Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

The steam from the jade teacups curled into the air, carrying the fragrance of spiritual tea leaves that were harvested only once every century.

It was a serene scene, a stark contrast to the blood-slicked jade of the Grand Hall they had just abandoned.

Shen Haoran, Xia Mengyao, and Luo Mingye were currently seated in a small, octagonal kiosk of white sandalwood, floating in the middle of a crystalline lake that mirrored the sky of the Shen Domain.

"It has been a while, hasn’t it?" Haoran said, his voice smooth and resonant.

He watched a young servant girl pour the tea with trembling hands; she offered a deep, frantic bow before retreating back across the stone bridge, leaving the three of them in a pocket of artificial peace.

Usually, it was Qing’er who would serve him tea, anticipating his every preference with a silent but intimate efficiency, and even Haoran felt a subtle prickle of discomfort not having her by his side.

It was a strange sensation, really, to be so accustomed to a shadow that its absence felt like a missing limb.

However, with the sheer number of guests and the volatile mix of egos in the city, every Shadow Guard had been deployed to patrol the perimeters and prevent any more "incidents" from escalating into full-scale clan warfare.

"Indeed it has, Young Master," Xia Mengyao replied, her eyes fixed on the ripples in the lake. "We didn’t really met under good circumstances, did we?"

She smiled wryly, thinking of that moment when she and the others were so thoroughly suppressed by Haoran’s pressure that they literally started bleeding.

"More than three years," Luo Mingye added, her fingers tracing the rim of her cup. "Three years, four months, and twelve days. Not that I was counting, of course."

She tried to sound nonchalant, but the slight tremor in her voice betrayed her.

"Hm, it seems the bond between the two of you still wasn’t severed," Haoran noted, turning his golden gaze toward the two friends. "I remember you asking me to marry both of you back then."

Xia Mengyao blinked, trying to remember such thing, and indeed, Mingye once asked him to marry both of them, but they were rejected, with Haoran saying that they possessed nothing that interests him.

"O-Oh," Mingye blushed, trying to hide her face with her hair, "You still remembered that. But you said there is a chance, so I was hoping...."

"Indeed, back then, although both of you are indeed very beautiful, but this world never lacked beauties," Haoran continued, his eyes shifting to the zither player. "I want something more than just beautiful skin and bones, those who possessed something more than beauty."

Luo Mingye bit her lip, her green eyes darting toward the shore. "Yes, I remember. And I took it to heart, young master, did you know, I founded my own sect, The Celestial Melody Palace. It’s not strong, and the members are made up of people whose talent in musical arts I recognised. One day, I hope to lead that sect to be a force that can stand proud even in the Imperial Capital."

This is the method she thought of, to show Shen Haoran that she is more than just her beauty.

She wanted to build a force so influential, that Shen Haoran can proudly say to the world...that woman is my wife.

Xia Mengyao stared at her friend, looking shocked. This is the first time she have heard of this.

"Is that so? Then I wish you good luck with that journey." Haoran nodded.

Luo Mingye smiled brightly.

Just then, Haoran’s expression became serious as he leaned forward, the light of the floating lanterns casting long shadows across his face.

"However, let us move on to a more serious topic. Luo Mingye, you wanted to tell me something earlier, but you stopped. What is it?"

Luo Mingye froze, her breath hitched in her throat, and she felt that cold, metaphysical hand tightening around her heart once more.

She looked at Xia Mengyao, then back at Haoran, and slowly shook her head, her face pale.

Haoran didn’t pull away. Instead, he reached across the table and firmly grabbed her hands.

His skin was warm, radiating an unshakeable strength that seemed to push back the invisible chill surrounding her.

"Luo Mingye... believe me," he whispered, his golden eyes burning with a promise that felt as heavy as a mountain. "I will protect you. No matter what law you break or what entity you offend, as long as you are within my sight, the heavens cannot touch you. I promise."

Luo Mingye stared into those firm, confident eyes and saw the supreme will flickering deep within his pupils, as if possessing power that stood outside the cycle of the Dao.

The fear that had paralyzed her began to melt, replaced by a desperate, reckless trust as she took a deep, shuddering breath, her chest heaving.

Then... she broke the silence.

"Ye Fang is a transmigrator from another world, and he knows about the future!" she blurted out, the words tumbling out like a broken dam. "He also has this so-called ’Diary System’ that gives him a reward whenever he writes a diary! I possess a copy of one of his diaries, and it contains the fate of everyone in this world!"

The moment the final word left her lips, the universe screamed.

A thunderous, world-shaking roar echoed throughout the Shen Clan’s Domain, vibrating the very water of the lake into a fine mist.

The peaceful sky was instantly devoured by a suffocating, abyssal black as clouds as thick as mountains swirled into a violent vortex directly above the kiosk, and bolts of cracking, violet lightning danced across the dark firmament like dragons warring in the heavens.

Luo Mingye’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, her face turning a ghostly white as she felt the localized gravity of the world trying to crush her for her transgression.

But seeing how Haoran calmly, almost defiantly, held her hands, refusing to let the pressure separate them, she felt a strange, illogical sense of calm.

"W-What is happening?!" Xia Mengyao cried out, standing up and drawing her sword as the sheer weight of the aura coming from the sky made her knees buckle. "Is someone trying to destroy this dimension?"

A few hundred yards away, watching from a high balcony of the inner palace, Chu Xueyu, Feng Yuyan, and Leng Shuang stood side by side.

Their robes whipped around them in the sudden, violent gale as they looked up.

"Oh crap," Feng Yuyan chuckled, though her eyes were sharp and narrowed. "Look at that accumulation of lightning. Isn’t that much bigger than when you ascended to the Heavenly Saint realm, Sister Xueyu?"

"Not by much," Leng Shuang replied, her voice cold and analytical as she observed the violet flashes. "I’d say it’s just around twenty-five percent bigger. It’s enough to vaporised ordinary Heavenly Saint realm expert, not to mention a couple of Golden Core realm like those girls."

"Hmm." Chu Xueyu remained silent, her hands gripped tightly behind her back.

She didn’t look at the sky, but instead just looked at the kiosk where her son was sitting, her heart a mixture of fury at the heavens and pride in her son’s audacity.

All around the Shen Clan Main City, the feast came to a grinding halt as millions of guests looked up in terror and confusion.

"Is this an attack?" a sect leader shouted, his cup of wine shattering on the floor.

"No... this is a Heavenly Tribulation!" an elder gasped. "But who is it for? And why is it so filled with killing intent?! It’s as if the Dao itself wants to erase someone from existence!"

In the Supreme Hall.

Shen Daiyu was swinging lazily on a rattan hammock suspended between two marble pillars outside her castle, a forbidden romance novel held in one hand.

She looked like a bored teenager on a summer afternoon.

But then... She felt the air in the sub-dimension vibrated.

"Hm?" Shen Daiyu looked up, her gaze piercing through the multiple dimensions and layers of shielding that protected the Hall and saw the vortex forming in the outside world, the violet dragons of lightning preparing to strike.

"The heck?" she muttered, sitting up and letting the book fall to the floor. "I know that kid can do it, but isn’t this a bit too fast? What in the world did he do to piss off the Heavenly Dao so thoroughly that it’s inviting a Heavenly Tribulation right in the middle of his own party?"

She focused her vision, her pupils dilating as she used Clairvoyance, one of the most basic yet most important skill of Seers as she tracked the threads of karma.

Soon, her eyes landed on Luo Mingye, seeing the residue of the forbidden words on her lips.

"Ah," Daiyu exhaled, her brows raising in realization. "So that girl is the target then. She spilled some sort of secret and angered the heavens. Then the Heavenly Tribulation shouldn’t be *that* strong... hmm, Xueyu and the others should be able to handle that level of interference."

She leaned back, the tension leaving her shoulders, and picked her book back up.

She didn’t worry about Haoran at all. She had seen the quality of his soul, and more importantly, she knew the power of the artifacts he carried.

All those knives he has been using was personally crafted by her own hands.

"Still..." her eyes narrowed. "This is the Shen Clan Domain, you manipulative bastard. Not your personal playground. If you want to kill one of ours, you’ll have to do better than a light show."

Back at the kiosk, Haoran stood up, pulling Luo Mingye behind his back as he looked up at the roaring sky, his golden eyes seems to glow as the e wind howled, threatening to tear the kiosk apart.

"So," Haoran smirked at the thunder, "you want silence her for speaking the truth? How arrogant you are, oh heavens. But, this is the Shen Clan. Not a place for you to flex your might. If you want to come, be prepared for oir retaliation."

The sky responded with a deafening crack of thunder, and the first bolt of violet lightning descended like the spear of a god, aimed directly at Luo Mingye’s head.