Heavenly Dao Divine Art

He slowly poured his Soul Power into the Soul Crystals.

A few bright specks floated inside the Soul Crystals, but most of them remained gray and dim.

"I suddenly feel much better. Nie Li's Soul Power is way weaker than mine!" Lu Piao blinked and snickered.

Du Ze shot Lu Piao a glare.

Nie Li, however, didn't take it to heart. The amount of Soul Power he had really wasn't that important to him. At that moment, he was focused on how his Soul Power was changing.

His Red Soul Sea was irregular in shape and had no attribute.

An attribute-less, scattered Soul Sea. Nie Li could only smile bitterly. Every kind of Soul Sea was powerful, but if one had to name the weakest, it would be the attribute-less kind. It had practically no distinctive traits, and its shape was unfocused. So this was what my Soul Sea looked like when I first began. It was only after I practiced all sorts of jumbled techniques that it became even more chaotic.

No wonder I'd cultivated for such a long time inside the Book of the Temporal Demonic Spirit in my previous life, yet had never managed to break through. This was where the problem lay.

An attribute-less Soul Sea was the most unstable and the easiest to alter.

Nie Li fell into deep thought. If there were any techniques suited to an attribute-less Soul Sea, they could only be those three: the Heavenly Dao Divine Art, the Battle God Divine Art, and the Void Divine Art. Of the three, the Heavenly Dao Divine Art was the most profound, the Battle God Divine Art the most domineering, and the Void Divine Art the most mysterious. In terms of future achievement, the Heavenly Dao Divine Art might be the greatest, but it was also the most difficult to cultivate.

Cultivating any technique with an attribute-less Soul Sea was far slower than for ordinary people. But if he could master the Heavenly Dao Divine Art, he would become the most powerful of all. The Heavenly Dao embraced everything, sharing certain qualities with an attribute-less Soul Sea. Once he mastered it, he could cultivate techniques of every attribute, wield boundless power, and forge his own great path.

With an ordinary technique, one could contain at most a single Demon Spirit in one's Soul Sea. If one acquired a stronger Demon Spirit, the one cultivated before had to be replaced. But the Heavenly Dao Divine Art could contain seven Demon Spirits of different attributes. Each time one was fused, one's strength would surge. With seven powerful Demon Spirits, one's cultivation and combat power could reach an unimaginable level.

After hesitating for a long while, Nie Li made his choice. Though his cultivation speed would be slower than Du Ze's, Lu Piao's, and the others', the great path rewarded those who matured late. Once mastered, the Heavenly Dao Divine Art would undoubtedly be the strongest!

Nie Li silently recited the incantation and began the most basic cultivation. He might need a great many pills to support him in the future, but for now, he only needed to practice the fundamentals and build a solid foundation.

Seeing Nie Li begin to cultivate, Du Ze, Lu Piao, and the others also started studying their respective techniques. They drew in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to strengthen their Soul Seas. The more they cultivated, the more they discovered the profound intricacies of their techniques.

Six people, six Soul Seas, spun rapidly and surged like crashing waves.

Du Ze, Lu Piao, and the other three commoner students all began to feel their Soul Power increase dramatically.

Their progress was astonishingly fast. After all, Nie Li had given them peerless, high-level techniques. Once they began cultivating, their speed was dozens, even hundreds of times faster than with ordinary techniques.

Nie Li circulated the Heavenly Dao Divine Art. He wasn't seeking rapid progress; instead, he advanced step by step, steadily strengthening his foundation. His Soul Sea shifted ceaselessly, like a surging ocean, as streams of Soul Power flowed through him. Nie Li could feel his Soul Power growing considerably stronger.

The first stage of Soul Power cultivation was to reach a state of harmony between body and mind. As his Soul Power increased, his Soul Sea gradually churned, giving off a faint cyan glow.

Nie Li and the others stayed in the library, devoting themselves to cultivation.

One day, two days... As time passed, Nie Li's Soul Power slowly rose from 5 to over 30.

The speed was astonishing. If Shen Xiu knew that Nie Li was cultivating at such a shocking pace, who knew how she would react?

Even Nie Li was progressing relatively slowly. Du Ze, Lu Piao, and the others were faster than he was. Du Ze, in particular, would probably reach Bronze 1-star before long.

One could only imagine how powerful their Soul Power would become after they completed a stage of cultivation.

Reaching Bronze 1-star within two months was no big deal for Nie Li. He might even reach a higher level—Bronze 2-star, or even 3-star! What sort of expression would Shen Xiu wear at the test two months from now?

At that moment, in the classroom of the beginner class for martial artist apprentices,

Nie Li and the others' seats had been empty for several days. No one knew where they had gone.

The third night was fast approaching. Had Nie Li forgotten? Xiao Ninger eagerly awaited nightfall. Remembering what had happened that day, Xiao Ninger sat quietly at her desk, her cheeks tinged with blush. A gentle, pure smile brightened her face, making her all the more radiant and captivating. The boys around her couldn't help staring.

Ye Ziyun was puzzled. Lately, Xiao Ninger seemed to spend a lot of time lost in thought, which made Ye Ziyun curious about what had happened to leave Xiao Ninger so distracted. Could Xiao Ninger have a crush on Nie Li? Ye Ziyun couldn't understand what was so special about that boy named Nie Li that could make someone as exceptionally gifted as Xiao Ninger fall for him.

Shen Xiu lectured at the front of the room, glancing at the six empty seats in the back with a sneer. Nie Li was probably working hard at his cultivation, wasn't he? But what would that change? Did Nie Li think that working hard could raise his Soul Power from 5 to 100 in a mere two months? That was absolutely impossible!

If Nie Li had a green or cyan Soul Sea, he might have had a chance. But he had only a Red Soul Sea! As far as she was concerned, Nie Li was bound to lose. This was the price he paid for daring to challenge her so brazenly in class!

One could only imagine how miserable Nie Li's life would be after he was expelled!

Shen Xiu gave a faint, cold smile and continued her lecture. "Of the seven Soul Sea colors—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet—the Red Soul Sea is the lowest. In the hundreds of years of the City of Brilliance's history, only a handful of people with a Red Soul Sea have reached the Silver Demon Spirit Master level. Unless they encounter some special opportunity, the Soul Power a Red Soul Sea can hold seems to have a limit: 600. The higher they try to go beyond that, the harder it gets!"

The commoner students listening below looked deeply disappointed. If their Soul Power could reach only 600 at most, that meant that without a special opportunity, they could reach only Bronze 5-star.

The students with Red Soul Seas couldn't help complaining about how unfair fate was. Why had they been born with Red Soul Seas?

"Some things are decided from birth. People have to bow to fate. Some are born into fine clothes and rich food, while others enter the world as lowly commoners!" Shen Xiu said with a scornful laugh.

Ye Ziyun and Xiao Ninger frowned in disgust. Neither of them liked Shen Xiu; what she said really was too much. The City of Brilliance was constantly under threat from demonic beasts, yet Shen Xiu kept stirring up conflict between commoners and the noble families. She was being far too shortsighted.

At Shen Xiu's words, the commoner students clenched their fists so tightly that their palms nearly bled. They were furious, but many still held back. Not everyone had the courage to challenge a teacher in class with expulsion on the line, the way Nie Li had.

They wouldn't dare do it, and so they held Nie Li in deep admiration.

Nie Li didn't know it, but Shen Xiu's constant mockery of the commoner students had made him their spiritual leader. Almost every commoner student hoped Nie Li would win and drive the vicious, sharp-tongued Shen Xiu away. His recent actions had won their hearts.

As time went by, word of Nie Li publicly humiliating Shen Xiu and the Sacred Family, and of his bet with Shen Xiu, spread throughout Sacred Lan Academy. The students across the entire academy were talking about it.

"He actually said he'd raise his Soul Power from 5 to 100 in two months. He really doesn't know how high the sky is!"

"Exactly. Even a super genius with a Cyan Soul Sea might not be able to do that!"

"I hope Nie Li wins. I can't stand that sharp-tongued woman, Shen Xiu."

"Me too, even though his chances of winning are slim." More than seventy percent of the students at Sacred Lan Academy were commoners. Since Nie Li had stood up for them and offended Shen Xiu and the Sacred Family, they were all on his side.

Many people disliked the Sacred Family, but some students from noble families looked down on Nie Li.

Even if the Sacred Family was in the wrong, it was still one of the three Peak Families. Nie Li's actions were insubordination and contempt for authority! They even regarded him as a disgrace to the noble families.

"Some people just like hanging around with those lowly commoners. What can you do?" They mocked Nie Li mercilessly.

As dusk approached,

Most of the students at Sacred Lan Academy had gone to eat, leaving the library rather quiet. Nie Li, Du Ze, Lu Piao, and the others had eaten together, then returned to the library to continue cultivating.

"Nie Li, my Soul Power has already reached eighty-nine. At this rate, I'll break through to Bronze 1-star within a week!" Du Ze said quietly, unable to suppress his excitement. In his eyes, this rate of cultivation was simply unimaginable!

"Not bad." Nie Li smiled faintly. The speed hadn't surprised him.

It wasn't just Du Ze. Lu Piao, Wei Nan, and the others were all ecstatic and excited. Their Soul Power had made great strides, too. At this rate, even reaching Bronze 1-star within two months didn't seem impossible.

Their Soul Power was rising far too quickly for them to imagine. It was as though they were living in a dream!

"We need to get some spirit medicines. With them, we'll cultivate even faster!" Nie Li said.

Du Ze and Lu Piao's hearts skipped a beat at Nie Li's words. That was right—this rapid rise in their Soul Power had come without taking any spirit medicines. If they did take them, just how astonishing would their cultivation speed become?

But where could they find spirit medicines?

A single spirit medicine that could improve their cultivation cost at least ten thousand Spirit Coins!

They had earned over sixteen thousand Spirit Coins hunting Horned Sheep, but spent a great deal on Soul Crystals. They had less than ten thousand left.

"Keep cultivating here in the library. I have something to do tonight. I'll find a way to turn the ten thousand Spirit Coins we have left into more money!" Nie Li said with a smile. With more money, they could buy spirit medicines and improve their cultivation.

They didn't know what Nie Li planned to do, but since he already had a plan, they didn't ask.

Tonight, Nie Li had arranged to meet Xiao Ninger! If he could heal her injuries, it would count as a good deed.

Du Ze, Lu Piao, and his other close friends could never have guessed that Nie Li was leaving them behind to meet Goddess Ninger. If they'd known, they would have been annoyed. Nie Li was such a womanizer, putting girls before his friends!