Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

”W-What is happening!?”

Yun Xuan exclaimed internally, panic roaring through his consciousness like a sudden tidal wave.

His physical senses felt completely detached, frozen solid as he found himself utterly unable to move an inch or speak a single syllable.

When his vision finally cleared, he found himself surrounded by a sea of people, all wearing ornate, flowing clothing straight out of a xianxia world.

The air was shrouded with the scent of dust, burnt flesh, and a heavy, suffocating spiritual pressure that made his soul tremble.

Just then, a crisp, mechanical sound echoed directly inside his mind.

[Host successfully bound]

[At this moment, the Host has transmigrated into the body of Korgar, the chief of the Fire Giant Tribe, and is about to be executed.]

Korgar? Fire Giant Tribe?

Yun Xuan’s internal thoughts screeched to a grinding halt. ’Isn’t that a major villain in the novel I just read last week?! The one who went absolutely insane and sacrificed millions of his own loyal tribesmen just to forcefully breakthrough for power?! I became him?!’

He tried to look down, only to realize his current physical form was a battered, ten-foot-tall monstrous body bound tightly by an oily, terrifying black substance that was teeming with unblinking eyes.

Not to mention, by the looks of it, he had transmigrated during Korgar’s absolute final moment, when the villain was completely defeated, paralyzed, and about to be brutally killed by the protagonists of the story!

System! Daddy system! Grandpa system! Help me! Help me please! I just got here! I don’t want to die!

[Don’t worry, Host. I am the Whitewashing System.]

Well, what can you do?! Look at the guy standing in front of me! He has glowing golden eyes and a sword that literally devours light! He’s going to turn me into ash!

[I can produce a light screen that will show your memories to the world. But, the twist is that I can help you completely alter those memories in real-time.]

[Then, when your fake, tragic memories bring tears of deepest regret to the people surrounding you, you will obtain Points which you can use to escape or permanently increase your strength!]

Great! That’s absolutely great!

Yun Xuan’s internal panic instantly transformed into a manic, hysterical joy.

I have been baptized with countless K-dramas, tragic anime backstories, and tear-jerking soap operas in my past life!

I don’t believe for a single second that I can’t make these uncultured, ancient natives cry their eyes out!

I’ll make them think Korgar sacrificed his tribe because of some deep, hidden, heartbreaking prophecy to save the world!

’Alright, system! Do your job! Roll the clip!’

*

*

*

A whitewashing trope.

Shen Haoran thought, his golden eyes narrowing slightly as he observed the sudden, profound structural shift in the spiritual energy hovering directly over Korgar’s head.

This was a very common novel trope that he had encountered within the vast records of anomalous destinies from his cousin’s memories.

The Whitewashing trope is a trope where an otherworldly soul, a protagonist, would be reincarnated or transmigrated into the exact body of a final villain right when they were about to be killed.

Then, by utilizing a specialized system to retroactively alter the past, they would project a completely tear-jerking, fabricated set of memories onto a heavenly screen.

The display would invariably make the heroines, the secondary characters, and even the common soldiers cry tears of immense regret, effectively shifting the global karma and granting the new soul a perfect path to survival and dominance.

’How laughable,’ Haoran mused, his expression remaining an unreadable mask of aristocratic disdain.

’Still, this new protagonist should be a system user as well,’ thought Haoran, a faint, predatory glint flashing across his pupils. ’Heh, a fresh test subject actually fell right into my hands without me even needing to hunt for one. Aunt Yuyan and Aunt Shuang will definitely be over the moon when I bring this back to the clan’s research chambers. A soul-binding mechanism that alters localized memory paradigms... how thoroughly fascinating.’

Just then, the massive, translucent screen hovering in the upper atmosphere flickered violently with a divine, golden light.

The white fog within the projection began to clear, showing a younger, melancholic Korgar standing alone in the desolate, harsh blizzards of the Vast Wilderness, carrying a injured giant child through a storm.

”It’s starting! It’s starting!” one of the elite sect disciples shouted, leaning forward with wide, curious eyes.

”Everyone! Let’s watch how evil this giant truly is! Let us witness the origin of his dark path!” another commanded, completely captivated by the celestial phenomenon.

Just then, Haoran took a single step forward, the black steel of Azathoth humming a low, dismissive note that instantly severed the atmospheric tension.

”I have no interest in the life of a swine.”

Before anyone could even begin to comprehend his movement or utter a word of protest, Haoran’s left hand flicked outward.

Then, strands of pure, golden spiritual energy shot from his fingertips like liquid silk, slicing through the air and instantly drawing several ancient, overlapping runes directly on the ground beneath Korgar’s bound form.

”Sky Pillar Sealing Formation,” he called out in a voice as calm and absolute as a winter frost, his fingers blurring through a sequence of several complex hand seals.

Then, at that exact moment, a violent pillar of dense, primordial stone erupted from the earth, completely engulfing Korgar’s ten-foot-tall body within its solid, rune-etched core.

The sealing mechanism was so absolute that it instantly severed the giant’s connection to the ambient world, and the massive, heavenly light screen hovering in the sky flapped like a broken banner before completely disappearing into thin air.

*

*

*

W-What is happening!?

Yun Xuan shrieked internally, his newly altered memory file completely cutting off mid-sentence as he suddenly found himself trapped in a pitch-black, suffocating void where even his thoughts felt heavy.

System! System! What’s happening?! Why is everything dark?! Where is my tragic K-drama backstory?!

[Host, it seems like an extreme anomaly has occurred.]

Of course I can see that, you piece of junk! But what really happened?! Why did the screen turn off?!

[Someone who apparently wasn’t interested in the story just directly sealed you, Host. His soul-force bypassed the heavenly parameters of the Karmic Screen entirely. But don’t worry, your life is not in any immediate danger; the seal is keeping your vital functions stable.]

’Fuck that!’ Yun Xuan roared, his internal soul flailing in absolute panic. ’I’m in a rock! I’m stuck in a damn rock! Unseal me! Use the points! Do something!’

[I’m sorry, Host, but there’s absolutely nothing I can do right now. You don’t have any points yet, and the spatial layers of this seal are reinforced by a Primordial law, so it’s difficult to break. Let us just wait patiently until he lets us out. Perhaps he will choose to interrogate us later.]

Damn it!

*

*

*

At that moment, back on the quieted, smoke-filled plains, Shen Haoran casually patted the massive stone pillar standing before him.

Under his touch, the towering column of ancient rock shrunk rapidly, compressing itself down until it perfectly fit into the center of his palm.

Then, with a smooth, elegant motion, he stored the miniature pillar away into his personal spatial ring.

He then turned around slowly, his golden eyes sweeping over the gathered crowd as he stared at everyone, the sect disciples, the Spirit Hall vanguard, the reinforcements from the capital, and even the Ten Crowns, and furrowed his brows in deep, chilling disapproval.

”...What a disgrace,” Haoran spoke, his voice dropping into a low, heavy register that vibrated with an immense, commanding pressure. ”If you wanted cheap entertainment, there are plenty of women in the Blissful Immortal Palace who are more than willing to entertain your base desires. But your pathetic, gossiping attitude has absolutely no place on a live battlefield.”

Everyone immediately looked profoundly ashamed as a heavy, suffocating silence fell over the plains.

Even the Crowns, who usually carried themselves with immense pride, cast their gazes downward.

Although they had remained silent, their internal curiosity had actually made them very eager to watch the screen just moments prior.

They had allowed their martial vigilance to drop for the sake of a spectacle.

”B-But... w-we believe you can handle everything, young master,” one of the elite disciples from a prominent Central Region sect stuttered, his face flushing red as he tried to defend his lapse in judgment.

Another nodded eagerly, ”With your presence here, there was no way that bound beast could have resisted anyway...”

Haoran turned his gaze fully toward them, his pupils glowing like liquid gold. ”I can. I can handle it effortlessly. However, what makes you think I will save or help any of you if something actually went wrong?”

The two disciples choked on their breath, unable to find an answer.

”Do you have anything on you, any worth, any allegiance, or any value, that will make me waste my own qi to save your lives?” Haoran questioned, stepping forward as the absolute weight of his aura bore down on their shoulders.

They remained completely silent, the wind howling through the ruined armor and broken banners around them.

”None?” Haoran asked, his voice entirely devoid of warmth. ”Then what makes you think I’d help you? Any of you?”

Silence.

Not a single person dared to look him in the eye.

The noble scions who had just crept down from the city wall to claim their share of the glory froze in their tracks, their faces turning a ghostly shade of white.

Haoran shook his head, a cold, mocking smirk playing on his lips as he turned his back on them, walking back toward Huo Yue and Zhu Ziyan.

”You’re like a virgin believing in the love of a whore. Utterly delusional.”