Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

Chapter 280 - 48: Thoughts

"What did you say!?" Tai Yuhao exclaimed towards Qiao Yi, his voice cracking slightly under the sudden weight of sheer, unadulterated disbelief.

The abrupt outburst shattered the dignified silence of the grand council chamber like a stone thrown through a stained-glass window.

Hearing him lose his composure so spectacularly, everyone turned towards him simultaneously.

And in that instant, a heavy, suffocating wave of disapproval washed across the long mahogany table.

Brows furrowed in unison, and the ambient spiritual pressure in the room spiked dangerously.

Among those glaring, the most prominent were the Four Heavenly Kings and the League Champion themselves.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop by several degrees under their collective gaze.

After all, who was Tai Yuhao to raise his voice here?

Qiao Yi, despite being famously lazy and carefree, even publicly declaring at every opportunity that she just wanted to slack off, avoid paperwork, and be an ordinary healer to take care of wounded magical beasts, was still the former League Champion.

Her relaxed demeanor was a luxury earned through absolute power.

She was currently only a hundred years old, practically a prodigy not just in the Academy but in the grand scheme of cultivation world, and had already achieved the formidable first stage of the Nirvana Rebirth Realm.

More importantly, the history of their organization was written in her favor.

It was largely because of her immense strength and strategic deterrence that the small, once-insignificant Pocket-Beast League had managed to establish themselves across several major territories.

They had even successfully wrested control of this very stronghold, Aimless Cloud City, from a ruthless rival faction, ascending to become its undisputed absolute ruler.

To disrespect Qiao Yi was to disrespect the foundation of the League itself.

Tai Yuhao, suddenly feeling the crushing weight of several high-level cultivation auras locking onto his vital points, felt a cold sweat instantly break out down his spine.

Realizing that the others were glaring at him with expressions ranging from mild irritation to icy hostility, he immediately swallowed his pride and bowed deeply, frantically trying to patch over his blunder.

"Apologies, seniors. I lost my composure. I was just profoundly surprised," Tai Yuhao said, his voice trembling slightly before he forced it back into a tone of respectful humility.

Straightening up, he turned back towards Qiao Yi, desperately trying to mask the chaotic storm of thoughts brewing in his mind.

"Miss Qiao, by Zhu Ziyan... are you perhaps referring to a girl with pitch-black hair that carries a distinct shade of deep purple, piercing purple eyes, and a pair of unmistakable cat ears?"

Qiao Yi blinked her large, expressive eyes, tilting her head in genuine curiosity. "Eh? How’d you know that? Do the two of you actually know each other?"

For a fraction of a second, Tai Yuhao’s heart leaped into his throat.

He almost blurted out the truth, that she was his fiancee, a girl bound to him by blood oaths and family arrangements made in their youth.

But the cold, fear of death took over just in time.

If he dared say that, then it could reveal his identity as an usurper.

He managed to hold the words back, forcing a smooth, dismissive smile onto his face as he shook his head.

"No, we do not share an acquaintance, but I happen to know of her," Tai Yuhao lied smoothly, though his fingers twitched against his robes. "I heard rumors that she originally came from the remote, impoverished Eastern Regions. I must admit, I am highly surprised she managed to survive the perilous journey to the Central Region at all, let alone find the fortune and resources required to enroll in the prestigious Imperial Academy."

On the inside, however, Tai Yuhao’s mind was racing, entirely consumed by a toxic mix of arrogance and possessiveness.

He had secretly thought that Zhu Ziyan, someone from a broken, desolate background and is even a coward who ran away when the Ogre Academy was being besieged, would have long since succumbed to the brutal realities of the world.

He had envisioned her ending up as a lowly, desperate mercenary somewhere in the mud, selling her skills, or her body, just to scrape together a few low-grade spirit stones.

After all, amongst the Ogre Seven, her talent was the worst, and the only reason she can even keep up with them was because she trained bitterly harder than anyone else.

He never expected her to actually possess sufficient innate talent to break through the brutal entrance trials and enroll in the Imperial Academy, an institution reserved for the absolute elite of the empire.

’But that’s great,’ a dark, predatory thought bloomed within his chest. ’That actually makes things much easier.’

In his mind, her accomplishment didn’t elevate her to his equal; it merely increased her value as a possession.

Once she inevitably learned of his spectacular rise, once she realized his glorious true identity and decided to forgive her for abandoning him and take her in once again, she would surely weep with gratitude.

She could once again stay by his side, reclaiming her place in his shadow.

Of course, there were conditions. He would only graciously grant her the position of a concubine, assuming, naturally, that she was still a pure, untouched virgin and hadn’t ended up sleeping with some other desperate rogue cultivators just to survive her journey.

After all, for female mercenaries, those kind of things weren’t that uncommon.

Tai Yuhao had slept with his fair share of female mercenaries desperate for money and resources back when he was still the prince.

So for a lowly mercenary, even a virgin, being his concubine is already doing her a favor.

As for becoming his formal, primary wife?

’Are you joking?’ Tai Yuhao mentally scoffed, a sneer nearly breaking through his polite facade.

He was no longer that fallen prince who lives like a beggar somewhere in the streets, now he was Yun Chi, the young master of the supreme Yun Clan, one of the towering pillars of the Central Region.

His future wife would obviously need to be a woman of impeccable noble birth, a jade beauty from a powerhouse clan that could bring immense political and financial alliances to his doorstep.

How could a lowly, mercenary girl like Zhu Ziyan, who hailed from that desolate, culturally barren Eastern region, ever be worthy of sharing his main name?

A concubine was the absolute ceiling of her destiny.

"Is that so?" Qiao Yi murmured.

She stared at him, her sharp eyes narrowing in deep, unreadable suspicion.

As a healer, or rather, a Cleric and a Nirvana Rebirth powerhouse, her senses were incredibly acute.

She could easily detect the sudden fluctuation in his heartbeat and the subtle, greasy shift in his spiritual aura, hinting at the ugly thoughts hidden beneath his handsome exterior.

However, thinking that he was ultimately just another spoiled, mediocre young master relying entirely on his family’s borrowed power to stand in this room, she decided he wasn’t worth the effort.

Although he is at 9th stage of Nascent Soul Realm, which was impressive, but he was already a few decades short of becoming a hundred years old.

Although talented, but it’s just barely enough to pass.

She didn’t bother observing him any further, dismissing him as an irrelevant insect.

"Anyways, let’s go and meet her right now!" Qiao Yi said cheerfully, turning away from Tai Yuhao completely to address the League Champion directly.

She was clearly eager to escape the suffocating atmosphere of the boardroom.

The League Champion, a figure shrouded in a commanding aura of absolute authority, pondered the request for a brief moment.

He weighed the political implications, stroked his chin, and finally nodded in agreement.

Before standing, he turned his gaze toward the various Pagoda Masters and the remaining Four Heavenly Kings who sat along the flanks of the table.

"Continue the meeting without us," the Champion commanded, his voice echoing with an undeniable weight. "However, make sure to compile the detailed resource distribution charts and send the final reports to my study later tonight."

With solemn expressions, the powerful figures in the room nodded in obedience.

The Champion stood up, his heavy robes rustling, and walked over to stand beside the anticipating Qiao Yi.

"Um, please excuse me," Tai Yuhao stepped forward hurriedly, his anxiety breaking through his cultivated calm.

He couldn’t let this chance slip away. If Zhu Ziyan was truly here, he needed to establish his claim on her before anyone else noticed her value and take a liking to her.

What if she’s still a virgin and some young master like him forcefully had their way with her first? Wouldn’t he lose out?

That was the cabbage he grew up with! Something he can only stare at and not touch, and just the thought of others eating her before him was grating his nerves.

"Is it possible for me to come along with you?"

Qiao Yi and the Champion stopped in their tracks.

They turned their heads simultaneously, staring at him with cool, indifferent eyes, before glancing at each other in a silent exchange of mutual annoyance.

Qiao Yi simply shrugged her shoulders, utterly indifferent to the whims of a noble clan heir, while the Champion let out a low, weary sigh.

"Very well," the Champion agreed reluctantly.

After all, despite Tai Yuhao’s grating lack of etiquette, the Yun Clan he represented was still one of the primary financial sponsors of the Pocket-Beast League.

It wouldn’t do to needlessly offend a major benefactor over a minor request to tag along.

"Let’s go," the Champion said coldly.

With a wave of his sleeve, the heavy doors of the council chamber swung open, and the three of them stepped out of the building.

Tai Yuhao walked behind the two, grinning as he thought of meeting that cat girl once again.