Chapter 321: Chapter 319: The Sly Old Fox
Qin Li cupped his fist in his palm and turned in a full circle before speaking in a solemn voice, "Every hero here knows I have a grudge with the Cui family. They have sworn to kill a nobody like me, a man with no roots or backing. I have no choice but to fight for my life. I can’t just stick my neck out and wait for the axe to fall, can I?
But for me, this is just a personal grudge!
As for some grand conspiracy of the Cui family’s that I just so happened to disrupt, hehe, all I can say is that it was a coincidence. I can stand here now and state plainly to all the heroes of Profound Island that neither the Qin Family nor I, Qin Li, have any ambitions regarding the Cui family!
So I ask all you heroes not to misunderstand. I, Qin Li, am just a minor figure who wants nothing more than a peaceful and carefree life. I have no desire to be in conflict with any person, family, or Sect. However, if anyone thinks that I, Qin Li, am an easy target, that the Qin Family’s elixirs are too tempting to resist, and wants to take advantage of this chaos to scheme against me and kick me while I’m down..."
As Qin Li spoke, the corners of his mouth lifted into a cold smirk. "By all means, give it a try," he said coolly. "I’ll take on all comers!"
Qin Li’s words were decisive and resonant, leaving no room for doubt.
At the same time, they carried a sharp, domineering aura. ’You want to scheme against me? Fine, bring it on!’
In truth, Qin Li understood that not all the bigwigs from Profound Island’s various families and Sects present necessarily wanted to deal with him directly. They merely wanted to secure more benefits for themselves and squeeze out this unexpected upstart.
However, holding a super-resource like the Golden Palace, Qin Li truly didn’t care for the scraps they were fighting over. But that was his own business. If someone wanted to scheme against him, that was another matter entirely!
Qin Li had seen these families and Sects for what they were. In their eyes, there was only self-interest!
Shen Le watched Qin Li with considerable awkwardness before glancing at his own old man. He couldn’t help but sigh internally. ’It seems every family is the same. Once you’ve been the Sect Leader for long enough, your entire mindset changes.’ His father’s actions seemed to be speaking out for Qin Li, but in reality, did Qin Li truly need someone to right his wrongs? Regardless of whether the intention was good or bad, the calculation behind it still left a bad taste in one’s mouth.
Shen Longxing also hadn’t expected Qin Li to completely negate his ambiguous statements. At the same time, his estimation of the young man’s temperament and shrewdness rose a few notches. One had to understand, across all of Profound Island, how many people—aside from Martial Artists who had reached the Venerable Realm or higher—could possibly resist the temptation of carving up the Cui family?
At this thought, Shen Longxing squinted at Qin Li. ’Could it be? Has this kid’s power already reached the Venerable Realm? No, that’s impossible! Absolutely impossible! He’s not even twenty years old!’
Sensing the many mocking gazes directed at him, Shen Longxing paid them no mind. He too was a Venerable Realm Martial Artist, a man of profound temperament and cunning. In other words, how could anyone command such a massive Sect without a bit of shrewdness?
"Excellent. Young Master Qin, this old man admires your spirit!" Shen Longxing’s gaze toward Qin Li was rather complex, tinged with a hint of apology. "I have yet to thank you, Young Master Qin, for helping me capture a great enemy of my Thousand Mechanism Sect. From this day forward, the Qin Family’s business is the Thousand Mechanism Sect’s business! The alliance between my Thousand Mechanism Sect and the Qin Family will last for all eternity!"
The wedding banquet ended with many people lost in their own thoughts, especially Qin Li. He was still suspicious about Shen Longxing’s sudden speech, particularly why he would abruptly decide to speak out on his behalf.
After returning to their residence, Qin Li, the Snake Woman, and Leng Yao entered a room and sat down. Only then did Leng Yao explain what had actually happened.
It turned out that while Qin Li and the Snake Woman were in seclusion, the Lin, Wang, and Xiao Families had all sent people to secretly monitor the Qin Family’s courtyard. The Lin Family even dispatched someone to offer a hefty sum to bribe a Qin Family disciple, intending to plant a mole within their ranks.
However, Leng Yao had dealt with all of it. The Qin Family disciple the Lin Family had tried to bribe was from the direct line of the family. He naturally understood Qin Li’s status, so how could he be swayed by mere money?
Then, just now, while Qin Li and the Snake Woman were hunting down the refined old man from Lengqiu Palace, the battle here had quickly concluded. Although the Cui family’s Venerables had suffered heavy casualties, their Patriarch, Cui Buping, had escaped under the desperate cover of his men. He left a parting message: everyone who participated today would die a horrible death.
Consequently, many people directed their resentment toward Qin Li, saying a lot of nasty things. The members of the major superpowers were especially unscrupulous, as each of their families had Venerable Realm Martial Artists who had been seriously injured or even killed fighting the Cui family. Furthermore, their Shattered Void realm ancestors had also joined the fray.
Therefore, some began to discuss in private kicking Qin Li, the instigator of this whole affair, out of the picture. Others even suggested using this opportunity to reshuffle the power dynamics. With the major powers having suffered such great losses, the Qin Family should show some "sincerity" and provide more elixirs to their families.
When these people were saying these things, they weren’t particularly cautious. They all believed that the Qin Family had no experts left and that it was impossible for anyone to hear their conversations through their protective wards.
Who would have thought that among the Qin Family’s ranks was Leng Yao, who had taken an Essence Pill and possessed an incredibly powerful Divine Sense? She heard every single word of their conversation!
It was just unclear how Shen Longxing, who had been busy torturing Cui Buqun, knew about it all so clearly. But this was the Thousand Mechanism Sect’s territory, and the sect was known for its mastery of miscellaneous arts and talents of all kinds, so it wasn’t too surprising.
After hearing this, Qin Li couldn’t help but sigh. "It seems that from ancient times to the present, no one can truly see past the word ’profit’! Leng Yao, She She, let’s go! We’ll return to the Qin Family, then take the entire family and leave Profound Island! The Cui family, the major superpowers... to hell with them all! If we can’t afford to provoke them, we’ll just stay far away!"
Leng Yao had also grown completely weary of the endless scheming and backstabbing on Profound Island. Her revenge was now more than half complete, and there was truly no point in remaining here. Hearing his words, she nodded and replied softly, "Alright, I’ll listen to you."
The Snake Woman gave Qin Li a somewhat surprised look, then sent a telepathic message: "If you leave, what about the Golden Palace?"
Qin Li leaned back, closed his eyes slightly, and sent a telepathic message back to the Snake Woman, "Profound Island is a land of trouble. As for the Golden Palace, isn’t there someone who will look after it for us?"
"But..." The Snake Woman hesitated for a moment, then closed her mouth. She didn’t know if Qin Li had guessed the identity of the mysterious old man who had helped him. But since he was determined to leave, it wasn’t a big deal. She would just follow him.
In fact, the Snake Woman would have preferred for Qin Li to just take Leng Yao and the people he cared about into the Golden Palace for closed-door cultivation. She couldn’t fully comprehend certain human emotions.
In her view, once a person grew up and came of age, they should leave their family and develop on their own! Otherwise, if all the family members stayed together, they would only become more decadent and corrupt over time.
Before Qin Li could leave, Shen Le came to see him, bringing his new wife, Leng Fangfei. Leng Yao, Leng Fangfei, and the Snake Woman all tactfully excused themselves and went to another room.
The first thing Shen Le did was give Qin Li a deep bow. Then, with an apologetic expression, he said, "Qin, I won’t say any more than necessary. After all, I’m not the one in charge of the Thousand Mechanism Sect right now. I just want to say one thing: I, Shen Le, consider you a brother for life! Later, I’ll have someone bring a few jars of thousand-year Monkey Wine for you. Consider it... an apology from me on my father’s behalf! The Thousand Mechanism Sect... has been a poor host!"
Qin Li smiled. "Don’t say that, Shen. I will always remember such a generous gift. Your esteemed father didn’t do anything wrong. After today, you and I are still brothers!"
Shen Le looked at Qin Li and nodded. He then asked, "What are your plans after you go back, Qin? You must know, the Cui family is vast. Although their top-tier forces suffered heavy losses this time, their foundation hasn’t been destroyed. And there’s still their mysterious backer. To be honest, I even feel that Profound Island itself is no longer safe!"
Qin Li’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t expected Shen Le to be so perceptive. However, Qin Li didn’t say much, only replying, "I have a grudge with the Cui family, but at this point, I believe they won’t last much longer even without my help. As for their backer, hehe, I don’t really think it’s a big deal. Even if they are from the Land of the Far West, don’t forget, in all these tens of thousands of years, when have you ever seen a more powerful figure arrive from there?"
Shen Le laughed. "That’s true. I guess I was worrying for nothing! Alright, I won’t disturb you any longer, Qin. I wish you a safe journey tomorrow!"
After returning to the family’s core area, Shen Le went straight to his father’s quarters. Shen Longxing was meditating with his eyes closed. Hearing his son enter, he asked coolly, "What did he say?"
"He didn’t say anything, nor did he show any sign of dissatisfaction," Shen Le said as he sat down. "Father, didn’t you overact a bit this time? You’ve driven Qin Li away for no good reason. Sigh!"
"What do you know?" Shen Longxing opened his eyes, glanced at his son, and sighed softly. "Dad did it on purpose! Do you really think that Qin Li is some pushover? Do you have any idea what a terrifying existence he has backing him? If he had wanted to carve up that big cake that is the Cui family, no one could have stopped him! Dad’s actions were merely a test. Because no matter what, that young man is not someone who can be bought by anyone!"
As he spoke, he gave his son a smile, a hint of gratification in it. "You did the right thing! Treat him as a brother, a friend. Never, ever try to offend him. By stirring things up at the wedding banquet today, I believe even the Lin Family will never be able to gain Qin Li’s trust again! Aigh, but there were still some oversights. The Qian Family and Ice Edge seem to have bet on this kid’s potential... But that doesn’t matter. In any case, I estimate Qin Li and the Qin Family won’t be able to stay on Profound Island for much longer! A young man like that... he’s too terrifying! If we let him stay and develop on Profound Island, I’m afraid it wouldn’t even take a thousand years before the entire island was named Qin!"
(To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com. More Chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)
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