Only I am Venerable

Countless people were jolted from their sleep. Only a few heavy sleepers would curse under their breath at the disturbance. The vast majority stepped out of their homes with looks of horror, or scanned Tongtian City with their Divine Thought, all of them wondering the same thing. ’Who’s so arrogant as to unleash such a powerful aura within Tongtian City?’

This was why even people like Tianya and Cao Hong had to fight outside the city. Causing too big a commotion within the city walls would surely attract attention from the authorities.

After all, Tongtian City had a City Lord!

Qin Li’s single action threw the entire city into chaos as countless Divine Thoughts intertwined, creating a jumbled mess!

In the sky, the approaching figure immediately sensed something was wrong. The erupting aura could even rival his own, and he refused to believe that Qin Li could possess such strength!

In truth, he hadn’t actually expected to find Qin Li in Tongtian City. He and several other Purple-eyed Emperor Ancestors, all Loose Cultivators, had split up to search for Qin Li’s whereabouts.

This Purple-eyed Emperor Ancestor was named Qu Zhi. He was a Loose Cultivator, and ever since hearing about the appearance of some "New King" in the Purple-eyed Race, Qu Zhi had sworn to find and kill him!

It wasn’t about whether he believed in the other party’s Purple Eyes bloodline. The king of the Purple-eyed Race had always been the strongest, the only one who could command everyone’s respect.

’Since he’s being called the New King, if I kill him, I’ll take his place!’

Although he had never thought of becoming the king of the Purple-eyed Race, this was an opportunity that almost no super-expert of the Purple Eyes was willing to pass up!

Moreover, these Purple-eyed Emperors who were Loose Cultivators didn’t believe in the prophecies of their ancestors from the Primordial Era!

This was the real reason they dared to move against Qin Li!

They believed the prophecies from that group of Purple-eyed Ancestors of the Ancient Times were fundamentally inaccurate, especially since this Qin Li was a native born and raised on the Celestial Essence Continent!

What right did he have to become the king of the Purple-eyed Race? To become the king that all Purple Eyes must greet with a bow?

In a word: he was unworthy!

Qu Zhi hadn’t expected to actually be the one to find Qin Li. The moment that powerful Divine Sense appeared, Qu Zhi could hardly believe it was real.

’That Qin Li is truly cunning and bold. He made the Hai Family suffer a silent loss, threw the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace into utter disarray, and now he’s appeared in Tongtian City so quickly!’

’Today, I must kill this so-called Purple-eyed New King, who has no legitimate claim to the title!’

As Qu Zhi thought this, he sped toward Tongtian City. He never expected that with the eruption of that aura, the entire city would be thrown into chaos!

He could no longer distinguish which Divine Sense belonged to Qin Li. And something even more alarming was yet to come.

As if sensing Qu Zhi’s presence, more than a dozen astonishing auras erupted from within Tongtian City, soaring into the sky. A dozen or so figures followed these auras, instantly flying toward Qu Zhi.

"Why are you all flying toward me? Didn’t you feel that aura erupt from within the city?" In that moment, Qu Zhi felt he had been gravely wronged.

But how could the group flying out not know that the aura had erupted from within the city? None of them were fools, and they could naturally sense another equally powerful aura fluctuating in the sky.

And the person in the city was most likely one of Tongtian City’s own, using this method to warn them!

Through a bizarre twist of fate, Qu Zhi missed his chance to confront Qin Li. He came for a prize but only found a heap of trouble.

The dozen or so figures who flew up quickly spotted Qu Zhi and surrounded him, their faces filled with a mixture of shock and anger.

They all knew who had come.

A Purple-eyed Emperor!

’A Purple-eyed Emperor of the Thunder Tribulation Realm, sneaking up to Tongtian City... what is he trying to do? If someone hadn’t warned us, this Purple-eyed Emperor might have actually slipped into Tongtian City!’

’If he succeeded in causing some trouble, Tongtian City’s reputation would take a massive hit!’

The man in the lead was none other than the Lord of Tongtian City, Li Longchuan. His eyes were fixed impassively on the Purple-eyed Emperor. After sizing him up for a few moments, he slowly said, "What brings you to my Tongtian City, sir?"

Although the Purple Eyes had truly integrated into the world of the Celestial Essence Continent, there was ultimately still a barrier between the different races, especially with a pure-blooded Purple Eyes like this one. There was certainly no friendship to speak of.

It was considered good enough that they didn’t encroach on each other’s territory on a normal day. Now a Purple Eyes had come to Tongtian City on his own initiative. Was he here to cause trouble?

Although he was a Purple-eyed Emperor Ancestor, Qu Zhi didn’t dare to be too aggressive in the face of so many experts. He halted, retracted the pair of enormous wings on his back, looked at Li Longchuan, and said in a deep voice, "Who are you?"

"I am the Lord of Tongtian City." Li Longchuan watched Qu Zhi coolly. He wasn’t sure if this Purple-eyed Emperor Ancestor was from Lengqiu Palace or a Loose Cultivator of the Purple-eyed Race, but regardless of his origin, Li Longchuan was cautious. If a dispute arose, it wouldn’t be a matter between two individuals, but a confrontation between two powerful factions.

"So it’s Lord Li. I am Qu Zhi, a Loose Cultivator and a Purple-eyed Emperor. I am merely passing through because I detected the trail of an enemy. I have no other intentions." Qu Zhi’s Divine Sense was still searching through the chaotic mess of Divine Senses in Tongtian City while simultaneously blanketing all of Tongtian City’s exits with his Divine Sense. He didn’t want to let this opportunity slip by.

In an instant, many people figured out who the enemy Qu Zhi spoke of was. They turned their gazes to Li Longchuan, because they all knew that Li Longchuan’s youngest daughter, Li Wan, the Little Princess of Tongtian City, had publicly declared some time ago that Qin Li was her savior! So, these people wanted to see how Lord Li would handle this matter.

"Are you pursuing Qin Li, sir?" Li Longchuan’s face was calm, betraying no emotion, but as soon as he asked the question, Qu Zhi’s heart sank. ’This is bad,’ he thought. ’Things have gotten complicated.’ If this matter had nothing to do with Li Longchuan and he didn’t want to get involved, he could have simply demanded that Qu Zhi not kill anyone in Tongtian City, rather than asking who he was hunting.

With that thought, Qu Zhi nodded and said, "It might be that Qin Li. He is not worthy of being the New King of our Purple-eyed Race. I am here to clean up our house!"

Qu Zhi’s words were quite clever. He deliberately ignored a key fact: Qin Li was not one of the Purple Eyes! By framing it as an internal matter for the Purple-eyed Race, he would make Li Longchuan feel awkward even if he wanted to protect Qin Li.

Li Longchuan smiled faintly and said, "Is that so? I heard this Qin Li is not one of the Purple Eyes at all, but a home-grown genius of the Celestial Essence Continent! How did he get mixed up with your Purple-eyed Race? Could it be that you’re just acting on hearsay? You must not let others incite you and use you as a tool!"

As a Martial Artist of the Thunder Tribulation Realm, Li Longchuan’s words carried significant weight.

Qu Zhi was indeed angered. He raised an eyebrow and said, "I can distinguish right from wrong for myself. I don’t need Lord Li to remind me. What is your meaning, Lord Li? Are you trying to protect that Qin Li?"

Li Longchuan smiled faintly. "I wouldn’t go so far as to say ’protect,’ but here in my Tongtian City, it would be best for you to behave yourself, sir. I have absolutely no intention of targeting the entire Purple-eyed Race. Anyone who comes to my Tongtian City must abide by my rules!"

Qu Zhi snorted and said, "You don’t need to remind me of that, Lord Li. I know. However, he’d better pray he never leaves Tongtian City!"

"Are the Purple-eyed Race so remarkable?" someone suddenly said coldly. "Tongtian City’s sphere of influence covers a radius of over two thousand li! Surely you don’t think our territory is limited to just this main city, do you, sir?"

"Exactly. This old man has met a Purple-eyed Emperor before, and we even had a good spar. I was fortunate enough to win by half a move..."

"What is the meaning of this?" The feathers on Qu Zhi’s wings, each one as hard as iron and sharp as a blade, twitched slightly. The atmosphere around them instantly grew heavy.

Li Longchuan laughed it off. "It means nothing. Everyone, let’s disperse for now. Go on home and get some sleep! Friend Qu Zhi, we won’t be hosting you. Please, see yourself out!"

Qu Zhi slowly let out a long breath, then said, "Fine. I have now witnessed the might of Tongtian City!" With that, he spread his wings and his figure shot into the distance, disappearing into the vast night.

After he left, someone asked Li Longchuan, "City Lord, is that Qin Li really here in Tongtian City?"

Someone else chimed in, "There should be no mistake. That fluctuation just now was incredibly powerful. The Thunder Tribulation Masters of Tongtian City are just us few, and we’re all familiar with each other. That aura was unfamiliar. And didn’t you all feel it? That aura just now... it had a feeling of... looking down upon the world!"

"Now that you mention it, I remember. It did have that kind of presence. I thought I was the only one who felt that way."

"That Qin Li... isn’t he said to be only at the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation realm? How could his power have increased so quickly?" Among them, someone couldn’t help but voice their doubt.

Li Longchuan remained silent, gazing in the direction Qu Zhi had departed, lost in thought.

After a long while, Li Longchuan finally spoke. "If any of you have the chance to meet Qin Li, do me a favor and don’t give him any trouble."

"Of course, of course. We’re all very interested in Qin Li. We want to see just what’s so magical about this young man that has drawn the attention of so many powerful groups."

"Yes, and he’s a young man from the East, too. Truly impressive to have his strength increase so quickly!"

The crowd chattered amongst themselves as they departed one by one.

In the end, only Li Longchuan and an old man beside him remained. The old man glanced at Li Longchuan and sighed softly. "Longchuan, some of our own people harbor ill intentions as well!"