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Reborn Into a Doomed Villain Clan, I Realized Too Late My System Was in English (Web Novel) - Chapter 674: The Price of Temptation
Chapter 674: The Price of Temptation
This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl
"Good! Good!"Zhao Wutian’s face twisted with fury.
"The Li Clan has truly chosen to side with the Bai Clan!"
His voice boomed throughout the entire hall.
"If that’s your decision, then don’t blame the Zhao Clan for what comes next!"
At this point, Zhao Wutian no longer cared why the Li Clan had made such a choice.
Whether they had been threatened...
Bribed...
Or had simply lost their minds...
None of it mattered anymore.
The moment they chose to stand before Bai Zihan, they had become enemies of the Zhao Clan.
There was no middle ground.
No room for reconciliation.
Boom!
Without another word, Zhao Wutian waved his hand.
The Zhao Clan experts immediately charged forward.
Terrifying spiritual pressure swept across the hall.
The Earth Immortal Realm experts targeted Bai Ren.
Meanwhile, the remaining elders rushed directly toward the defensive line formed by the Li Clan.
Although they had hesitated earlier because of Li Jianhong’s shocking move, they were no longer willing to delay.
However, before either side could even clash—
Thud!
One Zhao Clan elder suddenly stumbled.
His face twisted violently.
He clutched his chest with both hands.
"W-What..."
Before he could finish speaking—
Thud!
Another elder collapsed.
Then another.
Then another.
Within only a few breaths, several Zhao Clan experts had fallen onto the floor.
Every one of them wore expressions of unbearable agony.
"Aaaaah!"
"My heart!"
"W-What’s happening?!"
"It hurts!"
Their miserable screams instantly echoed throughout the hall.
The charging Zhao Clan experts abruptly stopped in their tracks.
Confusion immediately replaced the killing intent on their faces.
"What happened?"
"They haven’t even attacked yet!"
"Why are they collapsing?"
The sudden scene looked eerily familiar to Li Clan.
Li Jianhong couldn’t help narrowing his eyes.
He immediately recognized those expressions.
They were exactly the same as they had been not long ago.
But just like before, he hadn’t seen Bai Zihan make any move, nor had he sensed any abnormality that could have caused such a thing.
At the same time, the other Li Clan members secretly felt a sense of satisfaction.
Now the Zhao Clan was experiencing the same despair they had gone through earlier.
Unlike the Li Clan, however, the Zhao Clan had always been considerably more cautious.
Although the Heavenly Mandate Assimilation Art possessed astonishing effects, not every Zhao Clan expert had immediately chosen to cultivate it.
Many had remained suspicious.
Others preferred waiting longer before making their decision.
As a result, only a little over half of the Zhao Clan experts present had cultivated the technique.
Compared to the Li Clan, the Zhao Clan had undoubtedly been much more vigilant.
Unfortunately, even they ultimately couldn’t resist the temptation of rapidly increasing their cultivation.
The Heavenly Mandate Assimilation Art was simply too attractive.
In the end, more than half of the Zhao Clan’s experts had still fallen for it.
Now, they were paying the price.
The remaining Zhao Clan experts instinctively retreated several steps.
None of them dared continue their charge.
Instead, they stared nervously at their companions rolling across the ground.
Fear gradually surfaced within their eyes.
No one knew what had happened.
No one saw Bai Zihan make a move.
Yet several elders had suddenly lost all ability to fight.
The unknown was always the most terrifying.
Several Zhao Clan elders immediately began checking the fallen cultivators.
Some inspected their meridians.
Others searched for poison.
A few even used their spiritual sense to probe every inch of their bodies.
The result was exactly the same as the Li Clan’s.
Nothing!
There wasn’t the slightest abnormality yet the elders continued screaming in unbearable agony.
The bizarre scene caused every remaining Zhao Clan expert to hesitate.
No one dared take another step forward.
Their cautious nature had completely taken over.
Until they understood exactly what had happened, none of them were willing to risk becoming the next person writhing on the ground.
Zhao Wutian’s expression darkened to the extreme.
His gaze swept across the elders writhing on the ground before finally settling on Bai Zihan.
"What did you do?"
Then his eyes shifted toward the Li Clan.
He noticed their expressions.
There was no surprise, only sympathy.
Some elders even subconsciously revealed bitter smiles.
It was the expression of someone who had experienced the exact same nightmare.
In that instant, everything connected.
Zhao Wutian’s pupils shrank.
"So that’s it..."
He finally understood.
He finally understood why the Li Clan had surrendered.
It wasn’t because they lacked backbone nor because they feared the Bai Clan’s strength.
It was because they had experienced the same mysterious method.
The same despair.
The same pain.
Faced with an enemy capable of reducing them to such a state without even lifting a finger, what choice had they truly been given?
Meanwhile, Li Jianhong was also observing the Zhao Clan.
However, his attention wasn’t on those who had fallen.
It was on those who remained standing.
His brows gradually furrowed.
Only about half of the Zhao Clan experts had collapsed.
The others, including Zhao Wutian himself, remained completely unaffected.
At first, Li Jianhong couldn’t understand why.
But after carefully looking at those still standing, a terrifying possibility suddenly emerged within his mind.
His breathing unconsciously became heavier.
(The cultivation technique...)
He immediately remembered it.
The Heavenly Mandate Assimilation Art!
He knew that, with Zhao Wutian’s personality, he wouldn’t cultivate the technique until he was absolutely certain it was safe.
However, he and the other Li Clan members had cultivated it without much restraint.
Previously, those Zhao Clan spies had also remained unaffected.
The reason was likely because they, too, had followed Zhao Wutian’s instructions and refrained from cultivating the Heavenly Mandate Assimilation Art.
Li Jianhong suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as a terrifying realization slowly took shape within his mind.
(So that’s how it is...)
If his speculation was correct, then everyone who had cultivated the Heavenly Mandate Assimilation Art had unknowingly fallen under Bai Zihan’s control.
The thought alone was enough to make his scalp turn numb.
However, Li Jianhong wisely remained silent.
He had no intention of voicing his speculation.
What benefit would there be in exposing it?
Would it improve his own situation?
No!
It would only offend Bai Zihan further.
If anything, the more he understood the truth, the less willing he became to oppose him.
Because that truth was far more terrifying than he had initially imagined.
The Li Clan!
The Zhao Clan!
The other clans!
Countless sects throughout the Desolate Heaven Empire!
Over the past several months, the Heavenly Mandate Assimilation Art had spread across the entire empire like wildfire.
Too many cultivators had practiced it.
Even cultivators from powerful backgrounds had regarded it as their greatest opportunity.
Many people who hadn’t cultivated the Heavenly Mandate Assimilation Art felt they were falling behind in cultivation.
As a result, more and more people chose to cultivate it.
If even he, the Li Clan Leader, had been unable to resist the temptation, then who else could?
Then, if his speculation was truly correct...
Bai Zihan’s influence no longer stopped at the Li Clan or Zhao Clan.
It extended throughout the entire Desolate Heaven Empire.
The Li-Zhao Alliance!
The Bai Clan Alliance!
Even the Imperial Family’s cultivators...
There was a very real possibility that many of them had already cultivated the Heavenly Mandate Assimilation Art.
If so...
Then Bai Zihan’s hand already rested upon more than half of the empire’s cultivation world.
Perhaps... Even more.
The more Li Jianhong thought about it, the colder his heart became.
He could no longer fathom just how deeply Bai Zihan’s influence had penetrated the Desolate Heaven Empire.
His grasp over the empire was likely far greater than anyone had ever imagined.
At that moment, the final trace of unwillingness hidden deep within Li Jianhong’s heart completely disappeared.
Before such a person, resistance was meaningless.
Just like an ant whose life rested in another’s hand, he finally understood that he no longer possessed even the qualification to resist.
