Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 396 The Targeting of the Chu Clan

Slash!

Bai Zihan’s blade claimed the life of yet another Grade-9 Demonic Beast.

The number of high-level monsters he had slaughtered had become a blur, but his tally of System Points was rapidly approaching the 100,000 mark.

A wide grin stretched across his face.

With such a fortune, he could effortlessly purchase two Saint-Grade techniques from the shop.

However, he had no intention of stopping here.

He planned to keep harvesting points for as long as the opportunity remained.

Even when Li Zhenhe was struck down on their side of the fray, Bai Zihan didn’t bother to look back.

His focus remained solely on the systematic extermination of Grade-9 Demonic Beasts.

While the spirit of the army might have been wavering elsewhere, the cultivators near Bai Zihan couldn't imagine him ever suffering a defeat.

Initially, some had fretted that the tide of battle was turning in favor of the Demonic Cultivators and their beasts.

But Bai Zihan’s killing spree never faltered.

It was relentless!

He moved with such speed that fear had no chance to settle in—at least not within his immediate vicinity.

Slash! Slash!

Crimson blood sprayed through the air.

Carcasses piled up.

In this specific corner of the war, the feeling of hopelessness was non-existent.

***

In other sectors, the situation was the complete opposite.

Wild laughter rang out from the ranks of the Demonic Cultivators.

It was crazed.

Unchecked.

"Hahaha!"

"Did you witness that?! Every single one of you will share that fate!"

"To think these righteous cultivators were actually this pathetic!"

With the half-Qilin causing absolute havoc and several defensive lines crumbling, the Demonic Cultivators pressed their advantage with newfound bloodlust.

Their strikes grew more savage, their Demonic Qi surging like a dark ocean as they forced the Desolate Heaven Empire's legions to retreat.

Protective formations were smashed, and front lines began to buckle under the weight of the assault.

"Keep pushing!"

"Wipe them out before their help can arrive!"

Under this overwhelming might, the Desolate Heaven Empire was being shoved toward the edge of a total collapse.

Amidst this swirling chaos, a specific section of the battlefield drew a predatory gaze.

The Chu Clan!

A squad of high-level Demonic Cultivators had set their sights on them.

At the head of this group was Mo Tianji.

His eyes were frigid.

Calculating!

Merciless!

"So, this is the Chu Clan..."

A slow, wicked smile played on his lips.

He recognized them well.

More importantly—

He knew exactly who was hiding among their ranks.

"The woman engaged to Bai Zihan," Mo Tianji whispered, his eyes sparkling with hatred.

"Chu Ziyan!"

He signaled with a raised hand.

"Kill them all!"

The attack launched with an explosion of Demonic Qi.

The Chu Clan’s defensive arrays flared with desperate light, but the incoming pressure was staggering.

Demonic arts rained down like hailstones, piercing through barriers and shattering the clan's protective wards.

Mo Tianji joined the fray personally.

He became a blur, diving straight toward the core of the Chu Clan’s ranks.

"I’ve found you!"

He locked eyes with a young woman in elegant robes, who remained composed despite the surrounding carnage.

"You should feel honored," Mo Tianji remarked coldly, dark Qi swirling around his hand.

"Your demise will serve as Bai Zihan’s punishment."

He lunged with a lethal strike—a blow fast enough to end a Soul Formation expert in a heartbeat.

Yet, Chu Ziyan reacted.

Her gaze sharpened instantly.

Stepping forward, her hands moved with perfect grace as she formed complex seals.

BOOM!

Her counter-attack collided directly with his.

Violent shockwaves rippled through the air as righteous energy and Demonic Qi clashed in a fierce explosion.

Mo Tianji’s face twisted in surprise.

"What?"

Chu Ziyan did not give an inch.

She pressed the offensive immediately—her movements were like flowing water, her techniques precise and lethal.

Strike met strike.

Counter met counter.

She parried.

She attacked.

She advanced.

Mo Tianji was forced to take a step back.

Then another.

His eyes widened in sheer disbelief at what was happening.

Chu Ziyan’s expression remained icy and steady.

"Are you so terrified of Bai Zihan," she asked softly, "that you assumed I would be an easy target?"

Mo Tianji ground his teeth in frustration.

That had been precisely his logic.

He was well aware that he couldn't face Bai Zihan—the man was a freak of nature he preferred to avoid.

But vengeance didn't have to be a direct confrontation.

Striking at someone Bai Zihan held dear was the perfect alternative.

Bai Xueqing would have been his first choice, but she had already proven herself to be terrifyingly capable.

Thus, he chose Chu Ziyan.

Bai Zihan’s fiancée.

He had expected a quick victory.

After all, he considered himself the pinnacle of the younger generation, second only to Bai Zihan.

Or so he had convinced himself.

Who could have guessed that slaying Chu Ziyan would be such a struggle?

However, the surrounding battle was far from stable.

Even while Chu Ziyan kept Mo Tianji occupied, the rest of the Chu Clan was failing.

The previous dip in morale across the empire's forces had left them vulnerable.

Demonic Cultivators capitalized on this, butchering people without mercy and boxing the Chu Clan in.

Blood stained the remains of their broken formations as the enemy focused their spite on the clan members.

The weight of the assault grew unbearable.

Chu Ziyan noticed the shift at once.

Her heart sank as the familiar Qi signatures of her kin began to vanish one by one.

(If this continues... we will be wiped out.)

She desperately wanted to pull back.

She wanted to regroup and shore up their defenses.

But she was pinned down.

Mo Tianji stood before her, an immovable wall of dark intent.

Two years ago, she wouldn't have even dared to look him in the eye.

Back then, Mo Tianji was a figure far beyond her level.

But now—

She was holding her own against him.

And yet...

It wasn't enough to save her people.

If the stalemate lasted, the Chu Clan would be slowly dismantled until nothing was left.

Sensing her distraction, Mo Tianji gave a mocking sneer.

"Hah... worried about your family?"

His Demonic Qi flared with renewed violence as he lunged again.

"Don't fret. You'll be joining them in the afterlife shortly."

Chu Ziyan blocked the blow, her arms vibrating from the sheer force of the impact.

And then—

BOOM!

A suffocating pressure suddenly blanketed the area.

For a split second, the entire battlefield seemed to freeze.

Two massive bodies were tossed aside like discarded rubbish, hitting the earth with a bone-jarring thud.

Spirit Severing Realm Demonic Elders.

Slaughtered!

Their eyes remained wide, etched with a final look of pure shock.

Mo Tianji’s laughter vanished instantly.

His pupils constricted.

The sound of steady footsteps approached through the smoke.

A familiar silhouette walked through the carnage, his blade dripping with fresh demonic gore.

Bai Zihan!

(How is he here?)

The distance between the Bai and Chu Clan positions should have made an instant arrival impossible.

Then Mo Tianji noticed the path behind him—

A perfectly straight line of corpses stretching back into the distance.

Every Demonic Beast.

Every Demonic Cultivator in his way.

All dead.

Bai Zihan’s freezing gaze locked onto Mo Tianji.

The very air seemed to grow heavy and difficult to breathe.

"So," Bai Zihan spoke calmly, his voice ringing clearly over the din of war.

"What is a weakling like you doing over here?"

Mo Tianji’s entire body went rigid.

A chill of pure terror raced up his spine, overriding his anger.

(This monster...)

He forced himself to grit his teeth.

He couldn't back down now; he had to protect his pride.

Mo Tianji let out a roar as his Demonic Qi exploded.

"Bai Zihan! I will be the one to kill you today!"

The boast sounded hollow, even to his own ears.

Bai Zihan tilted his head slightly to the side.

Then, he smiled.

"Oh?"

"Then give it a try."

He came to a halt and deliberately sheathed his sword into his storage ring, leaving himself completely exposed.

"I'm standing right here. Do it."

A heavy silence followed.

Mo Tianji’s hands shook uncontrollably.

His legs were rooted to the spot, refusing to move.

(Kill him?)

Bai Zihan let out a soft, mocking laugh.

"Just as I thought."

He shook his head in disappointment.

"Big talk, but no spine."

Mo Tianji could do nothing but seethe in silent shame.

Bai Zihan began to walk forward slowly.

Several Demonic Cultivators threw themselves at him to block his path.

Slash! Slash!

Three heads were severed in an instant.

Their bodies hit the dirt.

Bai Zihan continued his advance, cutting a path directly toward Mo Tianji.

"You can try to run," he said casually.

"But I will catch you eventually."

Mo Tianji’s complexion turned a ghostly pale.

Meanwhile, the Chu Clan erupted in cheers.

"Bai Zihan has arrived!"

"Truly a worthy son-in-law for our clan!"

The despair that had gripped them vanished in a heartbeat.

With Bai Zihan standing there—

They knew they wouldn't fall.

Chu Clan elders began shouting commands, their formations tightening as their spirits soared.

In the center of it all, Chu Ziyan stood motionless, her eyes fixed on his back.

A massive wave of relief washed over her.

(He actually came...)

A faint warmth began to spread through her chest.

(So... he really does care about me.)

Suddenly—

"ENOUGH!"

A thunderous roar shook the very foundations of the battlefield.

A crushing, divine pressure descended from above.

The Demonic Cultivators scrambled out of the way in terror.

An ancient man stepped into view—withered and frail-looking, but with eyes that burned with a crimson light.

Great Ascension Realm!

A true titan of power. "Young brat," he commanded coldly.

"You have played your part long enough."

He raised his withered hand.

"I shall deal with you myself."

He lunged, and the space around him seemed to collapse under his power.

Bai Zihan drew his sword and met the attack.

CLANG!!!

The blade and the palm met with a deafening ring.

Shockwaves blasted outward, clearing the ground around them.

Both combatants were forced back by the impact.

The elder’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

(He actually parried my strike?)

"An Elder of the Great Ascension Realm," Bai Zihan noted nonchalantly.

"Finally, a decent challenge!"

He stepped forward once more.

"Let’s see if you actually have the strength to stop me."

The earth trembled beneath them.

As Bai Zihan traded hundreds of lightning-fast blows with the Great Ascension Realm Demonic Cultivator—

His expression suddenly shifted.

In the distance, the unmistakable aura of a Saint-Grade Artifact flared to life.

Bai Zihan’s eyes sharpened.

"It seems things are even more critical than I anticipated," Bai Zihan whispered to himself.

If Bai Ren had been pushed to reveal the Saint-Grade Sword, the situation elsewhere must be dire.

He tightened his hold on his hilt.

"I need to wrap this up quickly."