The Bai Clan elders watching from the sidelines instantly felt their hearts tighten.
“That’s… that’s at the level of a Nascent Soul cultivator’s attack!”
“Should we intervene?! If that strikes young master—”
“Wait!”
Grand Elder Bai Ren’s calm, authoritative voice cut through the panic. His expression remained serene, his arms folded behind his back.
“Watch closely.”
“But Grand Elder—”
“Trust in Bai Zihan. If something happens, I will take the responsibility!”
With the Grand Elder’s words, the elders had no choice but to stay where they were.
They also thought that with the Grand Elder there, if Bai Zihan were to be in real trouble, he could save him easily.
The Mei Clan, on the other hand, held a final hope that this attack could defeat Bai Zihan and turn things around.
Mo Yichen’s face twisted in fury and desperation as he swung his blazing sword down.
“Divine Annihilation Slash!”
The massive, radiant blade of energy tore through the air, crashing toward Bai Zihan with the power to obliterate anything in its path.
The sheer force of it sent violent gusts howling across the hall, the floor cracking, and the walls shuddering.
Bai Zihan’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t move to dodge. A better term would be that it was impossible to dodge an attack of that scale.
Rather than trying to attempt dodging which is set to fail, it was better to focus on defending.
As the blinding golden energy engulfed him—
Boom!
The impact was deafening, a massive shockwave tearing through the hall.
Dust and debris erupted everywhere, and the surrounding disciples were forced to shield their faces from the violent wind.
For a moment, everything was chaos.
When the dust settled, all eyes fell on the center of the devastation.
At the center of the devastation stood Bai Zihan, his figure still upright but far from unscathed.
His robes were torn, charred, and stained with fresh blood. Thin cuts crisscrossed his arms and shoulders, and a deeper gash stretched along his left side, bleeding freely.
A thin trail of blood ran down his forehead, trickling past his sharp, cold eyes.
Yet despite the injuries, his stance was steady—unwavering.
Bai Zihan’s lips twisted into a faint, almost amused smile.
“As expected of Heaven’s Chosen…” he muttered, wiping the blood from his forehead with the back of his hand.
“They always have a trump card to overturn any situation.”
His gaze drifted down to his chest, where a faint, silvery light shimmered briefly before fading—his Earth-Grade Armor, one of the reasons he was still standing without much trouble.
Even with his Golden Core Stage cultivation and his body refined by the Primordial Chaos Body technique, the sheer force of Mo Yichen’s Divine Annihilation Slash had nearly pushed him to his limit.
“If I hadn’t been at the Golden Core Stage…” Bai Zihan thought, his expression darkening slightly.
“I would have been in serious trouble.”
This is why you can never be too careful against the protagonist—they always have something that can easily turn the battle in their favor.
Even Mo Yichen, a mere one-star fate-grade Heaven’s Chosen, had such a devastating attack.
No need to think about what Lin Xuan and Bai Xinyue have in store as their final trump card.
His attention shifted to Mo Yichen, who stood a few dozen meters away, panting heavily.
The golden radiance around Mo Yichen was flickering, his once-majestic aura rapidly fading.
The Eternal Spirit Sword in his hand had dimmed, its divine light receding.
Mo Yichen’s face was pale, streaked with sweat.
His gray hair and withered appearance betrayed the severe cost of unleashing his sword’s full power.
But even in his current state, his eyes burned with stubborn defiance.
“You… you’re still standing…?”
Mo Yichen’s mouth hung open, his eyes wide with shock and horror.
“No… impossible…”
It was an attack that could even kill a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, not to mention Bai Zihan, who was at the Golden Core Stage.
He even gave up his life force in order to enhance it, leaving no way for Bai Zihan to defend against this attack.
He couldn’t believe that Bai Zihan was able to stand after taking a direct hit from his most powerful attack.
“I… I was supposed to…”
“You were supposed to what?” Bai Zihan stepped forward, looming over him. “Be the hero? Save the Mei Clan?”
Mo Yichen’s trembling fingers reached for his sword, but Bai Zihan’s foot came down on it, pinning it to the ground.
“You’re nothing,” Bai Zihan said, his voice cold and merciless.
“Just a fool who thought his luck made him invincible.”
Bai Zihan looked at Mo Yichen, his hair white and his face pale, with life hanging by a thread.
It seemed like he was really on his last breath, without any more trump cards.
“Without this sword, what are you even?”
Mo Yichen’s eyes widened, his face paling as the truth hit him like a crashing wave.
Moreover, Bai Zihan’s words seemed like he knew exactly how Mo Yichen rose to prominence.
Was Bai Zihan always after his Eternal Spirit Sword?
That was his first thought when Bai Zihan spoke those words.
But there was no way for him to know.
Because Bai Zihan’s cold gaze lingered on him, telling him that he wasn’t going to walk out of this alive.
Finally, Mo Yichen realized that his life was really in danger.
“You… You can’t!”
Mo Yichen’s voice cracked, his pale, withered face twisted with fear.
“I was supposed to rise! I was supposed to stand atop of everyone!”
He screamed, his voice filled with desperation.
“My life was finally turning around! I can’t die here! Not like this!”
Bai Zihan’s lips curled into a mocking smile.
Of course, his life was turning around, and with the usual trope, he might as well become one of the strongest in a few years.
But there was no way that he, Bai Zihan, would show mercy to his enemy, especially one who could make a comeback like Heaven’s Chosen.
“Please… I—”
“Please?”
Bai Zihan sneered.
“Begging now, are we? Where’s that arrogance? Didn’t you want to be a hero to save the Mei Clan?”
Mo Yichen’s breath came in panicked gasps, his thoughts racing. No, he couldn’t die here.
Not when he finally had a chance to stand at the peak, to become the strongest— he had survived so much, overcome so many obstacles—
But now, staring into Bai Zihan’s cold, unfeeling eyes, all those dreams seemed to crumble like dust.
“Please stop!”
A desperate voice cried out.
It was Mei Rulan, her face pale, her hands clasped together in a pleading gesture.
“Young Master Bai, Please… Please spare him! He’s already lost—”
“Rulan!”
A firm, rough voice cut through her plea.
Her father, Mei Yunhe, grabbed her arm, his expression cold and filled with fear.
“Silence, girl! Don’t make this worse.”
Mei Yunhe’s grip tightened, his voice a harsh whisper.
“We’ve already offended Bai Zihan. Do you want him to turn his sword on us next? We have no right to plead for Mo Yichen.”
“But—”
“There is no ’but’!”
Mei Yunhe’s eyes were filled with dread.
“Look around you. Mo Yichen lost. Next, it might be our turn. We have no power to plead for anyone, including ourselves.”
Mei Yunhe knew that the fate that awaited them would be no better than Mo Yichen’s.
Why uselessly plead for mercy for Mo Yichen when they were in no position to even save themselves?
Stopping Bai Zihan would be like digging their own graves. Even if he had considered showing mercy, offending him now would only make things worse.
Mei Yunhe shook his head, disappointment flickering in his eyes as he looked at his daughter.
If she had a shred of sense to think about the consequences of her actions, they wouldn’t be neck-deep in this shit to begin with.
Mei Rulan’s knees buckled, tears spilling over, but she dared not say another word.
She could only watch, helpless, as Bai Zihan’s blade hovered above Mo Yichen’s head.
Mo Yichen’s trembling grew violent, his voice now barely a whisper.
“No… please… I… I don’t want to die…”
Bai Zihan looked down at him, an amused glint in his cold eyes.
“Well, you should’ve thought about that before you arrogantly challenged me.”
“I… I—”
Mo Yichen’s heart pounded, his mind racing with regret. He thought he could be the hero.
Thought he could save the Mei Clan, impress the girl he liked, and defeat what he believed to be an arrogant young master.
He thought the world would play out just like always. Even if things got difficult, he would somehow turn it around and emerge victorious—
But no.
This was reality.
He lost his sword. He had no Qi left. His life force was barely holding him together.
Death seemed like the only outcome.
Bai Zihan’s gaze remained indifferent.
(Would something happen if I kill him?)
A fleeting thought crossed his mind. Heaven’s intervention? A curse? Some sort of backlash for killing a Heaven’s Chosen?
After all, Heaven’s Chosen were those who walked the path Heaven itself laid out. Killing one might be seen as defying fate itself.
What would happen if he killed a Heaven’s Chosen? Would the world shift? Would fate itself retaliate?
He didn’t know.
But he would find out.
Mo Yichen’s vision blurred, his body feeling like lead. He couldn’t even lift his hands to block the incoming strike.
Bai Zihan’s sword flashed—a silver arc cutting through the air.
Slash!
A perfect, merciless stroke.
Blood sprayed in an elegant, crimson arc, staining the already devastated floor.
Mo Yichen’s wide, desperate eyes seemed frozen for an instant—then the light in them faded.
Thud!
His body crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
The hall fell deathly silent.