Only I am Venerable

On this day, the carriage carrying Qin Li and his two companions finally re-entered Cyan Dragon City, the Imperial Capital of the Cyan Dragon Kingdom. The buildings lining the streets were just as they remembered, and the cries of vendors rose and fell in a constant rhythm. The bustling scene told Qin Li that this place had been untouched by the flames of war and was as prosperous as ever.

Leng Yao gazed out the carriage window at the scene outside and said wistfully, "We still have a residence here. I wonder how Hu is doing now?" She then turned to Qin Li with a smile. "Oh, right, Young Master, you’re still a Duke in this kingdom! If you hadn’t left, you’d probably have been made a Prince by now!"

Qin Li just smiled without saying a word. To him, all the glory and wealth in the world were now nothing more than passing smoke. His aspirations had long since turned toward a higher plane.

Still, the thought of Hu brought back a memory from not long after he had first arrived in this world—the first time they had met.

"Hey, little guy, you can’t practice that kind of combat technique. That old geezer is a fraud..."

Qin Li couldn’t help but sigh softly. Time flew. Although it hadn’t even been ten years, he had been through so much that looking back on his time in Yellow Sand City felt like recalling a past life.

Moreover, the memories of his previous life were fading from his mind. He had... long since assimilated into this world. The events of his past life now seemed more and more like a dream.

Leng Yao sat across from Qin Li, watching him. She remembered when she had first met him, when he was just a teenager. At first, she hadn’t thought much of him and was quite displeased with Hu’s decision to take a boy in his teens on an adventure into the Forest, where death could come at any moment.

Thinking back now, it had become a sweet memory. It was just a pity that of all the people who had been together back then, she was the only one still by Qin Li’s side.

The Qin Li of today had grown into a handsome and upright young man. His gaze was resolute, his two sword-like eyebrows slanted up toward his temples, and his nose was high and straight above a sharply-defined jaw. At first glance, his eyes seemed incomparably clear, but on closer inspection, they seemed to hold the vicissitudes of a long life.

Leng Yao found herself staring, mesmerized. ’I can never leave this man,’ she thought, ’not in this lifetime.’

Just then, a commotion erupted outside. It was followed by the sound of shouting and cursing from a distance, accompanied by the loud bellows of soldiers clearing the way.

"Royal Family business! Everyone stand aside! Clear the way, now!"

A booming voice rang out. All the carriages and pedestrians on the road scrambled to the sides. The driver of Qin Li’s carriage, who was from a distant country in the East, was especially cautious in this unfamiliar place. He was the first to pull the carriage to the side of the road and stop.

As someone who had made a living on the road for years, he knew very well that no matter where you were, there were two kinds of people you couldn’t afford to provoke. The first were those from the Martial World, who would draw their blades at the slightest disagreement. The second was the government. They might not draw their blades on you right away, but falling into their hands was worse than being killed in one stroke by someone from the Martial World... because the final result would surely be losing both your wealth and your life after endless torture.

Inside the carriage, Qin Li frowned slightly, but his brow quickly smoothed out. This sort of thing happened in every corner of the world. It would be strange if members of the Royal Family weren’t arrogant at all. Thus, Qin Li paid it no mind.

However, the chatter from the crowd made the expressions on both Qin Li’s and Leng Yao’s faces change abruptly.

"The Duke is a good man! Why would the Emperor suddenly order the arrest of the Duke’s brother? Don’t forget, the Duke brought great honor to our Cyan Dragon Kingdom back in the day!"

"Good man, my ass! Didn’t you hear what the officials said? The Duke is the lord of Yellow Sand City, but he’s been absent from his own territory for years. He handed Yellow Sand City over to his brother, Hu. They say Hu is greedy and lecherous, a menace to the local populace. The Emperor warned him several times, but not only did Hu not restrain himself, he got even worse, bragging that he was the Duke’s brother and daring anyone to touch him!"

"That’s all just hearsay, isn’t it? We don’t even know if it’s true. Besides, Yellow Sand City is Duke Qin’s territory to begin with. How he manages it is his business. Why should the Emperor be so concerned?"

"Keep your voice down, friend! Are you trying to attract the soldiers and get us all in trouble? It’s simple, really. Back when the Emperor’s throne was unstable, he naturally had to win over the Duke. Now that his position is secure and he’s won a major victory, he naturally wants to consolidate some of that power back into his own hands!"

"Sigh, it’s a pity for a man like Hu. I heard he was a pretty good person, and extremely wealthy. Now that he’s been arrested, I’m afraid all that immense wealth of his will be confiscated, right?"

"Goes without saying..."

Qin Li and Leng Yao locked eyes, seeing the deep fury in each other’s gazes.

"I’m going!" Leng Yao said, throwing open the carriage door. Her eyes immediately fell on a massive iron cage wagon rolling toward them.

Each bar of the cage was as thick as a child’s arm! It looked incredibly sturdy. Inside, a large man was bound by countless chains, unable to move. His face was covered in rotten vegetables and broken eggs thrown by the crowd, with yolk and egg white dripping down his cheeks.

’Is that... really Hu?’ Leng Yao thought to herself. Her eyes began to redden. After all, when she had fled as a refugee, it was Hu who had first taken her in. After so many years, their bond was like that of a brother and sister.

Seeing her brother suffer such humiliation, a raging fire ignited in Leng Yao’s chest. Fury erupted from her as she leaped into the air, lunging toward the iron cage.

"Watch out! Someone’s trying to rescue the prisoner!" an alert soldier shouted.

"Protect the prisoner!"

"Shoot her down! Don’t let her get near the cage!"

In an instant, the soldiers escorting the cage wagon began shouting orders.

A disdainful sneer touched the corners of Leng Yao’s lips. A short sword suddenly appeared in her hand, and she thrust it toward a soldier who had leaped into the air to meet her.

The man fell from the sky without even a scream, his throat pierced by her blade.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!...

The sound of arrows tearing through the air suddenly erupted. Seeing things had gone wrong, the soldiers below all fired their crossbows at Leng Yao.

The disdainful smile on Leng Yao’s lips widened. Within her calm eyes, a flicker of madness danced.

The tragic scene of her family’s extermination was forever etched into the depths of her soul. She had once sworn to herself that if she ever gained the power, she would protect all her loved ones!

Whoever dared to touch her family, she would fight them to the death!

Facing the volley of powerful arrows, Leng Yao showed no fear. She didn’t even bother to dodge, simply letting the deadly weapons—as they were in the eyes of others—strike her Protective Gang Qi.

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Many people instinctively shut their eyes. Although the woman was trying to free a prisoner, that fleeting glimpse revealed her to be a peerless beauty.

The sight of a great beauty being shot into a pincushion was something many were unwilling to witness.

But the next scene made countless jaws drop to the floor, mouths agape. As the arrows neared Leng Yao, it was as if streams encountering a massive boulder—they all deflected off her body, sliding harmlessly to the sides!

Before the soldiers below could fire a second volley, Leng Yao’s body blurred into an afterimage. She had already stabbed them all to death, leaving none alive.

The steel cage wagon stood still.

The man bound in chains inside the cage slowly opened his eyes, letting the egg yolk and whites run down his face. Upon seeing who had come, his fierce eyes shone with an incredulous light. His mouth moved slightly, and finally... a voice emerged, one that instantly brought tears to Leng Yao’s eyes.

"Leng Yao? Am I... am I hallucinating?"

"Hu, it’s me! The Young Master is here too!" Leng Yao said, choking back sobs. At that moment, Qin Li stepped out of the carriage.

Qin Li’s face appeared calm, but a furious flame burned in the depths of his eyes. His body slowly rose into the air. He pointed a finger at the steel cage, and with a loud CRASH, the seemingly indestructible prison wagon fell apart!

Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at the god-like young man in mid-air. Those who had just been throwing eggs and vegetables were now scared out of their wits, shrinking back into the depths of the crowd.

Someone in the crowd said hesitantly, "It’s... it’s Duke Qin!"

"Duke Qin is back!"

"Duke Qin has come to save his brother!"

"Heavens, it really is Qin! Qin is so handsome! His style is just as it was back then... no, even more handsome!"

Qin Li pointed into the air again. The Water Element from all directions gathered, slowly forming a Water Dragon. It then descended over Hu’s head, pouring down gently.

In an instant, it washed all the filth from Hu’s head, revealing his rugged face.

With Qin Li’s third gesture, everyone felt a scorching heat wave wash over them, forcing them to involuntarily step back.

Steam began to rise from Hu’s body. The clothes that had just been soaked were instantly dried by the heat.

CLATTER! With that same third gesture, all the chains on Hu’s body fell to the ground. Qin Li’s gaze fixed on the spot on Hu’s shoulder where a chain had been pierced through. The blood had clotted and long since dried.

It was clear that Hu had been subjected to immense torture, yet from beginning to end, he hadn’t let out a single groan.

"Brother, you’ve suffered," Qin Li said slowly.

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! From beyond the distant crowd, someone applauded while speaking in a slow, deliberate tone. "Tsk, tsk. As expected of the youngest genius in the history of the Cyan Dragon Kingdom. As expected of the powerhouse who could take on an entire Mysterious Land single-handedly! I... am deeply impressed!"

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