Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

The massive, white-stone square of the Academy City was an absolute hive of kinetic movement and sharp spiritual fluctuations.

The moment the solid cloud platform fully dissolved into the stone floor, the thirty-six remaining geniuses of the era began to disperse across the courtyard, their internal alignments instantly dictating their trajectories.

Among them, Chu Yan was not paying a single thread of attention to the majestic, high-altitude pagodas or the grand architecture of the central district.

Instead, his eyes were rapidly, frantically scanning the shifting crowd, desperately searching for the unique white-and-gold silhouette of Qian Yunxi.

His modern mind was furiously running through the specific structural Chapters of the original web novel, digging deep into the lore of this specific transitional arc.

He remembered with absolute, vivid clarity that in the pre-written script of the book, Qian Yunxi was completely, utterly alone upon her arrival within this pocket dimension.

Lacking any senior members from her peripheral Eastern Region to grant her an ancestral shelter, she had been forced by the sheer brutality of the environment to wander the streets entirely by herself.

Desperate to secure a private, array-fortified room to rest her body before the official instructions began, she had eventually tried to find a visibly weaker senior student within the outer residential sector, attempting to forcefully challenge them to a martial duel to take away their house.

However, because she had severely underestimated the deep accumulation of the academy’s older generation, she was thoroughly, brutally beaten onto the pavement, her pride shattered and her minor cultivation pathways temporarily destabilized by the kinetic backlash.

To make her narrative tragedy even more intense, the original plot stated that as she lay bruised and bleeding in the courtyard, she had personally witnessed the protagonist, Xu Xiansu, smoothly arriving in the very same district.

With the direct, overwhelming martial help of the original Chu Yan and the other infatuated male leads, Xu Xiansu had effortlessly seized a magnificent, high-tier spiritual villa from a powerful senior faction.

Seeing the commoner girl effortlessly basking in luxury while she was left broken in the dirt, Qian Yunxi’s heart had been consumed by an intense, burning wave of pure jealousy and resentment, causing her to step forward and attempt to cause severe trouble for their group.

Unfortunately for her though, the original Chu Yan had immediately stepped up to protect Xu Xiansu, treating Qian Yunxi like a generic, toxic villainess.

And because Qian Yunxi already felt a profound, deep sense of gratitude toward Chu Yan for previously standing up for her when she was getting publicly bullied and humiliated at the outer gate for being an outsider from the Eastern Region, her heart had been thoroughly broken by his betrayal, forcing her to quietly, pathetically back off into the shadows.

In the original author’s notes, to explicitly demonstrate to the readers just how incredibly harsh, unforgiving, and savage the internal laws of the Imperial Academy truly were, it was casually stated that the proud daughter of the Eastern Region, Qian Yunxi, was forced to sleep on the cold, damp stones of a nameless alleyway for an entire, uninterrupted week until the formal classes finally began.

’But not this time!’ Chu Yan thought fiercely, his knuckles turning white within his long sleeves as his gaze finally locked onto her golden hair standing near the edge of the square. ’I have transmigrated into this body, and I will absolutely, under no circumstances, ever allow such a gentle, fiercely dedicated, and loyal girl to suffer that kind of public humiliation and physical misery again! The script ends today!’

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Meanwhile, completely oblivious to the intense, frantic mental calculations occurring inside Chu Yan’s head, the core members of Shen Haoran’s circle stood huddled in a loose circle near the grand central pillar of the square.

”So, my dear Haoran?” Huo Yue spoke up, a bright, dangerous amusement dancing within her red eyes as she slowly, playfully wiggled her slender fingers in the air, her crimson dress radiating a faint, eager heat that caused the surrounding stone to crackle. ”Should we immediately go out into the residential districts and start robbing other people’s houses right now? I honestly can’t wait to test the durability of these senior students’ bones!”

Haoran couldn’t help but snort in amusement, however, before he can say anything, someone already beat him to it.

”Well, I must admit that sounds remarkably interesting,” Gu Xunyi chimed in from the side, a soft, lazy chuckle escaping her lips. ”But unfortunately, I can’t come along to participate in the grand robbery with you guys this time. Our grand Gu Clan has already owned and maintained an entire, fully fortified city sector inside this pocket dimension for thousands of years, passed down directly by the elite senior members and ancestral elders of our lineage. My rooms are already prepared.”

”Go. Get out of my sight,” Haoran spoke smoothly, his voice a flat, unbothered drone as he lazily waved his right hand through the air as if he were casually swatting away an annoying border fly. ”I don’t even know why you’re still stubbornly standing here within our circle to begin with, you crazy woman.”

Gu Xunyi didn’t show a single thread of offense at his dismissive behavior.

She just let out a loud, rich laugh and reached out her hand, casually patting his broad shoulder with a deep familiarity. ”Well then, my cold young master... consider me gone! I shall see you later during the instructional lectures!”

With that final, playful declaration, she turned on her heel and confidently walked away across the square, leading three other elite members of the Gu Clan delegation who had quietly followed her through the trials.

At that exact second, before the group could shift their footing towards the streets, a soft, drippingly seductive voice drifted through the ambient white fog from behind their shoulders.

”Young Master Shen... it truly has been a quite awhile since we last saw each other.”

Shen Haoran and the rest of his companions turned their heads around simultaneously, and their eyes instantly locked onto a remarkably familiar, heart-stopping figure walking gracefully towards their position.

She possessed exceptionally long, pristine white hair that flowed down her back like liquid silk, beautifully accented by a pair of sharp, snowy white fox ears actively twitching on top of her head, and three massive, immensely fluffy white fox tails swaying elegantly behind her hips.

Her face carried a pair of mesmerizing, deeply intelligent purple eyes that seemed to actively pull the soul out of any mortal practitioner, and a slow, seductive smile was playing on her crimson lips.

It was Su Xishi, the official prime heiress to the infamous Blissful Immortal Coupling Palace—a top tier sect that dominated the esoteric arts of dual-cultivation across the central provinces.

”Su Xishi,” Haoran nodded his head in a calm, polite recognition, his golden pupils remaining perfectly steady, completely immune to the passive charm array radiating from her flesh. ”It seems that out of your entire sect’s initial group, you are the only one who successfully managed to pass the final evaluation in this enrollment.”

Su Xishi let out a low, musical sigh, her smile turning slightly wry as she stopped a few paces away from his chest. ”Yes, unfortunately so, Young Master. I heard from the senior core disciples of my palace that normally, thousands of disciples would easily pass every single enrollment cycle of this academy. I guess the trials were far, far more strict and brutal this time around.”

Haoran nodded his head in a slow affirmation.

His analytical mind silently wondered if the academy’s leadership had deliberately, ruthlessly altered the difficulty matrix simply because the consciousness of the Heaven’s Will was officially preparing to descend upon this specific era, forcing the old sages to filter out everything but the ultimate monsters.

After all, the academy’s reputation and prestige would surely shot through the roof if they managed to cultivate an Immortal.

Just like hundreds of years ago, when his mother and aunts attended the academy and they proceed to completely suppressed every geniuses of their era.

That age was even called the Golden Age of Imperial Academy due, as even talents from other Empires and continents traveled far and wide just to attend here.

Unfortunately, a few years after Chu Xueyu, Feng Yuyan, and Leng Shuang graduated, the academy once again declined.

”Anyways, I just came over to offer my personal greetings to you, Young Master,” Su Xishi spoke smoothly, her voice dropping into a low, purring register as she tilted her beautiful head to the side, her purple eyes flashing with a highly suggestive, alluring light. ”My senior sisters and elders currently own an entire, massive entertainment district here inside the dimension. If you ever find yourself desiring some high-quality relaxation or a good time, please feel free to go and visit our grand Blissful District... it is securely located inside the absolute heart of the Red Rose City.”

With that final, loaded invitation, she offered a slow, lingering bow and walked away into the crowd, her fluffy white tails swaying in a hypnotic pattern.

Following directly in her wake, two more prominent figures walked up from the parting crowd to stand before the golden-haired heir.

They were Bai Wenxin, the famous Heavens Chosen of the Purple Sky Immortal Sect, and Xu Jingshan, the iron-willed Third Prince of the grand Tian Yuan Empire.

”Young Master Shen,” they greeted in a synchronized, formal unison, cupping their hands in a gesture of profound aristocratic respect.

Haoran swept his golden eyes over their close, unified stance, a faint, amused line forming on his lips. ”You two seem to get along remarkably well.”

”Not... particularly,” Bai Wenxin spoke up instantly, letting out a soft, thoroughly exhausted sigh as she adjusted the violet lightning cuffs of her robes. ”We do not share any political or even romantic alignment, Young Master Shen. We just simply... shared the exact same temporary teacher during our private training before the academy opened, I guess.”

Xu Jingshan nodded his head in an absolute, grim confirmation, his sharp brown eyes turning incredibly serious. ”Well, to be entirely accurate, calling that legendary senior our true ’teacher’ is a massive, laughable stretch of the imagination. Our collective generational talent wasn’t even remotely enough to be considered his proper students, much less his personal legacy disciples. We were merely allowed to listen to his breath from outside the courtyard.”

Haoran raised a single, sharp golden eyebrow, his mind deeply curious about the identity of an entity who could make a prince and a genius feel so profoundly inadequate.

But true to his aloof character, he didn’t voice a single question.

”Well, I shall be taking my leave first, Young Master Shen,” Bai Wenxin said politely, her posture straight.

Before she turned around, her eyes shifted over to look at Huo Yue for a brief, heavy second, before her gaze landed squarely onto the two specific female members of the Ten Crowns standing directly behind Haoran’s shoulder.

”Sister Xinye, Sister Ying... let us properly catch up and exchange pointers some other time during the week.”

Shen Xinye offered a gentle, incredibly sweet smile, nodding her head in a soft acceptance.

While Shen Ying merely let out a low, non-committal hum from her throat, her expression remaining entirely unreadable.

After they fought side by side during the Giant invasion, these three have bonded together and can even be considered as friends.

With that final nod, the heiress turned and walked away toward the inner gates.

”I shall be taking my leave as well, Young Master,” Xu Jingshan spoke, cupping his hands firmly toward Haoran before turning his body directly to face the absolute leader of the Crowns, Shen Tao.

A fierce, burning fighting intent flared within the prince’s brown eyes as he grinned sharply. ”Brother Tao... let us find a proper arena and fight once again very soon.”

Shen Tao smiled calmly, his posture relaxed as he offered a slow nod of agreement. ”Whenever you are ready, Third Prince.”

With the final pleasantries officially concluded, the prince strode away, leaving the group entirely alone on the stone platform.

Shen Haoran slowly turned his body around, his majestic gold silk robes billowing softly as his liquid gold eyes swept over his group.

The lineup was an absolute collection of generational monsters: the invincible Ten Crowns of the Shen Clan... the Flame Empress Huo Yue... the Beast Tamer Zhu Ziyan... the Bright Silver Empress Ning Xueli... the Asura Ling Luochen... the Sword genius Xia Mengyao... the Saintess of Celestial Melody Luo Mingye... the Saintess of Spirit Hall Qian Yunxi... and surprisingly, standing quietly at the very edge of the group, the neglected princess herself, Xu Xiansu.

”Well then,” Haoran spoke, his voice a low, commanding rumble that instantly focused every single eye upon his face as he took his first step toward the residential district.

”Let’s go.”