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

The Desolate Heaven Empire was in turmoil.

Not quite—

It was seething.

Right as everyone assumed the Bai Clan was invincible and no one else

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

A High Earth-Grade cultivation technique—

Bestowed upon recruits into their fold, exactly as the Bai Clan had done.

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

"What? The Li-Zhao Alliance as well?"

"They're providing a High Earth-Grade Cultivation Technique?" "It's no longer exclusive to the Bai Clan..."

"I 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 many years, an unimaginable event unfolded.

Two mighty forces—

Tossing forth their most prized assets to gather supporters.

It was sheer insanity.

It was pure desperation.

And it signaled war—

Though not yet waged with swords.

***

A wave of thrill surged across the Desolate Heaven Empire like an incoming flood. For the first time—

In the midst of fierce ambitions, deep-seated grudges, and bitter feuds among Great Powers—

The true winners weren't the major clans.

It was them.

The numerous small clans.

The rogue cultivators.

The lineages that had forever hovered on the brink of insignificance.

Gaining a High Earth-Grade cultivation technique merely by aligning with an alliance—

Such a prospect had seemed impossible mere days before.

"Back then, we'd have knelt for ages just to catch a peek at a technique like that."

"And here they are, giving it away freely?"

Chuckles rang out in the inns.

Gazes sparkled with raw avarice.

To countless individuals, 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 providing even greater rewards?

Wouldn't they perhaps include extras like Grade-6 pills?

Yet others refused to hold back.

Chances such as this arrived only once.

Delaying and letting it slip could mean eternal regret.

Thus, for a High Earth-Grade cultivation technique, pledging their whole clan to a greater power became worthwhile.

Since the Li-Zhao Alliance matched the cultivation technique offer, plenty figured the balance would shift toward them—

Or at minimum, even things out.

To even the scales.

However, things turned out differently.

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

Quite a few, actually.

Sufficient to create a stir.

Sufficient to mimic a revival of their group.

Still, it paled beside the Bai Clan's achievements.

For a huge array of clans had pledged to the Bai Clan beforehand.

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

Why would they turn traitor?

Some harbored thankfulness.

Some nurtured devotion.

Others just recognized no gain in defecting now that they clutched what rivals still pursued.

Besides, the Bai Clan required just a single demand.

Loyalty.

No burdensome taxes.

No compelled deployments.

No harsh terms that sapped a clan bare.

On the flip side, details of the Li-Zhao Alliance's conditions spread rapidly.

For entry—

A clan must surrender twenty percent of all its assets.

Gold.

Spiritual herbs.

Artifacts.

And even graver—

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

Non-negotiable.

No waivers. "Fifty percent... What if it pulls us into an unwinnable fight?"

"Blast it! All I seek is the cultivation technique—better side with the Bai Clan!"

Although the two alliances presented identical cultivation techniques, their stipulations differed enormously.

Naturally, a shrewd observer might argue loyalty could demand more than 50%. The Bai Clan sought loyalty—yet its exact nature stayed vague.

It might entail full devotion.

Or much milder.

A devoted clan could offer all.

A half-hearted one might contribute just enough.

No exact figures were set.

Thus, even should Bai Clan loyalty someday call for over fifty percent of forces, it remained unknown until enforced.

In comparison—

The Li-Zhao Alliance's clear requirement of fifty percent already weighed heavy,

regardless of actual need.

Clans faced compulsion to obey, even amid their own crises.

Therefore, though certainty eluded which bargain truly excelled—

The Bai Clan's terms appeared vastly kinder to the majority, at least by what they heard.

Thus, as the Li-Zhao Alliance expanded—

The Bai Clan kept ballooning.

***

Nevertheless, numerous folks deemed this turn a defeat for the Bai Clan.

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

without doubt—the identical one the Bai Clan had first displayed.

Their supreme asset.

Now gripped by foes.

"Didn't the Bai Clan undermine itself?"

"They exposed far too much!"

"Li-Zhao erased their edge."

Voices like these filled the empire's avenues.

To bystanders, the picture seemed plain.

The Bai Clan forfeited uniqueness—

And along with it, their influence.

Plenty anticipated the Bai Clan would burst into rage.

To condemn Li and Zhao.

To strike back publicly.

Yet oddly—

The Bai Clan stayed mute.

And that very quietness highlighted another detail.

For the truly enraged ones—

Weren't the Bai Clan.

They were the clans already allied with them.

Once word broke that the Li-Zhao Alliance shared the same cultivation technique, fury detonated across the Bai Clan's growing

union.

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

"Who leaked this crap?!"

One clan after another unleashed profanities.

Members of the Bai Clan alliance raged—and suspected the betrayer lurked within their midst.

"We received that technique on faith!"

"To imagine betrayal like this—snatching it to deliver to Li and

Zhao?!"

"I vow, if I uncover the clan behind the leak, I'll eradicate them down to the last mutt!"

Rage flared fierce and untamed.

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

Others targeted the hidden betrayer—

The clan that had "turned" on the Bai Clan.

And some fumed for a baser, utterly self-serving cause.

Only days prior, they viewed themselves superior to all.

They aligned earliest.

They secured a High Earth-Grade cultivation technique scarce among peers.

They envisioned disciples leaping forward—

While enemies trailed far behind.

Now?

That edge faded fast.

"Curse it!"

"Right as our young ones began advancing!"

"Right as we planned to crush the rest!"

In their eyes, the Li-Zhao Alliance didn't simply duplicate a method—

They robbed their destiny.

"This goes beyond the Bai Clan now."

"This strikes at every one of us!"

Bitterness intensified.

For, admitted or not, one truth shone—

Their destinies linked to the Bai Clan.

And Li-Zhao's moves struck like a bold insult to their dignity.

Paradoxically, such wrath sparked an unforeseen effect.

Rather than fracturing the Bai Clan's union—

It forged common aims and mutual loathing for the Li-Zhao

Alliance.

The pioneer clans bonded firmer, fueled by collective indignation.

Should a traitor exist among them—

That traitor transcended foe of the Bai Clan alone.

They opposed all.

***

In the Bai Clan's assembly hall, the mood contrasted sharply with the frenzy engulfing

the empire.

Bai Zihan lingered at the window, arms folded behind him, eyes fixed on clouds floating past the lofty summits. Behind, parchments cluttered the desk—

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

He perused them.

And then—

He grinned.

A subtle twist of the mouth.

"So things have unfolded this way..." he whispered. In honesty, Bai Zihan hadn't entirely foreseen this result.

He'd braced for remorse. Even shaky allegiance upon learning the Li-Zhao

Alliance distributed the same cultivation technique.

But the animosity now aimed at the Li-Zhao Alliance—

It surpassed what he'd imagined.

He'd held low hopes for the coalition he'd formed.

They served as tools, mere strings pulled to disseminate the cultivation technique and bolster his position.

Who spread it—be it Bai Clan or Li-Zhao Alliance—had never been crucial.

If possible—

Having Li and Zhao aid the distribution suited him fine.

By this point, he figured most in the Li-Zhao Alliance had commenced

its practice.

Those clans' fates rested firmly in his control.

Should they turn hostile, he could coerce—or eliminate—them instantly.

For those in the Bai Clan's Alliance, the dynamic mirrored this. They posed no danger, though he found little need for them either.

But now...

Maybe greater utility awaited.

If he molded this bitterness—

Transformed it to unified intent—Then unveiling his scheme wouldn't be necessary.

He could spur those clans to charge the Li-Zhao Alliance of their own accord.

Bai Zihan's grin deepened, icy and content.

"That," he uttered softly,

"Would make for our perfect scenario!"