Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!-Chapter 30: Reactions

At this moment, the gates of the Ogre Academy, usually a place of quiet focus, were currently buzzing with an anxious, vibrating energy.

The morning sun had climbed high, casting long shadows over the now fully recovered "Ogre Seven"—the group of youths destined to redefine the martial history of the Cao Yin Kingdom.

At the center stood Tang Shan, his expression calm but his eyes sharp.

He was the anchor of the team, the man who had turned a "trash" plant spirit like the Bright Silver Vine into a weapon of surgical precision.

Flanking him were the other legends-in-the-making: Tai Yuhao, whose White Tiger spirit roared silently within his soul; Xiao Ruo, her rabbit ears twitching at every passing breeze; Mu Xiaojun, his chest puffed out with the arrogance of his "Phoenix" flames; Zhu Ziyan, standing like a statue of ice; and Xiao Ao, the group’s Gourmet Hunter, whose culinary talents provided the buffs that kept them in the fight.

But the circle was incomplete, as the seventh spot—belonging to the heiress of the richest clan in the Eastern Region—was empty.

"Where could she be?" Xiao Ao muttered, pacing back and forth.

His fingers fumbled with a spirit-sausage he had prepared for the journey. It was no secret among the Seven that his heart beat specifically for Ning Xueli, and her absence felt like a physical weight on his chest.

And he was incredibly worried why Ning Xueli wasn’t here yet.

"She couldn’t have overslept, could she?" Mu Xiaojun asked, crossing his arms as a flicker of fire escaped his nostrils. "I know Xueli used to be a bit lazy before the Grandmaster beat that attitude out of her, but missing the opening of the Regional Tournament? That’s pushing it."

Grandmaster Yu stood several paces away, leaning on a cane despite the miraculous healing of his legs.

Though the golden pills from Shen Haoran had mended his bones, his mood remained foul, and his pride was still in tatters, and now, one of his students was actually late, which would surely make him look like a fool on the world stage.

"If she isn’t here in ten minutes," the Grandmaster growled, his voice thick with suppressed irritation, "we leave without her. The tournament starts in an hour, and the championships waits for no one. She can just catch up later."

Just then, the sound of rhythmic, heavy footsteps drew their attention, and they saw a middle-aged man in robes of exquisite silver-threaded silk approached.

It was Ning Xiao, the Patriarch of the Ning Clan, and father of their comrade, Ning Xueli.

The group straightened up immediately, and even the Grandmaster offered a stiff, respectful nod.

"Patriarch Ning!" Xia Ruo called out, her voice high with concern. "Is Xueli okay? We were about to head to the arena!"

Ning Xiao stopped before them, his expression a complicated tapestry of guilt, awkwardness, and a hidden, frantic excitement that he was trying desperately to suppress.

In his mind, the memory of his daughter’s message from that morning was still screaming: ’I have the chance to inherit the legacy of a Supreme Emperor.’

’A Supreme Emperor!’ the Patriarch thought, his heart hammering. ’The tournament is a game for children! Even if Xueli begged to join them now, I would tie her to the Profound Ark myself!’

"Everyone," Ning Xiao began, clearing his throat and offering a shallow, apologetic bow. "I apologize most sincerely. My daughter, Ning Xueli... she will not be able to participate in the tournament. Not today, and maybe not for the remainder of the event."

"What!?" Xiao Ao’s sausage fell into the dirt. He looked as though he had been struck by lightning. "Is she hurt? Is everything alright?!"

"She is perfectly fine," the Patriarch said, a helpless, almost giddy smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "But something... most important... has come up. It was a sudden development, one that even I was only informed of at the break of dawn. It is an opportunity that concerns the very foundation of her future."

"An opportunity?" Tang Shan repeated, his brow furrowing.

He looked at the Patriarch’s eyes and saw a glint of something that didn’t look like worry. It looked like triumph.

"Patriarch, we are the Ogre Seven. We have trained together for years. To leave us without a support-type cultivator an hour before the fight... is there no other way?"

"I am terribly sorry," Ning Xiao replied, his tone final. He cupped his hands toward the group, his eyes lingering for a second on the Grandmaster. "I truly wish you all the best of luck. You are the pride of our kingdom. But as for Xueli... her path has taken a different turn. She might even, say goodbye to you all."

"W-What!? Say g-goodbye!?" Xiao Ao exclaimed, "P-Patriarch Ning, w-what exactly happened?"

Ning Xiao shook his head, "Ah. Once she is done with her business, she leave for the Central Region."

The Ogre Seven froze in shock.

The Central Region?! At that, they immediately thought of that young man who became their nightmare.

They remembered that he had invited Ning Xueli for dinner back then... Could it be something had developed between the two of them?

"That’s why, I’m terribly sorry. Please find another comrade to fight with you." With that, he turned on his heel and walked away, his stride noticeably lighter, leaving behind a group of confused geniuses and a Grandmaster whose face had turned a dark, volcanic shade of red.

"She’s going to the Central Region?" Mu Xiaojun whispered into the stunned silence. "And not just that, she wouldn’t even participate in the tournament we had worked so hard for!? Just like that? Does this mean we have to find a replacement from the junior classes?"

The Ogre Seven looked at each other, the unity they had spent years building suddenly feeling fragile.

Xiao Ao dropped to his knees, feeling incredibly powerless. Ah, heavens, why? Why are you doing this to me!?

*

*

*

"I did it..." Xueli breathed heavily, her chest heaving as she slumped to her knees before the massive, smoking corpse of the Hell Tiger.

The kaleidoscopic aura of the Nine-Colored Dagger slowly faded, leaving only the scent of scorched fur and iron in the air.

Her hands were trembling, her robes torn and stained with soot, but her eyes held a spark of disbelief. "I... I actually killed a Hell Tiger."

"Impressive."

Shen Haoran walked beside her, his footsteps silent on the charred grass.

He looked down at her not with the cold disdain from before, but with a flicker of clinical approval as he reached into his sleeve and handed her a small porcelain bottle. "Take this and rest. You have done well, Xueli."

Xueli smiled brightly at the praise, her heart soaring higher than it had during any victory at the Academy.

To her, a word of recognition from this man was worth more than a thousand cheers from the crowds of Cao Yin Kingdom.

She took the bottle, uncorked it, and swallowed one of the fragrant pills.

Almost instantly, a cool, refreshing energy began to weave through her torn muscles and depleted meridians, jump-starting the healing process.

She crossed her legs, closed her eyes, and began to meditate, allowing the medicinal efficacy to guide her Qi through its cycles.

Haoran stood silently on the side, his arms crossed, watching the perimeter with an indifference that suggested he feared nothing in these woods.

Just then, the shadows at his feet flickered and stretched, and Qing’er emerged as if rising from a pool of ink.

"Young Master..."

"Have you found it?" Haoran asked, his voice low.

"Yes, Young Master. Just continue heading east for five miles," Qing’er reported, her voice a shadow’s whisper. "You will find a thousand-meter-tall waterfall cascading into a deep basin. There is a cave hidden behind the curtain of water. Inside it lie the ruins you are looking for."

"Hm, thank you for the hard work."

"It is my honor." Qing’er bowed deeply, her form dissolving into the darkness once more before she vanished back into his shadows.

Haoran turned his attention back to Xueli.

As she sat in her meditative trance, a sudden, violent ripple of energy erupted from her body.

The surrounding leaves swirled in a mini-cyclone of crimson light, and her 8th Stage Qi Gathering strength surged, shattering the bottleneck and breaking through to the 9th Stage!

Xueli’s eyes snapped open, and she stood up in sheer surprise, checking her hands and the purity of the Qi flowing through her veins. "I broke through?! How?! I just broke through a month ago! I thought I’d be stuck at the 8th Stage for at least another half a year!"

Haoran stared at her, his expression unmoving. "Don’t be surprised. Qi grows much faster in life-or-death situations; the pressure of survival forces your meridians to expand, and the adrenaline tempers your foundation. That is why those cultivators who break through during the heat of battle are always much stronger than those who spend their lives in secluded cultivation. Their Qi is sharp, whereas the others was stagnant."

Xueli blinked, processing the information. The Grandmaster had always taught that safety and slow progress were the keys to a stable foundation. "Is that how it is? So the danger itself is the catalyst?"

Haoran nodded. "If you reach a bottleneck in the future, don’t lock yourself in a room to cultivate. That is for those who are afraid to take a risk. Simply go to the wilds and fight a couple of demonic beasts that are stronger than you. If you survive, the breakthrough will follow."

Xueli nodded, her perspective of the cultivation world shifting under his influence. "I see. I understand. The path of the strong is written in blood."

With that said, Haoran turned and continued walking deeper into the range. "Let’s go. Qing’er already found the ruins. We are close to the inheritance."

Xueli hurried to catch up, her new 9th Stage strength making her movements light and agile.

She reached into her belt and offered the Nine-Colored Dagger back to him. "Um, here. Thank you for letting me borrow it. It... it saved my life."

Haoran stared at the kaleidoscopic blade for a moment before shaking his head. "I didn’t lend it to you; I gave it to you. Keep it for yourself. That thing will be useless once you reach the Core Formation realm anyway—it can’t handle the density of Qi from people at that level."

Xueli’s heart gave a little skip. To him, a Rank 2 Artifact was a disposable toy, but to her, it was a priceless treasure and her first gift from him.

"I-I see... thank you. I will cherish this, I promise." She smiled brightly, tucking the dagger away with a sense of pride as they ventured toward the thunderous sound of the hidden waterfall.