Only I am Venerable

June sixth, the day the gate to the Profound Island opened!

The Seven-Colored Energy Sect reappeared beneath the vast cliff. Lin Yunlan gazed up at the Energy Gate, her mouth falling slightly agape in utter astonishment.

She marveled, "To think such a miracle exists in this world. How on earth were these Mysterious Lands formed?"

It was a pointless question, for no one could answer it. Not even an Ancient Great Power like Prince Wu. Qin Li considered explaining it with spatial theory, but he knew it was futile. He couldn’t even explain the theory properly himself, let alone expect Lin Yunlan and Shangguan Shiyu to understand.

After all, he wasn’t an expert.

After entering the Profound Island, they didn’t encounter anyone along the way. It seemed that with the Venerable Competition approaching, all the families and sects had focused their attention there.

One day, Qin Li’s party of three returned to Fengsha City. The moment their carriage stopped at the Qin Family gate, a large group of people came out to welcome them. The Little Fox, Leng Yao, Bu Yunyan, and Zhao Qianqian, who had arrived earlier, were all beaming with joy. Qin Li was finally here. Without him around, it felt as though life had lost much of its excitement.

Although the Qin Family treated them very well, this wasn’t their own home, after all. The women even felt a little regretful, ’We should have just come with Qin Li from the start.’

Fortunately, they had Qin Hanyue and Qin Xue to keep them company. And after personally witnessing the formidable strength of the Qin Family’s younger disciples, the three girls—Leng Yao, Bu Yunyan, and Zhao Qianqian—all gritted their teeth and began to train relentlessly.

The arrival of the three women greatly excited the young disciples of the Qin Family. Although these three came from the secular world, each possessed a heavenly beauty. It would be no exaggeration to describe them as exceptionally talented as well!

As for Linghu Feiyue... the young disciples of the Qin Family had completely given up any ideas. Who didn’t know that she, along with Shangguan Shiyu, was one of Qin Li’s women? And who was Qin Li? It was no exaggeration to say that he was the future hope of the entire Qin Family!

So, they all turned their attention to Leng Yao and the other girls. However, they didn’t expect that these three, while polite to everyone, also kept everyone... at a certain distance!

Eventually, someone managed to find out from Qin Xue that, as it turned out, these three beautiful girls were also connected to Qin Li!

Almost all the Qin Family disciples, including that fellow Qin Suo, secretly cursed Qin Li behind his back, filled with indignation. ’It’s too much! Why do all these outstanding girls like that guy Qin Li? Besides being a bit stronger and a bit more handsome, what else has he got?’

But alas, no one cared what they thought. During this time, Qin Hanyue was so happy she couldn’t stop grinning. She thought, ’After Qin Li and Shangguan Shiyu’s wedding, he might as well just take all these girls in!’

’A real man can have three wives and four concubines, so what? Then they can give me a whole brood of plump, healthy grandsons. Now *that’s* what I call happiness!’

’It’s just a pity my son seems a bit clueless about romance. He only has eyes for Shangguan Shiyu and no one else... That’s not good at all!’ Qin Hanyue decided that when her son returned, she absolutely had to find a chance to properly enlighten him.

Qin Li’s return was a major event for the entire Qin Family. That evening, the Qin Family held a grand banquet. However, this time, aside from Qinling Mountain, the other three Qin Family ancestors—Qin Haiyang, Qin Haijiang, and Qin Haihe—did not appear at the feast.

When Qin Li asked, he learned that the three ancestors had each left to find a place to enter Death Sealing, preparing to break through to the Venerable Realm!

This was a monumental event. If these three ancestors could all successfully break through to the Venerable Realm, the Qin Family’s power would instantly rise to a whole new level!

However, Qin Li also knew this type of seclusion could last a year or two, or it could last ten or twenty years. It might even be eighty, ninety, or more than a hundred years!

Although they had all consumed Essence Pills and their Spiritual Power had reached a very high realm—with Qin Haiyang’s even reaching the Venerable level—their comprehension of the Martial Dao and accumulation of power were both still crucial.

For Martial Artists of their age, their accumulation of power was mostly sufficient. The key lay in their comprehension of the Martial Dao. A Martial Artist who reached the Venerable Realm could be said to have truly entered the hallowed halls of the Martial Dao. As for how much further they could go, that depended entirely on their individual Creation!

But at the very least, simply being able to enter the Venerable Realm was an incredible achievement in itself!

Qin Li was also very happy to hear this news. Xiaohai was still in secluded cultivation at the Qin Family Manor. For Spirit Beasts, they often had to put in far more effort than humans to achieve the same results.

However, Xiaohai was lucky because it had a master like Qin Li. Whether it was Essence Pills or any other kind of Elixir, as long as Qin Li had it, he would give it to the beast without the slightest hesitation. As a result, the little guy’s power was increasing quite rapidly!

After the banquet ended, Qin Li returned to his chambers and summoned everyone close to him. Qin Li’s room was massive and extremely luxurious.

Shangguan Shiyu sat to Qin Li’s left, and Qin Hanyue sat to his right. Lin Yunlan sat next to Qin Hanyue; the two women hadn’t seen each other in many years. Upon meeting again and hearing about Shangguan Jian’s death and Lin Yunlan’s experiences over the years, Qin Hanyue was filled with emotion, sighing at how Creation toys with people.

Leng Yao, Zhao Qianqian, Bu Yunyan, and Linghu Feiyue, these equally and exceptionally talented women, sat in their own chairs. Sitting quietly in a corner, Qin Xue couldn’t help but feel a little melancholy, though she was also happy for Qin Li. ’Who could have imagined,’ she thought, ’that the illegitimate son of the Qin Family, the one everyone looked down upon back then, could achieve so much today? All these people gathered in one room... isn’t it all because of him?’

Qin Xue was the type of girl who rarely, if ever, felt jealous. This was related to her upbringing in the Yellow Sand City branch of the Qin Family, but it was also inseparable from her innate character.

She was truly proud and happy for Qin Li. ’In just a few short years, in this vast Fengsha City with its dozens of families and sects, big and small, is there anyone who hears the name Qin Li and doesn’t give a thumbs-up and willingly admit how formidable he is?’

’Such an outstanding man is my younger brother. I’m already so content! As long as he’s happy, I’m happy!’

So Qin Xue thought to herself, yet she still felt a touch of sorrow. As for why, she probably couldn’t have explained it herself.

Shangguan Shiyu, for her part, showed no displeasure at the roomful of heavenly beauties. On the contrary, her attitude toward everyone was gentle and warm, as if she truly didn’t mind at all.

But Qin Li could clearly sense the fluctuations in Shangguan Shiyu’s aura; she wasn’t as calm as she appeared. He sighed inwardly. ’In my past life, I could have treated them all equally. I was never one of those legendary "new-age nice guys," but I was definitely not the type of scoundrel who toys with affections and then abandons someone.’

’If a girl was willing to throw herself into my arms, I wouldn’t refuse. If a girl wanted to drift away, I wouldn’t be heartbroken.’

’But in this life, I awoke to find my mother and I suffering and humiliated. Only after I furiously struck back and killed those two scum did I realize I was powerless to resist the immensely powerful Qin Family of that time.’

’It was like a great mountain pressing down, crushing the air from my lungs. I couldn’t blame my mother, asking her why she didn’t do this or that, because that’s not what a son should do.’

’All I could do was shoulder the responsibilities a man ought to shoulder and protect my mother under my own power! Because the previous Qin Li was a boy, but I... am a man!’

’For the me of that time, who hadn’t even figured out this new world, agreeing to the marriage was neither a good nor a bad thing. Even though the girl was rumored to be some kind of unnatural monster, I didn’t care.’

’The people on the Celestial Essence Continent all seemed to be of the same race as those in the country from my previous life. They had never seen a white person, let alone a black person. But I had.’

’So, even if Shangguan Shiyu had been blue, I wouldn’t have been particularly surprised. More just curious.’

’Then, after meeting Shangguan Shiyu for the first time, I saw the confusion and helplessness deep in her heart, reflected in her pure, lost eyes. Her gorgeous clothes and cold gaze couldn’t hide the fact that she was just a lonely, helpless little girl.’

’The cumulative experiences of my past and present lives caused my heartstrings to be fiercely tugged at that moment. This is the fundamental reason why a "carnivore" like me could restrain myself from making a move on peerless beauties like Bu Yunyan and Leng Yao.’

’It was the one and only reason!’

How could he ever have the heart to hurt a girl like Shangguan Shiyu?

Feelings are selfish. They cannot be given away, much less gifted to another. Therefore, all Qin Li could do was to carefully nurture his own tumultuous relationship with Shangguan Shiyu.

As for the others, Qin Li hoped to use his own abilities to help them improve and achieve breakthroughs. As for how things would turn out, well, not even Qin Li himself knew.

’I’ll just let things take their natural course.’

Qin Li looked up and saw Qin Wenxuan also sitting in a corner. When he saw his son looking at him, he offered Qin Li a gentle smile. The corner of Qin Li’s mouth twitched, but he averted his gaze and said softly, "Today, while everyone is here, I want to talk about our future goals."

Everyone, each lost in their own thoughts, now looked up at Qin Li. It seemed this was the first time any of them had ever heard him speak like this.

Qin Hanyue and Qin Wenxuan both looked at Qin Li in confusion, not understanding what he meant. The Qin Family was already doing so well.

"There are no outsiders in this room, so I’ll be blunt."

Qin Li paused, glanced at their expectant faces, and then said, "I want to establish a power that is completely my own!"

Qin Hanyue was taken aback. She murmured, "Completely your own... Ah, son, do you want to leave the Qin Family?"

Qin Wenxuan couldn’t help but look up, watching Qin Li nervously. He, the father, had... no right to speak on this matter at all!

Because everything Qin Li possessed today, he had earned it all by himself.