Only I am Venerable

The Patriarch had already told them that the Qin Family would one day become a superpower, and they were destined to be its backbone!

Of course, for this group of youths, that might not have been what they cared about most. At their age, they were at their most playful stage in life.

What truly drove them to train so desperately were Instructor Jin, Instructor Ling, and Instructor Mo, who were sitting on chairs in the middle of the square, basking in the sun with their eyes眯d.

The story of this trio—one man and two women—was known by everyone in the Qin Family.

Years ago, they had led the disciples who now formed the core elite of the Qin Family, sweeping across Profound Island. The three instructors had all earned great merit, and their strength was terrifying to behold.

This was especially true for Instructor Jin. Many people whispered that he had already entered the Shattered Void realm!

Quite a few young disciples of the Qin Family had personally witnessed the space around Instructor Jin constantly warp when he was cultivating.

But the one who inspired the most awe, and even fear, in these young Qin Family disciples was actually Grand Instructor Xiaoxue!

This elusive woman, perpetually clad in black and so beautiful it was hard to look her in the eye, would occasionally appear before them. Any troublemaker who misbehaved or disobeyed would be ruthlessly tormented by Instructor Xiaoxue. She had countless bizarre ways to torture people, never causing permanent injury but inflicting immense pain.

Moreover, it seemed that Instructor Jin, Instructor Ling, and Instructor Mo all harbored a subtle fear of Instructor Xiaoxue.

Truthfully, what these children wanted to see most was the legend of the Qin Family. Some of them had to call this legendary person "Uncle," some "Brother," and some even "Grandpa" or "Great-Grandpa"—a situation that only arises in a large clan.

To their disappointment, however, that legend had not appeared here even once in the past two years. So, where had he gone?

This was a question that many people on Profound Island wanted to know the answer to.

...

Within the forbidden lands of Profound Island, in the vast, endless sea of forests that was the territory of the Black Gold Divine Leopard Clan, the atmosphere was tense. The air itself seemed to have frozen as two factions faced off against each other.

In terms of numbers, the matchup seemed incredibly lopsided. One side had over a thousand, while the other had only three—or to be precise, two people and one panther.

Two years had not left a single trace of time on She She’s face. She looked as delicate and enchanting as ever, a faint smile always gracing her exquisitely beautiful face.

Although her appearance hadn’t changed in two years, She She’s every move and gesture increasingly resembled that of a well-bred lady from a prominent human family. Whether she was truly like that to the core, only heaven knew.

Qin Li’s changes, on the other hand, were somewhat more apparent. His handsome, chiseled face had gained a touch of maturity and stability, while losing some of its sharp edge.

At this moment, he calmly watched the restless pack of Black Gold Divine Leopards opposite him. ’I’m a little surprised,’ he thought. He could sense from Xiaohai that the Black Gold Divine Leopard Clan must be very powerful, but seeing them today, he realized that this Spirit Beast Race wasn’t just strong—they were extraordinarily powerful!

Just from the auras of the agitated pack before him, he could tell that every single one of these panthers was between the Celestial Shattering Realm and the Celestial Embracing Realm!

With this kind of strength, they could probably challenge a superpower of Profound Island head-on!

Not to mention, these Black Gold Divine Leopards were not even their strongest. According to Xiaohai, these were merely the elites. Seeing them, it was easy to understand that Xiaohai having his beloved female panther snatched away and being exiled from the clan years ago was not such an unbelievable story.

Just then, the pack of Black Gold Divine Leopards slowly parted, forming a path. Twenty to thirty people gradually walked out from the passage that had been cleared.

The one in the lead was an old man, bare-chested and with muscles rippling. His full beard reminded Qin Li of Zhang Fei. He wore only an animal-skin skirt around his waist and was barefoot. His enormous eyes, like copper bells, glinted with a sharp light.

Beside the old man stood a young woman with dark skin, but a very sweet face. She wore a black dress naturally formed from her Spirit Beast Transformation. Her beautiful hair flowed down to her waist, and her figure was very slender. Her every movement seemed to flow with the rhythm of nature.

The moment Xiaohai saw this young woman, his emotions instantly grew turbulent. His breathing quickened, and his eyes gradually turned red. Qin Li could clearly feel Xiaohai’s current excitement, agitation, and apprehension.

When the young woman saw Xiaohai, she was also startled. An excited expression immediately spread across her face. She cast a cautious glance at Qin Li and She She, then called out in a low voice, "Baal?"

Over the years, Xiaohai had almost forgotten this name, only occasionally recalling his past with the Black Gold Divine Leopard Clan when he was alone.

He answered almost reflexively, "Rainbow!"

"Hmph!"

"Hmph!"

Two cold snorts came from two different people. One was pure anger, while the other was laden with many different meanings.

There was threat, jealousy, and even a trace of... fear.

Xiaohai’s eyes fell on a handsome young man in the crowd. A deep roar rumbled in his throat, and he said coldly, "Forest, I’m back! Today, I’ve returned to settle the score for how you framed me back then!"

"What’s there to settle? You stole the clan’s treasure and fled from your crime. We’ve been looking for you all these years and couldn’t find you. I never thought you’d dare deliver yourself to our doorstep. Today, I will cleanse the Black Gold Divine Leopard Clan of a degenerate like you who colludes with humans!" The young man’s voice was as frigid as Cold Ice.

The old man coughed lightly. A flash of regret crossed his eyes as he looked at Xiaohai, and he said in a deep voice, "Baal, I never thought you’d fall so low as to become a human’s pet. Why have you brought humans here? Are you still trying to get your hands on the Holy Artifact of the Black Gold Divine Leopard Clan?"

Xiaohai suddenly grew agitated. His body transformed, turning him into an equally handsome young man with dark skin and a faint black mustache above his lip. He shouted, "Grand Elder, I haven’t become a human’s pet! These two are my friends! Besides, this woman, she’s a Spirit Beast too!"

Before coming here, She She had told Xiaohai that she didn’t mind her identity being known to the Spirit Beast Race. After all, if the Grand Elder of Xiaohai’s clan was truly powerful, he would be able to discern it from her aura anyway.

This was a Spirit Beast’s instinct, so there was nothing to hide.

"What? She’s also a Spirit Beast?" The Bearded Elder was slightly taken aback. His eyes fell upon She She. He squinted, then his eyes suddenly flew wide open as if in probing, yet his expression now held a new level of reverence. "Excuse me, are you... a senior from Black Tortoise Peak?"

She She’s appearance was far too young, but for a Spirit Beast that had undergone Transformation, their looks were something that could be changed at will. They didn’t care about such things.

After all, there was still a gap between the way beasts and humans thought.

Unless a Spirit Beast had adopted a human way of thinking, they wouldn’t deliberately make themselves more beautiful. The love of beauty is human nature. Survival is the instinct of beasts.

She She hadn’t expected the Grand Elder of the Black Gold Divine Leopard to have such insight. Without denying it, she gave a faint nod.

The Bearded Elder’s demeanor became even more deferential. Although none of the other Black Gold Divine Leopards understood why the Grand Elder had suddenly become so polite, the Grand Elder was the strongest and most respected expert in their clan. His word was the clan’s decree! No one could defy it! And no one dared to!

"Then may I ask, for what purpose has Senior graced our Black Gold Divine Leopard Clan with your presence?"

She She smiled faintly, pointed a finger at Qin Li, and said, "I’m just here with him to watch the show. And he... is here to help his friend. Mm, this little Black Panther here."

HISS!

The Bearded Elder couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. Only now did he truly and seriously size up this young human, Qin Li. However, if even She She couldn’t see through Qin Li’s cultivation, how could he?

He stared for a long time but couldn’t make out anything. He could discern She She’s origin because, across all of Profound Island, the only Spirit Beasts who could break through the Venerable Realm and reach Shattered Void existed on that one mysterious Black Tortoise Peak!

And Black Tortoise Peak was the shared... Holy Land for all Spirit Beasts on Profound Island!

It was also a forbidden land!

The young woman Rainbow, standing beside the elder, was visibly delighted. But the handsome man behind her had an incredibly grim expression, his eyes glaring venomously at Xiaohai and Qin Li. His eyes darted back and forth, as if he were plotting something nefarious.

If not for She She’s presence, the Bearded Elder could have directly driven Xiaohai out again, or even pinned the crime of colluding with humans on him. But now, he no longer had the courage for that.

He could only look at Xiaohai and ask, "Are you back this time just to clear your name?"

"No." Ignoring Rainbow’s frantic signals, Xiaohai pointed at her with a very calm expression and said, "I’m here to take her with me!"

"Impossible! She’s mine!" the handsome young man roared, baring his teeth at Xiaohai in a threatening display. "No one is taking Rainbow away from me, or they’ll have to go through me!"

The Bearded Elder was also stunned, then looked at Xiaohai with some annoyance. "Baal, did you not know that I was already preparing to marry Rainbow to Forest?"

"They aren’t together yet?" Xiaohai asked, stunned, under Rainbow’s furious glare. Then, a wave of ecstasy hit him. "That’s great! It means I can take her with me!"

"You’re courting death!" the young Black Panther, Forest, roared.

"On what grounds?" The Bearded Elder didn’t get angry. Instead, he asked Xiaohai with a calm expression.

"Strength!" Xiaohai said with great determination. Then, he cast a provocative glance at the young Black Gold Divine Leopard, Forest, whose face had turned extremely ugly.