Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

Lin Che felt like crying as he slowly and reluctantly shuffled along at the back of the line, following behind the majestic figures of Ye Hongyan and Shen Haoran.

All he wanted—all his simple, tired soul had ever craved when he woke up in this chaotic world—was to be left completely, utterly alone to live out a quiet, peaceful, and delightfully boring second life.

Was that honestly so much to ask from the grand, cosmic managers of reincarnation?

Apparently so.

Instead of a cozy slice-of-life simulation, the universe had dumped him straight into a high-stakes, high-mortality fantasy thriller where survival depended on blending in with the background scenery.

But how was he supposed to play the role of an invisible background extra when all these terrifying, world-shattering big bosses kept looking at him?!

Shen Haoran was already crazy and unpredictable enough, with the system literally sending warning signals, and his terrifying eyes that seemed to read a person’s entire search history with a single glance.

And now? Now, this drop-dead gorgeous but utterly terrifying Heavenly Saint woman—who also happened to be one of the absolute pinnacle figures of the Academy—had casually dropped from the heavens to stand right beside the young master of the Shen Clan.

’Seriously, what is my life right now?’

Lin Che screamed internally, his mental hands desperately pulling at his hair as he kept his head lowered at a precise, subservient thirty-degree angle.

’First, I have to deal with the teenage sociopath who hands out boxed lunches like a slimy local mayor running for re-election. Now, his super-powered saint teacher and lover lands next to him, looking at him with eyes so sweet they could cause diabetes, but looking at the rest of us like we’re literal, single-celled organisms.’

’Why are they hovering near my work sector? Is the universe actively trying to trigger my fight-or-flight response? If I sweat any more, my scratchy servant uniform is going to shrink and choke me to death. Please, just take your premium spring water and go back to your jade pavilion! I just want to shovel dirt in peace!’

Up ahead, completely oblivious to the existential crisis occurring within the mind of the servant ten paces behind them, Ye Hongyan tilted her head slightly towards Haoran, her voice dropping into a soft, quiet whisper that was perfectly insulated from the surrounding crowd by a localized barrier of her qi.

”Haoran, who exactly is that young man over there?” she asked, her eyes briefly sweeping over Lin Che with a cold, analytical detachment that completely the warmth she reserve for those close to her.

Haoran hummed softly, his golden eyes remaining fixed on the distant horizon as he strolled through the mud with an elegant, unbothered grace.

”Someone I have been keeping an eye on for a while. He is a highly elusive variable whom I wanted to recruit into our inner circle. However, if he ultimately refuses my offer, or if he proves to be incompatible with our alignment, he is someone that must be eliminated as quickly as possible.”

”A possible enemy, then?” asked Hongyan, her tone instantly hardening, her beautiful eyes narrowing into sharp slits as a chilling, dangerous aura flickered deep within her pupils.

”You could say so, yes,” said Haoran, his voice light and entirely nonchalant.

”Then let us simply eliminate him right now,” Ye Hongyan said, her voice completely, utterly serious, as if she were casually suggesting they clear a stray weed from the path. ”One should never, under any circumstances, spare even a potential enemy. It leaves too many messy variables. And remember, Haoran, if you decide to kill someone, you must always make absolutely sure that their entire family, down to the last relative, follows them into the grave.”

Haoran chuckled softly, quite amused by her bluntness. ”Even the children, Hongyan?”

”Especially the children,” she said, her expression turning incredibly solemn and grave, her posture radiating the cold, ruthless wisdom of someone who had survived the bloody food chain of the cultivation world for a millennium. ”They will watch you slaughtering their family, their parents, and their clansmen. If you spare them out of some foolish, temporary soft-heartedness, they might very well turn out to be a supreme, once-in-a-generation talent, fueled by the pure, unyielding fire of vengeance. They will grow up in the shadows, surpass you in the future when you least expect it, and that heavy, unresolved karma will inevitably come back to bite you. You must cut the grass and pull up the roots.”

Haoran was rather deeply amused by this.

He honestly hadn’t known that this beautiful, domestic-looking woman, who had spent the previous night melting in his arms, actually possessed such a thoroughly ruthless, cold-blooded philosophy.

But as he thought about it, he guessed that living for over a thousand years within the cutthroat, survival-of-the-fittest environment of the cultivation world really does mess up a person’s moral compass, reshaping them into efficient survival machines.

”Listen to me carefully, Haoran,” Ye Hongyan continued, leaning in slightly, her voice filled with a genuine, maternal protective instinct. ”I know that deep down, you have a kind, gentle heart, but you must never forget what I am about to tell you. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you simply cannot bring yourself to kill an innocent child on the spot, just tell them with a reassuring smile that you will spare their life today, but the next time your paths cross, you will show them no mercy. Then, as you turn around and pretend to leave, you immediately turn right back to the child, look them in the eye, tell them that ’we have met again,’ and kill them on the spot.”

Haoran blinked at that, his steps halting for a brief second as he processed her words.

That... was a level of absolute shameless pragmatism that even he, with all his villainous schemings, had not yet touched.

He was genuinely impressed.

He was really learning a lot today. A teacher is a teacher, he supposed; their experience in navigating the dirty, unwritten rules of the world was truly a treasure trove of tactical knowledge.

”So, should I just kill him for you right now?” asked Ye Hongyan, her hand subtly twitching as if she were ready to summon a localized spatial collapse to vaporize Lin Che and his shovel into atomic dust.

Haoran shook his head slowly, his eyes reflecting a deep, calculating intensity. ”No, do not act yet. Besides, even if you did try... you probably won’t succeed anyway.”

After all, that guy’s s protagonist, and you are—...

He paused, his golden eyes widening for just a tiny, microscopic fraction of a second as a sudden, brilliant realization struck his mind like a bolt of lightning.

He had just realized a fundamental, fatal flaw in his previous tactical approach.

As a designated villain of this world’s narrative, possessing a rather pitiful, abysmal level of natural luck and negative destiny, trying to directly kill a primary Protagonist—who was actively protected by the ridiculous, reality-warping plot armor of the heavens—would always be an incredibly difficult, uphill battle.

The universe itself would actively manipulate probability, turning common rocks into shields and summoning sudden, catastrophic interventions to keep the protagonist breathing.

Yesterday, Xiao Long and his system had nearly escaped because of this exact, annoying phenomenon.

But... what if he didn’t try to deliver the killing blow himself?

What if, instead of using his own hands or his own resources, he strategically utilized the hand of a Heroine, or even manipulated another competing Protagonist to do the dirty work for him?

The heavens designed the plot armor of protagonists to defend against villains and common antagonists.

But what happened when a Heroine, who was naturally aligned with the world’s positive destiny, or another destiny-blessed Protagonist, turned their blades against one of their own?

The natural, protective laws of the world’s luck would become thoroughly confused, paralyzed by the conflicting karmic signals of two positive entities clashing.

The ridiculous plot armor would fail to calculate the threat properly, leaving the target entirely vulnerable to a mortal strike.

’Yes...’ Haoran thought, a dark, brilliant smirk playing on the edge of his lips as his mind instantly began restructuring his entire long-term campaign. ’If I use the heroines like Qian Yunxi and the others, or even protagonist like Huo Yue, Xu Xiansu, or Shen Tao, to deliver the final execution to these rising stars, the system’s protective shields won’t even register the attack as a hostile, villainous intervention until it is far too late.’

’I can bypass the heavenly laws entirely by letting the children of destiny slaughter each other while I simply sit back, drink my premium wine, and collect the fallen spoils.’

He glanced back one last time at the shivering, sweating figure of Lin Che, who was still desperately trying to look like the most boring, average servant in the history of the empire.

This needs to be tested soon. He can’t believe that after so many years, he had only thought of this now.

Soon, they arrived at the campus, where they found several more servants working.

The central pathways of the academic grounds were an absolute mess of shattered jade tiles and collapsed columns.

Sweaty, soot-stained squads of low-born laborers were actively hauling massive blocks of granite, their backs bent double under the scorching afternoon sun.

Without hesitation, Haoran and Ye Hongyan greeted them, and they immediately got fooled by the sudden, overwhelming display of noble benevolence.

”Oh, look, it’s Miss Ye!” one of the older supervisors gasped, his eyes widening in pure shock as he immediately dropped his clipboard into the dirt.

Ye Hongyan is rather popular amongst the servants because she really is genuinely caring and kind.

The man scrambled forward, his voice trembling with a mixture of terror and awe. ”H-Honored Miss! Sir cultivators. Please, you shouldn’t step into this filthy, dust-ridden area! We will have it cleared for your eyes as quickly as possible!”

”Do not worry about the dust, old elder,” Haoran spoke, his voice dropping into that smooth, comforting, and deeply sympathetic register that radiated the false warmth of a master politician.

He took a step forward, his pristine robes brushing against a pile of broken bricks. ”We came here today to see how you are holding up. Your health and safety are of the utmost importance to us during this difficult recovery period.”

”Yes,” Ye Hongyan added, her expression soft and nurturing, playing her role as the caring, empathetic teacher to absolute perfection. ”You all have been working tireless hours without rest. The academy deeply values your quiet, indispensable dedication.”

”M-My goodness... miss Ye actually care about our well-being?!” a younger servant stammered, his eyes welling with sudden, emotional tears.

He clutched his chest, looking at Haoran as if he were a divine savior who had personally descended from the heavens just to ease his aching muscles.

”To think that such supreme, high-and-mighty Master Teacher would look upon us common ants with such kindness... We are truly, deeply blessed!”

”Truly, a peerless saint!” another laborer wept openly, wiping his dirty face with his sleeve. ”The heavens must have sent you to guide us!”

Lin Che, standing just a few paces behind them mentally gagged.

’Oh, give me a break,’ Lin Che thought, his stomach churning with pure, unadulterated cynicism as he watched the dramatic display of political theater.

’They are practically laying it on with a trowel at this point! Are these people seriously falling for this basic, textbook public relations campaign? ”The academy deeply values your dedication”—yeah, they value it so much they let you live in damp, disease-ridden shacks while they play with apocalypse level spells.’

’If I roll my eyes any harder, I’m going to permanently damage my optic nerves.’

Soon, they started handing out food, causing the workers to cry from joy.

The steaming, fragrant boxes of high-grade spiritual food—packed with nourishing grains and tender spiritual beast meat that these low-born servants hadn’t tasted in generations—were systematically distributed to the weeping crowd.

To these starving, overworked laborers, receiving such a high-tier meal directly from the hands of the realm’s most powerful young master felt like an absolute miracle.

Many of them fell to their knees, clutching the warm food boxes to their chests as if they were sacred, holy relics, weeping and whispering endless prayers of gratitude.

Once done, Haoran turned his gaze back to the quiet servant standing near the edge of the clearing.

He smiled warmly at Lin Che, ”Thank you for the help, Lin Che.”

Lin Che immediately forced a bright, perfectly submissive, and humble smile onto his face, bowing his head to hide the sharp, defensive calculations running through his mind.

”No problem, young master. It’s an absolute honor to assist you in any way possible.”

”By the way, Lin Che, you know, you’re a really nice guy,” Haoran spoke, his golden eyes narrowing slightly with a deep, discerning curiosity as he began to praise him. ”I’ve been watching your efficient work ethic. You possess a calm, remarkably steady temperament that is incredibly rare to find among the common laborers of this realm. The Shen Clan always has a great need for people like you. If you are willing, I can personally arrange for you to be transferred out of this harsh, grueling servant sector and officially bring you into our clan’s main estate. You would receive proper cultivation resources, a secure status, and a comfortable life free from this endless, exhausting hard labor.”

Ye Hongyan nodded in gentle agreement beside him, her silent support adding immense, undeniable weight to the life-changing offer.

For any ordinary native servant living in the academic vivarium, such an invitation was the ultimate, golden ticket to a life of luxury and power.

However, Lin Che shook his head.

”Apologies, young master,” Lin Che spoke softly, his voice steady and quiet as he looked down at his worn-out leather boots, refusing to take the glittering bait. ”But in this life... I, just want to live a completely ordinary life.”

That’s right. He had absolutely zero desire to climb the dangerous, bloody corporate ladder of a supreme immortal clan.

In his past life on Earth, he had foolishly, blindly dedicated his entire existence to his ungrateful adopted parents who had raised him.

He had spent his youth working several grueling minimum-wage jobs simultaneously, sacrificing his own dreams, his health, and his entire education just to pay off their massive, unending debts and medical bills to support them.

Yet in the end, after he got hit by a car snd when his health finally failed and he was no longer a useful, money-making tool for them, they had cold-bloodedly abandoned him to die alone in a sterile hospital bed.

After all, the were given hush money by the one who caused the incident.

If even his own adopted parents—the very people who had raised him and whom he had sacrificed his entire youth to protect—could abandon him so callously when he was no longer profitable to them, why in the world can’t these complete, power-hungry strangers of the immortal realms do the exact same thing?

In this new life, he had made a sacred, unbreakable vow to himself.

He would never again sell his loyalty, his soul, or his labor to anyone else’s grand ambitions.

He just wanted to live for himself, quiet, free, and completely independent, even if it meant shoveling dirt as a lowly, nameless servant for the rest of his days.

At least the shovel didn’t pretend to love him before discarding him.

Haoran stared at his eyes.

The silence that followed was incredibly heavy, stretching out between the two young men like an invisible, tension-filled cord.

Haoran’s golden eyes peeled back the layers of the servant’s facade, searching for the underlying cause of the refusal.

But those are not the eyes of someone who refused out of fear of the unknown, out of petty jealousy, or out of stubborn anger.

They are the eyes of someone who knew exactly what they want in this vast, chaotic universe, and will stick to it no matter the absolute cost to their own standing.

It was a rare, diamond-hard level of personal conviction that Haoran had seldom encountered in this world of greed and ambition.

Haoran’s opinion of him rose a little, acknowledging the quiet strength of the boy’s character.

But that’s it.

His respect did not alter his clinical, strategic reality; if he doesn’t want to join his ranks and align with his goals, then he remains an uncalculated, dangerous variable that must be eliminated from the board.

He smiled gently and nodded, his polite, indifferent mask returning flawlessly. ”Very well. I understand and respect your choice. I wish you the best of luck, Lin Che.”

With that, he turned on his heel and left the clearing with Ye Hongyan, their grand figures slowly disappearing into the dusty haze of the campus, leaving Lin Che alone with his thoughts in the quiet shadow of the ruins.