Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

Chapter 176: Chapter 176: Eliminate

The morning light filtered through the ornate jade-carved window frames of one of Jiang-Shen Family Villa, casting long, geometric shadows across the plush silk carpets.

The villa, a sprawling estate nestled in the heart of the Main City’s most prestigious district, was a testament to the family’s standing, yet the atmosphere inside was heavy with the silence of contemplation.

Shen Xinye sat on the edge of her bed, her posture rigid, her gaze fixed on the bustling city streets visible through the window.

Her mind, however, was miles away, trapped in a loop of the Divine Arena’s dusty floor.

The tournament had ended, the cheers had faded, but the memory of her loss against Shen Haoran remained fresh, like an open wound that refused to cauterize.

It was a defeat so thorough, so surgically precise, that no one, not the branch families, not the elders, not even her own pride, could question it.

However, what frustrated her even more than the loss itself was the insult to her craft.

Her Sword Qi Bullets, a technique she had painstakingly developed over years of secluded meditation, balancing the volatile pressure of her intent with the focus of her spirit, had been dismantled in an instant.

Haoran had not just defeated the technique she took pride in, he had pirated it.

He had mastered it simply by seeing it once, refining it and throwing it back at her with a proficiency that suggested he had known it for decades.

It was so incredibly frustrating that even now, three weeks after the tournament, she has yet to move on.

Beside her, her mother, Shen Xiu, sat in a high-backed sandalwood chair, her hands moving with practiced grace as she peeled a spirit-apple as the silver blade of the fruit knife glinted in the sunlight.

”How is it?” Shen Xiu asked softly, her voice carrying the subtle weight of maternal concern. ”The feeling of facing him?”

Shen Xinye let out a long, weary sigh.

”Strong,” she whispered, her voice devoid of its usual sharp edge. ”He is strong to the point that it will make anyone, even a genius, feel the cold touch of despair. This is truly a disastrous era for the current generation, Mother. The moment he was born, it was if the universe declared that everyone else can only fight for the second place, like we are all just background actors in his legend.”

”Hmph,” Shen Xiu snorted, dropping a slice of apple into a crystal bowl. ”If it weren’t for that wretched curse those demons planted on you, forcing you to marry that useless man, I think you and the young master would have been a match made in heaven.”

Shen Xinye’s eyes flickered with a brief, tired annoyance. ”Mother, enough of this. He is the Heir, and I am the Fourth Crown. We are colleagues at best, rivals at worst. Do not speak of such impossible unions.”

”It’s the truth,” Shen Xiu insisted, her eyes narrowing.

Shen Xinye shook her head, ”There is no need to think of the what ifs. I am married, and that fact won’t change.”

Just then, a frantic, heavy knocking resounded against the heavy oak doors of the chamber.

The rhythm was erratic, signaling an emergency that bypassed the usual palace etiquette.

Mother and daughter turned toward the door in unison.

”Come in!” Shen Xiu commanded, her voice regaining its sharpness.

A female servant burst into the room, her hair disheveled and her breathing ragged and she even nearly tripped over the rug as she bowed frantically.

”Y-Young Miss! Madam! It’s Ye Feng! He’s gotten into a direct conflict with a descendant of the Tai-Shen branch family in the marketplace! And... and the Young Master is there!”

”What!?” Shen Xiu’s eyes widened, the apple peel dropping to the floor.

Shen Xinye didn’t say a word as she was already on her feet, her sword intent flaring for a split second as she vanished into a blur of silver light, heading toward the city center.

*

*

*

Back in the crowded thoroughfare of the Main City, the atmosphere was thick enough to choke a commoner.

The crowd had pushed back, forming a wide, respectful circle around the three-colored aura of the Heir.

”Married to Shen Xinye?” Haoran wondered aloud, his voice flat, yet carrying a vibration that made the air hum as he looked at the man before him this ”Ye Feng”, with a gaze that felt like it was peeling back layers of reality.

”Yes, yes, Young Master! I’m the husband of Shen Xinye! We’ve been married for many years already!” Ye Feng repeatedly nodded his head, his hands folded in a submissive gesture.

He looked every bit the terrified mortal, his face pale and his posture slightly hunched.

”Eh?” Luo Mingye stepped forward, her green eyes scanning Ye Feng with blatant, unfiltered skepticism. ”Shen Xinye, the Fourth Crown? That beautiful, talented woman? You are her husband? The heck? Are you kidding me?”

She walked in a slow circle around him, her nose wrinkled as if she were inspecting a strange species of beetle.

”Not to mention you’re just a mortal with zero Qi, you’re not even particularly handsome. You’re... aggressively average.”

”Mingye, don’t be rude,” Xia Mengyao whispered, though her own eyes were filled with doubt as she pinched her friend’s waist to silence her.

”It’s just the truth!” Luo Mingye shrugged, ignoring the pinch. ”In the Imperial Capital, not even the most desperate harlots from the Blissful Immortal Coupling Palace would marry a mortal without a spirit-root, much less a woman like Shen Xinye. This is either a joke or a tragedy.”

Ye Feng felt his cheek twitch.

’The heck... how come such a beautiful girl has a tongue sharper than a Saint’s sword?’ he thought bitterly, but he kept his head down, maintaining his ordinary man facade.

Although his heart was hammering against his ribs.

Haoran stared at him, his golden eyes glowing with a faint, inner light. ”To marry the most talented woman of the Shen branch lines while possessing no cultivation... it seems you have quite a bit of... luck, boy.”

Ye Feng forced a shaky, humble smile. ”Yes, yes, I’m very lucky, Young Master. A toad who was lucky to be chosen by a swan, as they say. But usually, I just try to be a good husband and stay out of the way.”

Shen Haoran took a slow, deliberate step forward as the ground beneath his feet began to shake, and the pressure in the air increased until the surrounding spectators felt like they were underwater.

”Yes,” Haoran whispered, his face inches from Ye Feng’s. ”Lucky enough to obtain something... something powerful enough to hide your true abilities even from my eyes.”

Ye Feng froze.

The humble smile remained on his lips, but his eyes went wide as a drop of cold sweat broke from his temple and began a slow, agonizing trek down his cheek.

”H-Hide? N-not at all. I’m just a mortal, Young Master. Not to mention sensing Qi, I can’t even train my body.”

”Don’t lie. I hate people who lie to me,” Haoran said as he reached out and placed a hand on Ye Feng’s shoulder.

It looked like a casual gesture of a superior to an inferior, but to Ye Feng, it felt as though a mountain had been placed on his collarbone.

”It makes me want to... kill them. Just to see what’s inside the shell.”

Ye Feng’s breathing stagnated as he felt his ordinary man camouflage being stripped away by the sheer weight of Haoran’s killing intent.

His instinct for survival, honed by years of being the ”weakling,” finally took over, and in the absolute darkness of his mind, he called out to his interface.

’System! Take out the Peak Nirvana Rebirth Experience Card! Now!’

In the physical world, Haoran’s pupils suddenly contracted since with his god-like perception, he noticed a faint, ethereal shimmer in Ye Feng’s right palm.

It was a small, translucent card, glowing with a forbidden silver light, appeared for a fraction of a second.

Haoran moved with a speed that transcended the physical, his hand blurred, his fingers closing around Ye Feng’s wrist like a vice.

He squeezed, the pressure of his Qi instantly locking Ye Feng’s bones and forcing the ”mortal” to his knees with a sharp cry of pain.

”AH!”

Ye Feng collapsed, his wrist pinned to the jade pavement.

However, as Haoran opened the man’s fingers to seize the shimmering object, his brow furrowed when he found the palm was empty.

It was as if the card had vanished into thin air the moment contact was made.

He knew he wasn’t imagining things.

He had seen the card, and he had even felt the localized distortion of space-time that accompanied its appearance.

Yet, as he scanned Ye Feng’s body with his Divine Sense, he found nothing.

’Storage rings?’ Haoran analyzed. ’No, he isn’t wearing any. Hidden pockets? Impossible. Then... could it be...’

A memory from about a certain function of one of the most broken things in existence flashed through his mind.

The concept of an internal, soul-bound vault that existed outside the physical plane.

’System storage.’

Haoran’s eyes glowed with a dark, malicious light as he stared at Ye Feng who was struggling from his hold.

’First Lin Feng, then Ye Fang, and now this one. This accounts for a total of three system users.’

He increased the strength of his hold until cracking sound echoed throughout the streets.

”AAHHH!” Ye Feng screamed in pain.

Shen Haoran just stared at him coldly. He can accept any protagonist into the Shen Clan, but he absolutely cannot accept system users, no matter what.

Their growth rate was unpredictable, one day, they might just receive the full power of an Immortal without anyone knowing, making them incredibly dangerous to be around.

Lin Feng was an exception since his system was incredibly useful on increasing the luck of the Shen Clan.

His pros outweighs his cons.

But this one is different.

Not to mention Feng Yuyan and Leng Shuang was still looking for other System Users to experiment with, so this one is just right.

No matter what...this one, must be taken away.