Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

The Eastern Gardens.

It is the largest garden of the Botanist Faction.

It spanned several miles of fertile, enchanted soil, standing as the grandest and most prosperous agricultural hub of the Botanist Faction.

Arrayed in neat, shimmering rows under protective glass domes and spatial barriers were thousands of Grade 6 and Grade 7 Spirit Herbs, rare Sun-Dew Blossoms, and ancient Ginseng roots that fueled the faction’s massive trade network.

Because this singular district produced over eighty percent of their entire wealth, it naturally boasted the highest concentration of elite martial guards, array wardens, and senior cultivators in the entire city.

At this exact moment, standing on the crest of a grassy ridge just a few hundred meters away from the heavily fortified outer perimeter of the gardens, four silhouettes stood under the pale midnight sky: Huo Yue, Ziyan, Shen Tao, and Shen Fei.

Ziyan adjusted her silk sleeves, her sharp eyes scanning the glowing blue spiritual barrier protecting the main entrance of the gardens.

After awhile, she turned her head slightly and spoke, ”Sister Yue, I actually know the captain of the guard of this garden.”

Huo Yue, Shen Tao, and Shen Fei all turned towards her, their attention drawn to her words.

”Go on.” Said Huo Yue.

”His name is Shui Yi, a 1st Stage Spirit Ascension realm expert, and a dedicated water-attribute cultivator,” Ziyan explained, her tone turning informative. ”On top of his high cultivation, he is also a registered, high-ranking Beast Tamer and has contracted a peak Spirit Ascension realm Dragon-Scaled Carp as his primary spirit beast. Together, their combined defensive water domain is exceptionally resilient and is even feared by Nirvana Rebirth Realm experts.”

Her expression then grew solemn as she looked at them, ”According to my seniors in the Pocket-Beast League, he had once challenged the former Champion of our faction.”

Shen Tao and Shen Fei both looked serious upon hearing that detailed assessment.

A 1st Stage Spirit Ascension cultivator backed by a peak Spirit Ascension dragon-blooded aquatic beast was no laughing matter, especially when defending an established defensive hub.

Not to mention they are also capable of contending against Nirvana Rebirth Realm experts.

Huo Yue, however, just clicked her tongue, showing a great unfiltered disgust at the mere mention of water attribute, ”Tsk! A disgusting liquider! Just what I hate the most!”

Ziyan sweatdropped instantly, her mouth twitching as she looked at her fiery friend. ”Sister Yue... you really know how to make up names that sound so blatantly racist.”

Huo Yue raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared back with complete innocence, as if she couldn’t understand why Ziyan said that.

”He’s a liquider, is he not? What’s wrong with calling him that? How is that racist at all? He’s a human, I’m a human! We’re the same species!”

The three of them simply remained silent, staring at her with helpless, deadpan expressions.

They were about to say something but Huo Yue continued without skipping a beat, waving her hand dismissively in the air.

”But obviously, since he’s a liquider, he’s an inferior kind of human. I mean, what do they even do in combat? They’re only good for working in the muddy fields and watering herbs! I never understand why people actively choose to cultivate water when ice is far superior in every single way!”

Ziyan smiled wryly, letting out a soft sigh as she tried to explain the basic laws of cultivation. ”Sister Yue... a person’s spirit root attributes are innate from birth. Most cultivators don’t really get to choose what element they are born with.”

Huo Yue shrugged her shoulders casually. ”Yeah, I know that. But water-attribute cultivators can also cultivate ice if they put in the effort, since they fall under the exact same elemental branch! Sticking purely to soft, wet water just shows a complete lack of ambition and backbone!”

Everyone was silent at that scathing logic and just nodded slowly at her, deciding it was far easier to agree than to argue with her fiery, unyielding philosophy.

”Anyways, let’s start,” Huo Yue snapped her fingers, and a brilliant, blinding golden flame flickered to life right on top of her open palm, its intense heat instantly incinerating the ground around her boots and turning the damp night air bone-dry.

A fierce, sadistic grin stretched across her lips as her fiery eyes locked onto the distant water barriers of the Eastern Gardens.

”Let’s go burn those liquiders.”

The three stared at each other, and sighed, deciding it was better to just let her be.

*

*

*

At this moment, around the Eastern Garden.

Guard captain Shui Yi walked with heavy, deliberate strides along the elevated stone walkways overlooking the sprawling, lush greenery of the Eastern Gardens.

The ambient air here was rich with the dense, fragrant mist of Grade 7 Spirit Herbs, and just cultivating here would yield far better results than the outside.

But his sharp, blue colored eyes remained hyper-focused, scanning every shadow, every runes of defensive array, and all the guards under his command along the perimeter.

He paused near the heart of a defensive array, which allows anyone to control it, before turning to face his squad leaders with a cold, unyielding glare.

”Tighten the defensive line around Sector Four immediately!” Shui Yi barked, his voice echoing with authoritative weight. ”Double the patrols along the eastern wall, make sure the wardens check every single weaknesses on the defensive arrays every quarter of an hour, and report any signs of environmental anomalies to me without delay! I want no lapses in security tonight!”

A few of the junior guards exchanged skeptical, amused glances behind his back, clearly finding the intense mobilization completely unnecessary.

”Captain Shui, isn’t this a bit too much paranoia?” one of the Nascent Soul guard captains asked, leaning casually against his spear.

Another guard nodded, looking relaxed and amused, ”Nobody in their right mind would ever dare to attack the Eastern Gardens of the Botanist Faction. We have thousands of elite guards, you, a 1st Stage Spirit Ascension captain, and the protection of Faction Leader Mu Gang!”

A different guard agreed, ”I doubt that brat Shen Haoran and his little circle would even choose us as a target to attack, after all, they’re just a bunch of fresh newcomers at the Nascent Soul and Golden Core realms. What could a handful of brats possibly do against our entire army?”

”Silence!” Shui Yi snapped, his eyes flashing with a cold, watery sheen. ”An arrogant mind is a dead mind! I don’t care if they are Nascent Souls or Golden Cores—they are the heir and the most talented disciples of the strongest Immortal Clan. Even if they are weak, they must have some artifacts that allows them to fight anyone above their level! So until the faction council officially orders a stand-down, you will treat every shadow as an enemy, and you will follow my orders! Understood!?”

The guards sighed, bowing their heads half-heartedly.

”Understood, Captain...”

With that, they immediately scattered and went to do what their captain ordered.

But at that exact moment, while everyone was reluctantly turning back to carry out their assigned duties and check the all their defensive arrays to strengthen their guard...

BOOOOOOOM—!

The pitch black midnight sky suddenly lit up in a blinding, instantaneous flash of bright incandescent illumination!

The dark void of the night sky vanished completely, replaced by a searing, golden radiance as if morning had violently broken over the world in a single microsecond!

The temperature inside the gardens skyrocketed by thousands of degrees in an instant.

The damp night air vanished, the midnight dew on the spirit leaves evaporated into dry steam, and the wooden guard towers began to smolder and crack!

Shui Yi and every single guard in the district froze in complete shock, instinctively shielding their eyes with their sleeves.

They looked up toward the heavens, and their eyes widened in sheer, paralyzing horror.

Floating directly above the Eastern Gardens was a massive, blinding Sun!

It was an enormous, roaring sphere of compressed, golden-red divine flames spanning several hundred meters in diameter, radiating an heat so suffocating, intense, and destructive that the space surrounding it was literally melting and twisting like soft glass!

Standing right at the center of that divine sun, her crimson red hair flying wildly in the heatwaves, with her eyes glowing with a manic and sadistic urge to burn, was Huo Yue!

Shui Yi was stunned for only a fraction of a second before his survival instincts violently kicked in!

Realizing the sheer heat of that flame, he instantly realized just how huge of a cataclysm was hanging right over their heads, so he reacted with explosive speed!

”COME FORTH!” Shui Yi roared at the top of his lungs, biting his tongue and spraying a mist of essence blood into the air!

ROAAAR—!

A massive, golden-scaled creature materialized beside him in a burst of surging spatial light!

It was his contracted spirit beast, the peak Spirit Ascension realm Dragon-Scaled Carp.

The giant, thirty-meter-long beast let out a roar while it was thrashing its dragon-like tail in the air, its thick golden scales shimmering with golden ancient power!

”Water Barrier! Go! Don’t hold back!!” Shui Yi screamed, channeling every drop of his 1st Stage Spirit Ascension qi and released massive amounts of water, enough to flood an entire city!

Beside him, the Dragon Scaled Carp also roared and released a powerful torrent of water, completely eclipsing the amount that its master released.

BOOOM!

A colossal, raging torrent of deep blue ocean water burst out of their combined water, forming a massive, swirling dome of high-pressure water that wrapped around the entire eastern gardens!

”Rise!” Shui Yi roared.

Then, tens of thousands of tons of high-density spiritual water roared upward to meet the sky, trying frantically to create a protective barrier against the descending inferno!

”EVERYONE! IN FORMATION! DEPLOY ALL DEFENSIVE ARRAYS NOW! DON’T CARE ABOUT THE COSTS!” Shui Yi screamed desperately, his veins bulging across his neck as his voice echoed across the panicked gardens!

The guards immediately hurried and frantically cranked up the defensive arrays beyond its maximum capacity, causing it to overheat.

But as long as it can hold on, it’s worth it!

Above them, Huo Yue let out a loud, mocking, wild laugh that cut through the roaring flames!

”Die, you disgusting liquiders!” she screamed in delight, snapping her fingers! ”Taste the power of four Heavenly Flames combined!”

The massive, artificial sun fell.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!!!

A wave of burning hot blinding golden light engulfed the entire city.

The moment the descending golden sun made contact with the roaring water dome, there was no splash, no collision, and no struggle—the tens of thousands of tons of spiritual water were instantly turned to superheated mist and erased from existence!

The Grade 5, Grade 6, and Grade 7 defensive arrays shattered like fragile glass, their protective barriers disintegrating into ash!

The blinding light swept across the entire Eastern Gardens, vaporizing the glass domes, incinerating any semblance of defensive formations, and instantly melting the stone watchtowers into pools of glowing lava!

The shockwave exploded outward across Leaf Green City, illuminating every street, every alleyway, and every rooftop in a brilliant, terrifying inferno that signaled the unholy beginning of the city’s total destruction, and its change of sovereign.

Huo Yue looked down at them, and let out a manic laughed that echoed throughout the city.