. "Are you still broken from that peach tree? You haven’t insulted me even once since we got back, and you didn’t even complain about the quality of the dragon-pheasant spices. If you’ve suddenly lost your fighting spirit inside that ancient vault, just say the word so I can officially kick you out."

Xu Xiansu’s ears instantly turned bright red at the call-out, her mind immediately flashed back to her grand realization inside the dark void, and her gaze subconsciously, helplessly flicked toward Shen Haoran’s calm, handsome profile sitting on the couch.

The moment her eyes met his golden gaze, her throat completely locked up, and she fiercely averted her face, staring hard at the opposite wall.

"I-I am perfectly fine, you loud-mouthed swine!" Xu Xiansu stammered out, her voice dropping into that uncharacteristically soft, sweet, and stuttered tone again, completely ruining the aggressive impact of her words. "The inheritance was simply... highly profound. My mind is currently preoccupied with stabilizing my newly elevated 4th Stage Golden Core foundation. I have no time to bicker with someone who doesn’t even appreciate fine culinary arts."

Ziyan blinked. Hey, she knew that look. That’s the look of someone who realized they are in love.

That’s the look she wore every morning when she looked at the mirror.

"Sister Xiansu, it seems you realized your feelings back there in that inheritance dimension."

"Shut up, Ziyan!" Xu Xiansu hissed, her face burning so hot she felt like she was actively channeling a fire array.

Ning Xueli chuckled at her, "What’s there to be embarrassed about? At least now, you don’t have to hold yourself back from going inside his room."

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Xu Xiansu glared at him, "Do you want to die, Xueli!?"

"Enough!" Shen Jian suddenly slammed his heavy bronze cup onto the wooden table with a resounding thud, the sharp kinetic force sloshing his wine over the rim and instantly silencing everyone in the grand hall.

He turned his gaze slowly towards the stunned crowd and grinned like a maniac, his eyes gleaming with absolute, chaotic mischief.

"Everyone! Listen up! You all need to pay up your lost bets to Huo Yue very soon! Earlier today, during the absolute height of the campus chaos, we saw the young master himself casually holding Teacher Ye’s waist! I’m completely, one hundred percent sure that if he just waved his hand right now, she’d climb his bed without a single shred of hesitation!"

An absolute, breathless silence dropped like a heavy anchor across the room.

Then, an explosion of incredibly loud noises of sheer disbelief and profound awe resounded from every single corner of the hall, the crowns and the villa girls nearly choking on their drinks.

"Young master, you are an absolute god among men!" Shen Cai dramatically threw himself off his wooden stool and literally kowtowed face-first before the velvet couch, his voice shaking with mock-reverence.

"A god! A true legend!" Shen Hei and Shen Ji immediately followed his lead, dropping to their knees out of pure, unadulterated fun, their laughter echoing off the white jade columns.

Shen Bai simply rolled his eyes at the pathetic display, taking a calm sip of his clear wine. "Idiots. Absolute idiots."

"That’s right! That’s right! That’s exactly right!" Huo Yue suddenly jumped up from her spot on the couch, her face splitting into a massive, triumphant grin as she pointed aggressively at the crowd. "All of you losers better pay up your points right now! No extensions!"

With a proud, swaggering stride, she marched over and stood directly in front of the seated Xu Xiansu, crossing her arms tightly over her chest and looking all the way down her nose at her rival with a gaze of ultimate victory.

Xu Xiansu frowned deeply, her grip tightening around her glass as she tried to ignore the hot flush creeping up her neck. "The hell? What is that look supposed to mean?"

"Woman, I look down my nose at you, implying that I am superior to you!" Huo Yue huffed, her chest puffing out proudly.

Xu Xiansu felt her left cheek violently twitch in profound annoyance, her standard stubborn pride flaring through her embarrassment. "That gesture means nothing, you loud-mouthed buffoon."

"Oh yeah? Then let me ask you this: how many points do you currently have?" Huo Yue smirked, leaning down slightly to gloat directly into her face.

Xu Xiansu felt the veins on her forehead visibly pop from sheer irritation.

The delicate, romantic fog that had settled over her mind since leaving the tree vanished, replaced by pure, instinctual combat fury. Immediately, she stood up abruptly from her chair and aggressively tried to shove her fingers straight up into Huo Yue’s nose.

But Huo Yue’s battle reflexes were incredibly sharp; she reacted instantly with a flash of speed, snapping her head back and backing away three paces into the open floor.

"The hell was that for?!"

Xu Xiansu grinned savagely, cracking her knuckles as her Golden Core qi rippled through her sleeves. "I shove my fingers right at your nose, implying that you are a complete and total idiot."

"Oh, now you’ve truly done it, bitch," Huo Yue growled, rolling up her nonexistent silk sleeves as bright, crimson red flames suddenly erupted across her open palms. "I was going to be nice, but you asked for this."

"Bring it on, you brainless sow," Xu Xiansu motioned at her with a curling gesture of her hand, her newly refined qi humming beneath her skin.

Shen Xun’er, who had been sitting bored out of her mind and entirely silent on the edge of a velvet cushion, immediately perked up at the sight of impending violence.

Her eyes lit up with absolute joy, and she grinned wildly, pumping her fists into the air.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

The others joined in, and Luo Mingye even changed her music to epic final boss battle sound.

Just then, right amidst the rising chaotic noise, Shen Haoran calmly put down his glass of wine onto the obsidian side table with a soft, distinct click.

Gu Xunyi, who had been sitting quietly and leaning comfortably on his broad shoulders throughout the entire party, immediately looked up at him, her sharp gaze picking up on his subtle shift in posture.

"Are you leaving?"

Haoran smiled gently down at her, his golden eyes completely serene. "Yeah."

Hearing his calm voice, everyone in the grand hall instantly went completely silent, their chaotic arguments freezing mid-breath as every single head turned towards the central couch to face him.

Gu Xunyi gracefully moved away from his shoulders, smoothing down her elegant skirts as he stood up from the plush velvet cushions, his tall, imposing figure commanding the room without a single shred of effort.

"I still have somewhere to be," Haoran said, his eyes scanning the quiet, respectful faces of his inner circle with a polite, indifferent smile. "You guys continue to enjoy the night to the fullest."

Without waiting for a single verbal response or an official farewell from the crowns, he turned and immediately left the grand hall, his dark robes flowing behind him as the heavy wooden doors clicked shut.

His sudden departure left a brief, incredibly awkward silence hanging over the remaining crowd.

But the peaceful quiet only lasted for a single, solitary second.

Taking a merciless advantage of the sudden distraction, Xu Xiansu immediately drove a powerful, straight punch directly into Huo Yue’s left cheek while everyone was still staring at the closed doors.

*BOOM!*

"Ow! You cheap, cheating snake!" Huo Yue screamed as she stumbled back, her flames erupting toward the ceiling.

Within the blink of an eye, the ear shattering commotion started once again, with wine cups flying, cushions being tossed, and the Crowns cheering loudly as the two rivals of the group began completely tearing the grand hall apart.