Chapter 58: Students of the Genius Class?

These two brothers simply could not believe that Nie Li's strength had actually risen to such a staggering level.

"Elder Nie En — could he be in danger?" Nie Xiaori furrowed his brow and asked from the side. Elder Nie En had been gone for quite some time now and still hadn't returned.

"Don't worry, there shouldn't be any problem!" Nie Xiaofeng shook his head. "This is the Tian Hen Family's territory. The Dark Guild members who infiltrated the City of Radiance are usually Silver Five Stars at most, and Elder Nie En is already a Gold Three-Star Warrior. There shouldn't be any issues."

From the distant jungle came the muffled sounds of combat — thud, thud, thud — but the noise quickly faded into the distance.

A long, long time passed, and there was no further movement.

Then a figure swept rapidly toward them from the distance.

"It's Elder Nie En! Elder Nie En is back!"

Nie En landed before them, his expression somber.

"Elder Nie En, how did it go? Did you catch him?" Nie Xiaofeng asked.

Elder Nie En shook his head. "The target was a Silver Five-Star Demon Spirit Master. After fusing with the Celestial Star Black Tiger Spirit Beast, his strength was formidable, and he had quite a few tricks up his sleeve. I couldn't catch him — he got away!"

Hearing Nie En's words, Nie Xiaofeng and Nie Xiaori exchanged glances. For someone to actually escape from Elder Nie En — that Demon Spirit Master was no ordinary person!

Nie En looked down at the corpses of Liu Qing and Liu Yan on the ground and furrowed his brow. Something about this whole affair was deeply suspicious. Why would Dark Guild members appear here? And who had killed these two? Could it be that the Dark Guild members had turned on each other, coming to their territory to fight amongst themselves? That seemed rather unlikely. Or perhaps a mysterious powerhouse had intervened to help the Tian Hen Family eliminate these two Dark Guild members?

That mysterious powerhouse had killed two Silver-rank fighters while simultaneously wounding a Silver Five-Star Demon Spirit Master — at the very least, that person had to be a Gold-rank existence! Who exactly was helping the Tian Hen Family? And if this powerhouse had aided them, why hadn't they shown themselves?

Although he harbored some suspicion toward Nie Li, Elder Nie En would never have guessed that it was Nie Li who had killed these two and wounded Overseer Yunhua. After all, before Nie Li left the clan to attend the Holy Spirit Academy, he hadn't even reached Bronze One Star. In just a single semester, how could he possibly have reached the Silver rank?

Nie En crouched down and examined the bodies of Liu Qing and Liu Yan. Neither showed signs of a fierce battle. Instead, both had been killed in a single decisive strike to a vital point with a bladed weapon, and the wounds bore an unusual serrated pattern.

"What terrifying killing technique!" Nie En was inwardly alarmed. Even he probably couldn't have dispatched two Silver Three-Star Warriors so cleanly and efficiently. Moreover, the weapon this person had used was truly peculiar — he had never seen anything like it!

"Nie Li, come with me. You'll report to the clan leader exactly how you discovered these three Dark Guild members and everything that happened afterward!" Nie En said after a moment's thought, then glanced at Nie Xiaofeng and Nie Xiaori. "You two carry these bodies back for the clan leader to inspect!"

"Yes, Elder Nie En!" Nie Li nodded.

"Yes!" Nie Xiaofeng and Nie Xiaori each grabbed a corpse and followed behind Nie En.

They had only taken a few steps when they saw Nie Yu come sprinting over. Nie Yu was much slower than Elder Nie En and the others, which was why she had only just arrived.

"Brother Nie Li, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" Nie Yu's young face was still streaked with tears, her eyes brimming with worry.

"Don't worry — Brother Nie Li is fine!" Nie Li smiled and ruffled Nie Yu's hair.

"Mm." Hearing Nie Li's words, Nie Yu finally relaxed, and obediently followed along behind him.

The Tian Hen Family's ancestral hall was ablaze with light. The members of the Tian Hen Family were all fully armed, each carrying a torch. Upon learning that Dark Guild members had entered the Tian Hen Family's territory, they had all risen from their beds, ready at any moment to meet the enemy.

Seeing Nie En and the others return, the crowd slowly parted to make way.

Nie Hai, the patriarch of the Tian Hen Family, sat in the seat of honor, clad in a gray robe, his long white beard flowing down his chest. His expression was grave, carrying an aura of authority.

"Nie En, what exactly happened?" Nie Hai looked toward Nie En and asked.

"Reporting to the Patriarch — they were three petty thieves from the Dark Guild. They were probably trying to steal something from our Tian Hen Family. Two of them were killed, and one got away!" Nie En cupped his fists and replied.

Nie Hai glanced at the two corpses on the ground and let out a slight sigh of relief. "It's a good thing there were only three of them. Though we don't know what they came for, we still need to be cautious. Our Tian Hen Family doesn't have anything the Dark Guild would covet — these three were most likely here to scout our defenses. Double the guard over the next few days!"

"Yes, sir!" The Tian Hen Family guards nearby responded in a thunderous chorus.

"Did you take these two down?" Nie Hai could tell at a glance that these two killed individuals possessed at least Silver-level strength.

"No!" Nie En shook his head.

"Then it was Xiaofeng and Xiaori?" Nie Hai said with admiration. "Those two children have been advancing their cultivation very quickly!"

Hearing Nie Hai's words, Nie Xiaofeng and Nie Xiaori felt their faces burn with embarrassment.