Only I am Venerable

Chapter 291: Chapter 289: Who Is Suffering a Crushing Defeat?

Before anyone could even cry out in alarm, Cui Wudi’s red-gold hands seized the broken half of the sword and viciously plunged it into Cui Yuxing’s chest. At the same time, he raised his knee and slammed it hard into Cui Yuxing’s dantian...

Cui Yuxing’s eyes, wide with disbelief, shot out a look of utter shock. His mouth gaped open. He had been killed in a single move!

BOOM!

Everyone in the waiting area and outside gasped in unison. No one had expected such an outcome. The seemingly powerful Sixth Young Master of the Cui Family had been annihilated in a single move by a disciple from a minor family!

Moreover, the victory was completely fair and square. There was nothing to dispute.

Cui Yuxing’s underestimation of his opponent was one factor, but Cui Wudi’s Red Gold Hand had also stunned many.

This was a Sub-Divine Level combat technique, one that had been famous on Profound Island eleven hundred years ago before suddenly vanishing. Many believed it had been lost to time, but unexpectedly, it had reappeared here. And with its first use, an arrogant Cui Family disciple was instantly killed!

WHOOSH!

Cui Yuxing’s body was instantly teleported away. The Golden Palace once again cast down a barrier, teleporting the victor, Cui Wudi, inside. The second round of competition would begin after the first round was fully completed.

Inside the barrier, the young people from the minor families and Small Sects couldn’t help but let out a cheer. The sound was like a volley of sharp knives, plunging deep into the hearts of the proud and arrogant Cui Family disciples.

Qin Li cupped his hands toward Cui Leng. "Congratulations, congratulations!"

Cui Leng’s fists clenched, his crimson eyes fixed on Qin Li. After a long moment, he gave an arrogant smile. "Who do you think you are? Qin Li, it’s too early to say who will win or lose! But I can be sure of one thing: you, Qin Li, are destined for a crushing defeat!"

Qin Li smiled faintly and replied, "Then we shall wait and see."

As he spoke, another young Cui Family disciple was teleported in, along with a disciple from Sword Concealment Manor.

The Cui Family and Sword Concealment Manor had originally been on relatively friendly terms. After all, marriage alliances were common among the Seven Great Superpowers. Although these political marriages rarely changed the grand scheme of things, they at least created some familial ties.

Sword Concealment Manor and the Cui Family had been quite close before the incident at Four Seasons Valley. Unexpectedly, after being provoked by Qin Li, the Cui Family’s Seventh Young Master, Cui Yuwen, actually abandoned Sword Concealment Manor’s Fourteenth Young Master, Xie Xiaozhong.

This incident had strained the relationship between the Cui Family and Sword Concealment Manor. It was important to remember that these two young men were not of ordinary status.

Both Cui Yuwen and Xie Xiaozhong were direct sons of their respective Patriarchs, holding extremely high status within their families. As such, a rift had naturally formed between the two families.

Fortunately, there was no great animosity between them, and both sides maintained a degree of restraint. Emotionally, however, they had grown much more distant than before.

However, in the Venerable Tournament, even good friends had to compete fairly, let alone disciples from two families with a rift between them.

This young disciple from Sword Concealment Manor was an Elder’s apprentice. He didn’t have high standing in the Sect, but he possessed the strength of the peak Celestial Shattering Realm.

His opponent, a Cui Family disciple, was the son of a concubine. With the strength of the Middle Stage Celestial Shattering Realm, he wasn’t highly regarded in his family but held some minor standing. Naturally, he was eager to use the Venerable Tournament to prove his abilities.

Especially after the Cui Family’s disastrous start in the first match, he was even more desperate to change people’s perception of his family through his own efforts and thereby raise his own status.

"Senior Brother, if you please!" The young Sword Concealment Manor disciple cupped his fist. "My name is Xie..."

Before he could finish, the Cui Family disciple—the son of a concubine—suddenly attacked! His longsword transformed into a white rainbow, stabbing viciously toward the throat of the Sword Concealment Manor disciple!

All the onlookers couldn’t help but let out contemptuous hisses. Even the members of the Cui Family themselves felt disgraced, lowering their heads one by one.

"Despicable!" the Sword Concealment Manor disciple shouted coldly. Two shortswords as thin as a cicada’s wings suddenly appeared in his hands, erupting in two bursts of pinkish-white light that were extremely blinding!

He then retreated several steps to steady himself, parrying the Cui Family disciple’s sneak attack. A cold, sharp light glinted in his eyes as he shot forward like a bolt of lightning toward his opponent.

"You shameless bastard, die!"

With a furious roar, the Sword Concealment Manor disciple suddenly switched to a different Sword Technique. His body became as pliant as if it were boneless, and he dodged all of the Cui Family disciple’s attacks at extreme speed before instantly closing the distance.

His two shortswords flashed with a vicious glint, slicing horizontally toward the Cui Family disciple!

"Sword Concealment Manor is said to possess over a thousand Sword Techniques and combat skills. Seeing it today, they truly live up to their reputation!" someone in the crowd exclaimed in admiration.

"Look, that Cui Family disciple is finished!"

"Ah!" the Cui Family disciple cried out in alarm. But he was a ruthless person as well. Seeing that he couldn’t dodge in time, he thrust his own sword toward the throat of the Sword Concealment Manor disciple, intending to take him down with him!

Sword Concealment Manor truly deserved its reputation as a great sect with a thousand Sword Techniques. In that instant, the disciple used one shortsword to block the Cui Family disciple’s desperate strike with a loud CLANG, while his other blade stabbed like lightning straight into his opponent’s abdomen!

Then, using an exceptionally agile Body Technique, he leaped backward abruptly, pulling the shortsword free. A jet of blood shot out from the Cui Family disciple’s abdomen!

The Sword Concealment Manor disciple stood his ground, not pressing the attack. Instead, he spat forcefully on the ground. "Ptooey!" In that instant, the Golden Palace declared him the winner and teleported him into the third barrier.

The Cui Family disciple stumbled forward two steps, suddenly coughed up a large amount of blood, and then his body went limp. He collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide open in death.

The Cui Family: two battles, two defeats!

It wasn’t just the Cui Family; even the members of the other families and sects found it unbelievable. The great Cui Family, one of the Seven Great Superpowers, had actually lost two battles in a row?

Who would have dared to believe such an outcome before the Venerable Tournament began?

Even among the betting odds set by bored busybodies, it’s likely no one would have dared to offer such a possibility!

The spectating members of the Cui Family all had ashen faces. The few Cui Family elders at the Venerable Realm appeared calm on the surface, but a flicker of rage danced in the depths of their eyes.

’This year, the Golden Palace seems... strange!’ This thought surfaced in many people’s minds at that moment, but they quickly dismissed it. The reason was simple: the Golden Palace had existed on Profound Island since the Ancient Era. Although no one knew its origins, its impartiality and power were deeply ingrained in the hearts of countless generations.

They didn’t even dare to entertain any suspicion toward the Golden Palace. They all felt it must simply be a coincidence.

Sure enough, the subsequent matches began to feature other families and sects. There were brilliant, intense duels, as well as battles that ended in an instant with a single move.

Many of the Qin Family’s young disciples, including Qin Wenxuan, soon had their turns. Qin Wenxuan smoothly advanced to the second round, while Qin Suo and some other Qin Family disciples were defeated.

Fortunately, not a single Qin Family disciple had encountered anyone from the Cui Family!

So, while there were minor injuries, there were no fatal ones!

This group of young Qin Family disciples grew more and more excited as they fought, with many of them performing far beyond expectations. Their overall performance exceeded Qinling Mountain’s prior predictions.

The old master and the rest of the Qin Family were now smiling so wide they couldn’t close their mouths.

The Cui Family, on the other hand, seemed to be cursed with bad luck. This time, the Cui Family had sent over six hundred young disciples! From the start of the Venerable Tournament until dusk, over a hundred of them had fought, yet only five managed to advance. The other ninety-something all ended in defeat, without a single exception!

The opponents they faced weren’t all absurdly powerful; they were just that tiny bit stronger than the Cui Family’s young disciples. Combined with the Cui Family’s consecutive defeats, their morale had already hit rock bottom, so their chances of winning were naturally slim.

However, the few truly powerful young disciples of the Cui Family had yet to have their turn.

The Venerable Tournament ran day and night. When evening fell, the Golden Palace emitted a magnificent glow, illuminating the entire Xuanwu Platform as brightly as day.

Cui Leng kept a constant watch on Qin Li’s movements. Seeing that he also hadn’t been teleported in, a ferocious look couldn’t help but cross his face. The Cui Family’s string of defeats was starting to become too much to bear, even for this "young" Venerable who wasn’t so young in age.

Qin Li, however, was calm and composed, sitting casually on the ground. In reality, he was constantly mediating to restore his Spiritual Power.

That’s right. The Cui Family’s string of defeats was all Qin Li’s doing.

’Want to annihilate my Qin Family? Want to kill me, Qin Li? Want to see me utterly defeated?’

’To hell with you!’

’In your dreams!’

’If you really want to play, I’ll play along! This time, while the Cui Family may not have sent all their young elites, at least half of the best of their younger generation is here!’

Ever since Qin Li had advanced to the Celestial Embracing Realm, not even a Venerable like Cui Leng could detect his Innate Purple Qi. As for everyone else, they were even less capable of blocking Qin Li’s probing senses.

’Once I know their approximate strength, I can issue commands to the Golden Palace based on the power gap between the two opponents. It couldn’t be simpler!’

’The only downside is that it consumes a tremendous amount of Spiritual Power!’

Moreover, Qin Li needed to conserve his strength. He was preparing to take care of Cui Leng in this very first round!

’I’ll make the Cui Family suffer a complete and utter wipeout this time!’

’Let’s see if those old Venerable monsters can endure... this humiliation!’

As Qin Li was thinking this, he looked up, and his gaze met Cui Leng’s. It was as if invisible sparks erupted where their lines of sight collided.

Qin Li gave Cui Leng a thumbs-up, and then... he turned it upside down.

At that moment, two beams of light enveloped Qin Li and Cui Leng, teleporting them into the fighting arena!