Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 458 Aren't You Glad to Be Useful?
Previously on Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan!...
Elder Han's sight blurred uncontrollably.
His frame wouldn't heed his commands.
Regardless of how hard he pushed his qi through his meridians or how urgently he willed his arms and legs to act, there was zero reaction.
It seemed like his cultivation base had been cut off from his physical form.
As though his very body had become a stranger to him.
His legs quivered wildly, muscles twitching beyond his control. The blade tumbled from his lifeless grip and rang out sharply as it hit the rocky ground. Clang!
That noise boomed much louder in Elder Han's ears than expected.
Terror rushed in.
This sensation-
It resembled what those other elders had gone through.
A sudden insight hit him like a thunderbolt.
That's why they collapsed.
Icy perspiration soaked Elder Han's spine.
He attempted to shout, to bellow, to react in any way-
Yet even his breathing emerged rough and feeble.
His gaze rose unsteadily to meet Bai Zihan's.
Perplexity warped his expression.
Dread!
And an emotion nearer to incredulity.
"What... did you do...?"
Elder Han croaked, his tone rough and nearly shattered.
He gazed intently, probing for answers.
No array visible.
No charm present.
No surge of qi detectable.
Nothing at all.
To this day, he remained clueless about what had afflicted him.
Or the moment it started.
Bai Zihan regarded him.
Then-
He chuckled.
A light, entertained chuckle, like observing a kid wrestling with a riddle too advanced for him.
"Haha..."
Gradually, Bai Zihan started advancing.
One pace.
Followed by the next.
His steps moved leisurely, composed-each striking the stone surface with distinct clarity.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
"Cultivators at Great Ascension are truly exceptional. You're still able to speak!"
Bai Zihan remarked softly.
In truth, he felt quite pleased and astonished by his initial trial.
Even though he was aware it would succeed, a written account differed vastly from witnessing it firsthand.
He could verify now that it affected Great Ascension Realm experts too.
Those at Immortal Realm or higher might withstand it more effectively.
Still, this was without any real exertion-once he applied himself, not even Immortals practicing the Heavenly Mandate Assimilation Art could evade his grasp.
Bai Zihan halted directly before Elder Han.
He peered downward.
Then-
He advanced.
Crack!
His boot's underside ground solidly into Elder Han's torso, slamming him back onto the chill stone surface.
The force lacked intensity, but Elder Han sensed a colossal peak crashing onto him. His bones howled in protest, air exploding from his chest in a choked
gasp.
Bai Zihan bent forward a bit, adding just sufficient pressure to render the shame crystal clear.
"So this is the fellow scheming to extort the Bai Clan," Bai Zihan observed
reflectively.
He angled his head, inspecting Elder Han from overhead, like scrutinizing an intriguing
bug.
"Tsk... I truly misjudged your capabilities!"
Elder Han's eyes flared crimson with fury and alarm, blood vessels throbbing as he thrashed futilely under Bai Zihan's sole.
"You rose to become Sect Leader," Bai Zihan went on steadily,
"seized influence and command..."
His boot bore down with added force.
"Yet rather than embracing satisfaction, you chose to stake your existence on
avarice?"
He offered a subtle grin.
"Quite the diligent fool."
The phrases cut like blades.
Elder Han yearned to yell.
To swear.
But only a raspy, fractured rasp emerged.
Right then-
"STOP!"
Han Shenwu's cry pierced the air, edged with desperation.
Bai Zihan's boot halted.
Han Shenwu froze in place, blade shaking in his hold, one limb locked firmly
around Kong Zhanhong's throat.
The edge hugged near enough for a slender trail of crimson to seep along Kong
Zhanhong's flesh.
"Move one more inch," Han Shenwu bellowed, gaze injected with blood, "and I'll end him!"
Han Shenwu's torso rose and fell rapidly.
"Reverse whatever curse you've cast on my father!" he thundered. "Immediately! Or I vow-!"
Bai Zihan swiveled his head.
He eyed Han Shenwu.
A single look.
That's all.
No murderous aura.
Still-
In that split second, Han Shenwu's eyes contracted to tiny points.
An overwhelming force descended like celestial retribution.
"-UGHH!"
His knees gave way abruptly.
Nearby-
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
All his followers met the identical doom.
Forms crashed to the floor successively, moans fading as awareness faded out.
Just one figure stayed upright.
Kong Zhanhong.
The sword dropped from Han Shenwu's grasp as he slumped senseless at Kong
Zhanhong's feet.
The chamber sank back into quiet.
Bai Zihan averted his gaze, completely indifferent.
He raised his boot off Elder Han's torso and pivoted around, like no disruption had occurred.
"Now, where did I leave off...?"
Bai Zihan murmured, brushing his jaw gently.
He advanced with deliberate slowness.
One step.
Then the next.
Coming to a halt by Elder Han again.
"Ah, yes," he remarked offhandedly. "I was pondering how to handle a moron."
He shot a look at Kong Zhanhong, gaze sparkling with mirth. "Kong Zhanhong," Bai Zihan queried teasingly, like chatting about the sky, "What
do you suggest?"
Kong Zhanhong had shifted position upon release and now positioned himself a pace
behind Bai Zihan-spine rigid, stance deferential, resembling a devoted servant reclaiming his proper spot.
He surveyed the sight ahead-the bowed elders, the toppled minions,
Elder Han sprawled like a wounded animal-and pondered deeply.
After a pause, Kong Zhanhong replied.
"For this insolence and disrespect to the Young Master, they deserve torment until death."
The statement landed flatly.
Elder Han's eyes widened in shock.
The nearby prostrated elders sensed chills erupt down their spines.
Slain?
They held elder status in the Heaven Sword Sect!
Mighty beings who once dictated fates with mere utterances!
Were they able, they'd have howled.
Could they stir, they'd have ranted.
Within their thoughts, wrath and shame surged fiercely.
(How dare one like him-!)
(Mind your tongue! Naturally you'd toss that out-you're no true member
of ours!)
(Aren't you part of the Heaven Sword Sect? Don't you feel any loyalty?)
Yet no noise broke free.
Kong Zhanhong pressed on, ignoring their stares.
"We could eliminate them right here," he stated evenly. "The fallout would
be minor even if word spreads, and a patsy can always take the blame."
His eyes darted momentarily to Elder Han.
"Should Young Master slay him, Tian Yuheng would reclaim the Sect Leader role. With the Heaven Sword Sect purified, retaliation becomes a non-issue."
That was plain enough.
It addressed the crisis swiftly with minimal hassle.
Yet Kong Zhanhong gave a faint head shake.
"Still," he added deliberately, "it would merely restore the prior state."
Bai Zihan tilted his head a touch.
"Go on," he urged.
Kong Zhanhong drew breath.
His gaze intensified.
"These figures," he noted, waving vaguely toward Elder Han and the rest,
"hold vital roles."
Sect Leader.
Elders.
Plus, ones relied upon by the Li-Zhao Alliance.
"Dispatching them proves simple," Kong Zhanhong proceeded. "But should Young Master dominate
them..."
A brief, suggestive silence.
"They'd prove invaluable against far tougher foes."
The target was evident.
The Li-Zhao Alliance.
Bai Zihan grinned.
Certainly, Kong Zhanhong-who oversaw the Black Lantern Society
and collected intel for him-had matured.
Commanding Elder Han, whom he could manipulate with ease, surpassed
Tian Yuheng, who, while a loose partner, never guaranteed full submission.
"Even so, wouldn't that demand too much effort?" Bai Zihan inquired. "We've got an infiltrator in
the Li-Zhao Alliance already. Why bother with these?"
(Infiltrators?)
Elder Han and the elders reeled in surprise.
Surely a spy or two existed-but Bai Zihan's words implied ranks rivaling theirs.
Meaning from the start, Bai Zihan had grasped most of their plots-particularly the bid to dethrone Tian Yuheng as Sect Leader.
Even as hopes of survival flickered, Bai Zihan uttered those lines.
Now, they staked everything on Kong Zhanhong devising a solid plea to save them. Kong Zhanhong showed no delay. "The greater the number, the stronger," he replied straightforwardly. Intel never came from one source alone.
...
Certain details one might grasp. Others another would reveal.
At times, the identical source might yield matching... or clashing reports.
Thus falsehoods got sifted-and he pinpointed what needed deeper checks.
This method had always served him, amassing the truest data
feasible for Bai Zihan.
"Extra spies offer no drawback," Kong Zhanhong wrapped up composedly. "Particularly at Elder Han's rank."
Elder Han's pulse hammered fiercely.
He'd never fathomed a lone phrase could seal his fate.
"Furthermore, their demise leaking out would surely rouse the Li-Zhao Alliance."
Bai Zihan brushed his jaw, gaze tightening in contemplation. Exactly! Elder Han amounted to a trivial nuisance-barely a blip
in the larger picture.
The true adversary was never the Heaven Sword Sect.
It remained the Li-Zhao Alliance.
Offing these folks fixed zilch-merely signaled to foes that disaster had struck.
Bai Zihan inclined his head gradually.
"Logical enough."
Euphoria-intense, head-spinning euphoria-washed over the elders.
Chill sweat drenched their garments as they latched onto that lone gesture like castaways seizing flotsam.
Bai Zihan's eyes wandered idly over them.
Then he smirked.
A smirk brimming with delight.
He moved ahead, palms linked at his rear, and gazed upon Elder
Han anew.
"Well," Bai Zihan noted breezily, "Aren't you thrilled to remain of value?"