Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!-Chapter 82: The Departure

Shen Clan, Chu Xueyu’s palace.

From the outside of the massive, arched windows of the palace, the floating islands drifted lazily, their waterfalls of liquid Qi sparkling like diamonds.

But inside the palace, the atmosphere was shrouded with the bittersweet tension of a departure.

"You’re going to leave already?" Ning Xueli asked, her voice small and laced with a sudden, sharp anxiety.

She reached out, her fingers hovering near Haoran’s sleeve before she pulled them back, looking at him with eyes that pleaded for a different answer. "Can’t you... can’t you take me with you? I’ve reached the peak of Core Formation! I won’t be a burden!"

Haoran turned to her, his expression softening just a fraction, though his gaze remained as steady as a mountain.

He shook his head slowly. "Sorry, Xueli, but my mother was quite adamant. She insisted you stay behind in the Imperial Capital so she can... ’teach’ you."

"Oh." Xueli sighed, her shoulders slumping in visible disappointment.

She looked down at her boots, the thought being from the Desolate Eastern Region still clinging to her soul, making her feel even smaller in this realm of giants.

She nodded, however, knowing better than to argue with the decree of the Shen Clan’s matriarch.

"Indeed," a voice hummed, appearing like a ripple in a silk curtain.

Chu Xueyu materialized beside Haoran, startling Xueli so much the girl nearly jumped out of her skin.

The Empress stood with a hand resting possessively on Haoran’s shoulder, her golden eyes fixed on Xueli with an unreadable depth. "This is an important mission that Haoran must execute alone, little girl. This will also serve as his training and to find opportunities. For you, the resources of the Imperial Capital and the guidance of the Shen Clan are far more beneficial. Consider this a rare opportunity to master that inheritance of yours."

"I... I understand, Miss Xueyu," Xueli stammered, bowing her head.

In the presence of the woman who had forced the heavens to kneel, Xueli felt like a flickering candle standing before a supernova.

Just then, a light, playful laugh echoed through the hall as Feng Yuyan appeared in a swirl of black cherry blossoms, with the Little Ancestor Feng Yanmei trotting beside her.

"Cousin!" Yanmei shouted, immediately charging forward and latching onto Haoran’s waist like a golden burr.

She looked up at him with a fierce pout, her golden eyes shimmering. "You’re going to leave so soon? We haven’t even played ’Hunt the Branch Disciple’ yet! We haven’t seen a single explosion!"

She had heard from her mother that those branch members are actually planning to beat her cousin, and she wanted to team up with Haoran to hunt them down and teach them a lesson.

And right when she was about to invite him, her mother told her that he will be leaving soon.

"Come now, Yanmei," Feng Yuyan said, though her smile was indulgent as she reached down to pat the girl’s head. "Your cousin has a very important task to attend to. Don’t be a child, you’ll delay his mission."

"But... it’s boring when he’s gone!" Yanmei pouted, tightening her grip on Haoran’s robe.

Besides, it has been two years since she last saw him, and she couldn’t even spend a day with him before he leaves again for who knows how long?

Haoran reached down and caressed the girl’s hair, his fingers trailing over the golden tiara. "Alright, alright, Yanmei. I promise I’ll bring you lots of unique gifts and ancient curiosities once I return. Perhaps even some stabilized star-cores from the burial mounds. So, don’t act spoiled now, just keep the palace standing while I’m away."

"Hmm..." Yanmei closed her eyes, leaning into the caress like a pampered kitten.

The touch of this beloved cousin of hers was the only thing that could truly calm her mercurial temper. "Alright. But they better be big gifts! And shiny!"

"Absolutely."

Just then, Chu Xueyu’s expression shifted, turning clinical as she looked toward Haoran’s shadow. "Qing’er."

In an instant, the shadow at Haoran’s feet rippled and rose as the shadow guard emerged from the floor, her black bodysuit absorbing the light of the hall as she knelt with her head bowed in a perfect, rigid posture.

"Mistress..."

"I believe I don’t need to repeat myself," Xueyu said, her voice dropping into a register of cold command. "Make sure to keep him safe. If a single hair on his head is harmed by those lower-realm savages or those remnant ghosts of the ancient Saints, do not bother returning."

"I hear and obey," Qing’er replied, her voice as flat and lethal as a drawn blade.

Xueyu nodded, satisfied. "Good. Now, let us depart. Leng Shuang has already prepared everything, and she is currently waiting for us in her pagoda."

"Alright, leave it to me!" Feng Yuyan smiled and waved her hand casually.

To Xueli’s amazement, the air in the room didn’t just move, but was completely tore open as a violent ripping sound echoed, and with it, a tear appeared in space!

Before Xueli could even gasp, the scenery shifted.

The plush carpets and jade pillars of the Palace were gone, replaced by the sterile, awe-inspiring sight of a massive, 13-story golden pagoda that stretched into a sky filled with artificial moons.

This is the 13 Floored Conferred Pagoda, the place where Leng Shuang oversees the development of the twelve realms she ruled.

The first twelve floors represents each realm, while the 13th floor represents her domain that stood above them all.

"Let’s go," Xueyu ordered, leading the way into the structure.

As they entered the first floor, the air grew heavy with the scent of incense and the low, rhythmic chanting of hundreds of priests.

At the center of the hall stood a massive, pulsating altar made of Celestial Gold, one of the rarest materials in the universe used to forge Saint Rank Artifacts.

In front of it, were a group of priests all dressed in crimson robes, kneeling and praying with a fervor that suggested their lives depended on every syllable.

Aside from Xueli who was curious about them, the rest ignored them and continued to ascend the spiral staircase.

Xueli noticed that floor they passed was a mirror of the first: an altar, a sea of praying priests, and a concentrated pillar of faith-energy rising through the center of the pagoda.

By the time they reached the 10th floor, the spiritual pressure was so high that Xueli felt as though she were walking through deep water.

And when they finally climbed to the 13th and highest floor, the atmosphere changed.

There was no incense here, only the cold, crystalline silence, as if they stood in a vacuum.

Leng Shuang sat upon a golden throne at the far end of the chamber. She looked nonchalant, almost lazy, her eyes closed as her brown skin seemed to glow with a faint, tyrannical radiance.

As the group appeared, Leng Shuang’s eyes snapped open, and the pressure in the room doubled instantly.

She stood up, her red robes billowing like a pool of blood.

"Shall we begin?" she asked, her voice echoing with the authority of the twelve realms she had enslaved.

Xueyu nodded, her face turning solemn. "You can proceed, Sister Shuang."

Leng Shuang nodded as she stepped forward, and with a casual wave of her hand, the walls of the pagoda seemed to dissolve and everything became black.

As far as the eye can see, everyone was an endless, pitch-black void that swallowed the light.

Xueli gripped her own arms, feeling as though she were floating in the center of an empty universe.

Then, the true power of the "Conferred Tyrant" was revealed, her majestic and tyrannical pressure seems to suck out the air out of Xueli’s lungs.

Thankfully, it barely lasted a moment as Feng Yuyan and Chu Xueyu both stood in front of them protectively, shielding them from the pressure.

Just then, ten extra arms began to manifest from Leng Shuang’s back, growing with a terrifying, rhythmic crackle until she had a total of twelve.

On the palm of each hand, a swirling, miniature galaxy began to appear, each one was a vibrant, spinning disc of billions of stars, representing the twelve actual realms she had conquered and tethered to her own soul.

She extended one of her arms forward—the one holding the galaxy that served as the gateway to the lower realms.

And suddenly, that miniature galaxy expanded, growing until it filled the entire void behind her, like a roaring vortex of celestial energy and ancient laws.

Leng Shuang waved that hand, and a tear appeared in the center of the swirling stars.

"Just enter here," Leng Shuang said, her voice sounding like the grinding of tectonic plates. "This will lead you to the main temple where I am worshipped."

Xueli almost lost her breath at this scene.

Her mind, conditioned by the "small" world of the Eastern Region, was struggling to process the scale of what she was seeing.

For a girl who grew up seeing the most powerful experts only able to cleave mountains or freeze lakes, seeing a woman casually holding entire realms in her palms was a shock so profound she felt as though she were in a fever dream.

’This... is this even a power a human can have!?’ she thought, her legs trembling.

"Haoran," Xueyu said, turning to her son. "You must return before the Imperial Academy begins its final student intake. Do not let the distractions of the lower realm or the hunt for your ’father’ delay you too long."

Haoran nodded, his golden blonde hair catching the light of the swirling galaxy. "I know, Mother. I will be efficient."

"Haoran, don’t go too wild there, okay?" Feng Yuyan added, a teasing glint in her eyes. "Remember, in the lower realms like the Saint Burial Realm, the laws are very fragile. The highest cultivation a mortal can reach there is the Nascent Soul realm, and once they touch the Spirit Ascension rank, they must ascend, so don’t go shattering the world’s core just because someone annoys you."

"I know, Aunt," Haoran nodded. "I will keep that in mind.’

"Cousin, bring me lots of souvenirs, alright!? Or I’ll burn down the kitchen again!" Yanmei shouted, waving her small fists.

"Yes, yes, it will surely satisfy you, you little brat." Haoran smiled at her.

Xueli took a deep, shuddering breath, stepping forward one last time. "Haoran... please. Please take care of yourself. Be careful, okay? I’ll be waiting here... studying."

Haoran chuckled softly, reaching out to give her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don’t worry, Xueli. I can handle myself, who do you think I am?"

He then turned toward Leng Shuang and gave a sharp nod before fixing his gaze on the tear in the void.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward into the swirling stars.

Qing’er, silent as ever, followed a half-step behind him, her form blurring as she vanished into the portal.

The moment they entered, the galaxy contracted with a violent snap.

Then, the void dissolved, and the group found themselves standing back on the 13th floor of the golden pagoda.

The extra arms on Leng Shuang’s back retracted into her skin, and the tyrannical pressure faded back into a dull, underlying hum.

"My priest will tell when he plans to return." Said Leng Shuang.

Chu Xueyu stood silently at the room, before she let out a long, heavy sigh that seem to carry the weight of a centuries of burden.

"Haoran..." she whispered.

The Empress who had dyed the heavens with blood looked, for a fleeting moment, like any other mother watching her son walk into the unknown.