A moment later, a wretched howl and screams of agony erupted from the room, followed by
The whole affair was utterly dreadful to listen to.
"What exactly did you say to Lu Piao just now?"
Nie Li couldn't help but grin mischievously. "Nothing."
Xiao Ning'er pursed her lips. Nie Li had probably given Lu Piao some terrible advice — otherwise Lu Piao wouldn't have gotten beaten up so badly by Xiao Xue.
Nie Li and Xiao Ning'er chatted for a while. Before long, there came a series of firm knocks at the courtyard gate.
"That must be
All three were young men in their twenties, each with cultivation above the Heavenly Fate realm. The one in the lead had probably reached the Heavenly Star level. Nie Li could sense a sharp, killing intent emanating from him.
The young man looked at Nie Li and spoke in a deep voice: "You must be Nie Li?" His gaze swept across Xiao Ning'er, and his eyes flickered with a brief spark of interest before he quickly reined it in.
"That's right," Nie Li replied, sizing the other up. He had no idea what these people wanted.
"My name is
The Heavenly Star aura radiating from Long You gave Nie Li a faint sense of pressure.
This Long You was most likely one of
"Besides the calligraphy, our young master has taken an interest in you and would like to invite you to join the Dragon Seal Clan's Heavenly Dragon Guard!" Long You glanced at Nie Li. In his eyes, Nie Li wasn't worthy of joining the Heavenly Dragon Guard at all. He didn't understand why the young master had insisted that if Nie Li was willing to join, they could agree to any conditions he might propose.
"I've already publicly announced that I won't be joining any clan. I hope you'll forgive me. As for the calligraphy, I'll write a few characters and have you bring them back." Nie Li's eyes flashed with an almost imperceptible gleam.
Just as he'd expected — Long Tianming had indeed sent someone to request calligraphy.
Given Long Tianming's personality, he would never be willing to spend a hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones to buy a piece from Nie Li. After all, that was no small sum. Long Tianming's magnanimity was far inferior to that of
Long Tianming's idea was simple enough: use his position to bully Nie into handing over calligraphy for free. He wouldn't have to pay a thing and would still reap the benefits.
Nie Li had always been wary of Long Tianming. His calligraphy would not be so easily given over to the man.
Long You had expected Nie Li to refuse, since he'd heard that Nie Li's calligraphy was selling for enormous prices. But when he heard that Nie Li said he would write a few characters for Long You to bring back, his expression softened slightly. It seemed Nie Li knew his place and was willing to bend.
"Please wait here, gentlemen. I'll go write them and bring them back for you." Nie Li gave a courteous cup of his hands.
"Fine. We'll wait here then." Long You nodded. Long Tianming had instructed him that as long as Nie Li agreed to even one of their demands, there was no need to make things difficult for him. Though Nie Li could potentially be a rival, if he was willing to submit, Long Tianming had no intention of troubling him — at least for now.
After all, within the Heavenly Star Academy, there wasn't much he could do to Nie Li anyway.
Nie Li and Xiao Ning'er returned to the room.
Xiao Ning'er looked at Nie Li and asked: "Those three came here to get your calligraphy for free, and you're just going to hand it over to them?" She felt a twinge of indignation. At the Celestial Sound Divine Sect, something like this would never happen. She found the three visitors thoroughly unpleasant — taking things from others as though it were their natural right.
"When their strength exceeds ours, of course we give it to them. One of them is a Heavenly Star powerhouse, after all!" Nie Li replied with a faint smile. He walked to the table, spread out a blank sheet of paper, then raised his brush. His gaze sharpened with focus.
When Xiao Ning'er looked at Nie Li again, his entire body seemed to be ablaze, radiating a searing aura. And within that aura, she could sense what appeared to be the hidden forces of two Laws — Darkness and Light.
His intent converged at the tip of the brush. Nie Li slowly lowered it and began to write.