Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

Chapter 157: The Gathering

The atmosphere within the Supreme Hall’s corridor was heavy, like the physical residue of the ancient auras that dwelled within the separate dimension.

As Haoran stepped through the fading light of the wooden double doors, the transition was like a cold plunge into a mountain spring.

He came face to face with a wall of maternal concern and silent intensity: his mother, Chu Xueyu, and his aunts, Leng Shuang and Feng Yuyan.

Chu Xueyu, her silver and gold sword already sheathed back into her storage, crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes, which could freeze the blood of a thousand soldiers, were currently narrowed in a mix of suspicion and protective instinct.

"So," she began, her voice low and resonant, "what did that old bat want from you?"

Feng Yuyan snorted in amusement.

Leng Shuang didn’t find it weird. Since ancient times, no members from the Main Line of the Shen had ever feared insulting their elders.

Haoran stood still for a moment, the weight of the cosmic map Shen Daiyu had shown him still burning in his mind’s eye.

Not to mention that the revelation that the "Heavenly Dao" was a sentient thief and that his very existence was an anomaly designed to break the cycle was not something he could casually drop into conversation—not even with his mother.

After all, he still remembered the terrifying, tectonic pressure that had leaked from the other sleeping Supremes when the truth was spoken.

It was a warning, a silent decree that some truths were too heavy for the world to bear.

He gave a small, nonchalant shrug, his hands sliding back into his wide sleeves.

"Nothing in particular, Mother," he said, his voice smooth. "She just reiterated the necessity to hunt down those ’Protagonists’ we’ve identified. She wants me to focus on increasing the luck of the clan so we can eventually shoulder the Heaven’s Will."

Chu Xueyu didn’t move. She stared at him for several long moments, her gaze searching for the flicker of a lie or the shadow of a hidden burden.

"....Is it something you can’t tell me?" she asked directly, her tone softening just a fraction.

Haoran shook his head slowly.

"Probably? Maybe? I don’t know," he admitted with a wry smile. "But it’s better that I don’t. Some secrets belong to the silence of that hall."

He doesn’t know why those Supremes doesn’t seem to want others to know about the truth, but there definitely must be a reason.

So for now, he decided to keep it a secret.

Chu Xueyu studied him a moment longer before nodding decisively. "Very well. I won’t ask. I trust your judgment, Haoran. For now, the world is waiting for you. Let us go and meet the guests."

Haoran nodded and the four of them left the Supreme Hall.

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While the dimensional silence of the Supreme Hall was absolute, the Grand Hall of a Thousand Stars was a riot of noise and light.

This was the inner sanctum of the Shen Clan’s hospitality, a space designed to accommodate hundreds of thousands of the most powerful individuals in the Central Region.

After the Heaven’s Choice tournament, the Shen Clan had extended invitations to the major powers of the Imperial Capital for a private feast—a gathering where the real politics of the era would be decided over spirit wine and gourmet delicacies.

As for the others, naturally, they had to enjoy their time outside.

They are not worthy to attend this gathering.

In a corner of the hall, standing near a fountain that flowed with liquid starlight, stood Luo Mingye and Xia Mengyao.

Normally, despite their noble status in the Central Region, they would never have been granted entry into such a prestigious gathering.

However, the world of cultivation was built on a web of connections and Luo Mingye was the granddaughter of the Zither Saint, Luo Kang, a peak Earthly Saint Realm cultivator whose music was said to be able to pacify a space-time turbulence.

He was hailed as the greatest Zither Cultivator in the entire Tian Yuan Empire.

Years ago, during Shen Haoran’s coming of age ceremony, Luo Kang had been one of the few experts outside the clan invited to perform, and even Luo Mingye accompanied him.

With that prestigious connection, Mingye had secured a spot for herself and her "good sister" Xia Mengyao, who was still dressed like a man.

However, it seems trying to bandage and hide her massive chest has been hurting her, so she simply let them be.

So even though she was wearing a man’s clothes, one could immediately tell that she was a woman due to her chest.

But that’s besides the point!

Despite being invited and was allowed entry, the mood was far from festive for the Zither Saint’s granddaughter.

Luo Mingye groaned, her green eyes flashing with annoyance as she turned toward the figure standing awkwardly behind them. "You... How shameless can you be? I only invited Sister Mengyao! This is an elite gathering, not a public park!"

Xiao Chen, the abandoned prince, didn’t look embarrassed at all. In fact, he looked as though he belonged there by divine right and he even raised his head righteously, his expression one of stoic duty. "Lady Mingye, you must understand. Lady Mengyao is not only my senior sister but also my benefactor. I have sworn an oath to protect her, especially in a den of wolves like the Central Region."

"What a shameless bastard," Luo Mingye spat out, her voice dripping with vitriol.

She knew the true colors of this "earnest" young man, and that is due to that diary.

Around a year ago, a simple book titled Ye Fang’s Diary had magically appeared beside her while she was practicing her zither.

From it, she found out that Ye Fang was a transmigrator who took over the body of the original Ye Fang, the good for nothing third rate villain who will die in three Chapters.

And she also knew that Xiao Chen was the "Protagonist" of this world—a man destined for greatness, but also a shameless hypocrite who deceived Xia Mengyao and countless other women to build his harem and his power.

In the diary’s version of the future, Luo Mingye’s fate was a tragedy.

Her clan was destroyed, her grandfather killed, and she was left as a wandering orphan—all because she had been "touched" by Xiao Chen’s charm and helped him seek revenge against the Shen Clan, whom Xiao Chen offended by killing one of their Crowns.

But even after he had caused her ruin, the diary said she became more dependent on him, becoming just another trophy in his collection.

’Is there any girl more pitiful than the ’me’ in that book?’ she thought. ’Well, not this time.’

"Miss Luo is right. Trash really doesn’t belong in a hall meant for dragons."

The trio turned their gazes simultaneously.

Walking toward them was a dashing young man with long black hair and a smirk that was both arrogant and amused.

And from his attire, it seemed he was dressed in robes that cost more than a small city.

"Ye... Fang!" Xiao Chen gritted his teeth, his hand instinctively twitching, as if wanting pull his sword from his storage ring. "You! You’re just a trash who is still stuck in the Foundation Establishment stage! Who is the real trash between us? I could break you with a single finger!"

Ye Fang snorted, looking at Xiao Chen as if he were a particularly interesting insect. "Oh, you could, could you? My cultivation might be low for now, but my grandfather is a Peak Profound Saint Realm expert, and my father is a 3rd Stage Profound Saint! My lineage flows with the blood of Saints! What are you? A fallen prince with nothing but a sword and a mouth full of ’righteous’ excuses?"

"You!" Xiao Chen’s face turned a mottled red. "Don’t be so arrogant! If it wasn’t for your background, if you were thrown into the dirt like I was, you’d be nothing but a dog on the roadside! You rely on your elders for everything!"

"Good argument," Ye Fang replied, his smirk widening as he stepped into Xiao Chen’s personal space, unfazed by the threat of violence. "Unfortunately for you, in the real world, there is no ’if.’ I was born into a great family, and you were born in the mud. That is the reality the Heavens have chosen. So, as a ’dog on the roadside,’ why don’t you fetch us some wine and stop bothering the ladies?"

"You...!" Xiao Chen’s Qi began to fluctuate, his anger reaching a breaking point.

Ye Fang didn’t even look at him anymore, and instead e turned his gaze toward Luo Mingye, a subtle, knowing glint in his eyes.

He was the owner of a

Diary System and the "Diary" that had "accidentally" appeared to her.

Truthfully, he didn’t know that others can see the diary that he was writing, but when some heroines started behaving strangely, he realised the truth.

Some of the Heroines of Xiao Chen in the novel The Abandoned Prince’s Counterattacks have a copy of his diary.

When he found out about this, he ecstatic, and he has been using the diary to subtly influence the heroines into hating Xiao Chen and into loving him.

Although he has yet to succeed with the latter, he knew that it won’t be long before that happens.

Luo Mingye watched the exchange, her mind racing.

In the diary, Ye Fang was a "villain" who died early at Xiao Chen’s hands, but in person, he was the only one standing up to the protagonist’s insufferable aura.

She remembered that Ye Fang mentioned that whenever he writes a diary he gets rewards...could it be the rewards he received was already enough for him to surpass Xiao Chen?

She looked at Xia Mengyao, who was watching the scene with a conflicted expression, and then back at the two men.

"Ye Fang is right, Xiao Chen," Mingye said, her voice cold. "Go find a corner and wait. We are in the Shen Clan’s home. If you cause a scene here, even a hundred benefactors won’t be able to save your life."

As Xiao Chen stood there, fuming and humiliated, the herald at the front of the hall suddenly struck a massive gong.

The sound reverberated through the space, silencing the hundreds of thousands of guests in an instant.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" the herald’s voice boomed. "PRESENTING THE HEIR OF THE SHEN CLAN! SHEN HAORAN!"

The doors at the far end of the hall swung open, and the crowd parted like the sea before a storm.

Haoran walked in, flanked by the three Empresses, his golden eyes scanning the room with a gaze that made everyone, including the "Protagonist" and the "Villain," feel as if their secrets were being laid bare.