Bai Xinyue gritted her teeth, fists clenched.
She wanted to yell at him. Hit him. Kick his smug face in.
But deep down… she wasn’t angry.
More than anything—she was relieved and confused.
Normally, it was well known that someone whose Dao Bone had been stripped would end up crippled.
She was supposed to be, too—but thanks to her powerful physique and monstrous recovery, she managed to overturn that fate.
Still, for the first few months, she had been practically a cripple—unable to properly cultivate.
But Bai Zihan?
How the hell did he prevent the loss of cultivation?
And on top of that, his injury—which should’ve been severe—was now almost non-existent.
Was it all just an act earlier?
But… how could that have been fake when it involved ripping out his Dao Bone?
Then again—this was Bai Zihan.
She felt foolish for even thinking, for even a second, that he was in real trouble.
“Next time,” she muttered, voice low and trembling with emotion, “next time you pull something like that, I won’t save you.”
Bai Zihan raised an eyebrow, still smirking.
“Oh? Didn’t know you cared.”
She glared at him like she was about to slap him into the ground.
“I don’t!”
“Sure you don’t,” he chuckled. “Your scream said otherwise.”
“You… do you have a death wish?”
Bai Xinyue snapped, but it was just to cover up her embarrassment.
Behind them, Zhao Yue staggered, blood on her lips as she looked around.
A moment ago, they held the advantage.
Now?
Everything was crumbling.
Their perfect plan was ruined.
They were the ones being hunted.
Should they still continue with the plan to capture Bai Zihan?
Was that even possible anymore?
If that earlier performance was all an act, then Bai Zihan wasn’t injured at all.
And if that was true…
Then they were being told to capture a monster who had survived against Gou You’s attack.
Could they do it?
Maybe!
But not with the other three helping him.
Now was the time to retreat.
Even without capturing Bai Zihan, the Li and Zhao Clans still had the upper hand overall in this war.
Eventually, the Bai Clan would fall.
There was no need for them to waste their lives here.
“Retreat!”
Zhao Yue commanded.
Li Xuan looked at Chu Ziyan with hatred but didn’t argue.
Taking the opportunity while Chu Ziyan was still worried about Bai Zihan, Li Xuan took off.
Chu Ziyan didn’t chase after him—not knowing whether Bai Zihan is acting or if he was truly fine.
Since the enemy was retreating, she didn’t think it was necessary to chase them down.
The same went for Bai Xueqing, who had let Zhao Yue escape.
Li Xuan and Zhao Yue felt relieved about that and knew they couldn’t afford to linger here.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to run away later.
Bai Zihan saw them preparing to retreat.
He smiled.
They had stepped into his domain, now it was time to show them some hospitality.
“Where are you going?”
Bai Zihan said, vanishing in a flash—appearing right in front of Li Xuan.
“Bai Zihan!”
Li Xuan was caught off guard by the speed—by how brazenly Bai Zihan had moved.
“What do you want!?”
He tried to sound confident. He even prepared to capture Bai Zihan right then.
He thought—this must be a god-given opportunity.
Bai Zihan tilted his head and spoke coldly:
“Don’t even try.”
Then he struck.
“Tsk!”
Li Xuan gritted his teeth and raised his weapon.
He had no choice but to fight.
CLANG!
Their weapons collided.
Li Xuan thought he had stopped the attack—
But no.
He’d stopped one.
Nine Shadows Flowing Light!
Multiple sword strikes descended at once.
Li Xuan’s eyes widened.
He could barely block the first one.
How the hell was he supposed to block the others?
Answer—he couldn’t.
Spurt!
Blood burst from his body as he was struck multiple times.
Bai Zihan didn’t aim to kill.
Not yet.
He specifically targeted his legs.
Crippling him.
Disabling him.
Li Xuan collapsed, barely able to move.
“You…”
He looked up with disbelief and hatred.
“One down. Next is…”
His eyes obviously went to Zhao Yue.
Whoosh!
Having fought hard and spent most of their Qi, their speed was no match for Bai Zihan’s.
Zhao Yue had run quite a bit, and even when she saw Li Xuan fall, she ran harder.
She wasn’t stupid enough to think she could rescue Li Xuan when she was already struggling to escape herself.
(Please chase someone else!)
Zhao Yue thought.
Initially, she had underestimated Bai Zihan.
His fame had been growing, but still—she assumed most of it was exaggeration, like rumors usually were.
Even when Zhao Clan members gave her reports and warned her about Bai Zihan, she didn’t take them seriously.
In her eyes, those juniors of hers—no matter how talented, including Zhao Chen—were still just children who didn’t understand how vast the world truly was.
She also believed the only reason Bai Zihan’s schemes had ever worked was because the people he fooled were idiots.
She was confident she would never fall for something like that.
But now?
Not only had she fallen into Bai Zihan’s trap—she realized just how terrifyingly powerful he actually was.
Li Xuan was nearly equal to her in strength, and yet he had been defeated almost instantly.
She wasn’t foolish enough to think the outcome would be any different for her.
And now that Bai Zihan had taken care of Li Xuan…
She knew he’d come after someone next.
She just desperately hoped—
It wouldn’t be her.
But luck was not on her side.
Almost immediately after defeating Li Xuan, Bai Zihan has set his eyes on her and chased after her.
“Damn it!”
Zhao Yue cursed.
She sped up but it was almost useless.
Bai Zihan caught up to her almost immediately.
“Lady, why are you in such a hurry? Why don’t you chat a bit with this young master?”
Bai Zihan teased.
“Tsk! Bai Zihan, don’t underestimate me. You must’ve used quite a bit of Qi to defeat Li Xuan and then catch up.”
Zhao Yue yelled angrily.
She suddenly spun mid-air, fan snapping open with a sharp snap! as she poured almost all her remaining Qi into it.
“Whispering Tempest Blades!”
WHOOOOOOOSH!!!
A storm of wind blades howled through the sky, spinning into a massive vortex behind her—dozens of razor-thin blades hidden within, invisible to the naked eye, moving at blinding speed.
A technique meant to shred pursuers apart. Even a Soul Formation cultivator would hesitate.
It was her last card.
Even if this didn’t defeat Bai Zihan as long as she could slow him down, even for a moment, she might still have a chance of escape.
The storm screamed as it swallowed Bai Zihan whole—
RIIIIIIP—!
Dozens of wind blades slashed through the air, striking him head-on.
Zhao Yue’s eyes lit up with confidence as she saw him walk straight into the center of her technique without a single defensive stance.
No barrier? No defensive art?
He wasn’t even trying to dodge?
“Hah! Arrogant fool,” she muttered, laughter bubbling from her lips. “You brought this on yourself!”
She could already picture his shredded body falling to the ground.
But then—
The storm faded.
And from within the dying whirlwind—
He walked out.
Unharmed.
Just casually brushing torn cloth from his shoulders.
His upper robe was in tatters, but his skin?
Not even a scratch.
Zhao Yue’s heart nearly stopped.
“What…”
She couldn’t believe her eyes.
He walked through one of her strongest technique like it was nothing.
“Thanks. It’s been hot lately anyway.”
Bai Zihan said, brushing dust off his chest.
Zhao Yue’s jaw dropped.
“Y-You… you monster! Freak!”
Her voice cracked as she tried to fly faster—but it was hopeless.
In a flash—
Bai Zihan was already behind her.
She turned to unleash another technique—
Too late!
With one smooth motion, he grabbed her wrist, twisted, and pressed her back down toward the ground like she weighed nothing.
She slammed into the dirt with a thud!, the wind knocked out of her lungs.
“Zhao Yue—captured.”
He said casually.
“Let me go, you bastard!”
She shrieked, struggling beneath his grip.
Bai Zihan leaned in with a lazy grin.
“You stop struggling or I make you.”
Zhao Yue looked at Li Xuan, whose limbs were broken. She knew Bai Zihan wasn’t kidding when he threatened her.
She’d heard about Bai Zihan’s reputation—how people once laughed off his threats, thinking he was bluffing but it has come be.
So, she knew better than to go against Bai Zihan.
Bai Zihan glanced back at Li Xuan, still on the ground groaning.
“Two down.”
He muttered, eyes sweeping over the battlefield.
As for the rest of those who tried to capture him?
They had already run far.
He wanted to capture the five Soul Formation cultivators who fought against Bai Xinyue…
But that seemed difficult now.
Besides, the others’ value wasn’t nearly as high as Li Xuan and Zhao Yue.
He thought he ought to be satisfied with just capturing them.