Novel Full Chapter 428 Paths to Downfall
Chapter 428 Paths to Downfall
The chamber was silent.
A place where even breathing felt like an intrusion.
The Li Clan and the Zhao Clan sat gathered within a sealed hall, layers of formations isolating the room from the outside world.
Flickering lamps cast long shadows across stone walls carved with clan insignias-symbols that once represented unquestioned authority.
Now, they felt... dim.
The war with the Demonic Forces was, for all intents and purposes, over.
The Beast Tide had been crushed.
The Demonic Cultivators had withdrawn.
The Desolate Heaven Empire was already preparing proclamations of victory.
Yet inside this room, there was not a trace of celebration.
No relief.
No pride.
No sense of victory.
Only gloom and unease.
For the Li and Zhao Clans, this war had taken far more than it had given.
Their losses were staggering.
The Li Clan had even lost one of their Grand Elders in the Earth Immortal Realm-a true loss for them.
Their foundations had been shaken to the core.
And the losses on their side were staggering when compared to the Bai Clan, who had suffered the least among all the clans while having contributed the most.
"The Bai Clan..."
The name alone carried weight now.
Once, it had been spoken as an equal.
A rival.
Now, it was spoken with restraint.
And caution.
Before the war, Bai Zihan alone had already been an anomaly-an existence that defied logic and crushed expectations.
Every attempt to suppress him had only made him stronger and more dangerous.
But that had been manageable.
Or so they thought.
Now?
It wasn't just Bai Zihan.
Bai Ren.
Bai Xueqing.
The Bai Clan's Grand Elders.
And other Bai Clan Members had clearly undergone some kind of transformation.
The Bai Clan's strength was far greater than they had known and anticipated.
Their growth was also on an entirely different level from what they had calculated.
And then-
The Saint-grade sword.
The room grew even heavier as that thought surfaced.
While it was fortunate that the Bai Clan had been forced to reveal their trump card during this Beast Tide, it also showed just how much stronger they were than everyone else.
In the few days after the Beast Tide had ended, the influence of the two clans had already decreased, while the Bai Clan's influence had increased severalfold. All the clans-even those who had allied with them-now wanted to ally with the Bai Clan.
BANG!
Li Jianhong's hand slammed down onto the stone table.
The sound echoed sharply through the sealed chamber.
His expression was dark, veins faintly bulging at his temples.
The humiliation, the pressure, the helplessness-it all boiled over in that single strike.
"The Bai Clan is too powerful! Zhao Wutian," Li Jianhong said, his voice low and strained, carrying barely restrained anger, "what should we do?"
His gaze locked onto the Zhao Clan Patriarch.
"If this continues," he continued grimly, "the Bai Clan will swallow our two clans
whole."
The words tasted bitter on his tongue.
Li Jianhong had always been proud.
As the head of the Li Clan, he had stood above countless others, commanding
respect with strength and authority.
He had believed that as long as the Li and Zhao Clans stood together, no single
clan could threaten them.
But now-
Reality pressed down on him with merciless clarity.
Despite his pride, Li Jianhong knew the truth.
The Bai Clan was no longer something he could handle.
Not even with the Zhao Clan standing beside him.
Their Saint-grade sword alone was enough to overturn every calculation they
had relied on for generations.
Add to that the Bai Clan's terrifying technique that had been used to slay the Half-Qilin.
Almost no one-perhaps not even their strongest ancestor-could survive such
an attack from that.
"If the Bai Clan decides to act," Li Jianhong said slowly, his voice heavy, "we
won't even have a fighting chance"
Silence followed his words.
Several elders lowered their heads.
Others clenched their fists beneath their robes.
No one refuted him, because they all knew that Li Jianhong was speaking the
truth.
Even Li Jianhong who never showed weakness was admitting that.
The balance had broken.
What they were facing now was not rivalry-it was survival.
"Calm down, Li Jianhong!"
Zhao Wutian said calmly.
Contrary to Li Jianhong's fury and despair, Zhao Wutian remained seated,
composed.
In fact, the corners of his lips slowly curved upward into a faint smile.
That smile immediately drew everyone's attention.
Li Jianhong's eyes narrowed.
"Calm down?" he snapped. "Zhao Wutian, look around you. Our influence is
collapsing, and you're telling me to calm down?"
Zhao Wutian raised a hand slightly, signaling him to pause.
"I said calm down, Li Jianhong" Zhao Wutian said again, his tone unhurried,
almost relaxed.
That only made Li Jianhong angrier.
"How can I calm down?" Li Jianhong demanded.
"Our enemy is holding a Saint-grade sword! They slew the Half-Qilin, crushed
the Demonic Elders, and now the entire empire is flocking to them like dogs
smelling meat!"
He stared at Zhao Wutian intently.
"Don't tell me you've already accepted your fate."
For a brief moment, the room went still.
Then-
Zhao Wutian laughed.
A low, amused chuckle echoed through the sealed hall, completely out of place
in such a grim atmosphere.
"Hah... hahahaha..."
Li Jianhong froze.
The elders exchanged uneasy glances.
Zhao Wutian shook his head, eyes gleaming with a strange light.
"Accepted my fate? No!"
He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the armrests.
"On the contrary," he said softly, "I believe the Bai Clan has already stepped
onto the path of their own downfall."
The words hit like a thunderclap.
"What?" Li Jianhong blurted out, disbelief written all over his face.
Zhao Wutian's smile widened.
"Their Saint-grade Artifact," he said clearly, "will be their downfall."
The room erupted into confusion.
Li Jianhong stared at him as if he were hearing nonsense.
"Are you out of your mind? That sword is precisely why they're untouchable
right now!"
"Is it?" Zhao Wutian asked calmly. "Or is it why they've become the most
obvious target in the entire Desolate Heaven Empire?"
Li Jianhong hesitated.
Zhao Wutian continued before anyone else could interrupt.
"Tell me," he said, his voice steady and confident, "what kind of people populate
this empire?"
Li Jianhong frowned.
"What kind of question is that?"
"Greedy people," Zhao Wutian answered himself. "Ambitious people. People
who fear power-and people who desire it."
He straightened his posture slightly.
"For countless generations, Saint-grade Artifacts have been nothing more than
legends in this land. Even the Imperial Family possesses none."
His eyes swept across the room.
"And now, suddenly, a single clan reveals that it possesses a Saint-grade sword."
Li Jianhong's expression slowly changed.
Zhao Wutian tapped the table lightly with his finger.
"Who do you think the greedy will look at first?"
"Who do you think the Imperial Family will be wary of?" Silence!
The answer was clear.
Zhao Wutian's smile faded, replaced by cold calculation.
"The Bai Clan has painted a giant target on their backs," he said. "Not just for us
-but for everyone."
Li Jianhong's brows furrowed deeply. "You're saying... the Imperial Family?"
"Of course," Zhao Wutian replied without hesitation.
"Do you truly believe the Imperial Family will sit idly by while a clan under their
rule wields a Saint-grade Artifact that threatens their authority?"
He shook his head slowly.
"That sword disrupts the balance far more than our two clans ever did."
"Moreover, do you think that only those in the Desolate Heaven Empire are
after them?"
"You mean..."
Li Jianhong's voice trailed off as realization struck him.
The implication was terrifying-and intoxicating.
Not just the Desolate Heaven Empire.
Even other empires would covet the Bai Clan's Saint-grade Artifact.
Zhao Wutian waved his sleeve.
A stack of jade slips slid silently across the stone table, stopping before Li
Jianhong.
"Here," Zhao Wutian said. "The list of clans who want to work with us to deal
with the Bai Clan."
Li Jianhong reached out and picked up a jade slip.
His pupils shrank as he read its contents.
Li Jianhong's hand trembled slightly.
His earlier gloom, despair, and fury slowly melted away, replaced by
unmistakable excitement.
Zhao Wutian watched him quietly, eyes cold and steady. "The greatest treasure of the Bai Clan," Zhao Wutian said calmly, "will also be their downfall!"