Only I am Venerable

The instant Xiaohai turned his back, unseen by anyone, Forest—who had been lying there obediently—shot a resentful glare from his huge leopard eyes. He suddenly sprang up. A sharp Ice Arrow shot viciously toward Xiaohai, who was just a stone’s throw away. At the same time, Forest opened his massive, bloody maw and lunged for the nape of Xiaohai’s neck, while his two thick, sharp claws swiped toward the center of Xiaohai’s back.

He was going for a one-hit kill!

Forest’s savage and ferocious aura, his pouncing posture, and the Ice Arrow that instantly reached the back of Xiaohai’s head... Then there were the spectating Black Gold Divine Leopards on all sides, the panicked young leopardess Rainbow, the stunned and furious Grand Elder, and Qin Li and She She, their expressions calm and unruffled.

Everything seemed to freeze in that single moment, as if time itself had stopped!

Suddenly, everything snapped back to normal. Forest’s lethal Ice Arrow made a DULL THUD, as if it had met immense resistance, and skidded off the back of Xiaohai’s head to the side!

With a SQUELCH, it pierced the left shoulder of a nearby spectating Black Gold Divine Leopard.

Meanwhile, Forest’s bloody maw and sharp claws had no chance of touching Xiaohai. In that same instant, Xiaohai’s figure had, as if by Instant Teleportation, miraculously shifted two or three meters forward!

All of Forest’s attacks missed completely.

CRUNCH!

It was a sound like claws on glass, deeply unpleasant—the sound of Forest’s jaws snapping shut on empty air.

His unstoppable, sharp foreclaws also swiped at nothing.

An instinct for danger flared in Forest, and he turned to flee. But somehow, Xiaohai was already in front of him. Before Forest could react, Xiaohai opened his mouth, and a barrage of hundreds of sharp, finger-sized Ice Arrows blotted out the sky as they shot toward Forest!

THWIP! THWIP! THWIP...!

After the volley of impacts, Forest was riddled with Ice Arrows on his head, shoulders, and back. Blood quickly stained the pristine white projectiles, trickling slowly down his fur.

"*This* is a true Ice Arrow! This is the skill a Black Gold Divine Leopard should master!" Xiaohai said faintly. He then turned and let out a primal roar at the spectating Black Gold Divine Leopards.

The light in Forest’s huge leopard eyes gradually dimmed. As Xiaohai’s roar echoed, his body collapsed to the ground with a heavy THUD.

"Baal! Baal!"

From all directions, a sky-shaking cheer suddenly erupted. The blood of every Black Gold Divine Leopard was boiling as they roared with frenzied excitement.

A smile finally touched Xiaohai’s face. From start to finish, he never spared another glance for the dead Forest.

He had already spared Forest once, but he never expected Forest would still try to kill him. So, this second time, he had killed Forest, and not even the Grand Elder could object.

Moreover, as a warrior of the Black Gold Divine Leopard Clan, Xiaohai’s performance had won him the respect and recognition of the clan’s elites.

This was clear from the looks of awe on the faces of the other Black Gold Divine Leopards and their slightly bowed heads.

Qin Li and She She couldn’t help but rise to their feet and gesture toward Xiaohai. This victory belonged to him alone; he had finally regained his status and respect within the Black Gold Divine Leopard Clan.

The Grand Elder’s eyes held both regret and relief. After all, Forest had been a young and exceptionally powerful warrior of the Black Gold Divine Leopard Clan. Considering his father’s meritorious service, his death was a pity. But in the Grand Elder’s heart, there was even greater joy: the Black Gold Divine Leopard Clan had finally, once again, produced a true genius!

’With this thought’, the Grand Elder roared, "I declare... the victor is Baal... Xiaohai!" He had just heard Baal himself say that an adult Black Gold Divine Leopard had the right to choose their own name, and this broke no taboos. "He has won the duel! I also declare that Baal, or Xiaohai, may return to the Black Gold Divine Leopard Clan! Furthermore, on behalf of the clan, I apologize to Xiaohai for the injustice he has suffered!"

As he spoke, the Grand Elder bowed his head slightly to Xiaohai. For the leader of the Black Gold Divine Leopards, this was the highest possible expression of apology.

Xiaohai placed his right paw over his heart, bowed slightly to the Grand Elder, and said, "I accept the Grand Elder’s apology!"

The Black Gold Divine Leopards on all sides once again let out thunderous, roaring cheers: "Baal! Baal! Baal!"

The beautiful young leopardess, Rainbow, walked shyly up to Xiaohai and said softly, "Baal, I... I am willing... to marry you!"

"AWOOOO!"

The crowd of Black Gold Divine Leopards let out bestial howls, cheering for the new couple.

However, within the crowd, a few Black Gold Divine Leopards with fearful, shifty eyes began to slink away. They were, of course, the ones who had conspired with Forest to frame Xiaohai all those years ago.

A complex light flickered in the Grand Elder’s eyes as he watched his daughter eagerly throw herself into another’s arms. Whether human or Spirit Beast, fathers always feel a little... displeased.

With matters here concluded, Qin Li decided to leave immediately. The three-year period was up. Over the past two years, Qin Li had successfully broken through from the Earth Venerable to the Celestial Venerable realm, and he wondered if Shiyu had truly reached the Shattered Void realm. Xiaohai’s situation was now perfectly resolved, fulfilling the promise Qin Li had made years ago. It was time to handle his own affairs.

Back on Profound Island, the three major families had been hiding in their shells ever since Qin Li had heavily wounded them two years ago, conserving their strength. They were likely waiting for their patriarchs to emerge from seclusion in a hundred years before even thinking about dealing with the Qin Family again.

By then, however, whether they would still have the strength to challenge the Qin Family was anyone’s guess.

Qin Li looked at Xiaohai and Rainbow, then said to the Grand Elder, "Now that this matter is happily resolved, it’s time for us to leave."

The Grand Elder looked at Xiaohai and his daughter, Rainbow, and nodded, though reluctant to see them go. "Very well. I can rest easy knowing they will be with you."

"Father!" Rainbow looked at the Grand Elder, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Go on, don’t worry about your father. Sooner or later, you will both return. Baal, work hard. The position of Grand Elder of the Black Gold Divine Leopard Clan will be waiting for you!"

Xiaohai was stunned and stammered, "Grand Elder, I..."

"Haha, you have the support of the people. Look at them. Ask them if it isn’t so," the Grand Elder said, gesturing to the surrounding Black Gold Divine Leopards.

"Baal! Baal!"

The earth-shaking roars represented the feelings of the vast majority of the Black Gold Divine Leopards. Among Spirit Beast clans, the strong are revered, and Xiaohai’s power had earned him this respect.

Qin Li glanced at She She and said softly, "Let’s go."

"Wait!" The Grand Elder suddenly had a thought. "You raised Baal, and the Black Gold Divine Leopards are a people who repay their debts. Our clan possesses a Holy Artifact, but it has no use for us. Perhaps it will be of use to you!"

As he spoke, the Grand Elder sent someone to the clan’s Divine Temple to fetch a very old-looking wooden box. He then opened it in front of Qin Li.

Qin Li’s gaze immediately fixed on the object inside. He saw something incredibly familiar: an ancient... Scroll, made from some unknown animal hide!

Even someone like Qin Li couldn’t help but look astonished. He was truly shocked. ’To think I’d find an Ancient Map in a place like this?’

"Where did you get this?" Qin Li asked the Grand Elder.

The Grand Elder saw something in Qin Li’s expression, but since he had decided to give it away, he wouldn’t regret it. Besides, this item had been with the Black Gold Divine Leopard Clan for over ten thousand years, and no one had ever been able to decipher the map’s true meaning.

This was understandable, as the map covered all the Mysterious Lands from the East to the West. Without prior knowledge of this fact, who could possibly decipher it?

Moreover, the world’s geography had changed drastically since the Primordial Era. Oceans had become deserts. Even someone holding this map couldn’t be certain they could find all the Mysterious Lands.

"This map was passed down by our ancestors. As for its specific purpose, I do not know," the Grand Elder said, then asked tentatively, "Is it valuable?"

Despite his question, he still handed the map to Qin Li.

Qin Li was moved by the Grand Elder’s character—er, his ’beast-ality’—and nodded. "How should I put this? To me, it is indeed very precious, but for you, Grand Elder, it truly isn’t of much use. In that case, to thank you for this map, allow me to give you an Elixir!"

"An Elixir?" The Grand Elder’s eyes lit up. In his youth, many, many years ago, he had traveled the human world for training and was no stranger to their Elixirs. Forget High Level ones; even common Healing Elixirs were incredibly precious to his people.

Qin Li took out an Essence Pill and offered it to the Grand Elder. Noticing a flash of disappointment in the elder’s eyes, he couldn’t help but chuckle. "This Elixir is for you. Grand Elder, if I’m not mistaken, your power has already reached the Earth Venerable realm, correct?"

The Grand Elder’s face filled with astonishment. He never imagined this young human could see through to his true power with a single glance.

Qin Li smiled. "This Elixir can elevate your Spirit Realm from Earth Venerable all the way to the Shattered Void realm!"

HISS!

The Grand Elder gasped, staring at the Elixir in shock. The look in his eyes had completely transformed.

An idea suddenly struck Qin Li. He pulled out a piece of paper with drawings of various plants on it and handed it to the Grand Elder. Along with it, he also gave him a large bottle of Healing Elixirs produced by the Qin Family.

"These Healing Elixirs are a gift. If you can find the plants on this list, Grand Elder, I can trade you more of these Healing Pills, as well as other Elixirs, for them!"

Qin Li said with a smile.

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