"What kind of place is this City of Radiance?" Xiao Kuang scoffed, a disdainful look on his face, though inwardly he was already considering the possibility that this person might have significant backing, which would explain his brazen attitude.
"The City of Radiance is a city," Nie Li replied with pride. "We repelled the Demon Beasts' assault and established a settlement in a valley within the Holy Ancestor Mountain Range. Every hundred years, we suffer attacks from beast tides, and the city has nearly been destroyed several times. But over thousands of years, countless predecessors sacrificed their lives to keep the city surviving, stubborn and unyielding." If not for that catastrophic billion-strong beast tide from his previous life, the City of Radiance would have continued to thrive indefinitely.
Hearing Nie Li's words, both Yun Ling and Xiao Yang showed expressions of admiration and longing. What an incredible city that must be! They had only survived by hiding on a plateau, barely escaping the Demon Beasts' predation, while the City of Radiance had fought the beast tides head-on!
"How many people does your City of Radiance have?" Xiao Kuang asked, feeling a stirring of interest as he looked at Nie Li. Repelling beast tide attacks? His own Tian Yun tribe wouldn't dare to confront a Demon Beast tide. If the City of Radiance was powerful and nearby, then offending Nie Li could mean—
"Our city has a population of one million, with several hundred thousand warriors. The weakest among them are at the Cyan Shine, White Shine, or Yellow Shine ranks. Among these warriors, roughly one in a hundred is a Demon Spirit Master. There are also several hundred at the Black Shine rank, and two supreme powerhouses at the Legendary tier," Nie Li said in an unhurried tone, casting a faint glance at Xiao Kuang and the others.
Nie Li's words sent a wave of astonishment through the crowd. Several hundred thousand warriors, countless Black Shine experts, and even two Legendary powerhouses—heavens! Yun Ling and the others were utterly stunned. It was simply unimaginable.
The listeners around them felt their hearts tremble. With such terrifying strength, sending even a single squad would be enough to completely crush the Tian Yun tribe.
Even Xiao Kuang went pale with fright. He steadied himself, then tilted his head and let out an indignant snort: "Several hundred thousand warriors? You're just bragging!"
"Bragging?" Nie Li looked at Xiao Kuang with faint contempt. "You're welcome to come with me and see for yourself whether I'm lying." His right hand moved, and a blazing surge of Soul Power burst from his palm.
"A Demon Spirit Master? At the Yellow Shine rank?" Xiao Kuang's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Nie Li couldn't be more than fourteen or fifteen at most, yet he was already a Yellow Shine Demon Spirit Master! Then it wasn't strange at all that the City of Radiance possessed such formidable strength.
Xiao Kuang gulped hard. He could bully people around the Tian Yun tribe with impunity, but if this young man truly came from such a massive city backed by such terrifying forces, then offending him could bring catastrophic ruin upon the entire tribe.
Kill Nie Li? What a joke. What if he had come prepared, and the experts from the City of Radiance tracked them down here?
After weighing everything carefully, Xiao Kuang understood. It was best not to provoke the person standing in front of him.
He awkwardly pulled his foot off the chair, scratched his head, and let out a sheepish chuckle.
Everyone else was equally shocked. So deep within the Holy Ancestor Mountain Range, there existed such a magnificent city—with hundreds of thousands of warriors and even Legendary-tier supreme experts. Many of them began to feel a stirring of hope. The Tian Yun tribe was constantly short on food, and people starved to death regularly. A city with so many powerful warriors was surely prosperous. Otherwise, why would Nie Li have offered so much rice and meat in exchange for their Purple Smoke Stone?
"Ha, ha! There must have been a bit of a misunderstanding just now! I thought someone was causing trouble, but now everything's cleared up. Since the young master has generously traded so much grain with us, we absolutely welcome you to visit our Tian Yun tribe. While you're here, feel free to come to me for anything at all—I, Xiao Kuang, will do everything in my power to help!" On that scarred, ferocious face, a flattering smile appeared.
The speed of Xiao Kuang's attitude shift was staggering, drawing looks of undisguised contempt from Xiao Yang and Yun Ling. What a two-faced, spineless coward—as soon as he heard about Nie Li's deep backing, he nearly got on his knees.
Xiao Kuang couldn't care less about their judgment. Keeping Nie Li happy was what mattered. He still wanted to become the tribe's young chief. If Nie Li got angry and wiped out the tribe, there'd be nothing left. As for dignity—how much was that worth per pound?
"How far is the City of Radiance from here?" Xiao Yang asked. He could tell that Nie Li wasn't an unreasonable person—those words had been meant solely to put Xiao Kuang in his place.
At Xiao Yang's question, everyone around fell silent, straining to listen.
"It took me about ten days to travel from the City of Radiance to here. If you were to take the safest route, it would probably take around two months," Nie Li said. Then an idea struck him. "I can draw you a map. If you ever get the chance, you're welcome to go and verify for yourselves whether I'm lying. Once you arrive, just mention my name—say I sent you—and the guards at the City Lord's Mansion will settle you in properly."
Although the Tian Yun tribe didn't have many strong warriors, it did have one Black Gold expert along with numerous Gold and Silver-tier fighters. If they relocated to the City of Radiance, they could bolster its strength. The reason the tribe had so few powerful cultivators was the scarcity of cultivation techniques. Many of them actually had decent talent—if they were to practice different techniques, their strength would increase dramatically. Moreover, with so few people, the Tian Yun tribe posed absolutely no threat to the City of Radiance's security.
The City of Radiance was actually this close? And merely mentioning Nie Li's name would get the City Lord's Mansion to make arrangements? Could Nie Li be connected to the City Lord's Mansion? That made him even more important to reckon with.
Xiao Kuang gave Nie Li a meaningful look, inwardly relieved that he hadn't offended him—and that Nie Li didn't seem inclined to pursue the matter.
After Nie Li finished speaking, the residents of the Tian Yun tribe felt a buzz of excitement. If such a place truly existed, that would be wonderful beyond words.