Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 497 Chong Sheng's Power

Quan Lingshu flushed deeply as Chong Sheng’s fingers coiled tightly around his throat.

He struggled with all his might.

A desperate surge of Qi erupted from within him.

Boom!

A powerful energy wave rippled outward when Quan Lingshu slammed his palm against Chong Sheng’s arm, seeking release.

Yet, Chong Sheng remained completely unmoved.

His hold was as rigid as iron.

Quan Lingshu’s heart plummeted.

(Impossible...)

Clenching his teeth, he pivoted his body and unleashed a hidden blade concealed in his sleeve straight at Chong Sheng’s ribs.

A savage strike.

Swift, calculated, and lethal.

However—

Before the steel could make contact—

Chong Sheng caught Quan Lingshu’s wrist with effortless grace.

Crack!

"AHHH!"

The bone fractured instantaneously.

The dagger escaped Quan Lingshu’s grasp and clattered across the floorboards.

Chong Sheng canted his head to the side.

"Is that all?"

His voice resonated with undeniable disappointment.

Panic flooded Quan Lingshu’s gaze.

Nevertheless, he refused to surrender.

(So long as breath remains in my lungs... there is still a chance!)

He suddenly spat a mouthful of blood at Chong Sheng’s countenance.

Concurrently, he channeled his Qi erratically, aiming a fierce kick at Chong Sheng’s knee.

A final, desperate act.

But even this—

Proved utterly futile.

Chong Sheng leaned his head aside, bypassing the blood spray with ease.

His expression then hardened with chilling intensity.

"You are becoming tedious."

Before Quan Lingshu could prepare himself—

Chong Sheng slammed him into the floor.

BOOM!

The ground fractured beneath the impact of Quan Lingshu’s body.

His vision began to cloud.

Before he could recover—

A heavy boot pressed down firmly onto his head.

THUD!

Quan Lingshu’s face was shoved into the cold, unforgiving floor.

Dust coated his tongue.

Chong Sheng loomed over him, his heel pinning the man down as if he were nothing more than a pest.

He gradually intensified the pressure.

"Haha... Honorable Clan Leader of the Quan Clan, how does the dirt taste?"

His tone carried a hint of mockery.

Quan Lingshu’s features contorted in sheer humiliation.

"You—!"

His retort was muffled by the hard ground.

"Hmm?"

Chong Sheng bore down harder.

Quan Lingshu’s teeth scraped agony into the stone surface.

"You used to relish watching others grovel before you, did you not?"

Chong Sheng remarked languidly.

"Consider this a debt repaid."

A tremor ran through Quan Lingshu’s entire frame.

The disgrace stung deeper than any physical ailment.

Nonetheless—

He bore it.

A realization dawned upon him.

(He is merely playing with me.)

Chong Sheng was clearly withholding his true strength.

Had he truly desired his end—

Quan Lingshu would have perished already.

Which meant—

(A window of opportunity remains. As long as I survive... I can find a way to escape.)

At that precise moment—

Rapid footsteps approached the study.

The doors swung open violently.

A group of Elders and clan subordinates rushed into the chamber.

"Clan Leader! Are you unharmed—"

The Elder’s cry died in his throat.

The group froze in unison.

Their eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

The scene that unfolded before them defied all reason.

Their mighty Clan Leader—

Prone on the floor like a lowly cur.

A young man stood over him, pinning his head down ruthlessly.

Total silence descended upon the hall.

Quan Lingshu’s face burned with a mix of relief and profound shame.

"What are you doing standing there?!"

He screamed hoarsely.

"Quickly, save me!"

Only then did the Elders recover from their paralysis.

They had come after realizing numerous guards had vanished from the compound.

Upon nearing the Clan Leader’s chambers, they had sensed no Qi, as if a concealment formation shrouded the area.

Yet, they had never envisioned their powerful leader suffering such abject ignominy.

Several immediately unsheathed their blades.

Qi surged throughout the room.

"Who goes there?!"

An Elder bellowed in rage.

"How dare you treat our Clan Leader in such a manner!"

The atmosphere became thick with killing intent.

Yet the youth at the center of the chaos remained perfectly serene.

Quan Lingshu gnashed his teeth.

"He is... Chong Sheng!"

The name tasted like venom on his tongue.

Silence reclaimed the room.

"Chong Sheng...?"

Many Elders fixed their gaze on the young man in disbelief.

Several had witnessed the incident months prior.

As they scrutinized him now—

Indeed!

The countenance was identical.

But the aura...

The aura was entirely transformed.

A terrifying, demonic Qi swirled around him like a dark tempest.

"You have the audacity to return after your narrow escape?"

"Do you truly believe you can infiltrate the Quan Clan alone and expect to survive?!"

"Release our Clan Leader, or prepare for immediate execution!"

Chong Sheng cast a slow, indifferent gaze toward them.

Then, he sighed softly.

He pressed his boot with increased weight onto Quan Lingshu’s cranium.

Crack!

Quan Lingshu groaned in agony.

Chong Sheng turned back to the gathered Elders.

A faint, chilling smirk graced his lips.

"Good!"

His eyes shimmered with a crimson hue.

"Now that everyone has assembled."

The demonic Qi intensified, roiling violently.

"Let us conclude everything tonight."

***

"Execute him!"

One of the Spirit Severing Elders shouted.

A storm of Qi ignited as over a dozen experts unleashed their attacks simultaneously.

Blades shimmered in the air.

Palm strikes shattered the atmosphere.

Talismans flared, transforming into streaks of ruinous light.

For any ordinary cultivator, such an onslaught ensured immediate demise.

Chong Sheng merely offered a slight smile.

Then—

He vanished.

Swish!

His figure dissolved into a mere wisp of shadow.

An Elder’s blade cleaved through the space where he had stood moments earlier.

It sliced through nothing but vacancy. "What happened?!"

Before the Elder could react, Chong Sheng manifested behind him like a specter.

A swift kick sent the man flying.

BOOM!

He shattered a stone pillar. "Watch your rear!" another Elder screamed.

Three Soul Formation experts launched a coordinated attack.

Their swords wove a fatal tapestry of steel.

Still, Chong Sheng twisted away like flowing mist.

His movements were otherworldly—shadow-like and completely erratic. He slipped through the lethal web with impossible precision.

It was as if he defied the very laws of movement.

Every stride he took seemed to blend into the darkness before he emerged elsewhere.

"Too lethargic!"

He struck an Elder directly in the chest.

Crack!

The victim vomited blood as he was sent recoiling into the distance.

Yet, the Quan Clan was far from weak.

Three Void Refinement experts—including Quan Lingshu—entered the fray. Their strikes were far more potent.

A colossal palm strike descended toward Chong Sheng’s location.

BOOM!

The floor disintegrated upon impact.

But Chong Sheng had already repositioned.

A Spirit Severing Elder unleashed a downward sword technique.

On this occasion—

The blade grazed Chong Sheng’s shoulder.

A spray of crimson stained the air.

Another strike connected with his ribs moments later.

Yet—

He didn’t flinch once.

It was as if physical trauma held no meaning to him.

Chong Sheng continued to glide across the battlefield, a shadow dancing amidst the fires.

It appeared his body was impervious to their desperate strikes.