Chapter 378: Chapter 375: The Young Master Said, You Are to Wait Every member of the three great families over there wore an expression of immense humiliation. At Qin Li’s words, they all stood frozen in place. Many even turned back to glare at Qin Li with fury, their expressions screaming that they wished they could swallow him whole. But when they saw the cold and stunning woman in black standing quietly beside him, that intense anger and humiliation was doused like a bucket of cold water over their heads. A chill seeped into their hearts, and they were forced to suppress their emotions.
The Lin Family Patriarch, Lin Zixiang, looked at Qin Li, then glanced at his fourth son, Lin Heng, by his side, as if wanting him to say something. But Lin Heng had already turned his head away before his father could even look at him, deliberately pretending not to see.
Lin Zixiang suppressed the rage in his heart and said slowly, "Young Master Qin, aren’t you going a bit too far? You should know that my Lin Family still has an ancestor at the Shattered Void Realm."
"My Xiao Family has one too!" said the Xiao Family Patriarch, Xiao Wuqing.
The Wang Family Patriarch, Wang Lin, also said slowly, "My Wang Family has one too! Young Master Qin, don’t burn all your bridges. We may meet again someday."
"Who wants to meet you again?" Qin Li scoffed. "If my Qin Family didn’t have a powerhouse holding the fort today, would you... really have left the Qin Family a way out?"
"That’s all hypothetical," Wang Lin’s face turned frighteningly grim. "Aren’t you afraid that in a hundred years, our three families will unite? With three Shattered Void Realm masters attacking at once, do you think your Qin Family can withstand it?" The humiliation was something he had never even imagined, let alone experienced.
"Heh, you’re talking about a hundred years from now. A hundred years is too long; I seize the day!" Qin Li said lightly, a cold smile appearing on his stern face. "You don’t have to agree! But remember this: one month! Otherwise, I will bathe your families in blood!"
Standing behind Qin Li, Shen Le felt immense pressure just listening. His gaze toward Qin Li was filled with admiration; he couldn’t help but be impressed. If it were him, if it were the Thousand Mechanism Sect besieged by so many families and sects today, it would likely be difficult to escape unscathed. At the same time, Shen Le couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief in his heart. ’Thank goodness I’m on the same side as Qin Li!’
Shen Le couldn’t help but recall the night before he left, when he and his father had a heart-to-heart conversation. Shen Longxing had said that sooner or later, Profound Island would belong to the Qin Family! And Qin Li would surely grow into a peerless powerhouse who would make everyone turn their heads in awe!
’It seems Father’s choice was truly the correct one!’ Looking at the awkward expression on Lin Heng’s face in the Lin Family’s camp, Shen Le thought gleefully, ’Having a wise father is a wonderful thing!’
"Let’s go!" Wang Lin grit his teeth. ’I need to get out of this humiliating place immediately,’ he thought. As for Qin Li’s one-month deadline, if Qin Li really dared to show up, the Wang Family would use its full power to make sure he never left! The Wang Family’s losses this time hadn’t been great; they still had several Celestial Venerable and Earth Venerable Martial Artists. ’I refuse to believe Qin Li can actually wipe out the Wang Family!’
The Xiao Family Patriarch, Xiao Wuqing, and the Lin Family Patriarch, Lin Zixiang, shared the same thoughts as Wang Lin. Their hatred for Qin Li had reached an irredeemable level.
After everyone had left, Qin Li first walked over to the group from the Qian Family. He clasped his fist and said with a sincere expression, "On behalf of the Qin Family, I, Qin Li, thank the Qian Family for your righteous assistance! I have already prepared a banquet at the Qin Mansion to host all of our friends!"
Leading the Qian Family was an old man in red robes. He had a full, thick beard, eyes like bronze bells, and coppery skin, making him look like a lion. This was the Qian Family’s foremost Grand Elder, Qian Yun, whose strength had already reached the Celestial Venerable Realm!
Elder Qian Yun had witnessed Qin Li’s power and domineering style, and felt this young man was perfectly to his taste. He couldn’t help but admire Patriarch Qian Duoduo’s judgment.
Cupping his hands toward Qin Li, Elder Qian Yun laughed heartily. "Young Master Qin, you are young and promising, truly a dragon among men! Even if you hadn’t invited me, this old man would have shamelessly come to ask for a cup of wine!"
A gentle smile graced Qin Li’s face. Who could tell that this was the same young man whose domineering presence had been suffocating just moments ago? He smiled and said, "Elder Qian, you are too kind. Please, come in!"
After having someone escort the Qian Family’s Martial Artists inside, Qin Li walked over to Shen Le. Before he could speak, Shen Le gave a wry smile. "Today has truly been an eye-opener for me. The Qin Family’s foundation is so profound, and your strength, Qin, is so immense. Even if we hadn’t come, the Qin Family wouldn’t have been in any danger..."
Qin Li waved his hand and said, "Shen, why would you say that? If you all hadn’t held the line here for so long, I probably would have returned to nothing but a pile of rubble. So, for your great kindness to the Qin Family, I will forever be grateful."
Leng Fangfei, looking heroic and vibrant, stood to one side and laughed. "You two brothers can stop thanking each other. You’re good brothers, so why all the formal words?"
Qin Li laughed. "Fangfei is right. I was being too formal. Come on, let’s go drink!"
This banquet was a thoroughly satisfying experience for everyone. The entire Qin Mansion was filled with a grand feast, and all the disciples of the Qin Family drank to their hearts’ content.
What could be more thrilling than this? What could do more to strengthen a family’s solidarity? It was no exaggeration to say that in recent months, everyone in the Qin Mansion, from the highest to the lowest, had endured a life-and-death ordeal. Before today, almost no one could have imagined that things would end this way, that their victory would be so effortless!
At the banquet table, the Qian Family’s Grand Elder Qian Yun started a drinking contest with an Elder from the Thousand Mechanism Sect. Neither of them used their Primordial Power to force out the alcohol, drinking with pure, unadulterated gusto. The entire hall was filled with a joyous atmosphere.
As everyone was toasting and drinking, a servant from the Qin Family approached Qin Li. He was about to whisper in his ear when Qin Li, whose Divine Sense was already blanketing the entire Qin Mansion, knew what had happened. He smiled and said, "There are no outsiders here. Speak freely!"
Qin Li’s words instantly raised the impression the people from the Shen and Qian Families had of him by several levels. What was magnanimity? What was being open and honorable?
This was it!
Previously, Qin Li’s ruthless and sharp methods, along with his overbearing dominance, had made them feel fortunate to have chosen the right side, but it also planted a seed of worry. ’If this continues, and the Qin Family grows larger and larger while Qin Li becomes more and more arrogant and tyrannical, will he one day turn and point his spear at us?’
But after his enemies left, Qin Li’s warm and gentle attitude toward them, his completely unaffected demeanor, finally allowed them all to put their hearts at ease. A single thought arose in their minds: ’With a person like Qin Li, being his friend is the greatest blessing, but being his enemy is the greatest misfortune!’
The Qin Family servant was slightly taken aback, but he immediately said, "Yes, a group of people has arrived outside. It’s the Feng family from Feng City. They’ve brought over three hundred carts of treasure and are waiting outside to see you!"
Qin Li’s sword-like eyebrows shot up. He said coolly, "Let them wait."
Shen Le’s ears perked up, and he grew excited. ’I didn’t expect the Feng Family to be so fast! It hasn’t even been two days! Where on earth did they gather so much wealth?’
What he didn’t know was that the Feng Family had originally never intended to deliver the wealth to the Qin Family so quickly. The Qin Family’s demand was exorbitant, like a lion opening its maw, and fulfilling it would be a crippling blow even for the Feng Family.
The war faction within the Feng Family, in particular, had vehemently opposed Feng Ping, believing his actions were a betrayal of the family.
But no one could have expected that the families of Profound Island, forces that included the Lin, Xiao, and Wang Families, would be defeated... so quickly. The power the Qin Family had revealed was so absurdly strong it was terrifying.
For a time, the war faction of the Feng Family was collectively silenced.
Everyone knew what kind of role the Feng Family had played in this incident of pressuring the Qin Family. Putting themselves in the Qin Family’s shoes, if they held the upper hand now, there was absolutely no way they would let the Feng Family off the hook.
Therefore, the entire Feng Family mobilized at once, managing to gather a massive amount of treasure and goods overnight. It had to be said that a great family was still a great family. When it truly came down to a matter of life and death, and everyone set aside their prejudices to work wholeheartedly toward a single goal, the energy they produced was astonishing.
Furthermore, the Feng Family had gathered a large number of fast horses. Disregarding the lives of these normally precious thousand-li steeds, they managed to transport all these goods from all directions to the Qin Family’s doorstep in just half a day!
Feng Ping looked at the Qin Family’s shattered plaza, then at the undamaged main gate and the two massive, ferocious stone lions. His heart was a tangle of complex emotions. A day ago, this had been a magnificent, imposing plaza. A day later, it had become a place of shared shame for more than sixty percent of the powers on Profound Island.
Feng Ping had also heard of Qin Li’s incredibly arrogant declaration. However, he felt that he had already made an agreement with Qin Li beforehand. The Feng Family had bowed its head before all the other families. What had seemed incredibly humiliating at the time now appeared to be the most correct course of action. Therefore, he felt relatively confident at this moment.
The guard who went in to announce the arrival ran back out just a short while later. Looking at the pale, portly, yet somewhat haggard old man standing there, the Qin Family guard felt a secret thrill. ’So you have a day like this, too?’ he thought. ’When you were bullying my Qin Family back then, you probably never imagined you’d end up like this!’
With these thoughts, this Profound Level Sixth Stage gatekeeper from the Qin Family lifted his head, strode arrogantly up to Feng Ping, cleared his throat, and said, "Our young master is currently drinking with guests. He says you are to wait."
"What?" Feng Ping’s face instantly contorted. He almost couldn’t believe his ears. His eyes widened, and he wished he could slap this Qin Family servant—who was no different from an ant in his eyes—to death. "What did you say?"
The Qin Family gatekeeper was forced back two steps by Feng Ping’s aura, but he immediately stood his ground with a furious expression. Though his face was a little pale, he still repeated, word for word, "Our young master said he is drinking. He told you to wait here!"