Only I am Venerable

As a cultivator whose strength had already reached the Venerable Level, how could Huo Feng’s powerful Divine Sense possibly fail to notice what the new Young Sect Leader and his wife were doing? But he didn’t care in the slightest. In fact, he felt a certain sense of schadenfreude.

’You little brat, you think you’re so capable? I’ve barged right in. What are you going to do about it?’

It had to be said that for an old codger like Huo Feng, who had lived for nearly a thousand years, certain apparent flaws were actually his greatest strengths—or rather, the very things he relied on.

He knew full well what Shen Le was thinking, but he couldn’t care less and simply dismissed it.

’What you think is none of my business. All I know is that you, you wet-behind-the-ears brat, are completely unworthy of sitting on the throne of the Thousand Mechanism Sect’s Sect Leader and bossing people around!’ That was enough for him.

"Young Sect Leader, Old Huo is here to see you about something!" As soon as he entered the courtyard, Huo Feng began shouting boisterously. With his bald head and burly frame, Huo Feng looked more like a man in his forties than an old monster who had lived for nearly a thousand years.

"Fire Supreme Elder, the Sect Leader said not to disturb him. He is cultivating..." A maidservant stood behind Huo Feng, wanting to stop him but not quite daring to. She spoke softly, her face a picture of grievance.

"Cultivating? What kind of technique is he cultivating? Dammit! If you ask me, he’s just engaging in some midday debauchery! And he’s trying to be all mysterious about it. Does he take me for a deaf man? You think I can’t hear those moans and whimpers?" Huo Feng’s words made the maidservant’s face flush crimson, leaving her too ashamed to speak.

Shen Le, draped in a long robe, happened to walk out just then. Seeing Huo Feng sneering as he spoke to the maidservant, he grew even more displeased. However, Shen Le didn’t let his annoyance show on his face.

Instead, he said calmly, "Elder Huo, you’re as vigorous as ever in your old age. I never would have guessed you’d get so excited talking about the affairs between men and women. How about this? One of these days, I’ll pick out a few beauties and send them over to you."

"Hmph, spare me the act! I, Old Huo, have never been one for women..."

Before Huo Feng could finish, Shen Le cut in, a look of sudden realization on his face. "No wonder. With that foul mouth and rotten temper of yours, I doubt any woman would be willing to be with you!"

"Heh heh, Young Sect Leader, you want to have a war of words with me? I’m afraid... you’re not my match!" Huo Feng shot Shen Le a sidelong glance, making no effort to hide the disdain in his eyes. "When I was trading barbs with your grandfather, your father hadn’t even been born yet!"

"Insolent!" Shen Le’s eyes suddenly narrowed. He stared coldly at Huo Feng and said slowly, "Elder Huo, first of all, when you see me, you are to call me Sect Leader, not ’Young... Sect Leader.’ If you’re not convinced, why don’t we both whip them out and compare? See if mine’s bigger than yours! Also, stop trying to pull rank on me with your age. I’m not buying it! Badmouthing my father? Why don’t you try saying that to his face? See if he doesn’t slap that foul mouth of yours right off!"

"Oh, finally lost your temper? HAHAHA! In my eyes, you’re just a little brat who can’t command respect. What? You want to hit me? Or do you want to strip me, Old Huo, of my position as a Supreme Elder? Let’s not even talk about whether you’re qualified to do so. Even if you had the authority, I’d be overjoyed if you stripped me of my position! Do you really think I want to stay in this godforsaken shithole and act as a bodyguard for a bunch of trash? What a joke!"

"Is that why you came here?" On the surface, Shen Le remained calm and composed, but inwardly, he was already wishing he could skin this old bastard alive. With his father and the old ancestor in seclusion, the entire Thousand Mechanism Sect now seemed as precarious as the Qin Family, battered by wind and rain. Although he knew there was no major danger, the feeling of frustration was unavoidable.

What frustrated Shen Le was that his wife was already an astonishing, once-in-a-millennium genius, yet her breakthrough to the Venerable Realm was still like trying to see flowers in a fog—a distant, uncertain prospect. Otherwise, he would have had his wife step in and slap this old bastard’s mouth shut for good!

"My purpose? Young Sect Leader, you are the high and mighty Sect Leader of the Thousand Mechanism Sect. What purpose could an old fellow like me have? However, I just want to ask you one thing, Young Sect Leader. What in the world are you thinking? On what grounds are you dragging the elite forces of the Thousand Mechanism Sect all the way out here to act as guards for a trash family like the Qin Family? Are you trying to go against the tide of Profound Island? Do you want to contend with the other three major powers?" Huo Feng was not as reckless as he appeared. When he spoke, he was actually quite methodical, and he was secretly digging countless pits for Shen Le to fall into, whether he wanted to or not.

But Shen Le was no brainless fool. He had no intention of answering these questions directly. Instead, he smiled calmly and said, "What is this ’tide of Profound Island’? I don’t quite understand. Perhaps Elder Huo could enlighten me? Also, what about the three major powers? Who said anything about contending with them? Have they announced they’re moving against the Qin Family?"

"Fine. Since you’re playing dumb, this old fellow will enlighten you. Profound Island is currently swirling with undercurrents. The Qin Family is like a treasure vault stuffed with riches, but they have no ability to fight back! Everyone wants to take a bite of this treasure. While the three major powers haven’t publicly declared their intentions against the Qin Family, anyone with half a brain can see what’s going on! Young Sect Leader, are you satisfied with my answer?" Huo Feng wore a mocking smile as he looked at Shen Le, his gaze tinged with a hint of pity. In the past, Huo Feng had actually been quite fond of Shen Le, because of his cheerful personality and lack of the worldly cunning common among disciples from Noble Families.

But then Shen Longxing, for some godforsaken reason, had resigned from his position as Sect Leader to go into secluded cultivation. And he had passed the crucial position of the Thousand Mechanism Sect’s Sect Leader to a wet-behind-the-ears brat who couldn’t command anyone’s respect!

From that moment on, everything about Shen Le rubbed Huo Feng the wrong way. With Sun Zhong and Li Tai stirring things up from behind the scenes, and old habits being hard to break, Huo Feng—though not a fool—found it difficult to change his impulsive nature. Besides, he truly didn’t care what this young Sect Leader thought.

’In any case, I’m doing this for the good of the Thousand Mechanism Sect!’

This was Huo Feng’s greatest justification. Throughout history, many disasters had been caused by self-righteous "loyal" ministers. The greatest tragedy was that, even at their deaths, they would never admit that they were the ones who brought down a dynasty...

Shen Le looked at Huo Feng with a calm expression and said lightly, "Elder Huo, if I told you that my decision to protect the Qin Family isn’t motivated by selfishness in the slightest—that only ten percent of it is due to my friendship with Qin Li, and the other ninety percent is entirely for the future development of the Thousand Mechanism Sect—you definitely wouldn’t believe me, right?"

"HAHAHAHA! Young Sect Leader, you’d have trouble convincing a three-year-old with that story!" Huo Feng threw his head back and laughed. Then he looked at Shen Le and said, "Young Sect Leader, I won’t mince words. Your actions are like a mantis trying to stop a chariot! Utterly absurd!"

Just as Shen Le was about to speak, a soft voice came from behind him. "Elder Huo, they say a person needs their dignity just as a tree needs its bark. You’ve lived for so long; you should at least have some sense of shame in front of your juniors, shouldn’t you? You don’t need to glare at me, and you certainly don’t need to say that a woman has no right to butt in. Do you dare... to make a bet with me?"

Huo Feng’s large eyes stared at Leng Fangfei, who had emerged from behind Shen Le, her icy demeanor unable to hide her captivating charm. He boomed, "What bet?"

Leng Fangfei looked at Huo Feng with pity and said calmly, "I bet that even without the help of the Thousand Mechanism Sect, without the help of the Qian Family, the Qin Family... will definitely overcome this crisis. From then on, no one will be able to stop the Qin Family’s rise! My husband’s actions are to ensure that after the Qin Family becomes the greatest family on Profound Island, they won’t turn their spears against us. Therefore, what we seek... is merely self-preservation!"

"Bullshit!" Huo Feng paid no mind to the fact that he was speaking to a delicate young woman, his words completely unfiltered. "You two are cut from the same cloth! Utter nonsense!"

Even the most even-tempered person would find it hard to control themselves after hearing such words, to say nothing of Leng Fangfei, who was no unknown figure at Ice Edge. Her willow-like brows shot up as she snapped coldly, "Elder Huo, you’ve lived for nearly a thousand years, yet you don’t even dare to make a bet? Fine, don’t bet. In the future, I’ll just go around telling everyone you were afraid of a little woman! So, from now on, stay out of my courtyard! Now... you can get out!"

Shen Le also glared at Huo Feng with a dark expression. He said nothing, but the rage in his chest was becoming unbearable, on the verge of erupting. Still, he forced himself to suppress it. Shen Le knew very well what those Supreme Elders wanted most. They were hoping he would lose control of his emotions and explode, which they would then use to attack him. He didn’t feel he was losing face by having his wife step forward. Leng Fangfei’s words had indeed backed Huo Feng into a corner.

Huo Feng was about to explode with rage himself. He had never imagined that a young slip of a girl, not even a fraction of his age, would dare to speak to him like that. If not for certain reservations in his heart, he would have slapped her dead with a single blow!

After taking a few deep breaths to calm down, Huo Feng said coldly, "A bet’s a bet. What happens if you lose?"

Shen Le looked at Huo Feng with a cold smile. "If we lose, I’ll no longer have the face to continue in this position as Sect Leader. I will pass the title of Sect Leader to someone capable!"

"And what do you mean by ’someone capable’? Young Sect Leader, stop playing word games!" Huo Feng’s breathing suddenly became ragged.

The Thousand Mechanism Sect, one of the greatest superpowers on Profound Island! To be able to command such a power as its Sect Leader—that would be a life worth living!

Even an old man like Huo Feng, who had lived for so many years, couldn’t remain indifferent to such a position.

"That... is not something for you to ask, Elder Huo! When the time comes, the decision will be left to the Elder Council!" Shen Le shot Huo Feng a cold smirk.

"Hmph, what’s so great about that!" Huo Feng said resentfully.

"Elder Huo, and if... you lose?" Leng Fangfei asked.

"Impossible!"

"What’s impossible? I find that whenever we get to the heart of the matter, Elder Huo starts hemming and hawing. You’re not being very straightforward."

"Hmph, if I lose, I’ll be at your mercy!" Elder Huo’s old face burned with shame from her words, and he couldn’t help but shout.

Sun Zhong and Li Tai, who had been listening in on the situation, exchanged a glance and couldn’t help but sigh softly. Although they were both certain the Qin Family was doomed, there was always that one-in-ten-thousand chance. Huo Feng had finally been trapped by this young couple. Luckily... it wasn’t all of them.

"It’s settled then. If you lose, you’ll be at our mercy," Leng Fangfei said with a cold smile. Then, she said to the maidservant, "Show our guest out!"

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