Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

Elder Mu took a deep breath, the sound unnaturally loud in the silence of the completely empty faculty room.

He paced around the room, his long, embroidered robes sweeping across the polished wooden floorboards as his mind raced.

His steps were restless, lacking the usual steady, tranquil rhythm of a revered master teacher and Earthly Saint realm cultivator.

For an entire week, he had done something he never thought he would do in his long, austere life: he had learned the arts of picking up girls from that young friend, Chu Yan.

And he really had to say, even though he was far older, with centuries of life experience and a reputation that commanded respect across the empire, that young friend Chu Yan was far more knowledgeable than him when it comes to girls.

Chu Yan’s advice had been a revelation, breaking down the complex, seemingly chaotic mysteries of the female heart into tactical steps, subtle psychological cues, and confident conversational threads.

Elder Mu had memorized every single pointer, practicing his expressions and tone in the mirror of his private quarters until he felt ready.

Now, a week had passed, and he wanted to finally try and use the skills he learned to go on a date with Ye Hongyan.

He had calculated everything perfectly.

Right now, classes just ended, and with how punctual Ye Hongyan was, he knew that she will immediately head back to the faculty office and do all the remaining work for the day before heading back to her library.

This narrow window of time was his golden opportunity to approach her before she isolated herself amidst her towering stacks of ancient archives.

"Alright, Mu Chen, this is your chance. Don’t fuck this up." He told himself.

At that moment, the heavy wooden door of the faculty room opened with a soft creak.

Elder Mu, or Mu Chen, instantly straightened his posture, smoothing down the front of his robes, and turned towards the entrance, a carefully practiced, charming smile beginning to form on his lips.

However, before he can speak a word, he froze.

The words died in his throat, and his heart plummeted.

Why?

Because he saw that Ye Hongyan was laughing while talking to someone... someone Elder Mu now despised with every fiber of his being.

The man responsible for his demotion and his powers getting sealed to mere 1st Stage Profound Saint realm.

Shen Haoran.

The young man was walking right beside her, perfectly at ease, exuding a casual confidence that seemed entirely out of place for a mere student interacting with a master teacher.

They looked like young couple who had just gotten together and couldn’t stop flirting.

The moment the two stepped inside, they immediately turned towards him, noticing his rigid stance in the center of the room.

Ye Hongyan stared at him, and noticed that his eyes remained locked on hers, unlike other times where he would immediately lower his gaze.

At that, she couldn’t help but look quite eager, as her eyes brightened slightly, her step faltering for a brief second.

Finally, after a thousand years, her dearly beloved Elder Mu had once again looked at her like this—standing tall, waiting, his eyes locked entirely onto her face from the moment she entered.

For years, they haven’t even looked at each other in the eyes, and their little interactions had been plagued by an awkward, suffocating distance born of unresolved past grievances.

Maybe he will finally talk to her? Maybe he was finally going to break the icy silence that had stretched between them for so long?

If he did, she will definitely throw herself into his arms.

But... as time ticks by, Elder Mu remained silent.

The sheer shock of seeing Haoran at her side, combined with the sudden surge of jealousy rotting his carefully prepared confidence, paralyzed his tongue.

The smooth lines Chu Yan had taught him vanished from his mind, replaced by a blank, roaring void.

Seeing his stubborn silence persist, the light in Ye Hongyan’s eyes gradually dimmed, replaced by a familiar, heavy disappointment.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and sighed, the sound carrying the weight of a woman who had grown tired of waiting for a man to speak his mind.

She didn’t know, that if she didn’t brought Haoran with him, then everything that she had always dreamed of would’ve happened right at this moment.

Unfortunately, she has no way of knowing the what ifs.

Turning her back slightly to Elder Mu, she addressed her companion. "Student Haoran, let me just get my things and we can head back to my office."

"Okay, teacher," Haoran smiled at her, his voice smooth, polite, and thoroughly deferential.

The moment Ye Hongyan turned around to grab her things on her desk, moving toward the far corner of the room where her scrolls and personal items were kept, the dynamic in the room shifted instantly.

Elder Mu finally snapped out of his daze, and realized at that moment that he had messed up.

Because of his silence, he made Ye Hongyan believed that he was still unable to move on from the past.

He was about to call out to her, but then her words finally settled in.

Her office? Shen Haoran?

Haoran suddenly felt a gaze full of hostility and immediately turned towards the seething Elder Mu.

Yes. He was seething.

Elder Mu’s veins throbbed against his temples, his breathing turning shallow and hot.

It has been known amongst the higher ups that Ye Hongyan doesn’t take any males inside her office.

Her private sanctuary within the library was strictly off-limits, a rule enforced by her own formidable reputation and terrifying strength.

But now, this brat was actually given permission by her to enter?! The mere thought of it set Elder Mu’s blood on fire.

He clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white, the bones popping under the sheer physical tension of his restraint.

Just then, Shen Haoran smiled at him—a slow, wicked, and entirely deliberate grin as he subtly tilted his head towards the back of Ye Hongyan, ensuring she couldn’t see, before slowly licking his lips in a blatantly provocative gesture.

It was an open declaration of mockery, a disgusting display of disrespect aimed directly at the woman Elder Mu held sacred.

Elder Mu’s eyes flared with fury.

All logic, all of Chu Yan’s teachings, and all institutional rules shattered in an instant under the weight of his absolute rage.

"Shen Haoran! How dare you!?"

His power, which was now only sealed to First Stage Profound Saint Realm due to his reckless actions a week ago, erupted like a dormant volcano.

The ambient temperature in the faculty room plummeted, and the air grew so heavy it felt like lead.

Then, space itself seemed to bend as he appeared in front of Haoran, utilizing a high-tier movement technique that bypassed physical distance entirely.

His hand reached out, fingers hooked like iron talons, as if trying to strangle him right then and there.

However, Haoran just took a step back, his expression entirely devoid of fear, as if he had anticipated this exact reaction down to the millisecond.

And at that moment, before Elder Mu’s fingers could make contact with Haoran’s throat, a blur of silver and blue intervened.

Ye Hongyan appeared in the blink of an eye, her movement even swifter, and grabbed Elder Mu’s wrist, halting his momentum instantly with a crushing grip fueled by her own profound energy.

This time, her eyes were cold, devoid of the eagerness or warmth she had possessed just moments prior. "Mu Chen! This is the second time! Why are you attacking a junior!?"

She stared at her first love, completely bewildered and angered.

The raw disappointment rolling off her was palpable, after all, the Mu Chen she knew from her youth, the man she had given her heart to all those years ago, was a man of principle, a scholar through and through, someone who despised senseless violence and upheld justice.

What has happened to him? Why is he repeatedly targeting such a diligent and studious student like Haoran? A boy who had done nothing but excel in her class?

Was he controlled? Or could it be that power and authority had really changed him, turning him from the honorable youth he once was into this.

No... That’s not it.

As she looked at his furious, distorted face, a sudden realization seemed to dawn on her.

Could it be... Yes. It must be that.

Back then, her father, a man of immense noble standing and supreme power, had brutally forced them apart, treating Mu Chen like a worthless bug due to his lack of a grand background.

The trauma and humiliation of that rejection must have left a deep, festering scar on his psyche.

He probably developed a severe prejudice against those from powerful lineages, projecting his hatred for her father onto any talented noble youth.

And Haoran, with his immense potential and background, was the perfect target for his displaced wrath.

Yes, it must be that.

She won’t accept the fact that the man she once hold dear had changed for the worst.

After all, she had endured a thousand years of solitude and longing, fighting tooth and nail for resources in the outside world that can support her cultivation.

All of that so she can once again be with the man she loved.

If she, who had went through all that, just end up with an absolute scumbag who bullied the weak...then, wouldn’t that make all her sacrifices seem worthless?

"Hongyan, he—" Elder Mu tried to say something, his voice desperate, his finger trembling as he tried to point at the smirking brat standing securely behind her protection.

But Ye Hongyan shook her head, cutting him off fiercely. "Enough, Mu Chen. I understand. You hated my father, right? You hated those who are from noble lineages for oppressing the weak and commoners, right?"

Elder Mu blinked, utterly dumbfounded by the bizarre direction her assumptions had taken. "That’s... no, Hongyan, listen to me—"

Ye Hongyan sighed, the anger in her eyes fading into a profound, pitying sadness, and she let go of his wrist, stepping back. "Mu Chen, no need to say more. I understand you. I know the pain you went through, and I know how much that rejection warped your view of the world. But, Haoran is just a kid. He had nothing to do with our past, nor does he bear the sins of the old noble generation. There is no need to hold hostility against him."

Elder Mu shook his head frantically, his chest heaving as the sheer injustice of the situation threatened to make him cough up blood. "Hongyan, it’s not that! He—you don’t know what he just did! He’s intentionally provoking—"

"I understand," Ye Hongyan stared at him, her eyes stern and unyielding, refusing to hear any further excuses that would tarnish the memory of the man he used to be. "Mu Chen, go take a rest and calm your mind. Look at yourself. You are a senior elder of this academy, yet you are losing your composure over a child."

She turned away from him completely, her robes sweeping as she faced the young student. "Let us go."

"Yes, Teacher Ye," Haoran nodded smoothly, his demeanor immediately reverting back to that of a perfectly behaved, innocent disciple.

The two of them walked away, stepping through the doorway of the faculty room and heading out toward the grand library corridor.

However, before leaving the room entirely, just as he crossed the threshold, Haoran paused for a fraction of a second.

He turned his head slightly, ensuring Ye Hongyan was a step ahead, and shot Elder Mu a provocative look, his eyes gleaming with malicious triumph as he smirked.

It was the look of a victor who had completely dismantled his opponent without firing a single strike.