Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

Five after the incident.

At this exact moment, the harsh, relentless afternoon sun beat down upon the sprawling, catastrophic ruins of the Academy City.

What had once been a pristine, white-marble metropolis of towering spires, elegant public plazas, and grand lecture halls was now nothing more than a giant, smoking construction site of shattered columns, cracked stone, and deep, glassed craters.

The air was thick with a heavy, choking haze of pulverized limestone, lingering ash, and the faint, bitter scent of residual energy that still occasionally crackled across the ruined landscapes like static electricity.

Shen Haoran stood perfectly still atop a high, partially collapsed marble balcony overlooking the central square.

His luxurious, dark silk robes fluttered gently in the dry, dust-laden wind, his posture completely poised and elegant, presenting a stark, absolute contrast to the raw, dirty chaos of the laborers working down below.

Because of the sheer, unprecedented scale of the violent battle that had transpired five days ago, the administrative heads of the Imperial Academy had officially decreed that all standard academic classes, lectures, and physical training sessions would be completely suspended for the time being.

The students, both juniors and seniors, were highly encouraged to remain within their house to focus entirely on their quiet, personal cultivation and independent self-study.

But Shen Haoran had absolutely no time or patience for such passive, slow-paced activities.

He needed to thoroughly deal with the elusive anomaly known as Lin Che as soon as possible. The boy was an unstable, uncalculated variable sitting right in his backyard.

Haoran’s strategic policy regarding these anomalous individuals had always remained cold, practical, and highly efficient: if the boy possessed a unique talent or a rare legacy and could be successfully recruited into his private inner circle, then that was perfectly fine.

He would gladly grant him resources, status, and protection.

Shen Tao was just like that.

But if he refused to bow his head, or if he showed even a single shred of hidden hostility, then he must be ruthlessly eliminated from the face of the earth before he could grow into a true threat, as soon as possible.

And if Lin Che truly turned out to be a fully functional, independent System user, then the necessity of his immediate, violent destruction was even more absolute.

Haoran had already witnessed firsthand how a system could warp reality to protect its host; he would not allow another machine program to establish a foothold in this sector.

However, the logical, calculated prospect of successfully recruiting Lin Che might admittedly prove to be highly difficult, if not statistically improbable.

The boy was already incredibly afraid of him.

Not to mention the fact that he had tried to attack him with a sword qi bullet just to probe him and the academy, which should already put him on the guy’s bad side.

But, regardless of the historical friction, Haoran was a master of grand diplomacy if he do say so himself.

He needed to at least make a formal attempt to test the boy’s psychological boundaries before deploying his executioners.

At that precise moment, his sharp golden eyes locked onto a specific coordinate down within the crowded central square.

There, working diligently amidst a sea of hundreds of dirty, gray-clothed laborers, was Lin Che.

The boy was currently bending his back, using his hands and a crude iron shovel to slowly, painfully assist in clearing away a massive, towering pile of shattered stone blocks and heavy rubbles that had blocked the main avenue.

With a smooth, almost weightless movement, Haoran stepped off the ruined balcony, his figure descending through the dusty air like a falling leaf before landing with absolute, silent grace directly onto the cracked stone paving stones of the central square, just a few yards away from the active servant work zone.

The moment the high-and-mighty young master of the supreme Shen Clan set foot in the dirty, dust-choked work sector, the surrounding atmosphere went completely, utterly rigid.

The low-born servants and laborers, who were accustomed to being treated as nothing more than invisible, disposable ants by the elite cultivators of the school, immediately went pale with fear.

They frantically stopped their work, dropping their heavy wooden shovels and iron wheelbarrows onto the dirt as they hurriedly bowed their heads as low as physically possible, their bodies trembling violently in the presence of such a legendary, mountain-crushing noble.

But instead of releasing a cold, suffocating wave of supreme martial pressure to keep them pinned to the dirt, Shen Haoran did something entirely unexpected.

A warm, incredibly gentle, and deeply compassionate smile slowly spread across his handsome features.

His golden eyes, which were usually filled with a terrifying, predatory coldness, now radiated a soft, deeply caring light that seemed to cut right through the heavy dust of the clearing.

He took a few steps forward, his immaculate, dirt-free silk boots stepping directly into the mud of the workspace as if he didn’t care about ruining his expensive attire.

”Please, there is no need for you all to bow so heavily or fear my presence,” Haoran spoke, his voice dropping into a rich, incredibly soothing, and magnetic tone that carried a profound, simulated empathy.

It was the perfect, highly practiced display of a master politician faking genuine concern for the common folk.

He walked directly up to an elderly, exhausted servant whose hands were bleeding from raw cuts, and gently, mindfully placed his hand over the old man’s shoulder, his fingers releasing a tiny, warm wisp of pure, high-grade spiritual qi that instantly closed the wounds and relieved the man’s physical fatigue.

Urgh. How disgusting.

”...I came down here today specifically because I wanted to personally see how you all are doing after the tragic, terrifying events of yesterday,” Haoran said, his eyes scanning the dirty faces of the crowd with a deep, heavy solemnity. ”You all are the silent, invaluable foundation of our Imperial Academy. Without your hard labor, your dedication, and your tireless efforts to rebuild our home, this great dimension would cease to function. The academy administration may be focused on political games, but us, the students remembers your sacrifices. Are you all being treated well by the supervisors? Do you have enough clean water and healing salves to sustain yourselves through these harsh shifts?”

The effect of his words was immediate, profound, and absolute.

The simple, uneducated servants were completely, utterly deceived by his masterclass performance.

Tears of genuine, overwhelming gratitude and deep awe immediately welled up in the eyes of the older laborers.

They had spent their entire, miserable lives being kicked, whipped, and ignored by the proud disciples of the academy, and yet here was another student, actively stepping into the mud to touch their dirty shoulders, heal their wounds, and speak to them with the gentle respect of a loving guardian.

”Young master... you are too kind! A living boddhisatva!” the elderly servant cried out, throwing himself to his knees to kowtow in genuine, tearful devotion.

”May the heavens bless you and your clan, Young Master!” the other laborers cheered, their previous exhaustion completely forgotten as they looked at him with worshipful, star-struck eyes, their hearts completely won over by his false warmth.

But amidst the loud, weeping chorus of absolute adoration and worship, there stood a single, rigid figure.

Lin Che remained standing near the back of the massive rubble pile, his hands tightly clutching the wooden handle of his iron shovel to keep his fingers from trembling.

Unlike the gullible, emotional crowd around him, Lin Che was not deceived for even a single fraction of a second.

His mind was screaming in pure, cold terror, and his newly elevated Spirit Ascension senses were screaming with an absolute, red-alert panic.

He was incredibly wary. He kept his head lowered, his eyes fixed firmly on the dirt to avoid any direct eye contact, but his mind was spinning frantically.

He knew exactly what kind of ruthless, manipulative monster was hiding behind that beautiful, gentle smile.

He was someone who can smile gently at you and shake your hand while stabbing you with his other hand.

He that this bizarre display of ’charity’ was nothing more than a calculated trap.

’Why is he here?’ Lin Che thought, a cold sweat breaking out across his back under his scratchy gray uniform. ’Shit, did I somehow gained his attention? This won’t do... it’s dangerous!’

”Alright, everyone. Here, a little something to fill your stomachs.”

Just then, Haoran started distributing packed spiritual food and bottles of pure, refreshing spring water to each of the laborers, personally handing them out one by one while warmly thanking them for their continuous hard work and dedication to the recovery efforts.

Lin Che was completely not buying this sudden display of aristocratic charity at all.

He had seen this exact corporate playbook before.

In his previous life on Earth, he had spent years suffering under the grueling oppression of middle-management bosses who acted incredibly nice and sweet during company meetings but turned out to be complete, total assholes.

Not to mention the fact that his previous life’s smooth-talking politicians were practically Olympic athletes when it came to utilizing this exact kind of weaponized, fake kindness approach to secure votes from the working class.

’Oh, look at me, I’m a billionaire noble stepping into the peasant mud to hand out sandwich packs! Please ignore the fact that it was because of me that an elder got mad and casually vaporized half the city because of a private grudge!’

Although he doesn’t know the inside story, he can guess it. After all, the very first person that Elder Mu looked for after he found out about the video was Shen Haoran.

Lin Che scoffed deeply inside his own mind, his internal eyes rolling so hard he thought they might get permanently stuck to the back of his skull.

’What’s next? A corporate pizza party to make up for the destruction you yourself have cahsed? If this guy thinks a basic bento box and some premium baseline bottled water can erase the fact that his private grudge killed a lot of people, he’s severely underestimating my corporate trauma.’

As Lin Che was aggressively violently trash-talking the young master within the safe, locked confines of his own head, Haoran smoothly walked straight towards him, his immaculate dark silk robes rustling softly, and handed him his designated share of the food and water.

Haoran blinked at him, looking surprised, ”Ah, you’re that guy who offered to escort us, right? Lin Che, was it? Apologies for my actions back then, I didn’t mean to harm you.”

The proximity alone made Lin Che’s newly minted Spirit Ascension nerves feel like they were being lightly fried in a pan.

Lin Che immediately forced his facial muscles into a perfectly practiced, submissive smile, bowing his head to a socially appropriate angle.

”Thank you so much, young master. May the heavens reward your profound generosity.”

Didn’t meant to harm me my ass. If those enforcers didn’t interfere I probably won’t be able to dodge that attack from the back!

Despite his thoughts, he remained lawlessly polite on the outside, a true professional at surviving corporate warfare.

’Keep it together, Lin Che. Do not let your left eyebrow twitch. Do not look directly at his terrifying golden eyes. Just take the free lunch, nod like a happy little ant, and slowly melt back into the crowd of brainwashed extras. If I accidentally slip up and reveal even a single percentage of my actual power right now, this psycho will probably designate me as a corporate security threat and have his shadow bodyguard erase my bloodline before dinner.’

He doesn’t want to get involved with these people. He just wanted to enjoy this second life he was given with, there is no way he will allow anything to compromise it.

Just then, breaking through the rigid, tense atmosphere...

”Haoran!”

The beautiful, authoritative voice of Ye Hongyan suddenly resounded from the sky above the plaza.

She descended gracefully from the upper clouds like a falling leaf, her loose domestic robes catching the wind before she landed softly on the cracked stone tiles directly beside him.

She offered him a brilliant, incredibly warm smile that carried the soft residual glow of their secret night together.

”I’m officially done distributing the emergency food packs in the northern residential area.”

Haoran nodded, ”That’s good. I’m about done here as well. That just leave the campus. Let’s go there?”

”Alright.” Hongyan smiled at him.

Haoran turned towards Lin Che, ”By the way, Lin Che, can you help us? Just go with us to distribute the food and water.”

Lin Che flinched, and was about to refuse when he felt a chill crawling through his spine.

He turned his gaze and saw Ye Hongyan staring at him, her brows furrowed.

What did I do?!

[Host, that is a 6th Stage Heavenly Saint Realm expert. And also one of the Ten Sages. You don’t want to mess with her]

I didn’t even offend her!? Why does she look like she want to kill me!?

[Host, from what I can tell, these two are lovers who have already ’cooked the rice’. As for why that anomaly didn’t explode, I have no idea]

Well, shit.

He forced a smile, the corner of his lips twitching.

”I-It, It would be my p-pleasure.”