Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 426 Leaving The Northen Defense Line

Once the tent cleared out, Bai Zihan stayed stretched out on the bed, his eyelids drooping while his mind shifted inward.

A hush settled over him.

Gradually and meticulously, he probed his own form.

The findings stirred a hint of gravity within him too.

His meridians lay in disarray—shattered, burned, and stretched wide past their usual bounds.

His dantian hovered near breakdown, with Qi flowing slowly and erratically.

His very flesh carried marks of extreme strain, each muscle thread pulled way beyond its intended capacity.

In the clash against Mó Zun, he had driven himself far past all sense.

He'd unleashed Heaven's Mandate Reversal to compel his cultivation up to the Great Ascension Realm.

Afterward, aided by Feilian, he'd boosted it even to the Immortal Realm.

Such harm wouldn't have struck so deeply if he'd fled as Feilian urged.

Yet he hadn't—instead opting for Fate Severing Slash.

That one blow had nearly drained every scrap of Qi from his frame.

For a typical cultivator, such wild abandon would mean instant death.

Still, Bai Zihan endured.

Not through luck.

His physique stood far from average.

The Primordial Body Refinement Technique had shaped his body past normal barriers, hardening it repeatedly into something almost unbreakable.

And don't forget his Supreme Dao Bone.

Armed with these, Bai Zihan saw it plainly.

His state was dire. Yet it could be mended.

He wasn't genuinely ruined.

And should those strengths fail and true crippling occur, the System Store held plenty of fixes.

Pills surpassing Grade-8—near-mythical in the Desolate Heaven Empire—lay within reach, purchasable with his gathered System Points.

"Oh yes, I still haven't checked the System Rewards for killing Great Ascension Realm Demonic Elders."

He'd taken a break once the war wrapped up, and then Luo Qing's abduction news hit, leaving the prizes uncollected.

"System!"

[Unclaimed Rewards Available]

Killed Great Ascension Realm Cultivator: [100x Cultivation Speed Card (1 Day)]

Killed Great Ascension Realm Cultivator: [10,000 System Points]

The prizes matched expectations, nothing overly unique, yet they included key treasures—like the 100x Cultivation Speed Cards plus various 10x versions lasting longer, all hugely precious. Plus the System Points.

In total, the gains from this Beast Tide exceeded his wildest guesses.

"Three years..."

Armed with these assets, he believed a breakthrough to the Great Ascension Realm could come in three years at most.

Come that time, a rematch with Mó Zun would unfold far differently.

With intense effort, the Immortal Realm might even fall within grasp—though clearly no simple task.

Bai Zihan burned with resolve.

He'd make Mó Zün suffer for snatching Luo Qing—and wrench from him the reasons behind it, plus her location.

"Just you wait!"

Bai Zihan could have swiftly mended his wounds with a Grade-8 or superior healing pill, yet he held back.

Maintaining the facade demanded time, convincing all—foes included—that it was real.

He aimed to let his injuries recover on their own, and in that span, proper cultivation might prove tough.

That suited him fine.

In those days, his attention wouldn't fix solely on cultivation, but on something

much grander.

"It's time to handle all the foes."

He already pinpointed the biggest dangers to him—and those who'd attempted his life.

Right as his thoughts deepened—

"Zihan'er!"

Mu Yuelan stepped in.

***

The days ahead turned chaotic for Bai Zihan.

As soon as Mu Yuelan stepped into Bai Zihan's chamber and inspected his state up close, the control she'd imposed on herself crumbled anew.

Finding that Bai Zihan seemed utterly crippled, Mu Yuelan's feelings exploded in a rush.

Rage.

Terror.

And a crushing wave of remorse.

In her wrath, she lashed out at Bai Tianheng, the Grand Elders, and all who played a part

for letting Bai Zihan fall this low.

Bai Tianheng stayed mute.

He took the full brunt quietly, letting his wife unleash her fury on him.

He grasped that any words would only fuel her ire more.

Without Bai Zihan soothing her, she'd have carried on that way all day.

Even then, Bai Zihan now faced his overly affectionate mother, on the verge

of tears at every turn.

Guilt gnawed at him, mixed with a touch of dread.

Should she uncover the reality, she'd never forgive such deception lightly.

Given Bai Zihan's plight, the Bai Clan couldn't linger at the Northern

Defense lines.

The Beast Tide stood quelled.

Demonic Beasts had pulled back, their head slain, with no hints of massive stirrings ahead.

The Demonic Cultivators had taken brutal hits too, and sans the beasts, they melted away unseen.

To the Desolate Heaven Empire, the threat had ended.

Sure, watch posts lingered in the area for safety, but the endless carnage had ceased.

Typically, the Bai Clan would keep top troops at the frontier a bit longer, to guard against surprises.

But with Bai Zihan gravely wounded—crippled, outwardly at least—focuses changed.

The Bai Clan acted swiftly.

Key Bai Clan figures started readying a return to their homeland, guarding Bai Zihan every step.

The Grand Elders opted to journey back with them.

Bai Zihan's vulnerability invited enemy attacks.

They vowed to shield him clear across the path to Bai Clan lands.

Of course, notice had to go to the overseer.

Bai Tianheng sought out Minister Xiu Yucheng to announce their exit.

Minister Xiu Yucheng offered no resistance.

He could infer the cause without explanation.

Word of Bai Zihan's crippling wounds had already spread.

Thus he recognized this as a grave issue for the Bai Clan, one that would pull them away regardless.

Besides, the Bai Clan wasn't pulling everyone out.

Some stayed, though their mightiest—like the Grand Elders—departed.

The Bai Clan had given beyond measure.

Their role stood undeniable.

They'd faced the Beast Tide's savage assaults head-on.

They'd cut down most Demonic Elders. They'd held crumbling fronts when others broke.

And they'd felled the half-Qilin—the Desolate Heaven Empire's top peril.

Without the Bai Clan, the toll would have soared catastrophically.

Minister Xiu voiced his thanks directly.

He promised that after war's cleanup, the Empire would bestow lavish honors on the Bai Clan.

Particularly for the half-Qilin.

Such a prime Demonic Beast was a mobile trove of riches.

Just its demonic core made an elite material for forging or cultivation boosts.

Its skin could craft armor tough as iron. Its skeleton and antlers suited top weapons and tools.

And its blood—

That held unmatched worth.

Qilin blood brimmed with vital force and cleansing power, sought by pill makers and body forgers everywhere.

Since Bai Ren led the kill, Minister Xiu stressed that most of the half-Qilin's parts would go to him—and thus the Bai Clan.

With rites wrapped, the Bai Clan's vessels lifted off. Aerial craft sliced the heavens, arrays firm and orderly, ferrying Bai Zihan to the Bai Clan's core domain.

Aboard one vessel, Bai Zihan rested still, eyes shut, his presence faint and wavering—to outward eyes.

To others, he was a genius brought low.

To rivals, a threat diminished.

To the Bai Clan, a charge to defend fiercely.

And to Bai Zihan—

This was just the quiet before a massive upheaval. A storm loomed over the Desolate Heaven Empire!