Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! - Chapter 353

Chapter 353: Fastest in Spirit Severing Realm?
But Lu Xiangyuan interpreted Bai Zihan’s lack of reaction entirely differently.

To him, Bai Zihan must have been frozen—unable to follow even a trace of his movements.

While darting behind Bai Zihan, Lu Xiangyuan finally spoke, his voice echoing arrogantly from multiple directions.

“Heh! Is my speed too much for you?”

A cold laugh followed, dripping with self-satisfaction.

“Unfortunately for you… I have no intention of showing mercy.”

His words reverberated around the stage, as if coming from every afterimage at once.

The crowd tensed, believing Lu Xiangyuan had already seized complete control of the fight.

“Bai Zihan looks completely lost!”

“Senior Brother Lu’s speed is insane!”

“As expected of a Peak Spirit Severing expert!”

“This fight is already over!”

Elders from the Anti–Sect Leader Faction nodded smugly.

Even the elders from their rival faction had to admit that Lu Xiangyuan’s strength was the real deal.

On the stage, Lu Xiangyuan flashed behind Bai Zihan once more.

(Looks like he really isn’t able to keep up with my speed.)

His earlier words were just provocation, and the reason he still hadn’t attacked was because he was gauging Bai Zihan—checking whether Bai Zihan had some kind of trap prepared.

No matter how much he looked down on Bai Zihan or how much he lost his temper, he knew better than to underestimate Bai Zihan and attack blindly.

But with Bai Zihan still wearing that dumbfounded expression (or so Lu Xiangyuan thought), he was certain Bai Zihan didn’t even know where he was.

His sword glinted, spiritual qi pulsing along the blade.

He stepped again—faster, faster—leaving crackles of qi where his feet touched.

“To think you dared insult me…”

His voice carried the confident tone of someone delivering a verdict.

“Yet you can’t even move under my speed.”

Finally—finally—he reappeared directly in front of Bai Zihan with arrogance.

Half a hundred afterimages faded behind him in a ripple of blue light.

“You can’t even react, can you?”

Lu Xiangyuan held his breath, savoring the moment.

And Bai Zihan just blinked.

“You done?”

He asked with complete, bored sincerity.

“You ran so much I got tired just watching you,” he said calmly. “Is your hobby dancing around like a monkey?”

His face twitched.

“You—!”

Bai Zihan calmly raised a hand.

“Don’t talk. You’ll hurt yourself. You must be tired after having done your monkey dance.”

Lu Xiangyuan’s rage spiked again.

“YOU BASTARD—!!”

His fury boiled over.

“You are done for!”

Whoosh!

Lu Xiangyuan’s figure blurred again, leaving only a streak of light behind as he reappeared behind Bai Zihan in less than a heartbeat.

This time, he didn’t test.

He struck.

His sword swept down in a vicious arc, spiritual qi exploding outward with enough force to tear the tiles beneath them.

(There! Let’s see you dodge this, you arrogant little—)

But just as his blade sliced through Bai Zihan—

WHOOSH!

His sword passed cleanly through.

No resistance. No flesh. No blood.

A shadow!

Lu Xiangyuan’s pupils contracted.

(What—!?)

A calm voice spoke from behind him.

“Do you really think you can hit me with that slow-ass attack?”

(Behind?)

Lu Xiangyuan tried to turn—

SLAP!!

A crisp, brutally clean sound exploded across the arena.

Then—

BOOM!

Lu Xiangyuan shot across the stage like a kicked ball, rolling, flipping, and skidding until he crashed and fell down on the ground.

Silence!

The entire arena blanked out.

“…..Huh?”

“W-Wait, wasn’t Senior Brother Lu attacking?”

“He was—right? He was behind Bai Zihan, about to land a hit!”

“Then why is he the one on the floor?”

The disciples’ jaws hung open.

All they saw was Lu Xiangyuan moving like lightning—then suddenly he was on the floor with a handprint stamped on his face.

A bright, swollen red palm mark.

Elders squinted, their spiritual senses trying to replay what little they could detect.

Even most of them saw nothing—only a blur and an impact. Only those with powerful sense or eyesight have truly caught on to what happened.

Chu Ziyan had seen Lu Xiangyuan move and attempt to strike Bai Zihan; even she thought he succeeded—only for that to be a shadow.

The real Bai Zihan had appeared behind Lu Xiangyuan and slapped him.

Though, even she hadn’t seen the moment Bai Zihan moved behind Lu Xiangyuan.

“…Too fast,”

Chu Ziyan muttered.

“Way too fast…”

Lu Xiangyuan was truly fast, and having fought him before, she knew how difficult it was to handle him because of that.

But Bai Zihan’s speed was even greater.

At the very least, Chu Ziyan could still see Lu Xiangyuan’s movements.

But Bai Zihan’s?

She couldn’t see anything at all.

“That brat… how is he so fast?”

“His speed is even comparable to mine.”

These were the elders in the Void Refinement Realm—only they had seen the moment Bai Zihan moved behind Lu Xiangyuan.

But the shock they felt wasn’t any less than those who saw nothing. In fact, they were perhaps even more shocked, because none of them had ever expected Bai Zihan to be so much faster than Lu Xiangyuan—whose strength was supposed to lie in his overwhelming speed.

They had to acknowledge that Bai Zihan’s speed far surpassed the Spirit Severing Realm, and even among Void Refinement cultivators, it was on the higher end.

At that moment, the Sect Leader Faction rejoiced, while doubt sprouted among the Anti–Sect Leader Faction.

Could it be that Bai Zihan can actually win against Lu Xiangyuan?

Back on the stage—

Lu Xiangyuan groaned, pushing himself up on shaking elbows.

His ears rang.

His face burned.

He touched his cheek—and hissed.

A slap.

He was slapped.

By Bai Zihan.

But what was most unbelievable was that he couldn’t even see when Bai Zihan struck—much less react to it.

“Impossible…” he whispered. “I was behind him… I was faster…”

From across the stage, Bai Zihan stood in the exact same place, hands behind his back, bored expression unchanged.

“Oh, when did you fall down? Senior Uncle, you must be careful—there are too many unstable spots in this arena. With your advanced age, such a fall could be fatal.”

Bai Zihan didn’t let the chance to mock him slip.

“Bai Zihan! Don’t be happy because of a single lucky strike! I will pay you back several times.”

Lu Xiangyuan angrily yelled.

He refused to acknowledge that Bai Zihan’s speed was far above his own.

His mind simply couldn’t accept it.

So he convinced himself that Bai Zihan must have predicted his movements and prepared beforehand.

Otherwise, there was no way Bai Zihan could have reacted and counterattacked like that.

( I am the fastest in the Spirit Severing Realm… No one below the Void Refinement Realm can surpass my speed! There’s no way—absolutely no way—Bai Zihan is faster than me! )