Only I am Venerable

The group of Qin Family disciples exchanged glances, and Qin Li just smiled and waved a hand. "Pay them no mind!"

She She was far too clever not to realize Cao Hong was one of Qin Li’s people. She was simply putting on a show of force to put him in his place.

Everyone knew that Martial Artists from the Land of the Far West were exceptionally powerful, far stronger than those from the East. As a result, there was a natural sense of reverence for them.

Ordinarily, this feeling wouldn’t matter, but within the Qin Family, it was unacceptable!

The Qin Family disciples could only revere one person!

And that person was Qin Li!

Even powerhouses like the Old Ape Bai Zhongshan and She She were completely respectful toward Qin Li. Now, another formidable individual had appeared, and one from the Land of the Far West, no less.

Naturally, She She felt a bit indignant. She wanted to test her strength against his and show him. ’Don’t think you’re the most powerful person at the Young Master’s side!’

Her line of thinking was a little amusing, but one had to admit... what She She was doing was not wrong at all!

Cao Hong was extremely deferential to Qin Li, but that was only because Qin Li’s power was simply overwhelming! He was so powerful that if he wanted to kill Cao Hong, Cao Hong wouldn’t even have a chance to flee.

As for the other members of Qin Li’s retinue, Cao Hong hadn’t really given them a second thought. The reason was simple, just as She She had surmised. Cao Hong believed that the East producing a single prodigy like Qin Li was already an anomaly; how could there possibly be so many other powerful Martial Artists?

Though Cao Hong was only at the Shattered Void realm, he was an assassin who had successfully killed a Martial Artist at the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation! The pride deep within his heart was second to none.

When he saw the large group from the Qin Family appear, Cao Hong felt a competitive urge to show off. He wanted to display his skills before his new master’s people.

This was perfectly normal, of course. He had chosen to follow Qin Li, and if he couldn’t demonstrate convincing strength and skill, he would only be looked down upon. No one would offer him any sympathy.

So, when She She first attacked, he didn’t reveal who he was. He planned to subdue the alluring woman first and then announce his identity. Once he did that, who in the Qin Family wouldn’t look up to him?

Thus, two people with nearly identical intentions clashed, creating a massive disturbance. Yet, neither of them brought out their deadliest techniques.

Cao Hong had originally thought he could win easily, but after just a few exchanges, he realized how terribly mistaken he was. Not only was this woman stunningly beautiful, but her strength was also astounding!

She She’s power had reached the absolute apex of the Shattered Void realm! She was just a single step away from breaking through to the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation realm!

Furthermore, as a Spirit Beast that had lived for over ten thousand years, how could the power accumulated within her body possibly be matched by the likes of Cao Hong?

As a result, Cao Hong tragically became the object of She She’s power play. He was finally forced to admit he was on Qin Li’s side, but the black-clad Demoness accused him of lying and attacked even more viciously.

Finally, utterly helpless, Cao Hong scurried over to Qin Li for aid, only to find him watching the spectacle with amusement. Left with no other choice, Cao Hong turned back to She She and forced a bitter smile. "My lady, I was wrong, all right? Please, spare me..."

She She glanced at Qin Li and saw him watching her with a grin. She pursed her lips and said, "Spare you? Fine. Just shout three times that the Martial Artists of the Land of the Far West are no match for the Martial Artists of the East, and I’ll let you go!"

The moment She She spoke, many of the Qin Family disciples couldn’t help but grow excited. It was simple. Even if they knew they were weaker than the Martial Artists from the Land of the Far West, a competitive spirit burned in the heart of every Martial Artist. If one lacked even that, what was the point of training? And so, She She’s words instantly made the blood of many young Qin Family members boil with excitement.

’Who says the East is weak? We have Bai Zhongshan and Sheshe! We also have Bai Zhongxue, Bai Zhonghuo, and Instructor Jin... We have plenty of people stronger than them!’

Cao Hong’s expression soured, and he fell silent. This touched upon a Martial Artist’s dignity; he would rather die than shout such a phrase.

Just as Cao Hong was about to speak, Qin Li gave a light cough. "All right, She She, don’t take the joke too far. That’s enough."

"Let me introduce you all. This is Cao Hong, an ally I’ve brought back from the Land of the Far West. He will be staying with me, so from now on, he’s one of the family!"

She She let out a charming laugh. The opportunity to play the good cop had been given to her Young Master, so her part in the play was over. Smiling at Cao Hong, she said, "My name is Xiaoxue. I hope Mr. Cao will offer his guidance in the future."

Seeing She She back down, the resentment that had just begun to bubble up in Cao Hong’s heart dissipated. He gave a wry smile. "Not at all. I should be the one asking for your guidance!"

Qin Li introduced his core team to Cao Hong one by one. When he got to the Old Ape Bai Zhongshan, Cao Hong was truly astonished. He had thought that having someone like She She at Qin Li’s side was already incredible; now he realized just how mistaken he had been.

The Golden Eagle Spirit and Ink Eagle from earlier, Bai Zhongxue, Bai Zhonghuo, Shangguan Shiyu—none of them seemed any weaker than he was. But when he saw Bai Zhongshan, the white-haired old man simply stood there, yet he exuded the presence of a great mountain. The pressure was so immense it was almost hard for Cao Hong to breathe!

He finally understood that Qin Li was surrounded by a cloud of experts! This Mr. Bai, Bai Zhongshan, was utterly unfathomable!

Bai Zhongshan had also intentionally let his aura flare to intimidate Cao Hong. Even if he wasn’t particularly fond of She She, they were both Spirit Beasts from Black Tortoise Peak. As humans would say, it was fate that brought them together to grow and serve under Qin Li. If She She were to be looked down upon, it would reflect poorly on Bai Zhongshan as well.

This time, Cao Hong was thoroughly convinced in both heart and mind. He gave Bai Zhongshan a deep bow. "I hope Mr. Bai will offer his guidance in the days to come!"

The Old Ape was short-tempered, but that didn’t mean he was unreasonable. Once Cao Hong’s attitude softened, Bai Zhongshan had no intention of pressing his advantage.

"We all follow the Young Master and serve him. We should be learning from one another."

Just then, the Qin Family disciples who had been dispatched outside began to return from all directions. Some brought back captives, while others had killed their targets outright.

The Spiritual Eagle and the Ink Eagle made another patrol and confirmed that there were no more escapees.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

On the peak, more than twenty members of the Iron-blooded Hall were being held captive, their faces a mask of shock and terror. They had never imagined that Qin Li’s people would be so powerful. Had they known, they never would have dared to provoke him.

Over a hundred of them had set out, and now only these twenty-odd men remained. All the others had been cut down on the spot. Judging by the efficiency with which the Qin Family disciples handled the corpses, it was clear this was far from their first time doing such work.

One of the Iron-blooded Hall Elders yelled at Qin Li, "Qin Li! Young Master Qin! I have something to say!"

Qin Li glanced impassively at the group of Iron-blooded Hall Martial Artists, their meridians sealed and their bodies trussed up, then looked expressionlessly at the Elder who had spoken. "What is it?"

"Young Master Qin, this is all a misunderstanding! It was that scoundrel Pang Wen’s slander that led us to commit such a grave error. If you just let us go, the Iron-blooded Hall is willing to compensate the Qin Family for all its losses!" The Elder blinked his cloudy eyes, his face a mask of sorrow. An uninformed observer might have actually been deceived by his act.

"Compensate the Qin Family for all its losses? Can you afford it?" Qin Li sneered. "You killed so many of my Qin Family’s disciples. Do you think a simple offer of compensation settles that?"

As he spoke, Qin Li looked at the Qin Family disciples, whose eyes were once again turning red with fury. "Why did you take them alive? Kill them all!"

The Qin Family disciples had been wanting to kill them for some time. The only issue was that Qin Li hadn’t given the order, and the ones who had captured the prisoners were Bai Zhongshan, Bai Zhongxue, She She, and the others, so they had held back.

Now that Qin Li had given the command, they grew excited, drawing their weapons to execute the prisoners.

"Qin Li, don’t bring disaster upon yourself! The Iron-blooded Hall is a branch of the Hai Family! Do you dare kill us?" The Elder had never expected Qin Li to be so merciless, to order their deaths without a moment’s hesitation and leave them no room for negotiation.

They had allowed themselves to be captured alive precisely because they believed Qin Li wouldn’t dare to kill them outright. Surely he would have to negotiate with the Iron-blooded Hall first!

The Iron-blooded Hall was powerful in its own right, and with the Hai Family’s name as their backing, they weren’t afraid that Qin Li would disrespect them. Even though they knew of the enmity between Qin Li and the Hai Family, so what? The Hai Family’s influence was vast. Would Qin Li really dare to openly oppose them?

They never expected Qin Li to order their execution directly. ’If we’d known this would happen, we should have just self-destructed and taken them down with us! At least we would have died with our honor intact!’

"A branch of the Hai Family? Heh, what an impressive title. I’m terrified!" Qin Li’s face darkened. He let out a cold laugh and waved his hand. "Kill them!"

A chorus of bloodcurdling screams erupted. No one wanted to die. To fall in battle was one thing; death could come before one even had time to process it. But to be captured alive and then executed—to have time to contemplate one’s doom—no one could face that without terror.

But the Qin Family disciples, long past the point of restraint, couldn’t have cared less who these people were or what they were thinking. They simply raised their swords and thrust, swung their blades and chopped.

In an instant, all twenty-odd members of the Iron-blooded Hall, from the highest-ranking to the lowest, regardless of their status, were put to the sword!

A thick, metallic scent of blood saturated the air on the peak. The mountain wind soon blew it away, but the image of the river of blood that had been created was not so easily erased from their minds.

Once all the bodies had been disposed of, Qin Li looked out over the mountain peak. He knew that now, even this place was no longer completely safe.

A vague idea that had long been forming in Qin Li’s mind gradually began to crystallize.