Could it really be that Nie Li was as noble as he claimed?
Long Shuyun didn't believe it. She had seen far too many people scheming and deceiving each other, yet she had never encountered anyone as willing to help others without expecting anything in return as Nie Li! Was Nie Li truly so confident that Long Yuyin would definitely help him?
"Regardless of what you think, Auntie, I'd suggest waiting a few years to see for yourself. Right now you might think my talent is extraordinary, but plenty of prodigies have fallen before. Aren't you afraid that if you betroth Long Yuyin to me, I'll just coast along and stop improving? Of course, you could tear up the engagement just like you did with Hu Yong, but breaking promises repeatedly—if word got out, your reputation might not fare so well!" Nie Li continued trying his best to persuade Long Shuyun.
Long Yuyin watched anxiously, wanting to explain that her engagement to Hu Yong had been arranged years ago by her mother with the Hu family. She had been just a child back then and had never known about it—she had never once considered Hu Yong her fiancé!
But the words died on her lips, and Long Yuyin withdrew them with a bitter look. Her engagement—Nie Li probably didn't care about it in the slightest, did he?
Long Shuyun glanced at her daughter, sighed softly inwardly, and said to Nie Li, "I don't know what your real motives are, but I'll admit—you've convinced me. From now on, whatever you do that benefits my daughter, I will support it with all my strength!"
Hearing these words, Nie Li finally breathed a long sigh of relief. Long Shuyun had agreed. With a powerhouse at the ninth level of the Dragon Dao Realm backing him, many things in the future would undoubtedly become far easier.
Meanwhile, inside the Heavenly Cloud Divine Temple.
The Heavenly Cloud Divine Lord withdrew his spiritual consciousness. He sat quietly in meditation, his expression solemn and majestic. After a long silence, he sighed with emotion: "How ridiculous that I, born in the Feather God Sect since childhood, grew disheartened by trivial troubles and withdrew from the world to cultivate in seclusion—only to be outperformed in clarity of vision by a mere youth."
"Long Yuyin, Gu Bei, Li Xingyun—these three are indeed outstanding among the younger generation, and their character is commendable as well. If these three young people can take charge, then perhaps the three great families of the Feather God Sect will truly unite and stand together against the outside world. And with so many talented individuals rising recently, the Feather God Sect may well restore its former glory!" The Heavenly Cloud Divine Lord had glimpsed a faint thread of hope.
Before Nie Li arrived at the Feather God Sect, its future had looked bleak. Among the各大 families, the young generation was full of schemers and backstabbers, with no one who cared about the bigger picture. At that time, Gu Bei was still biding his time, and Long Yuyin had not yet stepped forward to compete for the position of patriarch of the Dragon Seal Family. But after Nie Li came, he influenced Long Yuyin, Gu Bei, and Li Xingyun—all three of them—and the dynamics began to shift.
The heirs of three great families, three people who had nothing to do with one another, had been brought together because of Nie Li.
"If you truly intend to do this, then let me lend you a hand as well!" the Heavenly Cloud Divine Lord thought. After years of seclusion, even he felt a stir of emotion deep within.
Four other spiritual consciousnesses swept past as well. The Heavenly Cloud Divine Lord smiled faintly. A sincere heart would move others with its sincerity. He wondered what the other four thought—whether Nie Li's sincerity could touch them too.
But of course, the Feather God Sect was still a sect where strength ruled supreme. If Long Yuyin, Gu Bei, and Li Xingyun proved incapable, it would all be for nothing.
At that moment, in Nie Li's room, after seeing Long Yuyin and Long Shuyun off, Nie Li gazed into the void for a moment.
A powerhouse at the ninth level of the Dragon Dao Realm had appeared here. He wondered whether the sequestered giants of the Feather God Sect had taken notice. Normally, the sect's heavyweights didn't pay much attention to the Celestial Spirit Court, but such a powerful aura manifesting here was bound to draw scrutiny. After all, the Celestial Spirit Court was the Feather God Sect's most critical institution, where nearly all its gifted young members gathered.
Of course, this was merely Nie Li's own speculation. He would have to be more careful going forward. Fortunately, Long Shuyun hadn't come with the intention of killing him—otherwise the consequences would have been dire. He needed to hurry to the Soul Hall to register his Life Soul, and from now on he would have to be extremely cautious. Otherwise, if the Flameless Venerable really did send someone to assassinate him, things could get dangerous.
Nie Li thought it over. Since he had plenty of spirit stones anyway, he would just buy a dozen or so villas within the Celestial Spirit Court. A cunning rabbit had many burrows—that way, he wouldn't be so easily assassinated.
Dawn gradually broke, and Nie Li slipped out to take care of these matters in secret. Even Xiao Yu and Lu Piao didn't know about it for the time being.
After entrusting his Life Soul once more, Nie Li could finally head to the Great World again.
In Li Xingyun's villa, Gu Bei, Lu Piao, Xiao Yu, and Nie Li had all gathered.
Seeing Xiao Yu, Nie Li was about to greet him when Xiao Yu's face darkened and he turned away.
Nie Li scratched his nose awkwardly. Even Ning'er hadn't said anything about him interacting with other women outside—wasn't Xiao Yu being a bit too meddled? Nie Li was somewhat exasperated.
"Things have been quite busy on our end lately," Gu Bei said with a slight smile, looking toward Nie Li. "We hunted down Gu Heng three times. That kid had a cultivation at the Celestial Star Realm, and after being killed it took him about five days each time to recover his Life Soul. By now he's probably bouncing around again, but his cultivation has dropped significantly—probably around the third level of the Celestar Realm at most. And thanks to our careful maneuvering, Gu Heng has already started to suspect Chai Yue! Since you've recovered your Life Soul, let's go claim Gu Heng's Divine Pool!"
"Mm!" Nie Li nodded and smiled at Gu Bei. "How has the Demon Alliance been developing lately?"
"After your match, we announced publicly that you're also a member of the Demon Alliance. Since then, people have been flocking to join us one after another. Quite a few are at the Celestial Star or even Celestial Transformation Realm. Our membership has already surpassed six thousand!" Gu Bei said with a smile. "Of course, the loyalty of these newcomers still needs to be tested, but our overall strength has been growing very rapidly!"
Even Li Xingyun, listening from the side, was secretly amazed. To have recruited so many people in such a short time—the Demon Alliance's expansion was formidable. Setting numbers aside, in terms of pure strength it was already on par with the Tianxing Alliance.
Among all the factions controlled by the gifted younger generation, the Demon Alliance could easily rank in the top ten.
In addition, Li Xingyun had heard that Long Yuyin had also established the Xuan Yin Alliance. Apparently, right from its founding, hundreds of Celestial Transformation Realm experts had joined, and even several Dragon Dao Realm elders and Grand Elders had openly expressed their support. The Xuan Yin Alliance's power had surpassed the Tianxing Alliance at an astonishing pace and had already become the fifth-ranked faction.
Though it still fell somewhat short of the forces led by Long Tianming, Li Yufeng, Situ Beiyan, and Gu Heng, this meteoric rise had exceeded everyone's expectations.
What truly excited Li Xingyun the most was that the Xuan Yin Alliance had already forged a secret alliance with the Tianxing Alliance and the Demon Alliance. The heirs of three great families had united together—this was absolutely unprecedented. At this rate, what the future would bring was truly beyond imagination.