Villain System: Stealing the Protagonist's Harem and Luck

Chapter 95: Remember These Words; A Shocking Decision

“Pfft!”

Gu Changge’s foot descended, stomping down with crushing force.

Chu Wuji coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face turning an ashen shade of purple. He was consumed by humiliation and rage, but he was helpless. He had exhausted his strongest trump card, burned his blood essence, yet he was nothing more than a toy in Gu Changge’s hands.

Even resisting a casual palm strike required him to pay a terrible price.

Today, he finally understood the true depth of Gu Changge’s horror. It was a suffocating, despairing gap in power.

But what stung the most was Gu Changge’s question, repeated with such casual disdain: What are you supposed to be?

That indifference cut deeper than any blade. To Gu Changge, the Crown Prince of the Great Chu Immortal Dynasty was indistinguishable from the dirt beneath his boots.

The surrounding peaks fell into a deathly silence, only to explode a moment later like a boiling cauldron.

The battle had begun abruptly and ended just as quickly.

Most had expected a fierce contest. Chu Wuji was a Young Supreme, a Prince with endless methods. Even if he lost, surely he would trade blows for a few hundred rounds?

No one expected a massacre.

From start to finish, there was zero resistance. It was a total, unilateral suppression.

A chill ran down the spines of the watching disciples. If a Young Supreme like Chu Wuji was treated like an ant, what did that make them? Dust?

“As expected of the man who holds the strongest record in 100,000 years… terrifying.”

“He crushed another True Disciple like it was nothing. I feel that even if True Disciple Chu broke through to the Conferred King Realm, he still wouldn’t be Gu Changge’s match.”

“True Disciple Gu always looks so calm. Who knows what other monsters he’s hiding in his sleeves?”

Nearby, Yin Mei listened to the whispers. Under her veil, a faint, mocking smile touched her lips.

Trump cards?

Anyone who had seen Gu Changge’s true trump cards was already dead. She was likely the only survivor. Gu Changge was the most dangerous predator in the Upper Realm—his mind, his depth, and his cruelty were unrivaled.

“Gu Changge is no longer someone we can contend with,” Tian Yang murmured, his face pale. “No wonder Jin Zhou chose to enter secluded cultivation. He must have realized this gap long ago.”

“From now on, unless we break through again, we must retreat whenever we see him,” Zeng Tianyuan agreed, his voice bitter.

The two True Disciples exchanged a glance filled with shock and resignation. Then, they silently turned and left the crowd.

Young Supremes were born to compete, but they weren’t stupid. Gu Changge was already in the Mid-Stage of the Conferred King Realm. How could they fight? What was there to fight with?

Many Elders noticed their departure and shook their heads. From today on, Gu Changge’s supremacy in the Daootian Immortal Palace was absolute. Even if the title of Successor wasn’t officially bestowed, the hierarchy was set in stone.

In the center of the devastated battlefield.

“Xianer,” Gu Changge said, looking at the stunned girl with a faint smile. “Your brother taught this thing a lesson for you. Are you moved?”

As he spoke, he exerted force with his foot again.

Crack.

He kicked Chu Wuji in the chest.

“Urgh…” Chu Wuji groaned, spewing a fine mist of blood before fainting from the pain.

Gu Changge didn’t kill him. Murdering an Imperial Prince in broad daylight would bring unnecessary trouble, and someone would inevitably intervene. He wasn’t afraid of the Great Chu Immortal Dynasty, but he disliked the stench of unnecessary messes.

His goal was achieved: to show the Elders that as long as he stood here, no one else was qualified to be the Successor.

Gu Xianer stared at him. For a fleeting second, she had felt a strange warmth—a reluctance to admit that seeing Chu Wuji crushed had been satisfying. But Gu Changge’s teasing tone instantly vaporized that feeling, replacing it with her usual icy hostility.

“I don’t need you to manage my affairs,” she spat.

She wasn’t polite. She didn’t need to be. It took every ounce of her self-control not to punch that perfect, smiling face.

In front of others, she was the picture of an aloof fairy. But Gu Changge had a unique talent for tearing down her composure and making her want to bite him to death.

“Have you forgotten what I told you?”

Gu Changge sighed, wearing an expression of profound disappointment. He ignored her murderous glare completely. When it came to being shameless, he had no equal.

“What words?” Gu Xianer asked coldly.

“I can bully you,” Gu Changge said, his voice dropping to a velvety, possessive whisper. “But no one else is allowed to touch you.”

His expression became hard to read. “This Chu Wuji… he was planning to watch you fail on the Road of Heavenly Dao. The Grand Elder’s condition for accepting you was to break my record, correct?”

“His calculations were quite vicious. He wanted to see you humiliated, and he even summoned the entire sect to witness it.”

“His heart is punishable.”

“You are Gu Changge’s sister. How could a mere stray dog bully you? If anyone is going to bully you, it will be me.”

As he spoke, the temperature around them plummeted. Gu Xianer felt a shiver run down her spine.

Snap!

A crisp, sickening sound of bone fracturing echoed through the silence.

Gu Xianer’s eyes widened.

Gu Changge, looking as casual as if he were crushing a dry twig, stepped down hard on the unconscious Chu Wuji’s hand. The Prince’s fingers were ground into paste. Even in his coma, Chu Wuji let out a strangled whimper of agony.

Gu Changge didn’t even look down. He kept his smiling gaze fixed on Xianer.

“Xianer, remember these words. Don’t forget them.”

He smiled gently. “Aren’t you going to climb the Road? Your brother is looking forward to your performance. Reaching the step I stood on back then… it shouldn’t be difficult for you.”

In his mind, Gu Changge was running a standard script.

The Tropes:

The rival (Chu Wuji) harbors ill intentions and sets a trap to humiliate the heroine.

The heroine (Xianer) is supposed to slap everyone’s face with her talent.

In the process, she would also slap her villainous brother’s face and declare war.

Gu Changge knew the script well. But if they were playing with tropes, he would simply overwrite them with his own. By acting the part of the “protective but twisted brother,” he was muddying the waters, confusing her hatred with gratitude.

“Gu Changge… do you really think I can break your record?”

Gu Xianer finally recovered from her daze. Her tone had softened significantly.

Perhaps it was his brutal defense of her just now. She couldn’t help but think: If the past hadn’t happened… having such a domineering, protective brother would actually be quite wonderful.

But confusion gnawed at her.

Everyone else doubted her. Chu Wuji had mocked her. Why did Gu Changge—the one person who should despise her progress—seem so confident in her?

It didn’t make sense.

Shouldn’t he be sneering? ‘You? Reach my level? Keep dreaming.’

Gu Xianer’s internal monologue went into overdrive. Thanks to her Third Master’s teachings, she was sharper than her peers. She knew the saying: “One who is unaccountably solicitous is hiding evil intentions.”

He must have an ulterior motive. What does he want from me now?

Gu Changge, sensing her turmoil, shook his head with a look of perfect sincerity. “If even your brother doesn’t believe in you, who will? I have watched your efforts over these years. I know what you are capable of.”

This was, of course, complete nonsense.

He had no idea what she had been doing. But acting profound and all-knowing was part of the persona.

Gu Xianer’s heart trembled. He… he’s been watching me? He knows how hard I’ve worked?

Then why? Why did he dig out my bone back then?

Was there a hidden reason? A secret difficulty he couldn’t share?

She shook her head violently, banishing the naive thought. No. No reason justifies that. That kind of cruelty cannot be explained away by ‘hardship’.

“Why are you spacing out?” Gu Changge interrupted her spiraling thoughts with a smile. “Everyone is waiting for you.”

Gu Xianer glared at him one last time, centering herself. She turned toward the white jade staircase.

I will break his record.

She transformed into a beam of azure light and landed on the Road of Heavenly Dao.

HUM!

The moment her foot touched the stone, the staircase erupted with 10,000 rays of light. Each step seemed to awaken, spraying out hazy immortal mist.

Ancient phenomena materialized in the sky: Sun and Moon shining together, mountains crumbling into seas, stars shifting in their orbits.

Gu Xianer stepped onto the first tier. A golden lotus bloomed beneath her feet.

She kept moving.

Second step. Third step. Fourth step.

…

She ascended with terrifying speed, meeting almost no resistance. In the blink of an eye, she reached the Tenth Step.

Immortal music resonated through the void. Petals of light rained down around her. She looked like the beloved daughter of the Great Dao, blessed by heaven and earth.

The disciples and Elders were stunned.

The Tenth Step was the limit for most elite Inner Disciples. In the outside world, these were geniuses one in a million. Even a True Disciple like Chu Wuji had barely managed to reach the Fourteenth Step.

And Gu Changge? His record was the Eighteenth Step.

Eleventh. Twelfth.

…

Fifteenth Step.

Gu Xianer stood bathed in iridescent light. The pressure was immense, but she looked ethereal, her robes fluttering as if she were about to ascend to immortality.

The silence on the peaks shattered.

“She… she passed the Fifteenth Step!”

“Her talent has already surpassed the ordinary Young Supremes! Can she really do it? Can she break the legend?”

Gu Xianer didn’t stop. Sweat beaded on her forehead, but her eyes were burning with resolve.

She glanced down at the bottom of the road. Gu Changge stood there, his expression gentle, his posture relaxed. He looked up at her with unwavering confidence.

I will show you.

A surge of new power erupted from within her—a vast, terrifying aura of the Great Dao, fresh and reborn.

Sixteenth. Seventeenth.

Eighteenth Step.

She stood on the same tier Gu Changge had conquered years ago.

The crowd went insane. Eyes bulged; jaws dropped. The shock was visceral.

“She did it! She matched True Disciple Gu’s record!”

“I can’t believe it… This trip was worth it! We are witnessing history!”

“It’s a miracle. A dream!”

Gu Xianer’s face was pale, her body trembling under the crushing weight of the Dao pressure. She had reached her limit, but she still had a sliver of strength left. She could take one more step.

Everyone held their breath. They waited for her to lift her foot. They waited for the record to shatter.

But then, Gu Xianer did something that made everyone’s eyes nearly pop out of their skulls.

She calmed her breathing.

And she stopped.

Then… she turned around and walked back down.

She gave up on the Nineteenth Step.

The mountains fell into a dead silence.

What?

This was the chance to break a 100,000-year record! A chance to slap Gu Changge in the face and shake the world!

Why did she stop?