Just as
Nie Li narrowed his eyes slightly. Just when one wave hadn't settled, another came crashing in — it seemed he wouldn't be getting any peace anytime soon.
The one leading the group was
"So you're Nie Li?" A faint smile played on Gu Heng's face. "A newcomer who rocketed to third place on the Sacred Spirit Heavenly Ranking, even trampling
"I wonder what business brings you to me?" Nie Li glanced at the crowd behind Gu Heng, his eyes narrowing slightly.
The name Gu Heng didn't ring any bells for Nie Li. In his previous life, the strongest of the younger generation in the Gu Family had been Gu Bei.
"Our young master is the first-in-line heir of the Gu Family," a youth beside him declared arrogantly.
First-in-line heir? Did he end up inheriting the Gu Family in the end? Seeing the youth's arrogant demeanor, the corner of Nie Li's mouth curled slightly. So this Gu Heng was likely Gu Bei's rival.
Gu Heng waved his hand, signaling his subordinate to keep quiet, then smiled faintly. "I've come here to make friends with a few talented young people like yourselves."
"Making friends? That's my favorite thing! We're friends now!"
Gu Heng's expression faltered. Was Lu Piao completely clueless, or did he understand perfectly well and was simply pretending not to?
Nie Li chuckled inwardly. Lu Piao might seem thoughtless, but there was method to his madness. He smiled and said, "I feel the same way. If Young Master Gu wants to befriend us, we'd be more than happy to oblige. From now on, we can address each other as friends."
Gu Heng's face cooled slightly. He patted Nie Li on the shoulder. "I like your personalities. If you have time, do come visit the Gu Family. I can assure you, our family appreciates talented individuals far more than any other clan."
"I'd also enjoy having a friend like Young Master Gu. It's just that we're a bit too accustomed to our freedom. I'm afraid we wouldn't quite fit in at the Gu residence," Nie Li said unhurriedly, maintaining a deliberate distance.
"With your talent, if you had sufficient resources, I'd wager you could break through to the Celestial Destiny realm within half a month. Think it over." A cold glint flashed through Gu Heng's eyes as he smiled. "The gates of the Gu Family are always open for you."
With that, Gu Heng brushed past Nie Li and his companions. The Gu Family members behind him quickly followed.
Nie Li glanced back at Gu Heng's retreating figure.
"Nie Li, was that guy trying to recruit us? From the way he talked, he's incredibly arrogant — wants to recruit us but acts like he owns the world. He's nothing like Gu Bei. What's his relationship to Gu Bei?" Lu Piao frowned. Gu Bei was also from the Gu Family, wasn't he?
"Forget about him," Nie Li said with a faint smile. "Just another self-important fool who wants to bring us under his wing without considering whether he's capable of it. He's merely the first-in-line heir of the Gu Family — he hasn't even secured the family's authority yet, and he already acts as if the entire clan belongs to him."
"It's fine. Have someone spread the word — we'll only consider joining a family after we've completed our advanced training at the Heavenly Spirit Academy," Nie Li said. "We just keep stalling. As long as we drag things out until our training is complete, we'll be fine. Before that, the families shouldn't push us too hard and drive us into the arms of their rivals."
"That's actually a solid approach," Xiao Yu considered for a moment, then nodded.
In the distance, a trace of anger still lingered on Gu Heng's face.
"Those clueless idiots — did they really think I wanted to befriend them? As if they're worthy of addressing me as a friend!" Gu Heng sneered. How could he have missed Nie Li's subtle rejection? "If they'd been willing to submit, calling them friends would have been generous. But if they won't submit, do they even deserve to be Gu Heng's friends?"
"Indeed, those three are far too ungrateful," the youth beside him echoed.
"No matter how talented one person is, what of it? All geniuses end up joining the great families eventually. For one person to try to shake an entire clan — that's utterly impossible. Our Gu Family can make him live or make him dead. If not for those damnable rules of the Heavenly Spirit Academy, he'd already be dead!" Gu Heng couldn't help but curse.
The power struggles among the various families of the Yushen Sect were vicious, and Gu Heng didn't want to leave too many loose ends.
"If you won't submit to me, then forget about ever reaching the Celestial Star realm in this lifetime." A cold gleam flashed through Gu Heng's eyes.
In the Dragon Ruins Domain, cultivation was extraordinarily difficult. Without venturing out to gather spirit stones on one's own, the Heavenly Spirit Academy would never provide any genius with sufficient cultivation resources. But venturing into other parts of the Dragon Ruins Domain meant constant peril — people died there all the time.
Of course, once one reached the Celestial Destiny realm, the Destiny Soul would be anchored in the Soul Palace, so one didn't need to fear the dissolution of one's soul. But each death would cause one's cultivation to drop by an entire level, making it exceedingly difficult to ascend to higher realms without support.
Once one entered the Celestial Destiny realm, sufficient resources allowed for rapid power increases. But each successive level demanded an enormous amount of resources, and countless powerhouses fought over the limited supply, killing each other in the process.
At that point, for the great families to restrict someone's cultivation would become child's play.