I Won't Give Up

After cultivating for a night, Chen Linjian broke through to Silver, then immediately went to merge with the Shadow Netherwolf without stopping to catch his breath.

Meanwhile, Nie Li sat in the pavilion, already wearing a suit of inner armor made from a Flame-Rage Beast, just like the one on the Sky Screen.

Dozens of small bottles sat on the pavilion's round table, all filled with poisons Nie Li had concocted overnight.

There were anesthetics as well as poisons that could kill.

All of them had been prepared for the demon beasts they would encounter along the way.

After all, Chen Linjian was the only one in their group who had broken through to Silver.

How could they head out on an expedition without making a few extra preparations?

The sun had just risen. Nie Li rubbed his dark-rimmed eyes and yawned.

He had, after all, spent the entire previous afternoon and night working.

Suddenly, a pair of beautiful, fair hands settled at the corners of his eyes and gently massaged them.

"Huh? Ning'er?"

Xiao Ning'er had cultivated all night. They were about to leave for Gulan City, so naturally, every bit of extra strength counted.

As soon as she finished cultivating, she spotted Nie Li and his dark circles through the window.

Nie Li yawned and took a large chest out of his Space Ring.

"Ning'er, this one's yours."

Xiao Ning'er still looked a little puzzled.

"I sent someone to buy some things yesterday afternoon. Inside are the inner armor and weapons I prepared for you, along with seven inscription scrolls. Is there anything else you're missing?"

"No, nothing."

Xiao Ning'er had not expected Nie Li to take care of everything himself.

Several large chests sat on the ground, each labeled with a name, waiting for their owners to collect them.

Soon, Ye Ziyun, Du Ze, and the others emerged from their rooms one after another.

"Everyone, your equipment is in these chests. Come take yours."

All of them wore Space Rings.

Inside, they already had plenty of weapons, equipment, drinking water, food, and other supplies.

"There are several sets of inner armor here that I personally selected. They're light and thin, but offer excellent protection. Against anything below Silver, you'll be unstoppable. Put them on today. Bring a few changes of clothes yourselves, too."

Nie Li's afternoon and night of work had certainly not been wasted.

"Oh, is there an Alchemy Furnace here? I need to use one."

The City Lord's Mansion did, in fact, have an Alchemy Furnace.

It was a basic Alchemy Furnace, and there was also a stockpile of medicinal herbs that had already been purchased.

Refining pills took a tremendous toll on the mind.

Nie Li spent another entire morning refining a hundred Soul-Recovery Pills and a hundred Soul-Explosion Pills.

"I'm exhausted."

Nie Li braced himself to stand, but after sitting cross-legged and refining pills all morning, he could not keep his balance and toppled backward.

"Nie Li!"

Everyone who had been watching Nie Li refine pills was startled and rushed forward to catch him.

Chen Linjian reached him first.

"Brother Nie Li, are you all right?"

There was no helping it. Having reached Silver Rank and merged with a demon spirit, he was a step faster than all of them.

"Ah, thank you, Young Master Chen. Ahh... I... I'm going back to get some sleep."

Nie Li was so sleepy that he could barely even stand.

Chen Linjian said, "We're leaving tomorrow. Everyone, check whether there's anything else you need to prepare, then rest and build up your strength. We set out tomorrow."

Du Ze said, "I'll take Nie Li back."

Supporting Nie Li, Du Ze took him back first.

Once inside his room, Nie Li lay straight down on the bed and fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow.

Du Ze closed the door and left.

That afternoon.

"Zi Yun."

"Father."

Ye Zong looked at Ye Ziyun before him. "You leave for Gulan City tomorrow. Although Nie Li has prepared plenty of things for you and thought everything through carefully, I'm still a little worried. Be careful in everything you do."

"Father, I understand."

Looking at Ye Zong, still in his prime yet already showing strands of white hair, and seeing how even his resolute gaze could not hide his concern for his daughter, Ye Ziyun felt a pang of sorrow.

Father really is getting old.

And I still can't put his mind at ease or share the burden on his shoulders.

Before, she had certainly not been qualified, even if her soul force ranked first in the entire Warrior Junior Class.

To become the heir to the position of City Lord, that level of cultivation was nowhere near enough.

Ye Zong had also adopted a son, Ye Han, and sometimes devoted even more attention to him than to his own daughter.

In her moments of disappointment, Ye Ziyun had also felt unwilling to concede.

She wanted to work harder to share some of her grandfather's and father's burdens.

And in Nie Li, she had found hope for all of that.

With the powerful Nine-Turn Ice Phoenix Art and all sorts of pills that increased soul force, she had broken through to Bronze Three-Star in just one week.

All of this had been brought about by Nie Li. Ye Zong patted his daughter's shoulder. "Zi Yun, spend more time talking with Nie Li from now on. He's a good young man, someone you can entrust yourself to."

"Father."

That night.

Xiao Ning'er came to Nie Li's room.

Looking at Nie Li with his eyes closed, Xiao Ning'er tightened her grip on the Red Jade in her hand.

In Glory City, when a girl held Red Jade in her hand and gave it to a boy, it meant she had fallen for him.

As Xiao Ning'er watched Nie Li's sleeping face, her eyes dimmed slightly.

Because the one Nie Li had always loved was Ye Ziyun.

"Ning'er?"

Xiao Ning'er turned around. It was Ye Ziyun.

Looking at the Red Jade clutched in Xiao Ning'er's hand, Ye Ziyun realized something.

"You... are you...?"

"Zi Yun, the truth is, I've always envied you."

Xiao Ning'er began to reveal what was in her heart. "You're the City Lord's daughter. You could say that here in Glory City, as long as you want something, all you have to do is reach out your hand, and anything can fall into your grasp. But I have to fight desperately against this unjust fate because of a marriage I could never accept."

She turned to look at Nie Li. "But then a ray of hope suddenly appeared in the dark, lightless fate that awaited me, leading me out of that mire. Nie Li treated me and gave me the Wind Thunder Winged Dragon Art. I fell for him long ago. In my heart, he's the one no one can ever replace."

"Ning'er..."

Ye Ziyun had never expected that her close friend would like Nie Li too.

"I always wondered why Nie Li liked you so much. Only when the Sky Screen appeared did I finally understand. You were husband and wife in your previous lives, and you died saving him. That's why Nie Li loves you so much."

There was unwillingness to concede in Xiao Ning'er's eyes.

But even more than that, there was resolve.

"Even if he only has eyes for you, even if you end up together again, just like in your previous lives, I won't give up. In this life, if I can stand behind him and shield him through wind and waves, that will be enough."

Only when Xiao Ning'er looked at Nie Li did her eyes hold a tenderness and love she would never reveal to anyone else.

That was a privilege reserved for Nie Li alone.