Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

”So this is Academy City... it is honestly so much grander and more overwhelming now that we are walking its streets compared to when we saw it fleetingly from the high sky yesterday,” said Zhu Ziyan, her purple eyes wide with genuine awe.

She looked at the towering structures of ancient stone and spirit wood that seemed to stretch into the clouds, the architectural majesty reflecting the infinite depth of the Central Region’s resources.

The sheer scale of the city was enough to make any cultivator from a lesser region feel utterly insignificant.

”Hm,” Haoran hummed softly, his tone completely flat.

He didn’t really think this place was impressive at all.

To someone hailing from an Immortal Lineage, this was merely standard architecture.

After all, his clan’s sovereign Divine City and the monolithic capital located within the core of the Shen Clan Dimension were far more impressive, ancient, and terrifyingly majestic than anything the Imperial Academy could ever hope to construct.

To him, this city was just a crowded playground.

”Let’s go,” Haoran said smoothly as they walked forward through the crowded exit plaza of the teleportation array, his strong hand still resting possessively and securely around her slender waist, guiding her movements with effortless dominance.

Just then, feeling a bit lost amidst the sea of unfamiliar streets and converging avenues, Ziyan reached into her storage ring and took out her official academy identity token.

She injected a slender strand of her purple qi into the sleek jade device, and a crisp, glowing blue holographic screen immediately projected out into the air before her.

She quickly bypassed the announcement boards, went straight to the localized map section, and searched for the coordinates of the Central Administration Office where they were supposed to meet the graduating seniors.

Suddenly, her cheek twitched in a mixture of sheer disbelief and mild irritation as her purple eyes scanned the calculated distance trajectory displayed on the holographic display.

’It’s about three thousand kilometers away...’ She let out a long, defeated sigh, her shoulders slumping slightly.

Sometimes, living as a relatively low-tier cultivator in the vastness of the Central Region, she genuinely forgot just how absurdly massive and monstrously scaled everything in this cultivation world truly was.

A single ”city” under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Academy spanned a distance that could easily encompass entire kingdom back in her desolate homeland.

Mind you, those kingdoms in Eastern Region was the size of continents from lower realms

Just then...

”Ah, honorable cultivators! Please wait a moment!”

A voice suddenly called out from the side of the bustling avenue.

Haoran and Ziyan simultaneously turned their heads toward the source of the shout and saw a remarkably plain, thoroughly ordinary-looking young man dressed in heavily faded gray robes, loosely holding a standard bamboo broom in his right hand.

”Greetings!” The young man smiled warmly at them, his demeanor perfectly harmless and polite. ”I’m Lin Che, just an ordinary, low-ranking sweeper assigned to these outer plazas. Judging from the fact that you aren’t currently wearing the official academy uniforms, you two must be newly arrived freshmen, right? Are you two headed somewhere specific? If you’d like, I can personally show you around. I guarantee my local knowledge is far more reliable and detailed than whatever outdated maps you’re looking at on those tokens.”

Ziyan blinked, ”How’d you know we’re freshmen? Maybe we just don’t want to wear our uniforms.”

Lin Che smiled, ”Although the academy doesn’t enforce uniforms, but it is a rule that every student must wear uniforms whenever they are in Academy City.”

”Is that so?” Ziyan nodded.

Haoran remained silent, staring at him, then, his eyes suddenly flickered.

Deep within his pupils, a blinding, magnificent rainbow light flashed for a mere fraction of an instant before instantly returning to their normal, piercing gold.

It was merely for a brief, imperceptible instant, but to Lin Che, the world around him seemed to stop.

A sudden, terrifying wave of absolute dread crashed over his consciousness, making him feel exactly as though he had been abruptly doused in a barrel of freezing, ice-cold water.

His breathing hitched, and a cold sweat broke out across his spine.

Before he could even process the sensation, a series of frantic, crimson text boxes exploded directly across his mental vision, flashing with a violent intensity that nearly blinded his soul.

[Warning!]

[Warning!]

[High-Level Observation Detected! An incredibly powerful individual has utilized an unknown, supreme ocular technique to completely observe and analyze the Host’s physical and spiritual structure!]

[Please proceed with absolute caution! Any wrong move, erratic behavior, or incorrect response could likely lead to your immediate, permanent doom!]

[Crucial Directive: Please do not mention, think loudly of, or even subtly hint about the existence of the System under any circumstances! If the target detects the anomaly, the probability of your immediate death will increase by 3000%!]

’What the absolute hell!?’ Lin Che exclaimed frantically within the absolute safety of his internal thoughts, his soul trembling with genuine terror. ’What kind of monster is this guy?! I just wanted to get close to this cat-eared girl because she was designated as a ’Chosen One’ by my Sign-In System! I just wanted to silently sign in near her to get a quick reward, so why am I suddenly being targeted by a literal god walking in mortal clothing?!’

His Sign-In System was simple: it required him to be within a certain physical proximity of historically significant places or individuals blessed with high destiny.

Just a minute ago, his system had locked onto this beautiful cat-eared girl as a prime target, so he wanted to get close and sign in.

He had no idea that the young man holding her waist was a walking calamity.

”Greetings,” Haoran spoke aloud, his voice smooth, polite, and carrying a terrifyingly calm smile that didn’t reach his piercing golden eyes.

He looked down at the sweeper like a scientist observing an interesting specimen through a glass tube, ”I don’t have any academy points on my token to pay for a guide. Would a rare, thousand-year-old spiritual herb suffice as a valid payment instead?”

Lin Che immediately snapped violently out of his chaotic internal panic, his face completely pale as his survival instincts screamed at him at the highest volume possible.

He forced a stiff, incredibly awkward smile onto his face, his hands trembling slightly as he tightened his grip on his broom.

”A-Ah... on second thought, honored cultivators... my apologies. I just remembered that an academy elder actually called for me earlier to clean his private courtyard, and I’m already running quite late. I really need to go now. My deepest, humblest apologies, honored cultivators. Please excuse this lowly servant!”

With that, Lin Che bowed deeply, entirely abandoning his plan to sign in near Ziyan as he spun around on his heel, preparing to sprint away into the crowd.

’I’m leaving! I’m getting the hell out of here right now!’ Lin Che screamed internally, his heart hammering against his ribs. ’There is no way in hell I am getting involved with these terrifying big shots! I don’t care about the rewards anymore! I just want to live a long, quiet, and honest life as a background character!’

But at that exact microsecond, Haoran’s expression turned utterly cold.

He didn’t care about the boy’s excuses; he had detected a bizarre, completely unquantifiable anomaly within the sweeper’s soul during his brief scan—something that defied the natural laws of cultivation.

Haoran stared at his back, silently.

Then, without a single word, he raised his right hand, extending his thumb and index finger to form a casual finger pistol.

In the span of a second, his terrifying Sword Intent compressed violently at the very tips of his fingers, swirling into a dense, glowing point of absolute destruction.

With a subtle flick of his wrist, the compressed energy instantly rotated and fired, shooting straight toward Lin Che’s exposed back like a volley of invisible, light bullets.

However....

”Insolence! Cease your actions!”

A sharp, booming roar suddenly echoed across the plaza.

At that exact moment, the spatial fabric in front of the escaping sweeper warped violently, and several figures clad in heavy, pitch-black tactical robes materialized out of thin air.

They moved with practiced, military precision, drawing their heavy black blades to block the oncoming sword intent bullets.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

A series of metallic explosions rang out as Haoran’s casual attack was deflected into the sky, scattering the nearby clouds.

The leader of the black-robed squad stepped forward, his eyes locking onto Haoran with a mixture of deep caution and stern authority.

”Young man, even if you hail from the supreme Immortal Lineages or the grandest ancient clans of the Central Region, you shouldn’t so blatantly disregard the primordial rules of this institution,” the enforcer stated, his voice booming with spiritual energy. ”Fighting and attempting to murder a fellow student or staff member is strictly forbidden within the sovereign boundaries of Academy City.”

The enforcer adjusted his grip on his blade, his aura at the Peak of Spirit Ascension realm flaring slightly to exert control over the situation.

”If you continue this blatant display of violence, we, the Academy Enforcement Team, shall be forced to immediately detain and punish you according to the high laws.”

Hearing the commotion and seeing the terrifying enforcers step in, Lin Che immediately seized the opportunity to maintain his harmless facade.

”H-Hiiieekkk!?” He acted completely terrified, letting out a dramatic cry of fear as he deliberately fell backward onto his butt.

His eyes were wide with manufactured shock, his broom rolling away across the cobblestones as he stared at Haoran like a helpless victim.

Haoran didn’t even spare the trembling sweeper a single glance, his golden eyes remained locked entirely on the black-robed enforcers.

Then, a slow, elegant, and profoundly dangerous smile spread across his handsome face.

”How much?” Haoran asked calmly, his voice completely devoid of any fear or respect for their authority.

”Huh?” The leader of the enforcers blinked, his stern expression faltering for a fraction of a second as total confusion washed over his features.

The surrounding guards looked at each other, wondering if they had misheard the young master.

”I am asking a very simple question,” Haoran chuckled softly, his tone completely casual as he tilted his head. ”How much wealth, how many spirit stones, or how many dao points would it cost for me to permanently change the rules of this city and kill him?”

The enforcers stared at each other in absolute silence, a wave of cold sweat breaking out under their heavy robes.

The sheer, unadulterated arrogance of the youth before them was staggering.

But soon, the leader shook his head, his voice hardening. ”Young master, even if your clan’s wealth can buy an entire world, you cannot afford the price of rewriting the academy’s foundational rules and regulations. Now, lower your hand immediately and cease this madness at once.”

”I cannot afford it... interesting. That phrasing inherently means that it is theoretically possible, provided the price is high enough,” Haoran murmured, his analytical mind dissecting the enforcer’s words instantly.

He then raised his hand once more, pointing his finger pistol lazily back toward the trembling Lin Che, who was still sitting on the floor.

”Then let’s lower the scale of the transaction. How about him? How many points or resources would it cost for me to buy his life from you right now, allowing me to kill him where he stands without any legal repercussions?”

The leader of the enforcers felt a cold dread grip his heart.

But soon, he quickly calmed down and tried to deescalate the scene.

”Young master, please refrain from speaking such barbaric things in broad daylight. We, the Enforcement Team, will absolutely not compromise when it comes to the written rules. Move along.”

”I see,” Haoran nodded slowly, his smile widening into something profoundly satisfied.

From their subtle hesitation and their carefully guarded answers, he had already deduced the dark, underlying truth of the academy’s political structure.

It was highly likely, almost a certainty, that even within this prestigious institution, absolute wealth and points could quite literally buy human lives and bypass the legal system.

However, to maintain their public image of righteousness and equality to the outside world, the school authorities would definitely stop these kinds of brutal transactions from occurring out in the open.

It meant these things could only be executed discreetly, behind closed doors and through back-alley channels.

In other words, if he played his financial cards right and applied the right amount of overwhelming pressure, these very enforcers and the laws they guarded could easily be subverted and used as tools for his own personal gain.

’So this the extent of Xie Ji’s words when he said you can buy anything with points. Human lives and academy’s rules can be bought also.’

He smiled brightly, thoroughly pleased with the outcome of this minor experiment.

He had learned an immense amount of valuable structural data about the academy in this brief, chaotic moment.

He casually dropped his hand, turning his back entirely on the enforcement squad as he shifted his weight and once again wrapped his strong arm tightly around Ziyan’s waist, pulling her close to his side to resume their journey toward the administration office.

As for the strange sweeper boy, Lin Che? He simply wasn’t that important right now.

The boy was an anomaly, yes, but an anomaly that was currently too weak to affect the grand chessboard.

There would be plenty of time to dissect his secrets later.

”Let’s continue our walk, Ziyan,” Haoran said smoothly, completely ignoring the stunned enforcers as he guided her forward.

”We have a market to conquer.”