Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

”What are you gawking at?”

Xu Xiansu stared at Qing Yan, her eyes narrowing into cold, lethal slits.

For some reason, the exact moment his eyes landed on her, she felt a repulsive, skin-crawling sensation, as if an invisible, slimy hand were attempting to strip her completely naked.

It was beyond uncomfortable—it was deeply unnatural.

Looking at his wide, drooling gaze, a sudden surge of instinctual hostility flared up within her heart, so strong that she wanted nothing more than to unsheathe her blade and gouge out his eyes on the spot.

*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*

Right before Qing Yan’s terrified eyes, the translucent blue system interface suddenly flashed a violent, bloody red, ringing with loud emergency alerts inside his head.

[WARNING! Target: Xu Xiansu’s Affection Level has plummeted by 40 points!]

[Current Affection: -50 (Hostile / Mortal Enemy)]

[System Note: Target now perceives Host as a dangerous, repulsive threat.]

”I...” Qing Yan choked on his own spit, his face going completely pale as he desperately raised a trembling hand to speak, ”I... Sister Xiansu, listen to me—”

Before he could even finish his sentence, Xu Xiansu completely turned her back on him, ignoring his existence as if he were nothing more than a pile of dirt.

She turned towards Luo Mingye and Xia Mengyao, her tone dropping to an absolute, uncompromising flatline.

”Ignore him,” said Xu Xiansu, her voice cold enough to freeze water. ”Let’s go. He’s a student of the Imperial Academy; he’s competent enough to survive on his own.”

Luo Mingye and Xia Mengyao stared at each other for a brief second.

Hearing Xu Xiansu’s words and realizing that what she said was technically true—he was indeed a student who had passed the academy’s entrance exams, regardless of how weak he acted—they both shrugged, abandoning any lingering thoughts of babysitting him.

They gave Xu Xiansu a quick nod of agreement.

With that, the three of them immediately bolted out.

Their bodies turned into flickering streaks of red, green, and orange light, vanishing over the distant hill in a fraction of a second and leaving Qing Yan standing completely alone in the middle of the wide, silent grassland.

Qing Yan’s mouth remained frozen open.

He tried to call out, ”Wait! Sisters!”, but realized with a cold wave of horror that they were already miles away, their lingering qi fading entirely into the wind.

Silence settled over the bloody plains.

”Damn it! Fuck!” Qing Yan spat, stomping his foot in frustration as he rubbed his face in sheer exasperation. ’I didn’t even get to do anything, and they already hate my guts!’

Is it so hard to chase chicks in this new world?

He slumped his shoulders, looking up at the sky, and began complaining bitterly to the interface in his mind.

’System, don’t you have a newbie giftpack for me or something? How am I supposed to pick up these impossibly beautiful chicks when my cultivation is as weak as a wet noodle and everyone thinks I’m a creep?’

[....I do have a newbie giftpack,] the system’s monotone voice chimed back after a long, strange pause. [Would Host like to open it now?]

Qing Yan’s eyes lit up like lanterns. ”You really have it?! Yes! Yes! Open it right now! Don’t hold back!”

He had actually just been trying out his luck, venting his frustration and randomly asking the system without expecting anything substantial, but who knew it actually possessed a starting pack?!

But it shouldn’t have come as a surprise, after all, isn’t it common sense for a system to give its host a newbie giftpack?

[Opening Starter Giftpack...]

[Congratulations to Host! You have received the following items:]

[1. High-Grade Beef Wellington x1]

[2. Fragment Map x1]

[3. Unnamed Rank-4 Spear Artifact x1]

[4. Unnamed Low-Earth Grade Spear Technique x1]

[5. Piercing Heaven Cultivation Technique x1]

”Holy shit! I struck it rich!” Qing Yan practically yelled out loud, his heart leaping with manic joy.

An Earth-Grade spear art? A Rank-4 weapon? A cultivation manuaL that literally says piercing heaven?! With these items, he could easily discard the original body’s pathetic trash cultivation and jump straight into the ranks of true geniuses!

He was just about to greedily pull out the glowing Rank-4 spear artifact from the system’s inventory when he suddenly froze, a cold sweat breaking out across his back.

He remembered the grand array rules of the Imperial Academy—this entire trial space was being continuously broadcasted to millions of spectators and elders in the outside world!

If a weak, talentless Golden Core student suddenly pulled a high-grade Rank-4 weapon out of thin air without using a storage ring, the sharp-eyed elders would immediately suspect spatial anomaly cheating or demonic possession!

’I guess I need to take the weapons and scrolls out once we’re outside this exam space,’ he sighed inwardly, cooling his excitement. ’Safety first.’

Then, his mind lingered on the very first item on the list.

He blinked, scratching his head. ’...But what the hell is a High-Grade Beef Wellington? What’s the use of this thing?’

[This is not an ordinary mortal Beef Wellington, Host,] the system explained smoothly. [It was meticulously crafted from the meat of a Nascent Soul Realm ’Dairy Frenzy Cow’ and prepared by a genius Rank-5 Gourmet Hunter. Upon consumption, it will directly strengthen your blood and qi, purge impurities from your meridians, and permanently enhance your bones and muscles to match a physical body cultivator.]

”I see!” Qing Yan’s eyes sparkled with gluttonous excitement. ”Let’s eat it then! My physical body is way too weak anyway!”

With that, he quickly crouched down and picked up a leather travel bag that he was conveniently carrying over his shoulder.

He unzipped the pouch, acting as if he were pulling out some rations he had packed earlier, but actually commanded the system to quietly transfer the Beef Wellington directly into his hands from the inventory space.

*Poof.*

The moment he took it out, a warm, golden steam erupted into the air.

The rich, mouth-watering aroma of buttery, flaky puff pastry, savory mushroom duxelles, and tender, perfectly seared primordial beef immediately filled the entire grassland, blowing across the plain with the wind.

The scent was so intensely intoxicating that it made the air itself smell like divine spirit herbs.

Unknown to him, a hundred meters away in the tall, rustling grass, a small, stealthy figure was watching his every move.

The exact moment he took out the glowing beef, the figure’s sharp, golden eyes glinted with intense greed, its body flattening against the earth as it slowly approached him from behind like a true apex predator.

”Smells so fucking good!” Qing Yan stared at the glistening, golden-brown pastry in his hands, his mouth instantly flooding with saliva.

He hadn’t eaten anything since his soul had transmigrated, and his stomach let out a loud, thunderous growl.

”Let me dig in!”

He opened his mouth wide, preparing to sink his teeth into the succulent meat—

*SWIISH!*

Before he could even touch his lips to the pastry, the figure that had been hiding in the grass suddenly moved!

Moving with the blazingly fast speed of a lightning bolt, a blur of golden fur darted past his face, and within the blink of an eye, completely snatched the meat straight out of his grasp!

Qing Yan blinked once. Then twice.

He stood there completely stunned, staring at his empty, open hands in utter disbelief.

He slowly turned his head to the side, where a small, feathered creature was standing atop a flat boulder three meters away, staring back at him smugly with the entire Beef Wellington clamped firmly in its beak!

”That’s...” Qing Yan stared at the bizarre creature, his jaw dropping.

It had the sharp beak, fierce golden eyes, and feathered head of an eagle, wide wings tucked against its back, but the muscular, fur-covered hindquarters and tail of a lion!

”A gryphon?!” he gasped aloud. ”And a tiny baby one too?!”

A mythical creature! If he can tame this beast, wouldn’t be able to one day ride on its back and conquer the sky!?

Gryphon’s were one of the most majestic creatures in the world, after all. Just the aura he will get from that would be insane!

Just then, a clear, energetic female voice sounded from the top of the nearby grassy hill.

”Jiujiu! I told you to wait for me! You can’t just run off and steal random people’s food!”

The tiny gryphon perked its feathered ears up, let out a happy *”Jiu-jiu!”* chirp around the mouthful of meat, and immediately flapped its wings, flying up toward the hill.

Qing Yan whipped his head around toward the voice, and in an instant, his eyes widened to the size of saucers as he saw the tiny gryphon land smoothly, perching comfortably on the shoulder of a beautiful young woman standing at the crest of the hill.

She was wearing a sleek, dark-colored skin-tight full-body suit that perfectly accentuated every single curve of her long legs, narrow waist, and voluptuous chest.

However, what really took his undivided attention wasn’t her tight suit—it was the pair of real, twitching, black cat ears sitting atop her silky hair, along with a slender cat tail swishing playfully behind her waist!

Qing Yan’s brain completely short-circuited on the spot.

A real-life cat-girl?!

Zhu Ziyan gently scratched her pet gryphon right under its feathered beak with a practiced, tender touch.

The little beast let out a pleased, purring chirp, instantly dropping the stolen Beef Wellington from its beak and snuggling its head happily into her slender fingers.

She caught the warm, aromatic meat smoothly with her other hand before it could touch the dusty grass, and then stared at Qing Yan with a sheepish, slightly embarrassed smile.

She walked towards him, her sleek, skin-tight suit accentuating her graceful, cat-like strides, and handed the meat back to him.

”Sorry about that,” she apologized, her voice carrying a soft, melodious purr. ”I just tamed her recently, so she’s not very obedient yet. She smells food from a mile away and just bolts.”

Qing Yan snapped out of his stunned thoughts, waving his hands frantically as he shook his head. ”No, no, no, it’s alright! Really! She’s very cute anyways, no harm done!”

Zhu Ziyan shook her head, nudging the golden, flaky pastry closer to his hands. ”Take it. It’s yours.”

Qing Yan immediately took the meat back into his hands, brushing his fingers lightly against hers for a split second.

He took a glance past her shoulders, scanning the empty, misty grassland behind her as if checking to see if she had any companions lurking nearby.

”Are you alone?”

Zhu Ziyan nodded, her cat ears drooping slightly in a subtle sign of disappointment. ”Yeah. My partner ran away and left the exam space the moment we were about to be eaten by a demonic beast, leaving me to deal with it, so I’m alone now.”

Great! Qing Yan screamed in absolute triumph inside his mind, a massive stroke of luck falling right into his lap.

He immediately put on his best, most sincere, and reliable expression.

”I’m alone as well! My partner left me behind too,” he said, exaggerating his predicament with a sympathetic sigh. ”How about we team up? It’d be way safer for both of us to survive this exam together, right?”

Zhu Ziyan stared at him, her sharp, purple eyes assessing his aura, posture, and cultivation level.

She thought for a brief moment, weighing the pros and cons of having a companion in this dangerous pocket dimension, and finally nodded.

”Indeed. Safety in numbers. Very well, let me join you.”

Qing Yan’s face lit up, and he eagerly extended his right hand forward for a enthusiastic handshake. ”I’m Qing Yan, nice to meet you!”

”Zhu Ziyan,” she introduced herself simply, her feline tail swishing behind her waist, but she didn’t take his outstretched hand, and merely gave him a polite, distant nod.

Qing Yan froze for a second, his extended hand hanging awkwardly in the cold mountain air.

He quickly offered an awkward, nervous smile, pulling his hand back to scratch the back of his head to cover up the embarrassment.

’System,’ he immediately commanded in his mind, his heart hammering against his ribs. ’Scan her right now!’

[Initiating Scan on Target: Zhu Ziyan...]

A translucent, glowing blue status panel materialized before his eyes.

[Name: Zhu Ziyan]

[Identity: Golden Class Student/ Beast Tamer / Bearer of Tyrannical Tiger Subduing Eyes]

[Charm Rating: 99 / 100]

[Affection Level: 10 / 100 (Status: Friendly Stranger)]

[Capture Difficulty: SSS]

’Holy shit! A Charm Rating of 99?!’

Qing Yan’s jaw almost dropped to the dirt again.

99 points was practically the absolute pinnacle of his personal aesthetic preferences—a literal cat-girl beauty in a skin-tight suit!

However, his eyes quickly drifted down to the red, flashing text at the bottom of the panel, and his excitement instantly vanished into thin air.

’Another impossibly hard one to conquer!’ he cursed internally, weeping tears of blood in his mind. ’SSS difficulty again?! Why is every single gorgeous woman in this damn academy space an SSS difficulty nightmare?!’

He sighed, forcing a smile. ”Let’s work together from now on, partner.”

Zhu Ziyan simply smiled, remaining quite distant.

Qing Yan couldn’t help but sigh once more.

These darn SSS rank difficulty beauties are really too distant!