Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 448 An Alliance Forged in Resentment

The Desolate Heaven Empire was shaken.

Not just-

It erupted.

Right after everyone assumed the Bai Clan couldn’t be halted and no one else

might match their feat, the Li-Zhao Alliance issued a declaration too.

A High Earth-Grade cultivation technique-

Bestowed upon recruits who aligned with them, exactly as the Bai Clan had done.

As soon as the Li-Zhao Alliance revealed their news, the fragile calm broke apart completely, leaving no one able to stay composed.

"What’s that? The Li-Zhao Alliance as well?"

"They’re providing a High Earth-Grade cultivation technique?" "Looks like it’s no longer exclusive to the Bai Clan..."

"I’ve heard the Li and Zhao Clans snatched it right from the Bai Clan."

"Doesn’t matter, so long as we can obtain it!"

For the first time in decades, an unimaginable event unfolded.

Two mighty forces-

Tossing their most prized assets to gather supporters.

It screamed insanity.

It reeked of sheer desperation.

And it signaled war-

Though not yet waged with swords.

***

A wave of thrill surged across the Desolate Heaven Empire like an unstoppable swell. For the first time-

In the midst of fierce ambitions, deep-seated grudges, and bitter rivalries among great powers-

The true winners weren’t the mighty clans.

It was the little guys.

The myriad small clans.

The rogue cultivators roaming free.

The households forever teetering on the brink of obscurity.

Gaining a High Earth-Grade cultivation technique merely by pledging to an alliance-

Such a prospect would’ve seemed impossible mere days before.

"Back then, we’d have groveled across generations for even a peek at something like that."

"Yet now they’re just giving it away?"

Chuckles rang out in the inns.

Gazes sparkled with raw avarice.

To countless souls, it seemed the skies were at last shifting to bless them.

A few opted for caution.

They watched in silence, anticipating if the Bai Clan or Li-Zhao Alliance might escalate the offers higher.

Considering-

With both factions already doling out High Earth-Grade techniques, what stopped them from sweetening the pot further?

Couldn’t they toss in extra perks, like distributing Grade-6 pills maybe?

But others refused to hold back.

Chances this golden didn’t knock again.

Delaying now could doom them forever.

Thus, for a High Earth-Grade cultivation technique, they’d bind their whole lineage to a greater power.

Since the Li-Zhao Alliance dangled the identical cultivation technique, plenty figured the scales would tip toward them-

Or at worst, even the field.

Restore some equilibrium.

Yet the truth dashed those hopes.

Indeed, the Li-Zhao Alliance drew in fresh clans.

Quite a few, actually.

Sufficient to stir some buzz.

Enough to fake a comeback for their group.

Still, it paled beside the Bai Clan’s haul.

Since hordes of clans had pledged to the Bai Clan already.

And with the High Earth-Grade cultivation technique now in their grasp-

Why would they turn coat?

Certain ones harbored thanks.

Others nurtured true allegiance.

Some just recognized no gain in flipping when they clutched the prize everyone else pursued.

Besides, the Bai Clan asked for just a single demand.

Loyalty.

No burdensome taxes.

No compelled deployments.

No harsh terms that sucked a clan empty.

On the flip side, word of the Li-Zhao Alliance’s conditions spread fast.

For entry-

A clan must surrender twenty percent of all its assets.

Gold.

Spiritual herbs.

Artifacts.

And even grimmer-

During wartime, half their warriors had to serve under the alliance’s orders.

Non-negotiable.

No waivers. "Fifty percent... What if they pull us into a fight we can’t handle?"

"Blast it! I just want the cultivation technique—better side with the Bai Clan!"

Though the two alliances dangled the same cultivation technique, their demands stood worlds apart.

Sure, a shrewd observer might argue loyalty could demand more than 50%. The Bai Clan sought loyalty—but its exact scope stayed vague.

It might demand total devotion.

Or much milder.

A devoted clan could offer it all.

A half-hearted one might scrape by with the least.

No hard figures were set.

Thus, even if Bai Clan loyalty someday called for over fifty percent of forces, it remained unknown until the moment arrived.

Against such uncertainty-

The Li-Zhao Alliance’s clear-cut fifty percent demand already weighed heavy,

needed or not.

Clans would have to obey regardless of their dire straits.

Hence, though certainty eluded which bargain truly shone-

The Bai Clan’s terms appeared vastly kinder to the masses, or so it sounded to them.

Thus, as the Li-Zhao Alliance expanded-

The Bai Clan kept ballooning.

***

Nevertheless, plenty thought this boded doom for the Bai Clan.

After all, the cultivation technique the Li-Zhao Alliance circulated was—

by all reports—the very one the Bai Clan first exposed.

Their ultimate edge.

Now clutched by foes.

"Hasn’t the Bai Clan undermined itself?"

"They exposed far too much!"

"Li-Zhao wiped out their edge."

Whispers like these filled the empire’s lanes.

To bystanders, the downfall seemed plain.

The Bai Clan forfeited its monopoly-

And the power it wielded.

Crowds anticipated the Bai Clan’s explosive rage.

To condemn Li and Zhao.

To strike back boldly.

Yet oddly-

The Bai Clan stayed mute.

And that very quietness highlighted another twist.

For the real rage came not from-

The Bai Clan itself.

But from the clans already under its banner.

Once word flew that the Li-Zhao Alliance shared the same cultivation technique, fury detonated across the Bai Clan’s growing network.

"What?!" "They stole it?!"

"Which scum leaked it?!"

One clan after another unleashed torrents of oaths.

The Bai Clan affiliates seethed—and were certain the betrayer lurked among their ranks.

"We received that technique on faith!"

"To imagine anyone would turn on us this way—snatch it and pass it to Li and

Zhao?!"

"I vow, if I uncover the clan that spilled it, I’ll eradicate them down to the last mutt!"

Rage flared fierce and untamed.

Some vented at the Li and Zhao Clans, branding them brazen thieves.

Others targeted the hidden betrayer-

The group that had “stabbed” the Bai Clan in the back.

And more still fumed for a basic, utterly self-serving cause.

Only days prior, they’d felt superior to all.

They’d signed on earliest.

They’d seized a High Earth-Grade cultivation technique scarce elsewhere.

They’d envisioned disciples leaping forward-

While enemies trailed in the dirt.

But now?

That lead was fading fast.

"Curse it!"

"Right as our young ones began advancing!"

"Just when we figured we’d crush the rest!"

In their eyes, the Li-Zhao Alliance didn’t simply mimic a method-

They’d robbed their destiny.

"This goes beyond the Bai Clan now."

"This strikes at every one of us!"

Bitterness honed to a point.

For deep down, whether owned or not, one truth rang out-

Their destinies linked with the Bai Clan.

And Li-Zhao’s moves hit like a personal insult.

In a twist of fate, that wrath sparked an unforeseen effect.

Rather than fracturing the Bai Clan’s union-

It forged a common aim and mutual loathing for the Li-Zhao

Alliance.

The pioneer clans knit closer, fueled by collective wrath.

Should a traitor truly hide within-

That turncoat wasn’t just the Bai Clan’s foe anymore.

They opposed the whole lot.

***

Inside the Bai Clan’s grand hall, the air differed sharply from the turmoil engulfing

the empire.

Bai Zihan lingered at the window, arms folded behind him, eyes fixed on lazy clouds floating past the lofty summits. Behind, documents sprawled over the desk-

All chronicling fury, oaths, and mounting animosity against the Li-Zhao Alliance.

He scanned them.

And then-

A smile crept across his face.

A subtle twist at the corners.

"So things have unfolded this way..." he whispered. In truth, Bai Zihan hadn’t entirely foreseen this turn.

He’d braced for remorse. Or shaky allegiance upon learning the Li-Zhao

Alliance distributed the same cultivation technique.

But the venom now aimed at the Li-Zhao Alliance-

It surpassed what he’d imagined.

He’d held slim hopes for the coalition he’d forged.

They served as tools, mere strings to disseminate the cultivation technique and

bolster his influence.

Whether the Bai Clan or Li-Zhao Alliance spread it made little difference in the end.

If anything-

Having Li and Zhao do the work for him proved advantageous.

By this point, he figured most in the Li-Zhao Alliance had started practicing it.

Those groups’ destinies rested firmly in his control.

Should they ever challenge him, he’d warn—or eliminate—them without pause.

For those aligned with the Bai Clan’s Alliance, the dynamic echoed. They posed no danger anymore, though he found little purpose in them either.

But now...

Maybe they held greater potential.

If he molded this bitterness-

Transformed it into unified resolve- He’d avoid exposing his scheme altogether.

Those clans could charge at the Li-Zhao Alliance of their own accord.

Bai Zihan’s grin deepened, icy and content.

"That," he uttered softly,

"Would make the perfect scenario for us!"