Soul Sea

When Nie Li put it that way, if the Sacred Family went after him, wouldn't that just prove that the Sacred Family was full of petty, spiteful people?

Both Shen Xiu and Shen Yue were so furious at Nie Li that they nearly coughed up blood.

Ye Ziyun couldn't help taking another look at Nie Li. She hadn't expected him to be so bold as to offend the Sacred Family, one of the three Peak Families in the City of Brilliance. Lately, Nie Li's series of actions had made it impossible for anyone to ignore him. Ye Ziyun felt a little curious about him. What kind of person was Nie Li, exactly?

As for Xiao Ninger, hearing Nie Li's sharp words strike straight at the Sacred Family's sore spot gave her a satisfying feeling. Her family had always wanted to marry her into the Sacred Family, and she deeply resented the idea. She had never liked the Sacred Family in the first place. Seeing Nie Li leave Shen Xiu and Shen Yue speechless, then turn around and act like a scoundrel, she couldn't help laughing. At the same time, she deeply admired him. Just how broad did someone's knowledge have to be to recognize the source of the Crimson Flame Explosion Engraving at a glance? While the rest of them had been wasting their time, Nie Li had been devouring book after book.

Just then, outside the classroom, Lu Ye came hurrying over and handed the Thunder Fire Sacred Codex to the gray-robed elder.

Vice Principal Ye Sheng kept a close eye on the gray-robed elder's expression.

The gray-robed elder turned to page thirty, illustration six, in the Thunder Fire Sacred Codex. He looked at the Thunder Fire Engraving, then compared it with the Crimson Flame Explosion Engraving. His face remained dark, and he said nothing.

Ye Sheng didn't dare say a word. This was undoubtedly a scandal involving the Sacred Family and the upper ranks of the City of Brilliance. He didn't dare speak out of turn about it.

The gray-robed elder flipped through the Thunder Fire Sacred Codex. The writing inside was extremely complicated, and even he could recognize only a small portion of it. Nie Li's vast knowledge shocked him. After a moment of silence, he asked, "What's this student Nie Li's talent like?"

Ye Sheng looked at Lu Ye. Nie Li was an obscure student, and even a vice principal couldn't be expected to know that much about him.

Lu Ye hurriedly replied, "I just looked into it. He has only a Red Soul Sea."

The gray-robed elder nodded. "What a pity. This boy is knowledgeable and talented, but his aptitude isn't very good. Otherwise, he'd have an unlimited future. Ye Sheng, give him a position as a library attendant."

"Yes!" Ye Sheng promptly nodded. He knew the gray-robed elder had taken a liking to Nie Li's talent. Although Nie Li's aptitude was poor, he was so well-read that he could even understand the Thunder Fire Sacred Codex. A library attendant's position would give him a chance to study even more ancient texts. Everyone in the City of Brilliance focused on cultivating their own techniques, but few took the time to study old books. The gray-robed elder had also made this arrangement to protect Nie Li. As a library attendant, he would be working within Sacred Lan Academy, making it harder for the Sacred Family to suppress him.

But would Nie Li be afraid of the Sacred Family's oppression? In his previous life, he would certainly have been timid and kept as far away from the Sacred Family as possible. But in this life, Nie Li wouldn't swallow his anger.

He still kept score of the grudges from his previous life. He would settle them with the Sacred Family, one by one!

Shen Xiu glared at Nie Li with venomous hatred. She loathed him to the depths of her soul. Her voice turned icy. "I'll remember what happened today!" Shen Xiu was vindictive by nature, and as Nie Li's instructor, she had plenty of ways to make trouble for him.

Nie Li could only sneer. A teacher threatening a student in class—how shameless! Even if the Sacred Family didn't come after him, he would go after them himself!

This was only their first clash. Nie Li still had plenty of cards up his sleeve and hadn't revealed them all. His strength was still insufficient, so he couldn't antagonize the Sacred Family too thoroughly. After all, they were one of the three Peak Families in the City of Brilliance. Nie Li understood that he urgently needed to grow stronger.

After that, Shen Xiu had no heart to continue teaching and hurriedly ended the lesson.

Word of what had happened in class quickly spread among the students, growing more and more sensational with every retelling. The Sacred Family, which had always held itself high above everyone else, had taken a hard slap across the face this time. No matter how the Sacred Family tried to cover it up, Demon Spirit Masters would despise such a violation of their professional code of ethics. The Sacred Family practically saw Nie Li as a thorn in its side, but it didn't dare do anything to him. If anything happened to Nie Li, everyone would suspect the Sacred Family. They wouldn't dare do something so brazen, especially since the Sacred Family didn't rule the City of Brilliance single-handedly.

After this incident, the Sacred Family's standing took a serious hit. It was said that when the head of the Sacred Family visited Ye Ziyun's father, the City Lord of the City of Brilliance, he was turned away.

For Nie Li, this was undoubtedly something to celebrate.

Though he didn't know how to get closer to Ye Ziyun, ruining Shen Yue's engagement to her was something worth celebrating too.

After what had happened today, Shen Yue's image in Ye Ziyun's eyes had also taken a serious hit.

Vice Principal's Office.

Shen Xiu's shrill voice rang out.

"Vice Principal Ye Sheng, that student Nie Li has no respect for his elders. He openly talked back to his instructor in class—it was utterly outrageous! I request your approval to expel him!" Shen Xiu said agitatedly.

Even without that important figure's intervention, Nie Li had extensive knowledge of Demon Spirits. Even if he couldn't become a powerful Demon Spirit Master in the future, he might still become a favored guest of influential figures. How could Ye Sheng expel a student like that? Besides, Nie Li had earned that important figure's praise. Still, since Shen Xiu was a member of the Sacred Family, he had to show her some consideration. Ye Sheng smiled mildly. "I'll give it some more thought. Expelling a student would have serious repercussions."

"Vice Principal Ye Sheng, what is there to consider? I demand that Nie Li be expelled immediately, or I can't continue teaching this class!" Shen Xiu said indignantly.

A glint flashed in Ye Sheng's eyes. Shen Xiu was taking things too far. He smiled and said, "In that case, how about I transfer you to another class?"

Shen Xiu froze for a moment. She had thought Ye Sheng would at least show the Sacred Family some consideration, but she could hear what he meant from his tone. Ye Sheng had made up his mind to protect Nie Li. If he transferred her to another class, she wouldn't be able to make trouble for Nie Li. Shen Xiu cursed Ye Sheng viciously in her heart, but she had no choice but to swallow her anger. "Then there's no need. Let's forget about what happened today. The martial arts test is in two months. If he ranks in the bottom three of the martial arts apprentice class, then Vice Principal Ye Sheng won't have anything to say, will you? According to Sacred Lan Academy's rules, the bottom three students must be expelled!"

"That shouldn't be a problem!" Ye Sheng chuckled.

Shen Xiu snorted, turned, and slammed the door behind her.

After Shen Xiu left, a trace of coldness flickered in Ye Sheng's eyes. Shen Xiu was far too arrogant, relying on her status as a member of the Sacred Family. Ye Sheng thought it over. No matter how poorly Nie Li did, with knowledge as vast as his, he wouldn't end up in the bottom three. Even if he did, and was expelled, that important figure would probably recruit him anyway.

On the third floor of the school library, there were many small rooms where Sacred Lan Academy's students could read. But now, the place had practically become Nie Li and the others' base of operations, because Nie Li had just accepted Sacred Lan Academy's offer and become an attendant in its library. The job required him to do nothing, and he could still collect more than three hundred Spirit Coins each month. What was there not to like?

Sacred Lan Academy's offer to Nie Li had seemed strange, but after thinking it over, he understood: the academy's leaders were protecting him from the Sacred Family's oppression! A library attendant might not hold a high position, but he was still an official attendant of Sacred Lan Academy. Even the Sacred Family had to consider the consequences.

Nie Li was still grateful to Sacred Lan Academy's leaders for what they had done.

Vice Principal Ye Sheng had no idea that a single word from that important figure had led him to arrange a library attendant position for Nie Li—and that it would bring Sacred Lan Academy enormous benefits in the future.

"Nie Li, was it really a good idea to offend the Sacred Family like that?" Du Ze asked after a moment of silence. He was a cautious person.

"Who cares if it was a good idea? It felt great." Lu Piao curled his lip. Seeing Shen Xiu's face twisted with rage had been so satisfying. Besides, he had never liked that woman.

Nie Li looked at Du Ze and nodded. "I know what I'm doing! We don't need to go to class for the next few days. Shen Xiu's probably wishing we wouldn't."

Since Nie Li said that, Du Ze said no more.

Besides Du Ze and Lu Piao, there were three other commoner students with Nie Li. They were the ones who had been made to stand at the back with him that day, and their aptitude wasn't good either; they all had Red Soul Seas. Their names were Wei Nan, Zhu Xiangjun, and Zhang Ming. Nie Li trusted them fairly well. In his previous life, they had all been Du Ze's capable assistants. They hadn't been especially close to Nie Li, but they were loyal to Du Ze and stood by their friends. In the battle when the City of Brilliance fell, they had died fighting alongside Du Ze. They were all true-hearted brothers!

In this life, their little group had already begun to revolve around Nie Li.

"I just spent over six thousand Spirit Coins on six Beginner Soul Crystals. Next, I'm going to test your constitutions!" Nie Li said, looking at them.

"Test our constitutions? Didn't we already take a test when we enrolled?" Du Ze asked, puzzled.

Nie Li smiled mysteriously. "My test is different from theirs!"

Everyone was a little puzzled. Ever since the City of Brilliance was founded, it had always used the same method. Their Soul Power had already been determined, so what exactly did Nie Li want to test? One Beginner Soul Crystal cost more than a thousand Spirit Coins! Nie Li had actually bought six at once! But Nie Li had already demonstrated such extensive knowledge that they were impressed and trusted him completely.

"An unused Soul Crystal is the most sensitive. If it's used to test just one person's Soul Sea, the result will be extremely accurate. But once two or more people reuse a Beginner Soul Crystal, it will be affected by interference and can only roughly measure the Soul Sea's level and the strength of their Soul Power," Nie Li said with a smile.

"Besides the Soul Sea's level and the strength of their Soul Power, what else can it detect?" Lu Piao asked curiously.

"The Soul Sea's attribute and its form!" Nie Li said with a smile.

Du Ze, Lu Piao, and the others exchanged glances. What Nie Li said sounded incredibly profound.