Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 683 The Four Empires' Shameless Accusation

Even though they had been the ones who dispatched their armies...

The very ones who had attempted to wipe out the Bai Clan.

Now that everything had failed so spectacularly, instead of apologizing, they shamelessly blamed the Bai Clan for annihilating their forces.

Well, It was bizarre.

It was shameless.

But they had no choice.

They had already sacrificed so much and yet achieved nothing.

How could they simply sit around and do nothing?

Their reputations had already suffered greatly for secretly carrying out such an underhanded operation, and now they had also suffered catastrophic losses.

Naturally, they needed someone else to shoulder the blame.

The excuse they came up with was actually quite clever this time.

They claimed that they had only dispatched their forces to assist the Desolate Heaven Empire in eliminating a hidden threat.

According to them, the Bai Clan was suspected of practicing Demonic Cultivation, citing the clan's absurdly rapid rise in strength as evidence.

They also said that everything had been Yu Zidi's plan and that they only decided to help because they can't let such a threat go unattended.

Therefore, for the safety of both the Desolate Heaven Empire and the entire Eastern Region, they had supposedly agreed to help eliminate this hidden danger.

Unfortunately, they had been deceived by Yu Zidi.

The four empires unanimously expressed their "deep disappointment" toward the late prince.

According to their statements, Yu Zidi had fabricated evidence and manipulated everyone into believing that the Bai Clan had fallen onto the Demonic Path.

As a result, they had been misled into making the wrong decision.

The final portion of every statement maintained an unwaveringly righteous tone.

As for why they were saying that Yu Zidi deceived them and not saying that the Bai Clan were really Demonic Cultivators is because it is quite easy to prove.

The Bai Clan can simply have their bodies be checked thoroughly by others and prove those words false.

So instead of clinging to such weak arguments, they could say that they were deceived to make them think that it was the truth.

So they want to pin all the blame on the dead man, Yu Zidi.

Although the operation had failed because of Yu Zidi's deception, the four empires insisted that everything they had done had been for the greater good of the Eastern Region.

They had merely wished to protect countless innocent lives.

Now that the misunderstanding had been exposed, they demanded that the Desolate Heaven Empire provide a proper explanation for the deaths of their delegations and armies.

Although they say that they were deceived, they still dared to demand an explanation and also asked to greatly punish the Bai Clan for going too far.

***

Inside the Imperial Palace, Yu Feiyan read the reports before her.

She almost burst into laughter.

"They actually managed to come up with something like this? Do they think we're five-year-old children who don't know anything?"

They had invaded another empire and attempted to destroy one of its greatest clans.

Yet after suffering defeat, they somehow transformed themselves into the victims.

Not only that, they even portrayed themselves as righteous heroes who had selflessly tried to save the Desolate Heaven Empire.

As for everything that had gone wrong, it had supposedly all been Yu Zidi's fault.

Every crime had conveniently been pinned onto a dead man while they desperately tried to preserve their image as righteous cultivators.

Yu Feiyan shook her head in disbelief.

"Their skin is truly thicker than city walls."

Beside her, Qin Lingxiao merely glanced at the reports before calmly placing them back onto the table.

Unlike Yu Feiyan, her expression did not change in the slightest.

It is nothing more than politics which she has seen countless times before.

Turning black into white and white into black.

Even something as heinous as invading another empire to destroy one of its greatest clans can be described as protecting everyone.

Yu Feiyan looked up from the report before turning toward Qin Lingxiao.

"Master, what shall we do?"

Although she now sat upon the imperial throne, she understood her position very well.

She was the Empress.

But Qin Lingxiao was the one making the important decisions.

Qin Lingxiao didn't even pause to think.

"Ignore them."

Her answer was simple.

"There is no value in entertaining such ridiculous accusations. They are merely trying to preserve what little dignity they have left."

She slowly looked out of the palace window.

That, however, was only part of the reason.

The greater reason… was the Bai Clan.

Every accusation the four empires had fabricated ultimately targeted the Bai Clan.

If she chose to cooperate with their investigation, or even appeared to support their claims, the fragile balance they had established would immediately collapse.

The Bai Clan had not interfered with Yu Feiyan's ascension to the throne.

That alone was already the best possible outcome.

There was absolutely no need to provoke them.

Qin Lingxiao understood this point very clearly.

Her current objective had never been to suppress the Bai Clan.

It was to locate the True God's Legacy.

As long as Bai Zihan did not interfere with that objective, there was no benefit in becoming his enemy.

Moreover, those four empires had openly supported Yu Zidi during the struggle for the throne.

They had attempted to place Yu Feiyan in a hopeless situation.

Now that they had failed, they somehow expected the new Empress to stand on their side.

Qin Lingxiao found the idea rather amusing.

"Who gave them the confidence to believe we would help them?"

Indeed! Those people truly had no shame.

Qin Lingxiao casually set the reports aside.

"Enough. There are more important matters."

Her expression became serious.

"The search."

Yu Feiyan immediately understood.

She nodded.

"The latest reports have already arrived."

She handed over another stack of jade slips.

Qin Lingxiao scanned through them one after another.

Every report contained the same conclusion.

Nothing unusual had been discovered.

No mysterious ruins.

No hidden realms.

No abnormal spiritual fluctuations.

Every region of the Desolate Heaven Empire was being searched thoroughly.

Yet there was still no clue regarding the True God's Legacy.

Qin Lingxiao wasn't discouraged.

If it had been so easy to discover, it would have already been found long ago.

"We simply continue searching. Eventually..."

"We will find something."

Yu Feiyan nodded.

"I understand."

She then opened another report.

"As for the matter of investigating the Li and Zhao Clan."

Qin Lingxiao raised an eyebrow.

"We've had people quietly investigate the matter. We've been trying to determine how the Li Clan and Zhao Clan suddenly sided with the Bai Clan."

She paused briefly before shaking her head.

"Unfortunately, we still haven't found anything. No one knows why the two clans suddenly changed sides."

Qin Lingxiao narrowed her eyes slightly.

That was something she cared about.

The Li Clan and Zhao Clan had hated the Bai Clan for over a thousand years.

Hatred accumulated over such a long period could not simply disappear overnight.

Yet somehow, Bai Zihan had accomplished exactly that.

Not only had he reconciled with them…

He had even convinced them to betray Yu Zidi at the most crucial moment.

That was no ordinary achievement.

After a long silence, Qin Lingxiao slowly spoke.

"Continue investigating. I want to know exactly what Bai Zihan used to make two thousand years of hatred disappear."

"I also want to know what made two thousand-year-old enemies willingly stand beside him."

Yu Feiyan hesitated for a moment.

"Master. There is one more important report."

Qin Lingxiao's gaze immediately shifted toward her.

"Regarding the Bai Clan?"

Yu Feiyan nodded.

"Yes!"

The moment those words left her mouth, Qin Lingxiao's expression became noticeably more attentive.

Among all the forces within the Desolate Heaven Empire, only the Bai Clan truly warranted her caution.

Every move they made deserved careful attention.

"What happened?"

Yu Feiyan lowered her head to read the report once more.

"According to our spies, it seems the Bai Clan is preparing to make a big move."

Qin Lingxiao's eyes narrowed slightly.

"A move?"

The first possibility that crossed her mind was obvious.

"They're finally planning to act against us?"

Her voice remained calm, but countless thoughts flashed through her mind.

It made little sense.

If Bai Zihan truly intended to remove Yu Feiyan from the throne, why wait until now?

Only a few days had passed since Yu Feiyan ascended the throne.

During the battle itself, the Bai Clan had possessed countless opportunities.

With the Bai Clan's overwhelming strength and with the Li Clan and Zhao Clan standing beside them…

Preventing Yu Feiyan's ascension would have been effortless.

They could have simply declared their opposition or they could have eliminated Yu Feiyan altogether.

Yet Bai Zihan had done neither.

Instead, he had watched everything unfold without interfering.

Yu Feiyan gently shook her head.

"No. Our spies don't believe we're their target."

Qin Lingxiao raised an eyebrow.

"Then who?"

Yu Feiyan looked up from the intelligence report.

A strange expression appeared on her face.

"The Shen Clan!"