Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 397 Bai Ren Vs Half-Qilin!

With Gou You eliminated, Bai Ren’s focus shifted naturally toward the Half-Qilin.

The beast narrowed its gaze, inspecting the blade gripped in Bai Ren's hand.

Although it could detect a formidable power emanating from the weapon, it remained unconvinced that such a thing could alter the outcome of the battle.

"Do you wish to be the next to die?"

The Half-Qilin questioned with blatant arrogance.

"Give it your best shot!"

Bai Ren countered, showing no sign of intimidation.

Despite his outward display of bravery, he was well aware of the monster’s strength—this was a creature capable of slaughtering an Earth Immortal with ease.

"Zhao Wujin! Yu Xuande! I need your assistance!"

Bai Ren shouted. He was not foolish enough to think he could solo the Half-Qilin just because he held a Saint-Grade Sword.

!!!

Zhao Wujin snapped out of his trance. He looked at Bai Ren’s blade with a complex mix of covetousness and resentment.

He knew that regardless of this fight's result, they would return to being rivals of the Bai Clan once the dust settled.

The realization that the Bai Clan possessed such a lethal hidden card made him tremble. Had they launched a direct assault on the clan and faced this sword—

He might have shared Gou You's miserable fate.

"U-Understood!"

Yu Xuande called back.

Zhao Wujin ground his teeth, forcing his distracting thoughts aside.

The immediate threat had to be neutralized first.

Taking a deep breath, his eyes sharpened and his aura began to swell.

"Very well," Zhao Wujin grunted. "Let us begin!"

Yu Xuande was already in motion.

"We will pin it down just like before!"

Yu Xuande yelled, his voice tight with the strain of the situation.

"Bai Ren, strike while we hold it back!"

Zhao Wujin moved without delay.

Advancing forward, he ignited his blood essence, causing his aura to explode with violent intensity.

"Sky-Binding Suppression!"

The heavens shook as phantom chains manifested, coiling around the Half-Qilin’s massive frame.

Simultaneously, Yu Xuande’s blade blurred.

Space itself began to distort and fold, creating layers of binding force that enveloped the Half-Qilin from every angle—repeating their previous strategy.

For a fleeting second, the plan appeared successful.

The Half-Qilin’s movements were hindered.

Zhao Wujin’s eyes flared with hope.

"Go now!"

Bai Ren lunged forward—

But then, the Half-Qilin began to laugh.

It was a low, resonant sound dripping with utter scorn.

BOOM!

A tidal wave of aura erupted from the beast.

The binding chains were pulverized instantly, snapping like thin glass. The warped space shattered, the backlash sending Yu Xuande spiraling away as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Zhao Wujin’s face drained of color.

"How?!"

He couldn't fathom how the Half-Qilin broke free so effortlessly when it had been restrained earlier.

"Pathetic fragility," the beast said coldly.

With a single stride—

CRACK!

The earth within a hundred-meter radius gave way.

A casual swipe of its limb unleashed a devastating shockwave.

Zhao Wujin took the full brunt of the impact.

PUFF!

Blood sprayed into the air as he was tossed back like a ragdoll, crashing through multiple mountain ridges before finally grinding to a halt.

"Zhao Wujin!"

Yu Xuande barely had a moment to cry out before a gargantuan claw swept down toward him.

BOOM!

His defensive tools shattered in sequence. His protective formations disintegrated, and he was slammed into the dirt, coughing up blood.

"Argh!"

Both men were left severely wounded.

The Half-Qilin looked upon them with cold neutrality. It was now certain that the creature had been merely playing along before.

It had allowed them the illusion of control just to mock them.

The Half-Qilin bared its teeth at Yu Xuande.

"That is enough. I am tired of this game."

Yu Xuande’s pupils contracted in terror.

His shields were gone.

Escape was impossible.

Defense was futile.

(Is this the end for me...?)

The claw descended for the kill.

But just before it connected—

CLANG!!!

A thunderous ring of metal echoed across the battlefield.

The resulting shockwave leveled the ground, sending Qi spiraling in violent gusts.

The Half-Qilin’s strike was halted.

Bai Ren stood firmly between the beast and Yu Xuande, his hands locked around the Saint-Grade Sword, his boots buried in the cracked earth.

Fissures radiated outward from his position for hundreds of meters.

Yet—

He did not budge an inch.

Yu Xuande watched in total shock.

"B-Bai Ren...!"

The Half-Qilin’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Oh?"

It muttered, surprised.

"You actually stopped that?"

Bai Ren let out a slow breath, a thin trail of blood escaping his lips.

The collision had rocked his internal organs, and his arms were vibrating from the sheer weight of the blow.

"Retreat," Bai Ren commanded quietly, his eyes fixed forward.

"Both of you, get back!"

The Half-Qilin gave a mocking snort.

"How noble," it sneered.

"But entirely useless!"

The beast increased the pressure of its claw.

The ground beneath Bai Ren sank further, forcing his knees to buckle slightly—but the Saint-Grade Sword remained steady.

"Move!"

Bai Ren bellowed.

Zhao Wujin, battered and bleeding, dragged himself up. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed Yu Xuande and pulled him away from the impact zone.

As soon as they were clear—

Bai Ren pivoted his wrists and leaped backward, disengaging just as the Half-Qilin’s claw smashed into the earth, creating a massive crater.

A cloud of dust obscured the view.

When the air cleared, the three stood together again.

Gasping for air.

Covered in blood.

But still standing.

Bai Ren stood tall, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

He had killed Gou You easily with the Saint-Grade Sword, but even with the help of the other two, they were struggling now. This proved the Half-Qilin was on a completely different level than a standard Earth Immortal.

"Give it everything you have!"

Bai Ren said with steel in his voice.

Yu Xuande and Zhao Wujin nodded in agreement.

The trio fanned out, creating a triangle around the Half-Qilin.

Yu Xuande channeled his remaining Qi.

"Void-Sealing Domain!"

The air hummed with tension.

Invisible barriers manifested around the Half-Qilin, tightening the space and stifling its demonic Qi. It was a pure restraint technique.

The Half-Qilin reacted instantly.

"Hmph!"

It took a heavy step, unleashing flames that caused the domain to crackle and splinter.

"You bugs think this can hold me?"

Zhao Wujin gave it no breathing room.

"Skyfall Suppression Art!"

This Heaven-Grade Technique was vastly superior to his previous effort.

He slammed his hand toward the ground.

The sky seemed to press down.

A massive, invisible weight fell upon the Half-Qilin, slowing its movements for a mere heartbeat.

That heartbeat was all that was required.

Bai Ren lunged forward.

His Sword Qi was compressed to an incredible density, sharp enough to sever the laws of reality.

Every cultivator nearby felt a chill down their spine, as if a blade were pressed against their necks.

"Keep it still!"

Bai Ren ordered.

Yu Xuande roared, blood leaking from his mouth as he strained to maintain the seal.

"Holding it—strike now!"

The Half-Qilin’s eyes glowed a furious red as it fought against the combined weight of the suppression.

"You dare—!"

It was enraged that creatures it viewed as ants could hinder it, even for a millisecond.

Bai Ren hoisted his sword with both hands.

"Nine Shadows Flowing Light Sword!"

A single blade—

Became nine.

Nine identical phantoms of the sword erupted, each radiating a Sword Qi capable of cleaving mountains.

Like light refracting, the nine shadows moved through impossible paths, striking from every angle—above, below, and from the depths of the void itself.

Unlike Bai Zihan, Bai Ren had reached the realm of Perfect Mastery, leaving even the Half-Qilin momentarily confused.

"Attack!"

Zhao Wujin screamed.

He pushed his palms forward, pouring his entire Cultivation base into the suppression.

The crushing force doubled.

The Half-Qilin snarled.

"So many annoying tricks!"

It swept its massive limb in a wide arc.

BOOM!

Conflagrations erupted, incinerating two of the sword shadows.

They vanished instantly.

Another shadow was crushed by a claw, bursting into fragments of light.

However, the remaining shadows did not falter.

They flowed past its defenses like water.

CLANG! CLANG!

Several shadows impacted the Half-Qilin’s scales.

Sparks showered the area.

The noise was like a forge hammer hitting divine steel.

But no damage was done.

The shadows faded, unable to breach its natural armor.

The Half-Qilin laughed, its voice full of contempt.

"Weak!"

Then—

Bai Ren struck.

Unlike the flashy shadows, his true form moved in silence, camouflaged by the fading light.

The Saint-Grade Sword swung in a perfect, lethal arc.

SLASH!

The steel bit deep into the Half-Qilin’s flank.

This time—

Blood sprayed.

A massive wound opened across its side, cutting through scales, muscle, and Qi.

Dark blood hissed as it hit the ground.

The Half-Qilin’s laughter died instantly.

Its eyes shrank in shock.

It stumbled back, letting out a roar that caused the sky to tremble.

ROOOAR—!

Zhao Wujin stared, wide-eyed.

Yu Xuande gasped for air, his heart racing.

The wound did not close.

The mangled flesh pulsed as the creature’s regenerative powers tried to activate—

But they failed.

The gash remained wide open.

It was as if the injury was permanent, resisting all forms of healing.

The Half-Qilin looked at its own side, disbelief etched onto its ancient face.

"This... this cannot be..."

It had been hurt before.

Even Li Zhenhe’s final strike had left a mark—but those injuries had vanished in moments.

This one stayed.

Slowly, the Half-Qilin turned its gaze toward Bai Ren.

The arrogance was gone.

The amusement had vanished.

In its place was pure fury.

And for the first time—

Caution.

It wasn't afraid of Bai Ren—

But it feared the Saint-Grade Sword he wielded.

It understood now!

That sword was the reason its body refused to mend.

Zhao Wujin’s heart hammered against his ribs.

Yu Xuande’s legs felt weak as he breathed heavily.

"It... it actually took damage."

A spark of hope was lit.

If the Half-Qilin could be wounded, it could be slain.

For the first time, the impossible seemed achievable.

The Half-Qilin locked its eyes on Bai Ren.

The gaze was murderous.

It stood tall, its Qi boiling over as power surged through its veins.

"You may have drawn blood," it said in a low, dangerous tone.

"But to kill me—"

It stepped forward, the aura of a supreme being crushing the surroundings.

"—is a feat far beyond your reach."

Bai Ren tightened his hold on his weapon.

Sweat ran down his face, yet his gaze remained unwavering.

While wounding the beast was a victory, he knew repeating the feat would be much harder.

Now that the Half-Qilin was on guard against the Saint-Grade Sword, he wouldn't get another easy opening.