Only I am Venerable

Mo Li took the lead and stood up, and the other high-ranking members of Lengqiu Palace followed suit. Mo Li turned around, looked at He Wuya, and said slowly, "The new king has descended. However, he is not yet accustomed to this change and has left for the time being. We will find the new king and persuade him to return. For now, do not publicize this widely. Wait until the new king has fully adapted to his new identity and decides to come back. Then, we will announce it with great fanfare. This is a momentous occasion for our Purple-eyed Race! He Wuya, you must not act rashly. Do you understand?"

Mo Li’s last sentence was delivered with a stern voice and a harsh expression. These old men had lived for over a hundred thousand years and experienced the world-shaking war of the Primordial Era. What hadn’t they seen? What scheme could possibly be hidden from them? The most important reason they were unwilling to fall out with He Wuya was that the blood of the Purple Eyes flowed through all their veins!

They did not want to kill their own. It was as simple as that!

But if He Wuya truly did something out of line, Mo Li wouldn’t mind making an example of him to welcome the new king!

He Wuya nodded respectfully and said, "Rest assured, Emperor Ancestor. I know what to do!"

"Good!" Mo Li and the four other Purple-eyed Emperor Ancestors exchanged a look, and with a flash, they all vanished from the Earth Palace’s passage.

After returning to the room, He Wuya and the others all sat down, their faces grim. Today’s events had completely exceeded their expectations. As for the matter of someone causing trouble earlier, it was now completely insignificant compared to this. Thus, Cao Hong had managed to escape disaster.

Venerable Kuang Lei, who had a fiery temper, was the first to stand up and say angrily, "Palace Master, I’ll go find that brat and kill him. Won’t that solve everything?"

Before He Wuya could speak, another elder stood up and said slowly, "Venerable Kuang Lei, that plan is unwise. It’s simply not feasible. Leaving aside whether we can even find the young man, even if we do find and kill him, do you think the Emperor Ancestors would let you go if they found out?"

"So are we supposed to just accept this brat as our king?" Venerable Kuang Lei’s face was livid with anger. He was almost certain that the kid was responsible for the two fires earlier. Not only could he not get revenge now, but the brat had turned the tables and become the king of their entire race. This left Venerable Kuang Lei simmering with fury.

"Of course not!" the elder who had just spoken said directly. "Let’s not even talk about whether the ancestors’ prophecy is still accurate or useful after more than a hundred thousand years. Even if the prophecy is true... a prophecy is still just a prophecy. This young man cannot be allowed to live. We are doing very well right now and don’t need the so-called new king to descend. I’m sure the Palace Master is even less keen on having someone suddenly placed above him..."

He Wuya nodded. Of course he didn’t like it. As the leader of the most powerful faction of the Purple-eyed Race, the Palace Master of Lengqiu Palace had always held an extremely lofty position. Even Purple Eyes who weren’t part of Lengqiu Palace had to show him some courtesy. One could say that although the Palace Master of Lengqiu Palace wasn’t the patriarch of the Purple-eyed Race, his status was nearly equivalent to it!

Under these circumstances, no one would like having a new ruler placed over their head, not even a nominal one!

He Wuya spoke slowly, "Then, in Venerable Bi Shui’s opinion, how should we handle this matter?"

The elder who had spoken earlier smiled faintly and said, "Getting rid of this young man isn’t difficult. Palace Master, think about it. In this world, there aren’t just five Emperor Ancestors who survived from that era..."

He Wuya’s eyes glinted. He looked at Venerable Bi Shui and said slowly, "Venerable Bi Shui, you mean... the Purple-eyed Emperor Ancestors outside who haven’t joined Lengqiu Palace?"

Venerable Bi Shui nodded and sneered, "That group is full of proud and untamable individuals. They won’t even join Lengqiu Palace, so how could they possibly acknowledge some inexplicable king who suddenly appeared?"

Venerable Kuang Lei said, "Bi Shui, don’t forget, those untamable fellows are also old monsters who survived from that era. Who’s to say their thinking won’t be just as rigid as our five Emperor Ancestors?"

He Wuya nodded in deep agreement. "That’s right. Every past Palace Master of Lengqiu Palace has visited those Emperor Ancestors outside and requested they join the palace, but every single one was rejected. What if they aren’t interested in this kind of thing..."

Venerable Bi Shui smiled and shook his head. "These are two different matters. Palace Master, rest assured. Leave this to me, and I will handle it well for you! You must understand, those Emperor Ancestors are not quite like the ones in our Sect. They would never tolerate some new king riding on their heads. As long as we have someone ’unintentionally’ spread the news to them and give them a portrait of the young man... Palace Master, what do you think their reaction will be?"

He Wuya thought for a moment. ’Indeed, it would be a wonder if those old fellows didn’t fly into a rage. How could some wet-behind-the-ears brat be worthy of riding on their heads?’

Venerable Bi Shui continued, "That is only the first part. There is also a second."

He Wuya looked at this Supreme Elder, who had always been known for his wisdom, with some surprise and asked, "And what is the second?"

Venerable Bi Shui said, "As for the second part, we spread the news to those other major powers!"

"Spread it to them? Don’t tell me you want to join forces with them?" He Wuya’s expression changed slightly. No matter what, this was an internal affair of the Purple-eyed Race. He did not want outsiders to interfere.

"No, of course we won’t join forces. Palace Master, think carefully. What is the fundamental reason our Purple-eyed Race has coexisted peacefully with the native Martial Artists of the Celestial Essence Continent for over a hundred thousand years?" Venerable Bi Shui asked.

"The fundamental reason... is likely that our strengths are relatively equal, creating a balance of power. Furthermore, we haven’t shown any hostility. After more than a hundred thousand years, the Purple-eyed Race has essentially integrated into this world. The initial hostility and enmity have faded, so we’ve been able to coexist peacefully," He Wuya replied after some thought.

Venerable Bi Shui nodded. "The Palace Master is absolutely right. We have, in effect, been accepted by this world. But what if we suddenly had a king—a king who could lead the Purple Eyes to a new era of glory... Don’t you think those super-powers would feel terrified?"

He Wuya first frowned in thought for a moment. Then, a look of delight slowly spread across his face, and he finally burst out laughing. "Venerable Bi Shui, this plan is excellent, truly excellent! HAHA! We just need to leak a whisper of this news... yes, just a little whisper, and they will go looking for that unlucky young man themselves, won’t they? Unless that young man hides in some corner for the rest of his life, the moment he appears, he’ll be a public enemy!"

Venerable Bi Shui smiled. "Exactly!"

He Wuya stood up, rubbed his hands together, then looked at the dozen or so Supreme Elders of Lengqiu Palace present and said in a low voice, "I must ask all of you to keep what we have discussed today a secret. It must not be leaked. I trust you all understand that we... do not need the leadership of some king!"

"Rest assured, Palace Master, we will not speak of this to anyone!"

"Don’t worry, Palace Master. We all know what to do!"

"We all can’t wait for that brat to die!"

A pleased smile spread across He Wuya’s face as he listened to their replies.

...

「A few days later.」

News of what had happened at Lengqiu Palace spread throughout the entire Land of the Far West!

A commotion that large would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible, to deliberately conceal. Moreover, Palace Master He Wuya and the others were intentionally fanning the flames, so the news spread very quickly.

The Purple Eyes, who had been quiescent for over a hundred thousand years, actually had a new king. This news shocked all the major Noble Families and Sects in the Land of the Far West.

This news was even more shocking and terrifying than the emergence of the Ancient Divine Temple. The appearance of the Divine Temple might only bring with it some secrets and legends from a bygone era, and at most, some treasures.

But the birth of a new king for the Purple-eyed Race... could it mean that another long and drawn-out war was about to erupt? No one could say for sure!

Therefore, the identity of the Purple-eyed Race’s new king became a matter of common concern for the upper echelons of all the major Sects and great families in the Land of the Far West.

「The Hai Family.」

Hai Jinzun, the peerless genius of the Hai Family, had recently returned to his family due to Qin Li’s disappearance. At this moment, he was sitting with the Hai Family Patriarch, discussing the birth of the new Purple-eyed king.

The Hai Family Patriarch, Hai Shixiong, was a Martial Artist at the peak of the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation realm. He looked to be in his seventies but was actually over three thousand years old. He too had once been a genius of the Hai Family, though his talent was somewhat inferior to Hai Jinzun’s.

However, Hai Shixiong’s greatest strength was managing the family. The Hai Family, passed down since the Primordial Era, had grown into a behemoth by the present day.

In Hai Shixiong’s view, the appearance of a new king for the Purple-eyed Race was not a terrible thing. On the contrary, it was a rare opportunity!

For the past few thousand years, although there had been occasional minor disputes and frictions between the various families and sects, it had generally been an era of peace. Without external stimulus, it was rather difficult for a family to grow and expand.

Unless a war could break out. The saying "chaotic times produce heroes" was exactly this principle. The truly strong did not fear war, because only in chaotic times could one find more opportunities!

Hai Shixiong said, "The Purple-eyed Race has been peaceful for so many years, ever since the end of that war in the Late Ancient Times. For a king to suddenly appear now is truly strange. This person... who could he be?"

Hai Jinzun smiled. "I have a theory about that. There is someone who closely matches the news coming from Lengqiu Palace."

"Who is it?"

"Qin Li!" Hai Jinzun said with a smile.