Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

The next day.

The morning sun filtered through the high, arched windows of the Imperial Academy’s grand hallways, casting long, golden corridors of light across the polished jade floors.

Disciples in immaculate robes walked in bustling groups, chatting excitedly about the previous day’s grand trials.

Yet, amid the vibrant energy of the campus, Qing Yan walked toward his classroom with a hollow, broken gait, moving as if he were a ghost haunting a world he no longer belonged to.

He moved with a stiff, shivering posture, his shoulders hunched tight against his neck, his arms wrapped frantically around his own chest as though trying to hold his shattered pieces together.

Every single step he took sent a phantom flare of agonizing soreness through his waist, lower back, and thighs.

His face was ghastly pale, his eyes sunken, bloodshot, and perpetually darting around in absolute, paranoid terror.

Every time a male or female student walked past him, or a sudden breeze rustled his robes, Qing Yan flinched violently, pulling away as if touching anyone or anything would instantly pull him back into a nightmare.

He was completely, utterly traumatized—a broken shell of a man walking through a living hell.

As he dragged his trembling feet down the corridor, his mind was entirely consumed by the vivid, horrifying memories of what had been done to him.

The terrifying, suffocating smell of damp earth and thick ape musk seemed permanently burned into his nostrils.

Every time he closed his eyes, he could still feel the crushing, inescapable grip of those massive, hyper-muscular hairy arms pinning him down to the hard cave floor.

He remembered the deafening, coy squeals of that six-meter monster, the endless hours of relentless, grotesque physical torment where his screams for mercy meant nothing, and the nightmarish humiliation of being used like a helpless toy until his mind went numb.

And then, there was the system—the twisted, sadistical ”golden finger” that was supposed to make him a god.

Instead of granting him invincibility, it had mocked his suffering, thrown a bar of soap at his ruined dignity, and then burned his very soul with high-voltage lightning when he dared to cry out in rage.

The lingering fear of those soul-rending electric shocks made his nerves twitch uncontrollably.

He was trapped in an impossible, agonizing dilemma: obey a cruel, unfeeling system and risk facing another grotesque beast, or disobey and have his soul tortured into literal insanity.

’Why me...?’ Qing Yan wept silently inside his mind, his teeth grinding together so hard they threatened to shatter. ’Why did I have to suffer all of this?! What did I ever do to deserve such hell?!’

And through the thick haze of trauma and despair, a burning, venomous hatred flared up in his heart as he thought of Xu Xiansu.

That arrogant, ruthless bitch!

He blamed Xu Xiansu as the sole catalyst for this entire cascade of misery!

After all, if Xu Xiansu hadn’t brutally ripped his arm off in front of everyone, Qing Yan wouldn’t have been forced to take on a loan and activate that escape talisman.

He wouldn’t have landed in that cursed, dark valley, he wouldn’t have been desperate enough that the system was forced to use a charm boost on him, and he would never have been captured by that hideously ugly gorilla!

’Xu Xiansu...’ Qing Yan’s blood boiled with unadulterated venom, his dark fingernails digging so deep into his own palms that skin broke and blood trickled out. ’I hate you... I hate you with every fiber of my soul! One day... one day I will rip your limbs off one by one and make you beg for death!’

The sudden, intense spike of emotional agony, combined with the phantom physical pain racking his body, proved too much for his exhausted vessel to bear.

*STUMBLE!*

At that moment, his trembling knees suddenly gave out beneath him.

Qing Yan stumbled forward and fell hard on all fours onto the cold jade floor, his chest heaving violently as he began dry-heaving uncontrollably, gasping for air like a dying fish on dry land.

Cold sweat drenched his back, and tears of sheer humiliation spilled onto the floor.

Just then, amid the cold isolation of his misery, a gentle, melodious voice called out to him.

”Are you okay?”

The voice was so soft, so pure, and so full of genuine, unblemished warmth that it sounded like a heavenly chime breaking through the darkest depths of a thunderstorm.

Qing Yan slowly raised his head, his tear-filled, bloodshot eyes peering upward through his messy hair—and he saw something that he will never forget for the rest of his life.

It was a woman who stood illuminated by the golden morning light streaming through the arched window behind her, framing her figure like a divine halo descending from the higher realms.

She possessed long, cascading strands of radiant blonde hair that flowed over her shoulders like melted sunlight, cascading down her back in silky, gleaming waves.

Her face was a masterwork of soft, ethereal beauty, unblemished and fair as milk-white jade, featuring delicate, rose-tinted lips curve into a gentle, compassionate smile.

But it was her eyes that truly captured his breath—deep, luminescent pools of soft blue that shone like the tranquil summer sky or a clear, untouched mountain spring, reflecting absolute warmth, kindness, and purity without a single trace of malice or disdain.

She looked as though she had been born from a poet’s grandest dream, a celestial maiden stepping down from the canvas of an immortal masterpiece to grace the mortal dirt.

It was Qian Yunxi.

Seeing his pale, miserable state, Qian Yunxi didn’t step back in disgust or look at him with condescension as everyone else did.

Instead, she knelt down gracefully beside him, her blue robes fanning out over the floor like quiet river waves.

She lightly flicked her slender wrist, taking out a glowing, fragrant spirit pill from her spatial spirit ring, and gently handed it to him with a sweet, reassuring smile.

”Here,” Qian Yunxi spoke softly, her voice soothing the frayed nerves in his brain. ”It’s just a Rank 3 Spirit Mending Pill, but this should make you feel better and calm your qi and spirit.”

Qing Yan was silent, he simply stared Qian Yunxi in a daze, as if he couldn’t believe that such perfect woman existed.

At that exact, frozen moment, a translucent, glowing blue system panel automatically expanded before his eyes, pulsing with faint light.

[Name: Qian Yunxi]

[Identity: Descendant of the Six-Winged Divine Emperor/ Successor of the Spirit Hall]

[Charm: 100]

[Affection: 10 (Neutral / Sympathetic Kindness)]

[Capture Difficulty: SS]

Qing Yan stared at the glowing text, his breath completely stopping in his chest, while his heart, which had been frozen in dark despair, suddenly beat with an explosive, violent surge of raw emotion.

The darkness, the trauma, the foul memory of the gorilla, and the cruelty of the world seemed to instantly wash away, replaced by an overwhelming, blinding light.

’She’s the one...’ Qing Yan thought, his eyes trembling as tears of genuine reverence welled up in his gaze.

Forget the SSS-difficulty monsters who looked down on him.

Forget the ruthless, arrogant maidens who hated his guts.

This woman before him was different. She was pure, she was kind, and she possessed a soul of so pure it looks like unblemished light!

’This woman... is the one true goddess worthy of me laying down my life!’

”T-Thank you...” Qing Yan stuttered, his voice trembling as he reached out with shaking, pale hands to accept the glowing pill from her delicate fingers.

His skin tingled where her gentle aura brushed against him, sending a sudden wave of warmth through his ice-cold veins.

Qian Yunxi smiled brightly, her soft blue eyes crinkling with sweet, unpretentious warmth as she shook her head. ”No problem at all. Just take care of yourself, okay? The campus corridors can be quite drafty.”

With that, she stood up straight with graceful, fluid movements, smoothed down her blue academic robes, waved her hand in a cheerful, gentle goodbye, and turned to walk away down the grand hallway.

All the while, Qing Yan remained kneeling on the floor, his eyes wide and completely unblinking as he stared fixedly at her retreating back.

He didn’t move an inch, holding his breath as her silky blonde hair swayed gently with every step she took, until her slender silhouette finally rounded a corner and disappeared from his sight.

”A goddess...” he whispered under his breath, his voice laced with a profound, almost religious awe.

The Rank 3 Spirit Mending Pill felt warm against his palm, its soothing aroma clearing the lingering fog of terror in his mind.

He swallowed the pill dry, feeling a gentle stream of healing energy spread through his chest, soothing his battered dantians and frayed nerves.

For the first time since transmigrating into this terrifying, brutal world, he felt a genuine, blinding spark of hope ignite within his soul.

’System!’ Qing Yan cried out inside his mind, his inner voice trembling not with rage or fear, but with an absolute, desperate devotion. ’System, I’ll do anything you want! I will obey every command, I won’t complain, and I will endure every trial! Just please, help me! I want to pursue that woman! I want her to be mine!’

[...]

The translucent blue screen hovering before his vision flickered slightly, the system remaining quiet for a brief, heavy second as if evaluating his sudden, dramatic change of heart.

*Ding!*

[Don’t worry, Host,] the system’s monotone voice chimed back, carrying an approving, almost encouraging tone that echoed directly in his consciousness. [I am the Goddess Capturing System, after all! It doesn’t matter if it’s a gentle neighborhood jade beauty or a cold and domineering kingdom toppling beauty, I will do my best to assist you in capturing every single Goddess you want!]

Seeing that response, a confident grin appeared on Qing Yan’s face.

And at this exact moment, sitting on the cold jade floor of the Imperial Academy hallway, Qing Yan made a quiet, life-altering decision in his heart: he decided to let bygones be bygones.

The traumatic memory of the giant gorilla? Forgotten.

The excruciating pain of his severed arm? Moved past.

The agonizing electric shocks that had tortured his soul just hours ago? Completely forgiven and erased from his mind.

It didn’t matter if this system was inherently sadistic, cold, or evil.

It didn’t matter if it had pushed him into a living nightmare earlier.

As long as this golden finger possessed the miraculous power to elevate him from the dirt and help him conquer a divine, heavenly maiden like Qian Yunxi, then in his eyes, it was a good system!

A noble system! His ultimate savior!

As for that daunting [Capture Difficulty: SS] floating on the status screen? It didn’t frighten him at all. In fact, it only fueled the burning, obsessed fire within his chest!

There was an old mortal saying from his past life: ”If you grind an iron rod long enough, you can turn it into a needle through sheer, unyielding perseverance!”

He was a transmigrator! He was the chosen host of a divine system! He didn’t believe for a single second that he couldn’t capture that pure, compassionate woman if he just tried really, really hard—especially with the boundless, heaven defying cheats and functions provided by the system!

She was so kind, so gentle, and already held a sympathetic 10 points of affection for him. It was only a matter of time before she fell completely in love with his unyielding determination!

A newfound, burning determination surged through his entire body, flushing the sickly pale color from his cheeks.

Qing Yan wiped the dry sweat from his forehead, pushed himself off the cold floor, and stood up tall.

He threw his shoulders back, straightened his posture, and smoothed out the wrinkles in his linen clothes, casting away every trace of his previous pitiful, broken demeanor.

With his eyes shining with a crazy, ambitious light, he turned on his heel and hurried down the grand corridor, marching with fast, confident strides straight toward his classroom.