Nie Li

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Nie Li (聂离)
Gender	Male
Origin	Glory City; born into the declining Heavenly Marks Family 6 16
Affiliation	Heavenly Marks Family; Sacred Orchid Institute; Alchemist Association; Divine Feathers Sect, also called the Feather God Sect 16 97 108
Occupation/Role	Demon Spirit Master; Junior Alchemy Master; institute library collection steward; Divine Feathers Sect student 16 54 108
Status	Alive; continuing cultivation in the Dragon Ruins Realm 106 118 121
First Appearance	Mentioned in Chapter 2; first appears directly in Chapter 6 2 6

Power Progression

Only explicitly documented ranks are listed; unspecified intermediate breakthroughs are omitted.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Second Revolution of the Great Emperor Level — previous life	106	Reached through cultivation using the Book of Time and Space Spirit. Died of exhaustion after fighting the Holy Emperor and six God-Level Demon Beasts; this achievement is revealed retrospectively.
Below Bronze Rank — returned youth	6 9	Initially struggles to gather Soul Force with his red Soul Sea. After rebirth, wagers that he can reach Bronze Rank within two months.
Gold One-Star Demon Spirit Master	54	Confirmed during the attack on the City Lord’s Mansion. Uses a dragon Demon Spirit and Black Gold-rank armor to withstand three Black Gold opponents.
Legendary Four-Star	96	Confirmed after another month of training, before the Nether Domain Controller’s disciple-selection tests.
Peak Earthly Fate	118	Confirmed during secluded cultivation at the Heavenly Spirit Institute; approaching Heavenly Fate.

Background / History

Nie Li belongs to the Heavenly Marks Family, a declining noble family in Glory City. Before his rebirth, his weak red Soul Sea makes him a target of ridicule despite his interest in medicinal research 6 16.

In his previous life, he became Ying Yueru’s disciple in the Divine Feathers Sect. The Holy Emperor sought to monopolize the Dragon Ruins Realm’s endless time and space, sending Demon Beasts and their sects against human forces. Nie Li fought him and his six God-Level Demon Beasts, but died of exhaustion. The Book of Time and Space Spirit then returned him to his youth with his memories intact 106.

His rebirth occurs around the spatial disturbance Xiao Tianhao detects at the institute library. Their next meeting reveals a marked change: Nie Li’s formerly youthful gaze has become deep and penetrating, and his bearing carries the steadiness of someone who has endured countless hardships 7 8.

Appearance

Nie Li initially has a slightly frail, youthful figure. His eyes are especially expressive: contemplative before rebirth and strikingly perceptive afterward 7 8.

• Early clothing: Wears orange-yellow clothes during Liu Feng’s herbology class 6.
• Post-rebirth gaze: Described as abyss-like, with flashes that seem capable of seeing through others 8.
• Shadow Demon transformation: His figure flickers in and out of sight, while sickle-shaped bone spikes grow from his forearms 40.

Personality

Nie Li combines guarded curiosity with a willingness to cooperate when others demonstrate genuine value. He questions Xiao Tianhao’s motives, tests his medicinal knowledge, and only then accepts a partnership. After rebirth, their conversations continue as discreet examinations of one another’s expertise 7 8.

He openly challenges prejudice and refuses to accept that family background determines cultivation potential. His confrontation with Shen Xiu defends commoner students even though he is himself a noble’s son. The same defiance appears when the Soul Feather Family threatens him and Ye Ziyun 9 88 89.

His confidence does not prevent him from recognizing practical limits. He accepts Xiao Tianhao’s help when exhausted in battle and chooses a suitable training layer for his companions rather than rushing into greater danger. With trusted friends, he is generous, protective, and explicit about treating their bond as brotherhood 46 55 94 121.

Abilities & Skills

Cultivation and Soul Characteristics

Trait	Details
Soul Sea color	Red; initially treated as evidence of poor talent 6 9.
Soul Sea attribute and form	Neither attribute nor form, according to Nie Li himself 40.
Cultivation method	Heavenly Dao Divine Art. Its early progress is slow enough that his Soul Force trails his friends’ 18.
Spiritual root	Eighth-grade heavenly spiritual root 108.
Spiritual flame	Strongest among the five students who manifest flames in Red Spirit Venerable’s class, ahead of Xiao Tianhao, Long Yuyin, Gu Bei, and Huahuo 112.

Demon Spirit Combat

Nie Li uses different Demon Spirits for stealth, direct combat, and battlefield control.

• Shadow Demon Spirit: Enables elusive movement and concealment. During his courtyard training, ordinary observers below Black Gold rank cannot locate him except under special circumstances 40.
• Shadow Demon limitation: Its sneak attack cannot penetrate Xiao Tianhao’s defenses during their spar; the resulting electrical counter forces Nie Li out of fusion 40.
• Azure Wave Heavenly Sea Dragon: Used against three Black Gold-rank attackers while Nie Li is Gold One-Star. The spirit’s name also appears as “Azure Wave Sky Sea Dragon” 40 54.
• Fangtooth Panda: Provides a gravity field that helps him and Ye Ziyun overpower the Soul Feather Family’s fighters despite their rank disadvantage 88.
• Tactical fighting: Uses Violet Orchid Grass-treated bolts against Azure-Armed Giant Apes and coordinates closely with Ye Ziyun’s ice abilities 21 88.

Alchemy and Medicinal Research

Nie Li is recognized as a Junior Alchemy Master whose formulas contribute to the Alchemist Association’s expanding production 15 16.

• Supplies four pill formulas that the association prepares to commercialize 15.
• Corrects a pill formula Xiao Tianhao deliberately presents as a test 8.
• Develops medicinal preserved Awakening Spirit Fruit using ingredients that stabilize the Soul Sea; Xiao Tianhao’s recognition of the recipe surprises him because it does not exist in that era 8.
• Leads his friends on nighttime Horned Sheep hunts to earn money 13.
• During the five-year cultivation period, refines pills and medicinal baths from herbs and Demon Beast materials supplied by Xiao Tianhao’s group 106.

Demon Spirit Fusion

Nie Li possesses the Nightmare Demon Pot, a treasure used to refine stronger Demon Spirits 40.

• Prepares god-level-growth Demon Spirits for Ye Ziyun, Lu Piao, Du Ze, and Wang Hu 40.
• Shares information about the pot with Xiao Tianhao and accepts his offer to enhance those spirits further 40.
• The pot handles ten same-attribute spirits at a time and can fail, unlike the Profound Space Pearl’s more flexible fusion process 35.

Ancient Knowledge and Teaching

His previous-life memories provide extensive knowledge of history, languages, cultivation, and dangerous ruins 18 21 106.

• Teaches Xiao Tianhao the writing systems of several ancient empires 18.
• Encourages his companions to study inscription patterns, battle techniques, and other subjects as foundations for advanced cultivation 18.
• Identifies Emperor Kongming’s tomb and guides Ye Ziyun through its traps 21.
• Uses his library position to study ancient texts that were destroyed or lost after Glory City’s fall in his previous life 17.
• Explains unfamiliar Demon Beasts, including the pack-hunting Red Ghosts of the Black Prison World 65.

Arrays and Expedition Planning

Nie Li contributes to Glory City’s defenses and supplies practical intelligence for exploration.

• Develops the Ten Thousand Demons Spirit Array, which is nearing readiness before Xiao Tianhao leaves to train 62.
• Draws a safer route through the Sacred Ancestor Mountain Range, later used to relocate the Heavenly Fortune Tribe 73.
• Warns Xiao Tianhao about a dangerous white-haired figure believed to inherit Emperor Kongming’s legacy 76.
• Conceals his full ability during the disciple-selection trial rather than attracting unnecessary attention 97.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Book of Time and Space Spirit — Enabled his previous-life cultivation and returned him to youth after his death. He later retrieves one of its torn pages from Emperor Kongming’s tomb 21 106.
• Nightmare Demon Pot — Demon Spirit-fusion treasure used to create god-level-growth spirits 35 40.
• Rune-marked sword — Used during the armed raid on the Old Apothecary’s underground trade fair 11.
• Heavenly Meteor Divine Thunder Sword — Obtained in the Heavenly Illusion Sacred Realm, where he also brings Ancestor Ye Yan out with him 65.
• Black Gold-rank Battle Armor — Gifted by Xiao Tianhao. Helps prevent serious injury when three Black Gold Demon Spirit Masters attack him 40 54.
• Ten Black Gold-rank Inscription Scrolls — Given by Xiao Tianhao for his group’s expedition to the ancient array-guarded site 62.

Relationships

• Xiao Tianhao — Trusted partner and sworn-in-spirit brother. Their alliance begins as an exchange of resources for herb channels and contacts, then develops through shared combat, gifts, knowledge, and mutual protection 7 40 46 121.
• Ye Ziyun — Romantic partner. He guides and protects her in Emperor Kongming’s tomb, fights beside her in the Nine-Layer Deathlands, and promises to visit her after she joins the Heavenly Sound Divine Sect 21 88 105.
• Ye Zong — Offers him protection at the City Lord’s Mansion, but strongly disapproves after Nie Li enters Ye Ziyun’s bedroom bare-chested 38.
• Lu Piao, Du Ze, Wang Hu, Wei Nan, Zhu Xiangjun, and Zhang Ming — Close companions who cultivate under his guidance and rally around him in confrontations 9 18 89.
• Duan Jian / Broken Sword — Devoted follower who insists on calling him “Master,” despite Nie Li regarding him as a brother. Declares Nie Li’s enemies to be his own 76 89.
• Ying Yueru — His master in his previous life; already knows his rebirth secret when he reveals it to the group 106.
• Gu Bei — Welcomed as a new acquaintance. Nie Li recognizes him as someone who became a notable expert in his previous life 112.
• Shen Yue — Persistent rival who mocks his talent, monitors him, and plots attacks; Nie Li’s closeness to Ye Ziyun intensifies his resentment 6 21 22.
• Shen Xiu — Prejudiced instructor whom he publicly challenges and wagers against over reaching Bronze Rank 9.
• Shen Hong — Orders Nie Li’s assassination after the Sacred Family loses 450 million Demon Spirit Coins through its conflict with him 41.
• Dark Guild — Repeatedly targets him and investigates his unusual knowledge. Its leaders suspect reincarnation or spirit lodging after a failed capture operation 40 60 72.
• Holy Emperor — Previous-life enemy responsible for the war that culminates in Nie Li’s death and rebirth 106.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Academy and Early Alliance

• Meets Xiao Tianhao through medicinal research and accepts a negotiated partnership after testing his expertise 7.
• Gives him access to the Old Apothecary’s secret trade fair; the two cooperate to escape an armed raid 8 11.
• Challenges Shen Xiu’s class prejudice, inspiring classmates to share his punishment in solidarity 9.
• Becomes the library’s collection steward and shifts his group’s cultivation and study there 16 18.

Ancient Orchid City Expedition

• Joins Chen Lin Jian’s expedition and deduces the treasure’s location 18 20.
• Draws an ape leader away, escapes with Ye Ziyun into Emperor Kongming’s tomb, and finds the Shadow Demon Spirit Lamp and a torn Book of Time and Space Spirit page 21.

Glory City’s Defense

• Warns Xiao Tianhao that the Dark Guild may be pursuing the source of the Alchemist Association’s formulas 40.
• Helps rescue Xiao Ning’er and returns badly injured after the Guild withdraws 46.
• Holds off three Black Gold attackers during the City Lord’s Mansion battle until Xiao Tianhao intervenes 54 55.
• Obtains the Heavenly Meteor Divine Thunder Sword and explores the Black Prison World 65 76.

Netherworld Trials

• Fights the Soul Feather Family beside Ye Ziyun; his companions arrive before the stronger Cangming can attack 88 89.
• Keeps his group on the sixth layer of the Nine-Layer Deathlands until their strength stabilizes 94.
• Participates in the Nether Domain Controller’s disciple selection and is assigned to the Divine Feathers Sect 96 97.

Departure and Dragon Ruins Realm

• Returns to Glory City unconscious. Xiao Tianhao suspects disruption caused by the Book of Time and Space Spirit; Nie Li recovers after just over ten days 105.
• Enters the sect with an eighth-grade heavenly spiritual root and lodges with Lu Piao and Wang Hu in Xiao Yu’s courtyard 108.
• Helps sell Xiao Tianhao’s Demon Spirits, maintains order at the stall, and refuses an excessive share of the proceeds 110.
• Rejects Long Yuyin’s recruitment offer because an expert from the Dragon Seal Family killed his previous-life master 112.
• During the later five-year cultivation period, supports the group through alchemy and finally discloses his rebirth to their wider circle 106.

Notable Quotes

“Cooperation” is not something he accepts blindly: “What do you want?” — His response to Xiao Tianhao’s valuable meeting gift 7.

“We’re brothers. No need to stand on ceremony.” — To Xiao Tianhao after Xiao Ning’er’s rescue 46.

“I’m actually someone who was reborn. I came back from the future.” — Revealing his secret to their companions 106.