Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!-Chapter 68: Azure Dragon Sect

Riding upon the edge of his celestial blade, Haoran cut through the atmosphere at a velocity that bordered on the speed of light.

To any observer on the ground, he would have appeared as nothing more than a fleeting silver needle sewing the clouds together before vanishing into the blue.

The wind did not dare buffet him, and instead it parted around his Qi-reinforced form in a perfect, silent slipstream.

Qinq’er had contacted him through a communication artifact—thought transmission couldn’t work since the distance is too far—the previous night, her voice projecting a rare tone of apology into his mind.

She had explained that her return would be delayed due to the catastrophic fallout of the explosion incident and the subsequent stabilization of the Ning Clan’s territory.

While the massive explosion and Qinq’er had erased the army, the political and military vacuum left in its wake was a messy affair that Ning Xueli, for all her newfound resolve, was still learning to navigate.

Although Qinq’er had been prepared to abandon Xueli to her own devices, viewing her primary duty as Haoran’s shadow, Haoran had been the one to insist she remain.

He understood the value of a fully stabilized Ning Clan more than anyone; not only would he held the heart of Eastern Region’s economy in his paln, but Xueli would be able to accompany with peace of mind.

Besides, Haoran harbored no illusions about his own safety; he didn’t believe for a single second that he required a Profound Saint’s protection within the borders of this Eastern Region.

To him, this land was a shallow pond, and he was a shark that had long since outgrown the water.

With two more days to spare before his final departure to the Central Region, Haoran decided to pivot his trajectory.

He had a sudden whim to check on the very first "System User" he had identified during his initial sweep of the region: Lin Feng.

The ring he had handed to the boy two years ago was far more than a simple gift of resources, but had also acted as a sophisticated beacon and tracker, allowing Haoran to monitor Lin Feng’s location, Qi fluctuations, and growth in real-time.

Although it completely violates his privacy, Haoran couldn’t really care less, to him, Lin Feng wasn’t a peer or even a rival; he was a prize sheep being fattened in a pen.

And he, the shepherd was finally coming to see if the wool was ready for shearing.

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The Sunset Forest.

It was a place of ancient, tangled beauty and lethal mystery.

Located on the rugged outskirts of the Azure Sun Kingdom—one of the Big 3—it was a dense emerald sea filled with venomous flora and predatory beasts that made it a "forbidden zone" for any cultivator below the Foundation Establishment realm.

The air here was shrouded and filled with the scent of damp earth and rotting vegetation, yet it hummed with an underlying, vibrant spiritual energy.

Deep within the heart of this primeval wilderness, where the trees grew so tall they seemed to support the sky, a cliffside rose abruptly from the forest floor.

A massive, thundering waterfall cascaded down its face, sending a perpetual mist into the air that caught the sunlight in a shimmering rainbow.

Perched precariously yet elegantly on the plateau above the falls was a single, secluded sect.

On the grand entrance plaque, the words Azure Dragon Sect were written in sweeping, arrogant strokes of gold.

And currently, on a large, shaded pavilion overlooking the falls, a young man named Lin Feng was currently lying down on a cushioned bamboo bench.

He is exactly the first system user that Haoran himself had met, the one he almost killed for actually using his system to peer through him.

At this moment, he looked less like a Sect Master and more like a vacationer at a tropical resort.

He was wearing a pair of dark-tinted sunglasses—an artifact he’d "bought" from his system’s shop—and was currently sipping chilled coconut juice through a straw while sunbathing in the dappled light.

He looked completely relaxed, as if the wars and chaos of the Eastern Region were happening on a different planet.

And honestly, he couldn’t care less about the war. The reason why he chose this place to establish his sect was because it was away from any civilization.

The Great Tao Desert was way too hot for him, not to mention it’s the territory of the man-eating Lamias and also borders those hideous poison masters of thr Souther Region.

The Ten Thousand Beast Mountain range was way too dangerous, not to mention two years ago when he was exploring that place to search for good location, he encountered a war that completely wrecked everything apart!

He had seen them pick up literal mountains and threw them at each other!

Is that even something a human can do!?

So with all that said and done, he left and chose this place instead, and now although he looked like an ordinary, somewhat lazy youth, a closer inspection of his internal dantians revealed a startling truth.

His cultivation had already reached the 1st Stage of the Core Formation realm!

In the Eastern Region, reaching Core Formation at his age would usually be considered the feat of a once-in-a-century genius.

Truthfully, if Lin Feng wasn’t so pathologically lazy, he probably would have reached the Peak of Core Formation or even the Golden Core realm by now, given the sheer amount of "Cheats" his system provided.

But after recruiting seven disciples and receiving a "High-Tier Sect Building Set" as a quest reward from his system, Lin Feng had completely started slacking off.

The buildings were self-repairing, the defensive arrays were automated, and the disciples were self-motivated.

So, there was really no need to work hard.

Besides, can you really blame him, though? In his past life on Earth, he was an ordinary, shut-in otaku whose greatest physical exertion was reaching for a remote or a keyboard.

Do people honestly expect a man like that to become a paragon of hard work just because he was reincarnated?

’Get real,’ Lin Feng often thought to himself while napping. ’those ’grind-until-you-bleed’ protagonists only exist in web novels. I’ve already got a system; why should I suffer?’

He had tried the "hardworking master" persona at first and he had spent a grand total of three days sitting cross-legged in a cave, trying to feel the "unity of heaven and man".

But unfortunately, by the fourth day, his legs were numb, his back ached, and he was bored to tears.

He quickly realized that the rhythmic flow of Qi was nowhere near as entertaining as his system’s built-in gacha games or the light novels he could occasionally manifest through points.

Besides, his system featured a "Disciple Feedback" mechanic, which means every time his seven disciples grew stronger, a portion of their experience and cultivation progress was automatically funneled into him.

If they worked hard, he got stronger by proxy. It was the ultimate pyramid scheme, and he was at the top.

Is there even a much better life than this!?

"Master, you’re slacking off again."

A cold, melodic female voice cut through the sound of the waterfall, the kind of voice that felt like a bucket of ice water being poured over a warm dream.

Lin Feng sighed, raised his sunglasses just enough to peek over the rims, and looked up.

Standing beside him was a stunning young woman with long, cascading silver hair that shimmered like moonlight, her eyes were a matching shade of piercing silver, and she wore a pure white robe that stood out against the green of the forest.

This was Wu Liena, Lin Feng’s first female disciple.

She was currently at the 1st Stage of the Foundation Establishment realm, making her the strongest among his pupils.

And Lin Feng, despite his laziness, and wasn’t stupid; even without the system hinting at him, he could tell Wu Liena had a history.

Her bearing was too noble, her gaze too sharp, and her knowledge of high-level techniques too vast for someone born in a desolate forest.

But despite all that, he never asked.

Frankly, he didn’t want the "Main Character" drama that usually came with a disciple’s tragic backstory.

One of his disciple had his engagement annulled and he was humiliated.

That’s a Flame Emperor template right there! If he dared say "thirty years East, thriry years West. Don’t bully the young and poor!", then he’s pretty much set for life.

Unfortunately, perhaps his luck wasn’t on the level of Flame Emperor, his grandpa in the ring turned out to be a demonic cultivator who wanted take over his own body!

Because of that, Lin Feng had to get involved and save him, but he almost died in the process.

Ever since then, he tried not to pry into his disciples past and mind his own business.

He just wanted a quiet life.

"Nana," Lin Feng said with a lazy smile, "I’m not slacking off. I’m contemplating the Dao. I am meditating on the flow of the universe so that I may not get lost on the road of life."

He said it with such unearned confidence and a straight face that a certain silver-haired ninja from his old world’s manga would have been proud of the plagiarism.

Wu Liena looked at him with a gaze of pure, unadulterated disgust, and for a moment, she wondered if she had made a terrible mistake in joining this sect.

"...Whatever. Your contemplation looks a lot like napping to everyone else. I’m just here to inform you that the invitation arrived, and the Annual Sect Assembly for the Azure Sun region will be held within a week."

"Oh, is it that time already?" Lin Feng sat up, stretching his limbs until his joints popped like firecrackers as he adjusted his sunglasses and looked toward the horizon. "Alright. I suppose it’s time to show those old fogies what a real talent looks like. Or, more accurately, I’ll let you guys show them while I take the credit."

As he spoke, a translucent blue screen flickered into existence before his eyes—a screen only he could see.

[Quest Triggered: Win The Annual Sect Competition]

[Description: Your disciples must dominate the rankings and secure the top spot for the Azure Dragon Sect to establish regional prestige.]

[Rewards: Host Cultivation increase by 1 stage. Sect Library (Rank 4 Expansion). High-Grade Spirit Gathering Array. 100,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones]

Lin Feng’s eyes lingered on the "1 stage increase" reward. ’Sweet. Another stage of Core Formation without having to lift a finger!’

"Nana," he said, standing up and dusting off his robes. "Tell the others to double their training for the next six days. If we win this, I’ll... uh... I’ll give you all an extra day off."

Wu Liena stared at him, her expression deadpan. "We already have six days off a week, Master."

"Then I’ll make it seven!" Lin Feng declared heroically.

This reward... He was determined to get it!