Only I am Venerable

"Little guy, I hear your Disguise Skill is quite impressive. Can you show me your real face?" Elder Yongchun said with a beaming smile, sitting on a smooth, green stone and staring at Qin Li without blinking.

"Senior, you jest. I was born with this face. It’s what my parents gave me. Even if I wanted to change it... I couldn’t!" Qin Li replied with a wry smile, looking at the young girl before him. He felt an odd sense of guilt for deceiving her.

"Sigh, how boring. You young people... each generation is more cunning than the last. People from my era were all so simple and sincere." The girl cupped her cheek in her hand and puffed them out slightly, looking utterly adorable.

Qin Li even felt the impulse to walk over, pinch her cheek, and tell her: ’Could you please not be so adorable?’

"Oh, right, are you willing to join my Moon Shaking Immortal Palace? If... you take me as your master, your status will instantly become that of a Grandmaster of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace!" the girl said, fluttering her long eyelashes and raising an eyebrow at Qin Li.

"Take you as my master? What can you teach me?" Qin Li asked.

"Hmm... I can teach you some Magic, Martial Arts Techniques, and things like that. Of course, I don’t have that ’Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, Only I am Venerable’ combat technique you practice," the girl said, grinning at Qin Li.

"..." Qin Li knew that with this girl’s power, hiding his identity from her was an incredibly difficult task. He let out a long breath and said, "Since you already know who I am, Senior, why not just eliminate me right now?"

"Why would I eliminate you?" The girl looked at Qin Li in surprise, then laughed. "So you finally admit you’re that Qin Li kid? Then show me your real face. I like pretty boys, not the way you look now!"

"..."

"How about it? Show me your real face, and I’ll make you a Grandmaster of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace. There are over a hundred thousand female disciples in the Palace. You could build a massive harem..."

"..."

"Isn’t that what all men like? Or do you think the female disciples of my Moon Shaking Immortal Palace are all plain-looking and not good enough for you?" A flash of anger appeared on the girl’s face.

"..." Qin Li remained silent. He really didn’t know what to say to this eccentric Grandmaster of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace.

"Sigh, you’re so greedy. Over a hundred thousand female disciples aren’t enough for you? Then how about I solve your crisis with the Hai Family? The Hai Family is looking for you everywhere right now. If you agree to join the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, I’ll go and settle this matter for you. The Hai Family’s Grandmaster still owes me a favor!"

"Senior, why are you so insistent on me joining the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace? Don’t you know that I am the new king of the Purple-eyed Race?" Qin Li said, looking at the girl challengingly.

"So what? The Purple Eyes are just one race on the Celestial Essence Continent right now. If you become their king *and* the leader of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, wouldn’t that be even better? With these two great powers, who in this world could stand against you?" The girl still wore a faint smile.

Qin Li sighed softly. He felt completely helpless in the face of this unpredictable Grandmaster of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace. He smiled wryly to himself. ’I can’t believe that kid, Xiaoying, would end up causing all this.’

Elder Yongchun seemed to have had her fun. She said faintly, "Little guy, you need to understand one thing. Joining the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace has only benefits for you, no downsides! Think about it. You’ll have vast resources at your disposal, countless powerful experts working for you, and even us Grandmasters who have been in seclusion for years will support you from behind the scenes..."

"Then, Senior, why did you choose me, of all people?"

"Because you’re not even thirty years old, yet you’re already a Martial Artist at the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation realm," the girl said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Is that the only reason?"

"Isn’t that reason enough?" The girl looked at Qin Li curiously. "Your achievements are unparalleled in this world. What Sect wouldn’t want a genius like you? If you put out the word right now that you’re willing to join the Hai Family and swear never to betray them, just see if they don’t happily accept you and treat you as an honored guest!"

"I’m afraid the reason my strength has increased so quickly is what they truly want," Qin Li said flatly.

A peculiar glint flashed in the girl’s eyes. She looked at Qin Li with some surprise and said, "I didn’t expect you to have thought of that. You’re right. While your personal achievements are quite high, they don’t mean much to the truly great powers. So what if one person at the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation realm can’t beat you? What about three? Five, ten, twenty? They have the advantage of numbers. You’d have no choice but to run. And if you can’t escape, you might even lose your life. But your experience, the reason you improved so quickly, and the secrets you carry—that’s what everyone is interested in!"

"Including you, Senior?" Qin Li raised an eyebrow, looking at Elder Yongchun.

"Of course!" Elder Yongchun said matter-of-factly. "Don’t you understand your own value? If I were you, I would have adamantly denied my identity just now!"

Qin Li gave a wry smile. "In front of you, is there any point in denying it?"

"No point, but at least it offers some peace of mind," Elder Yongchun said with a grin. "Actually, I’m different from those people. They’ll use any means necessary to get your secrets. But me? I just want to keep you here. I want you to willingly share your secrets because the entire Moon Shaking Immortal Palace will become yours! If you’re not going to give things to your own people, are you planning to give them to outsiders?"

Qin Li looked speechlessly at Elder Yongchun. "Setting aside whether everyone in the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace would accept your rather absurd suggestion, even if I really did become the Palace Master of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, do you think those people would truly obey my orders?"

"Of course they will!" Elder Yongchun said with absolute certainty. "If they don’t listen to you, who will they listen to? You’re the Palace Master. The Palace Master has the right to make them do anything! Even we have to show the Palace Master due respect! Otherwise, how do you think the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace has survived since the Primordial Era? Do you think everyone is so selfish that they must control power with their own hands? If that were the case, Mingyue Ascendant would have found a way to kill you directly instead of letting you replace her favorite disciple, Saintess Han Mei!"

Qin Li thought about it and realized it was true. His initial impression of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace had been terrible, mainly because Bu Yunyan and the others had been forcibly abducted, and also due to Han Mei’s arrogant, domineering, and unreasonable behavior.

Now, Qin Li had seen Bu Yunyan, Zhao Qianqian, and Linghu Feiyue. Although he hadn’t had a chance to say much, he at least knew they were doing well here and hadn’t been mistreated.

And as for Saintess Han Mei, while she was arrogant, domineering, and extremely conceited on the outside, she wasn’t very popular within the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace. In other words, the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, on the whole, was actually a decent Sect.

At this moment, Elder Yongchun spoke softly, "Actually, when the founding Grandmaster established the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, her original intention was simply to give the pitiful women of the world a place to live in peace and safety. She never thought of fighting for anything, opposing anyone, or waging war. Although the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace has become a great sect in the Land of the Far West today, its purpose has never actually changed. It’s just that continuing to develop has become harder and harder. In this world where might makes right, it’s not easy for women to find a sanctuary for themselves. That’s why we’ve always been looking for an exceptionally talented man to lead this Sect. Not for any other reason than to allow it to continue developing in peace."

Qin Li fell silent. He knew that Elder Yongchun’s candid words were the truth. Back on Profound Island, there were countless cases of five or six-hundred-year-old family patriarchs marrying eighteen or nineteen-year-old girls to continue their bloodlines. Women generally had little status, even if they cultivated to a high level of strength.

The only other female-dominated sect Qin Li had ever seen was the mysterious Ice Edge. Now, this Moon Shaking Immortal Palace was the largest female-dominated sect he had ever encountered.

To have developed into one of the three great powers of the Land of the Far West was truly a difficult feat.

"There’s no shortage of exceptionally talented men in this world!" Indeed, the Land of the Far West was a place rich with talent; finding a gifted young man wouldn’t be that difficult.

Hearing this, Elder Yongchun sighed softly and said, "Someone like you only comes around once in ten thousand years! Even if one does appear, they’re always in the Hai Family or Tongtian City... As for the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, well, there are still some people inside who don’t want to see an outstanding male disciple. That’s a problem I can’t solve. I can’t just kill all of them, can I!"

Qin Li knew Elder Yongchun was talking about women like Han Mei, and he understood her feelings. However, it was still impossible for him to agree right now.

It wasn’t that Qin Li was being difficult or that he wasn’t tempted by such a great power; it was that he had a deep-seated aversion to such super-factions.

He recalled his past life. He had once been the leader of a powerful faction, with a transcendent status where he didn’t manage the day-to-day affairs. But in the end, wasn’t he still envied by many who ganged up to plot his murder?

Qin Li remembered clearly. Before he perished together with those people, he had asked them, "You wanted fame, I gave it. You wanted fortune, I gave that too. Why did you still do this?"

Their answer remained fresh in his memory to this day.

"Your very existence is unreasonable. You’re so young, occupying that position. When will you ever die of old age? We can’t wait that long! Besides, no other group is like ours, refraining from all illicit activities. Did you think this was some ancient Martial World clan from the storybooks?"

Therefore, ever since Qin Li had been reborn on the Celestial Essence Continent, he had been extremely cautious about establishing his own power. He was wary even when building his own faction, let alone directly taking over a super-powerful one like this.

’How many people would oppose me?’ Qin Li didn’t even have to look to imagine.