[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-villains-aren-t-stepping-stones":3,"chapter-villains-aren-t-stepping-stones-villains-aren-t-stepping-stones-chapter-5":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},448177,704,"Chapter 5: Huo Yue","villains-aren-t-stepping-stones-chapter-5",5,"\u003Cp>The Boundless Sky Profound Ark floated in the skies above the Shen Immortal Mountain Range, its shadow covering entire valleys and peaks beneath it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forged from divine ores that no longer existed in the current age, its hull shimmered with countless inscriptions, each rune pulsating with ancient power that bent space itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Entire cities could fit within its decks, and yet it moved as lightly as a feather, carried by currents of spatial law.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This ark was not merely a treasure, it was a supreme weapon of war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once unleashed, its cannons could erase entire regions the size of a planet, and its spatial warping array allowed it to traverse light years in a single breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To travel from the Shen Clan to the Huo Clan would normally take several lifetimes, but with the Profound Ark, it was no more than a brief journey of tea time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Primal Origin Realm was vast beyond comprehension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the most powerful sects only ruled small fragments of its territory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shen Clan’s domain alone was the size of a living planet, complete with oceans(actually just a really big salty lake), mountain ranges, and boundless skies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet compared to the total expanse of the realm, it was only a droplet in an endless sea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the Profound Ark prepared for departure, countless Shen Clan cultivators stood in formation, bowing in reverence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The runes along the ark’s body lit up in a dazzling sequence, resonating with the stars above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A deep hum filled the air as space itself twisted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Haoran stood at the bow of the ark, white robes fluttering, golden eyes fixed in the direction of the Huo Clan’s territory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His aura was calm, but beneath it rumbled the will of a dragon waiting to ascend. Qing’er stood silently behind him, her presence sharp and watchful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, with a thunderous crack that split the skies, the Profound Ark vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the next instant, it had crossed a gulf of countless stars, soaring toward the Huo Clan’s domain, leaving only silence in its wake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Body Refinement. 9th Stage.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The deafening sound of the elder’s announcement echoes throughout the field.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A stone tablet the size of a normal man stood, displaying what the elder had just announced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the towering ancestral tablet, a woman stood silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her crimson hair flowed like a river of fire, reaching past her waist, each strand glowing faintly under the dim light of incense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her red eyes, clear yet heavy, reflected both sorrow and frustration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wore a long red dress, loose enough to conceal her curves, but it could not fully suppress the mature allure of her form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her delicate hands were clenched at her side, nails biting into her palm, as if she were holding back emotions she dared not show before the ancestors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This woman was Huo Yue, the heiress of the Huo Clan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once, she had been hailed as a peerless genius, destined to soar above her generation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But fate was cruel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One night, while preparing to break through to Core Formation Realm, her Qi suddenly dropped to just mere 9th Stage of Body Refinement realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One night, the once in a generation genius turned into a waste who couldn’t advance a level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, she stood bitter and helpless, as the whispers of the clan elders pressed down on her like an invisible storm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her lips parted slightly, as though she wanted to speak to the elders, but no words came out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only silence, and the quiet burn of humiliation in her heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She walked down of the platform, dejected. However, she had long since expected this, so it didn’t really affected her that much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"9th Stage, as expected, this genius is really something else.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Heh, look at her, once so arrogant, now she couldn’t even lift her head.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can’t believe this woman wouldn’t even look me in the eye when I pursuing her back then. Hehe, look at her now. If it wasn’t for her father being the clan head, she’d probably already been tied to bed and used every day.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huo Yue was already used to this. Those words didn’t even cause any ripple in her heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the three years where she lost her talent, she had long since realized the cruelty and darkness of human heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Next up, Huo Lin!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the elder’s voice, a young man immediately ran up from the crowd. He was quite handsome, with short black hair and red eyes, wearing a white robe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he appeared on the platform, the eyes of the girls immediately lit up as they squeeled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young man, Huo Lin, quickly put his hands on the stone tablet, causing it to light up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Words immediately appeared on the stone tablet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elder glanced at it in shock and declared, \"Huo Lin, Qi Gathering, 7th Stage!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This immediately caused a sensation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"7th stage!? Isn’t he only 20 this year?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As expected of Brother Lin! Definitely one of the most talented of our generation!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ai, what a pity, if only Huo Yue...haaa~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huo Lin smiled proudly. Vanity was the feeling many young people couldn’t resist feeling, especially after hearing all these unanimous praise and applause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes landed on the corner, where Huo Yue stood alone, her eyes as cold as always.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking for a moment, he decided to walk over to her. This woman was, after all, someone he had pursued for many years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sister Yue, what do you think? Can you accept my feelings now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, for Huo Lin, this Huo Yue was no longer worthy of him. He just wanted to play with her for a few years and abandon her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, he is destined to be a Core Formation Realm expert in the future, while Huo Yue would just be another woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes wandered at Huo Yue’s body. Despite the loose dress, he knew she was hiding a package under that all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the body he has dreamed of caressing every day before. But back then, he can only dream, as Huo Yue was so distant and unattainable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Please mind your words, Senior Brother Lin. I have a fiancé.\" Huo Yue glared at him coldly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Truthfully, she doesn’t really think much about this fiancé of her. She hasn’t even seen him. And aside from a piece of paper and a word from her grandfather, she doesn’t have much connection to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That man probably doesn’t even know about this engagement. She heard from her father that her fiancé was from a big family in the imperial capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People from that place don’t care about a backwater place like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She believes that it won’t be long before they came to break the engagement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You—!\" Huo Lin glared at her. \"Huo Yue, do you think I’ve been kind to you? You are nothing now. Don’t think that you are still that genius from before.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huo Lin snorted, \"Senior Brother Lin is a genius of this generation, I am not worthy of your affection.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huo Yue you—!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huo Yue shook her head, turning around and walking away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This man, once polite and gentle, have become like this because of a little talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She remembered the past, where Huo Lin would smile gently, even preparing poetry and confess his love.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was neither arrogant nor conceited. Instead, he was very affectionate, as if in his eyes, only she exists.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although she never entertained him and his confessions, the contrast of the past him and the present him was really too much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She left the testing field, wandering around aimlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In her mind, she had imagined her talent returning and how she would slap those who had humiliated her in the face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in the end, it just that, her imagination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...how frustrating.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She muttered, standing on the cliff, overlooking the vast forest down below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wondered, if she jumped from this cliff, would she find some inheritance of an immortal and would have her talent restored?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had heard many stories of people like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is even a saying, ’If you survive after falling from a cliff, don’t panic, look around, and you might soar and become an expert’.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, that’s just her wishful thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only those who are blessed with divine luck can actually achieve that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her talent was completely wasted and her cultivation regressed. What’s so lucky about her?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, a voice sounded from her mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Young lady, it seems you’re in trouble.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1417,"2026-05-30T09:35:03.587Z","2026-06-01T04:30:53.833Z",1,"novelbin.me","674eb796ccbc63b38138a152a3f71187df2c79ae8c2305fc488a35853de16f64","villains-aren-t-stepping-stones-chapter-6","villains-aren-t-stepping-stones-chapter-4",241,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fvillains-aren-t-stepping-stones-cover.jpg"]