Villain: Manipulating the Heroines into hating the Protagonist

Chapter 955: Iron-Blood Hall Master Escapes

"Retreat! Break out!"

The scream of the Iron-Blood Hall Master tore through the chaotic noise of the battlefield, a desperate command that signaled the total collapse of the demonic offensive. High above the burning sect, the crimson clouds of blood-qi began to disperse, shredded by the resurgence of the sect’s guardian array. The trap had snapped shut, and the predators had become the prey.

But Mu Lianhua was not about to let the architects of this destruction leave so easily. Her eyes, burning with the cold blue light of the Azure Sky-Heart Flame, locked onto the fleeing demonic ships and the scrambling cultivators.

"You came uninvited," she declared, her voice amplified by her spiritual pressure, echoing like the tolling of a funeral bell across the island. "You stay."

She raised her hand, palm facing the heavens. The Crimson Lotus Cauldron, hovering above the battlefield like a small moon, began to spin. It grew exponentially, expanding until it was the size of a small hill, blocking the primary aerial retreat path leading to the western sea.

"Cauldron Art: Mountain Suppression!"

With a gesture like swatting a fly, she brought the massive artifact down. The air screamed as it was displaced. Three fleeing Demonic Deacons, riding their blood-swords, looked up in horror just before the shadow engulfed them. They were crushed instantly, their protective artifacts shattering like glass, their bodies reduced to a mist that stained the cauldron’s surface.

Below, the Fifth Order Spirit Beasts, sensing the fear and disarray of their enemies, went into a frenzy.

The Black-Scaled Flood Serpent uncoiled from the watchtower it had crushed. It roared, a sound like crashing waves, and lunged with terrifying speed. Its target was an Early Stage Core Formation Elder of the Iron-Blood Hall who was attempting to burn his blood essence to escape the gravitational pull of the cauldron.

The serpent moved faster. Its massive jaws unhinged.

SNAP.

The Elder didn’t even have time to scream. The serpent swallowed him whole, its throat bulging as it consumed a Core Formation expert in a single bite. The beast’s scales glowed with a dark, satisfied light as it began to digest the immense spiritual energy.

Simultaneously, the Obsidian-Back Earth Bear rampaged through the lower plaza. It ignored the frantic blood-spells cast by the retreating disciples, its stone-like fur deflecting them harmlessly. It swung a paw the size of a carriage, swatting a group of five Iron-Blood disciples into a stone wall, turning them into a gruesome mural.

But the battle was not just fought by beasts and guests. The disciples of the Fragrance Melody Sect, seeing their tormentors break and run, found a second wind. Their fear transmuted into a cold, musical rage.

"Do not let them escape!" a Senior Sister shouted, her robes torn but her spirit blazing. She sat cross-legged on a floating lotus petal, a pipa in her hands. "Pipa Art: Ten-Sided Ambush!"

Her fingers danced over the strings. The notes that rang out were sharp, staccato, and filled with killing intent. Each note manifested as a golden sonic blade, invisible to the eye but screaming through the air.

A squad of Iron-Blood disciples trying to board a fleeing shuttle were cut down, their bodies severed by the music.

Nearby, a group of younger disciples raised jade flutes. They played a dissonant, piercing melody.

"Flute Art: Spirit-Shattering Screech!"

The sound waves distorted the air. Demonic cultivators caught in the blast clutched their heads, blood pouring from their ears and eyes as their internal organs ruptured from the sonic resonance.

Another group, wielding long silk ribbons infused with charm arts, danced through the smoke. They moved with ethereal grace.

"Dance of the Captivating Phantom!"

The fleeing demons glanced back and saw not enemies, but their deepest desires. Their eyes glazed over. They slowed down, reaching out towards the beautiful women. The silk ribbons lashed out, turning steel-hard, wrapping around their necks and snapping them with a sickening crunch.

Amidst this carnage, Wang Jian moved with the precision of a surgeon and the greed of a dragon.

He was not fighting indiscriminately. His eyes, enhanced by his Stellar Qi, scanned the fleeing crowd, picking out targets not by their strength, but by their attire. He looked for the ornate robes of the wealthy, the glint of high-grade spatial rings, the heavy jade pendants of the elite deacons.

He spotted a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Deacon wearing robes embroidered with gold thread, trying to activate a teleportation scroll.

"Leaving so soon?" Wang Jian whispered.

He activated his Void-Merging Breath, vanishing from sight. He reappeared directly behind the deacon.

Slash.

His sword severed the deacon’s hand holding the scroll, then his head. Wang Jian caught the severed hand, stripped the ring, and kicked the body away, all in one fluid motion.

He moved to the next target. A demonic alchemist carrying a heavy satchel.

"Stellar Palm!"

He struck the man in the chest, stopping his heart instantly without damaging the satchel. He swept the bag into his own storage ring.

"Mine. Mine. Also mine."

While he harvested the wealth of the invaders, Yue Lingshan was orchestrating the trap from the array core. She manipulated the Thousand-Petal Guardian Formation.

"You want to leave?" she murmured, her face pale but determined. "The sea does not allow it."

She shifted the array flags. Gravity wells formed in the air above the harbor. The fleeing demonic blood-ships, their engines roaring, suddenly lurched downwards, as if giant invisible hands had grabbed their keels. They crashed into the water, their hulls splintering.

The sea around the Isle of Whispering Petals turned a frothy, opaque red, choked with the blood of the invaders.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the air near the eastern dormitory.

"He’s going to self-destruct!"

A demonic deacon, surrounded by a group of young Fragrance Melody disciples armed with zithers, realized he had no escape. His eyes bulged with madness. He began to swell, his skin glowing with unstable, violent red light.

"Die with me, bitches!"

The female disciples froze, terror paralyzing them. They were too close. They couldn’t play a defensive chord in time.

Wang Jian saw the opportunity. It was perfect.

He abandoned his current target and flashed across the plaza.

"Get back!" he roared, his voice filled with heroic desperation.

He landed in front of the girls, placing himself directly between them and the exploding demon. He plunged his sword into the ground, channeling his Qi into a defensive barrier.

"Stellar Shield!"

BOOM!

The demon exploded. A wave of corrosive blood and concussive force slammed into Wang Jian.

His shield held against the brunt of it, but he intentionally allowed a fraction of the force to pass through, enough to shatter his outer Qi layer and send him skidding backward, his feet carving furrows in the stone. He coughed, forcing a trickle of blood to run from the corner of his mouth, and allowed his face to pale.

The smoke cleared. The female disciples were unharmed, shielded by his body.

They looked at him, wide-eyed. They saw a handsome, powerful man who had just thrown himself onto a grenade for them. His robes were tattered, he was bleeding, and he stood tall and unbowed.

"Senior Brother Wang!" one of the girls cried, tears streaming down her face. "You... you saved us!"

"Are you hurt?" another asked, rushing forward to support him.

Wang Jian waved them off gently, panting for effect. "I am fine... protect yourselves. The battle is not over."

The adoration in their eyes was blinding. In that moment, he wasn’t just a guest; he was their idol.

High above, the Iron-Blood Hall Master saw his forces decimated. His elders were dead or eaten. His deacons were being hunted like sport. And the exit was sealed.

He made a desperate choice. He burned fifty percent of his blood essence.

"Blood Shadow Escape!"

His body dissolved into a thousand streaks of red light, shooting in every direction. Mu Lianhua’s cauldron smashed a few hundred of them, and the Sky-Ripper Eagle tore apart others, but a few streaks managed to slip through the gaps in the reforming array, fleeing into the night.

The Hall Master had escaped, but he was crippled. His cultivation would drop, and his sect was effectively ruined.

Below, the fighting died down. The last of the demonic disciples threw down their weapons, surrendering, only to be executed by the vengeful women of the Fragrance Melody Sect or eaten by the lingering beasts.

Silence slowly reclaimed the island, broken only by the crackle of small fires and the groans of the wounded.

Wang Jian sheathed his sword. He caught Chen Ying’s eye across the plaza. She gave a microscopic nod and tapped her storage ring. The loot was secured.

"Regroup," Wang Jian signaled.

His group gathered near the main plaza fountain. They looked battered—clothes torn, covered in soot and blood—but victorious.

Before they could even speak, a figure in white rushed from the direction of the cliffside pagoda.

Hua Ling ran across the corpse-strewn plaza. She ignored the decorum of a Young Mistress. She ignored the stares of her disciples. Her eyes were fixed on one man.

"Young Master Wang!"

She reached him, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She saw the blood on his shoulder, the blood on his mouth.

"You... you’re alive," she whispered, her voice trembling.

Wang Jian smiled wearily. "I told you I would return, Young Mistress."

Dawn broke over the Myriad Reefs Sea Domain, painting the sky in soft hues of pink and gold, a stark contrast to the red horror of the night. The Isle of Whispering Petals was scarred, buildings smoking, craters marring the gardens, but it stood.

While the sect’s healers tended to the wounded and the deacons began the grim task of counting the dead, Wang Jian gathered his inner circle in the secluded ruins of a tea house near their pavilion.

"Report," Wang Jian said softly, activating a sound-dampening talisman.

Chen Ying and Liu Ruyan emptied their temporary collection bags onto the table. A small mountain of storage rings, blood-jade pendants, and demonic artifacts spilled out.

"The haul is... significant," Chen Ying said, her usual stoicism breaking into a faint smile. "The Iron-Blood Hall brought their best gear for the invasion. We have blood ores, dark artifacts, and roughly two hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones."

"We also found maps," Liu Ruyan added, holding up a scroll made of human skin. "Locations of their other outposts. And their main vault codes."

"Excellent," Wang Jian nodded. "Keep it hidden. Distribute the resources among yourselves later. Remember, we took nothing from the Fragrance Melody disciples. We are heroes, not grave robbers... of allies."

He checked his own appearance in a shard of polished metal. He applied fresh bandages to his shoulder wound, making sure the blood seeped through just enough to look dramatic but not life-threatening.

"Time for the curtain call," he said.

They walked out into the main plaza.

Sect Leader Hua Yimei descended from the sky. She looked exhausted. Her beautiful face was pale, her spiritual energy nearly depleted, and her elegant robes were scorched. But she was alive, and she held her Zither tightly.

She landed, swaying slightly. Mu Lianhua was there instantly, supporting her arm.

"Sect Leader," Mu Lianhua said gently.

Hua Yimei looked at Mu Lianhua, tears welling in her eyes. She gripped Mu Lianhua’s hand.

"Sister Mu... without you... we would be ash. My sect... my daughter... you saved everything."

"We only did what was right," Mu Lianhua said with perfect humility, guiding the Sect Leader to a stone bench. "Righteous cultivators must stand together. But... Sect Leader, it seems you have a snake in your garden. A poisonous one."

Hua Yimei’s expression hardened instantly into a mask of pure hatred. "Elder Pang."

She spat the name like a curse. "He abandoned his post. He fled when accused. He is a dead man walking. I will issue a bounty across the entire Sea Domain. I will peel the skin from his bones myself."

Wang Jian stepped forward, clutching his bandaged shoulder, wincing slightly.

"Sect Leader," he said, his voice respectful but grave. "During the fight... I heard the demons speaking. They mentioned ’the agreement’ multiple times. They were confused why the inner traps hadn’t been disabled. It seems... this was planned for months."

Hua Yimei’s fists clenched. "Planned... months... while he ate our rice and leered at our daughters. That beast!"

Wang Jian’s comment solidified the frame. There was no doubt left. Elder Pang was the architect of their misery.

Hua Yimei took a deep breath, composing herself. She looked past Wang Jian to the massive beasts resting near Liu Ruyan and Chen Ying. The Sky-Ripper Eagle was preening its bloody feathers. The Black-Scaled Flood Serpent was coiled asleep, its belly distended from its meal.

"These beasts..." Hua Yimei murmured, a shiver running through her. "They are powerful. Fifth Order? Core Formation equivalents?"

"We are beast tamers as well as cultivators," Liu Ruyan explained smoothly, bowing. "They are our partners. We raised them from hatchlings."

The surviving disciples and elders of the Fragrance Melody Sect looked at Wang Jian’s group with wide, reverent eyes. The strength they had displayed was undeniable. They had turned the tide of an impossible battle. They were not just guests anymore; they were the sect’s protectors.

"Come," Hua Yimei said, standing up. "Let us go to the infirmary. My healers must tend to you."

The main infirmary was a bustle of activity, filled with the smell of medicinal herbs and the soft groans of the injured. Wang Jian was given a private room, naturally.

He sat on the edge of the bed, his upper body bare, revealing his toned, muscular physique. A senior healer was preparing a salve, but before she could apply it, the door burst open.

Hua Ling rushed in. Her face was scrubbed clean of blood, but her eyes were red from crying. She carried a tray of bandages and a bowl of warm water.

"Young Mistress," the senior healer bowed.

"Leave us, Auntie," Hua Ling said, her voice trembling but firm. "I will tend to Young Master Wang myself."

The healer glanced at Wang Jian, then at the determined look on the Young Mistress’s face, and bowed out, closing the door.

Hua Ling set the tray down. She approached Wang Jian, her eyes glued to his chest, to the muscles that rippled as he breathed, to the strong arms that had held her in the sky.

"You shouldn’t be doing this," Wang Jian said softly, playing the modest hero. "It is beneath your station."

"You saved my life," Hua Ling whispered, dipping a cloth in the water. Her hands trembled as she touched his skin, cleaning the blood from around the wound. "You flew into the sky... you took an arrow for me. There is nothing beneath me when it comes to you."

She leaned in close. Her scent—orchids and rain—filled Wang Jian’s senses. He could see down the front of her robes, which were slightly torn from the battle, revealing the creamy swell of her breasts and the rapid beating of her heart.

"Your safety is paramount, Young Mistress," Wang Jian said, his voice dropping an octave. "You are the future of this sect. The flower that must be protected."

He watched her work. She was wrapping the bandage around his shoulder, her body brushing against his arm.

He gently reached out and took her hand, stopping her.

Hua Ling froze, her breath hitching. She looked up into his eyes.

"Seeing you safe..." Wang Jian murmured, his thumb stroking the back of her hand. "It heals me faster than any pill."

Hua Ling blushed deeply, a heat spreading through her entire body that had nothing to do with cultivation.

Wang Jian didn’t stop there. His other hand moved. It seemed natural, accidental almost. He reached out as if to steady himself, his hand landing on her waist. But his fingers found the tear in her robe, slipping inside to touch the soft, delicate skin of her midriff.

It was bold. It was possessive.

Hua Ling gasped. She should have pulled away. It was improper. He was a married man. But the adrenaline of the battle, the image of him saving her, the heat of his skin against hers... she couldn’t move. She didn’t want to move. She leaned into his touch, her eyes fluttering shut.

The door creaked.

Sect Leader Hua Yimei entered.

Hua Ling jumped back as if scalded, her face burning. Wang Jian slowly withdrew his hand, his expression calm and unbothered.

Hua Yimei saw it. She saw her daughter holding Wang Jian’s hand. She saw the flushed skin, the intimacy in the air.

She didn’t scold her. She looked at Wang Jian with a complex expression. There was deep gratitude, yes. But there was also assessment. A woman’s assessment of a man. And a flicker of anger—a mother’s instinct to protect her cub from a predator, mixed with a strange, confusing jealousy that she quickly suppressed.

"Sect Leader," Wang Jian nodded respectfully.

"Deacon Wang," Hua Yimei said, her voice steady. She walked further into the room. "You defended our Treasury. You saved my daughter. You decimated the enemy ranks. You have proven your loyalty beyond any doubt."

She took a breath. "The position of Head Male Elder is vacant. Elder Pang is gone, and good riddance. The Cloud-Peak Pavilion is yours. The resources allocated to the position are yours. And... you have my personal gratitude."

It was a massive promotion. He was now part of the sect’s core leadership.

Wang Jian stood up, bowing. "I accept, Sect Leader. I will guard this sect as if it were my own. I will not let anyone harm it."

Just then, Yue Lingshan entered the room, having finished her checks on the array. She saw Wang Jian standing, bandaged.

"Husband!" She rushed to him, hugging him carefully. "You were amazing. The disciples are singing your praises."

She kissed his cheek, beaming with pride.

Wang Jian wrapped one arm around his wife, holding her close. But his other hand was still resting on the bedsheet where Hua Ling had been sitting.

He looked at Hua Yimei and Hua Ling over his wife’s shoulder.

The contrast was stark. The lawful wife, oblivious and proud. The daughter, blushing and yearning. The mother, grateful and conflicted.

Wang Jian’s eyes lingered on them, a silent message passing between him and the two Hua women. I am here. And I am not leaving.

’Step one complete,’ Wang Jian thought, a deep satisfaction settling in his gut. ’The trust is earned. The women are indebted. And the treasury... well, I’ve already taken my share.’

A faint vibration in his sleeve alerted him. A message from Bai Xue.

"The Iron-Blood Hall is in disarray. Civil war is brewing in the Abyssal Trench Coalition."

Wang Jian smiled, a genuine, terrifying smile that he hid by burying his face in his wife’s hair.

"Let them fight," he whispered.

Later that evening, as the sun set over the recovering Isle of Whispering Petals, painting the sea in shades of violet and gold, Wang Jian stood on the balcony of the Cloud-Peak Pavilion. It was the highest point in the guest quarters, overlooking the entire sect.

Below him, the disciples were beginning to rebuild. The music had started again—a slow, mournful tune for the fallen, but it was there.

He had successfully embedded himself as the indispensable savior of the Fragrance Melody Sect. He had the power, the position, and the trust.

The trap was set. The spider sat in the center of the web, fat and happy, and the beautiful butterflies of the sect were fluttering right into his mouth.