Only I am Venerable

Chapter 296: Chapter 294: The Shocking Appearance of Purple Eyes

The members of the Qin family, unaware of the truth, were so moved they didn’t know what to say. Three supreme experts they had never met were acting so righteously, unafraid of the Cui Family’s might and staying behind to help the Qin Family. This debt of gratitude was truly vaster than the heavens and deeper than the sea!

Faced with their insistence, the Qin Family’s steward could only have the best food and wine prepared and brought out. Having never eaten human delicacies before, the Golden Eagle and the other two didn’t stand on ceremony, feasting heartily right at the Qin Family’s main gate.

Meanwhile, in Leng Yao’s room, she was having a conversation with Xiaohai.

"Xiaohai, are you certain? Those three supreme experts... they’re all Spirit Beasts?" Leng Yao’s voice was chilly, her eyes filled with a hint of disbelief.

"Of course I’m certain. Although they’ve concealed their auras extremely well, Spirit Beasts have a natural, mystical sense for one another. The three of them are, without a doubt, Spirit Beasts!" Xiaohai replied, lying on the ground and licking his wounds.

Leng Yao took out some medicine and poured it onto Xiaohai’s wounds. Her brow furrowed as she murmured, "If what you say is true, and these Spirit Beast experts are all in the Venerable Realm... why would they be helping us like this?"

Xiaohai hesitated for a moment before saying, "I think... I smell Master’s scent on them..."

"Really?" Leng Yao’s eyes lit up. She recalled Qin Li’s promise that she would have her revenge sooner or later. The rims of her eyes reddened, and a film of moisture clouded their bright depths. At the thought of her parents’ tragic deaths all those years ago, Leng Yao’s heart could no longer remain calm.

’Father, Mother, and all my kinsmen... there’s finally hope for avenging you!’

The Cui Family’s frenzied attacks struck with lightning speed. Like a giant stone suddenly cast into a calm lake, the resulting ripples shook the entire Profound Island.

Many people found it hard to believe. In a single night, dozens of families and Sects had been brutally wiped from the face of Profound Island.

Every legitimate son and daughter who remained with their families—man or woman, young or old—not a single one was spared. The cruelty of their methods was simply staggering.

Although the majority of the elites from these families and Sects had gone to participate in the Venerable Tournament, after the Cui Family’s assault, these families and Sects would be crippled, never to recover.

Not only that, but the Cui Family also put out the word that this was the fate of anyone who dared to make an enemy of them. Immediately after, they issued another declaration: until Qin Li is dead, the Cui Family’s attacks will not stop. Every family and Sect associated with the Qin Family will be destroyed!

Including... the Lin Family and the Thousand Mechanism Sect!

This declaration sent an even greater shockwave across Profound Island. The Seven Great Superpowers each possessed foundations as deep as the sea. How could they possibly be destroyed so easily?

It was preposterous!

The Lin Family and the Thousand Mechanism Sect reacted immediately. Without uttering a single word, they simply did two things.

First, they recalled all disciples who were abroad. Second, they directly annihilated all surrounding forces with any connection to the Cui Family!

Their actions spoke for them: ’You want a war? Bring it on. We’re not afraid of you.’

The Cui Family, however, acted as if they had everything under control. They completely ignored the retaliation and instead dispatched a large number of experts to attack the Lin Family and Thousand Mechanism Sect’s business establishments in Xuanwu City, the largest city on Profound Island. Not only did they kill everyone, but they also plundered all of their supplies!

At this, nearly everyone on Profound Island was in an uproar.

After all, Xuanwu City, with its population of nearly ten million, was not only the largest city on Profound Island but also a place where all Seven Great Powers coexisted.

All Seven Great Powers had their own businesses there. But that wasn’t the most important part. The most shocking thing was that among the slaughtered Martial Artists from the Thousand Mechanism Sect and the Lin Family, there were a total of four Venerable Realm experts!

Each of the Seven Great Powers typically had two Venerable Realm Martial Artists stationed in Xuanwu City year-round.

What was even more dumbfounding was that all four Venerable Realm Martial Artists had been ambushed while they were asleep or cultivating and forced into a hasty battle! Then, during the fight, they were given no chance to either self-destruct or escape before being brutally eliminated.

The Cui Family had gone mad, and the entire Profound Island was going mad right along with them!

But there was a critical piece of information in all this that no one could ignore. What kind of power would it take to easily kill four Venerable Realm Martial Artists, denying them even the chance to self-destruct?

Before the Venerable Realm, the gap between each level was immense. For instance, a Celestial Integration Realm Martial Artist could easily fight twenty to thirty in the Celestial Shattering Realm. A Celestial Embracing Realm Martial Artist could, in turn, easily take on twenty to thirty from the Celestial Integration Realm. And a Venerable Realm Martial Artist could handle forty to fifty Celestial Embracing Realm Martial Artists with ease.

This was precisely why everyone found it so incredible when Qin Li killed Cui Leng during the Venerable Tournament. Fighting above one’s realm was simply too difficult!

After all, any Martial Artist who reached such a high realm was bound to possess formidable power.

Once a Martial Artist reached the Venerable Realm, however, the gaps became less pronounced. For example, an Earth Venerable could only handle five or six Human Venerables simultaneously; any more, and they would have to retreat. A Celestial Venerable could likewise only take on four or five Earth Venerables at once. Faced with a greater number, they too would be powerless.

After the incident, a rumor began to circulate about the Venerable Realm experts from the Thousand Mechanism Sect and the Lin Family in Xuanwu City. It was said that of the Lin Family’s two Venerables, one had reached the peak of the Earth Venerable realm, while the other was at the peak of the Human Venerable realm. Both had been famous figures many years ago.

As for the two from the Thousand Mechanism Sect, they had both reached the peak of the Earth Venerable realm.

Yet now, they had been killed without a sound in their own residences. Judging by the wounds, it was not the work of a single person. To silently kill an Earth Venerable Martial Artist, one would need the power of a Celestial Venerable, at the very least.

This meant that the Cui Family had dispatched at least three Celestial Venerables and one Earth Venerable for this attack! It was even possible they had sent someone of an even higher level.

This was because after reaching the Venerable Realm, a Martial Artist’s Divine Sense and general awareness were greatly enhanced. It was nearly impossible for even a stronger Martial Artist to approach them without being detected. Furthermore, any Martial Artist with the power of a Venerable resided in extremely secret, hard-to-find locations, making a sneak attack all the more difficult.

Therefore, it was highly likely that among the experts the Cui Family dispatched this time, there was someone who had surpassed the Venerable Realm!

This conjecture caused an uproar and, at the same time, filled many with dread.

Surpassing the Venerable Realm meant possessing the power of the Shattered Void! That was a true powerhouse! Someone who could traverse continents and fly through the air for vast distances!

Such experts had, until now, only existed in legends. Although many people swore up and down that experts of the Shattered Void realm existed, no one had ever been able to prove it.

And now, the Cui Family was suspected of having an expert of the Shattered Void realm. How could this not inspire terror?

Qin Li received these messages, delivered by Homing Falcon, on his journey home. He mulled them over, then looked at Shangguan Shiyu and said, "Things are getting complicated. The Cui Family was clearly well-prepared to make such a frenzied move. We might run into an ambush from them within the next day or two."

Shangguan Shiyu gazed at Qin Li with her bright eyes and stated calmly, "Don’t even think about sending me away so you can face the danger alone. Where you go, I go. Life or death, I will face it with you."

Then, she broke into a radiant smile. "Once I take the Qiankun Pill and my strength soars, I’ll protect you!"

Qin Li looked at Shangguan Shiyu, somewhat speechless, and said with a laugh, "Alright, then I’ll be counting on you from now on!"

As he spoke, Qin Li’s brow furrowed. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he sneered, "Speak of Cao Cao, and he arrives!"

With that, he flashed outside. Shangguan Shiyu, still seated, furrowed her brow. ’Who is Cao Cao?’ Then she rose to her feet. "Husband, wait for me!"

「This was the final crossroad on the return to Fengsha City—a path they had to take.」

The Qin Family’s convoy had already stopped. Everyone stared ahead with rapt vigilance. There, on the road, stood a single person.

The person’s age was impossible to tell. Their clothes were ragged, their hair was long and matted, and they looked utterly filthy. With their head bowed, they stood silently in the middle of the road.

Even the ordinary disciples of the Qin family felt as if this old beggar had merged into the road itself. He was clearly standing right there, yet his presence was almost imperceptible. The scene was incredibly eerie.

"Hey, old sir, why are you standing in the middle of the road? Please move aside so we don’t run into you!" a young Qin disciple on the foremost carriage shouted to the old beggar. His hand reached into his robes, and he had just pulled out a few pieces of loose silver when he saw the old man raise his head. A savage grin spread across a hideously ugly and disfigured face.

The young Qin disciple froze. Just as he was about to speak, the old man bared his teeth in a grin, and a powerful aura suddenly erupted from his body. To the eyes of an expert, this aura was a piercing Sword Intent!

This piercing Sword Intent instantly shot through the disciple’s body. The loose silver fell to the ground with a CLINK, and his body slumped down after it.

"Ambush!" the other Qin disciples immediately cried out.

The old beggar cackled, unleashing several more streams of Sword Intent that cut down all the disciples on the first carriage. Then, an inhuman, raspy voice grated out, "Go on and scream. You’re all going to die!"

It all happened in the blink of an eye. By the time Qin Li and Qinling Mountain rushed to the scene, the young Qin disciples were already dead, their eyes wide with shock. They died never imagining they would fall so close to home, unable to make it back alive.

Qin Li’s eyes slowly turned ice-cold. He had sensed a powerful aura, but he never expected the enemy wouldn’t even spare these low-level disciples.

One of the young Qin disciples lying on the ground had, just two hours ago, brought Qin Li a meal with a look of pure admiration on his face. Now, he lay in a pool of blood, a few pieces of loose silver scattered beside him.

Qin Li looked up, his gaze meeting the old man’s. And in the depths of the man’s pupils, he saw a fleeting flash of purple!