Only I am Venerable

At the summit, several old men with white beards were frowning as they scouted the area. Suddenly, one of them, whose eyes had been slightly closed, snapped them open. Two sharp glints of light shot out as he exclaimed with delight, "Found it!"

Delight instantly appeared on Pang Wen’s face. His eyes, filled with hatred, flashed with a crazed light. He gritted his teeth. "Found it... Finally! The heavens haven’t forsaken me. Qin Li, first I’ll tear your family limb from limb! Then I’ll wait right here for you to grace me with your presence!"

Just then, an incredibly powerful roar echoed through the mountain range, and the expressions of everyone on the summit changed.

An intense fighting spirit suddenly erupted from one of the old men. He sneered, "They certainly have good timing!"

Pang Wen still harbored a deep-seated fear of Qin Li. Hearing this long roar, which seemed to resonate with the world itself, he frowned and asked, "Master, what level of power does that require?"

The old man radiating fighting spirit smiled faintly and said with pride, "A roar like that? I can produce one too!" With that, he took a deep breath and unleashed a furious bellow, sending it crashing down like an avalanche to meet the roar from below.

In a dimension invisible to the naked eye, powerful waves of Primordial Power clashed violently, neutralizing each other until, in the end, both sounds faded into silence simultaneously.

The old man chuckled and looked at Pang Wen. "What do you think, my dear disciple? There’s no need to fear them!"

Pang Wen was greatly reassured and roared, "Qin Li, you whelp! Your grandpa Pang Wen is here! Do you dare to come up?"

As he spoke, a figure shot toward them from the distance, moving as fast as a streaking meteor. The people on the summit could only sense that it was a single person; they couldn’t even track his movements, only glimpse the afterimages he left in his wake!

The old man radiating fighting spirit was suddenly alarmed and cried out, "That roar didn’t come from him! Disciple, be careful!"

As he spoke, the old man thrust his palms forward, sending an immense wave of power crashing down on the approaching figure. "Get back down!" he roared.

The newcomer neither dodged nor evaded. He simply raised one hand, and a force countless times more powerful than the old man’s surged back in retaliation!

It was like a tidal wave reversing its course, like a mountain of snow collapsing, like a waterfall plunging thousands of feet to send up a calamitous spray!

BOOM!

A deafening explosion rocked the entire summit, like a thunderclap from a clear sky. The whole mountain shuddered from the impact, and countless massive fissures spiderwebbed out from the peak in every direction.

As for the old man, he was sent flying by the newcomer’s palm strike, his body like a withered leaf in an autumn gale, blasted away without the slightest resistance.

Everyone watched in utter horror. While the old man was still airborne from the force of the blow, one of his legs disintegrated, then the other. Finally, his torso... his arms... all turned to ash in an instant!

A searing heat, like that of magma, lingered in the air. Pang Wen’s master from the Iron-blooded Hall had been utterly obliterated by a single palm strike from the newcomer!

Only then did the newcomer land on the summit. Everyone stared at him, completely dumbfounded, frozen where they stood.

Attacking from the base of the mountain put one at a significant disadvantage. Normally, even a person with slightly superior strength would be defeated in such a direct clash of pure power.

And yet this man, attacking from below with a seemingly casual palm strike, had utterly annihilated Pang Wen’s master—an expert of the Shattered Void Realm—leaving not even a speck of dust behind!

’Just...what kind of power was this?’

"Pang Wen. I’m here." The newcomer wore a long purple robe. His tall, straight figure was imposing, and his features were strikingly handsome. His ice-cold eyes, devoid of all emotion, fell upon Pang Wen as he spoke in a frigid tone.

The man before him had changed slightly from a few years ago, but Pang Wen would have recognized him even if he’d been reduced to ashes. Who else could it be but Qin Li?

"Qin... Qin Li! You... how could you possibly... possess this kind of power?" The smug look hadn’t yet faded from Pang Wen’s face; it now froze there, a mask of horror and disbelief.

"Did you think the rumors were false?" Qin Li looked at Pang Wen with derision. "Back on Profound Island, you acted like an idiot. I never thought that now, you wouldn’t just be acting—you’ve truly become one!"

"Qin Li, do you think you’ve already won?" one of the old men standing to the side bellowed, his eyes burning with rage. "The Iron-blooded Hall has countless experts! I refuse to believe you can defeat all of us!"

"That’s right! So you’re Qin Li. It seems the rumors were true. You’re nothing but a vicious butcher! To strike so mercilessly... Qin Li, don’t even think about leaving this mountain alive today!"

By now, Cao Hong had flown up to the summit. He glared at the man who had just spoken and couldn’t help retorting, "The Young Master is vicious? You really have the gall to spout such nonsense. Who was it that wiped out the Qin Family on Profound Island? Are you going to deny it was you?"

"And what if it was us?" another old man shouted. "Qin Li slaughtered the entire Thousand Kills Sect first! If he can start the fight, we can finish it!"

"A fine sentiment," Cao Hong retorted. "In that case, let’s fight. What’s the point of wasting more words?" A ferocious fighting spirit surged from Pang Wen. The sight of Qin Li killing a Shattered Void expert with a single palm strike had deeply galvanized Cao Hong. He had never imagined the Young Master’s true power was this absurdly strong!

It wasn’t that Cao Hong had never seen a Martial Artist who had undergone the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation, but he had never seen one as powerful as the Young Master!

"Form the array!" an old man commanded in a low voice. Instantly, dozens of men surrounded Qin Li and Cao Hong, each drawing their weapon. To one’s surprise, the group seemed to possess every one of the eighteen classical weapons.

Sabers, spears, swords, halberds, axes, battle-axes, clubs, and staves... every single person held a different type of weapon!

As soon as the Grand Array took shape, both Qin Li and Cao Hong felt a powerful presence materialize. An invisible pressure began to bear down on them.

"Kill!"

At an elder’s command, the men in the front ranks charged at Qin Li and Cao Hong, wielding their assorted weapons.

Their coordination with one another was absolutely seamless!

Any attack, no matter how perfect the technique, has openings. But here, any flaw in one man’s attack was perfectly covered by the man beside him, whose own opening was then covered by the next. In this way, the Grand Array formed by these dozens of men appeared to be utterly without a single weakness!

Even a supreme expert of the Thunder Tribulation Realm would find it difficult to escape once caught in this formation!

’An array?’

A cold smile touched the corners of Qin Li’s lips. The most perfect person still has a weak point; likewise, the most perfect array must also have a vulnerability.

It might be so perfect as to have no flaws, but it would certainly have a weak point!

And now, Qin Li was going to find that weak point.

Under the power of his Divine Sense, empowered by the Innate Purple Qi, no one’s true strength could remain hidden!

After his inspection, however, Qin Li was inwardly alarmed. ’The Iron-blooded Hall’s strength is nothing to scoff at! Still, they’ll be perfect for practice. If I can’t even destroy a single Iron-blooded Hall, how can I possibly speak of annihilating the Hai Family?’

Everyone in this array used a different weapon, perfectly embodying the principle of using strengths to cover for weaknesses. Their weapons complemented one another, seamlessly filling any gaps.

Each part was interlocked with the next in a seamless chain.

The attacks came like a ceaseless tide, wave after wave. Anyone caught inside would never have a moment’s rest; the instant you counterattacked one person, all the others would strike you at once!

On the other hand, using a wide-area attack would only dilute its power.

That was why the Iron-blooded Hall rarely used this Grand Array. But whenever they did, they were always victorious. They had even used this Grand Array to slay a Great Power of the Thunder Tribulation Realm!

Let alone Qin Li, who was rumored to only be at the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation realm. They simply didn’t believe he could possibly escape from this Grand Array alive.

Pang Wen was also within the Grand Array.

His eyes, filled with unrelenting and venomous hatred, were fixed on Qin Li. After countless drills, Pang Wen could execute every move and every step of the formation with his eyes closed.

But he had to keep his eyes open. He wanted to see with his own two eyes just how Qin Li would die!

The weak point was Pang Wen.

His movements were flawless, but his heart... his heart was consumed by hatred. He could not achieve true unity of mind with the others.

With a cold smirk, Qin Li sent a vicious beam of Sword Qi stabbing toward Pang Wen!

Everyone else nearby launched their own attacks at Qin Li, allowing Pang Wen to calmly evade the sword strike. He shot Qin Li a defiant look, a deeply contemptuous sneer on his lips.

Qin Li turned to parry. Cao Hong, beside him, barely moved. Standing back-to-back with Qin Li, he had reverted to his true nature as an assassin. An assassin’s job is to kill in a single strike.

A few exchanges later, Qin Li once again faced Pang Wen. He sent another vicious sword strike thrusting toward him. The attack was not fast, nor was it powerful. The technique itself wasn’t even particularly refined.

The sword strike was laden with insult. It gave the impression that in making such a thrust, Qin Li was leaving his entire body riddled with openings.

It was clearly a move one would only use out of extreme contempt for an opponent. The meaning was clear: ’When facing you, I don’t even need to defend.’

Pang Wen naturally understood Qin Li’s meaning. He was inwardly furious but forcibly suppressed his anger. ’Qin Li, you can’t provoke me,’ he thought. ’I won’t fall for your trap! It makes no difference anyway. After I kill you today, I’ll go inside and kill your family just the same!’

Seeing that Qin Li was riddled with openings, the others immediately launched a furious assault. Their techniques were exceptionally sharp, sealing off all his high, middle, and low approaches as their weapons locked onto the major acupressure points on his body. In doing so, the protection around Pang Wen’s part of the formation relaxed ever so slightly.

This was the exact moment he had been waiting for!

Qin Li gave a cold snort, and a heaven-shattering aura suddenly erupted from his body. It was as if he had invisibly grown immensely tall, and the feeling of a being looking down upon the entire world flooded everyone’s hearts.

Before they could even wonder why, the Blood-Drinking Sword in Qin Li’s hand erupted in a blinding series of dazzling purple flashes.

In that instant, Pang Wen, his mind in turmoil, was obliterated on the spot!