Chapter 322: Chapter 320: The Mysterious Sect Leader of Ice Edge
"Qin Li, are you really planning to just let this go?" After everyone had left, the Snake Woman quietly slipped into Qin Li’s room, her pair of bright, lively eyes darting about as she watched him.
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Qin Li looked at the Snake Woman, a blank expression on his face.
"Hmph. Even though I’m not human, that doesn’t mean I don’t understand humans at all. Are you really going to move your entire clan? Are you really going to just let go of all the Cui Family’s treasures?"
The Snake Woman gave Qin Li a teasing smile. "Don’t even think you can hide it from me. I don’t believe you’re that much of a good guy!"
"How am I not a good guy?" Watching the Snake Woman’s mischievous grin, Qin Li felt a little helpless. He suddenly thought of Shangguan Shiyu. ’Originally, only Shangguan Shiyu could see through my thoughts so easily, but now, there’s also the Snake Woman.’
Besides those two, not even Leng Yao and the others had such a thorough grasp of his thoughts.
"You’re right. Why would I move my entire clan? If those from the Land of the Far West could cross the continent and reach us so easily, who knows how many Mysterious Lands would have been annihilated over the millennia! If I’m not mistaken, the Shattered Void Martial Artist who escaped was from the Land of the Far West. He’s severely injured and probably won’t live much longer! If I don’t seize this opportunity to eliminate them, *that* will be what leaves behind endless trouble!" Qin Li said softly, a faint killing intent glinting in his eyes.
The Snake Woman nodded in satisfaction. With a snort, she said, "Now that’s more like it!"
Just then, someone came in to report, "Young Master Li, the Sect Leader of Ice Edge requests an audience!"
"Oh?" Qin Li stood up, glanced at the Snake Woman, and chuckled. "It seems we have allies after all!"
The Snake Woman pursed her lips and silently withdrew.
Qin Li went out to greet her. He looked at the mysterious Sect Leader of Ice Edge, whose gaze was pure, and bowed with a smile. "Senior, if you wished to see me, you only needed to say the word. I would have come to pay my respects!"
"Hehe, it’s no trouble, no trouble at all!" The mysterious Sect Leader of Ice Edge seemed to have a very frank and open personality, something that had been apparent at Shen Le’s wedding. Even her disciple, Leng Fangfei, though appearing incredibly cold, actually possessed the bold spirit of a heroine deep down.
Qin Li led the female Sect Leader of Ice Edge to a guest room. Leng Yao served tea and was about to withdraw when the Sect Leader suddenly spoke. "Young lady, would you be willing to join my Ice Edge and become my Closed-door Disciple?"
Qin Li and Leng Yao were both stunned. They never imagined that the grand Sect Leader of Ice Edge would make such an offer. Honestly, it would be nothing but beneficial for Leng Yao to join Ice Edge. The Sect had a profound heritage, a secret location, and a snowfield frozen for a thousand miles—a place not just anyone could traverse.
The mysterious Sect Leader of Ice Edge continued with a smile, "Please don’t misunderstand. I simply see that you have excellent aptitude, and your disposition suits the ways of my Ice Edge. Besides, Ice Edge doesn’t forbid marriage. You see, my precious disciple, Leng Fangfei, just married Shen Le, didn’t she?"
Qin Li looked at Leng Yao. This was something he could not decide for her.
Leng Yao’s starry eyes gazed at Qin Li for a while. She bit her lower lip, a fierce struggle seemingly taking place in her heart. After a long moment, she slowly shook her head and said, "I appreciate Senior’s kind intentions, but I... I don’t want to go."
"Sigh..." The mysterious Sect Leader of Ice Edge’s eyes filled with disappointment. She let out a sigh before saying, "So be it. Everyone has their own destiny; it cannot be forced. Little girl, our meeting was fated. I have a Cultivation Technique and a combat technique here. Take them. They may not be Divine-level Secret Manuals, but on Profound Island, they’re still quite respectable."
"Ah, how can she accept this?" Qin Li quickly interjected.
The Sect Leader of Ice Edge shot Qin Li a look. "Shoo, shoo. This is women’s business. What’s it to you? Little girl, don’t be embarrassed. If you really feel bad about it, you can become a Registered Disciple of my Ice Edge! That way, in the future on Profound Island, no one will dare to bully you so easily!"
"Is... Is that alright?" Leng Yao was deeply moved, her eyes turning toward Qin Li.
Qin Li gave a wry smile and shook his head. ’This is a favor we have to accept, whether we want to or not,’ he thought. He nodded slightly and said, "This is your fated opportunity. Quickly, thank... uh..."
It was only then that Qin Li suddenly realized he didn’t even know the name of Ice Edge’s Sect Leader.
"My name is Leng Yanru. Ice Edge is composed almost entirely of female disciples, most of whom are orphans. So, nearly all of them take the founder’s surname." This mysterious Sect Leader of Ice Edge was not as cold as the outside world imagined. On the contrary, her straightforward words showed she was a person who was true to her emotions.
’No wonder... She has the same surname as Leng Yao.’ Qin Li thought.
Leng Yao then bent her knees and knelt before Leng Yanru, performing the ceremony to become a disciple.
Leng Yanru, beaming, accepted Leng Yao’s three kowtows before helping her up. "Good, good. Good disciple!" she said with a smile.
After this was settled, Leng Yanru sat facing Qin Li. They were the only two in the room. Leng Yanru had still not removed her veil; it seemed to be a habit, as even few within Ice Edge had ever seen her true appearance.
"Qin Li, what do you think of the current situation on Profound Island?" Leng Yanru’s eyes fixed on Qin Li’s face as she asked coolly.
"It’s nothing special. We’ll get by just as we always have," Qin Li replied with a smile.
"Oh? You don’t think the Land of the Far West is a threat?" Leng Yanru asked in return, her gaze full of interest.
"The Land of the Far West? Heh." Qin Li gave a self-mocking laugh. "Does Sect Leader Leng truly believe they’re such a threat? Some people just think far too highly of themselves."
"Hehe, Young Master Qin, your words resonate deeply with me!" Leng Yanru’s eyes were like liquid pools. After a few hearty laughs, she continued with a touch of disdain, "On this Profound Island, whether you’re talking about the super-powers, the High Level powers, or even... if you count all the Middle Level and minor clans and sects, there isn’t a single one that’s not ambitious! In times of peace, that ambition can’t be fully expressed. But in times of chaos, every ghoul and goblin wants to come out and kick up a fuss."
Hearing Leng Yanru’s cold tone, Qin Li gave a wry smile. ’This Sect Leader Leng really despises evil,’ he thought. He then said with a smile, "Why should Sect Leader Leng concern yourself with them? Ice Edge is a world unto itself. Even if someone wanted to muddy the waters of Profound Island, they wouldn’t come knocking on Ice Edge’s door."
"Hmph, who says? Over the years, at least thirty-something families have set foot on the Western Snowfield. They claim to be looking for the unique Spiritual Object, the Thousand-year-old Snow Lotus, but in reality, aren’t they just harboring designs on Ice Edge? After all, Ice Edge controls the greatest resources in that snowfield! This time, neither the Lin Family nor the Shen Family have good intentions. I only came to remind you, Young Master Qin, to be wary of them. Don’t think that just because you’re on good terms with a junior from their family, you’re on good terms with the family itself! But now, it seems my worries were unfounded."
"Still, I thank Sect Leader Leng for the reminder." Qin Li expressed his thanks to Leng Yanru sincerely, then added with a smile, "One Cui Family is enough to keep these gluttons fed for decades. My family is weak and my words carry little weight, so I won’t be participating in such things."
Leng Yanru’s eyes stared at Qin Li for a long time before a hint of a smile finally appeared in them. "Ice Edge will not participate either. We have no interest in all this fighting and killing! We only hope that when Young Master Qin rises again one day, you will remember the connection we’ve made."
"Sect Leader Leng, how can you say such a thing?" Qin Li laughed. "Even if my family grows, I fear we will never be worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as Ice Edge."
"You are worthy." Leng Yanru smiled, stood up, and gave Qin Li a deep look. "And that day may not be far off. I wish you good luck, Young Master Qin."
With that, she departed as gracefully as she had arrived.
Qin Li saw Leng Yanru off, watching her departing figure as he stood there, lost in thought.
’It seems the "he" the Snake Woman mentioned has a tremendous influence on these super-powers.’ The reason was simple. Even though super-powers like the Thousand Mechanism Sect, the Lin Family, the Wang Family, the Xiao Family, and Sword Concealment Manor were green with envy over the Cui Family’s wealth and wanted to cast him aside, none of them had dared to target him directly.
’As for that "he," Qin Li never believed it was the Old Ape. It wasn’t that the Old Ape wouldn’t help him, but Bai Zhongshan simply didn’t possess the kind of power that could terrify all the great Shattered Void realm figures on Profound Island.’
’Just think, would one Venerable be deathly afraid of another?’
’So, it clearly had to be someone else! But within the memories Hu Yanbo had passed down to him, there was nothing about this. Qin Li finally understood. What Hu Yanbo had given him wasn’t a complete set of memories, but... a curated one!’
’Furthermore, because these memories were so vast and jumbled, finding any flaw within them was a nearly impossible task.’
’Unless one day I can see the full form of the giant within my Sea of Consciousness, maybe then I’ll be able to find the cracks and flaws in what Hu Yanbo passed down to me.’
’As for why that person was helping him, Qin Li was equally perplexed. His current guess was that before Hu Yanbo met "little guys" like the Snake Woman, he must have also met some... "big guys."’
Afterwards, the Qian Family Patriarch, Qian Duoduo, once again came to visit. Qin Li warmly received the refined Patriarch who had so staunchly supported him at the most critical moment.
And what Patriarch Qian had to say made Qin Li, once again, see him in a whole new light.
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