Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

At this moment, high above the fog-choked valleys of the trial space, on top of a jagged, wind-swept mountain, there sat an ancient stone monument.

The monument was weathered by thousands of years of exposure, its surface carved with faded, inscrutable runes.

Right at its center, set inside a polished brass ring, was a single, prominent red button.

In front of it stood Ning Xueli and Ling Luochen.

The mountain wind whipped at their flowing robes as they stood before the mysterious contraption.

”Should we press it?” asked Ning Xueli, a mischievous smirk dancing on her lips as she leaned in close, smiling while twirling her slender finger teasingly around the edges of the button.

Ling Luochen hesitated, her pale face looking a little afraid as her eyes darted nervously between the monument and the sheer drop behind them.

”What if it’s dangerous? We don’t even know what array this mechanism activates. It could unleash a horde of high-stage demonic beasts or trigger a spatial collapse.”

”What if it’s not?” Ning Xueli countered smoothly, her purple eyes sparkling with great curiosity. ”We wouldn’t know if we don’t try, right? High risk, high reward. That’s the foundation of cultivation!”

”Maybe we should just leave,” said Ling Luochen, taking a half-step back and clutching her sleeves tightly. ”We already have enough points to pass the Golden Core exam safely. There’s no need to take unnecessary risks.”

”Luochen...” Ning Xueli turned toward her, her expression suddenly morphing into one of profound, utmost gravity, her face dead serious. ”Listen to me carefully. This situation is either dangerous, or it’s not. It’s a fifty-fifty chance. And I’d take those odds any day.”

Ling Luochen blinked, her jaw dropping slightly as she stared at her friend in absolute, utter disbelief. ”That’s... that’s not how probability works at all! You can’t just split every binary outcome into a fifty percent chance! By that absurd logic, I could turn around right now, and there’s a fifty percent chance that Young Master Haoran is standing right behind me!”

Ning Xueli didn’t even flinch. She simply tilted her head, looked past Ling Luochen’s shoulder, and said with complete sincerity, ”Oh, Haoran’s behind you.”

Ling Luochen’s heart skipped a massive beat. Without a second thought, she quickly turned around, her eyes widening in eager anticipation—

Only to find nothing but empty mountain air and the whistling wind.

Her cheek twitched violently. A beat of deafening silence hung over the peak before a deep, burning crimson flush spread rapidly from her neck all the way to the tips of her delicate ears.

”HAHAHAHAHAHA!” Ning Xueli doubled over, clutching her stomach as loud, hysterical laughter erupted from her throat. ”Oh man, that is pure gold! Look at your face! Hahaha! Seems you became a bit desperate after getting a taste of that dragon!”

Ling Luochen glared at her with a gaze so hot it could have melted steel, her teeth grinding together so hard they made a sharp clicking sound.

”Ning. Xue. Li. I am going to throw you off this cliff.”

But...

At that exact moment, before the two could escalate their childish squabble, the atmosphere around the mountain peak shifted violently.

*SWISH—!*

They suddenly felt several powerful, high-speed Presences ascending the ridge at terrifying velocity!

Without a single second of hesitation, the playful atmosphere vanished completely.

Ling Luochen reached behind her back and pulled out a dark red demonic sword with a terrifying, metallic screech.

In an instant, the intricate, demonic tribal tattoo etched across her bare back ignited with a surging, crimson demonic aura, her eyes glowing with absolute combat readiness.

Ning Xueli also reacted with terrifying speed.

A blinding, bright silver light enveloped her body, bursting outward in a shockwave of terrifying spatial weight that caused the green grass around her feet to instantly wither and decay into fine black ash.

They raised their hands and weapons, preparing to unleash lethal strikes against the intruders—

”Xueli? Luochen?”

A familiar, cool female voice echoed from the fog.

The figures burst through the cloud layer, revealing themselves as they landed gracefully on the stone plateau.

The ones who had arrived were Xu Xiansu, Xia Mengyao, and Luo Mingye.

Ning Xueli and Ling Luochen let out a long, collective breath of relief, the heavy, suffocating pressure around the peak dissolving in an instant.

”So it’s you guys!” Ning Xueli smiled brightly, her bright silver aura receding back into her meridians like water down a drain, then, she blinked, her eyes scanning the trio, counting them on her fingers. ”Wait... three? Where’s your assigned partner, Sister Xiansu?”

Xu Xiansu’s pristine forehead instantly twitched, her mood dropping into the absolute gutter.

She crossed her arms, her tone laced with pure, unadulterated disdain. ”Nowhere. Don’t even mention him. I feel intensely irritated just thinking about his pathetic face.”

The two blinked, confused.

They wanted to ask what happened, but...

”I can feel a great treasure right from here! Sister Ziyan, hurry up and follow me! This mountain definitely holds an ancient legacy!”

A loud, overly confident voice echoed from the trail below the peak.

Xu Xiansu’s expression darkened so severely it looked like a thunderstorm had settled over her face.

Everyone turned their gaze toward the path, watching in sheer bewilderment as Qing Yan came marching up the slope, walking ahead with his chest puffed out like a proud rooster.

Directly behind him walked Zhu Ziyan, her skin-tight suit accentuating her cat-like grace, with her tiny gryphon perched comfortably on her shoulder, happily chewing on a leftover piece of pastry.

Zhu Ziyan blinked as she reached the crest, and the moment her golden feline eyes locked onto the group of maidens standing by the monument, a brilliant, overjoyed smile burst across her face.

”It’s you guys!” she cheered happily, her black cat ears perking up and twitching with pure excitement.

She completely abandoned Qing Yan, practically sprinting over to the group, her slender cat tail swishing back and forth in a playful blur.

Zhu Ziyan smiled brightly, immediately jumping forward stood in front of the group. ”I can’t believe we ran into everyone here. This trial space is so huge, I thought I’d be stuck wandering around forever.”

”Ziyan!” Xia Mengyao laughed softly, giving her a gentle pat on her back. ”It’s so good to see you’re safe! Did you tame another spirit beast already?”

”Yes.” Zhu Ziyan nodded softly, pointing a finger at her shoulder. ”Meet Jiujiu. She stole a guy’s food earlier, but we’re best friends now! Look how soft her feathers are!”

The tiny gryphon let out a proud ”Jiu-jiu!” sound, puffing out its chest to match its master’s enthusiasm.

Luo Mingye giggled gently, raising a delicate finger to softly pet the gryphon under its beak. ”She is adorable. And it’s a gryphon. Once it grows up, it can actually become an Imperial Beast.”

”By the way, is that your partner? Introduce us why don’t you.” Ning Xueli chimed in, leaning over and trying to poke her ears.

Ziyan dodged easily. She will never let anyone touch her ears aside from Haoran! That is something she had promised to herself!

...well, maybe sister Yue too, since she’s so persistent that trying to stop her would just make her want to touch it more.

”He’s not my partner,” she said, shaking her head.

Ning Xueli blinked, looking confused, ”No? Then why do you travel with him?”

”We met. Jiujiu stole his food earlier and we decided to just travel together for safety.” Said Zhu Ziyan.

Ling Luochen tilted her head, ”Don’t you have an army of beasts with you? You’re perfectly safe even if you’re alone.”

Ziyan froze. Yeah. She has an army of beasts, so why did she agree to travel with him?

Meanwhile, standing a few paces away, Qing Yan was completely stunned.

He stood frozen in the dirt, his mouth gaping open as his brain struggled to process the scene unfolding before his eyes.

’No... wait a minute... why the hell are ALL of you gathered in one place?!’ he screamed frantically in his mind, his eyes darting from Xia Mengyao to Luo Mingye, then to Xu Xiansu, Ning Xueli, Ling Luochen, and finally Zhu Ziyan. ’And why do all of you seem to know each other so well?! Are you guys all best friends or something?! How is a guy supposed to pick them off one by one if they’re grouped up like a raid party?!’

Before he could figure out a way to maneuver himself into their conversation, Xu Xiansu stepped out of the group.

She turned her head, her cold, golden-tinged eyes locking onto Zhu Ziyan, her brow furrowed in genuine confusion and deep concern.

”Ziyan... Don’t travel with that guy. You might get contaminated.” She gestured toward Qing Yan as if pointing at a heap of biohazardous waste.

Zhu Ziyan blinked, taking a second to look back at Qing Yan. ”Oh, then I—”

”What the hell is your problem?!”

Qing Yan cut off her words, the accumulated frustration of having his affection meters plummet, being abandoned, being called as if he was a virus, and having the system mock his lack of game finally exploded out of him.

He stepped forward, glaring daggers right back at Xu Xiansu, his face flushed with indignation.

”Goddammit, just what the hell is wrong with you, woman?!” Qing Yan roared, pointing an accusing finger directly at her nose. ”Ever since this exam started, you’ve been treating me like I kicked your dog and burned down your ancestral hall! I haven’t even done a single thing to you! I haven’t touched you, I haven’t insulted you, yet you act like I owe you eighty million spirit stones and killed your entire bloodline! You walk around looking at people like you’re an untouchable celestial goddess, but your personality is worse than a rotten sewer rat! Who gave you the right to look down on me?!”

The entire mountain peak fell dead silent.

Xia Mengyao, Luo Mingye, Ning Xueli, Ling Luochen, and Zhu Ziyan all froze, staring at Qing Yan in jaw-dropping shock.

Xu Xiansu however, didn’t yell back. She didn’t even raise her voice.

Instead, a terrifying, suffocating pressure suddenly erupted from her body like a dormant volcano waking up!

*BOOM—!*

The ground beneath her boots fractured into a spiderweb of deep cracks.

The dual aura of blinding solar light and radiant lunar silver erupted around her frame, turning the sky above the mountain half-golden and half-silver.

The sheer wind pressure generated by her qi blew back the fog for miles, causing the ancient monument to groan under the strain.

Xu Xiansu looked at him with eyes that burned with unyielding coldness.

”Forgive me for my lack of culture,” Xu Xiansu spoke, her voice carrying a resonant, divine authority that vibrated through the air. ”I am not particularly good with words... so I prefer to express myself using pure violence.”

Qing Yan felt the crushing, mountain-like weight of her physique slam into his chest, making his ribs creak.

But instead of cowering like the old Qing Yan would have, the newly bound host—armed with his system’s starter rewards and fueled by pure, unadulterated spite—gritted his teeth, summoned all his courage and flared his own Golden Core qi to its absolute limit!

”Come on then, you arrogant bitch!” Qing Yan bellowed, stepping forward as his energy surged. ”Let’s see if your fists are as loud as your mouth!”

The air between them fractured with static electricity as the two protagonist—a transmigrated system host and a reborn divine physique genius—stared each other down, stepping onto the threshold of a chaotic, explosive clash!