Nie Li

Biodata

Power Progression

Present Timeline

Timeline Shown by the Sky Screen

Background / History

Nie Li comes from the declining Heavenly Marks Family. In his previous life, Glory City fell to a beast tide numbering in the hundreds of millions. Ye Mo died defending the city, while Du Ze, Lu Piao, and Chen Linjian fell during the disaster. Nie Li escaped with survivors led by Ye Ziyun, who became his wife, but eventually lost everyone who had fled with him 3 25.

He obtained the Book of Time and Space Spirit in the Desert Divine Palace. His previous cultivation suffered because he practiced numerous arts without mastering them, repeatedly changing his Soul Sea’s form and element and limiting further progress 13 14 25.

At the Spring of Life, the Sacred Emperor destroyed the souls of Nie Li’s loved ones before they could be resurrected. Nie Li later fought the emperor and his six god-level demon beasts. Although he surpassed the emperor’s cultivation at the last moment, the beasts wore him down and he died fighting. He believes his blood soaking the Book of Time and Space Spirit triggered his return to the age of thirteen 25 26.

In his second life, Nie Li sets out to prevent Glory City’s destruction and the deaths of his companions. The mysterious Sky Screen publicly exposes his rebirth, memories, and knowledge, bringing both powerful allies and enemies into his plans much earlier 1 2 26.

Appearance

• Orange hair, temporarily dyed black with an herbal mixture for the Gulan City expedition 25.
• Uses cloud mud, altered hairstyles, and different clothing to disguise himself; later adopts the appearance of a Sacred Family servant during an infiltration 25 49 50.

Personality

Nie Li is openly ambitious and rejects the idea that birth or initial soul force determines a person’s future. He challenges Shen Xiu’s contempt for commoners and chooses a slower cultivation art because he values its long-term potential over immediate advancement 2 3 14.

His loyalty is shaped by the deaths he witnessed. He insists that his companions accompany him into the City Lord’s Mansion rather than remain exposed to retaliation, freely shares valuable cultivation techniques, and exhausts himself preparing protective equipment and pills for their expedition 11 12 24.

He is also calculating, provocative, and willing to manipulate appearances. He stages injuries to turn public opinion against Shen Yue and exploits divisions between the Sacred Family’s main line and branches. His hatred of the family initially extends to wanting its complete destruction, yet he later recruits individual branch members as allies 10 32 33 50.

Despite his experience, romantic attention can unsettle him. His devotion to Ye Ziyun makes him slow to respond to Xiao Ning’er’s affection, while Huyan Lanruo’s aggressive pursuit leaves him visibly flustered 7 25 34 41.

Abilities & Skills

Heavenly Dao Divine Art

A cultivation art selected for its compatibility with Nie Li’s attributeless Soul Sea and its greater eventual potential 13 14.

• Can eventually integrate cultivation arts of every element and allow the practitioner to establish an individual Great Dao 14.
• Allows the Soul Sea to hold seven demon spirits of different elements, with each integration producing another increase in strength 14.
• Progresses more slowly than the God of War Art and Void Divine Art, the alternatives Nie Li considers 14.
• Repairs cracks in his Soul Sea during Chu Yuan’s attack in the Sky Screen timeline 40.

Soul-Force Combat and Control

Nie Li uses precise soul-force application to overcome opponents with greater apparent advantages 16 17.

• Targets joints and pressure points to subdue Shen Yue 16.
• Projects overwhelming killing intent that frightens Shen Yue into fleeing; its effects even reach spectators through the Sky Screen 17.
• Compresses soul force into a narrow beam to attack a demon spirit directly, stunning the Silver Five-Star Azure-Armed Giant Ape 27.
• Siphons Chu Yuan’s soul force and seals his Soul Sea in the broadcast timeline 40.
• Plants soul seals in Shen Ning and Shen Xiao after recruiting them as agents 50.

Demon Spirits

Soul Sea and Demon Spirit Assessment

Nie Li evaluates aptitude through Soul Sea forms and elements rather than initial soul force alone 12 14.

• Uses unused Soul Crystals to identify suitable cultivation arts and demon spirits 12 16 18.
• Supplies tailored arts, including the Heavenly Kirin Art for Du Ze, Chaos Sacred Spirit Art for Lu Piao, Nine-Turn Ice Phoenix Art for Ye Ziyun, Wind Thunder Winged Dragon Art for Xiao Ning’er, and Nine Nether Dragon Art for Chen Linjian 12 14 21 23 24.
• Classifies demon spirit growth potential into six grades: inferior, ordinary, good, excellent, exceptional, and god tier 46.
• Prioritizes compatibility and growth potential over a spirit’s current rank, selecting a god-tier Shadow Netherwolf for Chen Linjian 23.
• Examining large numbers of spirits consumes his soul force and leaves him mentally fatigued 46.

Inscriptions and Ancient Knowledge

His retained knowledge includes ancient scripts, lost inscriptions, and historical architecture 10 16 19.

• Identifies the Sacred Family’s supposedly original flame inscription as a copy from the Thunderfire Sacred Book 10.
• Reads the book’s Wind Snow Empire-era script and explains its relationship to Black Gold Empire script 16.
• Diagnoses an unusable scroll drawn with larval rather than adult Wind Snow Spirit Insect blood 16.
• Restores Raging Wind and Sudden Snow toward its original Silver rank by correcting its incomplete structure 16.
• Cannot personally produce Legendary inscription scrolls at his early Bronze cultivation because of their mental-energy demands 26.

Alchemy and Treatment

Nie Li combines lost formulas, medicinal knowledge, and manual techniques 8 24 43.

• Treats Xiao Ning’er’s extreme cold affliction with the Guiding Technique, massage, a prescription, and instructions to avoid cultivating at night 8 17.
• Produces beast-specific anesthetics and lethal poisons, including Purple Mist Grass-based arrow poison 5 24 27.
• Refines one hundred Soul-Recovery Pills and one hundred Soul-Explosion Pills before the expedition, exhausting himself in the process 24.
• Provides the lost Nine Profound Pill formula, whose principal ingredients are sacred nether grass and mist leaf grass. The resulting pills help Ye Zong and Chen Zhenglong reach Legendary 32 43 45.
• Uses the Meridian-Sealing Hand to force breakthroughs from Bronze Five-Star to Silver. The process damages meridians and depletes soul force, requiring restorative pills afterward 45 47.

Archery, Tracking, and Tactics

His combat instincts come from hunting tens of thousands of demon beasts in his previous life 27.

• Maintains one-kill-per-arrow accuracy against agile Azure-Armed Giant Apes by striking their foreheads or eyes with poisoned projectiles 27 42.
• Blinds the Spirit-Rank ape’s left eye after stunning its demon spirit, creating an opening for the group’s combined attack 27.
• Identifies nearby Fox Bears through fur and odor, persuading the expedition to abandon a dangerous campsite 37.
• Recognizes beast strength from their cries and uses wooded terrain to restrict large enemies’ movement 27 31 42.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Book of Time and Space Spirit — the artifact associated with his rebirth and a source of cultivation knowledge. A remnant page carried against his chest nourishes his soul and later guides him to the Fangtooth Panda 15 26 31 47.
• Spirit Lamp — recovered at Gulan City; contains the Shadow Demon Spirit before its integration 28.
• Space Ring — stores weapons, pills, money, and supplies. He returns a borrowed ring to Xiao Ning’er after buying his own 22 24 34.
• Flame-Rage Beast inner armor — light protective armor selected for the expedition 22 24.
• Light crossbow and poisoned arrows — his principal ranged equipment against the Azure-Armed Giant Apes 23 27.
• Flame-Rage Sword — a weapon bought for 200,000 Demon Spirit Coins and drawn against the pursuing ape in the Sky Screen timeline 43.
• Soul Crystals — used to test Soul Seas and demon spirit growth potential 12 23.
• Medicinal baths and cultivation pills — used together to accelerate his otherwise slow-growing cultivation art 31 35.

Relationships

• Nie Ming and Xiao Yun — his parents. Nie Ming proudly supports his ambitions, while Xiao Yun worries about his safety and young age 3 16.
• Ye Ziyun — his wife in his previous life and the focus of his affection after rebirth. She develops feelings for him independently in the present life and later encourages Xiao Ning’er’s closeness to him 25 28 34.
• Xiao Ning’er — a friend whose illness and cultivation he treats. She falls in love with him, refuses to give up despite his devotion to Ye Ziyun, and declares herself willing to protect him 8 24 36.
• Du Ze — trusted brother and cultivation companion. Nie Li gives him the Heavenly Kirin Art; Du Ze pledges his support and helps him after his collapse from exhaustion 12 24.
• Lu Piao — close friend, frequent teasing companion, and reluctant bait in Nie Li’s hunting strategies 2 5 27.
• Wei Nan, Zhang Ming, and Zhu Xiangjun — classmates and loyal companions who receive suitable cultivation arts and accompany his expedition 3 14 23.
• Ye Zong — protector and strategic ally whom Nie Li persistently calls “Father-in-law.” Initially resistant to his pursuit of Ziyun, Ye Zong later regards him as trustworthy and benefits from his pill formula 11 12 24 45.
• Ye Xiu — personally guards Nie Li and accompanies him on the Gulan City expedition and to the Alchemist Association 12 25 43.
• Chen Linjian — expedition partner who grants Nie Li first choice of treasures. Nie Li supplies his cultivation art and Shadow Netherwolf, earning his gratitude 19 23.
• Yang Xin, Gu Yan, and the Alchemist Association — collaborators in refining the restored Nine Profound Pill formula 43.
• Huyan Lanruo — persistent pursuer whose advances Nie Li repeatedly avoids; he also breaks her Snow Cherry Demon Spirit’s alluring illusion in the broadcast timeline 40 41 48.
• Sacred Family — his chief enemy within Glory City, blamed for the previous life’s western-wall collapse. Shen Yue and Shen Fei repeatedly clash with him, while Shen Hong and Shen Ming seek to counter or eliminate him 10 17 48.
• Shen Ning and Shen Xiao — Sacred Family branch members recruited as undercover agents with promises of superior techniques, spirits, and pills 50.
• Ye Han — a rival who views Nie Li’s rise as a threat to his prospects of marrying Ziyun and becoming City Lord. Nie Li warns Ye Zong about his suspicious behavior 46 48 49.
• Sacred Emperor — the enemy who destroyed his loved ones’ souls and caused his death in the previous life 25 26.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Sky Screen Exposure and Protection

• The first broadcast reveals his rebirth and Glory City’s destruction, prompting Ye Zong to assemble the major families and reassess the city’s future 1.
• His exposure of the Sacred Family’s copied inscription earns him the library steward position rather than the expulsion Shen Xiu demands 10 11.
• Nie Li, his companions, and Xiao Ning’er move into the City Lord’s Mansion; guards are also dispatched to protect their families 12.

Gulan City Expedition

• Sells ten thousand jin of Purple Mist Grass for 300 Demon Spirit Coins per jin and uses the proceeds to buy high-grade cultivation pills for his friends 21.
• Prepares disguises, armor, poisons, and restorative supplies before leading the smaller present-day expedition out of Glory City 24 25.
• Helps defeat the Silver Five-Star Azure-Armed Giant Ape, retrieves the Spirit Lamp, and persuades the group to recover the dead warriors’ equipment for Glory City’s defense 27 28 29.
• Survives the stone coffin’s restriction and gains a permanent cultivation increase 29.

Strengthening Glory City

• Restores the Nine Profound Pill formula, enabling two new Legendary Demon Spirit Masters; the remaining three pills are reserved for a future eligible expert 43 44 45.
• Advises Ye Zong and Chen Zhenglong to conceal their breakthroughs so hostile forces will not retreat before revealing themselves 45.
• At the aristocratic banquet, confronts Shen Hong and secures the families’ approval for the Wind Snow Family to control the western wall’s City Defense Army 48.

Sacred Family Infiltration

• Obtains information about the Sacred Family’s main and collateral lines from Ye Shuo, then enters its territory in disguise 49.
• Recruits Shen Ning and Shen Xiao by exploiting their resentment over unequal resources. He gives them suitable techniques and pills, warns them against the family’s poisoned pills, and orders them to gain influence while gathering intelligence 50.

Notable Quotes

“Sooner or later, I, Nie Li, will become the greatest Demon Spirit Master!” 3

“Yes, Ziyun doesn't have to die, Ning'er doesn't have to die, Du Ze doesn't have to die, Lu Piao doesn't have to die. None of them have to die. That's exactly why I came back.” 26