Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan!

Chapter 285 Elder Wuʼs Almost Unrecognizable!

The air split with streaks of light.

Shuuaaa! Shuuaaa!

Figures descended one after another, their robes embroidered with the golden sun emblem that marked their sect.

The First Prince had finally finished his speech, and the Competition had officially come to an end.

They immediately made their move, rushing through the crowd to warn Elder Wu about the end of competition and arrival of people.

Elder Wu had already given them directions as to where he was, but communication was cut off soon after which confused them.

They soon arrived at the location and saw Bai Zihan, confirming they were in the right place.

Their eyes locked onto the scene before them.

At the center of the cracked and blood-stained ground stood Bai Zihan, calm and composed, sword in hand.

At his feet lay an old man, beaten so badly that his face was a swollen mess of blood and bruises, one arm missing, his robes shredded into tatters.

His body twitched faintly, pinned down by a blade through the shoulder.

They thought Bai Zihan was beating up some poor old man who had perhaps angered him after being handled by Elder Wu.

Poor thing!

They thought.

But where was Elder Wu?

One of the senior disciples, a Spirit Severing Realm cultivator, stepped forward, glancing sideways. ”Young Master Bai, do you know where Elder Wu is?”

He asked politely.

Thinking that Jin Yuelin wasnʼt with him (Kong Zhanghong took her away when Bai Zihan started to torture Elder Wu), he thought that Elder Wu must have succeeded to convince Bai Zihan to hand over Jin Yuelin and even Jin Yuanzhan.

Bai Zihan calmly looked up and then down at the old man. ”Here!”

He pointed at the old man, bruised from head to toe, bloodied all over his body.

The senior disciple tilted his head in confusion. (Am I being teased?) ”Young Master Bai, please stop joking and tell us where Elder Wu went.”

His voice was stern this time. He had already been polite, yet Bai Zihan seemed to be joking with him.

But Bai Zihan showed no sign apart from glancing at the old man under his feet. ”Wait...”

One disciple muttered, disbelief thick in his voice. ”Is that... Elder Wu?”

Only then did they-including the senior disciple-look seriously at the old man, beaten badly under Bai Zihanʼs feet.

While his clothes were almost tattered, they were unmistakably the robes of an Elder of the Azure Sun Holy Sect. (Impossible. It couldnʼt be. The mighty Elder Wu of the Azure Sun Holy Sect, reduced to this pathetic, broken state?)

The senior disciple thought.

He glanced at Bai Zihan again, only to see him smirking.

They looked from the mangled body to Bai Zihan, then back again. ”You... brat! Where is Elder Wu?!”

He asked angrily.

Bai Zihanʼs lips curved into a small, mocking smile. ”Where is Elder Wu?”

He repeated mockingly. Then he glanced down at the bloodied figure at his feet, nudging him with the tip of his sword. ”I already said-youʼre looking at him.”

The words fell like a hammer.

Shock rippled through the Azure Sun cultivators, their faces pale as their gazes darted again to the unrecognizable old man groaning on the ground.

This... this thing was Elder Wu?

He was almost unrecognizable, and how could he have ended up in this state against a junior like them?

There was no way, right? ”S-Save me!”

Elder Wu managed to mutter a word in desperation. He was, for the first time, relieved to see these disciples of his. ”Elder Wu!”

The voice was unmistakable.

Several disciples stepped forward, their faces dark, fury burning in their eyes. ”Young Master Bai, how dare you treat our elder this way?”

One shouted, pointing an accusing finger. ”Do you plan to provoke the Azure Sun Holy Sect? Do you think there will be no consequences for this insult?!”

They edged closer, righteous indignation rolling off them, but none dared attack immediately.

The sight of Elder Wuʼs ruined body pressed caution into their bones.

The smarter disciples at the back did not move. Instead, their expressions twisted into horror as cold realization crept into their hearts. (If Elder Wu-Void Refinement Realm Cultivator-was reduced to this state, then who could have done it?)

Their gazes flickered to Bai Zihan. Either Bai Zihan himself, or someone even scarier had stood with him.

In both cases, the truth was terrifying, though they wanted to believe it was the latter.

Cold sweat ran down their backs.

The senior disciple, in the Spirit Severing Realm, clenched his fists.

His heart pounded as the weight of responsibility pressed down on him.

Everyone looked to him-to decide whether they should strike, retreat, or negotiate.

He looked at Elder Wu again, broken and begging, his once-majestic presence gone.

Then his gaze lifted to Bai Zihan, calm, composed, and smiling mockingly, as if daring them to take a single step forward.

The senior discipleʼs jaw tightened. His mind raced. (If I move recklessly... weʼll all might end up like Elder Wu. He surely has a helper hidden somewhere. But if I back down too easily... it will bring shame to the Sect.)

He exhaled slowly, the weight of the decision hanging in the air. ”Enough!”

His voice rang cold, silencing both the furious and the fearful disciples.

He narrowed his eyes at Bai Zihan, trying to sound steady even as unease gnawed at him. ”Young Master Bai, please remove your feet from Elder Wuʼs body and return him. I will take it as though nothing happened.”

The senior disciple made a wise decision-neither too overbearing nor cowardly.

For now, his priority was retrieving Elder Wu; only then might they gain enough knowledge to act further.

Since there was no one else in the vicinity, they assumed Bai Zihanʼs helper had already left.

In any case, the mission had failed, but they couldnʼt make it worse than it already was. ”Hehe... And what makes you think Iʼll listen?”

Bai Zihan asked.

It seemed the Azure Sun Holy Sect had a habit of thinking they were big shots of the Desolate Heaven Empire, even before someone of higher status.

It was Elder Wu, and now his disciple-truly showing that they were cut from the same cloth.