Only I am Venerable

After watching Supreme Elder Huo Feng storm out in a huff, Leng Fangfei couldn’t help but complain to Shen Le, "How can these people be so oblivious to the situation?"

Shen Le sighed softly and gave a wry smile. "The Venerable Realm is already a transcendent existence on Profound Island. In their minds, even if there are people who surpass the Venerable Realm, they must be an extreme minority—not the norm at all. They’ve all grown arrogant. So, in their eyes, we’re the ones being completely oblivious for so strongly supporting the Qin Family and helping Qin Li!"

"Pah!"

Leng Fangfei curled her lip and thought, ’What a bunch of shortsighted, ignorant fools. Don’t they know that the mysterious woman in black by Qin Li’s side has already reached the Shattered Void Realm? To think they’d dare to give the Qin Family a hard time and try to carve up their wealth. Qin Li isn’t here now, but does that mean he can never return? Once he’s back and seeking revenge, which family or Sect will be able to withstand his wrath?’

Of course, the people causing trouble for the Qin Family had considered the same things as Leng Fangfei. But with so much profit on the line, people can’t help but look on the bright side and cling to wishful thinking. ’I haven’t killed anyone from the Qin Family,’ they’d reason, ’so even if Qin Li comes back for revenge, he’s not going to go on a killing spree, is he?’

’If he dared to start a massacre, are all the powerful experts on Profound Island just decorations? Sure, Qin Li has a formidable force with him, but in the context of the entire Profound Island, it’s nothing special. Even an elephant can be killed by enough ants! No one can claim to be truly invincible!’

It was precisely with this mentality that those families dared to so brazenly attack the Qin Family’s various businesses after Qin Li had been gone for some time.

Now, the entire Qin Family had completely retreated into Fengsha City, closing their gates and refusing to go out. All of their businesses, including the sale of elixirs, had been suspended.

This so-called suppression was far too complex to be explained in a few words, nor was it a situation Qin Li could resolve just by going on a killing spree. Unless the Qin Family could take drastic measures to intimidate everyone, which might have some effect, they would only grow weaker and weaker. Eventually, they would be cornered in Fengsha City and brought down from the inside out.

Such precedents were not unheard of. Against the overwhelming tide of events, even someone with heaven-defying abilities could suffer a crushing defeat. It was just like the Hegemon-King Xiang Yu from the era before Qin Li transmigrated. He possessed the strength to fight ten thousand men and commanded an invincible iron army, yet for various reasons, he ended up taking his own life by the river, unable to even protect the woman he loved. The fall of such a great figure was a somber reminder that, more often than not, personal strength alone cannot determine the outcome.

The Qin Family now seemed to be heading down that same path. The younger members of the family could hardly even step outside Fengsha City. Furthermore, any family that had business dealings with them had been threatened, bribed, or forced by immense pressure to sever all ties. The Qin Family was now like an isolated island, besieged on all sides and utterly helpless.

The public support from the Qian Family and the Thousand Mechanism Sect was not entirely without effect, but against such an overwhelming tide, they too could only retreat step by step.

Not to mention, several of the Thousand Mechanism Sect’s Supreme Elders were secretly plotting how to humiliate Shen Le and force him out of his position as Sect Leader...

So, under these circumstances, what was the situation like within the Qin Family itself?

In the courtyard belonging to Qin Wenxuan, faint groans drifted continuously from a room where Qin Hanyue was carefully cleaning the wounds on her husband’s face and body.

Qin Wenxuan lay on the bed, grimacing and sucking in sharp breaths of pain. It was no wonder, for a peak Celestial Integration Realm Martial Artist to be in such a state—he had been beaten severely!

His face was completely swollen, a ghastly patchwork of black and blue bruises and congealed blood. His chest and back were in a similar state. It was a shocking sight, but in truth, the injuries were not serious—all of them were superficial. The real issue was that to beat a Celestial Integration Realm Martial Artist into such a state, the attacker must not only have been far stronger than Qin Wenxuan, but the precision of their blows was also astounding.

Among all those wounds, not a single one was truly severe. The intent was clearly humiliation and torture, far more than causing actual harm.

As Qin Hanyue treated her husband’s wounds, her heart ached. She chided him softly, "You, too... You knew those people were just looking for a chance to cause trouble, so how could you go and provoke them? And to get into a fight at a restaurant, of all places..."

"Hiss... Be gentle."

Qin Wenxuan managed, then said with a face full of fury, "I wasn’t planning on fighting. In the restaurant, a group of people were mocking our Qin Family, saying we were a mantis trying to stop a chariot. I endured all of it. But... but I could not tolerate them insulting our son! Not a single word!"

"Sigh!"

Qin Hanyue let out a faint sigh. She knew better than anyone that her husband’s love for their son was every bit as deep as her own. He just didn’t show it on the surface, and that was because Qin Li was simply too exceptional. So exceptional, in fact, that his own father had no idea how to express his concern. It always seemed like something Qin Li simply didn’t need.

Moreover, deep in his heart, Qin Wenxuan felt a profound guilt toward Qin Li and his mother. He didn’t want people to say that he’d ignored his son when he was down on his luck, only to start fawning over him now that he was successful and powerful.

That feeling was truly awful.

"Who were the ones who attacked you? Logically speaking, even if you were no match for them, you shouldn’t have ended up... this battered, should you?" In the years since coming to Profound Island, Qin Hanyue’s perspective and knowledge had broadened considerably. She no longer felt the same sense of awe for the powerful experts she had once revered as gods.

"It was the Feng family from Feng City. They shut down all our businesses in Feng City and forcibly seized our goods. Sigh, Qin Suo suppressed the matter back then. He said the Old Ancestor had returned once and said just one thing: ’Wait for Qin Li to handle it.’ The Feng Family is one of the more powerful families on Profound Island. While the Thousand Mechanism Sect and the Qian Family are helping us, they can only guarantee that the Qin Family compound itself won’t be breached. We still have to deal with all the external matters and our various businesses ourselves, but our strength..." Qin Wenxuan’s voice trailed off. He sighed deeply, cursing his own weakness. ’Otherwise, I’d have crushed that Feng Family!’

"That’s true. If our son’s three powerful friends were to take action, I’m sure the Feng Family would be no match for them..." Qin Hanyue said, then gave another wry smile. "But if those three were to leave Fengsha City, countless people would probably descend on the Qin estate to cause trouble the very next instant!"

"Exactly. Those despicable, shameless bastards. Now they’ve even come to Fengsha City, swaggering into a restaurant and insulting Li right to my face. Tell me, Hanyue, how could I possibly tolerate that? They’re... they’re walking all over us!"

Looking at her husband, his eyes swollen into thin slits, Qin Hanyue felt her own eyes grow red and moist. She gently took his hand and said, "You did the right thing."

Just then, a sudden clamor erupted from far outside. Qin Hanyue’s brow knitted, her face flushing with anger. ’Isn’t beating my husband enough for them? Do they have to bring their bullying right to the Qin Family’s doorstep? No, I’m going to find our son’s three friends and have them teach those people a lesson!’

Although Golden Eagle, Spiritual Eagle, and Ink Eagle hadn’t specified their exact relationship with Qin Li, everyone knew they were on extremely good terms with him—even better than Shen Le and the Qian Family were.

After all, they were the only ones who had been silently guarding the Qin Family all this time.

Just as Qin Hanyue stepped out the door, a maidservant came running in from outside, flustered and with an excited look on her face.

Qin Hanyue’s delicate brows furrowed. She snapped, "Look at you, what is all this? Has the sky fallen? Remember your place! You are a member of the Qin Family!"

Berated so suddenly, the maidservant looked aggrieved and whispered, "My apologies, Madam. It’s... it’s Young Master Li... he has returned..."

The maidservant finished her aggrieved report and looked up, only to find the spot before her empty. She only felt a gust of wind rush past her ears. She couldn’t help but mutter, "And she tells *me* off. Aren’t you just as excited?" After that, the maidservant couldn’t hold back a smile, completely forgetting the scolding she had just received.

Because for everyone in the Qin Family, Young Master Li’s return meant the family had its soul, its backbone, once more!

Qin Li, Leng Yao, and She She had not traveled by carriage. All three looked travel-worn, having galloped all the way home.

Seeing how happy everyone was, Qin Li felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He finally felt like he was home. However, he could clearly sense that everyone seemed to be suppressing some hidden worry. His keen Divine Sense immediately picked up on this undercurrent of emotion.

In fact, Qin Li and his companions had only rushed back after hearing about the Qin Family’s troubles. Fortunately, it appeared that no major disaster had befallen them.

Golden Eagle, Spiritual Eagle, and Ink Eagle were overjoyed to see Qin Li. Through a telepathic message from Golden Eagle, Qin Li gradually began to understand what had happened to his family recently.

He learned about the most recent incident in particular—that his own father had been beaten by outsiders on Qin Family territory, all for the sake of defending his name!

The smile on Qin Li’s face slowly vanished, replaced by a dark, cold expression. He glanced at Golden Eagle, but before he could even ask, Golden Eagle sent a telepathic explanation. "I figured Master would want to exact his own revenge, so I dared not act rashly. Besides, Fengsha City is teeming with experts right now. Many people are monitoring the Qin Family’s every move, day and night. If I were to leave the estate, I fear someone would immediately make their way inside..."

"I understand. You did well," Qin Li said, his narrowed eyes turning ice-cold. Then, he saw his mother, Qin Hanyue, racing toward him.

When her husband was beaten so brutally, Qin Hanyue had not shed a single tear. But now, seeing the son she had yearned for day and night finally return, her tears could no longer be contained and began to stream down her face. (To be continued. For more Chapters, please visit www.qidian.com and support the author and legitimate reading!)

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