Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 521 Until Nothing Is Left

Bai Zihan stayed silent at first.

Chong Sheng's statements hung in the atmosphere, thick with purpose.

Bai Zihan's eyes dipped down a touch.

Not fixated on Chong Sheng, but directed elsewhere.

The System's Rewards panel.

He gave it a quick glance.

(Still nothing?)

A subtle notion crossed his thoughts.

Evidently, slaying Chong Sheng was required to gain the System's recognition.

He raised his gaze once more toward Chong Sheng.

Chong Sheng kept on talking.

"...I can help you understand the Western Region in ways no one else can."

"...people like Qin Lingxiao don't act without layers of preparation-"

Bai Zihan paid attention with steady calm.

He refrained from disputing it.

Chong Sheng spoke truth.

A past Demonic Emperor.

A leader who dominated vast numbers of demonic cultivators.

A figure who towered at the Western Region's summit.

If anyone proved valuable against powers from such areas—it had to be him!

(He would be an asset.)

Bai Zihan conceded the point.

No refuting that fact.

Truthfully, his worth soared high, particularly versus Qin Lingxiao and fellow Western Region threats.

Yet Bai Zihan's stare hardened further.

(Still too dangerous!)

That lone idea sliced past all other considerations.

The System offered zero rewards even now, hinting Chong Sheng remained a peril.

Before, Bai Xueqing's triumph over Nie Fengzhuo had triggered rewards.

He deduced it stemmed from a potential loss harming the Bai Clan's status and sway.

Conversely, Nie Fengzhuo would have surged in power and clout.

Downing him likely counted as neutralizing a looming menace or lopping off Nie Fengzhuo's ally.

With no System rewards emerging this time, Bai Zihan interpreted it as

a warning of Chong Sheng's grave threat to himself.

Even should that judgment prove false, he refused to risk it.

Chong Sheng's strength doubled as his direst hazard.

Were he feeble—

Were he trivial—

Bai Zihan would have spared him without qualms, solely for intel.

But Chong Sheng wasn't mere vermin.

He embodied a dragon.

Ultimately...

Logic held no sway here.

Something primal ruled instead.

His frailty and dread.

Absent ironclad assurance of slaying Chong Sheng at will, he wouldn't have mirrored his handling of Lin Xuan.

Bai Zihan gradually lifted his head.

His eyes locked squarely on Chong Sheng.

"Sorry!"

One stark utterance.

Chong Sheng stiffened.

His thoughts blanked out momentarily.

He'd poured out every argument, every plea.

He felt sure Bai Zihan would see sparing him as superior.

Yet that lone word shattered all hopes.

"What?"

The query slipped out faintly.

His pupils contracted sharply.

"No-wait-"

He yearned to demonstrate his worth.

To affirm survival as the smart path.

But Bai Zihan struck without pause.

Not a shred of doubt lingered.

No further deliberation.

Icy gleam flashed from the sword.

Slash!

For an instant suspended in chill, moments halted.

Chong Sheng's eyes bulged wide.

Not terror, pure incredulity.

As though, right to the brink, acceptance eluded him.

A slender crimson streak etched his throat.

Then it parted.

His head tumbled free.

The torso lingered upright a heartbeat more before crashing down.

Thud!

The ex-Demonic Emperor—

Once the Western Region's pinnacle sovereign—perished once more.

Bai Zihan held his position.

His blade dipped low.

His face unaltered. Both paths spelled trouble—

Eliminate him and face Qin Lingxiao solo, or retain him and court future treachery.

Still, he picked the route with fewer pangs.

A soft gust swept past, bearing blood's sharp tang.

Suddenly, a subtle glow danced before Bai Zihan's vision.

The System display.

Now—

It stirred.

Bai Zihan grasped its meaning.

Rewards for Chong Sheng's demise arrived.

Bai Zihan's focus shifted subtly.

Fixing on the known panel.

[Unclaimed Rewards Available]

Killed the Reincarnator, Chong Sheng: [ Grandmaster Alchemist Knowledge]

Bai Zihan's gaze halted on the text.

His brows knit tight.

(...Alchemist?)

An odd look flickered in his eyes.

No thrill.

No triumph.

Only bewilderment.

Grandmaster!

Signifying Grade-7 or higher.

At such heights, one ranked among alchemy's elite pinnacles.

Even empire-wide in Desolate Heaven, he'd claim top spot.

Figures like that commanded veneration.

Hunted by myriad sects.

Bai Zihan knew this well.

The prize shone brightly.

Undeniably so.

But his eyes dulled faintly.

(...not what I need.)

There lay the snag.

Pills never lacked for him. The Mu Clan—

His maternal kin—backed him fully.

They might lack a Grade-7 alchemist presently, yet it scarcely mattered.

For his stage, Grade-5 elixirs sufficed amply.

Grade-6 ones filled his stores already.

Crucially, self-refining proved needless.

Why bother?

Others handled it gladly.

Time ranked dearest to him.

Wasting it on alchemy...

Rather than cultivating, grasping Dao, or bolstering might was folly.

Only rootless talents turned alchemist for resources.

Bai Zihan's stare dwelled on the boon.

A subtle discontent stirred faintly.

"Isn't this a bit useless?"

He whispered low, regret tinting his tone.

Against Chong Sheng's living potential, this felt lackluster.

Alive, greater gains beckoned.

The notion arose unbidden.

Vanishing swiftly after.

Bai Zihan shut his eyes momentarily.

Then breathed out measuredly.

No use dwelling so—

Or lamenting what's done.

He claimed the reward.

Instantly, vast data inundated his consciousness.

Recipes.

Techniques.

Flame mastery.

Decades of alchemy lore, distilled to a flash.

Bai Zihan's form stayed motionless.

Inside, his insight flipped utterly.

Novice to virtuoso.

Spectator to Grandmaster.

After several breaths, the torrent ebbed.

Bai Zihan lingered motionless.

His look remote.

Then it sharpened.

He'd gravely misjudged the System's Grandmaster tag.

Not mere Grade-7, but Grade-8, world supreme.

Even in Western Region lore, such masters drew utmost esteem.

Still, mere pill-crafting kept Bai Zihan from full awe.

(It's not entirely useless.)

Though personal refining held no appeal—

This lore held potent worth.

Armed thus, he could propel Mu Clan to dominate Desolate Heaven Empire's pill trade.

Beyond that—

"Fire control."

Grandmaster alchemy insight vastly honed his flame command.

And that prowess served battle too.

True, no exotic blaze beyond his Qi-born fire, hardly mighty.

Suitable for pills, yet yields lagged special flames.

Top-tier pills demanded superior flames for prime quality.

System Store stocked them, exorbitantly though.

Spiritual Flames, a step above mundane, cost 25,000 System Points.

Beast Flames and Earth Flames topped 70,000.

He grasped their combat boon alongside alchemy, yet balked at draining points now—with just 50,000 held.

Qi manipulation sharpened noticeably too.

After all, pill-forging demanded exact Qi wielding, inward and outward.

Thus, though he'd figured combat unchanged, power grew subtly.

Finer Qi use meant thriftier fights, sparing excess—Supreme Dao Bone already eased such worries.

Bai Zihan remained still, eyes tracing the System panel.

The first letdown ebbed away.

(It's not as useless as I thought.)

Bai Zihan raised his sight gradually.

It rested on the nearby corpse.

Chong Sheng!

Head detached from trunk.

Blood pooled steadily below.

Bai Zihan observed briefly.

Then faint Qi swirled in his hand.

A modest blaze sparked.

No rare fire.

Plain Qi-forged flame.

Sans delay, he flicked his hand.

The fire hurtled forth, striking Chong Sheng's remains.

Whoosh-

Blaze erupted wildly.

Garments ignited.

Flesh charred black.

Bones snapped in the inferno.

Bai Zihan stared unwavering.

Fixed on the pyre.

Despite System's death verdict—

Full faith evaded him.

Not facing this sort.

(A reincarnator...)

One who'd cheated doom before.

Who forbade a repeat?

No!

Bai Zihan barred every loophole.

Flames roared fiercer, his command flawless, devouring all.

Moments drifted soundlessly.

Fire's snap alone echoed.

Piece by piece—

Form crumbled.

Meat to cinders.

Skeleton to powder.

Till naught endured.

Just scant gray ash strewn about.

Bai Zihan watched seconds more, verifying Chong Sheng's total erasure.

Absolute surety attained, he withdrew his Qi.

Flames extinguished.

A gentle wind stirred, scattering ashes wide.

As if Chong Sheng never graced existence.

Bai Zihan pivoted and departed, content.