Elder Han's vision swam.
His body refused to obey him.
No matter how fiercely he tried to circulate his qi-no matter how desperately he commanded his limbs to move-nothing responded.
It was as if his cultivation had been severed from his flesh.
As if his body no longer belonged to him.
His knees trembled violently, muscles spasming against his will. The sword slipped from his numbing fingers and clattered uselessly onto the stone floor. Clang!
That sound echoed far louder in Elder Han's ears than it should have.
Panic surged.
This feeling-
It looked like what those elders had experienced.
Realization struck him like a hamr.
So this is why they fell.
Cold sweat drenched Elder Han's back.
He tried to speak, to roar, to do sothing-
But even his breath ca out ragged and shallow.
His eyes lifted shakily toward Bai Zihan.
Confusion twisted his features.
Fear!
And sothing closer to disbelief.
"What... did you do...?"
Elder Han rasped, his voice hoarse, almost broken.
He stared desperately, searching.
No formation.
No talisman.
No fluctuation of qi.
Nothing.
Even now, he still couldn't tell what had happened to him.
Or when it had begun.
Bai Zihan looked at him.
Then-
He laughed.
Just an easy, amused laugh, as if he were watching a child struggle with a puzzle far beyond him.
"Haha..."
Slowly, Bai Zihan began to walk forward.
One step.
Then another.
His footsteps were unhurried, calm-each one landing clearly against the stone floor.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
"Great Ascension cultivators are indeed different. You can still talk!"
Bai Zihan muttered.
Actually, he was pretty satisfied and impressed with his first experint.
Although he knew it would work, reading a description and seeing it for real were two different things.
He could now also confirm that it worked on those in the Great Ascension Realm as well.
Those in the Immortal Realm and above might be able to resist better than this.
Though this was just him not putting in any effort-if he did, then even those Immortals who cultivated the Heavenly Mandate Assimilation Art wouldn't escape his claws.
Bai Zihan stopped right in front of Elder Han.
He looked down.
Then-
He stepped forward.
Crack!
The sole of his foot pressed firmly against Elder Han's chest, forcing him flat against the cold stone floor.
The impact wasn't heavy, yet Elder Han felt as if a mountain had descended upon him. His ribs scread, breath bursting from his lungs in a strangled
gasp.
Bai Zihan leaned down slightly, increasing his weight just enough to make the humiliation unmistakable.
"So this is the man who wanted to blackmail the Bai Clan," Bai Zihan said
thoughtfully.
He tilted his head, studying Elder Han from above, as if examining a curious
insect.
"Tsk... I really overestimated you!"
Elder Han's eyes burned red with rage and fear, veins bulging as he struggled uselessly beneath Bai Zihan's foot.
"You climbed to the position of Sect Leader," Bai Zihan continued calmly,
"gained power and authority..."
His foot pressed down a little harder.
"And instead of knowing contentnt, you decided to gamble your life on
greed?"
He smiled faintly.
"Impressive hard worker."
The words felt like knives.
Elder Han wanted to scream.
To curse.
But all that ca out was a hoarse, broken wheeze.
At that mont-
"STOP!"
Han Shenwu's voice rang out, sharp and panicked.
Bai Zihan's foot paused.
Han Shenwu stood rigid, sword trembling in his grip, one arm hooked tightly
around Kong Zhanhong's neck.
The blade pressed close enough that a thin line of blood trickled down Kong
Zhanhong's skin.
"Take another step," Han Shenwu shouted, eyes bloodshot, "and I'll kill him!"
Han Shenwu's chest heaved.
"Undo whatever you've done to my father!" he roared. "Now! Or I swear-!"
Bai Zihan turned his head.
He looked at Han Shenwu.
Just one glance.
Nothing more.
No killing intent.
Yet-
In that instant, Han Shenwu's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
A crushing pressure slamd down like divine judgnt.
"-UGHH!"
His legs buckled violently.
Around him-
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Every one of his lackeys suffered the sa fate.
Bodies hit the ground one after another, groans dying in their throats as consciousness slipped away.
Only one person remained standing.
Kong Zhanhong.
The blade fell from Han Shenwu's hand as he crumpled unconscious at Kong
Zhanhong's feet.
The hall returned to silence.
Bai Zihan looked away, utterly uninterested.
He lifted his foot from Elder Han's chest and turned back, as if nothing had
interrupted him.
"Now where was I...?"
Bai Zihan said, tapping his chin lightly.
He took a slow step forward.
Then another.
Stopping beside Elder Han once more.
"Right," he said casually. "I was thinking about how to deal with an idiot."
He glanced toward Kong Zhanhong, eyes glinting with amusent. "Kong Zhanhong," Bai Zihan asked playfully, as if discussing the weather, "What
do you recomnd?"
Kong Zhanhong had already moved after being freed and now stood a step
behind Bai Zihan-back straight, posture respectful, like a loyal retainer who had finally returned to his rightful place.
He looked at the scene before him-the kneeling elders, the collapsed lackeys,
Elder Han pinned to the floor like a dying beast-and fell into thought.
After a mont, Kong Zhanhong spoke.
"For such a display and lack of respect toward the Young Master, they should
be tortured to death."
The words fell plainly.
Elder Han's pupils constricted violently.
The elders kneeling nearby felt cold sweat explode across their backs.
Killed?
They were elders of the Heaven Sword Sect!
Supre figures who once decided life and death with a word!
If they could speak, they would have scread.
If they could move, they would have cursed.
Inside their minds, rage and humiliation boiled over.
(Soone like him dares-!)
(Watch your mouth! Of course you would casually say that-you are not one of
us!)
(Aren't you a disciple of the Heaven Sword Sect? Shouldn't you have so
compassion?)
But not a single sound escaped.
Kong Zhanhong continued, oblivious to their glares.
"We can deal with them here and now," he said calmly. "The consequences will
be insignificant even if everyone finds out, and we can always find a scapegoat."
His gaze flicked briefly to Elder Han.
"If Young Master kills him, Tian Yuheng will naturally return to the position of
Sect Leader. With the Heaven Sword Sect cleansed, there will be no need to
fear retaliation either." That much was obvious.
It was taking care of the imdiate problem with the least amount of trouble.
But Kong Zhanhong shook his head slightly.
"However," he said slowly, "that would only revert things to how they were
before."
Bai Zihan turned his head slightly.
"Continue," he said.
Kong Zhanhong inhaled.
Then his eyes sharpened.
"These people," he said, gesturing faintly at Elder Han and the other elders,
"occupy precious positions."
Sect Leader.
Elders.
Moreover, individuals trusted by the Li-Zhao Alliance.
"Killing them is easy," Kong Zhanhong continued. "But if Young Master controls
them instead..."
A faint, aningful pause.
"They could be extrely useful when dealing with much more difficult
opponents."
It was clear who he ant.
The Li-Zhao Alliance.
Bai Zihan smiled.
Indeed, Kong Zhanhong-who had been managing the Black Lantern Society
and gathering information for him-had grown.
Having Elder Han, whom he could control easily, would indeed be better than
Tian Yuheng, who, although sowhat an ally, could never offer one hundred percent obedience.
"Still, that is too much work, isn't it?" Bai Zihan asked. "We already have a spy in
the Li-Zhao Alliance. What's the need for these people?"
(Spies?)
Elder Han and the other elders were stunned.
Of course, there would be one or two spies-but from Bai Zihan's tone, it
seed their positions were as high as their own.
Which ant that from the beginning until now, Bai Zihan had already been aware of most of their sches-especially their attempt to overthrow Tian Yuheng as Sect Leader.
Just when they thought they might survive, Bai Zihan said such words.
Now, they pinned all their hopes on Kong Zhanhong to co up with a
convincing reason to spare their lives. Kong Zhanhong did not hesitate. "The more, the better," he said simply. Information was never gathered from a single mouth.
...
So things one person would know. Other things another would uncover.
Sotis, even the sa person would provide accounts that were similar... or contradictory.
That was how falsehoods were filtered out-and how he determined which
information required further verification.
This was how he had always worked, collecting the most accurate information
possible for Bai Zihan.
"Having more spies is never a disadvantage," Kong Zhanhong concluded calmly. "Especially when they sit at Elder Han's level." Elder Han's heart pounded violently.
He had never imagined that a single word would decide whether he lived or
died.
"Moreover, if news of their deaths spreads, it will definitely alert the Li-Zhao Alliance."
Bai Zihan tapped his chin lightly, eyes narrowing in thought. Indeed! Elder Han was nothing more than a minor inconvenience-insignificant
in the grand sche.
The real enemy had never been the Heaven Sword Sect.
It was the Li-Zhao Alliance.
Killing these people would solve nothing-only warn the enemy that sothing
had gone terribly wrong.
Bai Zihan nodded slowly.
"That makes sense."
Relief-sharp, dizzying relief-flooded through the elders.
Cold sweat soaked their robes as they clung to that single nod like drowning
n grasping driftwood.
Bai Zihan's gaze drifted lazily across them.
Then he smiled.
A smile filled with amusent.
He stepped forward, hands clasped behind his back, and looked down at Elder
Han once more.
"Well," Bai Zihan said lightly, "Aren't you all glad that you're still useful?"
User Comments
0 comments from readers