Just then, the young woman offered
Everyone stared at her in a daze. In her presence, the entire world seemed to fade into insignificance.
The young woman passed by Xiao Yu and walked straight toward
Her penetrating gaze seemed to see right through everything.
"I don't," Nie Li said, shaking his head. He remembered his master saying once that he was the tribulation in her destiny. So should he approach her, or should he let her continue living in peace?
The young woman looked at Nie Li in surprise. He truly didn't know who she was? Her delicate brows furrowed slightly. Although her cultivation wasn't particularly high, she practiced the art of divining heavenly fates — and for every person she saw, she could calculate their destiny. But for Nie Li alone, when she tried to divine his fate, all she saw was a sea of chaos.
Yet why did the way Nie Li looked at her seem as though they had known each other for ages? That expression was absolutely not something one could fake.
A faint feeling stirred in the young woman's heart, as if she had met Nie Li somewhere before.
"My name is
Nie Li was momentarily stunned. In his previous life, he had followed his master in bitter cultivation within the valley of the Divine Feather Sect, and she had never once mentioned her name. Why was it that in this life, she was offering her name to a stranger on her own initiative?
Seeing the young woman approach Nie Li of her own accord, the surrounding disciples of the Divine Feather Sect all wore expressions of extreme jealousy. They had been watching her for a long time but had never dared to get close, content to gaze from afar — and now she had taken the initiative to seek out Nie Li.
"My name is Nie Li!" he said after a moment's thought.
"Nie Li, Nie Li…" The young woman's fine brows knit together as she murmured, "That name feels somewhat familiar, as if I've heard it somewhere before."
Nie Li looked up at her, transfixed. Where had his master heard his name?
"Forget it. I can't recall," the young woman said, shaking her head with a smile. Her enchanting smile left everyone around them completely mesmerized.
Xiao Yu, who had already climbed past a hundred steps, turned back and saw Nie Li and the young woman talking cheerfully. His steps faltered slightly. He hesitated for a moment, then turned around and walked back toward Nie Li and Lu Piao.
"Nie Li, what's going on? Do you know her?" Xiao Yu asked via soul transmission, casting a wary glance at the young woman. "The Divine Feather Sect is full of all sorts of people, and this girl's background is unknown. Be careful."
Hearing Xiao Yu's words, Nie Li simply smiled. Although in this life the young woman didn't know him yet, Nie Li knew exactly what kind of person she was. She was pure and kind-hearted — someone who would rather hurt herself than harm anyone else.
"It's fine, don't worry. She won't be a threat to us," Nie Li replied with a smile through soul transmission.
"But you've only just met her for the first time. How can you be sure she doesn't have ulterior motives?" Xiao Yu said with a frown, a note of displeasure in his voice.
"I'm sure," Nie Li nodded seriously.
Seeing Nie Li's eyes remain fixed on the young woman ahead, Xiao Yu felt an inexplicable wave of irritation rise in his chest. He said huffily, "Fine, if you trust her so much, then I won't bother with you!" He turned his head away and strode off toward higher steps, ignoring Nie Li.
Watching Xiao Yu's retreating figure, Nie Li felt puzzled. What was going on with him?
The young woman glanced back at Xiao Yu as he walked away, a meaningful smile playing on her lips. Her deep, spirited eyes returned to Nie Li, and she pressed her lips together with a smile. "It seems your friend doesn't welcome me. But Nie Li, I'll remember you. I'm sure we'll meet again before long!"
A calm, serene smile graced her face as she slowly made her way back down the steps. Her lovely silhouette was impossible to look away from.
What an ethereal, water-like young woman she was!
The surrounding disciples of the Divine Feather Sect watched the young woman leave before finally tearing their gazes away, then turned to look at Nie Li with hostility. Many of them had noticed Ying Yueru long ago, but they had all sensed that her identity was anything but ordinary. Reaching over a hundred and thirty steps was no ordinary feat!
Many of them felt a deep sense of inferiority in her presence, let alone the thought of approaching her to strike up a conversation — and yet Nie Li had chatted with their goddess at length. A profound jealousy burned within them.
"Nie Li, you've apparently become everyone's public enemy," Lu Piao said, looking at Nie Li with a bitter smile.
What Lu Piao really couldn't figure out was how on earth Nie Li had gotten such a stunning goddess to come talk to him. Was there some kind of treasure hidden on Nie Li that attracted goddesses?
"Don't worry about them. There's no need to care about other people's opinions or their mockery. Just walk your own path, because you should believe that people who are better than you won't bother with you," Nie Li said, then continued climbing toward higher steps.
Lu Piao pondered Nie Li's words carefully, and the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. How could Nie Li come up with something so philosophical? He quickly quickened his pace to keep up.