Their conversation ended.
Xiao Tianhao asked Ye Zong a question.
"Uncle Ye, I'd like to see Nie Li. Would that be all right?"
At the mention of Nie Li's name, Ye Zong's expression turned stern again.
"Go ahead. I'll have someone take you there in a moment."
Seeing Ye Zong's face stiffen again, Xiao Tianhao couldn't help laughing inwardly.
This was why first impressions mattered so much. Nie Li hadn't actually done anything bad. Just because he'd accidentally teased Ye Ziyun while bare-chested, he'd left a terrible impression on Ye Zong. He was going to suffer plenty more on his road to winning Ye Ziyun's heart.
Led by a guard, Xiao Tianhao arrived at Nie Li's courtyard.
At that moment, Nie Li had merged with the Shadow Demon Spirit, and his figure flickered rapidly around the courtyard. Barring special circumstances, no one below black gold rank could possibly pinpoint his current position.
Up in a tree.
Nie Li's figure went from illusory to solid.
"Tianhao, what are you doing here?" Seeing Xiao Tianhao, Nie Li jumped down from the tree and released his Demon Spirit fusion, a delighted expression appearing on his face.
"Nie Li, long time no see. I just finished speaking with the City Lord. I heard you were staying at the City Lord's Mansion too, so I came to see you," Xiao Tianhao said with a smile.
They shared a hug.
The two went to a garden and found a stone bench to sit on.
"How have you been lately?" Xiao Tianhao asked.
Nie Li smiled and said, "Nothing much. The Dark Guild came to the Heavenly Marks Family to make trouble for me a while ago, but I dealt with it."
"Oh, right. I got a treasure at the Red Moon Family's auction. It can fuse Demon Spirits and improve their growth potential. I've prepared quite a few Demon Spirits with god level growth potential. Do you need any?"
Xiao Tianhao waved his hand with a smile. "Thanks, Nie Li. I've already fused with Demon Spirits, and their growth potential is pretty good."
I didn't expect Nie Li to reveal information about the Nightmare Demon Pot to me. It seems he really trusts me.
He continued.
"By the way, what are your Soul Sea's attribute and form? I'll prepare a Demon Spirit with transcendent god level growth potential for you."
Nie Li was surprised and puzzled. "My Soul Sea has no attribute or form. But what's transcendent god level growth potential? Why have I never heard of it?"
"As luck would have it, I also have a treasure that can fuse Demon Spirits and improve their growth potential. While improving their growth potential, I discovered that their level had already surpassed god level, so I named it transcendent god level," Xiao Tianhao explained with a smile.
Nie Li's mouth fell open in shock. He hadn't expected Xiao Tianhao to have obtained a treasure even more outrageous than the Nightmare Demon Pot, but he soon calmed down and replied with a smile.
"Looks like you've had some incredible opportunities too. Do you have a Demon Spirit with transcendent god level growth potential on you right now? I'd like to take a look."
"Same goes for you." With that, Xiao Tianhao took the Azure Wave Sky Sea Dragon's Demon Spirit Stone straight out of his Space Ring and handed it to Nie Li.
Nie Li accepted the Azure Wave Sky Sea Dragon's Demon Spirit Stone and examined it closely, sensing the aura within.
Before long, he sighed in admiration.
"Its aura is much stronger than the Demon Spirits I fused before. It really has surpassed god level. Calling it transcendent god level is certainly fitting."
Then he smiled wryly.
"I even prepared Demon Spirits with god level growth potential for Zi Yun, Lu Piao, Du Ze, and Wang Hu. But compared to yours, mine almost feel too shabby to give them!"
Xiao Tianhao laughed heartily and reassured him.
"You're being too modest. If Demon Spirits with god level growth potential are too shabby to give someone, then what Demon Spirit in all of Glory City would be good enough?"
"How about this? Have you already given them the Demon Spirits you prepared? I don't know much about Lu Piao's and Du Ze's Soul Sea forms and attributes. You must have tested them, right? The Demon Spirits you prepared should be the best matches for them."
Nie Li shook his head.
"No, I still have them here. I was just planning to deliver them over the next couple of days."
"Good. Give me the Demon Spirits you prepared for them first. I'll improve their growth potential before we give them out," Xiao Tianhao told Nie Li.
Nie Li agreed and handed all the Demon Spirits he had prepared to Xiao Tianhao.
"I'll accept this Azure Wave Sky Sea Dragon Demon Spirit, then." As he spoke, he raised the Demon Spirit Stone in his hand.
After putting the Demon Spirit Stone into his Space Ring, Nie Li couldn't help wondering why Xiao Tianhao had come to the City Lord's Mansion.
"By the way, what did you come to the City Lord's Mansion for?"
Xiao Tianhao looked smug.
"The City Lord saw what a genius I was and feared I'd be persecuted by the Dark Guild and the Sacred Family, so he invited me into the City Lord's Mansion for protection."
Nie Li shook his head speechlessly. He hadn't expected Xiao Tianhao to have such a mischievous side.
"Pretty much the same as you."
Xiao Tianhao suddenly burst out laughing and gave him a thumbs-up.
"I heard you went to tease Ye Ziyun bare-chested as soon as you moved in. You've really got some nerve."
"It was all an accident."
Nie Li laughed awkwardly and scratched his head.
Which bastard spread that story?
Nie Li wanted to move past the subject.
"By the way, Tianhao, we haven't seen each other in ages. Let's spar!"
"Are you sure?"
Xiao Tianhao gave Nie Li an odd look. Surely this kid didn't think he was the only one who had made great strides?
Nie Li nodded seriously.
All right, then. Let's do it.
They went to the center of the courtyard and stood facing each other.
Both merged with their Demon Spirits.
Xiao Tianhao still fused with the Violet Lightning Saint Spirit Flood Dragon Demon Spirit. His body immediately grew to five or six meters tall, blue-purple dragon scales covered his skin, his hands became dragon claws, and a three-meter-long tail rapidly emerged behind him. Although the Violet Lightning Saint Spirit Flood Dragon Demon Spirit leaned more toward speed, its combat strength was by no means weak.
Nie Li fused with the Shadow Demon Spirit.
Nie Li's body swiftly merged with the Shadow Demon Spirit. His form flickered in and out of sight like a ghost, and strange, sickle-shaped bone spikes grew from his forearms, resembling those of a praying mantis.
Nie Li also knew that his strength probably fell short of Xiao Tianhao's, so he attacked first.
Nie Li's body rapidly turned ethereal, vanishing into the air.
Suddenly, Nie Li appeared behind Xiao Tianhao.
His mantis-like, sickle-shaped bone spikes slashed swiftly toward Xiao Tianhao's body.
Thanks to his strength and keen perception, Xiao Tianhao had already sensed him, but he neither dodged nor evaded. He merely strengthened the electric current on his body's surface, wanting to see whether Nie Li, at three-star silver rank, could break through his current defenses.
Clang!
The sickle-shaped bone spikes struck the dragon scales on Xiao Tianhao's back. Sparks flashed across the scales, but he didn't budge an inch. Instead, blue-purple currents traveled along the bone spikes and shot straight into Nie Li's body.
Xiao Tianhao was completely unharmed, while Nie Li's body was scorched somewhat black by the electricity.
Forced out of his Demon Spirit fusion, he fell straight to the ground.
"Hiss..." Nie Li sucked in a sharp breath, rubbed his aching head, and stood up.
He shook his head.
"What a monster. I never should have suggested sparring with you."
Xiao Tianhao also released his Demon Spirit fusion, walked over, and patted Nie Li on the shoulder.
"I'm three years older than you. It's only natural that I'm stronger."
Nie Li was a little surprised. He and Xiao Tianhao looked about the same age, and he had never asked how old Xiao Tianhao was.
Once his surprise passed, he joked as well.
"In that case, I should call you Big Brother Tianhao."
"Whatever. I don't mind either way."
Xiao Tianhao waved his hand.
"Oh, right. This Battle Armor is for you too."
As he spoke, he took a suit of black gold rank Battle Armor out of his Space Ring.
Black gold rank!
Nie Li couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath when he saw it. He didn't know how to forge Battle Armor, but he knew armor of such a high rank had to be extremely precious in Glory City. He wasn't even sure whether the city had any black gold rank armor.
Still, he accepted it.
After a moment's thought, he took out paper and a pen and quickly wrote down some of the Secret Arts he knew.
Once he finished, he handed them straight to Xiao Tianhao.
"I know you don't lack anything else, and I don't have much that could help you. These are some Secret Arts I obtained by chance. They're yours."
Xiao Tianhao took the papers and looked them over, a smile appearing on his face.
"Not bad. These will be very useful to me."
The two chatted for a while longer.
As it grew late, Xiao Tianhao stood and said, "Nie Li, it's getting late. I should head back. Let's get together again when we have the chance."
Nie Li stood as well, patted Xiao Tianhao on the shoulder, and spoke with a serious expression.
"All right. Oh, and be careful of the Dark Guild. They may have discovered where the Alchemist Association's Pill Formulas came from. Otherwise, they wouldn't have mobilized such a force to come after me just over that little incident at the Ancient Orchid City Ruins. If anything happens, we can contact each other at any time."
Xiao Tianhao nodded, bade Nie Li farewell, and left the City Lord's Mansion.
As he walked back to his own residence, he pondered his conversation with Nie Li. Glory City seemed peaceful, but beneath the surface, dark currents surged.
He murmured.
"The Dark Guild!"
I've been reading through the comments these past few days. I've seen plenty of praise and plenty of criticism. Thank you to everyone who commented.
I'm a newcomer, and I'll humbly accept everyone's criticism.
I come from a rural background and only graduated from university this year, with a degree in civil engineering at that. I haven't seen much of the world, and I've never even been in a relationship. I have too little life experience, and I know my writing isn't particularly good.
Actually, I love novels very much, and I've been a devoted bookworm for eight years. Back then, on a sudden impulse, I decided to write a wish-fulfillment novel of my own. Unfortunately, my prose isn't very good, and things haven't gone quite as I'd hoped, but I've kept working at it.
I've started working now, and every evening after coming home, I squeeze out time to write this novel. It's been pretty exhausting, and I've even thought about giving up several times. But thinking of all your support has kept me going.
I remember many readers' names very clearly, such as Bolkenion, Kael (I don't know how to write the two Japanese characters after that), Drunk...Dream, Transfer Labor, Father Anderson, and so on. I won't list everyone here. Many of them have followed this story since it had only a few chapters and have sent quite a few gifts too. And to everyone still following the updates now, thank you so much.
The prose in my novel might not be very good, and it may not have met everyone's expectations, but I'll actively listen to your suggestions. That's at least one strength of mine, and I hope this book can grow under everyone's nurturing.
And of course, there's one more thing to say: "If you have money, support with money; if you don't, support with your presence. Thank you, everyone!"
⸜(๑'ᵕ'๑)⸝⋆* ୧⍢⃝୨
Before you continue