Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 453 Changed Heaven Sword Sect

Transformation had overtaken the Heaven Sword Sect.

Not its title.

But its essence.

The strict order that once prevailed had decayed into blatant chaos.

Sword chambers, previously resounding with disciplined practice fights, now rang with heated shouts and vicious chuckles.

Guards were mere formalities. Regulations applied only when convenient-or not at all.

Members of the old opposition against the Sect Leader strutted about boldly and with conceit.

Consequences no longer haunted them.

With no enforcers remaining, after all.

Within an outer yard, a modest assembly had formed.

Not for practice.

Not for drills.

But for spectating.

In the midst, a young female cultivator knelt compelled, her blade cast away, attire ripped along the arm.

Grime stuck to her hands while she fought to get up-only for a boot to shove her down again.

"Did you hear her?" a cultivator mocked. "She dared inquire about her senior brother's arrest."

Another burst into boisterous guffaws.

"Questioning is rebellion these days, little sister. No one warned you?"

The young woman gritted her teeth, shaking-not in agony, but shame.

"I... I just wished to understand-"

Slap!

Her face whipped sideways.

A crimson welt flared across her face.

"Stay in your lane," a lofty cultivator declared icily. "Your mentor failed to back Sect Leader Han. That brands you suspect."

One more advanced, bending low to meet her gaze.

"Count your blessings," he taunted. "Yesterday, you'd be cast out already."

The onlookers chuckled.

A fellow prodded her discarded blade with his toe.

"Grab it."

The young woman extended her arm-

His sole crushed her fingers.

She inhaled sharply, stifling a yelp.

"See her," a voice derided. "Acting like a true Heaven Sword follower still."

Intervention came from none.

No elder materialized.

Passersby turned their gazes aside.

Such scenes were commonplace now.

Suddenly-

A chill gust rushed across the yard.

The mirth wavered.

Steady, leisurely steps drew near.

The cultivators pivoted on reflex.

A silhouette in light garments positioned itself at the yard's gateway, blade sheathed at her hip, gaze

icy like winter frost.

Bai Xueqing!

Accompanying her came Chu Ziyan.

One swift scan captured the sight for her-the fallen girl, the shredded

clothes, the cocky faces not fully dimmed.

Her stare locked onto the one pinning the girl's fingers.

"Move!"

Two words.

Tone even.

The cultivator went rigid.

"...Senior Sister Bai."

He wavered-yet gradually raised his foot.

The girl withdrew her hand, nursing it, eyes rimmed with tears.

Bai Xueqing advanced.

Chu Ziyan trailed a half-pace after, promptly dropping to kneel by the wounded

cultivator.

"Are you able to rise?"

Chu Ziyan inquired softly, tone kind.

The girl dipped her head unsteadily.

Aided by help, she rose. Her blade got fetched from the dirt and returned to her grip.

Shudders persisted-yet the shame in her look gradually shifted to astonishment.

Who could imagine a proud Heaven Sword Sect member enduring such disgrace within her home sect?

Bai Xueqing spared her no further glance.

Her eyes remained on the cluster.

Ice-hard and resolute.

There she lingered-quiet-a moment extended beyond need.

The yard contracted beneath her aura.

Then-

"Explain!"

The command dropped sharp as steel. Her tone made clear Bai Xueqing's rage.

Had it been some other cultivator, any lesser one-they'd scoff it away, brush it aside, or redirect their malice anew.

Yet this was Bai Xueqing.

Heiress of the Bai Clan.

The figure dubbed the Desolate Heaven Empire's top prodigy of the era.

Hubris knew bounds.

And should they risk it-did they possess the power to challenge Bai

Xueqing?

A cultivator gulped and edged ahead, plastering on a grin.

"Senior Sister Bai, this... this is-"

The speaker retreated a pace.

Then further.

"No slight meant, Senior Sister Bai," he blurted. "Just a mix-up!"

"Let's go," a voice hissed low.

Without pause, they bolted away.

They figured Bai Xueqing wouldn't violate sect codes as they did

-and truly, she held back from pursuit.

One after another, the bunch withdrew-heads down, gaits rigid, escaping the

yard like pursued by an invisible force.

Not one glanced rearward.

Once vanished, quiet settled.

Bai Xueqing breathed out deliberately.

Her digits clenched beside her.

"This place..." she murmured.

Chu Ziyan surveyed the deserted yard, face shadowed.

"...bears no resemblance to the Heaven Sword Sect we remember."

The hurt cultivator bent low in respect, tears streaming at last.

"Thank you, Senior Sisters..."

Bai Xueqing pivoted, jaw set tight.

Chu Ziyan observed Bai Xueqing's tense jaw briefly, then released a faint

sigh tinged with wry humor.

"How did things turn this way?"

Bai Xueqing sounded inevitably forlorn.

"Well," Chu Ziyan replied casually, flicking grime from her robes, "doesn't your family share blame for driving these folks to such frenzy?"

Her words carried a playful edge, yet held undeniable fact.

Bai Xueqing halted.

Silence held her briefly.

She recognized Chu Ziyan's point.

Truthfully... It struck too true. The Bai Clan bore no direct guilt, but their moves hastened the decline.

She puzzled over it too-her father, her brother.

Distributing that cultivation method freely, with scant restrictions.

A motive existed, she was certain.

Bai Zihan never moved without purpose. Yet grasping that offered scant relief.

Particularly amid such firsthand horrors.

Bai Xueqing released a measured exhale.

As they pressed on across sect territories, the air thickened rather than eased.

Murmurs trailed in their wake.

Gazes flicked off too hastily.

Watchers abounded excessively.

Then-

A vast throng blocked their path, larger than the prior one.

Bai Xueqing halted abruptly.

Her lid flickered. "...Again?" she grumbled.

She raised a palm to her brow, massaging gently.

"For heaven's sake," she groaned. "Who's the victim now?"

Chu Ziyan's grin vanished.

"This disturbance feels... grander."

Bai Xueqing hastened her stride, acceptance settling in.

More harassment, she figured.

Yet nearing revealed her pace faltering.

Her forehead creased.

No harsh cackles sounded.

No taunting barbs flew.

Rather-

Astoundment.

Bewilderment.

And dread.

The assembly forward didn't press in.

They retreated.

Clearing room.

Amid the uproar, a handful of cultivators stood petrified, countenances ashen, looks rigid like souls stolen. The masses parted instinctively for Bai Xueqing's approach, even as the thick press kept

her from a clear view yet.

"What's causing this uproar?" Bai Xueqing had to inquire.

The nearby cultivator wouldn't ignore her. "Senior Sister Bai," he rushed, "Young Master Bai has arrived!"

Bai Xueqing's and Chu Ziyan's eyes bulged in shock. "What is this fool up to here?"