Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!-Chapter 78: Reunion

The Profound Ark glided through the shimmering dimensional veil of the Shen Clan Domain, a scene like that of a starlight that looked like a needle stitching through the fabric of reality.

The Ark shot through the sky, and instantly arrived at the center of the Shen Domain, an entire city dedicated to the main line and their subordinates, along with the most talented and most influential figures in the entire domain.

As the ark descended, the sheer scale of the Shen architecture became clear—sprawling palaces of white marble and floating gardens that defied gravity, all bathed in the silver-tinted Qi of a world-sized pocket dimension.

The Ark settled with a silent, pressurized hiss onto the massive, paved field of Chu Xueyu’s Palace.

Down there, the sight was enough to paralyze any outsider as hundreds of women, all dressed in identical, sleeveless, pitch-black skintight bodysuits similar to Qing’er, stood in perfect, terrifying formation.

They were the Shadow Guards.

They are the private legion cultivated by the three sisters—Chu Xueyu, Feng Yuyan, and Leng Shuang, and numbering exactly 3,333, this force was a nightmare made manifest, with every single one of them possessing the cultivation of a Profound Saint.

To put this into perspective, in the entire Tian Yuan Empire, which possessed the size of roughly an entire galaxy, with countless citizens, there were only roughly about 15,000 Profound Saint realm experts in total.

The Shen Clan’s, or rather, Chu Xueyu and her sister’s personal force numbered more than a fifth of the entire empire’s Profound Saint experts.

And as mentioned before, Profound Saint Experts are the highest combat power that a force can call upon, that is because Earthly Saints guards their territory, while Heavenly Saints are almost in always in seclusion in hopes to breakthrough to Emperor realm.

And within the Shen Clan itself, despite its massive population, the number of naturally birthed Profound Saints haven’t even reached a thousand.

Due to this difference in power, the Shadow Guards became one of the main reasons why the branch families remained obedient.

To be part of the Shadow Guards are actually rather easy, with almost little to no requirements for talent.

First, Chu Xueyu would select female orphans aged 4 to 6 years, and branding them with her mental imprints to ensure their absolute, unwavering loyalty.

Second, Leng Shuang would take them for ten years of "Hell Training," stripping away their individuality, turning them into a ruthless killing machine.

Third, Feng Yuyan would apply "Forbidden Creation" modifications—surgical soul-stitching and bloodline grafting—that would force their bodies to reach the Saint realm, even if they lacked the innate talent.

Of course, those rare geniuses like Qing’er were spared the physical modifications, although the psychological conditioning was still absolute.

Through this three stepped process, the sisters basically mastered the method to mass produce Profound Saint Realm experts with absolute loyalty.

At this moment, as the Ark’s ramp lowered, Haoran immediately stepped out with Ning Xueli following half-step behind him, her eyes darting around in a state of perpetual shock.

Behind them, Qing’er walked with her usual stone-cold grace.

The moment Haoran’s boots touched the ground, the hundreds of Shadow Guards assigned to welcome him moved as one, their voices rising in a synchronized, thunderous salute that shook the very air. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"We humbly welcome you back home, Young Master Shen!"

Haoran didn’t break his stride as he walked, staring at them in amusement.

As the son of the Clan Head, he commanded a significant portion of this force; in fact, the ARC Foundation he had founded in secret was currently staffed and are being trained by veterans of the Shadow Guards.

He walked through the sea of black-clad warriors, the click of his boots echoing against the polished stone, until he reached the towering gates of the main hall.

Xueli remained silent, her mind reeling, still in shock.

The air here was so saturated with high-quality Qi that every breath felt like drinking a high ranking Elixir, she wondered just how fast her cultivation would improve if she cultivated here?

She looked at the silver-leafed trees and the hovering fountains and realized with a sting of humility that the "Seven Treasure City" she once called a paradise was essentially a garbage dump compared to this divine domain.

They entered the main hall, a space of infinite height where the pillars were carved from the bones of ancient celestial beasts.

There, at the far end, sitting nonchalantly on a golden phoenix throne, was a woman.

Xueli’s breath stopped, her eyes widened in shock as she froze in her tracks, her heart racing.

How can anyone be this beautiful? Xueli thought, her mind spiraling into a frenzy of awe and internal worship.

Her hair flowed like liquid gold beneath the light, each strand catching the rays of the sun as if it had stolen its brilliance from the heavens themselves.

It fell down her back in a radiant cascade, framing a face so flawless it seemed carved from the purest jade—smooth, luminous, untouched by even the faintest imperfection.

Her skin held the quiet glow of something divine, the kind of beauty that made people forget to breathe when they first laid eyes upon her.

Her eyes were deep and calm like ancient lakes, holding both warmth and authority.

Her lips looked soft yet commanding, carrying the faintest curve of confidence that hinted she knew exactly the effect she had on the world around her.

She looked as if a goddess had grown tired of watching mortals struggle from the distant heavens and decided the world below needed proper ruling, so she descended, bringing with her beauty that could humble kings and a presence that made even the proudest warriors lower their gaze.

If perfection could ever take human form, it would look exactly like her.

Not a single detail wasted, not a single flaw allowed to exist, just like the kind of woman legends were written about and empires were built or destroyed just to stand in her shadow.

"Haoran..." Chu Xueyu spoke.

She stood up from the phoenix throne, her white and gold robes flowing behind her like a trail of light as she walked down the marble stairs slowly, a gentle and incredibly sensual smile playing on her lips.

"Mother..." Haoran walked toward her, and the two met at the base of the stairs, immediately falling into a deep, lingering embrace.

"It has been two years, Haoran. I never thought the time I usually spend on one secluded cultivation could actually feel this long," Xueyu murmured, her voice soft and warm, devoid of the coldness she usually gave to others.

Xueli, watching from a few paces away, felt her eyes almost pop out of her sockets as her internal monologue went into overdrive.

Mother and son? Are you sure? The way he has his hands on her waist... I’m pretty sure his fingers are brushing her perky butt!

And the way she’s looking up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as if she’s waiting for a kiss... if I didn’t know better, I’d swear they were lovers returning from a long war!

Heavens, their intimacy was so thick it felt suffocating.

Haoran’s posture was possessive, and Xueyu’s gaze was hungry, devoid of the typical maternal distance that should be found in mothers like her.

Xueli leaned toward Qing’er and whispered frantically, "Sister Qing’er... is this... normal?"

Qing’er blinked, her red eyes showing a rare flicker of confusion.

"Don’t people in your Eastern Region care about bloodline purity?" she asked matter-of-factly. "In the Shen Clan, the preservation of the Golden Lineage is the highest law."

The Second Enshrined Elder even had a child with his own descendants, and that child was now ranled Second in the Ten Crowns.

Compared to that, a mother and son... doesn’t seem that weird?

Xueli was utterly speechless. Indeed, or rather, bloodlines were even more regarded highly in the Eastern Region due to their flawed cultivation method.

In fact, her own father and mother were cousins.

"You must be Ning Xueli?" Chu Xueyu’s voice snapped Xueli back to reality.

The Empress had now untwined herself from Haoran, though he kept one hand firmly on her hip, and was now walking toward Xueli.

Xueyu bent down slightly, her golden eyes boring into Xueli’s soul.

At that moment, Xueli felt like a mouse being observed by a dragon, making her very uncomfortable as she began to fidget, her palms sweating as a primal fear took hold of her.

"Don’t be nervous, little one. I don’t bite," Xueyu said, chuckling softly, her smile was radiant and seemingly kind.

Xueli let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief, her posture relaxing.

’Thank heavens,’ she thought. ’Haoran’s mother is actually kind and hospitable. I was worried she’d be a cold-blooded monster.’

If the souls of the races Chu Xueyu had hunted to extinction or the ghosts of the clans she had personally erased could hear Xueli’s thoughts, they would have screamed in a chorus of spectral agony.

To them, the "kind" woman standing before Xueli was a Bloodstained Ruthless Empress, a woman who had once used the blood of an entire continent to paint her garden red.

"She’s a very diligent girl, Mother," Haoran added, his voice smooth. "She’s the one who inherited the Bright Silver Emperor’s legacy, the one that appeared in the Eastern Region."

"Is that so?" Xueyu’s smile widened, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes as she reached out and patted Xueli’s cheek. "A girl with a bit of fire in her spirit. I like that. We shall have much to discuss before the Heaven’s Choice Tournament begins."

Xueli smiled back, blissfully unaware that she was being appraised not as a future daughter-in-law, but as a potentially useful tool in the Shen Clan’s ever-expanding arsenal.

"Come," Xueyu said, turning back toward the inner palace while pulling Haoran along with her. "Your aunts, Yuyan and Shuang, are already preparing a ’welcome’ for you."

"Is that so? I can’t wait." Said Haoran, feeling a bit excited. "By the way, how did those people react upon hearing about my return?"

Xueyu frowned, "The branch families... they are quite noisy lately. They honestly think a few Sacred Physiques are enough to challenge my son."

Haoran’s expression turned cold. "Let them make their noise, Mother. In the end, the one will reign over them, will still be me."

As they walked deeper into the palace, the atmosphere in the hall returned to its statuesque silence.

Outside, the Shadow Guards remained still, their presence a silent promise of the blood that was soon to be spilled in the Shen Clan’s Domain.