Only I am Venerable

Chapter 294: Chapter 292: The Venerable Tournament, Hereby Concluded

Over the next three days, round after round of eliminations finally produced the ten people who could enter the Golden Palace!

In her final match, Shangguan Shiyu faced a female disciple from Ice Edge at the Celestial Embracing Realm. After a fierce battle of over a thousand rounds, Shangguan Shiyu was narrowly defeated by a single move.

Of all the opponents Qin Li faced afterward, with the exception of those from the Cui Family—whom he killed without hesitation—he showed mercy to everyone else. As a result, while the Cui Family’s hatred for him deepened, disciples from the other great powers and the smaller sects and families all came to greatly admire this unstoppable new star.

Qin Wenxuan had a surprisingly lucky run, making it all the way to the end, which was a wonderful surprise for the entire Qin Family. They never expected that, besides Qin Li, a second person from their family would last until the very end.

In reality, only Qin Li himself understood why.

Ultimately, the ten finalists were: Qin Li and Qin Wenxuan of the Qin Family; Leng Fangfei, the female Celestial Embracing Realm disciple from Ice Edge; Lin Heng of the Lin Family; Shen Le of the Thousand Mechanism Sect; Wang Wanli, a peak Celestial Embracing Realm disciple from the Fire Sword Wang Family; Xiao Changtian, the eldest son and direct heir of the Anger Sword Xiao Family’s current Patriarch; and Xie Xiaofeng, a disciple of Sword Concealment Manor’s Grand Elder and also the Sect Leader’s third son. Both Xiao Changtian and Xie Xiaofeng had also reached the Celestial Embracing Realm.

The other two were, first, a female disciple named Luo Yun from an obscure small sect called Cold Cicada Valley. Her strength was at the peak of the Celestial Integration Realm, but she had extremely rich combat experience. In her final battle, she managed to defeat an early-stage Celestial Embracing Realm disciple from Sword Concealment Manor. Therefore, her success was no fluke!

In reality, while lucky winners did appear in the Supreme Tournament, it was not the norm. After all, those who made it to the final rounds were almost never weak, and it was no simple matter to stand out. Take Lin Heng and Shen Le, for example. Although they hadn’t reached the Celestial Embracing Realm, their combat experience was absurdly vast. Even Qin Li couldn’t help but nod in silent approval. The reputations these two had on Profound Island were not unearned.

The last one also came from a small family without much of a reputation. He was a large man, one of the few who cultivated Fierce Combat Skills. His surname was also Qin, and his name was Qin Dong. His strength was only at the early Celestial Embracing Realm, and he was already ninety-seven years old. But for a small family with limited financial resources, this was already an incredible achievement.

After this Supreme Tournament, Qin Dong’s family would surely rise to new heights within the next century.

In this tournament, of the Seven Great Superpowers, all but the Cui Family—who were completely wiped out—had made some gains. This was a satisfactory result for most.

The complete annihilation of the Cui Family was jaw-dropping. Among the disciples they sent to the Supreme Tournament were peak Celestial Integration Realm and even Celestial Embracing Realm Martial Artists. And yet, from the very beginning, it was as if they were shrouded in bad luck. Every single one of their disciples, without exception, ran into an opponent who was just slightly stronger than them.

This earned Qin Li a new nickname, on top of his title as the number one young genius of Profound Island: the Cui Family’s Nemesis!

Ever since they had crossed Qin Li, the Cui Family’s luck seemed to have completely vanished. Nothing had gone their way!

On the Xuanwu Platform, once the ten Martial Artists who would enter the Golden Palace were announced, the members of the Cui Family packed up and left immediately. They had no intention of watching any further.

This time, the Cui Family’s losses could be described as catastrophic, enough to shake them to their core. In addition to the death of Cui Leng, their most promising candidate for breaking through to the Shattered Void realm, they had also lost a Supreme Martial Artist. Two Celestial Integration Realm disciples were killed, seventy-six were seriously injured, and three hundred and twenty-seven were lightly injured. Thirty-seven Celestial Embracing Realm disciples were seriously injured, and over ninety were lightly injured... These numbers, aside from proving the deep reserves of the Cui Family as a superpower, only served to demonstrate just how unlucky they had been.

Cowed by the power of the Golden Palace, the Cui Family didn’t dare make a move against the Qin Family here. They didn’t even utter a single threat before leaving quietly. But at this point, no one was paying attention to them anyway. Everyone was more concerned with what the ten Martial Artists entering the Golden Palace might obtain inside.

Originally, Qin Li had planned to take control of all the treasures inside the Golden Palace, so that those who entered would find it completely empty.

However, after thinking it over, he dismissed the idea. ’I don’t want to tarnish the god-like reputation the Golden Palace has held on Profound Island for millennia,’ he thought. ’While my actions would be understandable, it’s probably not what that Primordial Great Power, Hu Yanbo, would have wanted. Besides, this is the last tournament anyway, and I already made sure all the Cui Family members were eliminated.’

’Furthermore, the news that I am the new master of the Golden Palace can be hidden for a while, but not forever. Sooner or later, someone will find out that the Golden Palace belongs to me. When that happens, even the biggest fool would probably figure out that I rigged the final Supreme Tournament.’

’It’s not that I’m afraid of anyone, but I value my reputation. No matter how powerful or influential a family is, if they are deserted by all, their fate will never be a good one!’

’Just look at the Cui Family now!’

’Besides, these ten people reached the end through their own effort and strength. There was an element of luck involved, but isn’t luck just another form of strength?’

Qin Li didn’t want the Qin Family to repeat the Cui Family’s mistakes. So, after the final ten were decided, he finally made a decision. ’I’ll be generous this one time. The entire Golden Palace is in my hands anyway, and it’s filled with countless unparalleled treasures that all belong to me. Why should I play the villain and offend every family on Profound Island?’

Beams of light teleported the ten finalists into the Golden Palace. With that, the barrier projected over the Xuanwu Platform vanished.

Everyone waited with bated breath for the ten lucky winners to reappear, eager to see what treasures they might have obtained.

In every Supreme Tournament, the most talked-about aspect wasn’t the spectacular battles, but what treasures the ten lucky winners would obtain. Although many would choose to keep their gains a secret, the great superpowers never minded showing off the treasures they acquired. Doing so not only enhanced the reputation of their family or sect, but also served to intimidate others.

Only the lucky winners from small families and sects would hide their secrets, taking them to the grave or even leaving Profound Island to travel far away. A Big Killing Weapon in the hands of a superpower was a deterrent, but in the hands of an ordinary person, it would only bring disaster and death!

Although he didn’t want to be a villain, Qin Li still deliberately controlled the rewards. From the Golden Palace’s massive treasury, he selected some weapons and combat skills that he himself looked down on and placed them in the various rooms. As for Elixirs... sorry, no Elixirs would be given out!

But even the combat skills and weapons that Qin Li disdained were considered Top-Grade treasures in the eyes of Profound Island’s Martial Artists!

Qin Wenxuan received a famed sword, a combat skill manual, and a Primordial Power Heart Method. The combat skill and Heart Method were both Sub-Divine Level. His harvest was rich indeed!

The Ice Edge disciple, Leng Fangfei, received a pair of short swords with the Ice Attribute and two Primordial Power Heart Methods! Both Heart Methods were perfectly suited for Ice Edge disciples to cultivate. The entire Ice Edge camp erupted in cheers, feeling that their gains were a wonderful surprise!

This was because they didn’t get such a perfect haul every time. Furthermore, the mutual wariness and suspicion among the great superpowers meant that they would almost never trade treasures of this level with each other.

Lin Heng received three combat skill manuals. Each one was incredibly profound; one glance was enough to know they were supreme treasures. The entire Lin Family camp also erupted in cheers.

Shen Le received two famed swords and one combat skill manual. One of the swords caused the corner of Shen Le’s mouth to twitch violently, because it was the Cold Snow Sword, the very weapon used by the Cui Family’s Supreme Martial Artist, Cui Leng!

The Cold Snow Sword was also something the Cui Family had obtained from the Golden Palace many years ago! Quite a few people knew about this. After Cui Leng was killed in battle, the arena had been empty; the Cold Snow Sword was nowhere to be found. At the time, many people had assumed Qin Li had taken it. No one expected that the Golden Palace itself had reclaimed it and, miraculously, distributed it once more!

This was, of course, Qin Li’s handiwork. ’I wouldn’t call it a scheme against Shen Le,’ he thought. ’The Thousand Mechanism Sect was already on bad terms with the Cui Family, and it looks like there’s more to their story. In that case, I might as well add some fuel to the fire.’

In any case, when Shen Le appeared in the Thousand Mechanism Sect’s camp holding the Cold Snow Sword, it was a jaw-dropping sight. Then, many of the old-timers at the Venerable Realm within the sect burst out laughing, shouting, "It’s fate! It’s fate!"

The remaining few people also received weapons, combat skills, and Primordial Power Heart Methods from the Golden Palace. However, the Divine Pills they had hoped for most were not obtained by anyone.

Despite this, they were all still satisfied. After all, these combat skills, Heart Methods, and Unparalleled Divine Weapons were all priceless treasures that one could only hope to stumble upon by chance. One couldn’t be too greedy in life; it was important to know when to be content.

As for Qin Li, he symbolically took two more combat skill manuals and one Primordial Power Heart Method from the Golden Palace. The Qin Family’s Library Pavilion needed to be stocked, and the young disciples of the Qin Family needed to be nurtured. One more combat skill meant one more option for them.

The families and sects that had obtained treasures were overjoyed. Those who came away empty-handed were envious, but not disappointed. After all, a new opportunity would come every seventy years. As long as they persevered, who knew when their chance would come? Weren’t Luo Yun and Qin Dong perfect examples of such lucky winners?

However, the next scene left everyone, except for Qin Li, completely stunned.

The tall, majestic, and imposing Golden Palace began to rise slowly into the sky, just as it had in the past. But what was completely different from every other time was that after the Golden Palace vanished, five enormous, glittering gold words appeared in the sky!

The Supreme Tournament ends here!