Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 457 Fear Appears in a Sect Leader's Eyes
Previously on Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan!...
Elder Han's expression grew grim.
"What exactly are you two up to?"
He demanded, his tone laced with clear annoyance.
In his view, the sight was unmistakable: two elders on their knees in front of Bai Zihan, spines bent low, chins tucked down, showing deep deference.
His eyebrows furrowed tightly.
"Have you gone insane?" Elder Han demanded sharply. "Why kneel before him like that?"
The pair of elders shook uncontrollably.
Their lips parted, yet words failed to emerge.
Pallor gripped their features, temples throbbing with prominent veins while perspiration cascaded like a downpour.
It seemed some unseen force had gripped their cores and squeezed without mercy.
"Enough with the games!" Elder Han bellowed, fury rising sharply. "Rise up! Seize him!" Yet-
Silence met his command.
Those on their knees struggled to raise their gazes, much less get to their feet.
A subtle wave of discomfort stirred within Elder Han's mind.
Yet he dismissed it without delay.
"Hmph! Pathetic weaklings!"
His eyes shifted abruptly to the other elders, who remained rooted in place, stunned, with widened stares fixed on the unfolding drama.
"Why are you just gawking?" Elder Han yelled. "Subdue him! Immediately!"
The others paused merely a moment.
"Understood, Sect Leader!"
This time, they acted in unison-three elders advancing simultaneously, their presences flaring as they channeled their cultivation.
One among them huffed disdainfully while moving ahead.
"Whatever scheme you've pulled," he declared, tone cutting and scornful, "it won't affect us the same way."
Assurance shone in his gaze.
They positioned themselves loosely, creating a triangular enclosure around Bai Zihan, every movement deliberate, every inhalation steady.
Their presences swelled freely.
Qi surged fiercely along their meridians as they pushed their cultivation to its peak-no restraint, no doubt.
They closed in.
With caution and deliberation.
However, the instant they neared Bai Zihan-
The trio froze rigidly.
Shock contorted their expressions.
A piercing, compressive agony burst forth in their torsos.
"-PUFF!"
Crimson liquid erupted from one elder's lips as his vision blurred.
"ARGH!"
A second gripped his chest, nails clawing at his garments as though to rip away the torment.
Before a single one could get within striking distance-
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
The three dropped to their knees with heavy impacts, fracturing the floor beneath.
Their blades fell from numb fingers.
Their presences fragmented like brittle shards.
They failed to raise their heads.
They couldn't even cry out.
Not a hair on Bai Zihan's head had been disturbed.
The chamber fell into hush.
An oppressive, tomb-like quiet.
Bai Zihan remained composed, arms folded behind, attire undisturbed.
He surveyed the prostrate elders, scanning each in turn, before giving a gradual shake of his head.
All of them had practiced the Heavenly Mandate Assimilation Art.
Yet he held no blame toward them or their choices-after all, who could turn away from such an alluring method?
Precisely for that reason, one ought to avoid accepting treats from unknowns.
Who can say what's truly concealed within?
Elder Han's eyes contracted sharply.
Han Shenwu's breathing faltered.
They gaped at the spectacle ahead: five elders sprawled across the floor,
complexions drained, forms quivering as though teetering on death's edge.
Not merely one.
Not just two.
Five in total!
And Bai Zihan hadn't so much as stirred a muscle.
"What... what have you done...?"
Han Shenwu whispered hoarsely, incredulity seeping into his words.
He couldn't discern the technique employed.
No trace of spiritual energy.
No array patterns.
No relic stirring that he detected.
Simply-
Downfall!
Across the chamber, Kong Zhanghong-bound by Han Shenwu's subordinate-who had been rigid with tension near breaking point, at last released his breath.
His tight fists relaxed.
A subtle, wry grin formed on his mouth.
Naturally...
This is truly him.
Bai Zihan!
How could obscure figures like these elders possibly handle him?
A surge of ease flooded Kong Zhanghong's being.
Elder Han experienced the contrary.
Rage blazed in his core-but underneath lurked a chillier emotion.
Wariness.
His stare fixed on Bai Zihan, keen and searching.
No...
This lacks raw power.
It has to be a ruse.
A relic!
One that triggers solely upon nearing him.
That explained it all.
Otherwise, the events defied logic.
Elder Han drew in a steady breath, reining in his wrath.
He held his position.
Rather, he composed himself, his words emerging icy and commanding.
"Bai Zihan," he pronounced deliberately, "your deceptions cease now."
He smirked.
"Yield at once!"
"Should you drop to your knees and submit, I won't deal harshly with you."
The chamber hung in stillness.
Then-
Bai Zihan chuckled.
"Let me live?" he echoed, cocking his head a bit.
A faint arch formed in his eyes, brimming with derision.
"If fear grips you," Bai Zihan stated evenly, "then admit it outright."
"Even better-"
"Why not plead for mercy?"
The atmosphere in the chamber chilled noticeably.
Elder Han's features warped.
"You-!"
His jaws clenched with a grinding sound.
"That's your choice, then," he growled, tone deep and poisonous.
"I've pierced your petty illusion already."
He lifted his arm.
A crisp ring resounded as a blade leaped free of its scabbard, settling solidly into his hold.
Celestial glow raced down the edge, qi coalescing while Elder Han infused his cultivation fully.
"A close-range ploy," he scoffed. "So long as I keep my distance-"
"Let's see you fend this off."
He pulled the sword rearward, qi amassing with ferocity.
The atmosphere wailed.
From the far end of the chamber, Bai Zihan regarded him-and gave a shake of his head.
"I advise against it," Bai Zihan remarked casually.
The caution carried a serene note.
Bordering on indifference.
Elder Han's mouth twisted upward.
He interpreted it as dread.
As proof of his suspicions.
"Hmph!"
With a frosty snort, Elder Han prepared to unleash his strike.
Yet-
Before the assault could fully take shape-
Elder Han's form went rigid.
His eyes bulged.
A keen, choking torment erupted within his torso.
It was like an intangible grip had latched onto his heart.
"T-This-?!"
His blade quivered wildly.
(How?)
He had no clue-Bai Zihan stayed put, distant by several paces, showing no sign of action.
The sword qi scattered in the air, breaking into specks of radiance.
Elder Han lurched, blood welling in his mouth.
"PUFF!"
He coughed up a gush of scarlet, his complexion fading to white.
His legs gave way.
And for the initial occasion-
Terror emerged plainly in Elder Han's gaze.