Setting Out

Du Ze, Lu Piao, and the others gathered around.

"Shen Yue, you're despicable! Seven people ganging up on Nie Li!" Du Ze cried indignantly. He only relaxed when he saw that Nie Li was fine. Though Nie Li looked utterly miserable, he hadn't actually been hurt.

The students watching from a distance all began criticizing Shen Yue.

"I didn't even do anything to him!" Shen Yue retorted irritably. The crowd was cursing him so thoroughly that he could barely get a word in.

Nie Li exchanged a glance with Lu Piao and the others. Lu Piao immediately understood.

"You all kicked and punched Nie Li. How could he possibly be fine? Want us to kick and punch you and see how you like it?" Lu Piao demanded, looking down at him. "Shen Yue, do you dare swear to heaven that you didn't tell your lackeys to beat Nie Li to death just now? Even if you deny it, plenty of students at the academy heard you!"

"I did say that, but I didn't actually..." Shen Yue hurried to explain.

Xiao Ninger and Ye Ziyun both looked at Shen Yue with disgust. He had actually wanted to kill someone inside the academy—Shen Yue was utterly despicable! In Ye Ziyun's eyes, his reputation had sunk to rock bottom.

Heaven knew Shen Yue was telling the truth! He had told his lackeys to beat Nie Li to death, but he hadn't meant it. He'd never dare kill someone in the academy. If he really did, even the Sacred Family wouldn't be able to protect him!

But those ruthless words meant something entirely different to everyone else!

"Vice Principal Ye Sheng is here!"

"Nie Li, I'll admit defeat today. Just you wait!" Shen Yue spat, then hurriedly fled with his lackeys.

"Nie Li, are you all right?" Xiao Ninger asked with concern, anxiously gripping his arm.

"I'm a little hurt, but it's nothing serious. Good thing you got here in time." Nie Li smiled, glancing at Xiao Ninger and then at Ye Ziyun.

After cultivating her new technique, Xiao Ninger's complexion and skin had improved. She looked even more youthful and radiant than before, her whole being exuding an indescribably captivating air. Ye Ziyun, too, seemed more beautiful than before—elegant and graceful, standing tall and poised.

The two beautiful girls stood on either side of him, each shining in her own way, vying to outdo the other.

Seeing Xiao Ninger so concerned about Nie Li, Ye Ziyun couldn't quite explain what she felt.

"Good. I'm glad you're all right." Ye Ziyun smiled a little awkwardly.

The boys watching nearby were instantly thrown into turmoil. If only they'd been the ones standing between the two goddesses after taking that beating! For the first time, the girls in the crowd noticed how handsome Nie Li actually was. They couldn't help taking a few more looks at him, finding him more and more charming. No wonder Goddess Ninger and Goddess Ziyun both favored him.

The boys, on the other hand, found Nie Li more and more detestable the longer they looked at him. Stealing one goddess was bad enough, but he'd gone and stolen two at once! That was simply unforgivable. Why hadn't Shen Yue beaten him to death just now? At the sight of the two stunning beauties vying to outshine each other, their faint sympathy for Nie Li vanished into thin air.

Looking at the beautiful Ye Ziyun beside her, Xiao Ninger was suddenly seized by a powerful sense of crisis. She knew Nie Li liked Ye Ziyun, but she couldn't suppress the intense feelings in her heart. Nie Li was the first boy—and the only one—ever to enter her heart. She'd thought she was the only one who had recognized his worth, and that she could slowly draw his attention away from Ye Ziyun. But somehow, somewhere along the way, Nie Li and Ye Ziyun seemed to have grown close.

"Nie Li, let me help you to the classroom. I brought you breakfast," Xiao Ninger said softly. She supported him with both hands, her softly rounded chest pressing snugly against his arm.

Feeling that softness, Nie Li found himself caught in an awkwardly seductive predicament. He looked at Ye Ziyun, embarrassed. "Ziyun, I..."

"Now that this is settled, I should be going!" Ye Ziyun said, as if she hadn't heard a thing, and turned to leave. She couldn't quite name what she was feeling. She didn't like Nie Li—not yet—but for some reason, seeing Xiao Ninger so close to him made her feel uncomfortable.

"It's none of my business," Ye Ziyun muttered to herself. Nie Li and Xiao Ninger could do whatever they wanted.

Du Ze and Lu Piao exchanged mischievous grins and gave Nie Li a thumbs-up. Nie Li really was something—he'd managed to get close to both goddesses in their class in such a short time. Ye Ziyun hadn't done anything, but when Nie Li had been beaten by Shen Yue and the others, her concern had been genuine.

In the distant crowd, Shen Fei watched Xiao Ninger help Nie Li away, his face dark.

"How dare he oppose my Sacred Family and flirt with my woman? He's asking for death!" Shen Fei clenched his fists until they cracked. He was Shen Yue's older brother, and his cultivation had already reached Silver Level. Even in the Demon Spirit Master genius class, he was someone to be reckoned with. He didn't take Nie Li seriously at all.

With everything Nie Li had done lately, he had completely set himself against the Sacred Family.

Back in the classroom, Nie Li returned the hundreds of thousands of Spirit Coins Xiao Ninger had lent him, even though she didn't want him to. That amount was nothing to him now. Purple Mist Grass was still selling briskly. Though its price had dipped a little, it remained above two hundred Spirit Coins per pound. For the next three years, City of Brilliance would continue to need Purple Mist Grass, so he could sell off his stock gradually.

Nie Li had become the talk of the academy. Whether it was his opposition to the Sacred Family or his ambiguous relationships with Xiao Ninger and Ye Ziyun, the students were intensely curious about him. Quite a few girls secretly slipped love letters into his desk, confessing their admiration. Nie Li recognized a few of them; they were fairly pretty.

In his previous life, Nie Li had been obscure and ignored, barely noticed at the academy. He never imagined that in this life he would be so popular.

But he disposed of all the love letters. Since being reborn, his heart belonged only to Ye Ziyun. How could those girls compare to her? After all, in his previous life, he and Ye Ziyun had faced life and death together. As for Xiao Ninger, Nie Li was more than happy to become a close friend of hers.

As he continued cultivating the Heavenly Dao Divine Art, Nie Li's Soul Power rose rapidly. He was sure that two months would be enough to bring about a complete transformation.

Almost every night, Nie Li ate a Soul Gathering Pill or a Spirit Nurturing Pill and bathed in an infusion of Purple Mist Grass, nourishing his Soul Power as thoroughly as possible.

Besides cultivating his Soul Power, Nie Li often trained his body in various ways to build his strength. Cultivating Soul Power could strengthen the body, but physical strength still had to be trained. Once Demon Spirit Masters reached Silver Level, their Soul Seas could contain demon spirits. The stronger the body, the more powerful the demon spirit it could contain. If the body was too weak, the demon spirit's power could easily burst it apart.

Many Demon Spirit Masters waited until they reached Silver Level and found a demon spirit to bond with before hurriedly starting to train their bodies. By then, however, it was already too late.

Nie Li intended to lay a solid foundation starting now: running, climbing mountains, and training with weights every day.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Nie Li's Soul Power had already climbed to 76. It would probably only be a few more days before he advanced to Bronze 1-star, like Du Ze and Lu Piao.

On the morning of the third day.

Chen Linjian and the others were already waiting in the library.

Besides Chen Linjian, Ye Ziyun, Shen Yue, and the others were there as well. Chen Linjian belonged to the Sacred Nether Family, Ye Ziyun to the Wind Snow Family, and Shen Yue to the Sacred Family. They had known one another since childhood, so it wasn't surprising that they had come together to explore the Ancient Orchid City Ruins.

"You came too?" Ye Ziyun looked at Nie Li in surprise. Chen Linjian had organized this trip. When had Nie Li started getting to know him? It seemed she'd underestimated Nie Li.

"Yes." Nie Li smiled and nodded.

Seeing Nie Li arrive, Shen Yue's expression darkened further. He'd tried several times to explain things to Ye Ziyun, but she'd coldly rejected him and kept at least fifteen feet between them, leaving him deeply frustrated.

It was all Nie Li's fault. If Nie Li hadn't appeared, Ye Ziyun wouldn't have treated him so coldly!

Shen Yue blamed Nie Li for everything.

Since you're so determined to come and get yourself killed, don't blame anyone else! Shen Yue thought viciously. He whispered a few words into one lackey's ear. The lackey glanced at Nie Li, then slipped away. After losing twice to Nie Li, Shen Yue understood that Bronze Level strength wasn't enough to deal with him. So he was sending someone to the family to bring back a few experts.

Nie Li saw everything Shen Yue did and laughed coldly to himself.

Chen Linjian glanced at Nie Li and smiled faintly. "All right, everyone's here. We can set out soon!"

There were twenty-eight people in Chen Linjian's group, seven with Shen Yue, and Nie Li and Ye Ziyun as well. Nie Li hadn't told Du Ze, Lu Piao, or the others about the trip. It was better for them to keep cultivating in the library. The Ancient Orchid City Ruins were dangerous, and Nie Li might not be able to protect them.

The group of thirty-seven prepared essential supplies—food, tents for camping, bows and crossbows for hunting—and then set out.

Their expedition was being carried out in secret, so they kept a low profile. They told people they were going to train in You Mountain Canyon.

~~When I was writing The Divine Path, my health wasn't very good. I remember once, when I had kidney stones, the pain was so bad I threw up five or six times. For two or three days straight, I couldn't even sit down, and it woke me in the middle of the night. Even so, I never missed a day of updates. That also made it difficult to write The Divine Path, and affected its quality somewhat. But I take responsibility for my work. This book is the result of all my hard work. To maintain its quality as I continue updating, I'll still need to rest when necessary, so I may occasionally take a day off to recover. I hope you'll understand.~~