----------
Chapter - 3: Rival
-----------
Nie Li's POV
Shen Xiu returned to her human form, her arms crossed under her chest, looking over all the students. "For the next two years, you will all be my students. Although the principal has said that all students at the Holy Orchid Institute are equal, I must make you aware of a sad truth. In this world, equality does not exist!" Her words felt like a stab in the students' hearts.
The students in the front rows remained silent, listening intently. No one dared to speak. After all, who would dare cross the Holy Family?
"When you grow up and leave this school, you will see with your own eyes that I was not lying to you. Equality is a lie adults feed you. You cannot live in a fairy tale world forever," Shen Xiu continued, her gaze sweeping over the students as she spoke.
"Warriors and Demon Spiritualists are divided into Bronze, Silver, Gold, Black Gold, and Legend grades. The higher the rank, the stronger the person. If a clan has a Gold rank Demon Spiritualist, it can rise to become an Aristocratic Clan. If a clan has a Black Gold rank Demon Spiritualist, it can become a Noble Clan. And if a family has three Black Gold grade Demon Spiritualists or one Legend grade Demon Spiritualist, it can join the Major Clans. We are thirty-six people here. Some come from commoners, others from noble families. Even though your starting point is the same, your backgrounds and families are not. I hope each of you is aware of this and can have a sense of realism. Commoners will always remain commoners. It is impossible for a commoner to rise and join an aristocratic family, so don't even dream of being a phoenix rising from the ashes. Even among the nobility, there are invisible walls that cannot be crossed."
I furrowed my brow as I looked around the classroom. Everything was identical to the past, which brought painful memories to my heart, ones I couldn't quite set aside—especially when I saw my first love sitting right in front of me.
Du Ze and Lu Piao were already fast asleep, slumped against the back wall of the classroom we'd been assigned to for the week. In fact, I was too, and both of them, as supportive friends, had joined me.
"Teacher Shen Xiu, I have a question," I suddenly asked with a curious and slightly mischievous expression on my face, trying to make sure no one noticed my change in demeanor.
"What is it?" she asked, clearly uninterested, as if she didn't even want to waste time on someone she considered talentless.
"Teacher Shen Xiu says that only Glory City survived the Age of Darkness. What evidence do you have to support that? May I ask if the teacher has been to the Saint Ancestral Mountains, or visited the Endless Desert? Or perhaps the Toxic Forest, the Blood Moon Marsh, the Spirit Gulf, the Shimmering Sky Mountains, or the Northern Snow?" I asked, my voice almost arrogantly confident.
I was not an arrogant person, and I never appeared so, knowing full well that there were experts in the Draconic Ruins who could crush me like an insect at this moment. But I couldn't suppress the hatred in my heart.
"What are you talking about? What Celestial Mountains? What Northern Snow?" I could practically hear the frustration and confusion in her voice. "I've been in Glory City since birth and have even participated in a few outdoor expeditions, but I've never heard of any of those places."
"Since Teacher Shen Xiu has never been to these places, how can you be sure they don't exist?" I replied, my tone dripping with mockery.
"And so what?" Shen Xiu asked, her frustration clear. "How can you prove that these places are real and that we aren't the last living humans?"
"Proof?" I chuckled. "Let me tell you a story, teacher. Once upon a time, there was a frog that lived at the bottom of a well. From birth, it had always been in that well. From its perspective, it could only see a small part of the sky, so it claimed that the sky was only as large as the opening of the well. But is the sky really that small? No, we know the frog is simply ignorant."
The implied insult that Shen Xiu was just as ignorant didn't escape anyone in the class, and I could hear several students stifle their laughter, which, honestly, amused me.
"You…" Shen Xiu huffed in rage.
In the end, things went just as I had planned. It wasn't too difficult to manipulate her anger to my advantage since I had no intention of forgiving any member of the Sacred Family.
"Since Teacher Shen Xiu has agreed to the terms of the bet, don't regret it later," I said as I walked toward the back of the classroom.
"Regret? What a joke. Don't come crying to me afterward!" Shen Xiu laughed.
But I ignored her, turning my focus in a specific direction, sensing a powerful soul energy that continued to expand and contract until it was fully absorbed.
Had it really been so long that I had forgotten that Li Ming was cultivating during this lesson, where he had managed to reach the five-star Bronze rank?
It had been almost surreal to see Brother Li Ming again, just as surreal as seeing Ye Ziyun alive and young once more. It was perhaps only thanks to Brother Li Ming that I had survived the fall of Glory City and reached Silver rank.
When I struggled with my lack of talent during those early days and was constantly mocked, it was Li Ming who helped me, even refining the cultivation technique I was using to better suit me. He had entrusted me with physical cultivation techniques to compensate for my lack of talent.
"Authentic Altering Muscle Channels" and "Divine Formula for Forging Golden Bones" were two perfect physical training manuals for someone like me who, at the time, had a red soul realm and no real form or affinity.
For instance, both of these physical cultivation techniques, once they achieved Great Success, would fill a person's Qi and blood with Yang energy, making them indomitable and unstoppable. Their physical strength would allow them to surpass several ranks.
It was thanks to these techniques that I had managed to survive so much in my previous life. And now that I had returned, I could only praise these techniques and understand even more that my brother still had many secrets left to uncover.
I had never seen what had ultimately killed Li Ming... At the time of Glory City's fall, he had been the vanguard protecting the city. The strongest Demon Spiritualist after Lord Ye Mo, a prodigy who had become a legend in Demon Spiritualism at the young age of fifteen.
What I knew was that whatever had killed Ye Mo in the end had also killed Li Ming, or so I thought... The battle fought then could be heard for miles around and ended with a mountain erased from existence before the sounds of the battle faded into the distance.
"This is no coincidence," I thought to myself. Ning'er was the beloved of my sworn brother in the original timeline. I didn't really know what had drawn them together, only that at that time, I vaguely remembered her being around me and preparing the lunches she brought to class.
I particularly remembered why it still made me laugh how Li Ming had mocked Shen Fei when the idiot had been insulted.
The last time I saw Xiao Ning'er was when I was helping refugees from Glory City at her side, fleeing from the cataclysmic battle between whatever or whoever Li Ming and Ye Mo had been fighting.
When we felt Li Ming's massive soul force, which had covered the mountain range, plummet dramatically before disappearing altogether as if it had never existed.
Honestly, I had to be dragged away myself. Not because I had rushed to confront what was happening like Ning'er in anger, but due to the almost soul-crushing despair of feeling my friends' soul force simply vanish, and knowing I would never see my brothers again...
Just like my family. I had been discouraged for days, and it was only thanks to Ye Ziyun that I had managed to pull myself together.
I had clung to her like a rock after that, and she had comforted me in my despair, even when she must have been desperate herself with the death of her father and grandfather. That was when I began to move from merely crushing on her to truly falling in love with her.
Shaking my head to dispel those painful memories, I focused on what truly mattered: I had another chance, a golden opportunity to make things right. I would not allow tragedy to strike again.
As I pondered, Li Ming, who had seemed unusually calm up to that point, opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on me. It seemed he had sensed something in my look—perhaps my intent to challenge or my desire to alter the course of events.
With a fluid movement, Li Ming rose from his seat without making a sound. The classroom, which had until then been wrapped in its usual indifference, seemed to awaken. The students' eyes turned toward him, curious but also respectful.
I heard the murmurs of the other students, who, intimidated by his presence, fell almost immediately silent. Even Shen Xiu momentarily halted her lecture, struck by that silent yet powerful gesture.
It was impossible to ignore.
He had a presence that was impossible to ignore, effortlessly drawing attention. I couldn't help but wonder who his parents were, given how strongly he sought them out.
Li Ming slowly approached me and my friends, stopping beside us. Du Ze and Lu Piao looked at him with a certain apprehension, well aware of who he was. I, on the other hand, crossed my arms and stared at him. His gaze focused on me for a moment before shifting to Professor Shen Xiu.
"Professor," he said in a calm but firm voice that filled the entire room. "You speak of talent, noble blood, and boundaries that cannot be broken. But there is something you're not saying. In the world of cultivation, talent is important, yes, but it's not everything."
Li Ming lifted his gaze, challenging her openly. His tone was steady and resolute, carrying an unshakable determination. "It's not even blood that decides who we are, nor our origins. Even if I am an ordinary person, I will not bow to anyone, and I will never submit, because I am Li Ming." His words resonated through the classroom like thunder, powerful and defiant.
His gaze remained fixed on Shen Xiu, unyielding, as if asserting a truth that this small world should accept.
Shen Xiu stared at him, lips pressed together and eyes narrowed, clearly struggling to maintain her composure. She was not used to being challenged so openly, especially not by a student who, according to the city's conventions, should have been insignificant.
After a moment of tense silence, Shen Xiu spoke with a sharp, cutting tone. "If that's what you think, then you can stand with your friends." There was contempt in her voice, as if she hoped to regain control.
Li Ming didn't flinch. He shrugged with an indifferent look, as if amused by the veiled challenge. With the same calm he had spoken with, he stood next to me.
I turned slightly towards Li Ming, smiling. There was no need for words between us; that challenge had a meaning we both understood. We were bound by fate, and despite our origins and differences, we shared the same goal:
To have the power to write our own future.
Li Ming was not just an orphan from humble origins; he was a force of nature. Shen Xiu and others from the Sacred Family looked down on him as they did with all commoners, but I knew that one day it would be him looking down at the world.
-----------
Osmosian Sorcerer?: 3 advanced chapters:
Son of Li Qiye?: 3 advanced chapters:
patreon.com/Demon_King22
Chapter - 13: Grimm - Chapter - 14: Magix - Chapter - 15: Bloom
Chapter - 4: Power Aspect Totem - Chapter - 5: Xaoi Ning'er - Chapter - 6: Wind Lightning Emperor Inheritance
A/N: I hope you enjoy the chapter!
On the other hand, if you want to see something specific in the next chapters, or even just have some good advice for the story as a whole, I am always willing to read a comment if it is constructive criticism.
If you see any mistakes, I would be grateful if you would point them out to me, so that I can correct them when I have some spare time, and make the story as complete as possible for myself and especially for you.
To facilitate a clearer understanding, I've retained pictures of the respective characters. Your feedback is always valued, and if you have any suggestions for the upcoming chapter, please feel free to comment—I'll be sure to respond as usual.
Please leave a review if you like the story.