Ye Ziyun was in a state of agitation. She took out the Nine Revolutions Ice Phoenix Art Nie Li had given her. The value of this cultivation technique was beyond imagination, yet Nie Li had actually been willing to give such a precious art to her?
Anger and gratitude tangled in her heart, leaving Ye Ziyun unable to calm herself.
After a long while, Ye Ziyun finally suppressed her shame and indignation and focused on cultivating the Nine Revolutions Ice Phoenix Art. Her heart gradually settled, and her Soul Sea seemed to frost over lightly as a clear, pure power circulated through her body.
Her skin took on a translucent, jade-like sheen, making her even more beautiful than before, as if a celestial maiden had descended from the heavens.
As her Soul Power continued to rise, impurities were expelled from Ye Ziyun's body. Her skin glistened with sweat, and a burst of azure light suddenly blossomed, like an enormous green lotus.
Ye Ziyun abruptly opened her eyes. Her beautiful pupils were as pure as gemstones. The Nine Revolutions Ice Phoenix Art was far more powerful than she had imagined. She had already been close to Bronze 1-star, and after cultivating the art, she broke straight through the barrier to advancement and reached Bronze 1-star.
Feeling sticky and uncomfortable, Ye Ziyun hurriedly had her maid heat some water.
Petals in the tub filled the air with fragrance. Ye Ziyun slowly slipped off her silk dress, revealing her shapely figure beneath and her fair, delicate skin, as translucent as finely carved jade. After cultivating the Nine Revolutions Ice Phoenix Art, she had become even more beautiful and captivating. Though she had yet to reach the age when a woman was at her most radiant, she had already developed quite nicely.
Her delicate ankles slowly stepped into the petals. As the hot water washed away the grime on her body and the petals left their alluring fragrance on her skin, Ye Ziyun's thoughts began to wander. She slowly stroked her smooth skin with slender jade fingers. When she saw the delicate butterfly-shaped birthmark on the left side of her chest, a strange feeling stirred in her heart once more.
She had had that butterfly-shaped birthmark since the day she was born. She slowly traced it. Though she had yet to reach the most blossoming age of girlhood, the young girl's slightly swelling breasts were already quite alluring.
Had Nie Li seen her birthmark or not?
Ye Ziyun felt her heart give a little flutter. If Nie Li really had seen it, then hadn't he seen all of her?
Just then, a faint rustling came from outside.
"Who's there? Who's sneaking a look?" Ye Ziyun hurriedly covered her chest with both hands, a flush of shame and indignation crossing her face. Nie Li, you bastard!
"Miss, it's me!" A pretty maid stepped out from behind the curtain.
It turned out to be Xiaodie, the maid. Ye Ziyun secretly breathed a sigh of relief, her cheeks warming slightly. Nie Li hadn't even reached Bronze rank, so how could he possibly break into the heavily guarded City Lord's Mansion? She had been overthinking it! But how had Nie Li seen her birthmark?
The night passed without incident.
The next day, at the Secret Treasure Pavilion.
It was a large shop that specialized in selling all kinds of armor, War Blades, and inscription scrolls. It stood a few hundred meters from the entrance to Sacred Lan Academy.
"Shopkeeper, I want this Bronze Raging Flame Set and this Raging Flame Sword!" Nie Li pointed to several pieces of Bronze Armor and Bronze War Blades.
"This Raging Flame Set has four pieces in all: armor, gauntlets, greaves, and boots. It costs five hundred thousand Spirit Coins. This Raging Flame Sword costs two hundred thousand. They're both masterpieces at the peak of the Bronze rank, made from the scales of Raging Flame Demonic Beasts. Bronze-rank demonic beasts wouldn't stand a chance of breaking through them. Even a Silver-rank demonic beast would have to work hard to damage this armor. Are you sure you want to buy them, young master?" The shopkeeper sized up Nie Li as he asked.
"Of course. Do I look like I'm joking?" Nie Li casually tossed him a bag. "There are seventy Demon Crystal Cards inside, each worth ten thousand."
"Certainly! I'll wrap them up for you right away, young master!" The shopkeeper beamed.
"I also want this armor and these inscription scrolls. I'll take them all. Wrap everything up for me. And this, this, and this..." After selling a large quantity of Purple Mist Grass, Nie Li had an astonishing amount of money on hand. Buying all this was nothing to him.
Nie Li must have been the young master of some super family. He spent so freely that the day's sales equaled several months' worth on an ordinary day. The owner of the Secret Treasure Pavilion was grinning so hard his teeth nearly fell out.
Nie Li bought a Spatial Ring with a capacity of five or six cubic meters and put everything inside. As for the Raging Flame Set, he wore it directly. It was so light that no one could tell he had it on beneath his clothes.
"I'll go to the classroom today and pay Xiao Ninger back," Nie Li thought. He strolled into the academy.
As he reached a corner of Sacred Lan Academy, several people suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Kid, we finally caught you!" Shen Yue sneered at Nie Li. The six followers behind him gave Nie Li a mocking once-over, their eyes full of hostility.
Nie Li had known all along that Shen Yue's men were following him. He had deliberately walked to this secluded spot, waiting for Shen Yue and the others to corner him. A barely perceptible smile played at the corner of his mouth. Let's see how I'll play you to death!
"What do you want?" Nie Li put on a frightened expression.
"Kid, so now you're scared? Damn it, I've been sick of you for ages. You brought this on yourself today! Beat him up—hard!" Shen Yue roared.
The six followers behind Shen Yue surged forward like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey.
"Hit him! Beat him until he can't get back up!" A cruel, satisfied grin spread across Shen Yue's face.
"You guys, don't come any closer! I'll fight back!" Nie Li dodged as he circulated his Soul Power and shouted, "Murder! The Sacred Family is trying to kill someone!" Nie Li wasn't about to miss such a perfect opportunity. He'd make sure to sling all the mud he could at the Sacred Family.
Nie Li used a secret Soul Power technique, and his voice rang out like thunder, making everyone's eardrums ache.
"Damn it, gag this kid! Hurry up and shut him up!" Hearing Nie Li's cries, Shen Yue's face twitched. Damn it, Nie Li's shouts could be heard throughout Sacred Lan Academy. They were more pitiful than a pig being slaughtered!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The followers' fists and kicks rained down on Nie Li. Three of the six were Bronze 2-star, and three were Bronze 1-star. By rights, they should have knocked Nie Li flat in just a few punches. But after taking several blows, Nie Li was completely unharmed, and his cries remained deafening, echoing back and forth between several classroom buildings.
"Murder! The Sacred Family is trying to kill someone!"
His voice carried with such force it seemed as though it could shake the classroom buildings down. Before long, the students throughout Sacred Lan Academy had been roused. Many leaned out of windows to see what was happening.
At a glance, they saw six people repeatedly ganging up on Nie Li. The person standing behind them was none other than Shen Yue of the Sacred Family.
"Isn't that Nie Li?"
"I heard Nie Li offended the Sacred Family!"
"I heard Nie Li exposed the Sacred Family's Crimson Flame Explosion as plagiarized—copied from someone else. So the Sacred Family was planning to send people to assassinate him!"
"The Sacred Family is going too far! They're actually trying to assassinate a student inside Sacred Lan Academy!"
"Quick, go tell the dean!"
The students discussed it among themselves. Even many who had disliked Nie Li before began to sympathize with him. Some students from other families were also furious at Shen Yue's actions. This was Sacred Lan Academy! How dare the Sacred Family kill someone here? Had they no regard for the law?
Nie Li glanced at Shen Yue and gave a cold little smile. Shen Yue still had a lot to learn if he wanted to play games with him!
While six people ganged up on him, Nie Li relied on his nimble movements. All six followers' punches and kicks landed on his Raging Flame Armor. Not only did they fail to hurt him, the armor sent their hands numb, nearly breaking the bones in their fingers.
As he dodged, Nie Li secretly landed punches and kicks on Shen Yue's followers, making them grimace in pain. By rights, with Nie Li's strength, he shouldn't have been able to hurt Bronze 1-star and Bronze 2-star martial artists at all. But there was something strange about his fists: even a light punch hurt more than being clubbed on the head.
"Damn it, you idiots! Did you skip breakfast?" Shen Yue roared. With so many students watching, he felt utterly humiliated. Yet even after all this time, his six followers still hadn't managed to knock Nie Li down. Instead, Nie Li's cries were getting louder and louder.
It would have been one thing if Nie Li had just shouted for help. But yelling that the Sacred Family was killing someone was like splashing mud all over the Sacred Family—every word struck right at the heart!
Shen Yue was about to go mad with rage. He was trapped, unable to advance or retreat.
"Hit him! Hit him hard!" Shen Yue shouted.
His followers were at their wits' end. They were already giving it their all, but no matter how hard they beat Nie Li, he stayed full of energy. They, on the other hand, felt as if their bones were about to come apart from Nie Li's blows. His punches looked feather-light, but packed a tremendous punch, leaving them black and blue.
"What are you doing?" A sharp cry rang out as a slender figure darted over. It was Xiao Ninger.
Xiao Ninger stepped in front of Nie Li and glared at Shen Yue and the others. Azure light shimmered around her; she had already become a Bronze 1-star Demon Spirit Master. She held an Azure Moon Short Sword in her hand, ready to fight at any moment.
"Shen Yue, you've gone too far!" Another sharp cry rang out. A second slender, lovely figure darted out from the side. It was Ye Ziyun. She glared at Shen Yue. "Shen Yue, I never thought you were this kind of person!"
"Nie Li, are you all right?" Xiao Ninger and Ye Ziyun asked almost in unison, both looking toward Nie Li.
Seeing how concerned Ye Ziyun was for Nie Li, Xiao Ninger's expression stiffened, and she turned away.
Ye Ziyun was a little embarrassed too. She turned and glared at Shen Yue.
"Ziyun, you've got it wrong. It's not what you think!" Shen Yue couldn't explain himself. Seeing Nie Li's faintly mocking expression, he instantly understood what had happened: Nie Li had played him. He pointed at Nie Li furiously. "It was this kid! He deliberately lured us here. This was all his doing!"
"Shen Yue, who do you think you're fooling?" Xiao Ninger was even angrier. "That excuse of yours is unbelievably stupid!"
Nie Li looked completely innocent as he rebuked Shen Yue with righteous indignation. "I admit I offended your Sacred Family, but you've gone too far! You're actually trying to kill someone at school? What do you think Sacred Lan Academy is? My family may not be as powerful as yours, but that doesn't mean you can slaughter me at will. I want to see just how tyrannical your Sacred Family can be! I, Nie Li, have an unyielding backbone. You can kill me, but there's no way I'll submit to a pack of thugs like you!"
Nie Li's righteous words nearly made Shen Yue spit blood.
Hearing him, both Xiao Ninger and Ye Ziyun couldn't help looking at Nie Li with admiration. Xiao Ninger's heart filled with even deeper admiration for him.
I shouldn't submit to the Sacred Family either! Xiao Ninger thought to herself. She hated the Sacred Family to the core! As she saw it, the Sacred Family was as despicable and vile as ever. Just look at how they had forced her to marry Shen Fei!
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