Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

Shen Haoran opened his eyes and found himself falling rapidly through the open sky, the roaring winds whipping past his ears as the ground rushed up to meet him.

He looked behind him, and saw the cracks in space slowly closing after spewing him out.

He then looked down at the approaching ground and with quick, fluid, and effortlessly graceful movements, he adjusted his posture in mid-air, channeling a whisper of his vast Spirit Ascension qi beneath his boots.

In an instant, he decelerated seamlessly, touching down upon the earth so gently and weightlessly that he did not even disturb a single speck of sand or bend a blade of grass beneath his feet.

He then casually patted his shoulders with a light flick of his hand, as if swatting away some invisible dust from his dark, elegant robes, and calmly looked around.

He found himself standing in the middle of a plain, winding dirt road, surrounded by boundless, vibrant green planes that stretched as far as the eye could see beneath a pale, open sky.

The air here was fresh, carrying the rustic scent of wild grass and distant mountain streams, completely free of the chaotic dimensional storm that had scattered the academy students across the realm.

Without rushing to move, he reached into his spatial storage ring and took out his academy token and activated it with a pulse of his own qi.

A beat later, a translucent, glowing blue screen projected smoothly from the surface of the jade token, hovering quietly before his gaze.

He smoothly navigated the interface and went to check the ”friends” option to inspect the live coordinates and status of his inner circle.

Scanning the vast planetary map, he saw various glowing markers scattered across distant continents, deep subterranean chasms, and remote borderlands.

The single closest one to him, the marker belonging to Shen Xun’er, was currently located more than a hundred thousand kilometers away to the northwest.

And the furthest one to him was Huo Yue, who was thrown in an island in the middle of the ocean, millions of kilometers away from him.

”That woman is going to lose her mind in there.” He mused, shaking his head.

He then tapped the message option and quickly sent a unified message to everyone in his group, instructing them not to rush to regroup for some time, to treat this unplanned dispersion as an opportunity, and to simply explore the Ancient Heaven Star to their hearts’ content, harvest resources, and temper their skills.

With that, he closed the floating blue screen with a casual wave of his hand and stored the jade token safely back into his storage ring.

Then, with a single, unhurried step forward, his figure blurred into a streak of gold and purple spiritual light as he ascended effortlessly into the high sky, and instantly disappeared over the distant horizon.

*

*

*

Thousands of kilometers away, rising from the fertile heart of the continent like a gleaming mountain of polished white marble and jade, stood the legendary metropolis known as Glorious Heaven City.

It is, without question, one of the most revered, prosperous, and venerated cities in the entire world—a sacred landmark elevated above all others due to the singular, untouchable fact that it is the ancestral birthplace of the White Dragon Emperor, Chen Feng.

The city is ruled with absolute authority by the Chen Clan.

Once an impoverished, struggling commoner family of the lowest class mortal peasants who barely survived on the city’s fringes, they had experienced a miraculous, meteoric rise to becoming an untouchable, transcendent clan that looked down upon ancient dynasties, entirely carried upon the back of Chen Feng’s legendary ascent to supreme power.

And right now, on this bright morning, the entire city was bustling with an unprecedented, feverish energy.

Why? Because an ancient, untamed secret realm, the Celestial Dragon Vault, had recently been unearthed in the nearby mountain ranges.

Instead of monopolizing the ancient site in secret, the benevolent Chen Clan had magnanimously decided to open it to the public, setting off a massive frenzy that caused almost every major local and foreign power across the continent to gather here today.

Although, they limited the entry to one Elder and twenty juniors.

At this exact moment, on the massive, sprawling white-stone central plaza spanning several leagues across the city center, hundreds of thousands of people had gathered together under the fluttering banners of various regional sects and prominent clans.

The atmosphere was electric, with waves of awed murmurs and excited exclamations constantly washing over the immense crowd as renowned factions arrived in grand fashion.

”Look! The soaring azure cloud-carriages of the Cloud Riding Pavilion have arrived! That’s Grand Elder Mu riding the silver crane at the very front!”

”Over there! The crimson war-mammoths of the Iron Blood Bastion! They brought twenty core disciples, all at the late Core Formation and early Golden Core stages!”

”Even the mysterious Mystic Frost Palace from the far northern glaciers sent their Ice Maidens! This secret realm opening is truly the grandest gathering our continent has witnessed in a century!”

At this lively moment, standing at the very back of the immense crowd near the shade of an outer pavilion pillar, Shen Haoran stood quietly with his arms crossed over his chest, staring at everything unfolding across the plaza with a cool, nonchalant look in his golden eyes.

He observed those sects with an interest of a man looking at a group of ants searching for food.

Just then, the vast sea of hundreds of thousands of people once again erupted into a massive, deafening commotion that shook the marble floor.

”THEY’RE HERE! THE OVERLORDS HAVE DESCENDED!”

”LOOK AT THE SKY! IT’S THE WHITE DRAGON SECT!”

”THE SACRED SECT OF LORD CHEN FENG HAS PERSONALLY ARRIVED!”

The crowd surged forward with flushed faces and fanatical reverence, pointing toward the high clouds where the atmosphere vibrated with a majestic, draconic hum.

Shen Haoran casually looked up, his sharp eyes observing a ”massive,” three hundred foot profound ark adorned with intricate golden dragon designs, gleaming jade sails, and spiraling draconic figureheads descend slowly from the sky, casting a wide shadow over the plaza.

Well... ”massive” for this lower world’s primitive, depleted standards anyway.

In the boundless expanse of the Prime Origin Realm, and especially for an immortal lineage like the Shen Clan, an ark of that meager size and basic elemental craftsmanship would barely qualify as a toy for children in the clan’s outer nursery yards.

”White Dragon Sect, huh...” Shen Haoran whispered softly under his breath, a faint, deeply amused cadence coloring his tone.

He had already gathered extensive intelligence regarding the regional hierarchy upon entering the province.

The White Dragon Sect was the organization founded directly by Chen Feng himself, serving as his primary power base and the undisputed overlord of this entire lower realm.

It controlled the continent’s richest spirit stone quarries, dictated the laws of martial commerce, and served as the absolute foundation for Chen Feng’s sweeping influence across the mortal plane.

Shen Haoran had already calculated his moves and decided to target that very foundation.

Chen Feng was a fully matured Son of Destiny, overflowing with world-blessed karmic luck of the highest order.

Attempting to directly strike him down right now on his home ground would only trigger reality-bending anomalies, convenient spatial escapes, or sudden power-ups born from the planet’s protective will.

In other words, killing him outright at this stage was practically impossible.

So, Haoran decided on a far more thorough, agonizing strategy: he would cut off and devour his karmic luck piece by piece.

And the single most effective method to achieve that was to thoroughly destroy, dismantle, and claim everything that Chen Feng had built with his own two hands.

WHOOSH—

As the golden dragon ark came to a hovering halt above the central dais, the crowd below erupted into an even louder, near-hysterical chorus of gasps and reverent cheers.

”Look at the front deck! It’s Lady Xun! Lady Xun herself is personally leading the sect’s expeditionary contingent!”

”The first beauty of the empire! The peerless, gentle immortal fairy who has stood faithfully by Lord Chen Feng’s side since his humble beginnings, the beloved wife of Lord Chen!”

”To think Lady Xun would oversee the secret realm trials in person! Today’s gathering is truly blessed by the heavens!”

Hearing the crowd’s passionate, reverent cries echoing across the plaza, Shen Haoran’s golden eyes sparkled with a dark, predatory brilliance.

His lips slowly parted, curling upward into a sharp, dominant, and thoroughly dangerous smirk as he locked his gaze onto the graceful figure standing atop the dragon ark.

*

At this moment, on the elevated, pristine white-marble central dais of the grand plaza, a breathtaking, ethereal woman with cascading, silky sky-blue hair that danced gently in the cool mountain breeze and luminous, crystalline silver eyes can be seen standing gracefully at the very front.

This is Xun Xie’er, the celebrated first beauty of the empire, the lifelong companion and beloved legal wife of the White Dragon Emperor Chen Feng, and an astonishingly powerful cultivator who had already reached the 9th stage of the Nirvana Rebirth Realm.

Her flowing azure and white silk dress was embroidered with delicate, soaring silver phoenix motifs, perfectly contouring her slender, elegant figure.

Her skin was as radiant and untouched as sculpted winter jade, and her calm, gentle demeanor radiated a serene, noble warmth that naturally captivated the hearts of every single onlooker among the hundreds of thousands gathered across the city center.

At this lively moment, bathed in the morning sunlight, she was warmly talking and smiling to an elderly, kind-faced man and a gentle, gracefully aging woman standing proudly right next to her.

They are Chen Feng’s biological parents, Chen Shan and Lin Ruo, and her cherished in-laws.

Once humble, weathered mortal peasants from a small border village, they were now clad in luxurious, gold-trimmed royal brocades, their health and vitality fully revitalized by celestial elixirs gifted by their son, with their cultivation having reached the peak of Spirit Ascension.

Yet despite their transcendent status as the patriarch and matriarch of the ruling Chen Clan, their faces retained the simple, grounded warmth of honest village elders.

Lin Ruo stepped closer, holding Xie’er’s delicate, soft hands within her own weathered palms, looking at her beautiful daughter-in-law with pure, maternal tenderness.

”Xie’er, my dear child,” Lin Ruo spoke softly, her eyes crinkling with deep affection as she inspected her face. ”How have you been holding up these past few weeks? You’ve been running back and forth between the sect, managing the clan’s spiritual herb reserves, and preparing the logistical arrays for this grand gathering. Look at you, you’ve barely had time to rest! Tell Mother honestly, is that silly boy Feng’er treating you right? Is he taking proper care of his wife, or is he spending every waking hour locked in secluded meditation again?”

Chen Shan stroked his short, graying beard and let out a hearty, booming chuckle, puffing out his broad chest with mock sternness. ”Hah! If that unfilial rascal dares to neglect our precious Xie’er for even a single day, or if he ever dares bully you in the slightest, you come straight to me and your mother! Emperor or not, he is still my son, and I will personally grab my old wooden rod and break both of his legs!”

Xun Xie’er couldn’t help but let out a soft, melodious giggle at the old patriarch’s familiar, boisterous threat.

Her laughter was like the chiming of silver bells in the spring wind, bringing a radiant, genuine glow to her elegant features.

”Mother, Father, you worry too much,” Xun Xie’er laughed sweetly, gently squeezing Lin Ruo’s hands to reassure her. ”Brother Feng has always been very good to me. He has never once raised his voice, never treated me with anything but the utmost respect and gentleness, and always makes sure the finest cultivation resources and defensive talismans are delivered to my pavilion first. Truly, you couldn’t ask for a more devoted husband.”

Lin Ruo smiled warmly, though her brow furrowed slightly as she looked around the vast, dragon-themed profound ark, noticing the glaring absence of the silver-haired sovereign.

”If he is treating you so well, then where on earth is Feng’er today?” Lin Ruo asked, a hint of maternal reprimand in her voice. ”This Celestial Dragon Vault is the grandest secret realm event our city has hosted in decades! Powers from every corner of the continent have crossed mountain ranges to be here. How come he let you lead the entire White Dragon Sect expeditionary contingent all by yourself, while he is nowhere to be seen?”

Chen Shan nodded in agreement, glancing around the sky. ”Aye. Even if his cultivation has reached the peak of the world, he should at least stand by his wife’s side during such an important public ceremony to show the prestige of our clan.”

Hearing their questions, a subtle, almost imperceptible shadow flickered across the depths of Xun Xie’er’s crystalline silver eyes.

But Xun Xie’er just shook her head softly, maintaining her bright, reassuring smile as she patted Lin Ruo’s hand.

”Brother Feng is busy handling urgent matters of the realm, Mother, Father,” she replied calmly. ”His secluded duties are of utmost importance, and he fully entrusted me with overseeing the trial in his stead.”

That was all she said, offering no further details.

Beneath her calm exterior, her heart felt heavy with the weight of secrets she was forced to carry alone.

Although those terrifying, rapacious ’otherworldly devils’ from the upper realm had been descending upon their world for tens of thousand years, plundering their and stealing their treasures, and slaughtering their brightest talents—their horrific existence and the impending planetary crisis were strictly kept secret from the vast majority of ordinary citizens, common cultivators, and even the elders of smaller local clans.

Only those standing at the very pinnacle of the realm—the Four Great Masters of the Sacred Grounds, Chen Feng himself, and his most trusted inner confidants like Xie’er—were privy to the dark truth of the cosmic cage locking down the Ancient Heaven Star.

This is to prevent widespread, apocalyptic panic and societal collapse from violently erupting across the continent.

If the hundreds of millions of ordinary mortals and cultivators learned that their entire world was merely an artificial, enclosed hunting ground for a tyrannical celestial academy, and that their lives could be harvested like crops at any given century, the mortal dynasties would crumble into chaotic lawlessness, nihilism, and despair.

Secondly, public ignorance was the only shield that kept the common people from foolishly throwing their lives away in futile, suicidal resistance against invaders whose individual disciples possessed cultivation foundations that defied mortal comprehension.

And finally, keeping the war strictly classified allowed Chen Feng and the Four Sacred Grounds to operate in total operational security, such as covertly preparing formations, ambushes, and secret countermeasures without tipping off the hidden intelligence eyes that the Imperial Academy might have left lingering across the cities.

Xun Xie’er knew that right at this very moment, her husband was out on the distant border plains, leading the ancestral armies to wage a life or death war against the descending celestial vanguard.

But standing here before his aging, innocent parents and the hundreds of thousands of hopeful citizens, her duty was to project absolute, unshakable peace and majesty.

Xun Xie’er gently exhaled a breath of cool spiritual air and slowly shook her head, turning her silver gaze back toward the grand plaza where the massive runic gateway of the secret realm stood humming with ancient draconic light.

”Mother, Father, the auspicious hour has arrived,” Xun Xie’er said with dignified, regal grace. ”Let us begin the opening ceremony.”

Chen Shan and Lin Ruo looked at their capable, peerless daughter-in-law with deep pride, and the two nodded together in complete agreement.