Chapter Three: Standing in Punishment

"You... In the City of Radiance's several hundred years of history, only Lord Ye Mo was able to reach the pinnacle through his own efforts alone." Shen Xiu's words caught for a moment, but she pressed on stubbornly.

"Didn't you say it was impossible, Teacher Shen Xiu? How come you're slapping your own face now?" Nie Li said with a grin. "Lord Ye Mo is a perfect example — whether you're from a Sacred Family or a commoner, your future potential is limitless. Nothing in this world is impossible if you're willing to climb!"

Shen Xiu was nearly apoplectic. This guy Nie Li was absolutely insufferable — seizing on every word she said to attack her endlessly, with absolutely no respect for his elders! She stared at him coldly. He dared to talk back to her like this in front of everyone, and she would absolutely make sure he'd pay for it!

Not far away, Du Ze gave Nie Li a grateful look. Though Nie Li was a member of a Sacred Family, he'd risked offending Instructor Shen Xiu to speak up for commoners like them. It moved him deeply. The hearts of young people were simple and honest, and from that moment on, Du Ze had already decided that Nie Li was his friend.

Shen Xiu sneered. "Sharp-tongued brat, you think your words can change the cruel reality? You see only Lord Ye Mo's glory, but you don't see how many people spend their entire lives as nobodies. Forget becoming a Demon Spirit Master — even becoming a plain Warrior is as hard as reaching the heavens. You're Nie Li, right? You're supposed to be a Sacred Family member, yet you don't know your place. Fine — let me see what kind of talent you've got!"

Shen Xiu lowered her head and flipped through the parchment in her hands, then laughed mockingly. "Nie Li — Red Soul Sea, current Soul Power of 6, Strength of 21. With your talent, the absolute best you can hope for in this life is to reach the Bronze Warrior rank. Becoming a Demon Spirit Master is completely out of the question. You're worse off than some commoners! No wonder you're talking the way you are — you're just trying to hide your inferiority complex!"

Soul Seas were ranked by color across seven grades: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. Red was the worst — truly bottom of the barrel. Ordinary people usually had orange or yellow. Reaching green or cyan made you a genius, while blue and purple existed only in legends.

Hearing Shen Xiu's words, the commoner students looked at Nie Li with pity. As a Sacred Family member, his talent really was the worst of the worst. It seemed unlikely he'd ever achieve anything great in his life.

Ye Ziyun glanced at Nie Li and let out a soft sigh. Although she didn't have the best impression of him, learning that his talent was this poor filled her heart with sympathy.

Beside Ye Ziyun, Shen Yue curled his lip. If he'd known Nie Li's talent was this terrible, he never would have considered him a threat — Nie Li simply wasn't qualified! With talent that pathetic, he only deserved to live at the very bottom of the City of Radiance. As for Shen Yue himself, he was a direct descendant of one of the three peak Sacred Families — the Sacred Family. What did Nie Li have to compare?

If it weren't for Ye Ziyun, he wouldn't have set foot in this garbage class to associate with the likes of Nie Li and his fellow trash!

Shen Xiu pressed aggressively. "With talent this poor, you probably don't get any attention in your own family either — yet you dare to be this arrogant and disrespectful?"

Shen Xiu's words brought Nie Li's past life flooding back. Before leaving the City of Radiance, Nie Li really had been weak — just as Shen Xiu described, stuck at the Bronze Three Star rank with no way to advance further. Whether at the academy or within his family, he'd been overlooked, trampled into the dust. If he hadn't risked everything to save Ye Ziyun, he never would have won the goddess's heart. Back then, Ye Ziyun had been a Gold One Star Demon Spirit Master, and the gap between them had been an uncrossable chasm. Nie Li hadn't even been fit to fight alongside her. He could only watch helplessly as Ye Ziyun died under a Demon Beast's claws, swallowed by the endless desert sands. That pain had haunted him forever.

After finally escaping the Boundless Desert, Nie Li had stumbled upon all manner of miraculous encounters, and only then did he discover that the world held countless wonders — that even something as supposedly fixed as Soul Power talent could actually be improved!

The old Nie Li, back in his previous life, would never have dared to talk back when criticized by an instructor. But he was different now. He possessed a powerful confidence that one day, he would make all these people understand — he would reach realms they couldn't even imagine!

Since he had been reborn, he would press forward without hesitation. If a god stood in his way, he would slay the god!

To everyone's shock, Nie Li — the one Shen Xiu had just been mocking — showed not a trace of shame. Instead, he met Shen Xiu's gaze with steely resolve and spoke with voice ringing like iron: "Instructor Shen Xiu, do you truly believe that Strength talent and Soul Power talent determine a person's future? With your wretched character, you must fawn over students with high talent while pouring your mockery without restraint on those with lower talent! You dress it up with what sounds like reasonable philosophy, but it's all just to mask your despicable nature!"

Hearing Nie Li's words, Shen Xiu's mustache trembled with rage. He had never encountered a student this brazen who dared to defy him so shamelessly — and what made it worse, Nie Li's words struck precisely at the dark thoughts lurking in his heart. Humiliation turned to fury, and he couldn't help but roar: "Silence! Who do you think you are, daring to lecture your own instructor like this?"

Nie Li curled his lip dismissively. "I'm ashamed to have an instructor like you. I'll make a prediction — there are going to be many commoner students in this class who will exceed your expectations and achieve things you never thought possible. Instead of teaching them with patience, you crush their confidence with vile words. You're unworthy of being called a teacher! And so what if my talent is poor? Sooner or later, I'm going to become a legendary Demon Spirit Master like Lord Ye Mo — and I'm going to marry the most beautiful woman in the City of Radiance!"

Nie Li's gaze drifted to where Ye Ziyun sat, in the distance.

When she noticed Nie Li looking her way, Ye Ziyun felt her heart inexplicably quicken, her cheeks flushing warm. She had no idea why — she certainly hadn't expected Nie Li to say something so bold in the middle of class. The meaning in his eyes was unmistakable. Yet in her heart, she held no feelings of affection for Nie Li. It was a strange mix of flustered and annoyed, an emotion she couldn't quite name.

Seeing Ye Ziyun's expression, the look on Shen Yue's face turned even darker. Though Nie Li was fundamentally on a different level from him, he still felt a flicker of threat.

"Hahahaha! Now that's the funniest joke I've ever heard — someone with a Soul Power talent of only 5 claiming he'll become a legendary Demon Spirit Master like Lord Ye Mo! Even Lord Ye Mo in his youth was tested and showed a jaw-dropping talent — a Soul Power talent of eighty-nine! You think success comes from sheer luck? Utterly ridiculous!" Shen Xiu struck without mercy. "Instead of spouting nonsense here, you'd be better off studying seriously!"