Only I am Venerable

Chapter 289: Chapter 287: The Tsundere Snake Woman

The younger generation of the Qin Family were all furious, but Qin Li just smiled and said, "Too few Venerables have died! If a few more die, you wouldn’t be running your mouths like this!"

The Young Miss of the Cui Family, who had been sobbing over there, lifted her head. Staring at Qin Li’s group with a venomous expression, she blurted out, "No matter how many of ours die, we’re still stronger than your Qin Family! You don’t even have one!"

At these words, even many of the onlookers wore strange expressions. They couldn’t help but look at the humiliated Young Miss of the Cui Family, thinking to themselves, ’What a fucking idiot. How could she say something like that? Isn’t she cursing her own family’s Supreme Martial Artists to die?’

Sure enough, the members of the Qin Family doubled over with laughter. A young Qin Family disciple said, "Don’t worry, in a few days, all of your Cui Family’s Venerables will be dead!"

"HAHAHAHA!"

Many people, including those from the Thousand Mechanism Sect and the Lin Family, couldn’t help but let out hearty laughs.

The Cui Family’s actions on Profound Island over the years had long ago drawn the dissatisfaction of the other families. The Seven Great Superpowers were all powerful, deeply-rooted families. Which of them didn’t have a few ultimate experts holding down the fort?

Therefore, large-scale slaughter was almost impossible. It was a pyrrhic victory—killing a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of your own—that would only benefit others. Anyone with a bit of sense wouldn’t do such a thing.

That was why Cui Leng’s words today had caused such a stir. After all, even a mid-sized family like the Qin Family had several thousand direct descendants. Add in the branch families, illegitimate children, and servants, and the total population was no less than a hundred thousand people!

How could such a massive family have no way to fight back at all?

It was true that Venerables were incomparably tyrannical. A Martial Artist who had reached the Venerable Realm was indeed extremely powerful; a dozen Martial Artists at the Celestial Embracing Realm might not even be their match. But no matter how strong they were, their Primordial Power would eventually run out!

Even the strongest man has his limits.

If they stubbornly resorted to human wave tactics, throwing bodies at the problem, even an army of Venerables couldn’t withstand the attrition!

There would always be casualties!

This was also why feuds between various clans and sects were almost always small-scale, targeting only the main culprits. Annihilating an entire clan in revenge was extremely rare.

After he finished speaking, Qin Li suddenly sent a voice transmission to Qinling Mountain: "Ancestor, I’m afraid the Cui Family is about to make a big move. Have someone quickly send a message back with a Homing Falcon. Tell the family to be on guard and not get ambushed by the Cui Family at a time like this!"

Qinling Mountain nodded slightly in deep agreement. As an old man who had lived for many years, he naturally understood that someone of Cui Leng’s status no longer needed to resort to empty threats. Whatever he said, he intended to do!

He just didn’t know if there was still time. After all, for Cui Leng to say such things on this occasion proved that he was already very confident!

Qin Li thought of this as well. After a moment of contemplation, he said softly, "I’m stepping away for a bit. I’ll be back soon." With that, he flickered away and headed toward the Qin Family’s camp.

Many people saw Qin Li’s departure but didn’t think much of it. Although the Golden Palace had descended, the Venerable tournament wouldn’t begin for several more hours.

After returning to the camp, Qin Li extended his Divine Sense to contact the Golden Eagle. Since the Golden Eagle had already acknowledged him as its master and was currently keeping a silent watch on the Golden Palace’s movements, it was easy to get in touch. After giving a few instructions, Qin Li meditated for a while in the camp to regulate his breathing before turning to leave.

High above, in a sky the people below could not see through, a Golden Eagle and two giant black eagles streaked toward Fengsha City like lightning.

After regulating his breathing for a moment, Qin Li was about to leave for the Golden Palace when a sense of alarm suddenly struck him. He whipped his head around to see the Black-clothed Snake Woman standing silently in a corner of his tent.

Even for someone as audacious as Qin Li, the sight scared him into a cold sweat. He said angrily, "What are you doing here?"

"Why can’t I be here?" The Black-clothed Snake Woman pouted, rolling her seductive eyes. "I’ve been here for ages, and you’re only just now noticing. Hmph, if I’d wanted to make a move on you, you’d already be dead! Still, you humans are so interesting. Why do you have to provoke each other before a fight? You should just go straight for the kill!" As she spoke, she ran her sensual tongue quickly around her lips.

Then she giggled sweetly. "Want me to go take care of those annoying guys for you?"

"Er... I think I’ll pass!"

To be honest, Qin Li was very tempted by the Snake Woman’s offer. But he knew that in everyone’s eyes, the Qin Family was currently a very weak family, posing no threat to the Cui Family’s power. If a freakishly powerful being like the Snake Woman suddenly appeared, the Thousand Mechanism Sect and the Lin Family, not to mention others, would be the first to grow suspicious.

’Don’t think everyone else is an idiot. A powerful existence like the Snake Woman appearing on Black Tortoise Peak, combined with the fact that I survived climbing Black Tortoise Cliff... many people will definitely connect the dots!’

At that point, the Qin Family would truly become a public enemy.

"But thank you, anyway. Have you had a change of heart? You want to follow me now?" Qin Li looked doubtfully at this black-clothed woman, who was outwardly flirtatious but inwardly proud.

"Hmph, in your dreams! I just sensed someone using the power of the Golden Palace and came down to check it out. Then I noticed those little birds had flown off. Was that your doing?" The Snake Woman stared into Qin Li’s eyes, her superficial charm completely failing to hide the bone-deep coldness within.

’A cold-blooded creature indeed!’

Qin Li sighed internally, then nodded readily. There was nothing to hide. "Yes. Someone means my Qin Family harm, so I had them go take a look for me."

"Hmph, those stupid birds really listen to you!" The Black-clothed Snake Woman pouted, then said to Qin Li with a coquettish laugh, "I would never be like those stupid birds and follow you willingly!"

Qin Li smiled faintly and said, "You’ve been at the peak of the Celestial Venerable realm for a long time, haven’t you?"

"So what?" The Snake Woman gave a cold laugh, unmoved.

"Heh, nothing much. It’s just that I received my master’s complete inheritance, and within it are countless insights into the Martial Dao, as well as..."

"As well as what?" The Snake Woman’s eyes gradually brightened, and her breathing couldn’t help but quicken.

Hu Yanbo had indeed passed on many things to these Spirit Beasts, but there was much more he hadn’t. The reason was that he wanted to leave these Spirit Beasts for his successor, giving that successor enough leverage to make them obedient. However, he never expected that the Old Apes wouldn’t give Qin Li the chance, and Qin Li hadn’t yet browsed through those memories at the time.

After all, the memories Hu Yanbo left for Qin Li were simply too vast; even searching for something specific would take ages. Fortunately, these memories were directly branded onto his soul and wouldn’t dissipate. And fortunately, Qin Li’s Sea of Consciousness was extraordinary. For an ordinary person, such an immense ocean of memories would have been enough to completely shatter their Sea of Consciousness.

"I’m not telling you," Qin Li said bluntly.

"You..." The Snake Woman realized she had unknowingly walked right into the boy’s trap; he had seized control of the conversation. Suddenly, she gave a bewitching smile. "There’ll be benefits for you if you tell me!"

"If you want me to tell you, fine. Acknowledge me as your master..."

"You little brat, go to hell!" the Black-clothed Snake Woman said hatefully. With a flicker of her body, she instantly vanished.

In the moment Qin Li was still stunned, a shout came from outside: "Young Master Li, it’s about to start over there!"

"I know!" Qin Li let out a soft sigh of relief, a happy smile spreading across his face. ’Although I’m much younger than this Snake Woman, my experience from living two lives makes her current mindset perfectly clear to me.’

’She’s pissed that the Golden Eagle and the others beat her to it. She clearly wants to follow me, but she’s too proud to admit it. So she snuck over here, but still refuses to say it, acting all difficult.’

’Just like a child!’

Qin Li knew this snake would definitely be watching him from some corner. With her here, Qin Li was indeed more confident in facing the behemoth that was the Cui Family.

’It would be even better if those three monkeys were with me too!’

Thinking this, he then shook his head. The strength of those three monkeys was the greatest among the seven Legendary Spirit Beasts. The Old Ape, in particular, had actually reached the Shattered Void realm!

’How astonishing!’

When Shangguan Shiyu saw Qin Li return, she visibly relaxed. She felt that Qin Li seemed to be hiding something from her, but she had no intention of asking. She believed that the man she deeply loved would never lie to her or betray her, no matter what!

That was enough. Besides, who didn’t have a few secrets in their heart?

"Are you nervous?" Qin Li walked to Shangguan Shiyu’s side and asked softly.

Shangguan Shiyu shook her head slightly. "Not nervous. If I can’t win, I’ll just surrender. Isn’t that what you taught me?"

Qin Li smiled and nodded. "That’s right. There’s no shame in surrendering. If you can’t win, you can’t win. Staying alive is what’s most important. Remember, if you run into someone from the Cui Family, fight if you can, but if you can’t win, just surrender immediately. As long as you surrender, if your opponent dares to attack you again, they will be violating the rules of the Venerable tournament, and the Golden Palace will attack them!"

Shangguan Shiyu’s eyes swept suspiciously over Qin Li’s face a couple of times. Puzzled, she asked, "How come I’ve never heard of that?"

Qin Li smiled. "You’re the mistress of the Golden Palace!"

Shangguan Shiyu saw the serious look deep in Qin Li’s eyes and was startled. She showed no change in her expression, but the joy in her eyes was palpable. Although she didn’t know the exact reason, she understood that Qin Li must have encountered something incredible on Black Tortoise Peak!

Just then, two beams of light suddenly shot down from the top of the tall and majestic Golden Palace. The beams covered the ground, enveloping everyone. Then, all the Martial Artists who met the requirements for the Venerable tournament felt their bodies lighten and their vision blur. In an instant, they arrived in another place!

At that moment, the terrified cry of a young Martial Artist from a minor family, participating in the Venerable tournament for the first time, suddenly echoed across the Xuanwu Platform.

"Heavens, I’m only at the Celestial Level! I really just came to watch the show..."