Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

Sun Moon Emperor watched Xu Xiansu with a deep, knowing look as her expressive face slowly and dynamically turned from absolute confusion, to stunned disbelief, to frantic inner denial, until finally, settling into a quiet, breathless acceptance.

The emotional storm that had just raged behind her eyes finally cleared, leaving behind a stark, undeniable clarity that illuminated her entire demeanor.

He couldn’t help but chuckle softly, the resonant sound echoing warmly through the dark, infinite expanse. "It seems you have finally and truly realized your deepest feelings, girl. The heart can fool the mind for centuries, but it can never lie to the soul when stripped of the world’s noise."

Xu Xiansu stared back at the radiant golden figure, her chest heaving as she let out a long, slow breath.

She nodded her head, a self-deprecating smile playing on her lips. "I guess... I guess that’s the truth of it. Still, to be entirely honest, senior... it feels incredibly weird. To love the very person I always thought to stand against... it defies all my logic."

"It is entirely normal to feel a sudden sense of disorientation," the Sun Moon Emperor replied, his golden robes shimmering as he floated closer. "When you fully accept your deepest, most hidden desire—especially one you have desperately fought to bury beneath layers of pride and hatred—it will naturally make you feel as if the very ground beneath your feet has shifted. It is the feeling of your soul finally aligning with its true north, breaking through the artificial armor you forced upon it. It is not a bad thing, true strength begins only when you stop fighting your own nature."

The Sun Moon Emperor suddenly sighed dreamily, his luminous eyes staring off into the infinite distance of the empty void, as if he were peering directly through a million years of historical dust to look upon a memory that still burned brightly within his core.

"Even I, all the way back during my own youth in the primordial eras, felt exactly like that. The first time I realized my heart was no longer my own, I became completely paralyzed. I couldn’t even talk to her normally without stuttering, and I constantly ended up making a fool of myself whenever she glanced in my direction. I was a proud genius, yet before her, I was nothing. Eventually, I wanted to prove to the entire universe—and to her—that I was strong enough to protect her by defeating her. But in the end... I lost. And in losing, I found my peace."

Xu Xiansu blinked her eyes in sudden shock, her vast knowledge from her other life instantly clicking into place as a legendary name surfaced in her mind.

"It couldn’t be... Senior, are you perhaps talking about the legendary Boundless Sky Immortal? The mythical Immortal who ultimately defeated you at the end of the Immortal road and ascended to become the sole Immortal of that entire era?"

"Ah, yes. That is indeed her," the Sun Moon Emperor murmured, a look of profound, timeless adoration softening his majestic features. "That’s her name. I truly can’t believe there are still people in this modern, degraded era who even remember her title. It has almost been a full, staggering million years since she shouldered the Heavens Will and ascended beyond the cover of this world."

Xu Xiansu hummed softly, her mind drifting back to the fragmented memories of her previous timeline.

She hadn’t learned this piece of history from the standard academy textbooks; rather, she had painstakingly pieced it together from the ancient, half-burnt fragments of a secret historical book left behind by the tragic Gu Clan, right after their ancestral estates were brutally destroyed and plundered by the ruthless Hei Clan in her other life.

When it comes to ancient history, forgotten lore, or even the preservation of primordial books, the legendary Gu Clan was completely unmatched across the continents.

After all, they were historically recognized as the oldest and most culturally profound of the 9 Supreme Immortal Clans.

Still, those books never mentioned that the Sun Moon Emperor is actually a massive romantic.

"Now, with that emotional hurdle officially cleared and out of the way," the Sun Moon Emperor’s voice suddenly shifted, dropping into a deep, booming register of absolute, sovereign authority that caused the entire dark space to vibrate with divine power. "It is finally time for you to completely inherit my legacy and bear the weight of the sun and the moon."

The absolute moment the declaration left his lips, a magnificent, epic passing of the legacy commenced.

The spectral figure of the Sun Moon Emperor erupted into a blinding, multi-colored storm of celestial energy.

*OMMMMMM——!*

The infinite darkness was instantly illuminated by two colossal, swirling stellar bodies that materialized behind him—a brilliant burning hot sun radiating supreme Yang energy, and a cool, ethereal crescent moon flowing with boundless Yin essence.

"Let my knowledge, pave your path."

With a majestic wave of his hand, the Emperor pointed his finger directly toward Xu Xiansu’s forehead.

A massive, roaring river of pure, unfiltered divine knowledge shot across the void, entering her sea of consciousness like a burning meteor.

Millions of ancient, glowing characters and intricate martial diagrams instantly etched themselves permanently into her soul structure.

He passed down several legendary and long lost Cultivation Techniques that could directly manipulate the stellar alignment of the cosmos, alongside a vast array of high-tier Battle Techniques capable of severing entire space and parting sea of stars with a single strike of an open palm.

Furthermore, the divine transmission mapped out the complete path on exactly how to cultivate the Sun Moon Divine Physique to Perfect Integration, bypassing all the dangerous bottlenecks and hidden flaws that had plagued her current training.

She could feel her soul instantly reacting, the dormant cells within her marrow singing as they absorbed the primordial blueprints of the cosmos.

The knowledge was so incredibly deep and profound, that even her, who had reached the Supreme Emperor realm and has cultivated the Sun Moon Divine Physique to Grand Completion was shocked, feeling as if she completely miss a lot of things.

Then, as the blinding light began to condense, the Sun Moon Emperor extended both his hands forward.

"And let my power, push you through all tribulations."

Floating gently between his palms was a miniature, ancient structural fragment forged from a pristine, logic-defying divine alloy.

It was the first floor of his legendary Imperial Artifact—the Sun Moon Refinement Tower.

The artifact hummed with a heavy, localized temporal distortion, its micro-arrays pulsing with the power to accelerate time a hundredfold, waiting to be claimed by its new mistress.

Xu Xiansu reached out her hands, her heart filled with a new, unyielding purpose as she grasp the artifact.

The instant it touched her, it immediately entered to her soul.

The Sun Moon Emperor smiled warmly down at her, the brilliant stellar halos of the sun and moon behind him gradually softening into a gentle, ambient glow that illuminated her determined face.

"With this inheritance and the first floor of the tower in your possession, you should be completely set for life, young one. Your path to the apex of the martial world is now laid out clearly before you."

Xu Xiansu did not hesitate for a single second.

Driven by a profound, overwhelming sense of gratitude and respect for the magnificent sovereign who had given her a new destiny, she immediately fell to her knees and kowtowed deeply before him, her forehead touching the dark, illusory floor of the pocket space.

"Master. Thank you for bestowing this junior with your ultimate legacy."

The Sun Moon Emperor blinked his luminous eyes in mild, playful surprise, a soft chuckle escaping his spectral lips. "Oh dear. I certainly didn’t give you all of this just for you to formally acknowledge me as your master, you know. I am merely a passing shadow of history, clearing a path for a descendant who carries the same divine physique."

"I know," Xu Xiansu replied, keeping her head lowered in absolute reverence, her voice echoing firmly through the silent void. "I know you expect nothing in return, Senior. But please, for the immense gifts you have so generously bestowed upon my soul, accept my formal bow as your disciple."

The Sun Moon Emperor smiled lightly, a touch of genuine paternal fondness softening his ancient, majestic features.

He nodded slowly, accepting her sentiment. "Very well. I accept your respect, my disciple."

After that, Xu Xiansu smoothly stood up, her newly stabilized qi circulating flawlessly through her refined meridians.

The weight of the Sun Moon Refinement Tower felt perfectly synchronized with her heartbeat.

She cupped her hands respectfully. "Master, the outside world is in turmoil, and my companions await my return. I shall be taking my leave."

The Sun Moon Emperor nodded approvingly. "Alright. Oh, and before I forget, make sure to take the lone peach blossom tree outside with you when you exit. It is not a common plant; it has been meticulously nurtured by the purest concentrated Sun Moon essence for hundreds of thousands of years at the core of this mountain. Its leaves, bark, and blossoms possess rare, miraculous alchemical properties that might prove incredibly useful to you and your future path someday."

"Understood, master. I will transplant it into my personal space," Xu Xiansu replied diligently.

The Sun Moon Emperor offered her one final, brilliant nod, his spectral golden robes beginning to dissolve into thousands of shimmering motes of starlight as the pocket dimension prepared to close its gates.

"Well then, let’s meet again soon, child. Next time, we shall share a conversation in the high halls of the true Immortal Realm."

"Huh?" Xu Xiansu blinked her eyes in sudden, sheer confusion, her mind stalling at his bizarre phrasing. "But... aren’t you already dea—"

She couldn’t finish her words as she felt the entire structure of the dark world suddenly twist, warp, and fold inward with an absolute, dizzying velocity.

The fabric of space blurred before her eyes, and before she could even process the transition, the suffocating darkness completely vanished.

A fraction of a breath later, she felt the crisp, biting alpine wind hitting her face.

She was already standing back on the flat stone ground of the mountain top, the pink petals of the peach blossom tree drifting gently around her boots.

There, arrayed across the clearing, she saw her familiar friends and the members of the lower Crowns watching her.

But most importantly, standing directly in the center of her field of vision, she saw Haoran.

He was looking at her with his classic, entirely nonchalant composure, his hands tucked elegantly within his wide robes.

The very second her eyes locked onto his handsome face, a sudden, violent wave of absolute panic hit her chest.

Her heart hammered against her ribs as the fresh realization of her true feelings roared back into her mind.

She felt a profound, burning blush creeping up her neck, and she literally felt like she couldn’t even look at him directly in the eyes right now without her entire composure completely shattering.

"It seems you have gained a tremendous amount of benefits from your journey inside," said Haoran, his smooth, commanding voice cutting through her internal panic as his sharp golden eyes scanned her newly radiant aura. "Your cultivation has directly leaped across the a few minor realm and successfully reaching the 4th Stage of the Golden Core realm in a single session. Impressive."

Xu Xiansu desperately tried to act exactly like her normal, proudly independent self.

Her instant, automated combat plan was flawless: snort dismissively at his praise, act incredibly proud of her own innate talents, and sharply turn her head away from him with a classic, aloof hmph... that was her plan to maintain her dignity.

"T-thank you..."

Was the soft, uncharacteristically meek, and thoroughly stuttered phrase that actually came flying out of her mouth instead.

Her voice sounded impossibly gentle, completely devoid of its usual sharp edge.

The entire clearing instantly went dead silent.

Everyone in the group paused entirely and turned their heads slowly towards her, their expressions a mix of absolute, unadulterated confusion.

The lower Crowns blinked rapidly, wondering if their fierce, stubborn girl who likes to confront their young master had suddenly been replaced by a body double inside the tree.

’What in the flying fuck?!’ Xu Xiansu cursed frantically inside her own mind, her internal thoughts screaming in pure, horrified embarrassment. ’What was that?! What the fuck was that pathetic, submissive sound?! Why did I just thank him like a shy maiden?! What is wrong with my mouth?!’

Thankfully for her remaining sanity, Haoran didn’t seem to outwardly notice or care about her bizarre emotional fluctuation, his face remaining entirely calm and business-like as he turned his back to face the edge of the mountain path.

"Now that you’ve returned safely, let us now all go back to the villa. The others should be completely finished on their side of the city cleanup as well."

Everyone in the group nodded in unison, adjusting their things, and Xu Xiansu let out a long, silent, and immensely ragged breath of pure relief, mentally slapping herself to regain her standard, rigid focus.

And with that final task completed, the group prepared to depart from the mountain peak, stepping down into the valley as a united front.