Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

Li Hua’s radiant smile seemed to grow even brighter as the ambient light of the emerald arrays reflected off the massive obsidian display box.

The air in the colosseum grew heavy, smelling of burnt ozone and ancient decay from the sealing talismans that were being systematically deactivated by the stage handlers.

”The starting bid for this ancient relic of the Saint,” Li Hua’s voice boomed, her gaze sweeping across the tense crowd, ”is set at a base price of 1,500 Dao Points!”

”2,000!” an elite disciple from a prominent martial faction shouted almost before she could finish her sentence.

”3,000!” another voice boomed from the shadow of the lower balconies.

”5,000!”

Chu Yan blinked rapidly, his eyes widening into massive plates as a sudden, paralyzing wave of shock washed over his features.

He stared at the rapidly ticking numbers on the massive projection screens, his heart hammering violently against his ribs.

’What the hell is going on here?’ he screamed frantically within the absolute privacy of his mind. ’This makes absolutely no sense! According to the original trajectory of the web novel, didn’t the student populace completely ignore this item because mundane Spirit Stones are basically useless inside the academy’s markets? Not to mention, the academy already provides incredibly dense, premium Qi Gathering Arrays across all residential sectors to boost cultivation speeds anyway! Why are they fighting over it like wild dogs?’

However, the moment the thought formed, a cold drop of sweat broke out down his spine, and a wave of harsh reality crashed over his assumptions.

He violently shook his head to clear the intrusive memories of the text.

This was not a collection of digital words on a screen anymore. This was the real, breathing, and highly competitive world, not just a simplified novel script.

Even if a student couldn’t directly use mundane low-grade Spirit Stones as a primary currency within the specialized administrative shops of the Imperial Academy, those resources were still immensely, undeniably valuable!

They could be shipped back to their native clans outside the dimension to build armies, used to power individual high-grade automated defensive formations, or directly absorbed into their own meridians during desperate breakthrough sessions when the local arrays were crowded.

To dismiss a continuous, automated Spirit Stone factory just because of an academic currency preference was the height of juvenile stupidity.

It was only natural, logical, and inevitable for these powerful, wealth-hungry people to want to bid for it with everything they had.

Perhaps the reason no one wanted to bid against Xu Xiansu in the original plot was because she has a protagonist halo that pretty much dumb down everyone around her.

Realizing his script knowledge had dangerously blinded him to human greed, he swallowed his panic, adjusted his posture, and aggressively injected a massive, crushing chunk of his personal savings into the runic interface of his token to scare off the lower bidders.

”8,000!”

The new figure flashed brilliantly across the stadium, temporarily silencing the minor factions on the auditorium floor as they stared at the sudden, massive jump.

Upwards within the luxurious, velvet-lined sanctuary of VIP Room 012, a completely different, highly dramatic conversation was unfolding.

Xu Xiansu leaned her forearm against the armrest of her plush chair, her sharp, intelligent eyes casually scanning the detailed catalog screen before she slowly turned her head to look directly at Huo Yue.

”You know... looking at the descriptions, those last two items sound infinitely more impressive, versatile, and grand than that random Heart-Shaped Immortal Rose you’ve been aggressively crying about since morning.”

”What did you just say?” Shen Ying’s brow violently furrowed, her voice dropping to an incredibly cold, dangerously sharp whisper as her gaze locked onto the former strategist. ”Are you intentionally mocking us alchemist? Or do you simply lack the basic mental density to comprehend alchemy?”

Xu Xiansu raised an eyebrow, entirely unfazed by the coldness. ”I am merely looking at the utility metrics.”

”Then let me educate you, you ignorant twat,” Shen Ying sneered, her hands clenching within her wide silk sleeves. ”That ’random rose’ is the absolute, irreplaceable main ingredient required to refine the fabled Nine Heart Breaking Pill. That is a legendary Rank 8 Divine Pill that possesses a conceptual ability that allows a cultivator to instantly, flawlessly reject death itself and comr back to life with a full pool of blood immediately after suffering death, completely healing and restructuring their broken physical vessel on a molecular level. Furthermore, if you are currently standing at the peak of the Nirvana Rebirth Realm and you choose to actively ingest it the exact second you die, your cultivation will violently break through the mortal limitations and instantly revive as a supreme, peerless Profound Saint Realm expert!”

”What!?”

A collective, deafening gasp echoed through the VIP suite.

Almost every single person in the lounge, including the seasonal Crowns and the arrogant young masters, couldn’t help but violently turn their heads, their wide eyes staring directly at Shen Ying in absolute, unadulterated shock as they processed the description of the pill.

A Rank 8 medicine was a strategic treasure that could alter the political map of the empire!

Then, after a long, heavy silence, Xu Xiansu slowly, menacingly turned her head back toward Huo Yue, who was currently smiling sheepishly, her face flushing pink as she nervously scratched the back of her head, completely avoiding everyone’s gazes.

”You explicitly told us earlier this morning that it was only used as a main catalyst for a common Rank 7 dragon something pill!” Xu Xiansu pointed a sharp, accusing finger straight at her face, her eyes narrowing to dangerous slits as she realized she had been thoroughly lied to.

Shen Ying blinked rapidly, her composure completely shattering as a look of profound, utterly appalled disgust crossed her features.

She stared at Huo Yue as if looking at a literal madman. ”Such an incredibly rare, heaven-defying celestial herb... and you actually wanted to waste its divine essence to refine a generic Rank 7 pill? Are you completely out of your mind, you brainless woman?”

Huo Yue finally couldn’t handle the crushing weight of their collective, judgmental gazes anymore.

She threw her hands up in defense, her cheeks puffing out in a childish display of defiance. ”Okay! Okay! Fine! I lied! I just didn’t want any of you greedy, wealthy playboys to find out its true value and start a massive bidding war against me over it, okay? Is it a crime for a poor girl to protect her alchemical path!?”

”Oh, you absolute, manipulative bitch,” Xu Xiansu let out a cold, venomous chuckle, a dangerous glint flashing across her eyes as she crossed her arms. ”Just for that beautiful display of deception, I am going to make it my personal, absolute mission tonight to ensure you do not get a single petal of that flower.”

Huo Yue just grinned widely, completely unfazed by the threat as she stuck her tongue out playfully. ”Oh yeah? What exactly are you gonna do about it, Xu Xiansu? Throw your lawyers at me?!”

”Alright, alright, that is more than enough,” Ning Xueli stepped directly between the two bickering girls, a gentle, perfectly peaceful smile plastered across her face as she raised her hands to placate them. ”We are all part of the same group, let’s all try to get along beautifully, okay?”

Xu Xiansu and Huo Yue glared at each other, before crossing their arms with a huff.

”By the way... shifting back to the current business, does anyone in our circle actually want this giant Saint rock down below?” asked Shen Jian, his finger hovering lazily over the interface as he looked toward the left side of the room.

”Are you actually going to buy it for me if I say yes?” said Shen Bai, looking up from his architectural blueprints, his eyes gleaming with a sudden interest. ”If I can get my hands on that Heavenly Saint skeleton, I can comfortably construct a rank 7 automated defensive array around our Falling Blossom Villa using that stone as the absolute core node. The continuous spiritual output will be immensely helpful for everyone’s daily training.”

”Alright, say no more,” Shen Jian nodded his head firmly, a smug smirk playing upon his lips as he slammed his palm onto the node, instantly dropping a crushing bid into the central terminal.

”12,000!”

*

*

*

Down below in the dark auditorium, the sudden jump caused the air to freeze.

”Fuck!” Chu Yan violently cursed under his breath, his knuckles turning white as he stared at the projection screen.

The sheer financial disrespect from the VIP balcony was a physical insult to his pride. But he wasn’t about to lose his destiny over a few thousand points.

He gritted his teeth and fired back.

”15,000!”

”20,000!” Shen Jian counter-bid within a single millisecond, his tone indifferent as if he were throwing loose copper coins into a wishing well.

”30,000!” Chu Yan roared internally, completely throwing caution to the wind as he slammed his thumb onto the terminal, utilizing the absolute last remaining bit of his life savings to place his final, ultimate bid.

An absolute, heavy silence fell over the colosseum for a brief moment.

Chu Yan sat back in his seat, his breathing incredibly ragged, a wave of profound relief washing over his chest as the timer began to tick down.

In his mind, 30,000 was an astronomical sum for an unpolished stone; surely no rational heir would go further for a minor core.

However, before he could even begin to celebrate his hard-earned victory...

”35,000.”

The deep, calm voice from VIP Room 012 echoed through the speaker arrays once more.

Chu Yan froze completely, his entire body turning as rigid as ice. His eyes went entirely blank as his mind short-circuited under the weight of the number.

Lost.

He had completely, utterly lost. He couldn’t even physically produce that many points if he sold his own robes where he stood!

His entire strategic plan to secure the novel’s grand inheritance had just been completely demolished by a faceless tyrant in a high box.

The others who wanted to bid also stopped.

Indeed, this rock was indeed precious, however, it was a just a small piece. It probably can’t even create anything more than low grade spirit stones.

Spending over 30 thousand points on it is just not worth it.

Li Hua’s smile turned extraordinarily bright, her wooden gavel raised high as she scanned the silent room. ”35,000 Dao Points going once! 35,000 Dao Points going twice!”

*Bang!*

”Sold permanently to the magnificent, honored guest residing in VIP Room 012!”

Chu Yan clenched his fists so fiercely that his fingernails sliced deep into his palms, drawing fresh crimson blood that dripped onto the stone floor.

A toxic, overwhelming wave of pure, venomous hatred ignited within his chest as he swore to the heavens that he would get his bloody revenge for this humiliation.

He raised his bloodshot eyes, glaring fiercely at the darkened glass of VIP Suite 012.

Although he currently had absolutely no idea who was sitting inside that luxurious lounge, he highly doubted that a bunch of spoiled, brainless Central Region playboys would be any harder to ruthlessly deal with than the literal final villain of the book.

”And now, for the grand finale item of tonight’s magnificent event!” Li Hua declared loudly, her voice carrying a theatrical edge of supreme excitement as a team of four high-level administrative staff carefully pushed out a grand, heavily warded security crate, a large velvet cloth hiding the structure inside.

Li Hua stepped forward and violently pulled the cloth off with a fluid motion.

The hidden structure was revealed to the audience—it was a crystal glass box humming with ancient stasis formations, and resting beautifully inside the core, a deep, crimson red rose with exactly nine perfectly formed petals structured into the unmistakable shape of a human heart could be seen radiating a faint, mesmerizing spiritual light.

”The legendary Heart-Shaped Immortal Rose!” Li Hua proclaimed proudly, her voice echoing through the silent colosseum. ”If there are any master alchemists lurking out there in the crowd tonight, then you must undoubtedly know its true, heaven-defying value to the empire! The starting bid is set at a base price of 3,000 Dao Points! Let the final bidding begin!”