Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!-Chapter 32: Reaction

While the Eastern Region trembled under the weight of the collapsing mountain, the ripples of the silver Supreme Qi traveled far beyond the borders of the desolate lands, reaching the senses of those who sat at the edges of the Central Region.

And the Blue Wind Kingdom also detected this.

In the eyes of the Four Cardinal Regions, Blue Wind Kingdom was a transcendent superpower, a behemoth with a genuine Saint guarding its borders.

Yet, within the predatory hierarchy of the Central Region, it was merely a third-rate power—a vassal state that jumped at the command of any pampered heir from the Imperial Capital’s Great Clans.

At this moment, within the royal palace of Blue Wind, the Crown Prince Ao Long sat beneath the delicate pink petals of a peach blossom tree.

He was a man of striking beauty, with long blue hair that cascaded like a waterfall and eyes the color of a summer sky.

But his face, usually a mask of regal calm, was currently twisted in a knot of vein-popping fury.

Before him, a servant trembled in the grass. "Report... Your Highness. It has been confirmed that Lady Luo Mingye has been seen frequently in the company of the Yun Clan’s heir, Yun Li. They were... they were seen at the Royal Public Park, holding hands."

CRACK.

The stone bench beneath Ao Long fractured as he felt as though a hot iron had been shoved into his chest.

One should know that he had pursued Luo Mingye for over a decade, offering her the treasures of the kingdom and the prestige of the crown, yet he had never even touched the hem of her sleeve.

And now, she was holding hands with Yun Li—a boy famously known as the "Trash of the Yun Clan"?

The trash who couldn’t even break through Foundation Establishment Realm even at the age of 25!?

"That trash!" Ao Long stood up, his blue Qi swirling around him in a cold mist. "I will tear his—"

"Ao Long..." Just then, a deep voice, vibrating with the authority of a ruler, resounded throughout the yard.

Ao Long immediately checked his temper and cupped his hands, turning around behind him. "Father!"

"Hm." The King of Blue Wind stepped into the garden, his gaze steady. "Ao Long, a Supreme Inheritance has just awakened in the Eastern Region. Forget about that girl for a second. We need to act. We must secure that inheritance before the other third-rate kingdoms or the border clans catch wind of its location."

Ao Long’s expression shifted instantly from jealous rage to cold calculation, after all in the grand scheme of things, a girl—no matter how beautiful—was a fleeting prize.

But a Supreme Inheritance was a ticket to higher standing. They might even have the chance to be promoted to the First Tier Power, or even a Transcendent Power with a real Supreme guarding it!

"I will have Old Hei accompany you," the King continued. "A Nirvana Rebirth realm expert should be more than enough to handle whatever trouble you encounter in that backwater place. The cultivators there are like children playing in the mud."

Ao Long nodded, but a trace of worry remained. "But father, what about the Great Clans in the Imperial Capital? If those from some Holy Lands or even some Transcendent Clan decide to intervene..."

The King shook his head dismissively. "No need to worry about those Hegemons in the Imperial Capital. To them, a Supreme Legacy from the Eastern Region is like a rusted copper coin. They wouldn’t bother staining their robes for such a ’pathetic’ find. It is beneath them."

"I see. Then I shall prepare for departure immediately," Ao Long replied, his eyes gleaming with a new purpose.

*

*

*

Meanwhile, in the sprawling estate of the Luo Clan, another conversation was taking place.

Luo Mingye, a woman whose beauty was whispered to be a match for the forest spirits of legend, sat on her knees upon a woven mat, her long green hair falling perfectly at her back.

Before her sat a muscular old man with a scarred face and green hair—the Elder Patriarch of the Luo Clan.

He sipped his tea with a rugged elegance.

"I heard you have gotten quite close with that brat from the Yun Clan lately?" the old man asked, his eyes sharp over the rim of his cup.

Luo Mingye offered a faint, mysterious smile. "Not that close, Grandfather. But Yun Li is... interesting. He is smart, cunning, and sees the world through eyes that are far too old for his body. I don’t know why the city continues to label him as trash."

The old man sighed, setting his cup down. "It is likely political theater. The King has been wary of the Yun Clan’s private military for years. If Yun Li had shown any talent, he would have met with an ’accident’ long ago. The boy was wise to hide his true capabilities. But now, it seems the Yun Clan believes there is no longer a need for hiding."

Luo Mingye blinked, her emerald eyes widening. "You mean—?"

The Patriarch nodded. "Yes. That old monster, Yun Kuang, has successfully broken through to the Profound Saint Realm. His lifespan has been extended by another thousand years. With a Saint in the house, even the Royal Family must walk on eggshells. They can no longer act recklessly against the Yun bloodline."

Luo Mingye went silent, her mind drifting to the "trash" heir who had held her hand with such casual confidence.

"Indeed. A Saint is a troublesome opponent, even for the Royal Family. Not to mention the Yun Clan’s military is loyal to them, not the crown." She shook her head, focusing back on her grandfather. "But let’s forget about the local politics for a moment. Why have you called me here, Grandfather? You look as though you’re preparing for a campaign."

The old man’s expression turned deathly serious as he leaned forward, his voice dropping to a gravelly whisper. "I want you to head to the Eastern Region this instant. A Supreme Emperor’s Inheritance has just awakened, and the silver light is visible even from our borders. Do everything in your power to get it."

Luo Mingye’s breath hitched. A Supreme Emperor’s legacy? In the Eastern Region?

She looked toward the east, a sense of excitement brewing inside her.

After all, this will be the first time she will leave the confines of their kingdom. "I understand, Grandfather. I will leave at once."

*

*

*

Deep within the sprawling fortifications of the Yun Clan, a youth sat motionless upon a bed of cold, spirit-attracting jade.

To the servants who passed his door, Yun Li was a mystery—a man once mocked as the "Trash Heir", but had suddenly shed his skin of incompetence to reveal a core of magnificent and talented brilliance.

Some thought he had been hiding his talent; others thought he had found a miraculous herb that had turned him into a genius.

But the truth was far more profound.

Yun Li was not the original owner of this body. He was a transmigrator from a distant, mundane world called Blue Star.

In his previous life, he had been nothing more than an ordinary college student, a face in the crowd until a fatal accident tore him from his reality and transmigrated into this world of Cultivation as the trash heir of the Yun Clan.

Not only that, he hadn’t come to this world empty-handed, as deep in his soul, he carried the singular treasure that had facilitated his crossing: a yellowed, tattered page of old paper he had once bought from a shady street vendor for a few coins during a festival.

On that paper was inscribed the Falling Immortal Sutra.

It was a technique of staggering arrogance, as according to its cryptic introduction, if practiced to absolute perfection, even a lowly mortal would possess the strength to slay an Immortal.

And using that, in just one year of secret cultivation, Yun Li had utilized this singular page to shatter the chains of his "trash" talent.

He had surged from the 9th Stage of Qi Gathering to the 9th Stage of Foundation Establishment, a speed of progression that would make even the geniuses of the Central Region look like snails.

Just then, a rhythmic knock sounded against the heavy oak of his chamber door. Yun Li exhaled a cloud of turbid Qi, his eyes snapping open with a flash of cold, violet light.

"Come in."

The door creaked open, and his father, the Clan Leader of the Yun Family, stepped inside. His face was etched with a gravity that Yun Li had rarely seen.

"Father," Yun Li said, standing up and smoothing his robes. "Do you need something?"

The Clan Leader nodded, his voice dropping to a low, urgent whisper. "Son, you need to hurry up and go to the Eastern Region at once. An inheritance of a Supreme Emperor has just awakened, and I want you to do everything in your power to get it, no matter what. Old Hao will accompany you."

Hearing that, Yun Li’s eyes widened for a moment.

"Supreme Emperor..." Yun Li muttered, a spark of awe flickering in his eyes before being replaced by a hunger for power.

Having been in this world for a year, he understood the weight of that title. A Supreme Emperor was the pinnacle, a being capable of flipping the heavens and crushing the earth with a casual gesture.

His current kingdom—a landmass larger than all the continents of Blue Star combined—didn’t even possess a single trace of such power.

Only the legendary Hegemons within the Imperial Capital were rumored to have Supremes guarding their halls.

Yet, such a treasure had appeared in the Eastern Region—a place his father’s scrolls described as a "Desolate Region" filled with low-level cultivators and stagnant bloodlines.

’Heh,’ Yun Li thought, a confident smirk spreading across his face. ’Truly a case of a poor man sitting atop a gold mine, completely ignorant of the treasure hidden beneath his own feet. They are probably still hitting the stone with sticks while a god’s power was waiting to be taken.’

"Very well, Father," Yun Li said, his voice ringing with a certainty that left no room for doubt. "I will head out at once. I’ll make sure to bring that inheritance back to the Yun Clan."

Inside, his heart was pounding with the thrill of the hunt.

After all, he wasn’t just a cultivator; he was a Son of Heaven, a transmigrator with a golden finger that no one in this world has heard of.

Could a man like him lose to a bunch of local, native "geniuses" who didn’t even know the true scale of the universe?

’I’d be the laughingstock of the transmigrator brotherhood if I let some local brat beat me to the punch,’ he thought, clenching his fist as the power of the Falling Immortal Sutra thrummed in his veins.

’Eastern Region, Central Region... it doesn’t matter. Everything in this world is just a stepping stone for my ascension.’