Lord Of All Realms

by Stayrr

In ancient times, there existed giant spirits capable of supporting the heavens. With bodies as enormous as stars, they soared across the universe. Great clan leaders with mysterious blood running through their veins shattered the void and created new worlds. Ancient Qi Warriors crossed a river of stars to enlighten numerous mortal beings. For unknown reasons, an era silently came

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Lord Of All Realms

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In ancient times, there existed giant spirits capable of supporting the heavens. With bodies as enormous as stars, they soared across the universe. Great clan leaders with mysterious blood running through their veins shattered the void and created new worlds. Ancient Qi Warriors crossed a river of stars to enlighten numerous mortal beings. For unknown reasons, an era silently came to an end, all realms were separated, ancient giant spirits disappeared one after another. Thousands of years later, young Nie Tian managed to travel back into ancient times with the help of a drop of blood…

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Read Lord of All Realms - Chapter 1: An Unstable Situation online free - Light Novel Full

Chapter One: An Unstable Situation

Black Cloud City. The Nie clan.

As night fell, the plainly dressed Nie Qian leaned against the windowsill and stared at an artificial hill outside her window as her mind wandered.

Inside the room, Nie Tian, who just turned one, impatiently pushed away his wet nurse. Mouth stained with milk, but eyes fixed on Nie Qian, he mumbled, "Meat, must eat meat…"

His wet nurse, Zhou Ma, became embarrassed and chuckled, "Miss, look…"

Nie Qian snapped back to reality and gave the adorable yet strong Nie Tian an intense glare before she jokingly taunted, "This little bastard has already had two bowls of ground meat today but shows no interest in his milk. Now he wants more meat. I don't even know if he can properly digest it."

"Meat, need meat…" Nie Tian was still jabbering with a smile on his face.

Nie Tian's charming smile reminded Nie Qian of her late younger sister. Feeling a bit soft-hearted, she nodded to Zhou Ma.

Zhou Ma then brought out a bowl of finely ground meat and laid it on the table. Nie Tian's ink-black pupils immediately flashed. Then he grabbed a spoon and started deftly digging in, his chubby little face filled with satisfaction.

Hearing Nie Tian eating caused Nie Qian to feel bothered for no apparent reason. "Little Yue, how many kids are going to attend the drawing of lots tomorrow?"

Nie Qian popped the question abruptly.

The servant girl, Han Yue, who was standing by the door, hesitated and softly replied, "Miss, all the one-year-old babies in the Nie clan surnamed Nie will attend. Once every five years, immortals from Cloudsoaring Mountain will bring spiritual tools to reward the Nie clan for their hard work over the years. No parent of a one-year-old child would want to pass up that opportunity."

The Nie clan was notable in Black Cloud City. However, this world respected the powerful Qi warriors above all else. Almost every mortal clan offered service to them. The Nie clan was no exception.

The Qi warrior sect that the Nie clan clung to was the Cloudsoaring sect, which was located on Cloudsoaring Mountain not far from Black Cloud City. At the heart of Cloudsoaring Mountain, there was an abundance of Fire Stones, which were a low-ranked type of spiritual material that Qi practitioners used to improve their cultivation. The Qi warriors of the Cloudsoaring sect were busy with cultivation all year long, and thus, unwilling to waste time on extracting the low-ranked Fire Stones themselves, they had members of the Nie clan do it for them.

Generation after generation, the Nie clan had offered the extracted Fire Stones as tribute to the Cloudsoaring sect in exchange for their protection.

Additionally, other than protecting the Nie clan from oppression from other families in Black Cloud City, Qi warriors of the Cloudsoaring sect would also bring low-ranked spiritual tools to the Nie clan every five years in order to test the cultivation potential of the Nie children through the drawing of lots.

Upon birth, every child would possess a somewhat special attribute, like metal, wood, water, fire, or earth. Some children would carry rare attributes, like lightning, electricity, wind, cloud, or frost. Qi warriors of the Cloudsoaring sect would bring a number of low-ranked spiritual tools that possessed the different attributes.

The children and spiritual tools that shared the same attributes would be drawn to each other. In this way, a child's attribute could be determined, and then his parents could provide well-directed assistance and help the youngster achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Qi warriors of the Cloudsoaring sect would trade those low-ranked spiritual tools for the Nie clan's loyalty, so all the spiritual tools brought to lot drawing would be gifted to the children with matching attributes.

Though useless to the Qi warriors of the Cloudsoaring sect, those low-ranked spiritual tools would be of great help to the Nie children's cultivation and become a suitable spiritual tool for a long time.

That was why the whole Nie clan would seethe with excitement at the lot drawings that would only happen once every five years. Every parent with a one-year-old child would consider it to be the most significant moment of that child's life, and would be drawn to the event like a vulture to flesh.

This time was no different.

Nie Qian frowned. "Answer me, how many kids are going to attend this time?"

"Seven," Han Yue replied softly, bowing her head deeply.

"Little Tian is exactly one year old and is surnamed Nie," Nie Qian said coldly. "Why didn't anyone inform me to bring Nie Tian to this lot-drawing convention?"

"Miss…" Han Yue forced a smile as she looked up at Nie Qian and said in a low voice, "Nie Tian is the child of your younger sister, but she is… just like you, a girl, and she didn't mention who Nie Tian's father was before she passed away."

"According to the rules of the Nie clan, only the children of legitimate sons have the right to attend the lot-drawing conventions every five years. Children of the daughters of the clan have no such right."

"I don't care about those rules," spat Nie Qian. "My father is still the head of this clan. I'm gonna go reason with him right now!" Then she stormed out of the room.

As Nie Qian left, Han Yue murmured to herself, "Your father is currently the head of the clan, but his position…isn't stable!"

A moment later.

Nie Qian barged into Nie Donghai's pavilion and yelled indignantly, "Father, Nie Tian is …"

She suddenly stopped.

Inside the dimly lit room, Nie Donghai, the current head of the clan, had nothing but exhaustion written across his pale, yellow face. His originally mighty body had turned into a bag of bones. He was currently stooped against the wall, his eyes focused on a red medicinal pill in his left hand. He seemed to be wavering back and forth regarding something important.

Nie Qian's outraged heart was suddenly filled with sadness.

"Father, don't," she said gently.

She recognized the medicinal pill in Nie Donghai's hand with a single glance. It was a Soul Restoration Pill. With its help, a Qi warrior would appear to be full of spiritual energy and vigor for a short period of time, but it was merely temporary.

Soul Restoration Pills would drain a Qi practitioner's potential and longevity, and the user would be greatly damaged physically and mentally afterwards.

Generally, a Qi warrior would only resort to taking it when it was a matter of life and death. No one dared to use it under normal circumstances.

Nie Donghai, who had been staring at the Soul Restoration Pill in his hand, saw Nie Qian come in. He forced a smile and said bitterly, "Ever since I was seriously wounded by the Yun clan and the Yuan clan, my sea of Qi was damaged and my spiritual energy has started leaking faster than I can replace it. There is no chance of my cultivation base reaching Anterior Heaven level. Even my current cultivation level… well, I'm not sure how much longer I can maintain it.

"Second Brother and Third Brother have been after my position as head of the clan for a long time. I've thought this through. The Cloudsoaring sect is going to send people over tomorrow. If they saw such a drop in my cultivation, then with Second Brother and Third Brother stirring up the situation, I'm afraid I would have no choice but to hand over my position."

"Father, I'd rather you retire than drain your longevity to keep your position as head of the clan." Nie Qian's eyes welled up with tears.

"What do you know?!" Nie Donghai gave her a hard look, with seriousness and anger written all over his face. "We'll only have a chance to seek justice for the ill treatment you've received from the Yun clan if I'm the head of the Nie clan! Also, regarding the person who tricked your sister, it is only possible to find out his identity when I have the Nie clan's power under my command!

"If I step down, there is absolutely no way that Second Brother and Third Brother will avenge you and your sister! I have to keep this position till the day I die, for you and Jin'er!

"What does it matter if I live a few years less? Once I step down, I will no longer be able to fight for you. How is that different from dying?"

"Father!" Nie Qian choked on her own tears.

"Alright. Don't behave like an immature child. Tell me. Why were you in a hurry to find me?" Nie Donghai took a deep breath and restored his firm look.

"Father," Nie Qian pleaded. "Tomorrow's lot-drawing convention is of great importance. Since you gave Little Tian the family name 'Nie', I hope that Little Tian can participate. If he could find a suitable spiritual tool on the lot-drawing convention, it would greatly benefit his future cultivation. With its help, he might be able to reach the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage by the age of fifteen and be admitted to the Cloudsoaring sect."

"About this matter…" Nie Donghai seemed to be in a dilemma. "How could I not be aware of the situation? I talked to Second Brother and Third Brother about this long ago, but they were fixed on the fact that Little Tian wasn't a legitimate son of the Nie clan and insisted on refusing to allow him to participate, which is in accordance with clan rules."

"Father, you are reaching the end of your cultivation path. Little sister is no longer with us. And as for me… my life has no hope of changing for the better." Our branch of the clan is not well populated, and with Little Tian being the only male, I hope you can fight for him." Nie Qian's eyes were filled with tears.

Nie Donghai remained silent for a while before he nodded. "I understand. Go. Take Nie Tian to attend the lot drawing tomorrow."

Although Nie Qian's eyes glistened with tears, they also showed a hint of happiness before she bowed and left.

As she stepped out of the room, Nie Qian heard Nie Donghai swallowing the Soul Restoration Pill and letting out a long sigh.

Nie Qian felt a heart-wrenching pain, knowing her arrival helped Nie Donghai make up his mind. She couldn't bear to look back and rushed away as quickly as possible.

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Chapter Two: Lot-drawing Convention

The next day….

The great hall of the Nie clan was full of excited people, and the atmosphere was quite bustling.

Liu Yan, from the Cloudsoaring sect, was surrounded by a crowd of Nie clan members of all ages. They showed great concern for him by asking about his well-being, hoping to win his favor and thus giving their children or grandchildren a slightly better chance of being admitted to the Cloudsoaring sect.

Liu Yan was wearing a grey robe, and a hint of smile could be seen at the corner of his mouth. He was in the seat of honor, chatting to nearby Nie clan members with a bit impatience in his eyes.

From the start to the end, Liu Yan never stood up; the surrounding members of Nie clan kept bowing in an extremely humble manner.

One by one, members of the Nie clan brought in their one-year-old children through the gate of the hall.

Every comer would take their child to greet Liu Yan and make a introduction to him with their face full of smiles. Only after that would they greet and pay respect to the three elders of the Nie clan, who were seated beside Liu Yan.

Nie Donghai, together with his second brother Nie Beichuan and third brother Nie Nanshan, didn't try to flatter and please Liu Yan due to their special status. But every time they met his gaze, they would also wear their brightest smiles.

Unlike the day before, Nie Donghai looked radiant and energetic, with absolutely no evidence of injuries.

"Nie Qian? What did you bring Nie Tian here for?" These sudden, ill-timed words came from Nie Lan, who had introduced his son to Liu Yan moments ago. He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked unhappily towards the gate of the hall.

Nie Lan was Nie Beichuan's son. While he was the oldest among the second generation of the Nie clan, his cultivation talent was quite poor. He had only reached the ninth level of Qi Refining and hadn't been able to break through the bottleneck and enter the Lesser Heaven stage.

For this reason, he had long since given up his own cultivation and placed all his hope in his three sons.

At present, his first son, who was only eleven years old, had reached the seventh level of Qi Refining. As long as he could reach the ninth level in the next four years, he would win the Cloudsoaring sect's favor and become their disciple. With the Cloudsoaring sect's help, he would eventually be able to reach the Lesser Heaven stage and live a bright future.

His second son, who was six, also showed outstanding cultivation talent by achieving the fourth level of Qi Refining. A promising future was in store.

Today he brought his third son Nie Hong, who had just turned one.

The births of his three children had been carefully calculated so that every one of them happened to be at the proper age to attend the quinquennial lot-drawings. Both of the elder sons had made remarkable gains during the last two lot-drawings.

It was Nie Hong's turn this time.

As Nie Lan spoke, all the eyes of the Nie clan members inside the hall became fixed on Nie Qian and Nie Tian, who had just passed through the gate.

"Eldest brother," Nie Qian said loudly. "I've brought Nie Tian to attend this year's lot-drawing convention."

Nie Tian was standing by her side, as adorable and strong as a tiger cub. Not only was he taller than the other children in attendance, but he also seemed more muscular.

In spite of the volume of her voice, Nie Qian looked a bit uneasy under everyone's scalding stares.

Nie Tian, on the contrary, was full of smiles, completely unaware of the all the eyes glaring at them with ill intentions. Instead, he seemed to be enjoying being the center of attention, and didn't flinch an inch.

"Nie Tian?" Nie Lan snorted disdainfully. He didn't look very happy. "His family name is Nie, but it is only because we have no idea who his father is. In fact, he isn't a true Nie at all. According to the Nie clan rules, a daughter's son shouldn't be qualified to attend lot-drawing conventions. Don't make trouble out of nothing. Just take Nie Tian and leave. Stop wasting Mr. Liu Yan's and everybody else's time."

Nie Qian immediately turned to Nie Donghai. "Father!"

"It doesn't matter who my son-in-law is," Nie Donghai replied forcefully. "Jin'er said before she died that Nie Tian's father was willing to take our surname and join our clan, hence Nie Tian is a descendant of the Nie clan."

"Eldest brother," Nie Nanshan said with a dark smile, "As far as I remember, you itched to eat that man alive. You used to talk all the time about killing him at all costs once you found him. How come you've changed your attitude all of a sudden and admitted his status as your son-in-law? Plus, to take our surname… well, rules have to be followed, don't they? I don't recall that guy ever taking a vow in our ancestral shrine."

"Exactly. Without taking a vow in the ancestral shrine and finishing the ritual, a man can't be counted as a son-in-law who is qualified to take our surname."

"Clanmaster, you can't be so eager to take a man you harbor deep hatred with as your son-in-law, just to qualify Nie Tian's attendance to the lot-drawing. You have to remember that Nie Jin's death was all because of him!"

"Even though you are the clanmaster, you can't disregard the family rules and act recklessly, right?"

"… "

Inside the hall, both immediate members and extended members of the Nie clan who had brought their children started yelling in dissatisfaction and accusing Nie Donghai of acting recklessly.

Every additional child participating in the lot-drawing would mean a reduction of their own child's opportunities, so naturally, people weren't happy about that.

If it were before Nie Donghai had been seriously wounded, he would have more authority, and people wouldn't dare to act this way.

However, they knew about Nie Donghai's condition and the fact that he might have to hand over his position as clanmaster soon due to his degrading cultivation level, so they no longer felt the need to give him face.

Nie Beichuan sat straight in his chair and listened to the noisy crowd with no intention to break the tumult.

As the yelling grew louder and louder, Liu Yan from the Cloudsoaring sect coughed softly.

All of a sudden, everyone shut their mouths.

Even Nie Nanshan, who was about to question Nie Donghai one more time, stopped immediately and turned to Liu Yan with a smiling face.

Liu Yan, his face smooth and jade-like, had a slight change in his expression as he looked towards Nie Tian, who stood next to Nie Qian. "This is… the son of my junior martial sister?"

While he talked, a twinge of subtle pain flashed in his eyes.

His words suddenly reminded everyone that Nie Jin had the most amazing talent among the second generation of the Nie clan. She managed to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining at the age of ten, and thus was acknowledged by the Cloudsoaring sect and became one of their disciples.

Liu Yan was her eldest martial brother.

"Sir, Nie Tian is my poor sister's only son," Nie Qian said sadly.

Liu Yan gently nodded as he looked at Nie Tian with a complex and profound expression, before he warmly said, "This time, I'd originally planned to provide five small toys. However, my junior martial sister and I go way back, so for Nie Tian, I will take the initiative and add two spiritual tools from my own collection. How does this sound?"

He turned around to look at Nie Beichuan and Nie Nanshan.

"Since Mr. Liu has said so, of course we will agree," Nie Beichuan replied in a hurry.

Nie Nanshan also nodded at once with a smiling face while saying,"Whatever Mr. Liu says."

None of the rest of the crowd dared to object.

"With that settled, the lot-drawing convention will now begin." Liu Yan cut to the chase. He waved his left hand, sending seven streaks of mysterious light flying out of his sleeve.

The seven streaks of light, each a different color, lit up the Nie clan's great hall, illuminating everything around them.

The lights fell on the stone floor in center of the great hall and turned into seven tools glistening with spiritual light, namely, a sword, a saber, a fan, a glove, a wooden staff, a bead, and a piece of animal bone.

Every member of the Nie clan, whether young or old, voluntarily cleared out of the center of the great hall as soon as they saw the seven spiritual tools landing on the ground. Immediately after that, they gathered around the tools.

Everyone's gaze was immediately fixed on the seven exquisite spiritual tools, and none of them bothered to give Nie Tian another glance.

Nie Donghai and his two brothers stood up subconsciously and emanated spiritual fluctuations to sense the attributes and ranks of the seven spiritual tools.

Many members of the Nie clan, eyes shining with eagerness, also tried to use their inner spiritual energy to judge the spiritual tools.

Cyan, purple, red, and blue colored spiritual energy emerged from the seven spiritual tools under the power sensing of the Qi warriors of the Nie clan.

"Elementary grade five!"

Nie Lan's wide-open eyes were fixed on the cyan bead that Liu Yan had brought out last, as his breathing grew slightly rapid.

"Oh, heavens. Is it really of grade five?"

"Aren't all the spiritual tools supposed to be of Elementary grade three according to the traditions? A spiritual tool of the fifth grade, even at Elementary level, is still of great value. It is usually something awarded to their own disciples, but this time…"

"How generous of Mr. Liu!"

The cyan bead seemed to have strands of lightning flickering inside it under the influence of everyone's spiritual energy, which made it especially rare. Therefore, everyone's eyes turned red and glittered with greed.

Nie Beichuan fixedly stared at the bead as a strange light flashed in his eyes.

Nie Lan was his son, which meant Nie Hong was his grandson. Long before Nie Hong was born, he used secret magics to test Nie Hong's talent.

Due to the low level of his cultivation base, he relied on the help of an extraordinary medicinal pill to be seventy percent sure that Nie Hong had the inner attribute of lightning.

That Elementary grade five cyan bead was clearly lightning-attributed, making it a spiritual tool completely compatible with Nie Hong's cultivation.

Nie Beichuan's attitude changed slightly as he faced Liu Yan. He bowed gratefully and said, "Thank you so much for your generosity, Mr. Liu Yan."

The rest of the crowd followed Nie Beichuan's lead and expressed their gratitude to Liu Yan for being so generous.

Liu Yan waved his hands to quiet down the crowd and said, "From now on, no one shall use their spiritual energy to sense the spiritual tools; that could disturb the aura of the tools. As of now, it's completely up to these eight children to determine their own destinies."

"Let the eight children in!" Nie Donghai said in a low voice.

"Go ahead!" Nie Qian felt a bit of relief and let go of Nie Tian.

The moment those seven spiritual tools landed on the ground, Nie Tian's eyes shined with eagerness and impatience, as he wanted to rush into the central area immediately. Were it not for Nie Qian, who had been tightly clasping his arms, he probably wouldn't have waited for everyone to finish talking before he rushed into the central area.

When she let go, Nie Tian, as she expected, opened his arms in a manner as if to embrace the whole world, and rushed into the central area.

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Chapter Three: The Vilest Event in the History of Nie Clan!

BANG!

A kid who was in Nie Tian's way got knocked off his feet from the powerful impact he received from Nie Tian.

That kid was Nie Nanshan's grandson, Nie Yuan. The moment he fell to the ground, he immediately burst into a fit of tears.

Nie Tian didn't look at Nie Yuan, or even circle around him; instead he directly stepped over Nie Yuan.

Moreover, Nie Tian's right foot landed on Nie Yuan's hand as he rushed forward, making Nie Yuan cry even more heavily.

Nie Nanshan strove to calm himself, and Nie Yuan's father, Nie Qiu, could almost feel his son's pain. The faces of both men immediately turned sullen.

Considering that it was quite common for kids to run into each other during the lot-drawing, Nie Nanshan and Nie Qiu suppressed their anger for the moment.

"Nie Tian, be careful!" Nie Qian shouted anxiously.

However, it seemed Nie Tian didn't hear Nie Qian's call as he stepped over Nie Yuan and ran toward the spiritual tool closest to him.

At this time, another child of the Nie clan, with glittering small eyes, stared at the glove, which was emitting misty red light. When he reached out his hand towards the glove, his fingertips also emitted rays of red light.

Obviously, the child's cultivation attribute completely matched the spiritual energy contained in the glove.

A extended member of the Nie clan got emotional and worked up, crying out, "That's destined for Liang'er!"

At first sight, Liu Yan and the whole Nie clan could tell without a doubt that the glove, glowing red light and all, was the tool Nie Liang needed.

Liu Yan nodded softly and said to himself, "Fire attribute…"

Everyone saw that Nie Liang's unsteady small hand was on the verge of touching the glove.

However at that moment, Nie Tian came running over and knocked Nie Liang to the ground before he reached out to grab the glove.

Before the confused Nie Liang could make a sound, Nie Tian already grasped the glove in his hand and burst into a loud laughter.

As Nie Tian was laughing with his mouth wide open, Nie Liang realized what had happened and started to cry out loud, "Wah, wah! Mine, mine…"

Nie Tian's face was filled with satisfaction and pleasant laughter, while in contrast, Nie Liang was scared and in tears.

"Bastard!" growled Nie Liang's father, an expert from an extended branch of the Nie clan. "That glove doesn't agree with Nie Tian's cultivation attribute. There wasn't even a smidgen of energy fluctuation from Nie Tian's body that agreed with the spiritual tool, so why should he get it?"

Liu Yan of the Cloudsoaring sect smiled as he watched Nie Tian reach out to take the glove.

Liu Yan had to hold back from laughing. Right when he was going to say a few words in consolation, he discovered that Nie Tian, after enjoying forcibly taking the glove, had rushed to another nearby spiritual tool.

While Nie Liang was still crying, Nie Tian donned the red glove and dashed toward the blue sword.

Meanwhile, another child of the Nie clan was holding the blue sword, his tiny face filled with smile.

While he held the sword, waves of blue light immediately emerged from both the sword and the child's flesh that came into contact with the sword.

As he grinned joyously and prepared to laugh out loud, Nie Tian swooped in like the wind.

Relying on his superior strength, Nie Tian snatched the blue sword out of the other child's grip, laughing the whole time.

The child who just lost his spiritual tool stood in confusion for a moment before he tried to recapture the sword from Nie Tian's hand, but he ended up being pushed to the ground.

"Wah, wah!"

Another child's ear-piercing cries rang through the Nie clan's great hall.

"How impudent! This little bastard is too impudent!" Fuming, another extended member of Nie clan could hardly hold back from immediately rushing into the court.

Nie Tian, who was apparently addicted to robbing, paid no attention to him and continued on his rampage in the court, totally disregarding the crowd. In a short period of time, Nie Tian managed to forcibly grab the remaining saber, fan, animal bone, wooden staff, bead.

Many members of the Nie clan present at the lot-drawing were struck wide-eyed and tongue-tied, looking at Nie Tian as if he was some kind of devil.

The cries of the seven children and cursing of their fathers went on and on, filling the great hall.

Nie Tian's two hands could barely hold the seven spiritual tools he had taken, so he put them in a pile as he squatted on the ground and played with them one by one, his face filled with a smile and his eyes filled with satisfaction.

However, everyone could clearly see that none of the tools showed any sign of energy fluctuations as he laid his chubby little hands on them.

That meant none of the spiritual tools he had taken from the other children agreed with his cultivation attribute.

He was basically breaking the rules simply because he felt like it!

The seven children who had their spiritual tools stolen from them were currently crying nonstop, and naturally gathered around Nie Tian, enviously and helplessly staring at the spiritual tools that matched their respective cultivation attributes and made them comfortable and relaxed. They even tried, in vain, to get them back.

"Mine, all mine…." Nie Tian turned around to face them as he made threatening gestures while mumbling something.

Greedily looking at the cyan pearl, Nie Hong approached, step by step, hoping to cross Nie Tian and snatch the cyan pearl back.

POW!

Nie Tian swung his chubby fist and unceremoniously hit Nie Hong in the face. As a result, Nie Hong was thrown to the ground and started to cry louder than ever.

The other six children had nothing but fear on their faces after witnessing Nie Tian's demonic actions. Their helpless eyes were still fixed on the spiritual tools which should had been theirs, yet no one dared to go for them any more.

"How savage! I've been present for numerous lot-drawings, but I've never seen such a savage and presumptuous child!"

"The little hoodlum! None of the seven spiritual tools agreed with his cultivation attribute, yet he forcibly snatched all of them, not sparing even one. Our clan has never seen such a vile event!"

"Clan members should be brothers. We love and help each other. One must never take all the benefits! Now look at him. Not only does he want to eat the meat, but he won't even share a sip of soup with others. He simply defies all principles and doesn't follow any of the rules!"

Listening to the crying and cursing inside the hall, Nie Beichuan and Nie Nanshan's faces were as dark and gloomy as lake water.

Nie Qian, standing by the gate, looking at the laughing Nie Tian and became a little worried. She even secretly hated that he had been so reckless, offending the whole Nie clan.

She turned to Nie Donghai with a pitiful face, but was met with Nie Donghai's bitter smile.

Embarrassed and with his head aching, he didn't know how to handle this situation either.

"Well…"

Having watched the whole scene, Liu Yan spoke softly. The noise-filled hall resumed silence as he spoke.

The angry members of the Nie clan looked away from Nie Tian and refocused on Liu Yan.

Liu Yan gently coughed as he looked at the crowd, then he said, "Horseplay between kids… is amusing. As for the seven toys, in my opinion, Nie Tian shall not take all of them. How about this: we'll let Nie Tian keep one and the rest will go to the other children. Then we can call an end to this incident, what do you say?"

Seeing the tension being eased, Nie Donghai secretly exhaled, and said, "We will do as Mr. Liu says. Nie Tian, you shall behave and choose just one from the tools! Return the rest to your brothers and don't ever act so rudely again!"

"What about you?" Liu Yan faced towards the rest of the Nie clan members.

Under his gaze, the previously shouting Nie clan members, who had demanded that Nie Tian be punished, had no choice but to nod, agreeing to his arrangement.

"Good." Liu Yan smiled and gently nodded his head before he looked Nie Tian deep in the eye while tenderly saying, "Okay, listen to Uncle Liu's words. You can take any spiritual tool you like, but give the rest back to your younger and older brothers."

Nie Tian pouted unwillingly, and even glanced stealthily at Nie Qian.

Nie Qian gave him a hard look and said, "If you dare to act unruly, watch what I'm going to do with you!"

Nie Tian cringed, as if he feared no one but Nie Qian. Without even looking down, he casually reached his hand to the pile of spiritual tools and pulled out the piece of animal bone, then left immediately.

His indifferent attitude made everyone well aware that he seemed to have little interest in these seven spiritual tools from the start.

What he enjoyed seemed to be… merely the process of taking them from others.

Watching him taking the lowest ranked animal bone, many of the Nie clan members' faces brightened with surprise. As they secretly mocked his stupidity, the gloomy looks on their faces faded slightly.

The moment he got out of the way, the rest of the Nie clan kids, unable to contain their excitement any longer, rushed forward to seize the spiritual tools they had their eyes on long ago.

"Wahh!"

……

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Chapter Four: Liu Yan's Confusion

Afternoon.

Nie Qian berated Nie Tian as he ate and drank his fill, but then he fell asleep, so she finally stopped.

Nie Tian had been holding that animal bone in his hand ever since he got back from the lot-drawing, and yet Nie Qian couldn't find any spiritual energy connections between Nie Tian and the bone.

"What a dummy…" Nie Qian murmured. "He had so many high ranked spiritual tools to choose from, yet he picked this thing….

Suddenly, Nie Donghai's voice came from outside. "Whatever… Even if he obtained the highest ranked bead, it would also be useless to him. None of the seven spiritual tools were suitable for him. I should have known from the start that having him participate in the lot-drawing wouldn't be productive."

As Nie Qian turned around to look, she found that Nie Donghai and Liu Yan of the Cloudsoaring sect had come together. "Father. Mr. Liu."

Nie Donghai glanced lovingly at Nie Tian, who was sound asleep, lying on his back with his limbs widely spread. Then he sighed softly, frowned, and said, "A while ago, I secretly tested him in hope of determining the attribute of his inner spiritual energy. However…"

After a pause, he continued, "Perhaps due to my insufficient cultivation base, I failed to sense any fluctuation of spiritual energy in him. I knew by then that even if he did participate in the lot-drawing he would most likely not gain much.

"That was the reason I didn't push so hard to get him into the lot-drawing convention."

Nie Qian was both shocked and confused. "But father, after I begged you for this opportunity, you did help after all… "

Nie Donghai forced a smile. "Deep down, I was still unwilling to give up. I wished for a miracle to happen. From the look of it, I've put in too much hope into the matter."

"It was my fault." Nie Qian blamed herself.

By then, she realized Nie Donghai loved Nie Tian just as much as she did and he would even get in a conflict with everyone in the Nie clan again, just to fight for a shred of opportunity for Nie Tian.

Even though he knew all his efforts could have been in vain, he did it anyway.

"Let me take a closer look." While he talked, Liu Yan walked to window and stretched out his hand over the sleeping Nie Tian.

White aura swirled out of Liu Yan's left palm. Its misty and bright apperarance made his hand white like jade.

Liu Yan gently placed his hand onto Nie Tian's lower abdomen as he narrowed his eyes in concentration. Shreds of spiritual energy as thin as hair emerged from his hand and entered Nie Tian's lower abdomen, gradually seeping into his limbs and bones.

Nie Tian seemed to be comfortable in his sleep, as a smile had emerged on his chubby little face. He even snored a bit, as if he was having a sweet dream.

The warm, jade-like light gradually covered the surface of Nie Tian's body, as if he were a porcelain doll in the light of a lantern.

However, Nie Donghai and Nie Qian gazed at Nie Tian with worried looks.

They were fully aware that the jade-like gloss came solely from Liu Yan's spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy triggered no change after roaming around in Nie Tian's body, which meant Nie Tian's body didn't contain any spiritual energy waves.

Quite a while later, Liu Yan gently retrieved his hand before turning to Nie Donghai and shaking his head.

Nie Donghai and Nie Qian looked on, aghast.

Liu Yan was also confused. "It shouldn't be like this. I'm familiar with junior martial sister's natural talent. Forget Black Cloud City as a whole, even in the Cloudsoaring sect her talent was among the best. Even married to a completely talentless mortal, her child should have inherited part of her talent. It shouldn't be this way.

"I did a thorough search in Nie Tian's body, but I really felt no trace of spiritual energy fluctuations."

"Huh… " Nie Donghai let out a deep sigh and looked frustrated.

Liu Yan frowned and said, "However, Nie Tian's Qi and blood is extremely vigorous. I could see at the lot-drawing that he was much stronger and more powerful than his peers. His muscles and bones are tough and resilient. If it were a contest of pure strength and force with no spiritual energy involved, probably no one in his generation of the Nie clan could compete with him."

"How is that useful?" Nie Qian said bitterly, "Those children are still young. When they grow older and begin to understand the words of adults, they will start to cultivate spiritual energy. Spiritual power is the key to measure the strength of a Qi warrior. It is also the source of real strength. How far can he go solely relying on his physical strength?"

"This is also what I worry about the most." Nie Donghai added, "Those children who have special spiritual energy attributes in their bodies can practice spiritual methods compatible with their inner attributes. One by one, they will progress rapidly, establishing their foundation early on. Only those children would have the hope of reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining at the age of fifteen, therefore earning the favor of the Cloudsoaring sect."

"Because Nie Tian has not clearly shown his cultivation attribute, he may have to go tread a slower cultivation path. That means he almost has no hope of reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining by the age of fifteen, and accordingly, the door to Cloudsoaring sect would close for him permanently. Not being able to enter the Cloudsoaring sect, he would be stuck in the Nie clan his whole life."

Liu Yan came to Nie Donghai's side, patted him on the shoulder, and said sincerely, "It's not necessarily a bad thing for him not to enter the Cloudsoaring sect. Among the Cloudsoaring sect's young and talented, many died premature deaths. On the way to seeking the peak, every step could be deadly. To be able to cross those tribulations unharmed, one must have an impressive fate.

"To live a life safely and peacefully like Nie Tian can also be a blessing."

Liu Yan's words reminded Nie Donghai of his late daughter Nie Jin, before he felt a pain in his heart and was completely at a loss for words.

"Since matters here have been sorted out, I will now return to the Cloudsoaring sect. Back when junior martial sister was practicing cultivation in the sect, I acted as her mentor, so I was extremely fond of junior martial sister and placed great importance on her. Brother, you may rest assured. I'll make every effort to find the one who killed her. Whenever there is news, I will let you know."

Liu Yan gently patted on Nie Donghai's shoulder before strolling out of the room.

"Mr. Liu, thank you so much for everything," Nie Donghai said gratefully.

Nie Qian echoed Nie Donghai's words and quickly said, "Thank you, Mr. Liu."

They intended to see Liu Yan out, but by the time they got to the door, Liu Yan's pace had increased to such a level that he was already disappearing off into the distance.

"Mr. Liu has been so kind to us," Nie Donghai muttered with a frown, "If it were not for him, the clan members… probably wouldn't have let Nie Tian off so easily."

"After Little Tian and I left, did those guys…?" Nie Qian said with hatred.

Nie Donghai nodded in assent. "Of course they made a scene. Every one of them dwelt on the fact that Nie Tian wasn't a true grandson of the Nie clan, and also that he made a mess at the lot-drawing convention. They insisted on punishing him. Fortunately, Mr. Liu helped and spoke up, so they didn't dare to question me further, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to protect him.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Liu has left and won't return frequently in the future." Nie Qian sighed.

"As long as I'm still head of the Nie clan, I won't tolerate their impudence!" Nie Donghai said with a cold harrumph.

"I fear… I fear that you can't keep that position for long, father." Nie Qian smiled bitterly.

"I'll keep it until the day I can't. I must seek justice for you and Jin'er!" Nie Donghai's face was firm and determined. After speaking these words, he also stepped out of the room.

Watching his formerly-heroic figure disappearing into distance, Nie Qian sat in front of the door with a desolate face, and her mind drifted away.

Inside, Nie Tian was still deep asleep, but the threads of spiritual energy Liu Yan left on his body during his analysis lingered.

Because of the flowing spiritual energy, Nie Tian's flesh and skin began to ripple slightly. It almost looked like tiny waves flowing across water.

Every time his flesh and skin gently trembled, the spiritual energy would become somewhat dimmer, as if his flesh and blood was greedily absorbing and refining the spiritual energy.

Neither Liu Yan, Nie Donghai, nor Nie Qian knew anything about this.

Usually, Nie Tian would only nap for an hour at noon.

But today, he slept for four hours, which was very surprising. When it reached the point that there wasn't a single shred of spiritual power left on his body, he finally stretched his limbs in comfort and woke up.

…

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Chapter Five: Undefeated Record

Time ran like a river. Nine years passed in a flash.

Early in the morning, as the sun was just beginning to rise above the horizon, numerous junior members of the Nie clan gathered in a public square. Some were sitting cross-legged, inhaling and exhaling the faint spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth, while others were working on their fighting techniques, exchanging blows that sent blasts of air out in all directions.

In a corner of the spacious square, a bunch of 10-year-old children of the Nie clan were hatefully looking down the stone road to their east, with their fists clenched.

"He's only at the third level of Qi Refining. I don't believe that he can win every time! Having made another breakthrough yesterday, I'm going to teach him an extremely memorable lesson today!" After nine years, the ten year old Nie Hong, by virtue of the bead that he had obtained in the lot-drawing nine years ago, had already successfully cultivated to the sixth level of Qi Refining. The fingertips of his left hand flickered with a hint of an electric aura as he ground his teeth in anger.

"Brother Hong," Nie Yuan said, "knowing about your recent breakthrough, he shouldn't dare to show up today, right?"

Nie Hong shook his head. "No, he'll come for sure. I know him!"

A guest elder of the Nie clan, Wu Tao, was leading a group of young boys and girls from the Nie clan in cultivation. Most of the youngsters were around fourteen or fifteen, and every member of the group would occasionally cast curious glances in the direction of the part of the square where Nie Tian was expected to appear.

Suddenly, from the long, narrow stone path leading to the east, the sonorous voice of a young man could be heard. "Nie Yuan, were you the one who said I wouldn't dare to come just now?"

Nie Tian appeared, who was by now significantly taller than his peers.

"Here he comes!"

"Knowing the fact that Nie Hong has reached the sixth level of Qi Refining, he still dares to come… He's got some balls!"

"Interesting!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, other boys and girls of the Nie clan who were slightly older became cheerful and excited.

Those who were cultivating gradually stood up. Those who were practicing their fancy physical combat moves suddenly stopped. One after the other, they all turned to stare at Nie Tian.

In their eyes Nie Tian was different.

Nine years has passed since that lot-drawing convention, yet Nie Tian hadn't shown any special cultivation attribute. The animal bone he had won failed to resonate with his spiritual energy.

On the contrary, Nie Hong, Nie Yuan, and the others, having determined the attributes of their spiritual power, started to cultivate specific spiritual incantations. With the help of the spiritual tools they had obtained from the lot-drawing convention, their cultivating speed had progressed swiftly and violently. Meanwhile, Nie Tian… was still cultivating using the most basic Qi Refining Incantation.

Nie Tian's slow cultivation advancement made him a target of secret ridicule among people. Neither the clanmaster Nie Donghai nor Nie Qian could do anything to help.

However, to everyone's surprise, Nie Tian's body grew stronger and stronger, which allowed him to fight children of a similar age without being at a disadvantage because of his low Qi Refining level.

On the contrary, in the past nine years, every peer who had fought Nie Tian ended up losing.

Up to this day, Nie Tian had maintained an undefeated record.

The reason why they paid close attention to Nie Tian's battles was that they wanted to know when his advantage of tremendous physical strength would disappear.

Nie Hong, who had advanced to the sixth level of Qi Refining yesterday, carried a mighty lightning force in his inner spiritual power. Everyone was confident that Nie Tian's undefeated record would end in today's battle.

Therefore, they secretly looked forward to this fight.

Nie Tian walked up to them, and as he took a side glance at Nie Yuan, he challenged, "Nie Yuan, it was you who previously taunted me, right? How about the two of us give it a go right now?"

Nie Yuan's cultivation had reached the fifth level of Qi Refining, yet facing Nie Tian's glare, he suddenly seemed somewhat timid.

He took half a step back subconsciously. Threatening in manner but cowardly at heart, he said, "Nie Tian, your opponent for today is brother Hong. If you can still stand after your battle with brother Hong, then I'll fight you myself."

"Shameless," whispered Nie You, a girl with with her hair wrapped up in a braid on top of her head.

"Fine, whatever…" Nie Tian said with total indifference and disdain. "To fight you, I don't even need to bring out my best."

"You!" Nie Yuan's face was filled with anger.

"Get out of the way, all of you!" Nie Hong shouted out loud, signaling the other children to move further away. Meanwhile, his right fist was already covered in threads of cyan lightning.

Upon hearing Nie Hong's words, all the children around him stepped back, making room for him and Nie Tian.

In center of the square, Wu Tao, along with the Nie clan's older teenagers, could see that the fighting was about to start. All of them began to converge on that particular corner, laughing and chatting about the matter.

Nie Donghai was standing on the balcony of a high stone palace, with both of his hands on the stone wall, as he looked down at the square.

During the past nine years, Nie Donghai took advantage of the power he had as head of the Nie clan and tried every possible way to gather information about the man who got Nie Jin killed.

Unfortunately, so far, he had not received a single word regarding that man's whereabouts.

It was as if the man had shown up out of nowhere and then disappeared into thin air.

The only thing he had left was Nie Tian, who was about to fight Nie Hong in this very square.

On the other hand, Nie Donghai's physical condition had been deteriorating by the day. His once tall and mighty body had now turned into a bag of bones. Even the least observant person could tell with a single glance that his time was running out.

Watching Nie Tian winning battles against his peers again and again from the high balcony became one of his few joys.

But he also understood that, because Nie Tian had a poor cultivation base and could rely only on physical strength, he would eventually be defeated someday.

He also knew that once Nie Tian was defeated, it would mark the end of his physical strength being his advantage.

From then on, the gap between Nie Tian and his peers would grow bigger and bigger, as those children's cultivation base would improve much more rapidly.

"Will it be today?…" Nie Donghai muttered to himself.

BZZZ! BZZZ!

A strange sound emanated out from Nie Hong's fist, which was flashing with an electric aura. Then Nie Hong let out a loud shout, before suddenly rushing towards Nie Tian.

"Well, he is indeed a bit faster and fiercer than before." Nie Tian smiled at Nie Hong, who was swooping at him with all his power. However, Nie Tian didn't have the slightest intention to dodge.

He suddenly lifted his hand and took a bold step forward, before he ruthlessly met Nie Hong's right fist with his significantly larger fist.

BANG!

The clash of the two fists made a muffled sound, before Nie Hong's surging momentum suddenly came to a stop.

Nie Tian took two steps back, shaking his fist and grimacing in pain. As he swung his arm, a trace of the electric aura sputtered away from his fist.

The crowd took a close look on the back of Nie Tian's hand and saw distinct black burns.

"While the sixth level of Qi Refining is only one level higher than the fifth level, there is an essential difference. The sixth level allows spiritual power to be released outside of the body, and the lightning power contained in his spiritual power is able to penetrate the opponent's body." Nie Xian, a fourteen year old from a branch of the Nie clan who already cultivated to the eighth level of Qi Refining, looked at Nie Tian deeply before he shook his head and continued, "With each collision of their two fists, Nie Hong will leave lightning damage by releasing his spiritual power into Nie Tian's body. Lightning will paralyze his muscles, making his whole body sore and numb, therefore he will have to spare some of his energy to resist the erosion caused by the residual lightning in his body.

"If this goes on, it won't be long before he loses his fighting capacity and falls prey to Nie Hong's humiliation.

"Fighting someone in the sixth level of Qi Refining head-on, while only being in the third level, is definitely not a wise move."

The Nie clan's guest elder, Wu Tao, briefly nodded before he took a side glance at Nie Xian with a look of admiration and said, "Nie Tian has been relying on his physical strength to fight over the years. Now he is used to fighting head-on since he hasn't suffered a loss doing so. But he doesn't know that being in the sixth level of Qi Refining, one can release their spiritual power out of their body. Not knowing that, he is bound to suffer greatly today. His unbeaten record… is probably going to end with this battle."

"Put bluntly, it is all because of his poor talent," Nie Xian said. "If he also had a unique attribute in his spiritual power like Nie Hong does, he would be able to defeat Nie Hong effortlessly."

"Did you feel it?" Lightning once again flashed around Nie Hong's fists as he coldly stared at Nie Tian's waving arms. "That little bit lightning power I left on your fist has already spread to your arms, hasn't it? How does it feel? That arm of yours has become sore and numb, hasn't it?"

"A tad." Nie Tian grinned, though he was obviously in pain, "But I'm okay. It's not really affecting me."

"Still want to play tough?" Nie Hong looked very excited, after being defeated consecutively for nine years, he finally saw a sliver of hope in this battle, "Not affecting you, huh? Take a few more then!"

BANG BANG! BANG BANG BANG!

Nie Hong's fists came like cannon shots. To everyone's surprise, Nie Tian didn't dodge; he allowed them to slam into him endlessly, and just like before, he kept fighting back head-on.

After ten rounds, Nie Hong stopped, breathing heavily, as he looked at Nie Tian in a ferocious manner.

Both of Nie Tian's hands were as black as charred coals, with little lightning sparks constantly flying out of his arms.

Everyone could tell that his arms had become rather stiff as he waved them.

However Nie Tian's eyes showed an unprecedented high-spirited will to fight. Like a young ferocious beast who had finally awakened, he roared towards Nie Hong, "Keep them coming! Why did you stop? Come on, don't stop!"

It seemed as if he was the one who had the upper hand.

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Chapter Six: An Unknown Force

"You're not scared of dying, huh?" Nie Hong said.

Wu Tao shook his head slightly and thought, "With his cultivation three levels higher… Nie Hong's inferior physical strength has already been completely neutralized. His overflowing spiritual power has left lightning waves that have been unceasingly battering Nie Tian's flesh. There's no need to continue this battle, otherwise… "

Nie Xian frowned and said, "If this continues, Nie Tian will probably end up severely injured or even handicapped for the rest of his life. Even though we encourage battles within the clan, they are only allowed on the condition of not being too excessive. Mr. Wu, do you… do you think we should put a stop to their fight?"

"Yes," replied Wu Tao. "If they insist on fighting, I'm afraid Nie Tian will get terribly hurt." Just as he was about to continue speaking, he felt someone in the distance lay eyes on him.

Subconsciously, he traced the source of that look.

Nie Hong's grandfather, Nie Beichuan, had appeared in the south-west corner of the square without being noticed by anyone.

He stood there with his hands folded behind his back, gazing at Wu Tao with a profound expression, as if he knew he was going to try to stop the fight.

Wu Tao's expression flickered. His opened mouth didn't make a sound; instead he sighed inwardly.

He was the Nie clan's guest elder who had been, by chance, recruited by Nie Beichuan. He clearly understood that Nie Donghai's time was limited and that Nie Beichuan would replace him in the near future.

He knew that if he still wished to continue working for the Nie clan, he had to understand the situation and do the smart thing.

Nie Xian quickly followed his gaze and saw Nie Beichuan standing not too far away.

"Mr. Wu?" he said softly.

"There are certain matters that… neither you nor I can do anything about." Wu Tao gently patted Nie Xian's shoulder. "Build up yourself. I hope you can break through to the ninth level of Qi Refining as soon as possible and gain the Cloudsoaring sect's favor. At the end of the day, you're merely a descendant from a branch of the Nie clan. Only when you become a disciple of the Cloudsoaring sect will you have a say in the Nie clan."

A look of disgust could be seen on Nie Xian's youthful and immature face, but he nodded and refrained from saying anything further.

On the high platform in the stone temple, Nie Donghai's face suddenly turned very grim as he noticed second brother Nie Beichuan, and quickly realized why Wu Tao didn't stop the fight, as subtle as it was.

"Just because I haven't given up my position?" Nie Donghai said to himself, hatred seething inside.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Seeing the silver lining of victory, Nie Hong's spirits soared. Once again he attacked Nie Tian, and glittering cyan lightning continued to pass from his fist into Nie Tian's body.

Nie Tian's hands both turned as black as iron, and plumes of black smoke even emanated out from between his fingers.

His sleeves were blasted into pieces and threads of lightning that resembled tiny cyan snakes danced around his naked arms.

More and more threads of lightning infiltrated his body, where they gathered together and built up into cords.

THUMP THUMP!

Nie Tian couldn't help but step back. Under Nie Hong's ferocious attack, every time he raised his hands to defend, his movements turned even stiffer and more powerless.

He totally forgot about the pain in his arms, even though his forehead was covered in sweat. His eyes were like a bright, shining star in the night sky, brimming with deep mysteries.

"You're finished! Haha!" Nie Hong laughed excitedly as his lightning-wreathed fists penetrated Nie Tian's sluggish defense, ruthlessly bearing down on his chest.

"No!" Wu Tao shouted subconsciously.

Nie Xian also couldn't help but cry out, "Nie Hong, stop!"

On the high platform, Nie Donghai's face was covered in sweat, panting nonstop, as if he was even more exhausted than Nie Tian.

His eyes were cold like lake water as he glared at the calm and composed Nie Beichuan, hoping to hear him call off this fight.

Yet Nie Beichuan didn't say a word.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Nie Tian's heartbeat grew faster and stronger. As he saw Nie Hong's fist rapidly approaching his chest, he felt that there was some sort of power in his body, just on the verge of bursting out.

However, when he wanted to draw support from that power, he couldn't locate it.

All he could feel was pain and numbness all over his body. Suddenly, anger and despair took over as he realized that the power was refusing to cooperate.

THUMP THUMP! THUMP THUMP!

Overwhelmed by outrage and desperation, his heartbeat once again sped up!

He didn't realize it, but his heart had begun racing twice as fast as usual in between those blasts of lightning!

Just at that moment, it seemed as if a cheering voice rushed out from his flesh and organs! As of then, he was no longer affected in the least by the residual lightning left inside of him.

All of a sudden, a barbaric strength exploded out madly from within his flesh!

WHOOSH!

Before Nie Hong's deadly fist could smash into his ribcage, he swiftly reached out his hands and grabbed Nie Hong's wrist with great precision.

Nie Hong's hand stopped only half an inch away from Nie Tian's torso and couldn't move forward at all!

With his fist being stopped abruptly, Nie Hong's excited face was immediately taken over by confusion, as if he couldn't comprehend what just happened.

In the next moment, Nie Tian lifted his leg and kicked Nie Hong hard in the abdomen.

BANG!

Nie Hong's hand was still being held tightly, making it impossible for him to escape. Under the impact of Nie Tian's powerful kick, Nie Hong's lower body was thrown into the air like a swing.

As Nie Hong's flying lower body swung back down due to gravity, Nie Tian retracted one of his feet before he forcefully smashed Nie Hong's lower ribcage with his knee.

KAH CHA! OWWW!

A bone-cracking sound was heard, along with Nie Hong screaming like a pig being slaughtered.

Only then did Nie Tian release his grip on Nie Hong's wrist. He froze, and a strange look appeared on his face as he tried to calm himself and search for the source of that sudden and wild strength.

However, with the crisis being relieved and his inner world becoming calm again, his pounding heart also quickly returned to normal.

That surging force seemed to have instantly dissipated into his limbs and flesh, and could no longer be sensed.

"Strange…"

Nie Tian didn't even glance at Nie Hong. Knitting his brows, he seemed completely absorbed in his own world.

Nie Hong was curled up on the ground, spasming like a human-sized prawn and letting out ear-piercing cries that hurt everybody's eardrums.

"Uh…" Nie Xian's face was full of astonishment.

"How can it be?" Wu Tao, startled and confused, stared at both Nie Tian, who was deep in thought, and Nie Hong, who was unceasingly screaming in pain.

Every Nie clan youngster who witnessed the fight was overwhelmed by the sudden reversal of the situation, and had had no idea what to do.

Nie Yuan, who had clamored to teach Nie Tian a lesson after Nie Hong, was now looking at the incomparably miserable Nie Hong. His eyes quickly filled with fear, and he began to cower back quietly.

Even though Nie Tian's fists were pitch black, with dark smoke rising from the gaps between his fingers, he stood there unwavering like a mountain. In distinct contrast, Nie Hong was lying on the ground, filling the air with loud cries.

At this moment, it seemed Nie Tian had left a permanent scar in the depths of Nie Hong's heart.

On the high platform of the stone temple, Nie Donghai almost collapsed after experiencing such a huge reversal. His skinny body was barely managing to stand as he leaned against the stone railings.

His eyes, bright like the last rays of the setting sun, stared at Nie Tian and glowed with a special light.

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Chapter Seven: The Price of Victory

"How impudent!"

Seeing his grandson getting severely wounded and falling to the ground, Nie Beichuan couldn't help bolting towards them.

Like a flash of lightning, he rushed over and crouched down next to Nie Hong, then propped him up with his large hands. Next, he pressed his hand against Nie Hong's sternum.

Nie Hong felt a warm flow of spiritual energy swirling near his sternum, relieving much of his pain. Voice filled with grief, he said, "Grandfather…"

Nie Beichuan lifted his head and coldly eyed Nie Tian, who was still standing in confusion and trying to sense that unknown power within him.

"Bastard!" Ni Beichuan said. "We don't ban battles between clan members, but who allowed you to make such vicious strikes?"

Before Nie Tian could respond, Nie Beichuan threw a malicious glare at Wu Tao, who seemed completely embarrassed.

"And what about you?" yelled Nie Beichuan. "As our guest elder, what are you doing here?! You clearly saw Nie Tian striking to kill. Why didn't you stop him immediately? Did we recruit you to do nothing?"

"Well…" Wu Tao smiled bitterly.

Nie Xian couldn't bear to simply look on, and tried to defend Wu Tao. "Second grandfather, it was Nie Hong who struck first. It wasn't Mr. Wu's fault."

He witnessed the whole thing, down to the smallest detail. When Nie Hong was going to smash against Nie Tian's heart, Wu Tao looked at Nie Beichuan to find out his opinion, but at that time Nie Beichuan hadn't said a word and clearly wasn't going to stop the fight.

Later, when Nie Tian suddenly exploded, as if he had obtained a godly power, everything happened so fast that Wu Tao simply didn't have enough time to stop it.

After all, Nie Xian was young. Even though he knew defending Wu Tao would result badly, he couldn't talk himself out of it.

"Who said you were allowed to speak?" Nie Beichuan let out a cold harrumph, glaring at Nie Xian with rage-filled eyes. "Who do you think you are? You are nothing but the child of an extended clan branch. If you want to have the right to speak in the clan, wait until you break into the ninth level of Qi Refining and join the Cloudsoaring sect. Only then will you be allowed to speak to me!"

Hearing these words, Nie Xian's childish face flushed with a bit of anger.

However, he thought it over and refrained from talking back, because he knew that, just as Wu Tao had said, until he became a disciple of the Cloudsoaring sect, he had almost no influence within the Nie clan..

That was especially so considering that Nie Beichuan would very likely take Nie Donghai's place and become the head of the Nie clan in a year or two.

Many innocent and right-minded youngsters of the Nie clan had been about to follow Nie Xian and speak the truth. Nie Xian was the most talented among them all and he had the most promising future. Seeing him getting deterred by Nie Beichuan to the point where he didn't dare to speak any further, they all kept their mouths shut with aggrieved faces.

Nie Tian finally awoke from his confusion. Suddenly understanding the current situation, he straightened his chest and shouted with a righteous tone, "Second grandfather, well… Nie Hong challenged me himself. He was the one who took the initiative to launch strikes at a vital spot, with no regard for clan rules."

Nie Hong gritted his teeth in fury as he glared at Nie Tian and argued, "Grandfather, I was just trying to scare him. It wasn't my intention to hurt him badly. I restrained my power and wanted to pull back before my fist reached his chest. I absolutely could never have expected him to take advantage of the opportunity to try to murder me just when I was about to hold back.

"Shameless!" That was what many of the Nie clan children shouted in their hearts, feeling deep disdain toward Nie Hong for twisting the truth.

They all saw with perfect clarity that Nie Hong launched the last attack with eyes full of excitement and ecstasy. Where, in the least bit, was his intention of stopping?

Nie Hong planned to wash off his terrible record against Nie Tian over the years by severely injuring him. Therefore he attacked with full force. How could he possibly give up midway?

"You know exactly what you intended to do!" Nie Tian shouted.

"Shut up!" Nie Beichuan called out in a deep voice and interrupted Nie Tian, before he threw a cold look at Wu Tao and said, "It doesn't matter what happened in the process. The result is Nie Tian, with total disregard of clan rules, maliciously wounded Nie Hong. Mr. Wu, you are a guest elder of the Nie clan. How should we punish Nie Tian according to clan rules?"

"He should be banished to the mine in the Cloudsoaring Mountain for three years." Wu Tao replied in a low voice, although his heart was filled helpless bitterness and his eyes full of apologies.

All the Nie clan youngsters, who were originally too afraid to make a sound, couldn't help but start yelling again upon hearing the punishment, even though many of them had never been overly fond of Nie Tian to begin with.

"Nie Tian is only ten years old!"

"Being exiled to the Cloudsoaring sect's mine at the age of ten means that he would waste the next three years. His cultivation has already been slow. Squandering three years could completely kill off his chance of being favored by the Cloudsoaring sect."

"Being banished to the mines at ten, for three years, Nie Tian is really finished."

"Yeah, there will be no hope of him reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining before the age of 15 and becoming a disciple of the Cloudsoaring sect."

"It's not that simple. People die from time to time in that mine. Nie Tian is only ten. He might not even be able to live and get out of there in three years!"

"This is too harsh, isn't it?"

"… "

Nie Beichuan looked over at them calmly. "What are you all getting so excited about? What? Do you all want to spend three years in the mine like Nie Tian?"

The indignant youngsters all quieted down after hearing his words, although their faces were full of silent outrage.

"I'll go!" Nie Tian shouted recklessly. "Three years it is then. No big deal!"

"Mr. Wu, punish him according to clan rules!" Nie Beichuan said indifferently.

At that moment, Nie Donghai finally arrived after rushing down from the high platform of the stone palace. "Second Brother, Nie Tian is still young and naive. Do we really need to do this?"

In the past, he would have been able to take a leap and drop to the square the moment he heard Nie Beichuan announcing the punishment.

But now he had to walk step by step and spend significant time and energy to arrive on the scene before the situation got out of hand.

"Clanmaster," Wu Tao respectfully said.

Seeing his arrival, many children secretly let out sighs of relief and started yelling.

"Eldest Grandfather."

"Eldest Grandfather, it's great that you are here. You have to take the lead in delivering justice."

"Eldest Grandpa, we saw everything, and that wasn't the truth."

Nie Beichuan frowned. Looking very serious, he said, "Eldest brother, a state has its state laws, and a clan also needs clan rules. Even though Nie Tian is young and you are the clanmaster, clan rules should not be broken."

"I'm no longer the clanmaster," Nie Donghai said softly.

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the square was suddenly astonished.

Nie Beichuan also got confused, but there was obviously a hint of ecstasy in his eyes, and he said, "Eldest Brother! What do you mean?"

"I'm tired. I don't have the energy to manage the Nie clan any more. Even you know about my condition. Early on, I wanted to make use of the clan's power to seek justice for Qian'er and Jin'er, so I was reluctant to give up my position." Nie Donghai looked despondent. "But I've thought it through and I want to give up. In the future… the Nie clan will rely on you, Second Brother."

"Eldest Brother, how can you do this? You are of noble character and high prestige within the clan, I… " Nie Beichuan spoke the opposite of his heart's desire.

Nie Donghai waved his hand and interrupted him with a determined tone, "I've made up my mind. I will make an announcement to all the elders. I think they will understand."

"Well," Nie Beichuan said slowly, his voice full of affectation. "If Eldest Brother insists, I won't stand in the way. Please rest assured, Eldest Brother, that I will spare no effort to help Qian'er and Jin'er. I see them as my own children and I will find a way to seek justice for them."

Nie Donghai looked at him deeply and nodded his head, "Nie Tian is still young, I hope…"

"Forget it," Nie Beichuan said with a smile. "I have to give face to Eldest Brother. I will not continue to pursue this matter any further."

"Then it's settled." Nie Donghai, exhausted both physically and mentally, turned his head and told Nie Tian, "Come with me."

As he finished talking, he took the lead in leaving the square. As he walked away, he looked extremely bleak, like a hero past his prime.

Watching him walk away, Wu Tao and the Nie clan's youngsters knew in their hearts that the era of Nie Donghai had come to an end today.

Nie Tian didn't say a word. He simply followed Nie Donghai silently, a grim expression spreading across his face.

Right before he disappeared from the square, he paused, turned around, and looked at the high-spirited Nie Beichuan, before secretly clenching his fists.

At the age of ten, his mind was already rather mature. He clearly understood that Nie Donghai voluntarily gave up his position to save him.

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Chapter Eight: Outbreak of a Strange Disease

After leaving the square, they came to a pavilion in a garden. The moment Nie Donghai stopped, Nie Tian softly said, "I'm sorry, grandpa."

Nie Donghai turned around and softly patted Nie Tian's head. "It's okay," he said affectionately. "Grandpa is tired and it's time for me to have a rest."

"Grandpa," Nie Tian quietly muttered, "if I didn't mess up, you could have…"

"No." Nie Donghai knew what he was going to say. He shook his head and explained warmly, "Even if that didn't happen, I planned to step down anyways. All these years, I've been blinded by hatred and spent too much energy seeking revenge. Unfortunately, the Nie clan isn't a strong and powerful clan. Even though I have wielded all the clan's power, I still couldn't track down that bastard."

After a pause, Nie Donghai let out a deep sigh and added, "Even if I could find him, perhaps, I wouldn't be able to do anything. I know too well how the Yun clan treated your aunt, and yet the Yun clan is in Black Cloud City, so what can I do?

"I'm old, and my health… is also getting worse. Rather than wasting energy on useless things, I would like to spend more time with you."

"Grandpa," Nie Tian said firmly, "I'll be more thoughtful in the future and I won't fight Nie Hong anymore. When I become stronger, I'll personally seek justice for auntie from the Yun clan!"

Nie Donghai smiled and nodded as he looked deeply at him for a moment. Then, his expression changed and asked, "Just now, you were clearly on the verge of losing. How did you suddenly obtain the strength to make Nie Hong suffer a big loss?"

"I also have no idea what exactly happened." Nie Tian was quite confused himself. "Just when I thought that I was finished, it seemed… as if a violent and powerful force emerged from my flesh and blood. When that force rushed out, the lightning energy Nie Hong left in my body was completely wiped clean. Thanks to that, I had the strength to launch a counterattack."

Nie Donghai excitedly pressed his hand onto Nie Tian's abdomen and cast his senses inside.

A faint scrap of spirit power roamed within Nie Tian's body like drifting silk. After examining every corner of his body, Nie Donghai couldn't find anything.

However to his surprise, as Nie Tian said, he found absolutely no trace of the lightning power left by Nie Hong.

"Strange…" He retracted his hand, confused, and asked, "Did you sense that force again after the fight?"

"I did try hard to sense it after battle, but I couldn't find any trace of it." Nie Tian thought for a moment and said, "But I'm certain that the force resides within me. It seems I'm unable to fully control it yet and it only comes out at the most dangerous moments."

Nie Donghai remained silent, his eyes full of thoughts. After a long time, he said, "Don't mention this to anyone else."

Nie Tian nodded obediently. "Sure."

"Everything's settled then. Go find your aunt. Remember, from tomorrow on, I will no longer be the head of Nie clan. After today… don't be too naughty. Next time you have a conflict with a child of our clan, do not strike too hard."

"I understand," Nie Tian said.

Afterwards, Nie Donghai went straight to the Nie clan's library and buried his head in books. He dug out numerous rare books about cultivation practices in hope of finding the reason why Nie Tian's body experienced that strange phenomenon.

Unfortunately, after going through more than a dozen books, he still wasn't able to find a clue.

That night, Nie Qian's maidservant Han Yue was in a complete panic as she rushed around looking for Nie Donghai. When she found him, she hurriedly explained that Nie Tian, for no apparent reason, had come down with a high fever.

Nie Donghai immediately left the library and followed Han Yue to Nie Tian's room. As soon as he entered, he saw an anxious Nie Qian standing by Nie Tian's bed, holding a cloth bag of ice on Nie Tian's forehead to help him fight the fever.

Seeing Nie Donghai's arrival, Nie Qian immediately called out like a drowning person spotting a rescue boat, "Father! I don't know what's wrong! Little Tian started to burn up after dinner and his body temperature has been rising higher and higher. I'm worried to death! I don't know what I should do. "

"Don't panic. Let me see." Nie Donghai rushed forward and put his big, rough hand on Nie Tian's chest.

"So hot!" Nie Donghai couldn't help but exclaim as soon as he touched Nie Tian's skin. His face suddenly tightened and said, "Something's wrong. His body temperature is so abnormally high!"

"It's got to be Nie Hong!" exclaimed Nie Qian. "With his cultivation reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining, he was able to release spiritual power from his body, yet he shamelessly fought Little Tian! It must be the residual lightning he left in Little Tian's body that caused the fever. Yet, second uncle had the nerve to denounce Little Tian, which led to father giving up his high position as clanmaster. I'll go and get even with them!" Nie Qian wanted to pour her towering rage on Nie Beichuan.

"You're not going anywhere!" Nie Donghai shouted.

"Father!" Nie Qian yelled back. "They bullied Little Tian and took advantage of your condition, because they knew that you were wounded and your cultivation was degrading! All these years, they have been pushing you little by little. They didn't truly respect and treat you as the clanmaster so they acted unruly. Today, they even used a conflict between children to make you leave your position! This is outrageous! I can't simply swallow it!"

"Curing Little Tian's fever is our most important task at the moment!" Nie Donghai glared at her and said, "All other matters need to be put on hold. You need to go find the best doctors in Black Cloud City now. I need them to bring down Nie Tian's fever as quickly as possible. I can tell that his temperature is still climbing!"

"What? His temperature is still rising?" Nie Qian panicked and forgot about finding Nie Beichuan to settle their dispute. Sounding very anxious, she said, "I'll go right away!"

Saying these words, she rushed out of the Nie clan, her heart tearing apart from anxiety.

Two hours later, three renowned doctors from Black Cloud City were gathered around Nie Tian.

The three famous doctors tried various methods including medicine decoction, acupuncture, and ice compresses, all in the hopes of bringing down his fever.

Soon it was midnight, yet Nie Tian's high fever didn't show any signs of improvement.

Even though the three reputable doctors had already exhausted all of their methods to bring down his fever, Nie Tian's body temperature didn't reduce in the slightest.

"Good-for-nothing!" Nie Donghai cursed, so enraged that he was panting. "None of you can cure a simple fever. How dare you call yourselves reputable doctors!"

The doctors didn't dare to disagree and left the Nie clan in shame.

The following afternoon.

Both Nie Donghai and Nie Qian's eyes were bloodshot as they watched another doctor from Black Cloud City pick up his medicine chest and walk out of Nie Tian's room, likewise unable to do anything.

Nie Donghai hadn't shut his eyes at all that night. He gently caressed Nie Tian's forehead and discovered that his body temperature was still at a dangerously high level.

"Spread the word," Nie Donghai shouted. "whoever can bring down Nie Tian's fever, from Black Cloud City or not, will receive a handsome reward from me!"

"Understood!" came the reply.

Another day passed.

Every renowned doctor in Black Cloud City and other nearby cities came upon hearing the news. They all spared no effort in their attempts to bring Nie Tian's temperature down in exchange for the significant reward from Nie Donghai.

However, night fell and Nie Tian's fever hadn't gotten any better.

Hearing that Nie Tian suddenly got sick, Nie Beichuan and other elders in the Nie clan had also come to visit. However they didn't push Nie Donghai to give up his position at that moment.

Deep into the night.

Nie Donghai and Nie Qian helplessly looked at Nie Tian, whose body had turned red due to the fever, their faces filled with despair.

Nie Qian sobbed as she mumbled from time to time, "My poor little sister wouldn't be able to rest in peace if she knew that I failed to take care of Little Tian. Little Tian is only ten. If anything happens to him, I don't want to live either. Those clan members want us to suffer anyways, we might as well die together… "

"Shut up!" Nie Donghai raged. "If you dare say another ominous word, watch me slap your mouth!"

"Father, you have to think of a way to save him!" Nie Qian yelled.

"That's exactly what I'm doing!!" Nie Donghai said with a dark look. "Over the years, I could say that I've dedicated myself to the Cloudsoaring sect. Now that I am old and ready to step down, the Cloudsoaring sect's immortals might give me some face and save Nie Tian!"

"You get ready, we take Nie Tian to the Cloudsoaring sect now. I'll kneel in front of the sect's gate and plead for their help!"

"Very well. I'll make arrangements immediately!" Nie Qian's eyes suddenly burned with hope.

She knew very well that the advanced Qi warriors of the Cloudsoaring sect possessed incredibly divine abilities. If they were willing to spend some energy to help Nie Tian, he might live.

Just as Nie Donghai and Nie Qian were about to leave for the Cloudsoaring sect, the maidservant Han Yue barged in and yelled loudly, "Clanmaster! Clanmaster! There's another docter here who claims to be able to save Little Tian!"

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Chapter Nine: A Foreign Doctor

"Father, let's go to the Cloudsoaring sect. All those other doctors failed, I refuse to believe this new one can help!"

Nie Qian was in a state of utter desperation. Deep down, she believed only the lofty and powerful Qi warriors of the Cloudsoaring sect could cure Nie Tian's strange disease.

Nie Donghai was also full of hesitation.

It had been three days. Not only had all the reputable doctors in Black Cloud City come, but also the famous doctors from other nearby cities. They had all utilized the best methods possible to try to get that substantial reward. In the end, Nie Tian's condition didn't improve in the slightest.

Nie Donghai had always respected the supremely capable Qi warriors of the Cloudsoaring sect, therefore he also believed that only the Cloudsoaring sect could help Nie Tian.

As Nie Donghai stood there, brows furrowed and lost in thought, Han Yue timidly continued, "Clanmaster… That doctor seems to be a newcomer. He said that if he failed, he would let you dispose of him at will, clanmaster."

"Dispose at will?" Nie Donghai's expression flickered. "Knowing every doctor before him failed, he dared to talk so big? Perhaps, this man truly has a special method?

"Pass word down. Tell him to come as soon as possible!"

"Yes." Han Yue rushed out.

Before long, a short and dark-skinned old man slowly walked in with a small medicine chest on his shoulder.

The old man had a narrow scar stretching from his lower jaw to the middle of his chest, which made him seem horrifying.

His eyeballs were covered with white spots and his pupils were extremely small. Together with the horrible scar, they made the old man seem even more spooky and fearsome.

Alarmed, Nie Donghai secretly probed the man with his spiritual power. However he found no fluctuations of spiritual energy inside of him. It seemed he wasn't a Qi warrior.

"I'm Hua Mu and nothing but an old man," the doctor said, "I spend most of my time searching for medicinal herbs in the depths of mountains. Today, as I was passing through Black Cloud City, I heard that your noble child was having a terrible fever. I've been a doctor for many years and I've quite a bit of experience dealing with rare diseases. I believe I can bring down the child's fever. Please allow me a try, clanmaster."

As he talked, Hua Mu looked from Nie Donghai and Nie Qian over to Nie Tian, who was lying in the bed off to the side.

When he looked at Nie Tian, a strange light of excitement shone in his bizarre eyes, which were almost completely white, the pupils being only tiny dots

"Do you indeed have the confidence to cure him?" Nie Donghai said with a dour expression. "All of the well-known doctors from the surrounding area have already tried, but every one of them has failed. My grandson is still suffering from the fever. If we cannot cure him soon, I fear that he won't be able to make it. I was about to leave for the Cloudsoaring sect and I do not wish to waste our valuable time if you are incompetent."

Hua Mu looked back at Nie Donghai. He inhaled briefly, closed his eyes, and then opened them again suddenly. "If I can't cure him," he said decisively, "then I'll part with my head!"

"Very well!" Nie Donghai replied, looking shocked.

"Enough chit-chat!" Hua Mu said. "Fetch me a big wooden barrel and fill it with hot water!"

"As you wish!" Nie Donghai nodded forcefully and instructed servants to do as Hua Mu says.

Servants of the Nie clan, who had been waiting anxiously outside the door, immediately started to bustle about.

Shortly after, under the maidservant Han Yue's direction, several servants carried a big wooden barrel full of hot water to the center of the room.

"Clanmaster Nie, I need everyone to leave the room, including you. There can't be anyone else in this room except for the child and me." Hua Mu tilted his chin up, looking more than a bit arrogant. "My unique secret method can't be seen by anyone. It is my means of survival, so please forgive me, clanmaster Nie."

"Father, how can we allow this?" Nie Qian protested in dissatisfaction. "I need to watch Little Tian at all times!"

Hua Mu rolled his eyes and said coldly, "I gave you my word: if I fail to cure him, I'll leave you my head! This is the Nie clan. I'm a foreigner and not a Qi warrior. If I had evil intentions, how could I manage to walk out of the Nie clan alive?"

"Listen to him," Nie Donghai said after pondering for a moment. Then he bowed deeply to Hua Mu. Eyes filled with supplication, he said, "I, Nie Donghai, offer thanks to Dr. Hua Mu. As long as Little Tian is healed, I will definitely offer a handsome reward!"

Hua Mu's expression didn't change, but he gave a slight nod.

"Follow me out!" Nie Donghai shouted.

Under his command, everyone, including Nie Qian, had to exit the room temporarily.

CREAK!

Nie Donghai slowly closed the door and sat down in front of it. He constantly tried to adjust his mental state by inhaling and exhaling as he waited there anxiously.

Nie Kan cautiously entered one of the secret rooms in the Nie clan to report in to Nie Beichuan, who was in the middle of cultivation. "Father, another doctor has come to save Nie Tian."

Nie Beichuan had his back against an ice-cold black jade pillar, and was surrounded by frosty air. Face dark and cold, he said, "It surprises me that someone seeks a reward that small."

After a moment, he pressed his lips into a line and said disdainfully, "Nie Donghai is going downhill. How can it be easy to have our clan members help him find the right doctor? Over the years, he has been spending his savings to track down Nie Tian's birth father. How much can he have in reserve?"

"That's true." Nie Kan let out a chuckle. "He doesn't know that you have one of the Cloudsoaring sect's Soul Replenishing Pills, father. A Soul Replenishing Pill is a precious item. Nie Tian's minor illness would be easily wiped out if he took it.

"Nie Hong is my real grandson. If Nie Hong caught this strange disease, I would have already given him the pill." Nie Beichuan had nothing but indifference on his face. "Back when Nie Donghai and I fought for the position of clanmaster, he was in his prime. In order to win the position, he didn't give me, his younger brother, the slightest bit of face. However, times change. His time has passed and it is now my turn to take advantage of the momentum and rise up."

Nie Kan frowned. "I've always felt there's something special with that little punk Nie Tian," he said. "I can't seem to stop worrying about him. He managed to beat Hong'er, despite having a significantly lower cultivation base. He is indeed different. It's good news that he caught that strange disease. Otherwise… he could be a hidden trouble for us in the future."

Nie Beichuan's eyes burned with excitement. "If Nie Tian dies of this disease, I guess my eldest brother's only remaining mental support would collapse. Before long, he would be gone as well. Then I'll have no more obstacles within the clan."

"It won't be long. In my opinion, you won't have to wait much longer, father." Nie Kan also became high-spirited and vigorous.

"I think so too," Nie Beichuan agreed, his head held up high.

On the other side of the clan….

After Nie Donghai and others left the room, the mysterious doctor Hua Mu immediately pulled numerous containers out of his small medicine chest, one after another.

Those bottles and jars were filled with liquids of various colors. All kinds of strange odors escaped through the corks of the bottles and jars.

Some of them gave out fragrant scents, some of the jars gave out sour scents, while others gave out pungent scents.

If Nie Donghai hadn't left, the names labeled on those medicine bottles would have driven him crazy.

Every single one of them was among the rarest treasures, whose value was far beyond the reward he had offered.

Hua Mu swiftly popped open a bottle and poured the blue medicinal brew into the big wooden barrel filled with hot water.

"Nie Donghai, your so-called handsome reward is not even as valuable as three drops of my refined Netherworld Water." Hua Mu emptied the entire bottle of Netherworld Water into the wooden barrel.

After the last drop of Netherworld Water fell into the barrel, layers of dazzling blue light lingered in the air before slowly sinking down into the hot water.

Without pausing for a moment, Hua Mu emptied more medicine bottles into the wooden barrel, one after another.

All the brews inside those bottles were of the same level as the Netherworld Water. Some were even more precious items rarely found in this world.

However, Hua Mu didn't hesitate in the slightest, and generously poured all of them into the barrel.

He briefly let out a sigh of relief, before walking to Nie Tian's side and examining him closely, with strange green light coming out of his eyes.

Hua Mu's face grew more serious as he carefully reached out with his palm and placed it under Nie Tian's back. Then he gently lifted the unconscious and feverish Nie Tian, fearing that he would feel any discomfort.

He was so nervous it seemed as if he were holding a rare treasure instead of a boy.

He moved to the barrel and gently lowered Nie Tian into it little by little.

BLUB BLUB BLUB.

As soon as Nie Tian entered the barrel, the hot medicinal water mixed by Hua Mu began to boil, as though it had suddenly reached a boiling point.

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Chapter Ten: The Fever Subsides

Soaked in the water, the unconscious Nie Tian's exposed skin turned red and kept growing darker.

BLUB BLUB.

One by one, bubbles floated to the water surface before they burst and let out a light green mist.

The whole room gradually filled with a medicinal aroma. The surface of the boiling water also shone with a strange green luster under the flickering candlelight.

"Ugh…" Nie Tian unconsciously groaned in the boiling water. It seemed that pores all over his body were being forcibly opened up and greedily sucking in the medicine in the water.

Unexpectedly, his body, stronger than a normal child's, bulked up gradually as if it were being inflated with air.

CRACK! CRACK!

Strange sounds came from his bones and internal organs. It almost seemed like his whole body was cheering and shouting.

Next, Hua Mu created a faint, flickering shield, in the shape of a sphere that enveloped Nie Tian and the barrel, with himself at the center.

"Ow!"

Nie Tian couldn't help but start screaming out loud. However, his sharp cries seemed unable to penetrate that layer of light.

Ripples could be seen on the shield, as if it was a liquid surface. The shield had blocked all forms of sounds, and as a result, Nie Donghai and Nie Qian didn't notice a thing, despite being just outside of the room.

Hua Mu stared at Nie Tian attentively, with an expression of both excitement and respect. His focused eyes seemed like two balls of green, ghostly fire.

ZZZZZLA!

Traces of colorful lights kept entering and exiting Nie Tian's pores. Nie Tian continued to cry out as the murky water slowly turned clear.

It was as if all the precious medicine Hua Mu poured into the water had been absorbed by Nie Tian, through his pores and into his blood and flesh.

As the water cleared up, Nie Tian's temperature also gradually cooled down.

After a while, Nie Tian's body gradually stopped aching and he no longer screamed out in pain. Meanwhile, the faint shield created by Hua Mu turned into streams of light that flew back into Hua Mu's body and disappeared.

The boiling water also became calm. Nie Tian, after being in a coma for three days, finally opened his eyes. The fever was gone.

At that moment, the strange light in Hua Mu's eyes vanished.

He knelt down next to Nie Tian and calmly said, "I am Hua Mu. I'm here to cure your fever at your grandfather's request."

Nie Tian had yet to recover his thoughts. He only blankly asked, "How long did my fever last?"

"Three days," Hua Mu replied calmly.

"Three days!" Nie Tian turned pale with fear. He grabbed onto the sides of the barrel in order to leap out of it.

KAH CHA!

The sturdy wooden barrel couldn't withstand his power and shattered into pieces.

WHOOOOSH!

Water splashed all over, startling Nie Tian, who then watched all the fragments of the wooden barrel scatter everywhere.

Hua Mu remained calm, as if he knew this would happen. Voice cool, he said, "Your special disease is not completely cured yet. You will have to continue to bathe in my medicine for six more days."

Nie Tian lifted his hands and randomly stretched his arms. Instantly, he felt he could draw much more power from his body than before.

"I feel great," Nie Tian said nonchalantly. "I don't think I'm going to have another fever."

"I'm the doctor here," Hua Mu said in tone that offered no argument. "I cured your special disease after everyone else failed. So believe me when I say that you have to continue the treatment!"

"Oh, okay." Nie Tian scratched his head.

Nie Donghai, who had been waiting outside the room in desperate anxiety, couldn't restrain himself any longer after hearing the wooden barrel cracking and the sound of Hua Mu and Nie Tian talking. "Mr. Hua, I… Can I come in now?"

"Enter!" Hua Mu said calmly.

SLAM!

Nie Donghai shoved the door open and barged into the room with Nie Qian, who looked just as worried.

Upon entering, he went to Nie Tian's side and reached out his hand to feel Nie Tian's wrist. Discovering that Nie Tian's fever was gone and that his body temperature was back to normal, his face immediately filled with joy.

Before Hua Mu could say anything, Nie Donghai called out loudly, "Han Yue, present the rewards to Mr. Hua!"

The maidservant Han Yue soon came in with a bag filled with gold, silver, and other valuables, together with some spirit stones and medicinal ingredients, and respectfully handed it over to Hua Mu.

Hua Mu grabbed it arrogantly, not even sparing it a glance as he stuffed it into his medicine chest. It almost seemed as if he couldn't care less about the rewards.

"No words can express my gratitude for your great kindness," Nie Donghai said. "Mr. Hua, you simply must spend a few more days in the Nie clan as my honored guest."

Hua Mu shook his head. "He is not fully cured yet. I'll come at this time of the day for the next six days. You just need to prepare a wooden barrel filled with hot water, and I'll apply the same approach to permanently cure your grandson of this odd disease."

Nie Donghai's face tightened. "He isn't completely cured?"

"No need to worry. He will be fine." Hua Mu raised his chin slightly and confidently added, "I told you I could save him and I did. Now that I've proved myself, you should have a little faith."

"Of course! Of course!" Nie Donghai replied immediately before he bowed with his hands clasped in front as a sign of respect. "Sorry to burden Mr. Hua with this for the next few days. Mr. Hua, since it is your first time in Black Cloud City, I bet you haven't found a place to stay, right? Why don't you stay in the Nie clan? Please rest assured. I'll see to it that you get the most comfortable guest room we have and no one will dare to neglect your demand."

"There's no need of that. I personally like things quiet. I'll just attend to some of my own personal affairs in the city." Hua Mu seemed to have lost interest in talking to Nie Donghai. After speaking those words, he strode outside.

After Hua Mu had left, Nie Tian couldn't help but ask, "Grandfather, who is this man? And how did I end up with a high fever for three days?"

"You foolish child!" Nie Qian said, heart aching. "After your battle with Nie Hong, you contracted a fever that very night. By the time I found out, you were already unconscious. We called all the renowned doctors in and around Black Cloud City for you, but none of them could cure you. Just as we were getting ready to take you to the Cloudsoaring sect, Mr. Hua unexpectedly showed up…"

She explained the whole course of the incident in detail, before she asked, "Well? How do you feel? Do you feel weak?"

"No, not weak." Nie Tian shook his head as an odd expression appeared on his face. "On the contrary, I feel… good. No, I mean perfect!"

"What do you mean?" Nie Donghai was astonished.

"After my fever subsided, I felt that I had endless power and strength, as if I was stronger than ever." Nie Tian was careful with his selection of words. "The spiritual power in my dantian hasn't changed much. However, I can feel that my physical strength must have improved significantly."

"That's odd." Nie Donghai looked at him deeply, his face clouded by suspicion.

"It's good that you're fine." Nie Qian didn't bother to overthink the matter. "Try to avoid fighting Nie Hong as long as possible. His cultivation base is three levels higher than yours and his spiritual power can flow outside of his body, and yet you chose to fight him anyway. I bet the reason behind your fever was that fight between the two of you. If you can't beat him, just give up. You're of a much lower cultivation level. Losing isn't too bad. Don't be so stubborn."

"I believe if I were to fight Nie Hong again, I would easily defeat him this time!" Nie Tian said, grinning with radiant confidence.

"You still want to act tough! I don't want to see you pass out from a high fever ever again! We were lucky that Mr. Hua was in Black Cloud City, otherwise…" With these words, Nie Qian started to sob again. "If anything bad really happened to you, I couldn't bear to keep living… I would be too ashamed to face your mother in the underworld after I died!"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Nie Tian said, sounding a bit annoyed. "I promise I won't mess around."

"Stay at home for the next couple of days," Nie Donghai lectured sternly. "Don't go anywhere!"

Nie Tian had no other option than to nod his head. "Alright."

Meanwhile, inside Nie Beichuan's cultivation room.

Nie Kan walked into the room with a gloomy face and said in a pitiful tone, "Father, that foreign doctor managed to cure Nie Tian's high fever."

After channeling a strand of frost Qi into his dantian from the black jade pillar against his back, Nie Beichuan opened his eyes. "Now that Nie Tian is fine, I'll go talk to my eldest brother," he said grimly. "He should have come clear with the clan's elders and handed over his position as clanmaster yesterday as he promised."

"He should have done that long ago," Nie Kan said vigorously. "With him as head of the clan, it is very inconvenient for us to make any moves. But from now on… things will be better."

"Although it's a little late, I don't think he has slept yet." Nie Beichuan rose to his feet and left the secret room to talk to Nie Donghai.

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Read Lord of All Realms - Chapter 11: The Miraculous Dreamland online free - Light Novel Full

Chapter Eleven: The Miraculous Dreamland

That night…

Knowing Nie Tian had suffered far too much during the past several days, Nie Qian convinced him to go to bed early, then followed Nie Donghai out of the room.

In the dead of night, Nie Tian still couldn't fall asleep. He sat up on his bed and started to practice the Qi Refining Incantation, absorbing the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth to enhance his cultivation.

As Nie Tian started his breathing exercises, strands of faint spiritual Qi around him were absorbed and channeled into his dantian's spiritual sea.

All his awareness concentrated inwardly, Nie Tian could clearly feel some changes as those strands of spiritual Qi entered his dantian.

Before, when he practiced the Qi Refining Incantation, he would find that the majority of the spiritual Qi scattered and dissipated into his flesh and limbs instead of gathering into his dantian.

But this time, it seemed as if his flesh and internal organs had already absorbed enough strength, and thus didn't forcibly take the spiritual Qi that had been brought into his body.

As he focused on practicing cultivation, he could faintly hear what seemed to be the sound of his flesh and blood cheering.

"This is strange…"

He felt confused, and redirected his spiritual awareness to his flesh and blood, instead of his dantian.

There, he perceived a strange aura brooding, which quietly began to glow.

In a split second, his soul seemed to be forcefully dragged into his blood, and his mind became increasingly blurry.

BOOM!

After a rumbling sound, Nie Tian, who originally was in the middle of cultivation, suddenly fell into an ancient dreamland!

It was a completely unknown world, a place that flourished with ancient trees and mountains peaks which reached high up into the clouds. In the distant sky was a void where giant, terrifying figures were only partly visible.

Groups of giants carried gigantic, pitch-black tree trunks that were hundreds of meters long on their shoulders. They strode with their heads held up high, as they sang ancient, desolate tunes to each other.

An enormous snake with glistening silver scales was wrapped around a mountain that was thousands of meters high. At first glance, it seemed as if the snake was actually part of the mountain.

The huge snake was breathing in spiritual energy and bathing in the light of the bright moon and the countless stars which hung high in the sky. The bright and shiny aura of the moon and stars poured down on the snake like a river, then melted into its giant body.

Further up in the sky, a splendid palace rested among thick clouds and flashing lightning bolts.

From the depths of the earth came sounds of furious snarling. Suddenly, the earth cracked open, creating a bottomless trench.

Dark-purple smoke, full of vicious ghouls and spirits, plumed up from the bottom of the trench.

One by one, a group of human figures in the distant horizon launched themselves into the sky. Each of them had a pair of huge, gray wings, a single flap of which could propel them hundreds of kilometers.

One unbelievable image after another flashed in front of Nie Tian in his dream.

It seemed as if Nie Tian had been pulled into a mysterious ancient world and overlooking the miracles in this Heaven and Earth as a spectator.

WHOOH! WHOOH!

After an unknown period of time, Nie Tian violently woke up from the dream and started panting heavily.

His entire body was soaked with sweat. He felt so extremely exhausted physically that he could barely move his fingers.

"What a miraculous dream! What a stupendous world!"

He stared at the flickering candle flame, his eyes glittering like bright stars. At the same time, his face displayed an expression of incomparable aspiration and excitement.

He never felt a smidgen of sleepiness later that night, as if he was completely fascinated by that dream and was reluctant to stop thinking about it.

When the night had passed and the roosters crows signaled the start of the morning, he finally experienced a sudden exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep.

Early in the morning, Nie Donghai gathered all the elders of the Nie clan in the meeting hall. Under the presence of all the immediate and extended members of the clan, he declared that he was no longer as energetic as before, and would thus retire from his position as head of the clan.

"Eldest Brother, you can trust me," Nie Beichuan said in great confidence. Under my command, the Nie clan will definitely return to its prime!"

"I believe you are capable of achieving that," Nie Donghai said with a nod of his head. Then he slowly walked out of the meeting hall under the whole clan's gaze.

"Father…" Seeing him coming out of the hall, Nie Qian wished to comfort him, but held back after a moment of thought.

She could see the intense reluctance in Nie Donghai's eyes as he left the hall.

Having been tortured by his condition for years, Nie Donghai had already lost his majestic and powerful body. Now that he had stepped down from the position of clanmaster, it seemed as if he had suddenly aged several years and became extremely spiritless and weak.

"I'm fine. Don't worry." Nie Donghai forced a smile onto his face. "My heart is exhausted. Those clan elders have lost their patience with me long ago. If I keep hogging the position, it will only bring us more trouble. This is good. I'll get to spend all my energy on Nie Tian.

"I only hope that Nie Tian can win the Cloudsoaring sect's favor and get admitted before I die.

"That would be my last extravagant wish."

Inside the hall, numerous members of the Nie clan clamored to congratulate to Nie Beichuan.

Listening to Nie Beichuan's proud laughter and the flattering from the clan elders, Nie Qian grew increasingly annoyed, and whispered to herself, "Every one of these clan elders used to treat father the exact same way before he got wounded. The times have changed. Now that father has stepped down, not even a single one of them bothered to console him."

Nie Donghai shook his head in frustration. "Such is life. I've seen through it already. When you are powerful, people naturally gather around you. Once you lose your power, people will instantly distance themselves from you, with birds being your only visitors. Come on, forget about them. Let's go see Nie Tian."

"I just hope Nie Tian can make something out of himself!" Nie Qian said bitterly.

She clearly understood that Nie Donghai had already placed all of his hope on Nie Tian.

If Nie Tian were able to display extraordinary talent in his future cultivation, it would be possible for Nie Donghai to regain his hope. Even though it would be unlikely for him to make any more achievements in his own cultivation, as long as he could watch Nie Tian become stronger on a daily basis, Nie Donghai might be able to hang on to a proper life.

Nie Tian was now the only thing keeping him going mentally.

When Nie Donghai and Nie Qian got to Nie Tian's room, they discovered that Nie Tian's snores were sky-rending, and that he was sound asleep.

"He suffered a great deal over the past few days," Nie Donghai said quietly, looking down attentively at Nie Tian. "The kid… has gone through a lot. Let's not wake him."

"Sure," Nie Qian said with her heart aching.

As the night sky gradually darkened, Hua Mu appeared, just as they had agreed.

"Mr. Hua," Nie Donghai said respectfully, "the barrel and hot water are ready. Please work your magic and root out the child's illness."

"Of course." Hua Mu nodded. "You may vacant the room now. No need to wake him up."

Nie Donghai and Nie Qian walked out as they were told, just like the day before, and quietly waited outside the room.

After they left, Hua Mu duplicated his actions from the day before. He took bottles and jars out of his small medicine chest, then poured the medicinal brews into the barrel full of hot water.

Everything set and ready, he picked up the sleeping Nie Tian again and carefully placed him into the barrel.

As soon as Nie Tian sank down into the hot water, it instantly reached its boiling point and began to seethe again.

Nie Tian's entire body turned as red as a cooked shrimp and once again he couldn't help but wake up and start screaming in pain.

The strange thing was that although he didn't have a fever today, the moment he entered the wooden barrel, he lost consciousness anyway.

Hua Mu summoned a shield to insulate the sound, then quietly observed Nie Tian, eyes flickering with green, ghostly fires.

By the time the murky water inside the barrel became clear again, Hua Mu's expression had returned to normal and the light shield disappeared. Gradually, Nie Tian woke up.

The moment Nie Tian opened his eyes, he felt his body was brimming with strength, without a single trace of fatigue. "Thank you, Mr. Hua."

Hua Mu nodded his head, "I'll come back tomorrow." Then he shouldered his medicine chest and walked straight out of the Nie clan, without responding at all to the thanks offered by Nie Donghai and Nie Qian.

In the following days, Nie Tian practiced cultivation every night, and every night he fell into that mysterious dreamland. In that unknown world, Nie Tian would observe all kinds of unimaginable miracles.

Every time he woke up, he was always completely depleted of strength, yet only at dawn would he be able to fall asleep again.

Meanwhile, Hua Mu came every night at the agreed time and made Nie Tian experience a hellish pain with his magical medicinal brews.

Time flew, and soon it was the last day.

Nie Tian jumped out of the barrel of now clear water, his whole body red, and respectfully expressed his gratitude to Hua Mu.

Expression placid, Mu Hua asked, "Have you been dreaming lately?"

"How did you know?" Nie Tian exclaimed.

Hua Mu pondered something for a moment, and then lowered his voice. "I know the origin of your strange illness. But you must not speak of the matter to anyone, not even your grandfather or your aunt."

"Why?" Nie Tian asked, confused.

"Do not ask why," Hua Mu replied with a straight face. "As long as you promise me that, I'll give you a medicinal pill which can guarantee your grandfather ten more years of life."

Nie Tian immediately agreed. "Deal!"

He didn't need to hear it from others. Just by seeing Nie Donghai's current state, he knew that Nie Donghai didn't have much time to live.

Nie Donghai's deteriorating health had always been his greatest concern. Nie Tian had already promised himself long ago that once he became strong and powerful, the first thing he would do would be to find the best medicines that could help Nie Donghai.

"You have to understand that the medicinal pill won't heal your grandfather," Hua Mu explained, "It will only prolong his life."

"I understand." Nie Tian took a deep breath as he clenched his fists and solemnly said, "Ten years! I'll exert all my effort to help him get better in ten years!"

"You have such a resolve. Very good." Hua Mu reached out his hand and gently patted Nie Tian on the shoulder, before he said profoundly, "We'll meet again."

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Chapter Twelve: The Inconstant Nature of People

"Grandfather, Mr. Hua has left us a medicinal pill, which… supposedly could give you ten more years of life." Nie Tian handed the dark-green medicinal pill over to Nie Donghai.

"What?!" Nie Qian exclaimed. Excited, she turned and rushed out, hoping to catch up to Hua Mu and express her gratitude.

However, Hua Mu was nowhere to be found.

"A medicinal pill that can prolong my life by ten years?" Nie Donghai also cheered up a bit. He took the pill from Nie Tian's hand, took a deep sniff off of its intense medicinal scent. "If this is true, the value of this medicinal pill alone would far surpass the value of the rewards that we have paid him!"

Nie Qian was both shocked and happy. "Why would Mr. Hua Mu make such an unfavorable deal with us? Who is he?"

"He said…" Nie Tian hesitated and concocted a white lie. "That he and I were destined to meet."

"Destined?" Nie Donghai briefly frowned. "How strange. Both of you stay here. I'll go look for him in the city. No matter what, I want to thank him in person. He has been far too kind to the both of us."

Having said that, Nie Donghai took the initiative and left with the medicinal pill in hand.

Unfortunately, after searching in Black Cloud City for two straight days, he was unable to find any trace of Hua Mu. It seemed as if Hua Mu had disappeared into thin air, the same way he had appeared out of nowhere in the first place.

Nie Donghai was suspicious at first and observed Nie Tian for several days. Seeing that he no longer burst into high fevers, Nie Donghai was completely convinced that Hua Mu had no malicious motives.

He also believed that the medicinal pill Hua Mu had left him would most likely not harm him.

Therefore, he put his mind at ease and consumed the unnamed medicinal pill. In the next moment, he felt that his spirit and energy had indeed improved significantly.

Now that Nie Tian had recovered from the fever, whenever he cultivated using the Qi Refining Incantation, he could clearly feel the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth that he channeled into his body no longer continued to flow into his blood, muscles, and bones.

Apparently his robust body had already absorbed enough strength and no longer required extra nourishment to grow.

Three months later, Nie Tian finally broke through the third level of Qi Refining. After being stuck in the third level for so long, he successfully entered the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Meanwhile, it was almost Nie Tian's eleventh birthday.

These days, Nie Tian no longer went to the square to train early in the morning in order to avoid causing any trouble for his grandfather or getting involved in new conflicts himself.

Most of the time, he would train hard in his own room instead, and would occasionally take walks in Black Cloud City with his aunt Nie Qian.

One morning, he heard a loud uproar coming from the square when he was cultivating by himself.

The clamor grew so loud that he wasn't able to focus on his cultivation. Finally, he couldn't resist the temptation, and walked over to the square.

As he approached, he saw numerous Nie clan elders gathering in the square. Every one of them was radiant with joy, as if it was the New Year's festival.

Wu Tao, who was in charge of teaching the Nie clan children, also had a heartfelt and sincere smile on his face as he kept repeating the same sentence over and over, "Nie Xian has successfully broken through into the ninth level of Qi Refining!"

"Fourteen years old! The ninth level of Qi Refining!" Nie Tian was also shocked, and secretly felt happy for Nie Xian.

Even though he hadn't been close to Nie Xian, on many occasions where he had conflicts with Nie Hong or Nie Yuan, Nie Xian had sided with justice, unlike other members of the clan, who only supported and protected Nie Hong and Nie Yuan.

For that reason, he actually secretly thought highly of Nie Xian, although they weren't exactly good friends.

Knowing Nie Xian had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining at the age of fourteen, Nie Tian was sincerely happy for him.

He knew very well that the youngsters of the Nie clan who could reach the ninth level of Qi Refining before the age of fifteen, and therefore had the opportunity to pursue their cultivation in the Cloudsoaring sect, were all outstanding elites.

Nie Hong's two elder brothers, Nie Han and Nie Tai, both showed extraordinary talent when they were young, and had made great gains after their lot-drawing conventions.

However, Nie Tai had failed to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining by fifteen, and thus got rejected by the Cloudsoaring sect.

Only his eldest brother, Nie Han, had managed to break through into the ninth level when he was exactly fifteen and became a disciple of the Cloudsoaring sect.

According to the rumors, Nie Han did quite well after spending several years in the Cloudsoaring sect. Actually, a number of people in the Cloudsoaring sect believed he would have a bright future.

Nie Beichuan being able to get the support of Nie clan's elders and successfully succeeding as the clanmaster was due to a number of reasons. Besides the fact that Nie Donghai was injured and his cultivation base kept degrading, Nie Han… was also a very important factor.

"Excellent! Good Job!" Nie Beichuan stood amongst the crowd and threw an appreciative look at Nie Xian, then said in a loud voice, "I've told all of you that since I've become head of the clan, I would spare no effort to make the Nie clan great again! Nie Xian being able to make such a breakthrough and become a disciple of the Cloudsoaring sect is a good omen that our clan is on its way to prosperity!"

A large number of Nie clan members congratulated Nie Beichuan, their faces full of smiles, as if it was his meritorious service that resulted in Nie Xian reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining.

"Haha, it's all because of the clanmaster!"

"The moment you took over, Nie Xian managed to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining. Obviously, you are the reason the Nie clan is thriving!"

"In your hands, the Nie clan will absolutely reach new heights and crush the Yun clan and the An clan in the near future!"

"… "

Being in center of the square, Nie Xian was also surrounded by people who congratulated him. However, he kept calm and did nothing but politely express his gratitude. He didn't appear to be very excited.

Nie Beichuan, however, continued to attempt to win over people's hearts. "Nie Xian, although you are from an extended branch of our clan, due to your success, your mother and younger sister shall move into the Nie clan mansion, effective immediately. You only need concentrate on your cultivation in the Cloudsoaring sect. With regards to other matters, you don't need to burden yourself, as I'll personally make all the appropriate arrangements."

Nie Xian had a mother and a younger sister. Being from an extended branch and women, they technically shouldn't have the right to live in the Nie clan mansion.

"Many thanks, clanmaster," Nie Xian said softly.

"You're welcome. You've earned it." Nie Beichuan filled his face with a smile, "I've already informed the Cloudsoaring sect of your successful breakthrough into the ninth level of Qi Refining. In the afternoon, your eldest brother Nie Han, together with others from the Cloudsoaring sect, will take you to the Cloudsoaring sect. Once you arrive there, all you have to do is follow Nie Han. He has already made all the arrangements for you."

"I understand," Nie Xian nodded his head.

Nie Tian stood by himself in a corner of the square as he watched Nie Xian, who was being praised by everyone, and Nie Beichuan, who was proud and full of ambitions.

In that moment, Nie Tian made a promise to himself. "The ninth level of Qi Refining! People from the Cloudsoaring sect will take me to their mountain too, one day!"

At some point, Nie Qian had appeared next to him. "Why are you here?" she said quietly. "This has nothing to do with you. If you want to enter the Cloudsoaring sect, you must work extra hard. You're almost eleven. Although you've made a breakthrough recently, you've only reached the fourth level. You cannot waste too much time on irrelevant matters."

"Auntie, I'll catch up in the future," he replied, full of confidence.

"It's nice you have such confidence." Nie Qian smiled. "You've already been distracted. It will be very noisy in the Nie clan today. People like us, who aren't welcome here, shouldn't stay in the clan and become eyesores. Come on, let's take a walk in the city."

"Alright." Nie Tian nodded obediently.

Then he followed Nie Qian out of the Nie clan. They had lunch at a restaurant in Black Cloud City, and later in the afternoon, they went to the biggest jewelry shop in the city to purchase some jewels and accessories.

Just as Nie Tian and Nie Qian walked out of the jewelry shop, the sharp, mean voice of a woman entered their ears. "Yo! Isn't this the Nie clan's eldest sister who has been divorced by my husband Zhiguo?"

Nie Tian's keen perception allowed him to notice that Nie Qian shivered upon hearing the words.

Nie Tian traced the source of the voice and found a man, a woman, and a boy about his age walking towards them. Clearly, they planned to enter the same jewelry shop.

The man was dressed in white, and his face was like a piece of warm jade. His overall appearance was rather elegant and handsome.

The woman had her long hair coiled up and wore a perfectly fit green overskirt. She looked elegant and extraordinary, with a face as pretty as a flower.

The boy, whose hands were held by the couple, seemed to have inherited merits from both his parents. Despite being so young, he was already very good looking.

The man looked a bit guilty when he saw it was Nie Qian, and he tried to pull his wife away.

"What's the rush?" said young woman, glaring at the man. "What? Don't tell me that you still have feelings for her!"

"Cut the nonsense," the man retorted.

"That's what I thought!" The woman snorted and focused on Nie Qian again. After a derisive laugh, she said, "You're the Nie clan's eldest sister, but I heard that your father has lost his position as head of the clan. How come you still have the kind of money to shop for jewelry? Hehe! What precious jewels have you bought? Can I have the honor to take a look?"

"Auntie, are they…?" Nie Tian said angrily.

He wasn't a child any more. Even though neither Nie Donghai nor Nie Qian had explained the specifics, he had heard many rumors and gossip from other clan members about what happened to his aunt, Nie Qian.

Just like the Nie clan and An clan, the Yun clan was a big clan in Black Cloud City. The Yun clan and the Nie clan had once been close.

Because of that, both families decided to arrange a marriage for their mutual benefit and had Nie Qian marry the Yun clan's Yun Zhiguo.

However, their marriage didn't last long, as Yun Zhiguo met Yuan Qiuying while traveling.

Yuan Qiuying was the daughter of the head of the Yuan clan, the most powerful clan in Frost Stone City, who were much stronger than the Nie clan.

Because of the aggressive affections of Yuan Qiuying, and secret push of the Yun clan, Yuan Qiuying eventually became Yun Zhiguo's wife.

Yun Zhiguo's original wife, Nie Qian, was framed for a crime she didn't commit, and they were divorced.

It was an utter humiliation to the Nie clan. Outraged, Nie Donghai had forced his way into the Yun clan over the matter, but was terribly wounded by the powerful experts of the Yun clan and the Yuan clan. After that, he was never able to recover from his injuries.

Both clans were backed by extremely strong Qi warrior sects, so even the Cloudsoaring sect was unwilling to go to war for the Nie clan. Eventually, the Nie clan reluctantly swallowed the bitter result.

Although Yuan Qiuying had successfully forced Nie Qian out of her way, she still couldn't let go of Yun Zhiguo and Nie Qian's past. Every time she ran into Nie Qian, she would mock and taunt her, without ever saying a single pleasant word.

Nie Qian grabbed Nie Tian by his arm and tried to pull him away from Yuan Qiuying. "Ignore them. Let's go."

"I won't leave!" Nie Tian said, standing there as unmoving as an iron spear planted into the ground.

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Chapter Thirteen: Another Conflict

"Don't cause trouble," Nie Qian said, glaring at him. "We still have things to do. Don't waste our time on these annoying people. Let's go."

As she spoke, she pulled harder on Nie Tian's arm, trying to get him away from the jewelry shop as soon as possible.

"Don't leave so fast," Yuan Qiuying said with an overtly vicious smile. "It's been so long since we've last met. Us sisters gotta catch up. What's to be afraid of? Is this the fatherless Nie Tian? Haha, didn't I hear days ago that he was dying? How pitiful is it to be a child both fatherless and motherless. Actually, living a life like that is a joke."

Nie Tian wrinkled his nose in disdain and snorted. "Old woman! You do have a mother and a father, but they failed at educating you! Only a shameless shrew would force a man to marry her, knowing he already has a wife!"

Yuan Qiuying almost exploded with anger. "Little bastard! Where did you learn to talk like that? How dare you insult me!"

Nie Tian's words perfectly poked at her weak spot. All these years, what she hated most was when people used this matter against her.

She knew that stealing Yun Zhiguo from Nie Qian wasn't exactly honorable, and she was also well aware of the fact that numerous people in Black Cloud City had been talking about it and deemed her shameless.

However, since she came from the powerful Yuan clan, nobody dared to speak of the matter to her face.

She originally planned to humiliate Nie Qian for fun, but Nie Tian's words had lit up the anger in her, and she instantly lost her temper.

"I was just stating the truth," Nie Tian said with a snort. "Everyone knows what you've done. What? You can do it, but can't bear to hear people talk about it? You're afraid of people talking, yet you shamelessly stole someone else's husband? Have you no shame? Don't you care about losing face?"

"Little Tian!" Nie Qian called out anxiously.

What Nie Tian had said was exactly what she had been wanting to say, and hearing it did bring her pleasure, but she knew Yuan Qiuying well and she was afraid that she might snap in front of others.

"You fatherless, motherless bastard! I'll teach you some manners today!"

Yuan Qiuying's eyes were filled with burning flames of rage as she raised her left hand, ripples of purple spiritual energy emanating out from her palm.

Yun Zhiguo hurried to stop her. "Qiuying! We are in front of the Spiritual Treasure Pavilion. Don't lower yourself to the kid's level. People would laugh at us!"

By this point, a large number of passersby had sensed the mutual hostility, and had gathered nearby, keenly interested in whether or not open conflict would break out.

The onlookers even started to discuss the matter amongst themselves as they backed slowly away from Yuan Qiuying and Nie Qian.

"Hey, it's people from the Nie clan versus people from the Yun clan."

"They're about to put on a good show!"

"Yun Zhiguo's wife is acting as arrogant and rampant as always!"

"Her father is the master of Frost Stone City's Yuan clan. She can afford to behave that way."

"Well… the Nie clan is really unlucky to have gotten involved with this Yuan clan's unreasonable twat. It was because of her that Nie Donghai got terribly injured, which resulted in him losing his position as clanmaster. Absolutely tragic."

"… "

Among the crowd was a young girl with a delicate face, who curiously looked on with her hand held by a burly middle-aged man with a square jaw.

The little girl was about Nie Tian's age. She was wearing a yellow dress and had numerous bright silver bracelets on her pale-skinned wrist. Her bright eyes flickered with wit and intelligence, and she just so happened to be munching on some sunflower seeds.

"Uncle Fan, what's happening over there?" the little girl asked with great interest.

The burly man with the square jaw looked at the domineering Yuan Qiuying. Frowning briefly, he proceeded to explain all the details to the girl in a low voice.

Having heard the whole story, the girl seemed shocked. "How come the woman surnamed 'Yuan' is so arrogant and rampant after stealing someone else's husband?"

"Because her last name is 'Yuan' and her father is Frost Stone City's Yuan Fengchun." The burly man let out a sigh. "Generally speaking, the Nie clan is attached to us, and Nie Donghai can be considered to have done years of hard work. Moreover, what happened wasn't the Nie clan's fault, so we should have stepped up and delivered justice, however…" The big man shook his head, his eyes showed a bit of shame.

"Aren't we supposed to protect those who depend on us?" the little girl said angrily.

The burly man's expression turned somewhat grim as he said, "Nie Donghai's second daughter was named Nie Jin. If she was alive, she would have been your elder martial sister according to seniority. She had an extremely outstanding cultivation talent just like you, so in the sect, she was treated as a 'seed', and an excess amount of cultivation resources were spent on her. Our sect had really high expectations of her.

"However… she made a terrible mistake in the prime of her life. She had a baby with a man whose identity hasn't been revealed to this day and she passed away shortly thereafter. All the precious materials our sect had spent were wasted. Many in our sect thought that Nie Donghai failed to educate her, thus they secretly resented him.

"The Yuan clan and the Yun clan were also well aware of this, and knew that Nie Donghai had lost our favor.

"It was because of this that Yuan Fengchun and Yun Meng dared to mess with him.

"Also because of this that those in our sect who had high expectations of Nie Jin and had placed significant stakes on her simply ignored what happened." The burly man quietly explained all the reasons behind it in detail.

After hearing the whole explanation, the little girl looked at the distant Nie Qian and Nie Tian and murmured, "That family really has bad luck. "

Meanwhile….

As Yuan Qiuying was being held back by Yun Zhiguo, she noticed the large group of onlookers gathering around them. She suppressed her rage with great effort, and as she coldly glared at Nie Tian, she said, "Fine! I won't lower myself and bully a young kid!"

"Yun Song!" she called out to her son. "Go! Teach that little bastard a lesson on behalf of your mother!"

Upon hearing his mother's words, Yun Song, who had already found Nie Tian an eyesore, immediately rushed out like a swift leopard.

Seeing this, people made comments, but no one dared to actually step up and administer justice, since they were all in fear of the Yuan clan.

"I heard that Yun Zhiguo's son had broken through into the seventh level of Qi Refining three months ago. On the other hand, Nie Tian… seems to have barely entered the fourth level of Qi Refining after his high fever. The seventh level versus the fourth level is too ill-matched. This is completely an act of bullying!"

"That woman is always bullying people. What's there to fuss about?"

"Good point."

"Nie Tian, don't fight him. Let's go!" Nie Qian's heart was torn with anxiety.

The recent battle between Nie Tian and Nie Hong had left her heart still fluttering with fear. Though Nie Tian had won the fight, he had burst into a high fever that very night. If it weren't for the fact that Hua Mu happened to be in Black Cloud City, Nie Tian would probably have already died.

Hua Mu had left Black Cloud City days ago, and his current whereabouts were untraceable. If Nie Tian had another outburst, who would be able to save him?

Just as she yelled, hoping to stop Nie Tian, Nie Tian suddenly broke free from her grasp and recklessly dashed towards Yun Song, without any regards to danger.

The square-faced man in the crowd looked on with glittering eyes. "Applaudable courage," he murmured to himself. "Unfortunately, the gap between their cultivation levels is too large. Courage alone simply isn't enough."

The little girl by his side seemed to enjoy battling by nature. The moment she saw Nie Tian and Yun Song beginning to fight, she immediately got excited and couldn't stop cheering.

BOOSH! BOOSH!

One after another, fireballs flew out of Yun Song's clenched fists, like burning stones, and smashed directly towards Nie Tian's face.

Those balls of flame were one step ahead of Yun Song's fist, which was drawing near to Nie Tian!

The seventh level of Qi Refining! Spiritual power breakaway!

This was a higher and better way of commanding spiritual power than the spiritual power overflow of the sixth level.

The spiritual power overflow of the sixth level could only allow spiritual power to flow from the dantian's spiritual sea to the surface of the cultivator's body. However, the spiritual power wouldn't completely leave the body, and could only wreath the arms and fists.

It was the breakaway spiritual power of the seventh level that would allow spiritual power to break away from the body and fly out of the fist before it directly hit the enemy.

Power at this level was terrifyingly stronger than the power of Nie Hong's lightening-covered fists!

POW! POW! POW!

Numerous reddish-orange fireballs rained down onto Nie Tian's forehead and back.

Nie Tian's clothes and hair instantly ignited as the flames tried their best to penetrate his skin to get to his flesh. The pain was so unbearable that he had to cry out.

Just as Yun Song's fist was about to reach him, he dropped to the ground and started to roll, extinguishing the flames on his body and hair.

When he got up again, there was a big, round hole burnt into the back of his shirt, and his hair was pluming black smoke. He didn't look good.

"Ha ha ha!"

Seeing him in such sore straits, Yun Song didn't rush to make the next move, but instead burst into laughter.

He planned to take his time to humiliate Nie Tian.

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Chapter 14: Reappearance of the Strange Power!

The Cloudsoaring sect's burly man shook his head and sighed as he said, "His cultivation base is far too poor. This kid must be ten years old now, yet he's merely reached the fourth level of Qi Refining. What a pity! His father must have been mediocre, otherwise… his talent shouldn't be like this."

"That elder martial sister of mine, was her talent really that amazing?" the little girl asked curiously.

"She reached the ninth level of Qi Refining by the age of ten," explained the burly man. "In a place like the Nie clan, such talent could be counted as outstanding."

The little girl was instantly filled with respect, and she said, "That's truly impressive."

Although she had also reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, she clearly understood her current achievement was very much because of her family background.

Only with the help of numerous precious materials and magical tools did she manage to reach her current cultivation level. Those things had played a crucial part.

Nie Jin had been from the Nie family, which was only a vassal of the Cloudsoaring sect, and certainly didn't have the access to the numerous precious medicinal ingredients like she did.

Considering Nie Jin managed to achieve the ninth level of Qi Refining by the age of ten, there could be no other explanation than her extraordinary talent.

Normally, Nie Tian, being Nie Jin's son, should have inherited his parents' talents to some extent.

Even if Nie Tian's father was merely a mortal, solely relying on his mother's talent, Nie Tian should not be so weak.

"Little Tian! Come home with me. If you push things too far you could get hurt!!" Seeing Nie Tian take so many heavy blows, Nie Qian was getting rattled. "I don't need you to avenge me! Come back with me, quickly!"

"Once the battle has begun, it can't be stopped!" Yuan Qiuying said, her expression cold and indifferent. She blurred into action and flashed to Nie Qian's side, emanating waves of spiritual power, a clear sign that she was attempting to stop Nie Qian from interfering with the battle. "That's my son fighting the little punk, so it can't be considered me bullying a young child.

"They are peers. If he loses, you just have his poor cultivation base to blame, not me."

Yuan Qiuying looked down her nose at Nie Tian, who still had smoke coming out of his hair. Secretly, she felt relieved. She couldn't wait for her son to launch more vicious strikes at Nie Tian and make him look more bedraggled.

Nie Tian's earlier comments had hit her right in her sore point, and now the deep hatred she felt towards him was rooted in her bones.

Yun Song was laughing complacently; obviously he could read his mother's intentions. Seeing that Yuan Qiuying had quietly blocked Nie Qian's path, and was even hinting for him to strike to kill, he attacked again.

BZZZ BZZZ!

One ball of orange flame after another flew towards Nie Tian as Yun Song switched to another spiritual incantation.

It seemed those balls of fire suddenly could move according to Yun Song's will after leaving his palm. They gathered into groups of three, forming vertical triangles which flew off and chased Nie Tian down from different directions.

After his shirt and hair were burnt by the fireballs, Nie Tian was well aware of how powerful they were, so this time he didn't try to fight it directly, but instead he constantly moved around to dodge them.

"Ha ha!" A grin filled Yun Song's little face as he continued to release more flames, then shoot them out in the form of fireballs.

Dozens of fireballs were flying about, pinning down Nie Tian, each of them like a small sun.

Waves of burning heat emanated from those fireballs, making the area where Nie Tian stood more and more unbearably hot.

Surrounded by the fireballs, Nie Tian could only dodge them as best he could and try to avoid being burnt.

As Yun Song released more and more fireballs, the space left for Nie Tian to move about in grew smaller and smaller.

Having deliberately released numerous fireballs and spent considerable mental power on controlling them, Yun Song also had sweat on his forehead, due to his significant consumption of spiritual power and energy.

"Fancy, but unpractical!" The little girl with a delicate jade-like face stopped eating her sunflower seeds and completely focused her attention on Yun Song and Nie Tian's battle. She gently frowned and said, "He's condensed too many fireballs and spent too much energy on controlling them, so they are rather pleasant to watch, but not very effective.

The burly man beside her nodded before commenting, "That Yun clan kid's battling techniques are indeed too flashy. With his seventh level of Qi Refining cultivation base, if he had concentrated on controlling three fireballs, their speed and agility would have been two levels higher.

"If there were only three fireballs, that Nie Clan kid would have been hit long ago. He might have already lost the battle by now.

"He's been spreading his energy too thin, causing all of his numerous fireballs to move a bit slower. Because of that, the Nie clan kid still has the time and space to move about."

After a brief pause, the man continued, "However, due to the increasing amount of fireballs, the Nie clan kid has less and less room to move about. Losing is just a matter of time."

"It's fundamentally because of the huge gap between their cultivation bases," the little girl said, sounding a bit sad.

BANG!

Just at that time, a fist-sized fireball hit Nie Tian right on the chest, right before he could dodge it.

Once again, Nie Tian's shirt was immediately set on fire and threads of flame power seized the chance to enter his body.

The pain left Nie Tian staggering. As a larger swarm of fireballs flew his way, it seemed he was on the verge of being overtaken.

"Nie Tian!" Nie Qian let out a shrill cry, preparing to stop the fight despite Yuan Qiuying's obstruction.

The burly man from the Cloudsoaring sect, who had been standing among the onlookers, didn't look very happy either.

Nie Tian's cultivation base was merely in the fourth level of Qi Refining, while the power contained in the fireballs were from Yun Song, who was in the seventh level.

If all of the fireballs eventually hit Nie Tian, he would surely suffer from severe injuries, and would be lucky to make it out alive.

The burly man was with the Cloudsoaring sect and since Nie Tian was a member of the Nie clan which was affiliated with the Cloudsoaring sect, he absolutely couldn't watch the Yun clan child kill Nie Tian in front of him.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Nie Tian's heart started to race at this desperate moment.

But just then, he felt a mysterious force, that had been hidden deep in his flesh, burst out without even the slightest hesitation!

The flame power that Yun Song had left in Nie Tian was instantly wiped out, and it seemed he was no longer influenced by the residual fire damage.

He threw himself in face of the fireballs and swooped towards Yun Song with his eyes filled with killing intent, like a ferocious monster.

BANG! BANG!

One after one, fireballs rained on Nie Tian, yet he didn't feel any pain.

The burning spiritual power contained in those fireballs vanished the moment it reached his skin. Not a single bit of the flame power could penetrate into his body through his pores.

He had successfully broken through the storm of fireballs!

The burly man from the Cloudsoaring sect had been just about to intervene, but now his mouth hung open and the word "stop" lay on the tip of his tongue. After what had just occurred, he swallowed that word right back in.

SCHHWAFF!

Nie Tian's figure traveled like a flash, and he arrived at Yun Song's side in a split second.

BOOM!

Yun Song was thrown high into the air before he fell heavily onto the ground.

In the next second, Nie Tian was standing where Yun Song had been, glaring aggressively at Yun Song, who was five meters away, and yelled, "Come on! Get up and continue!"

The moment Yun Song opened his mouth, he couldn't help but start to cough violently, with blood coming out of the corner of his mouth.

"Song'er!" screamed Yuan Qiuying and Yun Zhiguo, rushing forward to check Yun Song's injuries. They ran so quickly that they almost left a trail of flames behind them.

The numerous onlookers were also confused. Observing Nie Tian and the dispirited Yun Song from a distance, they continued to discuss the matter loudly.

"What!?"

"What just happened?"

"Am I seeing right? Why is the Nie clan kid standing, while the Yun clan kid is lying on the ground?"

"What exactly happened just now? I, I didn't see it."

"It's weird! So weird!"

However, the burly man from the Cloudsoaring sect caught every detail of the fight. He saw that after Nie Tian burst through the cluster of fireballs, he smashed into Yun Song's chest like a raging war chariot, knocking Yun Song right into the air.

After checking her son's wounds and finding that two of Yun Song's ribs were broken, Yuan Qiuying immediately went crazy. "Little bastard! How dare you injure my precious Song'er. I'm going to kill you right now!"

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Chapter Fifteen: Interloper

The burly man from the Cloudsoaring sect walked out from the clamoring crowd to stand next to Nie Tian. Brow slightly furrowed, he looked over at Yuan Qiuying and her husband and said, "Grown-ups shouldn't interfere in the scuffles of children, right?"

"Who are you?" Yuan Qiuying asked, growing increasingly angry. "How dare you lecture me?"

Yun Zhiguo took a close look at the burly man before his expression flickered subtly, and he subconsciously pulled on Yuan Qiuying's garment. "Li Fan?"

Li Fan gave a loud harrumph. "Indeed, it's me, Li Fan."

The anxious Nie Qian seemed to have heard of his name. The moment she learned the burly man in front of her was Li Fan from the Cloudsoaring sect, her eyes instantly glittered with joy.

"Mr. Li, please administer justice!" she pled.

Li Fan nodded and casually said, "You go ahead and take the boy home. I'd love to see if anyone dares to stop you!"

As domineering as Yuan Qiuying had always been in Black Cloud City, after hearing that this was Li Fan, she immediately cooled down.

She didn't have the courage to argue with someone like him. Instead, she glared at Nie Qian and Nie Tian with cold and resentful eyes.

"Little Tian, let's go." Nie Qian grabbed Nie Tian and quickly dragged him away from the Spiritual Treasure Pavilion, without giving him any opportunity to speak.

As he was being pulled away, Nie Tian kept turning his head back to look at Yuan Qiuying, Yun Zhiguo, and Li Fan.

"Auntie, who is that Li Fan?" he asked. "Why do that evil woman and all those people from the Yun clan fear him?"

"Li Fan is a disciple of the master of Cloudsoaring sect," Nie Qian explained quietly, "and is also a Greater Heaven stage Qi warrior. Even if the head of the Yun clan, Yun Meng, was here, he wouldn't dare to mess with him either."

"The Greater Heaven stage!" Nie Tian exclaimed in his heart.

Based on his knowledge, Yun Meng of the Yun clan had only just entered the Greater Heaven stage.

Having reached that stage, he had already become one of the most influential persons in Black Cloud City, which was why the Yun clan currently overshadowed the Nie clan in Black Cloud City.

As a Greater Heaven stage Qi warrior and a disciple of the master of the Cloudsoaring sect, Li Fan had a huge edge over Yun Meng in both status and strength.

Yun Zhiguo obviously didn't dare to let Yuan Qiuying do anything rash in face of such status and strength, so he could only give in.

"This time, it's really our good fortune that Mr. Li happened to be here. Otherwise, Yuan Qiuying would definitely not have let this go so easily. I know her too well." Nie Qian secretly rejoiced. "You naughty boy, always getting into trouble. If Yuan Qiuying wants to bitch about me, just ignore her and leave her be. Over the years, she has said every possible mean thing she could to me, but I'm still here, aren't I?

"It's not like words can cause actual damage. Endure it momentarily and then it's over.

"You should focus your energy on cultivation. Only if you can break through into the ninth level of Qi Refining by the age of fifteen, and become a real disciple of the Cloudsoaring sect, will you have a chance to seek justice for all the humiliation I've received."

"Auntie, please rest assured," Nie Tian replied firmly. "I won't let you down!"

Smiling, Nie Qian said, "Auntie has faith in you. However, the way you talked back to that slut Yuan Qiuying was actually quite delightful to hear."

"Hahaha!" Nie Tian also burst into laughter.

Just as Nie Qian and Nie Tian were leaving, the little girl who had been standing by Li Fan caught up with them and stared at Nie Qian closely, her shrewd eyes glittering brightly. "Hi, what's your name?"

Having just defeated Yun Song, Nie Tian was in a good mood, so he answered casually with a smile on his face. "My name is Nie Tian."

The little girl with bright eyes and white teeth immediately offered her own name. "I'm Jiang Lingzhu. How did you beat that boy?"

Nie Qian's expression flickered. "Family name 'Jiang' and given name 'Lingzhu'…" she thought. Her eyes glittered strange light as she cast another glance at the little girl.

"You mean that little punk named Yun Song?" Chuckling, Nie Tian shook his head and said, "Nothing special. He's too weak. That's all."

"He's too weak?" Jiang Lingzhu also laughed. "Aren't you the weak one? His cultivation base is higher than yours by three full levels!"

"Who said the one with a higher cultivation base would surely win a battle?" At first, Nie Tian seemed surprised, but then turned his chin up arrogantly. "Ever since I was little, my opponents have always had higher cultivation levels, but eventually I knocked every single one of them to the ground."

"Wow, that's pretty incredible!" Jiang Lingzhu became even more interested. "So, you're definitely going to enter the Cloudsoaring sect, right?"

"Of course!" replied Nie Tian, full of confidence.

Jiang Lingzhu smiled. "Hahaha, hopefully you can be invited into the Cloudsoaring sect like Nie Xian."

"You bet I will." Nie Tian wasn't modest in the slightest.

"You're quite the character Nie Tian. I'll remember you." Jiang Lingzhu waved goodbye and skipped back toward Li Fan. As she did, she turned to look back at Nie Tian and said, "My name is Jiang Lingzhu. Keep that in mind. We'll meet again some time."

"Okay," Nie Tian said blankly.

"Jiang Lingzhu, the girl with Li Fan…" Nie Qian watched as the little girl left, her thoughts drifting.

"Auntie, shall we go?" Nie Tian said.

"Oh, right. Let's go." Nie Qian's wandering mind was suddenly pulled back to reality. She didn't say much to Nie Tian before taking his hand and leaving.

In the Nie clan, there were colorful lanterns and streamers everywhere, as well as happily chatting people.

When Nie Tian and Nie Qian returned from the Spiritual Treasure Pavilion, they found everyone in the clan smiling broadly.

On his way in, Nie Tian heard a variety of words of admiration regarding Nie Han from numerous members of the Nie clan.

"The eldest young master is back from the Cloudsoaring sect. He managed to reach the middle-stage of the Lesser Heaven stage after merely a couple of years of cultivation there. With the eldest young master in a stable position in the Cloudsoaring sect, our clan will definitely prosper."

"I've heard that Li Fan, a disciple of the master of the Cloudsoaring sect, came back with our eldest young master. Young master sure earned a lot of face because of that!"

"That means our eldest young master has been doing well in the Cloudsoaring sect."

"Of course!"

"… "

When they finally found a moment of privacy, Nie Qian said, "Today, the whole clan will focus on Nie Han and Nie Xian, so it has nothing to do with us. I hope one day every member of the Nie clan will cheer for you, too."

"That day will come," Nie Tian said, full of aspiration.

"You go back. I have something to talk to your grandfather about." That said, Nie Qian headed off alone towards Nie Donghai's residence.

Since Nie Donghai had given up his position of clanmaster, he had already moved out of the main mansion of the Nie clan, and was now living in an unimpressive stone house.

When she arrived, Nie Qian saw Nie Donghai standing by the window, facing the direction of the main mansion, lost in his thoughts.

Numerous elders of the Nie clan were gathered in the mansion, and joyful laughter rang out from their direction.

It wasn't hard for Nie Qian to imagine the scene of the crowd of clan members flattering Nie Beichuan, Nie Han, and Nie Xian in the main mansion at this moment.

The joy and laughter in the mansion had nothing to do with Nie Donghai and Nie Qian. Ever since Nie Donghai had moved out of the mansion, other clan members rarely paid him visits.

"Father, Nie Tian and I ran into Yuan Qiuying at the Spiritual Treasure Pavilion just now," Nie Qian said softly.

Nie Donghai immediately turned around and inquired with a grim face, "What? You had to endure that vile woman's verbal insults again?"

"No." Nie Qian shook her head. "Little Tian talked back for me, and he also taught Yuan Qiuying's son a lesson."

Nie Donghai was shocked, "That kid named Yun Song? His cultivation talent is even better than Nie Hong's, which I heard has reached the seventh level of Qi Refining. How was Nie Tian capable of teaching him a lesson?"

Nie Qian told the whole story to Nie Donghai, not holding back a single detail.

Then she said worriedly, "That woman has never been kind. She didn't dare to lose control in front of Li Fan, but I'm worried that after Li Fan is gone, she won't let this go so easily and will seek revenge. Times have changed. You're no longer head of the Nie clan. If she were to cause trouble, I'm afraid…"

"You just keep an eye on Nie Tian," he replied calmly. "Don't take him out of the Nie clan for the time being. As long as he is on Nie clan property, the Yun clan won't dare to make a move."

"I'm sorry," Nie Qian apologized in a low voice. "I failed to hold Little Tian back."

"Some things are unavoidable. You shouldn't blame yourself." Nie Donghai sighed.

Meanwhile….

Nie Tian had cast all the clamor out of his head. The moment he got back to his room, he started to practice cultivation, a sense of urgency rising up in his heart.

He could still remember a strange force rising from his body during his last battle with Nie Hong, which had resulted in himself suffering from a high fever.

This time, he beat Yun Song with the help of that same unknown force. So with that in mind, he secretly observed the occurrences in his body while cultivating.

After an unknown period of time, he gradually felt a burning sensation on the left side of his waist.

Worried it was a sign of another high fever, he instantly focused his attention on the left side of his waist.

"Yee?!"

He suddenly saw the source of the heat wasn't from his body, but instead it was from the piece of animal bone he had obtained from the lot-drawing convention.

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Chapter Sixteen: The Fire-consuming Animal Bone

Nie Tian had obtained that piece of animal bone at the lot-drawing convention when he was one.

Ever since he chose it, his grandfather and aunt had hoped that one day his spiritual energy would resonate with that piece of animal bone.

Unfortunately, there hadn't been any sort of interaction between him and the bone till now, and he had already given up.

Yet he always had the animal bone with him. Sometimes, deep into the night, he would take it out and fiddle with it, hoping to sense any miracles that were hidden within.

Over the years, nothing seemed have happened to the bone.

However, something was different today.

He took a closer look at it, and saw the animal bone seemed to be emanating rays of red light.

His waist, where the animal bone was located, started to feel an increasingly strong burning sensation. As the red light flickered, the heat grew more and more unbearable.

"Strange…"

Nie Tian's face was full of confusion as he put the animal bone in his palm and began to probe it with his inner spiritual power.

As he examined it with his heart and awareness, he saw numerous fragmented red fireballs, which radiated reddish-orange flames inside the animal bone. It seemed as if it were burning on the inside.

His expression flickered. "Reddish-orange flames! When I was fighting Yun Song, didn't he condense fireballs of the same color?"

By this point, he had temporarily retracted his awareness from the animal bone and refocused on the details of the fight between him and Yun Song.

It suddenly came to him that when he broke through those reddish-orange fireballs, flames had exploded out of most of them.

However, those which hit the location of the animal bone, didn't explode at all.

From the look of it, part of the flames were permanently stuck there…

"Could it be that those reddish-orange flames were absorbed by the animal bone?" Nie Tian gradually had a clearer grasp of what happened.

As he was speculating, the animal bone grew more and more scalding hot, and changed from its original dark-brown color to a bright red. The entire bone was now glowing like a piece of hot steel.

The unusually high temperature hurt his palm, forcing him to stand up and drop the animal bone onto the stone table.

As he looked on with wide eyes, he realized that the bone was apparently being forged, with bright flames flashing inside every now and then.

The miraculous state didn't last long. A moment later, the animal bone once again turned dim and lifeless, as if the flame contained inside it had run out.

Only after it cooled down, did Nie Tian dare to reach out his hand and touch it with his finger.

He shut his eyes to probe it closely, but he could only perceive a few remaining flames flickering inside.

A while later, the those few flames also disappeared, and the animal bone returned to its normal color, as if nothing had happened at all.

Nie Tian kept fiddling with it for a while in hope of grasping its secrets, but he found nothing.

No new changes occurred with the bone after quite some time, so he reluctantly gave up and put it away.

However, after that incident, he generally paid much closer attention to it.

In the following days, Nie Tian was strictly forbidden to leave the Nie clan because Nie Donghai had found several unfamiliar Qi warriors wandering around their household.

Nie Donghai was sure that those unidentified Qi warriors were either sent there by the Yun clan or guest elders who answered to Yuan Qiuying.

Even the Yun and Yuan clan didn't dare to openly lay their murderous hands on Nie Tian in Black Cloud City.

All they could do was to find some new faces to do their job, then wash themselves of the evidence by commanding those men to leave Black Cloud City for good afterwards.

In order to keep Nie Tian out of danger, Nie Qian watched his back all day long and prohibited him from taking even one step out of the Nie clan.

As the result, Nie Tian didn't leave the Nie clan for the following three months. During this period, he concentrated on practicing the Qi Refining Incantation, hoping to make further improvements in a short time.

Three months later, those strangers gradually retreated from the Nie clan after failing to find any opportunity to make a move.

"I'm so exhausted." Nie Qian's face was full of fatigue as she walked into Nie Tian's room and casually threw a cloth bag on the table. "After three days of hard work, I've finally finished a thorough accounting of the flamecloud gems the clan has mined over the past few months, and presented most of them to the Cloudsoaring sect as tribute. Another large portion of the remaining flamecloud gems was shipped to the clan storeroom, so I only got this many for myself."

Nie Tian returned to reality from his cultivation as the red light of the sun setting shone into the room through the opened door. "Are those flamecloud gems?" Nie Tian curiously looked at the handful of gems that rolled out of the cloth bag.

"Yeah, these are flamecloud gems, spiritual materials of the fourth Elementary level." Nie Qian picked up a fist-sized gem and tossed it to Nie Tian. "Spiritual materials are special objects used to refine spiritual tools or form spiritual formations. Qi warriors start to work with them when their cultivation base reaches one of the three Heaven stages. Come, have a look."

Nie Tian extended his hand and caught the flamecloud gem with great precision, then looked down to study it closely.

The flamecloud gem was the size of a fist, with a dark-red luster on the outside, and red, cloud-like vein patterns running through it. Apparently, it contained fire-attributed power.

Nie Tian examined it for a while, then as an idea suddenly struck him, he took out the animal bone.

While Nie Qian watched, he slowly moved the flamecloud gem closer to the animal bone, attempting to channel the flame power contained in the flamecloud gem towards the animal bone.

Last time, when the flame power of Yun Song's fireballs entered the animal bone, it later caused a miraculous change to the bone. He kept that in mind.

He wanted to see if the bone could continue to absorb the flame power like last time.

BZZZ BZZZ!

When the animal bone touched the flamecloud gem, sparks immediately erupted out from the point of contact, and the dark-brown bone turned the same red color as the flamecloud gem.

Nie Tian opened his eyes wide as he sensed rays of flame power flowing from the flamecloud gem into the animal bone.

Clusters of the red clouds in the flamecloud gem vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Eee?!"

Nie Qian also perceived the anomaly and hurried over to Nie Tian's side, observing the animal bone with great curiosity.

All the red clouds in the flamecloud gem disappeared in a short period of time.

She knew very well that those small clusters of red clouds were the flame power embodied in the flamecloud gem.

KAAA! KAAA!

After its red clouds completely vanished, the fist-sized flamecloud gem suddenly cracked open.

As it split into smaller flamecloud gems, the pieces went from being dark red to a lifeless pale white, as if they had become normal stones.

On the other hand, the dark-brown animal bone gradually turned bright red, like a heated piece of steel ready to be forged. It grew so scalding hot that Nie Tian quickly let go of it.

"Little Tian, you…" Nie Qian burst into ecstasy, as her bright eyes glittered with excitement. "Have you started to resonate with the spiritual power of the animal bone? Is your cultivation attribute fire?"

She had always been anxious about the fact that Nie Tian had neither showed any kind of unique cultivation attribute, nor resonated with the animal bone.

Seeing the bone turning completely red today made her think that Nie Tian had caused it, and thus she instantly became overjoyed.

"It has nothing to do with me." Nie Tian shook his head with a bitter smile. "If it was I who caused the bone to change and my inner spiritual power had the fire attribute, I should have been able to hold on to it."

"Then…" Nie Qian asked after being disappointed. "What was that?"

"It was the flamecloud gem that caused the animal bone to change." Nie Tian explained the details of the unusual changes in the animal bone the night after his fight with Yun Song and said, "This animal bone appears to be able to absorb power of fire. I wasn't so sure before, but after this experiment, with the flamecloud gem's flame power drained by the animal bone, I am quite certain of it."

As they spoke, the bright, fiery animal bone lost its energy and once again turned dark-brown.

"Why did it change back again?" Nie Qian asked curiously.

Nie Tian said, "When it finishes absorbing the fire energy it will regain its original look. It needs to continue to consume more fire energy in order to change again."

"Let me see." Nie Qian grew more interested.

She picked up the cloth bag of flamecloud gems from the table, took out a bigger flamecloud gem, and passed it to Nie Tian. "Try again."

"OK." Nie Tian did as she said and made another attempt.

BZZZ BZZZ!

The moment the animal bone touched the flamecloud gem, sparks erupted out, and the bone turned bright and red.

Once more, in front of Nie Tian and Nie Qian's eyes, the larger flamecloud gem had its flame power rapidly drained by the animal bone, before it cracked open.

Dots of fiery light, like tiny red stars, flashed out of the animal bone one after another.

Nie Qian had been eager to touch it. She gradually reached out her hand and gently touched the animal bone with her translucent white fingertip, wishing to discover the secrets within.

"Ouch!" The moment Nie Qian made contact with the bone, she let out a shout and retracted her hand in a flash.

Her finger was unexpectedly burnt in that split second.

By the time she gathered her water-attributed spiritual power and tried to touch the animal bone again, it had returned to its normal state and became ordinary again.

"One more time!" Her curiosity was aroused, so she took out another flamecloud gem and placed it on the animal bone. The animal bone once again turned red.

This time, she condensed her water-attributed spiritual power onto her fingertip and touched it again.

PTSSS! PTSSS!

Strands of steam rose from the contact point between her fingertip and the animal bone. She only managed to hold on for three seconds before she no longer could bear the burning temperature of the bone, and retracted her hand.

"Come on!" Nie Qian tried again and again. One by one, all of the flamecloud gems cracked after their flame power was drained by the animal bone.

Every time, she couldn't bear to press her finger on the bone for more than a few seconds. She always had to retract her hand, just as her spiritual sense permeated the animal bone.

Before long, all of her flamecloud gems had turned into a pile of pale-white gravel.

Nie Qian's forehead was covered in sweat as she looked at the animal bone, somewhat disheartened. She shook her head and sighed, "This thing is a bit weird."

Perhaps, because it had absorbed a vast amount of fire energy, the animal bone didn't immediately return to normal after the last flamecloud gem cracked. Instead, it remained bright and red, like a piece of steel ready to be hammered.

"Let me have a try." Nie Tian extended his hand towards the animal bone abruptly.

"Don't! It's too hot! You'll get burnt!" Nie Qian yelled, and tried to stop him.

After numerous attempts, she was absolutely certain that the more flame power the animal bone absorbed, the hotter it got. Therefore, after the first few attempts, she could no longer bear the increasing heat, even though she had condensed a huge amount of water spiritual power on her fingertip.

At this moment, the animal bone must be at its hottest, after absorbing flame power of all the flamecloud gems, so Nie Tian was asking for trouble by touching it.

However, Nie Tian reached out his hand faster than she thought.

By the time the warning came out of her mouth, Nie Tian's finger had already reached the animal bone.

"Stop!" She cried out loud.

Yet, Nie Tian didn't shriek and retract his hand as she expected.

Surprisingly, Nie Tian had his finger on the animal bone, with absolutely no sign of pain. Instead, his eyes became bright, as if he had made a shocking discovery.

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Chapter Seventeen: A Drop of Blood

Normally, if Nie Qian couldn't bear the heat, Nie Tian shouldn't be able to endure it either.

Moreover, as Nie Tian said himself, his spiritual power didn't resonate with the animal bone. Earlier, when the temperature of the animal bone gradually rose, Nie Tian did let go of it, which meant Nie Tian didn't have a way to endure such a high temperature.

But now, Nie Tian dared to touch it with his hand, even after the animal bone had absorbed so much flame power and its temperature had become so unbearably high that even Nie Qian couldn't stand it.

That, in and of itself, was already a surprise to her.

But more surprisingly, by this point Nie Tian's finger had already been pressed against the animal bone, not moving a bit.

For the first time, Nie Qian felt she that she didn't understand her nephew at all.

PTSSS! PTSSS!

Nie Qian watched closely as the contact point between Nie Tian's finger and the animal bone began giving off sparks of fire.

In the meantime, Nie Tian's mind had drifted away, and his eyes glittered with a peculiar light.

"Has he found something?" Nie Qian murmured and then quickly shut up, fearing that she would disrupt Nie Tian.

Nie Tian sensed little drops of fire, like tiny red stars, floating about in the animal bone, voluntarily moving and gathering at a point inside the animal bone.

The red spot grew larger and larger. Inside of it, strands of peculiar light mingled and flashed, as it grew even more mysterious.

He concentrated all his spiritual sense and tried to discover its secret.

BOOM!

All of a sudden, his mind shook violently, and he found himself in a grotesque and variegated world.

The entire world was covered in a reddish color; innumerable sparks of flame twinkled and strands of red light interweaved. They wriggled like snakes and kept forming different incredible patterns by the second.

Inside those sparks of flame and ever changing formations of red light, there seemingly lay the true essence of the flame power.

His spiritual awareness seemed to be swimming in a mysterious sea of fire, exploring the profound truths and mysteries that lay within.

He completely immersed himself into it.

After an unknown period of time, he felt as if he himself had turned into a fire spirit and soared across an unknown fiery heaven and earth.

Gradually, the bright red animal bone turned dark and lifeless again.

BANG!

The mysterious world of fire suddenly collapsed and exploded, causing millions of fiery sparks and strands of red light to fly off in every direction.

Nie Tian's spiritual awareness was then violently pulled away from the miraculous land and back into the animal bone.

He saw a drop of crimson blood inside the animal bone, which then split into numerous tiny flames that dispersed into every corner of the animal bone.

Moments later, those tiny flames died out, one after another, and before long, the animal bone returned normal.

Nie Tian gradually retracted his spiritual sense and refocused on the rough texture where his finger met the animal bone.

HUFF!

He exhaled deeply, and as he pulled his finger from the animal bone, he kept his eyes fixed on it and said, "A drop of blood…"

After restraining herself for so long, Nie Qian immediately asked, "What happened?! What was going on? What did you do? How could you have withstood the high temperature of the bone?" She popped out a series of questions.

"I'm not quite sure." Nie Tian said as his mind became lucid and clear again. "I don't know why, but I just felt that I should touch the animal bone. When I touched it, I wasn't hurt by the scalding heat, instead… I found something strange inside of it."

"What do you mean?!" Nie Qian was absolutely intrigued.

"The animal bone might have absorbed enough flame power, thus innumerable fragments of flame gathered inside of it, forming what seemed to be a small drop of blood. That drop of blood itself was like a mysterious universe of fire. Then my mind spun as I seemed to enter that bizarre world of fire, and even move about inside of it.

"However, it seemed to me that that drop of blood was not completely formed.

"After a while, when the animal bone returned to normal, the drop of blood unexpectedly split into numerous little flames again, which disappeared into the bone.

"I have a feeling that the animal bone… hasn't consumed enough flame power to complete the condensation of that drop of blood. Far from it in fact."

"A drop of blood?" Nie Qian was full of questions. "How could there be a drop of blood inside the animal bone? And what's more, the drop hasn't been completely formed? This is too odd."

Nie Tian spread his hands and said, "I don't know what happened exactly either."

Nie Qian pondered for a moment before she said, "I've run out of flamecloud gems, but your grandfather should still have some. Wait here. I'll go find your grandfather right now!"

With these words Nie Qian left the room.

A while later, Nie Donghai entered the room together with Nie Qian, carrying an even larger cloth bag full of flamecloud gems. He handed the bag over to Nie Tian, and said, "This is my entire collection of flamecloud gems."

Flamecloud gems were low-tier spiritual materials, and after years of mining, the Nie clan naturally had significant caches built up.

However, only those who had inner attributes of fire would be able to cultivate using the help of flamecloud gems. Neither Nie Donghai nor Nie Qian had fire attributes, therefore they didn't save up a huge reserve.

Nie Qian's eyes glowed as she said, "Try again."

"Sure!" Nie Tian nodded his head.

Then, one after another, he channeled the flame power of the flamecloud gems into the piece of animal bone.

The animal bone soon turned thoroughly red, with its internal spots of flame visible to the naked eye.

After the bone absorbed the spiritual flame power from several flamecloud gems, and was burning hot, Nie Donghai reached out his hand and tried touching it. "Let me see!"

ZZZZZLA!

A streak of flame shot out of the animal bone. Nie Donghai screamed in pain and retracted his hand with an embarrassed look on his face.

Even for him, the temperature of the animal bone was too high to endure, hence he had to let go of it.

Completely astonished, he asked, "Did you say just now that Nie Tian could touch it?"

Nie Qian nodded. "Yes."

"Nie Tian, be careful and show me," Nie Donghai said with a serious expression.

"Wait a moment." Nie Tian briefly shook his head and said. "It seems that we still need to wait. Only when the tiny flames inside the bone start to converge, will I be able to touch it."

"Let it absorb more fire energy from the flamecloud gems then!" Nie Donghai instructed.

"Sure." One by one, Nie Tian took the flamecloud gems out of the cloth bag and lay them next to the animal bone, channeling flame power of the flamecloud gems into the bone.

KAH CHA!

Every one of the flamecloud gems, after being drained of flame power, cracked and turned into pale-white normal stones.

Nie Donghai's eyes glittered as he keenly watched the animal bone and glanced at Nie Tian from time to time, anticipation written across his face.

He had always wanted to determine whether or not there was a unique cultivation attribute hidden in Nie Tian, and he also secretly prayed that Nie Tian would reveal an amazing cultivation talent one day.

In his opinion, that piece of animal bone could be the breakthrough point.

At this point, Nie Tian noticed that the tiny flames inside the bone were once again starting to gather together at a single point. "It's ready!"

He reached out his hand without any hesitation, and pressed his fingertip on the animal bone.

In a split second, it appeared that his spiritual sense had been sucked into the animal bone.

He sensed hundreds of sparkling flames, like tiny burning stars, racing to gather together.

In the blink of an eye, a drop of blood was formed again, and his spiritual awareness suddenly re-entered the unknown fiery dimension.

He immediately fell into a trance, however, his eyes glittered.

"He was like this before!" Nie Qian said in a low voice.

Nie Donghai's expression flickered, and his breaths grew increasingly rapid, as he appeared to be trying to suppress the excitement in his heart.

Nie Tian's spiritual sense started to roam about in that drop of blood, probing that world of ever twisting and changing formations of red light.

This time, he felt as though the mysterious world was vaster than before; the floating flames and interweaving red lights also became clearer and easier to catch.

It appeared that the mysterious, unknown space was reaching its complete form, after absorbing enough flame power.

From the ever moving bright spots and red strands, he vaguely discovered a mysterious fire incantation, the profound true essence of flame power.

However, even though it had absorbed fire energy from all their flamecloud gems, the mysterious space still wasn't in its complete form.

Hence, when he tried to comprehend its secrets, he could sense that there were still things missing.

After a while, the mysterious world of fire once again collapsed, and his spiritual sense returned to his body.

Once more, he witnessed the drop of blood separate into numerous tiny flames, which gradually vanished into the animal bone, while the animal bone slowly regained its original state.

"How did it go?" Nie Donghai asked with a serious look.

Nie Tian concentrated his mind and deliberated over his choice of words, then said, "That drop of blood needs more flame power to fully form. I felt that there is either a mysterious incantation of fire was hidden in the drop of blood, or a secret regarding the power of flame.

"Excellent!" Nie Donghai was full of excitement. "I'll get you more flamecloud gems! During this time, you must pay close attention to the changes in the animal bone, and carefully memorize any anomaly!"

"I understand," Nie Tian said.

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Chapter Eighteen: A Bottomless Pit

Nie Donghai was true to his word.

In the following days, he continued to give flamecloud gems to Nie Tian so that his animal bone could absorb their flame power.

Nie Qian did exactly the same.

However, the animal bone was like a bottomless pit; after absorbing the power of flame from numerous flamecloud gems, it still hadn't completely formed that drop of blood.

Later on, Nie Tian discovered that the number of flamecloud gems his grandfather and aunt brought was growing fewer and fewer.

Sometimes, Nie Qian would come to his room, leave two or three flamecloud gems, and immediately rush out, seemingly disturbed, apparently afraid that Nie Tian would find out something was wrong.

Nie Tian was no fool. He had noticed much earlier that the jewelry Nie Qian wore had begun to disappear one after another.

As time went by, Nie Donghai stopped showing up. Only Nie Qian would occasionally come over and drop off one or two flamecloud gems, then look at the animal bone with her eyes full of expectation, before leaving with a grim look on her face.

Two young girls of the Nie clan were talking to each other as they passed by Nie Tian's room. Given the volumes of their voices, it was hard to say whether or not they intended for Nie Tian to hear them.

"I heard that eldest aunt had a big fight with uncle Nie Ping, who's in charge of the storehouse. Eldest aunt claimed that Nie Ping intentionally ripped her off, and the jewelry she traded in were well worth three flamecloud gems, while uncle Nie Ping only gave her one in exchange."

"Second grandfather is our current clanmaster. Uncle Nie Ping became supervisor of the storehouse after second grandfather assumed his position. Uncle Nie Ping only reports to second grandfather, so he surely won't bother to consider eldest aunt's feelings."

"I don't know what's going on. It seems eldest grandfather and eldest aunt have taken all their valuables to the storehouse and traded them for flamecloud gems."

"Exactly, eldest grandfather even traded in the medicinal pills for his injuries. God knows what is wrong with him."

"It's the same with eldest aunt. She doesn't have a single presentable piece of jewelery on her now."

"… "

Inside the room, Nie Tian clearly overheard their conversations. He had originally been concentrated on his cultivation, but the girls' words distracted and upset him, and his little face filled with a sullenness somewhat inappropriate for a child his age.

Disturbed by this thought, he subconsciously reached for the animal bone and took it out of the pocket on his waist. He stared at it and suddenly found it incomparably troublesome. "Are grandfather and aunt trading in all their assets to get me more flamecloud gems?"

In that exact same moment, Nie Qian's voice sounded from outside the room. "Little Tian!"

She shoved the door open, her eyes filled with exhaustion. It appeared as if she was completely drained mentally because of the events of the past days.

"Here you go." Arriving by Nie Tian's side, she casually tossed a flamecloud gem over, which landed at Nie Tian's side. Staring in anticipation at the animal bone, she said, "Quickly, let the animal bone absorb its flame power."

"There's no need." Nie Tian shook his head. "In my opinion, this animal bone is a bottomless pit. No amount of flamecloud gems will be enough to fill it."

Nie Qian put on a straight face and said angrily, "Are you telling me that you plan on giving up like this? Do you have any idea what your grandfather has gone through to get you these flamecloud gems?"

"I know." Nie Tian's eyes were filled with agony. "I also know that you have sold your valuable jewelery at low prices to get me more flamecloud gems."

Nie Qian was startled. She immediately realized that her nephew had grown up, and he had already perceived what was going on from the trivial clues he had found.

She pondered the matter for a moment and then reassuringly said, "Money and valuables are merely possessions. As long as you can reach the ninth level of Qi Refining by the age of fifteen, and become a disciple of the Cloudsoaring sect, all of our investment will be well paid off."

With these words, her expression grew grim again and said, "I'm afraid your grandfather's injuries won't get better. His road of cultivation is reaching its end."

"As for me, my cultivation talent has been poor since I was child. I've merely reached the early-stage of Lesser Heaven, which is nothing compared to your mother's achievement. Back then, if I had managed to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining by the age of fifteen and became a disciple of the Cloudsoaring sect, the Yun clan definitely wouldn't have dared to treat me like they did, despite the fact that our clan was weak!

"I don't want you to end up like me! You are already eleven years old, which means you only have four years left. You have to enter the ninth level of Qi Refining in four years!

"Your current cultivation level is too low. That animal bone might be your only chance at a breakthrough!

"So no matter what, you must persist and see if the animal bone can bring you a miracle! You are the last hope for your grandfather and I. Don't act like a child and waste your grandfather's and my efforts!" Nie Qian's lecture was delivered with great authority.

Nie Tian remained silent as he listened closely. He waited for Nie Qian to finish, then said, "I understand. I won't fail you."

With these words, he placed the flamecloud gem onto the animal bone.

After a few breaths worth of time, the flamecloud gem was drained of flame power and turned into gravel.

Perhaps the flame power in the flamecloud gems was too sparse, and thus the flames in the animal bone showed no sign of gathering.

Nie Tian and Nie Qian stared at the animal bone from beginning till end. Seeing the animal bone become dark and lifeless again, they were full of disappointment.

"Don't be depressed, I'll think of something else." Nie Qian suppressed her disappointment with great effort, and said. "I'll go to the mines tomorrow. There are plenty of flamecloud gems waiting to be mined. If I work harder and longer, I can surely bring you more flamecloud gems!"

Nie Tian bounced up and said. "I'll go with you!"

"No!" Nie Qian replied forcefully. "Due to our excessive mining of flamecloud gems, collapses happen in the mines from time to time. It's too dangerous. You absolutely can't go!"

Nie Tian's voice was full of certainty as he said, "I believe that even with several dozen more flamecloud gems, the animal bone won't necessarily be filled. Only if I bring the animal bone with me and let it absorb from those unmined flamecloud gems, would we have the chance to fill it up, and therefore completely form the blood drop."

"Let the animal bone absorb directly from the raw ore?" Nie Qian was surprised by his idea.

She also thought Nie Tian's suggestion made sense. It wasn't easy to mine the numerous flamecloud gems.

Even if she worked there, she wouldn't be able to mine a large amount of flamecloud gems in a short period of time. Moreover, she would have to keep record of the mined flamecloud gems when she left the mines. A portion of them would go to the Cloudsoaring sect; a portion of them would go to the Nie clan's storehouse; the portion she could actually leave with would be only about twenty percent.

She had already calculated that to get several dozen flamecloud gems, she probably would have to spend more than half a year in the mines.

On the other hand, Nie Tian was already eleven, so time was what he lacked the most.

"Let me go," Nie Tian pleaded. "I can't just sit around and wait. I need to fight for myself. Going to the mines would also be a type of training for me."

Nie Qian considered carefully, before she finally nodded her head. "Remember. When we are out of Black Cloud City, you must follow my orders, and never act without my permission!

"Of course! Of course!" Nie Tian immediately promised.

Having been strictly confined to the Nie clan for months, he had been bored to death long ago. Now that the strangers who had lingered around the Nie clan had long since disappeared, he wanted to find an opportunity himself and go out.

Nie Qian said, "Tomorrow morning, I'll take you out of town!"

"Thank you, aunt!" Nie Tian rejoiced.

The next morning before dawn, Nie Tian was already standing at the gate when Nie Qian came.

At dawn, the two of them quietly left Black Cloud City, and marched towards Cloudsoaring Mountain.

Inside the Yun clan.

Yuan Qiuying and Yun Song finished their breakfast. They were rinsing their mouths when a man entered the room and softly said, "Mistress, Nie Qian and the little punk Nie Tian left Black Cloud City this morning and headed towards Cloudsoaring Mountain."

"The turtle has finally come out of its shell!" Yuan Qiuying's expression flickered as she gritted her teeth and said viciously. "That bitch and that fatherless and motherless little bastard, I'll see if they can break free from my grasp this time!"

She had never let go of her grudge against Nie Qian and Nie Tian.

Although she had recently called off the guest elders she sent to the Nie clan, she had still been secretly watching the gates of Black Cloud City.

She knew that Nie Qian and Nie Tian would eventually run out of patience and have to get out of the city.

Yuan Qiuying said ferociously, "They dared to leave Black Cloud City? The heavens must be helping me. I would have had to think twice before making a move inside the city. Now that they are out of the city, they shall never go back alive!

"That bitch must have gone to the Nie clan's mines in Cloudsoaring Mountain! Don't beat the grass and scare the snake (see note1), so don't make a move on their way to the mines. She will undoubtedly pay extra attention on their way to the mines. You just wait for them to come out of the mines and kill them on their way back to the city!"

"Understood, Mistress. I promise they won't make it back to Black Cloud City alive!"

"Alright. Make it clean and leave no traces. After it's done, order those guys to leave Black Cloud City and never return, so as to avoid the Cloudsoaring sect from getting any information that can be used against us."

"I understand."

Note:

beat the grass and scare the snake — it's a Chinese idiom which means to act rashly and alert the enemy

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Chapter Nineteen: Mine #73

Cloudsoaring Mountain was to the southeast of Black Cloud City. People called it Cloudsoaring Mountain, but what they were actually referring to was the mountain range formed by several mountains of different heights.

The highest peak, Cloudsoaring Peak, was thousands of meters high, reaching into the clouds, with spiritual Qi swirling around it.

The other surrounding peaks were completely dwarfed by it.

The spiritual energy surrounding Cloudsoaring Mountain was quite rich and thick, thus every mountain peak in it had their own unique features.

Some mountain peaks were seeded with a large number of spirit plants and guarded by disciples of the Cloudsoaring sect.

Inside of other mountain peaks, numerous high-level spiritual materials were hidden away. These mountain peaks were also managed and mined by disciples of the Cloudsoaring sect.

The mountain peak in which the Nie clan mined flamecloud gems was actually the least impressive among all the smaller mountain peaks.

It was late in the afternoon when Nie Tian and Nie Qian finally arrived at that very mountain peak.

At the mouth of the mountain mine, Nie Xiang, a keeper of the Nie clan, looked at Nie Qian and the child with her, suspicions bubbling up in his mind. "Eldest sister, it's not yet time to audit the flamecloud gems again. Why are you here?"

Nie Qian answered with a smile, "I'm not here to audit the flamecloud gems. I've brought my nephew here to help him gain experience."

"Come to the mine to help him gain experience?!" Nie Xiang looked stunned, and even more confused than before.

The mine wasn't safe, therefore over the years, only the children who had committed serious violations of clan rules would be sent there to the mine.

Hence, Nie Xiang was deeply confused by Nie Qian, who claimed to have brought Nie Tian there to help him gain experience.

Nie Qian didn't give a more detailed explanation. After greeting Nie Xiang, she went straight into the mine, holding Nie Tian's hand.

Nie Xiang immediately blurted out some warnings. "Eldest sister, the kid… he's too young. If something happens to him in the mine, I can't accept responsibility."

"That's fine," Nie Qian declared. "If something bad happens to him, I'll take full responsibility."

Upon hearing her words, Nie Xiang didn't say another word and allowed Nie Tian and Nie Qian to enter the mine.

Inside the mine, Nie Tian glanced around curiously as they walked along. "Flamecloud gems are mined here?"

"In the depths of the mine they are." Nie Qian took a deep breath, her eyes filled with worry. "Remember, you have to follow my instructions and walk alongside me at all times. Due to overmining, many areas of the mine has become almost completely hollowed out, although you can't tell by looking at them. Every now and then, those areas collapse when earthquakes strike. I know which areas are safe and which are dangerous. You must never leave my side."

Nie Tian looked up at the rhombus-shaped rocks that hung five or six meters above. Then he started to nod vigorously.

Each of those rocks weighed more than five hundred kilograms; if they fell, he would be instantly reduced to a meat patty.

"Follow me." Nie Qian grabbed him by the arm and walked down the endless, dim stone path.

Nie Tian followed Nie Qian wordlessly, gazing around with great curiosity. He also walked with more care and caution.

As they walked deeper, a lot of extended members of the Nie clan, together with hired laborers, greeted Nie Qian respectfully the moment they saw her.

"Good day, eldest sister. What brought you here?"

"Be careful, eldest sister. It's not safe in there. Some areas collapsed just a couple of days ago."

"Greetings, eldest sister."

Nie Qian nodded and smiled back to every one of them. She also urged them to be extra cautious and prevent accidents by all means.

Nie Tian could see those who worked in the mine paid heartfelt respect to Nie Qian.

"These people, who mine flamecloud gems in the mine, live hard lives. Every and each one of them knew what they were facing when they came in." Nie Qian sighed briefly when she saw no one was around. "Little Tian, if you fail to be accepted by the Cloudsoaring sect when you are fifteen, you will probably be sent to this place by your second grandfather to mine flamecloud gems."

"Aren't only the extended members of the Nie clan supposed to be sent here?" Nie Tian asked.

"That used to be the case, but it might change." Nie Qian shook her head, her eyes somewhat dim. "In the mine, the mortality rate is rather high. People die here. The main mission of the Nie clan is to mine flamecloud gems for the Cloudsoaring sect. No other matter in the clan is more important.

"In recent years, flamecloud gems closer to the surface began to run out, so we had no other choice but to dig deeper, which made it more and more dangerous.

"All the elders of the extended families of the clan have used every possible method to avoid having their descendants sent to the mine.

"However, this place is the foundation of the Nie clan. People fear death. Without the supervision of our clan members, those laborers we have hired won't be willing to mine at such a depth. Meanwhile, we have to pay sufficient amounts of flamecloud gems as annual tributes to the Cloudsoaring sect. Once we fall short, the Cloudsoaring sect will probably stop caring about our clan.

"The truth is, without the Cloudsoaring sect's protection, it will be extremely difficult for our clan to maintain our foothold in Black Cloud City.

"Therefore, this mine is of the utmost importance to our clan. Around the clock, clan members have been appointed here for supervision purposes. Now that your second grandfather has come to power, he has promised to make changes, so it is very possible that members of direct families also be assigned here."

With these words, Nie Qian paused for a second, and then said profoundly, "Because your grandfather has been losing power and influence in the clan for a long time, I was appointed to manage the mine before he retired. Now we are even weaker. If you can't make yourself a disciple of the Cloudsoaring sect, we definitely won't be able to escape the destiny of being assigned here."

Nie Tian bowed his head and reflected on what she said. Soon after, he nodded and said, "I understand."

"Let's go." Nie Qian kept marching deeper.

After a while, Nie Tian discovered that the stone path leading into the belly of the mountain became increasingly narrow; the distance between his head and the ceiling of the tunnel was getting shorter and shorter.

He also noticed the number of laborers grew fewer as he went further down, and those laborers appeared to be skinnier and more spiritless.

A dark-skinned, skinny, middle-aged man suddenly showed up at an intersection of stone tunnels and warned, "Eldest sister, it's dangerous up ahead. You'd better not go any further. Merely eight days ago, Mine #73 witnessed a collapse, and two people were killed. We've only just cleared the rubble."

Nie Qian immediately stopped. She hesitated for a moment and said with an serious face, "Thank you for the warning. We'll take a brief look and come back soon."

"If so, you must be absolutely careful. I… I'll leave you be." The man's voice was full of fear.

Nie Qian nodded. "Sure, please go ahead with your work." The dark-skinned, skinny man vanished.

Nie Qian fell into silence for a while, and continued, "The further inside, the higher the mortality rate. Hence, every laborer who works here seems lifeless, because they never know which day will be their last. They are all unfortunate people from Black Cloud City. In order to earn a living for their wives and children inside the city, they are willing to take the risk to come here."

"Qi warriors of the Cloudsoaring sect all have extraordinary abilities," Nie Tian said. "Let's say they were in here. Even if it collapsed, they wouldn't be hurt, right?"

Nie Qian gently nodded, and patiently said, "Cultivating to the Heaven stage would allow a person to do as he wishes inside the mine, absolutely fearless of sudden cave-ins. However, why would Qi warriors of the Heaven realm waste time to come here for flamecloud gems that are only an elementary grade four material?

"Those powerful Qi warriors are the most heartless!

"The Nie clan is nothing in their eyes. They would never care about a few random lives, let alone the lives of the unfortunate laborers the Nie clan has hired!

"Real Qi warriors are high above the masses. Clans like ours can only serve them.

"In the same way, mortals of the Black Cloud City also serve our clan. This world is cruel by nature. Neither you nor I can change it. There is only one way to be above others, one way to be free from being enslaved.

"And that is to become one of them!" Nie Qian said.

Nie Tian nodded forcefully with a tight face. "I promise I'll become a powerful Qi warrior!"

Nie Qian also grew determined. "Good! Let's go to the bottom of Mine #73!"

Before long, Nie Tian, under her lead, arrived in a vast area at the bottom of the mine.

The moment he went in, he noticed there were red spots on the walls glittering faintly with red light.

"Flamecloud gems!" Nie Tian suddenly felt enlivened.

Nie Qian urged in a loud voice. "This place is dangerous. Don't waste time. Hurry and absorb the flame power from these unmined flamecloud gems using that animal bone of yours! We'd better not stay for long. We'll leave as soon as the blood drop in the animal bone is fully condensed. Any delay means trouble."

"Okay!" Nie Tian immediately got to work.

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Chapter Twenty: Collapse

Upon hearing Nie Qian's orders, Nie Tian quickly took out the animal bone and put it on top of a protruding flamecloud gem.

A flickering spark of fire immediately shot out from the animal bone.

Nie Tian focused with rapt attention, his face lit up with joy. "The animal bone has started absorbing the power of the flame!"

"Brilliant!" Nie Qian said, equally elated.

That meant that the animal bone, as they had expected, was absorbing the flame power.

Obviously, whichever unmined flamecloud gems the animal bone came into contact with, would darken rapidly.

Within a very short time, a half-embedded flamecloud gem splintered and turned into ordinary gray stones after its flame power was drained.

"There!" Nie Qian barked, pointing to a larger flamecloud gem. "Be quick about it!"

Following her instruction without any hesitation, Nie Tian affixed the animal bone to a larger flamecloud gem formation.

Nie Qian continued to exuberantly locate new targets, even before the flame power was drained by the animal bone. "There! Over there! An even bigger piece! "

CRACK! CRACK!

The flamecloud gems cracked, one after another.

The animal bone had already absorbed a huge amount of flame power, and soon became red and translucent, releasing an odd, flame-like luster.

Sparks appeared on the animal bone. In the dark, they were like stars, shining brightly.

FIZZ!

Nie Tian came to notice that those sparks were converging, in great number, on a single point.

"Here! " Nie Qian said, pointing to a conspicuously large flamecloud gem.

Nie Tian placed the animal bone on the gem, face joyful. "The flames are condensing once again! "

POP!

A red flame flared up in the center of the animal bone.

Nie Tian probed the active flame with his spiritual awareness, and found that it was the very drop of blood in the middle of condensing.

Then, he felt an unusual attraction generated by the drop of blood.

CRACK! CRACK!

It seemed all the flamecloud gems in Mine #73 were starting to crack, and they altogether let out a horrifying sound.

At the same time, sparks that looked like millions of fireflies suddenly flew out of the flamecloud gems and into the animal bone.

RUUUUMBLE!

Even more horribly, the rumbling could also be heard in other mines on the hillside.

Along with the rumbling, the sparks that splashed out from the millions of flamecloud gems flew towards Mine #73, where Nie Tian was located, as if they were attracted by a unique magnet.

The extended members of the Nie clan and the other laborers, who were in the middle of their mining efforts in the various mines, all began to shout in alarm.

"What's going on?"

"What's happening?"

"The mine is collapsing! We have to get out of here!"

"Everybody get out of the mine, now!"

"A catastrophe is upon us! "

"…"

People ran wildly from their workplaces and bolted in horror towards the exit of the various mines one after another.

Nie Qian also panicked. "Gosh, Little Tian! This animal bone is much too frightening. It absorbs the flame power too fast! This mine is crumbling!"

However, Nie Tian still held that piece of animal bone in his hand, as if he did not hear a single word of her cry.

It seemed that his spiritual sense was completely wrapped up in the animal bone. His sparkling pupils were replete with arcane profundity.

BOOM!

In the blink of an eye, the entrance to Mine #73 was completed blocked by fallen rubble.

Intending to dissuade Nie Tian from channeling the flame power into the animal bone and take him out of the mine, Nie Qian suddenly realized that they had no chance of getting out through the entrance.

Nevertheless, an array of sparks infiltrated the rubble in the blocked mine and converged at the animal bone in Nie Tian's hand.

The animal bone continued to greedily absorb the flame power within the entire mountain and showed no sign of cessation!

In the meantime, Nie Tian's awareness and spirit had already drifted into the burning drop of blood, and he entered the mysterious world of fire.

In the unknown dimension, he saw the whole sky ablaze with ever-changing lights and balls of scorching flame converging into a giant flaming dragon.

WHOOSH!

Outside of the mine, the rich spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth surrounding Cloudsoaring Mountain also quietly wafted to the unimpressive peak, although no one could tell why.

The white spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth seeped through the entrance and into Mine #73.

The anxious Nie Qian suddenly felt that every breath she took contained an abundance of spiritual Qi.

Considering how concentrated it was, she found that the amount of spiritual Qi around Nie Tian was staggering. It seemed that the dense spiritual Qi in the mine was being infused into his body through his pores.

Her wide eyes were fixed on Nie Tian, gleaming with ecstasy, perplexity, and astonishment.

She was overwhelmed by the changes in the mine, floundering over what she should do, and how she could help Nie Tian.

Though the entrance had been sealed up by the fallen rubble, an ocean of flame energy streamed through the gaps among the rubble and converged into the animal bone.

She knew that she could not get out of the mine for now, and had to accept everything in front of her eyes.

At the same time…

Behind Cloudsoaring Peak was another mountain, the height of which was second only to Cloudsoaring Peak, allowing it to look out over all the other mountains. Inside of it, a skinny old man wearing sackcloth was refining a spirit tool in a stone chamber. Suddenly, he dropped the spiritual tool and muttered, "Strange. Why is the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth abruptly undergoing such tremendous changes?" He instantly assumed the lotus position, and gradually closed his eyes.

A blurry shadow drifted out of the top of his skull and flew away from the stone chamber like a ghost.

The vague shadow flickered in the air as if it were a reflected image on the water. Unreal as it looked, it made its way to the mountain of the Nie clan by following the flow of the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth.

The vague shadow flew deep along the stone tunnel of the mine.

Soon after, it arrived at the bottom of Mine #73, where Nie Tian was, and snuck in by flowing through the gaps among the rocks.

After entering, the vague shadow became more transparent, making it even harder to be seen by the naked eye.

Staying in the shadows in the corner, the vague shadow looked around and then shifted all of his attention onto Nie Tian and the animal bone in his hand.

"What?!"

Nie Qian, who was standing by Nie Tian, was obliviously unaware of its existence.

RUUUMBLE!

It seemed that the entire mountain was shaking. As a result, huge rocks hanging overhead shattered and rolled down from the top of the mine where Nie Tian and Nie Qian were positioned.

The vague shadow hiding in the dark lifted its head and flicked the falling rocks out of its way.

Seeing the falling rocks approaching them, Nie Qian was horrified and wailed inwardly in despair.

To her surprise though, the huge rocks, which were clearly on their way to crush Nie Tian and Nie Qian, were pushed off their original trajectory by some unknown force, and fell to the other the side of the mine.

Nie Qian, who should have been crushed, was still standing next to Nie Tian, safe and sound, as if they were safeguarded by the Heavens.

After a long time…

Flame power stopped converging from all directions, as if the flame power of the flamecloud gems in the entire mountain had been dried up by the animal bone.

Still holding the animal bone in his hand, Nie Tian, unaware of the tremendous changes in the mine, was still in a dream state.

The long-lasting vibration in the mine ground to a halt while the fallen rocks were piled up high around the two of them.

In contrast, the place where they stood was void of even a single piece of gravel. Nie Qian found it incredible and inwardly extended her gratitude to the ancestors of the Nie clan for their protection.

It took a long time for the animal bone in Nie Tian's hand to return to a dark-brown color.

In the meantime, Nie Tian gradually awoke from his reverie. When he opened his eyes, the first words he uttered were, "The drop of blood in the animal bone has at long last fully congealed!"

Hearing these words, the blurry shadow fluttered slightly, like ripples on water, its mind completely shaken.

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Chapter Twenty-one: Advancing by Leaps and Bounds

Also at this moment, Nie Qian observed that the dense spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth that had previously been gathering in the mine was dissipating at a fast pace.

It almost seemed as if its sole purpose was to be absorbed by the animal bone. When the animal bone returned to its regular status and Nie Tian's soul emerged from it, the spiritual Qi also dispersed.

"Oh!"

With the animal bone in hand and a happy expression on his face, Nie Tian said, "Auntie, I… I have reached the sixth level of Qi Refining!"

"Really?!" Nie Qian exclaimed.

Nie Tian took a deep breath, squinted his eyes and carefully analyzed his spiritual Qi accumulation. Then he confirmed, "The accumulation of the spiritual Qi in my dantian and spiritual sea is as rich as those who have reached the sixth level of Qi Refining!"

"Really? Are you sure?" An incredulous expression appeared on Nie Qian's face.

Nie Tian nodded his head again.

"It must be the ancestors of the Nie clan who offered help!" Nie Qian rejoiced, pointing to the heaped-up rocks by their side, "During the collapse, rocks were falling everywhere except the place where we stood. This defies common sense. You gathered a stupendous amount of spiritual Qi simply by probing the animal bone in your hand. In the end, you advanced by leaps and bounds, reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining. In addition to the extraordinary magics the animal bone had displayed, your immense advancement must be the result of blessing of our ancestors."

"Maybe." Nie Tian smiled, disregarding Nie Qian's superstition.

The vague shadow hid itself in the dark place of the mine and quietly listened to what they had said, but his eyes were glued to the animal bone in Nie Tian's hand.

RUUUMBLE!

It was at this time that another thunderous vibration filled the mountain.

The flame energy of the flamecloud gems in the whole mountain had been drained by the animal bone, triggering drastic changes and destabilizing the structure of the entire mountain.

Watching the blocked entrance, Nie Qian suddenly awoke from her reverie. The euphoria in her eyes faded away, and fear began to simmer. "Oh, dear!" she blurted. "We have to get out as quickly as we can or we'll be buried in the belly of the mountain!"

The sight of the rubble-blocked entrance unnerved Nie Tian, stripping him of any desire to properly study the drop of blood in the animal bone.

"Hurry!" Nie Qian said. "Move this rubble away, we have to get out of here as quickly as possible!"

Nie Tian nodded and prepared to act immediately.

RUUUMBLE!

Another loud noise rose up from the other mines. Nie Qian and Nie Tian looked at each other for a moment, knowing that other mines must have undergone great changes and they would die if they stayed inside any longer.

As they prepared to leave, they heard another roar, and felt the entire mountain quivering.

In the dark, the vague shadow that not even Nie Qian could detect also noticed the precarious situation.

The shadow looked toward the entrance and began to move its hands in a strange fashion, as if it were adjusting something.

The spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth that had been streaming outwards along the rock floor, followed the shadow's movements as if it was suddenly being manipulated.

KAKAKA!

The rubble blocking the entrance to the mine was pulled sideways by an invisible force, and then burst outwards.

In a very short period of time, a passage through the blocked entrance was cleared out.

Nie Tian and Nie Qian gazed at the entrance, suddenly acutely aware that the challenge facing them had inexplicably been cleared up.

"Auntie…" Nie Tian scratched his head suspiciously. "Are we really being protected by our ancestors? "

According to common sense, there was no way that the vibration of mountain could so precisely push away the rubble from the entrance.

Even Nie Tian, who was by no means superstitious, couldn't help but waver a bit because of the recurring abnormal phenomena.

"Absolutely!" Nie Qian's eyes gleamed with confidence, and she added, "Quit standing there, get going, quickly!"

As soon as she finished and before Nie Tian even gave his reply, she took hold of his arm and strode towards the entrance along the magically opened passageway.

Together, they made their way through the passageway, walking along a space that had been mysteriously cleared to accommodate two people passing side by side.

Their escape proceeded surprisingly smoothly, and the mountain was still shaking even as they emerged.

Seeing Nie Qian and Nie Tian racing out of the entrance covered with dust, Nie Xiang, the keeper of Nie clan, stammered, "M-m… miss, how did you two get out?"

Having seen Nie Qian and Nie Tian rushing out of the mine, many anxious members of the Nie clan, along with numerous frightened laborers, spoke their heartfelt congratulations.

"Unbelievable! Truly unbelievable!"

"We all thought that you would end up buried alive in the mine! "

"God bless you, eldest sister!"

"…"

Nie Qian was quite relieved to have escaped. Dragging Nie Tian far away from the rumbling mountain, she said, "It was all thanks to our ancestors."

"I think so too." Nie Xiang had a weird expression on his face. In his heart, he felt that the fact that Nie Qian and Nie Tian could make it out alive was simply a miracle. After echoing Nie Qian's view, he put on a bitter expression, saying, "Dozens of Nie clan members died, and countless laborers will sleep in the mines for all eternity. This is a huge catastrophe."

His words resonated with Nie Qian, who gravely said, "This incident… will have a significant impact on the clan."

Nie Xiang nodded with a bitter smile, "The main task of our Nie clan is to help the Cloudsoaring sect mine flamecloud gems in this mountain. Such enormous changes will disrupt mining efforts for some time. I'm afraid we won't be able to collect enough flamecloud gems to hand over to the Cloudsoaring sect this year. They'll definitely blame us for this."

Many surviving members of the Nie clan were flustered, perplexed, and completely taken aback.

"What should we do?!"

"How can our clan keep a foothold in Black Cloud City without the Cloudsoaring sect's protection?"

"Severe misfortune is imminent. The new clanmaster just took office. With such a serious incident, he will definitely punish us heavily!"

"Oh, no!"

Nie Xiang stared in chagrin at Nie Qian. "Eldest sister, what do you think?"

As an extended relative of the Nie clan, Nie Xiang had come into his position because of Nie Donghai. Now that Nie Beichuan had become the clanmaster, he was bent on replacing him with one of his cronies.

For some time now, Nie Beichuan had been trying to pick a fight with him and thus come up with a good excuse to fire him, but had never succeeded in his efforts. Because of this disaster though, he would most likely be able to remove Nie Xiang from his post and even impose a severe punishment on him.

"It was a natural disaster," Nie Qian said consolingly. "It has nothing to do with you. I will faithfully recount the process when I go back. You do not have to be worried much."

"Easier said than done…" Nie Xiang sighed.

He knew well the accession of Nie Beichuan had left the father and daughter team of Nie Donghai and Nie Qian in a very perilous position in the clan. Bent on making a splash, Nie Beichuan would never forgo this golden opportunity.

Nie Xiang was sure that he would be punished as an example to warn others.

"Nie Tian and I will go back now," Nie Qian said, "but rest assured, I will try my best to help you."

"Fine." Nie Xiang helplessly nodded his head.

"You must not take reckless actions within this period," Nie Qian continued. "You have to wait until the vibrations completely fade away. Then you can get the dead bodies out of the mines, re-open the stone tunnel, and resume the mining of flamecloud gems."

Even she did not know that all the dramatic changes were caused by the animal bone in Nie Tian's hand.

She also did not know the flame power of all the flamecloud gems in the whole mountain had been drained by the animal bone.

With one hand in his pocket, gently stroking the animal bone, Nie Tian looked up at the vibrating peak, a stern expression on his face.

Only he could sense that after this incident, all the flamecloud gems in the whole mountain had turned into nothing more than ordinary and useless rocks.

"Let's go back." Nie Qian said. With some parting words to Nie Xiang, she turned with Nie Tian to head back to Black Cloud City.

Not long before she and Nie Tian had left, a rippling shadow had slipped out of the entrance and gazed towards her and Nie Tian for a while before drifting back toward the mountain behind Cloudsoaring Peak. Not a trace was left behind of its passage.

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Chapter Twenty-two: An Impasse

It was evening, and the tenacious glow of the setting sun pierced through the luxurious canopy of trees to cast light onto the rocky forest floor.

Nie Tian and Nie Qian were on their way back to Black Cloud City. After some time passed, Nie Tian broke his long silence and finally gave voice to the suspicion in his heart. "Auntie, I feel… from now on, I am afraid that our clan can no longer harvest flamecloud gems from those mines."

Hearing his words, Nie Qian abruptly stopped in place.

Looking suspiciously at Nie Tian, and her eyes gradually turned serious and solemn. "What did you say? The flamecloud gems in the mines have been mined by our clan for many years. According to the Qi warrior who surveyed the mine recently, it should be several decades before the mine runs dry given our current mining speed, so how could it be drained now?"

The flamecloud gems in the mines could be said to be the lifeblood of the Nie clan, which traded their mining services for the protection of the Cloudsoaring sect.

Once the Nie clan could no longer mine flamecloud gems, it would be useless to the Cloudsoaring sect.

Even though she and Nie Donghai had been ill-treated after Nie Beichuan became the master of the clan, she definitely did not want to see the whole clan be tossed aside by the Cloudsoaring sect.

"I'm sorry." Nie Tian bowed his head, took out the animal bone, and said, "It was all because of this. All the flame power consumed by the condensation of the drop of blood was from all the flamecloud gems in the mines! It took all of that power to condense the drop of blood! I'm pretty sure that all the flamecloud gems have turned to regular rocks which cannot generate a scrap of flame power."

Nie Qian gasped with astonishment. "The condensation of a single drop of blood absorbed all the flame power of the flamecloud gems, this… how is this possible?"

"I don't know, but that's what happened." Nie Tian put on a wry smile.

"Impossible, it's absolutely impossible!" Nie Qian shook her head repeatedly, with a look of disbelief on her face.

"If you don't believe me then just forget about it," Nie Tian said, looking irritated.

"Now isn't the time for arguing. It's getting dark and we should try to get back to Black Cloud City as soon as possible." Nie Qian surveyed the path ahead. "A serious accident has occurred in the mines. I have to inform your grandfather of the situation so that he will be ready for any consequences."

"Fine." Nie Tian spoke no more.

With that, they ceased arguing and continued on toward Black Cloud City.

A quarter of an hour later, Nie Qian suddenly froze.

"What's wrong?" Nie Tian asked, puzzled.

Nie Qian looked around grimly, her breath coming in ragged pants. Waves of spiritual power were rippling out from Nie Qian, fluctuations too noticeable to be ignored even by Nie Tian.

RUSTLE!

Suddenly, the leaves of the trees stirred, despite the lack of even the slightest breeze.

"Nie Tian," she shouted, "get to Cloudsoaring Mountain as quickly as you can!"

CLATTER!

The silver bracelets she wore on her arm instantly flew out towards the two trees in front of her, shining with silvery spiritual light.

CLANK! CLANK!

The sound of clanking metal could then be heard from behind the trees, accompanied by odd laughter.

In response, Nie Tian's face fell, and he instantly realized that something was wrong.

With a muffled groan, Nie Qian looked back at Nie Tian, her eyes glittering with trepidation and anxiety.

"Go! " she urged.

WHOOSH!

The silver bracelets she had thrown out were now spinning back towards her at a high speed.

They were followed by two men dressed in blue, with greasy smiles plastered across their faces.

One of them gave Nie Tian a cold glance. "Run? Where can he run to?"

BANG!

In that moment, the silver bracelets slammed into a water shield that Nie Qian had formed moments ago with spiritual power.

Nie Qian immediately staggered backward several steps. The silver bracelets didn't immediately fall onto the ground, but stuck on the water wall like two pendants.

She slowly reached out and retrieved the silver bracelets one by one, her face pale. Then, she looked at the two men and said, "I've seen you two before in Black Cloud City!"

She remembered clearly that the two in front of her were among those strangers who had been seen wandering around the Nie clan a few months ago.

She soon realized that the appearance of these two people here must have something to do with the altercation with Yuan Qiuying in front of the Spiritual Treasure Pavilion.

"You'll be dead soon anyway," the other man said with a grin. "We aren't afraid to tell you that we were sent by Mrs. Yuan to kill you!"

"As I expected!" Nie Qian replied, gnashing her teeth.

One of the men had a thin scar at the corner of his eye. His lips curved up in an odd smile as he said, "Second brother, you kill the kid. As for this woman… I'll take care of her. We were ordered to torture her well and good before killing her. Considering how much we're being paid, we have to satisfy Mrs. Yuan."

The other man smirked knowingly, then nodded and said, "Big brother, I'll join you after I kill the kid."

"How considerate! Hahaha!"

Considering their brazen banter, it was obvious how much they looked down on Nie Qian and Nie Tian. In their eyes, they were already dead.

"He's still a child! Please let him go!" Nie Qian begged. "Trust me, we have plenty of treasure back in the Nie clan. I'll triple what Yuan Qiuying offered!"

The initial engagement left her well aware that these two men in blue had at least middle-stage Lesser Heaven cultivation bases, as well as an overt killing intent. Clearly, they were not the type of Qi warriors who were engrossed in cultivation, but rather, professional killers who were born to slaughter.

She knew too well that she was no match for either of them.

"We have benefited from the grace of Yuan clan, and are grateful that we have this opportunity to pay them back." The man with the scar at the corner of his eye rubbed his chin and chuckled. "By the way, I happen to think you're quite pretty. You'd might as well just resign yourself to fate."

Nie Qian knew that she was unlikely to survive the day. She couldn't help but shriek, "Nie Tian! Run!"

CLANK!

Swinging her arms through the air, she slammed the silver bracelets into each other, which created an ear-piercing whistle. The bracelets then whizzed rapidly towards the two men.

"They say that the Nie clan is on the decline. Today, I find it is true." The man in charge shook his head. As the silver bracelets shot towards him, he added, "You're the eldest daughter of the Nie clan and the ex-wife of Yun Zhiguo, but the spiritual tool you use is unexpectedly only of Elementary grade."

Sneering, he raised a bronze prismatic shield.

WHOOSH!

Reddish-yellow light radiated from the surface of the shield, which was rapidly filled with bright, intricate patterns.

"Gravity upheaval!" he said, snorting coldly.

Subsequently, the gravity around him seemed to sharply increase by several-fold.

The silver bracelets flopped down onto the ground due to the enormous gravity transformations!

"Second brother, even though we ensured that there were no passersby, we still have to finish them as soon as possible to prevent any unexpected developments!"

"Alright, big brother, I'll kill this brat now!" The other man suddenly rushed towards Nie Tian.

"Nie Tian, run!" Nie Qian yelled wildly.

However, even as the man closed in with lightning speed, Nie Tian remained in place, his eyes burning with flames of rage.

The man running towards Nie Tian wore a merciless expression as he derisively said, "His cultivation base is merely at the fourth level of Qi Refining. Considering my brother's Mystic Amber Shield exerts a fivefold gravitation field, it would be a miracle for him to escape!"

His words pushed Nie Qian further into despair, and caused her to wail hysterically, "I'll hunt you down even if I become a ghost!"

WHOOSH!

Breathing heavily, Nie Tian rapidly concentrated his spiritual power into both of his legs in an attempt to combat the strengthened gravity.

Unfortunately, the ground beneath his feet seemed to have become a giant magnet, inexorably pulling him downward.

He unleashed his full strength, yet still failed to shake off the gravity. His feet could not move an inch; it almost felt as if there was a huge rock weighing them down.

The feelings of despair, unwillingness, and frustration inside of him grew more and more intense as the man approached.

It was also at this moment that he suddenly felt the animal bone in his hand turn burning hot.

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Chapter Twenty-Three: Not Leaving a Single Trace

As the man dressed in blue walked towards Nie Tian, he slowly lifted his hand. "Resign yourself to your fate, brat!"

CRACKLE!

Tremendous frost spiritual power suddenly gathered, seemingly freezing his hand.

Bone-biting coldness emanated out, making Nie Tian, who was three meters away from him, feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

WHOOSH!

From a distance, he pointed his hand towards Nie Tian, and cold, white streams of mist slithered towards Nie Tian, like long, slender snakes.

Due to the powerful gravitational force affecting him, Nie Tian was in an increasingly dangerous situation as the cold mist struck.

Not far away, the sound of clanking metal echoed out, along with a cold guffaw from the man with the scar.

Nie Tian had no need to look over to understand that Nie Qian's situation was just as precarious as his.

"Power!" Nie Tian cried in his heart. "I need power!"

Apparently, some invisible force from another world heard his cry. First, he felt the animal bone in his hand grow burning hot.

In the next moment, the scorching heat emitting from the animal bone spread from his palm to the rest of his body.

He clearly felt the heat waves, as staggeringly hot as magma, suddenly fly along his meridians to his feet.

He was suddenly overwhelmed by a strange sensation, as if he now existed inside of a monstrous flame.

ROAR!

A growl erupted in his mind, the source being none other than the drop of blood within the animal bone.

Suddenly, the terrifying gravity from the depths of the earth seemed to be rendered completely powerless.

Moments ago, he had been pinned in place, but now, he took two steps back.

The man in blue clothes was stretching his frozen hand out toward Nie Tian's chest. When he suddenly found that Nie Tian could move freely, he couldn't help but murmur, "What?!"

But then, streams of white mist flowed around his fingers and roared towards Nie Tian.

To Nie Tian, those streams resembled dozens of white frost snakes eager to devour him.

As the white frost snakes slithered through the air, the extremely cold spiritual power filled the area around Nie Tian, making it a world of ice and frost.

FIZZ!

Yet, a moment later, the icy cold seemed to be consumed by a ball of heat, transforming it into more white fog.

"Oh…" Nie Tian suddenly whispered, subconsciously glancing down at the animal bone.

The animal bone became as hot as a burning piece of iron, making it impossible to hold onto any longer.

The drop of blood hovered in the animal bone as if it were a small sun spouting raging flames.

ROAR!

The roar from the drop of blood was only audible to him, and seemed to be filled with impatience and irritability.

However, Nie Tian seemed to be able to understand the meaning behind the roar.

Hoping for the best, he flung the animal bone mercilessly towards his opponent.

As soon as the animal bone left his hand, it transformed into a long trail of crimson flames, in the vague shape of a dragon, which whizzed rapidly towards the man in blue.

FIZZ!

The white frost snakes strangely dissipated into white fog when they collided with the crimson flames created by the animal bone.

Seeing the icy snakes dissipating one after another, the man in blue couldn't prevent his expression from flickering.

However, the flames created by the animal bone left him no time to make any defensive moves, and were in front of him before he could even react.

With his eyes fixed on the man, Nie Tian couldn't help but notice that large amounts of water vapor had begun to emanate out from him.

Nie Tian also clearly noted the fear and despair in the man's eyes.

BANG!

The animal bone slammed directly into his chest, sending sparks flashing out, which instantly transformed into another cluster of crimson flames, flames which seemed to be alive and conscious as they rampaged through his whole body.

The man even did not even have time to utter a heart-rending cry before he was devoured. His body instantly melted down like a piece of ice thrown into a stove, and he dissipated without leaving a single drop of blood behind.

The man had seemed completely ferocious only a few seconds ago, but now he had vanished completely.

The place where he stood was devoid of any trace of him whatsoever; both his bones and blood had completely disappeared as if he had never even existed.

The only thing remaining behind was a red, buring animal bone.

The crimson flames that were scattered everywhere returned to the animal bone as if they had a consciousness.

At the same time, the area surrounding the animal bone, which had possessed a gravitational force five times that of normal, seemed to have been forcibly normalized.

Nie Tian gazed at the terrifying animal bone and subconsciously licked his lips.

A Qi warrior who excelled in using the frost power of the middle-stage of Lesser Heaven had been burned alive by the flames from the animal bone until not even a single hair was left. The ferocity demonstrated by the animal bone made him unable to believe what he had seen.

He had been sure that the animal bone was very unique, and that affirmation grew particularly intense when he realized that the drop of blood inside of it could not be congealed until all the flamecloud gems in the mountain had been absorbed.

However, it wasn't until this moment that he realized that he had underestimated the terrifying power of the animal bone.

PUFF!

Even as Nie Tian stood there in a daze, not far away, Nie Qian coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood. Her spirits were rapidly dropping.

The man with the scar smiled as he approached her with his shield held out in front of him.

Nie Qian had backed up into a tree, and was holding a silver bracelet in each hand. Despite the danger she was in, she couldn't help but turn her head to look toward Nie Tian.

"Little, Little Tian…" she murmured, fearful he might already be dead.

When she saw that he had somehow survived while the man hunting him had vanished somehow, relief filled her heart.

Seeing her strange expression, her opponent also looked curiously at Nie Tian.

Stunned, he raved, "Second brother, I told to you to hurry up, so where the hell are you?"

He had previously been focused on dealing with Nie Qian and spared little attention for Nie Tian. As far as he was concerned, Nie Tian was locked in place by the fivefold gravity, and should have fallen prey to instant slaughter. It was impossible for something to go wrong, so there was nothing interesting to see anyway.

The man who cultivated frost spiritual power had been burned up in a few seconds after being hit by the animal bone, without a drop of blood being left behind.

Therefore, when his brother looked over but failed to spot him, he simply assumed that his brother had walked away.

After a moment of shock, Nie Qian quickly regained her composure and once again cried out. "Little Tian! Run while you have the chance! Get to the Cloudsoaring sect immediatley!"

She had no idea what had happened either. But from her point of view, the sudden disappearance of that man was the only chance for Nie Tian to escape.

With a gloomy face, the man in the leading position looked around and grew impatient. "Second brother, where the fuck are you?"

"He had a stomacheache and went off to take a crap," snapped Nie Tian. Walking over to the animal bone, he reached down slowly to pick it up. It was now dark-brown in color.

As he picked up the bone, he meticulously avoided the sparks, which he knew could devour him.

The horrifying scene of the previous man's death cast a cloud over his heart, making him fearful of the recurring changes of the animal bone.

Fortunately, the restored animal bone showed no sign of such changes.

Once the animal bone returned to his hand, a strong confidence suddenly arose inside of him somehow.

He suddenly had the feeling that he was capable of controlling the animal bone!

"Hurry and run!" Nie Qian cried.

In her eyes, Nie Tian's act was reckless and blind. Since the assailant was absent, Nie Tian ought to hurry up and escape. Every second he wasted, his chance of survival would be diminished.

But instead of running away, he decided to have a war of words with the leading assailant. She was so anxious that she wanted to drive him to his senses by slapping him in the face.

"I won't run." Clutching the animal bone, Nie Tian walked towards her step by step, a surprisingly calm expression on his face.

The man with the scar at the corner of his eye finally realized that Nie Tian was free from the restriction of the gravitational field and had begun to advance in his direction. "Where is my second brother, brat?"

He was not stupid. Nie Tian's calmness and unusual escape from the gravitational field drove him to the realization that something completely inexplicable must have occurred.

If that was not the case, his second brother would never have disappeared for no reason.

"Like I said, Uncle," Nie Tian answered seriously, "he ran off into the bushes because he had the squirts."

"You bastard! Cut the crap!" The man's face darkened. Shifting his complete attention from Nie Qian to Nie Tian, he said, "No matter what parlor tricks you played, I'll smash your bones into pieces once I get ahold of you. Then I'll find out exactly what just happened!

"Tenfold gravity!"

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Chapter 24: Burned to Ashes

CRACK!

Tree branches in the grove suddenly snapped and fell down to the ground.

A passing bird took a nosedive and slammed into the ground under the irresistible force of gravity.

With the man in blue at the center, a 50-meter circle formed that instantly became like a giant magnet, trapping all solid objects.

Even as Nie Qian backed up against the tree, the powerful gravitational force dragged her down toward the ground.

"Tenfold gravity!"

She looked over at Nie Tian with both shock and anxiety, secretly angered by his recklessness.

The blue-garbed man with the Mystic Amber Shield closed in on Nie Tian step by step, grinning the entire time. "What are you going to do now, punk?!"

Nie Tian had been able to move freely before, but because of the tenfold gravity, he was now unable to.

He frowned before he realized that a warm current was currently converging at his feet.

Plumes of heat from the animal bone he clasped in his hand were flowing along his meridians toward his feet.

The animal bone had been restored to its original state, but was now starting to heat up again.

As the animal bone became hot, Nie Tian's confidence was somehow bolstered and the advancement of the man in blue did not fluster him at all.

Instead of rushing into action though, he calmly looked at the man and then clenched his hand down onto the animal bone, gripping it so hard that blue veins bulged out.

"Where the hell is my second brother?!" the man cried, forcibly swinging the Mystic Amber shield at Nie Tian's head.

WHOOSH!

The Mystic Amber shield left his hand and flew, with great force, towards Nie Tian's head, sailing through the air in a perfect arc.

An even stronger gravitational field emanated from that Mystic Amber shield, making the space around Nie Tian sink sharply.

"Little Tian!" Nie Qian shrieked.

Also at this moment, the animal bone in Nie Tian's hand became as red as hot iron and unleashed an unruly flame power.

Nie Tian suddenly threw the animal bone in the air. "Go!"

When the animal bone whizzed out, the heat gathered around his feet burst out in spectacular fashion.

The terrifying gravity pulling from below suddenly became bearable. As his feet regained the ability to move, Nie Tian darted to the side and evaded the Mystic Amber shield

ROAR!

A raging howl, only audible to Nie Tian, seemed to have burst out from his own soul. He clearly saw the animal bone suddenly transform into a conflagration and swallow the man in blue.

The tenfold gravity that was able to restrain everything in the world was completely dispelled!

CLANK!

Without the steady support of its owner, the Mystic Amber shield flopped down on the ground behind Nie Tian.

The owner of the Mystic Amber shield was promptly consumed by the raging flames.

It only took a few seconds for the man to be devoured by the towering column of fire, vanishing without a trace.

Everything, including his clothes, body, and breath, was burned to ashes.

Within a very short time, all his belongings in this world had been wiped out, while the animal bone rapidly condensed its fiery flames and eventually returned to a dark-brown color.

Standing not far away, Nie Qian, who was previously in despair, stared in disbelief at what had happened.

She could not help but rapidly blink so as to get a better view of the the scene in front of her.

After several moments, she saw that Nie Tian was standing there tall and straight, whereas the malicious assassin had vanished without a trace.

She remained bewildered for a moment before gradually regaining her senses and murmuring, "Is that man, dead…? Burned to death? Scorched to ashes? "

THUMP THUMP!

After the gravity returned to normal, Nie Tian ran up to the animal bone and crouched down to retrieve it.

"Oh, my precious," he exclaimed as he happily stroked the animal bone.

Not until that moment did Nie Qian utterly awake from befuddlement and cry out in horror, "Watch out for that animal bone!"

Nie Tian looked up and held the animal bone up in the air. He said with a smile, "Auntie, it is my precious, how could it hurt me? "

"Your precious? Can you … control it?!"

Nie Tian nodded his head. "Of course!"

After a pause, he pointed behind him and explained, "The second brother of that man was also burned to death; not even a drop of blood was left behind. Not until then did I come to understand why everybody was eager to obtain a spiritual tool. A powerful spiritual tool can turn the tables in battle!"

Previously, he was less interested in painstakingly pursuing a spiritual tool like a Qi warrior would.

That was because he was physically strong and his sturdy body enabled him to win fights with Nie Hong time and time again. Thus, he thought he only needed to focus on enhancing his physical strength.

In the past, he thought that a suitable spiritual tool would not play a crucial role in fighting.

However, the animal bone had helped him kill two people in a row when he was on the verge of death. Thus, his previous line of thinking did an about-face.

He suddenly realized that it was incredibly fortunate to have an extraordinary spiritual tool.

"Put it away!" Nie Qian took a deep breath. The shock remained on her face while calmness had appeared again in her eyes. "It's not safe here. I don't know whether that bitch Yuan Qiuying has another card up her sleeve or not. We can take time to study the animal bone when we arrive back home. Now we have to leave!"

"Okay," Nie Tian replied obediently.

"Are there any belongings of the two assassins left other than the Mystic Amber shield?" Nie Qian asked.

Nie Tian shook his head and answered, "No, everything was burned up and nothing was left."

"How powerful that spiritual tool is!" Nie Qian exclaimed in shock. Then she mumbled pitifully, "What a pity that I'm in such a tight space with money. It would have been nice to find more loot to pawn."

She rose to her feet and stuffed the Mystic Amber shield into her pocket before saying, "Let's head home!"

"Sure, let's go."

Nie Tian, who had killed two men with the animal bone, was not rattled at all by his first killing, but in fact so delighted with it that he took out and played the bone from time to time on his way home.

Every time Nie Qian looked back and found him playing with the animal bone, she would tense up and subconsciously walk a few steps away from him.

In the eyes of Nie Qian, the animal bone could transform into a raging flame any time, which would unscrupulously consume all living things.

Before sunset, Nie Tian followed Nie Qian into the city and they soon returned to the Nie clan.

Back at home, Nie Qian exhorted Nie Tian not to use the animal bone on purpose, and went to Nie Donghai without resting, debriefing him on the what they had experienced in the mine and on their way home.

Hearing they met a mishap on their journey, Nie Donghai trembled with rage, and his eyes bristled with raging flames. "Yuan Qiuying. It is too presumptuous of her to try to kill you and Little Tian just because of a scuffle! I will absolutely pursue this matter till the end!"

Nie Qian shook her head and comforted him, "It doesn't matter. The two assassins are dead anyway. After this incident, that woman will refrain from acting recklessly. Dad, you aren't the head of the clan anymore. The mining disaster will plunge all of us into chaos in a short period of time. Let's forget about Yuan Qiuying and focus on how to handle the Cloudsoaring sect."

"How long will it be before we can return the mine to normal operation procedures?" Nie Donghai breathed.

"I do not know. " Nie Qian forced a smile. "It was my fault. I would never have expected that Little Tian's animal bone would be able to cause such a tremendous change in the mine. In my opinion, it's impossible to resume mining for the next two months. This year, we definitely won't be able to collect sufficient flamecloud gems for the Cloudsoaring sect."

Nie Donghai also seemed to be somewhat restless. "Many people saw you and Little Tian in the mine. Your second uncle will have no choice but to shift all of the blame onto the two of you. Unfortunately, I am no longer the head of the Nie clan. For this matter, I will have to give him some sort of satisfactory explanation."

"Dad, I'm so sorry for causing you trouble again." Nie Qian dropped her head in guilt.

"To me, nothing is more important than the fact that Little Tian was able to increase his cultivation to the sixth level of Qi Refining in the mine!" Looking serious, Nie Donghai added, "The strange animal bone in his possession that was able to unleash such a staggering power is worth all these troubles. "

"But that animal bone is really too domineering! I am afraid that Little Tian cannot control it…" Nie Qian seemed truly worried.

"I believe that he can!" Nie Donghai breathed.

Also at this time, Nie Tian was sitting straight up on the bed in his room, engrossed with the animal bone in his hand.

"Yee?!"

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Chapter 25: A Different Place

FIZZ!

The condensed drop of blood in the animal bone flared up when Nie Tian's mind drifted into it.

In the blood, his saw strands of fire suddenly twisting and interweaving with each other, forming a strange animal pattern.

The pattern was in the shape of a dragon, but it was constantly changing and full of mystery.

"Whoah!" Nie Tian exhaled softly and tried to calm his mind.

It was as if a secret switch had been activated. The animal bone flew from his palm and quietly floated up in front of his chest, emanating scorching flames.

His mind instantly returned from the animal bone to reality, however his eyes were still focused on it.

WHOOSH!!

Strands of flames started to swirl around the animal bone and seemingly produced a terrifying gravitational force.

After a few seconds, the animal bone and the lines of fire evolved into a flame vortex.

CRACKLE!

The formation of the flame vortex was followed by a strange sound from the surroundings, where numerous colorful spatial rifts appeared.

Surrounding objects within his room, such as the tea set on the stone table and the clothes on the bed, were forcibly sucked into the spatial rifts, and vanished in the blink of an eye.

A moment later, even the stone table and the stone slab on the ground were sucked into the rifts.

CREAK! CREAK!

The bed Nie Tian was sitting on began to buckle because of the immense suction, as if it was also about to fly into the spatial rifts with him in tow.

Suddenly, fear sprang up in his heart, as if he were suddenly aware that he might never see his grandfather and Nie Qian ever again..

Even as fear overwhelmed him and he was about to cry out for help, the flame vortex became like the mouth of a ferocious monster and gulped him down.

Then, the flame vortex drastically shrank down into a grain-sized spark of fire.

The spark of fire flickered a few times, and then disappeared into thin air.

WHOOSH!

The gravitational force increased dramatically and the flashing spatial rifts swallowed everything in the room before closing up one by one.

Only after the flame vortex and the oddly flashing spatial rifts vanished, was the small room suddenly peaceful once again.

However, the stone table, stone chair, wooden bed, and everything else was gone along with Nie Tian.

Shortly, the voice of Nie Qian came from outside. "Little Tian, are you sleeping?"

Nie Donghai, despite having voiced his belief that Nie Tian could control the animal bone, was still worried about him, especially after being told of the terrifying qualities of the animal bone by Nie Qian. As such, he had come along with Nie Qian. He wanted to use his experience and vision to explore the secret of the animal bone again.

Nie Qian called a few times, but when she got no response, forced Nie Tian's door open.

"Ah!" she screamed as she stepped into the room, finding everything in the room was gone.

Blue veins bulged on Nie Donghai's forehead. "How dare the Yuan clan kidnap Little Tian from our home!" he raged, not even taking the time to think about the situation.

He instantly assumed that Yuan Qiuying, after discovering that her two assassins were missing, had sent other powerful experts to take Nie Tian away.

"Father, what should we do?" Nie Qian shouted in a state of utter stupefaction. "What should we do to get him back!?"

"The Yun clan and Yuan clan must immediately release Little Tian! I am going to talk to my second brother who is the master of the Nie clan. If he is unwilling to stand out and protect Little Tian, I will never spare him! Nie Donghai left in a rage and rushed to find Nie Beichuan in the hope of freeing Nie Tian as soon as possible.

"Yuan Qiuying, should anything untoward happen to Little Tian, I will go after you till my last breath!" Nie Qian swore in sadness.

…

In the unknown world, the density of the spiritual energy defied any imagination.

Eight dragon skeletons could be seen, each around a thousand meters long. They were arranged in an octagonal pattern, with their heads all pointing toward an old, dilapidated altar, a structure stained with blotches of blood that made it seem as if it had been mercilessly eroded by time.

A spark suddenly gleamed from within the heart of the altar, which rapidly swelled into a fireball.

BANG!

The figure of a child could be seen flying out from the fireball down onto the ground.

CLANK!

Then, the gigantic fireball shrunk into a small piece of bone and dropped down near the foot of the kid.

Nie Tian, dizzy and racked with pain all over, was lying with his back on the altar and limbs spread wide.

Gazing at the overcast sky with his wide eyes, he gradually came to his senses. "What the hell is this place?"

A few seconds ago, he was in his room. He only remembered that the animal bone had transformed into a flame vortex and then gulped him down.

Then, he was here.

Despite lying on the altar, he could immediately detect that the gravity here was even stronger than the tenfold gravity field generated by the Mystic Amber Shield!

He lay there, his back tightly pressed against the cold, hard stone slab. Finally, he rose up to a sitting position, an effort which required all the strength he could muster.

"The amount of spiritual energy here is ten times thicker than Cloudsoaring Mountain!"

In the middle of breathing, he felt the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth in the air trickling down into the spiritual sea of his dantian.

Elated, he looked around curiously.

Almost immediately, he caught the sight of the eight huge, hill-like dragon heads surrounding him. "Dragon heads! There are eight huge dragon heads there!"

The eight dragon heads were bereft of any flesh or blood, leaving them as nothing but bare, bleached bones.

The dragon's eyeballs had long since ceased to exist. All of the empty sockets were facing him as if they were quietly analyzing him, which made his blood run cold.

He quickly shifted his view to the distance and realized that the eight huge dragon skeletons stretched a thousand meters away.

Further in the distance, numerous mountain peaks sat under the murky-gray sky, each of them as tall as Cloudsoaring Peak.

After carefully studying them, he was completely overwhelmed by astonishment to find that the objects, that had at first resembled mountain peaks, were in fact huge arms!

The huge arms were dark-yellow. Some had fists tightly clenched, as if they were unleashing endless fury; some fingers were widely opened as if to clasp the sky; some palms were imprinted with what seemed like the supreme theory of Heaven and Earth.

In the distance, those huge arms looked like giant mountain peaks towering up into the sky.

The other side of the arms were like the roots of towering old trees, buried deep into the earth.

It was as if the real bodies of the huge arm's owners were within the earth, attempting to rid themselves of the burial and fly up into the sky!

Just the arms exposed outside were as enormous as mountains, Nie Tian could not imagine how colossal the bodies were of the owners were who were buried under the earth!

"One, two, three… thirty-two!" He counted and found that there were at least 32 huge arms visible.

That meant that there were at least 16 colossal creatures buried deep in the earth!

"Eight huge dragons and also at least sixteen terrifyingly colossal creatures," he thought. "What is this place? Am I dreaming?" Then, he bit his tongue suddenly and felt an excruciating pain.

"I'm not dreaming? This is different from my previous experience, so it must not be a dream!"

He still remembered that after he battled Nie Hong, he had a high fever for quite a long time and frequently fell into different dreams.

The unknown world he saw in his dream was somewhat similar to the sight in front of him.

However, he always knew that all those dreams were simply dreams, not realities.

But this time, he was not in a dream but rather a real world, which was completely unknown to him.

WHOOSH!

The animal bone that brought him into this place was lying at his side, flickering with plumes of flame.

He subconsciously looked at it.

For an unknown reason, he felt an infinite sadness from within those flames.

The glowing flames seemed to be recounting something…

"Dragon?" Prompted by his memory, he recalled that his inner awareness had seen this strange world in the drop of blood condensed from the animal bone when he was in Mine #73.

That world bristled with countless raging flames that converged into a colossal dragon of flame.

On their way back to Black Cloud City, the animal bone had transformed into a dragon-shaped flame when he threw it at the two men dressed in blue.

After carefully thinking for awhile, he came to realize that the animal bone was from a great fire dragon.

At the side of the altar, there were eight great dragons with only skeletons left. He speculated that they used to be fire dragons as well, belonging to the same species as the one from which the animal bone was taken.

"I should go around and have a look," he thought to himself. "This world must be bigger than what I have seen. There might be more secrets in this place beyond my view."

As he attempted to stand up, he found that the gravity of the earth had pinned him down to the ground.

He couldn't even rise to his feet!

…

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Chapter Twenty-six: The Epiphany

"I can't even stand up…."

Nie Tian felt somewhat depressed as he sat there unsteadily on the altar, but it took him only a second to realize that he could make use of the wonders of this world for training purposes.

The stronger the gravity, the more burden was placed on the body, which made it a perfect place to train in physical strength.

Ever since he was young, he had known that he was much stronger physically than other children. He had made up for his poor cultivation base with his powerful physique, allowing him to win in fights against Nie Hong and others.

"Wheww!" He took in a large gulp of air and tried to move his arms about under the terrifying gravitational force.

Compared to moving his entire body, it required considerably less effort to just move his arms under the influence of the strong gravity.

Just as he expected, although waggling his arms was more difficult than usual, at least he was able to move them.

Sitting straight up on the broken altar, he raised one of his arms with great effort, doing his best to point it towards the sky and to feel the influence of the gravity on the arm.

In the meantime, he continued to examine his surroundings.

"Well?!" Staring at the giant arms in the distance and watching them stretching out of the earth to the heavens, his mind flickered with enlightenment.

Every one of them pointed to the heavens with a different gesture, as if each of them contained different emotions.

Being able to do nothing but hold his arms up, Nie Tian felt bored at first. However, after noticing the various gestures formed by the giants' hands, he opened up his mind and started to imitate them.

The first one he imitated was an arm that pointed to the sky with a tightly clenched fist and bulging veins.

His eyes were fixed on the mountain-sized arm, and soon he vaguely felt a wave of rage and begrudging emotion hidden inside the giant hand.

For unknown reasons, just by watching it, an unexpected surge of fury started to rise up in his heart, until his pupils were filled with a sea of rage. It all happened before he even realized what was going on.

The expression on his face grew feverish and angry, and a raging desire rose up to destroy the heavens and break all the shackles that had been formed in his heart.

After imitating the gesture of that giant arm, his mentality seemingly changed along with it, and his hand was filled with a new kind of power.

He could actually feel the spiritual power rushing out from his dantian's spiritual sea and rapidly flowing along his meridians into his raised hand.

In his arm, every meridian seemed full of raging flames, and the spiritual power that was flowing in his meridians also seemed to have been vested with wrath.

HISSSS!

All of a sudden, a white and misty spiritual aura formed on the back of his lifted fist!

Strands of the white spiritual aura were wrapped around his fist. It was an aura which contained unrestrained anger, and seemed to have strengthened his spiritual power.

"The sixth level of Qi Refining! Spiritual power overflow!"

Entering the sixth level of Qi Refining allowed him to channel his inner spiritual power to the surface of his body and infiltrate an enemy's body with his own spiritual power merely by touching them.

Back when he fought Nie Hong, who was in the sixth level of Qi Refining, Nie Hong had sent his lightning-charged spiritual power into Nie Tian's body as their fists met.

In the same way, every time their fists collided, more lightning power was left behind in his body, filling him with unbearable pain.

Not long ago, he had somehow stepped into the sixth level of Qi Refining in Mine #73, but he never had the chance to test the wonders of overflowing spiritual power.

Today, in this unknown heaven and earth, he almost effortlessly grasped the essence of spiritual power overflow of the sixth Qi Refining level.

This had completely exceeded his expectations.

Because, according to Nie Qian, after breaking into the sixth level of Qi Refining, one would have to make quite a few attempts before they could freely overflow their spiritual power to the surface of their body and retract it back inside.

However, in a surprising turn of events, he succeeded with merely one attempt.

Moreover, he could clearly sense the rage contained in the spiritual power that was wrapped around his fist.

Emotions were not attributes of spiritual power. They shouldn't contain extra strength, but he believed that the rage attached to his spiritual power had its own secrets.

Unfortunately, Nie Hong wasn't here. Otherwise, he would be able to throw him a punch and see if the rage could provide extra strength.

"Yee?!" Just as his thoughts were beginning to wander, his mentality changed again, and he was no longer full of wild rage.

The spiritual power that had previously converged into his raised arm rapidly flowed back to his spiritual sea. Before long, there was no spiritual power left in his arm at all.

He immediately understood why: his mind had drifted, so he had failed to maintain his mentality of rage and frenzy.

When the rage disappeared and he became calm again, the miraculous sensation on his fist, that was pointing to the sky, also vanished. As the spiritual power returned to his dantian, everything went back to normal.

"Mentality! Mentality is the key!"

After the epiphany, he refocused his mind and laid his eyes on the mountain-like giant arm in the distance.

He put his heart into analyzing the giant hand that was balled up in a fist, and he felt all the monstrous rage hidden in it. As he gradually submerged himself in it, he once again found himself influenced by the emotion and his heart grew more and more angry.

When his heart was full of rage, he imitated the gesture of the giant arm and thrust his clenched fist into the sky.

Strands of spiritual power once again surged out of his spiritual sea as he extended his arm. Those strands were instantly injected into the meridians within his arm, and roared their way into his fist.

HISSS!

As expected, the light, white spiritual aura, full of rage, reappeared on his fist.

"This is it!" A sense of joy rose in his heart. In the meantime, the rage that he had tried so hard to build up, suddenly vanished.

In a flash, the amazing power he had just recovered left him again.

However, through this attempt, he had found the secret to the trick, and then he practiced it over and over again.

In his later practices, whenever he was able to maintain a raging heart, the special feeling of his fist being filled with rage would always be there.

Meanwhile, he also found that he could only cultivate the rage in his heart when gazing at the distant giant arm.

When he didn't look at the giant arm and tried to make the punch by channeling his own rage, that mysterious sensation wouldn't appear.

It seemed that he had to fully understand the begrudging rage contained in the giant hand, so as to truly grasp the essence of that punch.

After realizing this, he calmed himself and stopped wasting his energy, and instead, once again fixed his eyes on the giant arm, trying to truly feel the mental status of its owner when they threw that punch.

He was completely submerged in his thoughts and lost track of time; he forgot about the environment he was in and even forgot himself.

When he forgot about his physical form, he entered a trance in which he had the sudden feeling that he was the owner of the giant arm, that he feared no rules or restrictions, and that he dared to fight the heaven and earth.

PTSSS! PTSSS!

After an unknown period of time, the animal bone by his feet suddenly spewed tiny flames.

It seemed the drop of blood in the animal bone had been consuming its flame power. Now, after it had consumed a certain amount, the animal bone began to change.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

One after another, clusters of flame shot out of the animal bone, dragging Nie Tian out of his thoughts.

At first glance, Nie Tian found that the drop of blood in the animal bone had shrunk considerably, compared to when it was fully formed.

He instantly realized, without knowing it, that he had consumed a considerable amount of the flame energy.

Even as he was in a state of bewilderment, the animal bone continued to change and once again transformed into a bright vortex of flame.

Seeing the formation of the flame vortex, he suddenly understood the flame power left in the animal bone was now only enough to open the portal to home.

Otherwise, as the flame energy continued to run out, there wouldn't be enough power left in the animal bone to form the flame vortex and send him back.

Looking at those mountain-like giant arms, he was extremely reluctant to leave, as he had just discovered part of the secrets contained in them. "I have no choice but to leave for now?"

However, the animal bone didn't give him any time to think before he was swallowed by the bright vortex of flame.

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Chapter Twenty-seven: A Major Stir

Meanwhile, back in the Nie clan…

During the ten days in which Nie Tian had been missing, Nie Donghai had forced Nie Beichuan to go to the Yun clan with him and to demand them to release Nie Tian.

On the other hand, the Yun clan insisted that Nie Tian's disappearance had nothing to do with them.

In the past, the Cloudsoaring sect seldom showed interest in Nie Donghai's matters, due to their resentment towards him.

However, for unknown reasons, this time the Cloudsoaring sect unexpectedly arranged for Li Fan to assist Nie Donghai the moment Nie Donghai informed them of Nie Tian's situation.

Li Fan led Nie Donghai to the Yun clan, turning it upside down in a search for Nie Tian. They didn't give even the slightest face to the Yun clan.

Unfortunately, they found nothing.

Yet, Li Fan didn't stop there. He went to the Yuan clan in Frost Stone City and made another thorough search in their territory.

However, that search was also in vain.

Ten days later, Li Fan continued to stay in the Nie clan and search for Nie Tian's whereabouts in other nearby cities, using the Cloudsoaring sect's power.

Obviously, the Cloudsoaring sect was truly concerned with Nie Tian's disappearance this time, leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to find him.

As the current clanmaster, Nie Beichuan secretly gloated at the sight of the Cloudsoaring sect going through all that trouble to search for Nie Tian, and yet he still provided full cooperation.

It was early at dawn when Nie Qian and Nie Donghai came to Li Fan's guest room, asking whether the Cloudsoaring sect had news about Nie Tian.

Upon seeing Li Fan shake his head, Nie Qian said with weak voice, "Mr. Li, Little Tian is our last remaining emotional support. He… is all we have. Please, you must find him."

"Please make extra efforts, Mr. Li!" Nie Donghai pleaded with bloodshot eyes.

In the past ten days, he hadn't slept well for even a single night, and was looking more frail than ever.

Nie Tian's disappearance almost crushed him. Like a person plagued by sickness, he had softly called for Nie Tian in the night, hoping Nie Tian might hear his calling and suddenly return.

"I've asked a large number of friends within a 50 kilometers radius to look for information of Nie Tian's whereabouts. Once he shows up, I will be informed." Li Fan frowned, looking a bit puzzled. "Frankly, it may be true that… neither the Yun clan nor the Yuan clan have anything to do with it. We have people in their clans that have close ties with our sect, and I've collected information from them. It seems they truly have no knowledge of Nie Tian's disappearance."

Nie Qian was on the verge of breaking down. "If it wasn't the Yun Family or the Yuan Family, then who could it be?"

The significance the Cloudsoaring sect had attached to this incident had deeply touched Nie Donghai and Nie Qian. They knew the Cloudsoaring sect had tried their best.

If the Cloudsoaring sect had failed to find Nie Tian after spending so much effort and pulling so many strings, it would be almost impossible for the Nie clan to find him.

"Please rest assured. As long as Nie Tian is alive, there will be a way." Li Fan tried to comfort them.

The next moment, Li Fan's expression suddenly flickered. After a quiet expression of surprise, he dashed out of the room.

Nie Donghai and Nie Qian also followed him out.

The moment Li Fan stepped out of the room, he pointed in certain a direction, and said with a serious look on his face, "Over there! The fluctuations of space over there are totally abnormal! A spatial rift is forming!"

Nie Donghai and Nie Qian looked into the direction that Li Fan had pointed, and the three of them heard a loud noise coming from the air above Nie Tian's room.

"It's Little Tian's room!"

Nie Qian and Nie Donghai dashed over as fast as they could, panting heavily.

As Li Fan realized it was the room that Nie Tian had disappeared in, he instantly got very excited and great interest appeared on his face.

SHEW!

Li Fan flashed into action and beat Nie Qian and Nie Donghai to the scene.

When Nie Qian and Nie Donghai arrived moments later, Li Fan called out in a deep voice, "Don't step any closer!"

Members of the Nie clan had also perceived the anomaly and were arriving from every direction.

Before long, more than a dozen Nie clan members had gathered around Nie Tian's room.

CRACKLE!

Under the crowd's gaze, Nie Tian's small stone residence suddenly filled with rifts.

One by one, bright rifts appeared, forming a crisscross network above the stone house, as if the space was being slit open by a knife.

Strange light surged out of the rifts, like meteors, and flashed across the unknown space inside the rifts.

The space in the surrounding area became extremely unstable and the magnetic field became disordered, all while colorful sparks kept splashing out of the spatial rifts.

The moment those sparks touched solid objects, they immediately exploded, creating violent shock waves.

BOOM!

Nie Tian's stone house finally exploded into fragments, and at the same time, those spatial rifts twisted and became more and more unstable.

"Everyone back off!"

Li Fan was overwhelmed by the scene. With a loud shout, he warned the members of the Nie clan to immediately leave the vicinity of the site.

"Stay away! Everyone keep their distance!"

Nie Beichuan, who had just rushed to the site, also lost his composure and loudly warned the crowd.

Feeling the danger, the members of the Nie clan all vacated the vicinity upon Li Fan and Nie Beichuan's orders.

When they were about a hundred meters away, they felt somewhat safe, and thus turned around to refocus on the spatial disorder.

Several observant members of the Nie clan shouted out, their voices full of excitement and disbelief.

"Nie Tian!"

"It's Nie Tian!"

"Nie Tian is in the rubble!"

By that point, Nie Donghai and Nie Qian had also noticed that a figure of a child was rising to their feet within the pile of rubble.

Shockingly, that figure was Nie Tian!

Nie Tian stood up straight up in the debris of the house, his face full of bewilderment. It seemed he was still confused and disoriented, unsure of what was happening.

He raised his head, looking up at the twisting, wiggling spatial rifts above his head, then he subconsciously crouched down, fearing that he come into contact with those spatial rifts.

"Nobody move!" Li Fan warned in a loud voice as he stared at Nie Tian with burning eyes. "Nie Tian! You too. Stay where you are and don't move!"

"Okay," Nie Tian said with the nod of a head.

Li Fan took a deep breath before he took out a jade plaque and spoke excitedly into it, "Master! A spatial disruption zone has formed in the Nie clan!"

A dignified and awe-inspiring voice came from within the jade plaque. "Stay put! Don't do anything and I'll be there soon!"

Upon hearing the voice, everyone including Nie Donghai and Nie Beichuan was shocked.

They could distinctly tell the speaker was the master of the Cloudsoaring sect, Jiang Zhisu.

The Nie clan was merely one of the mortal clans that served the Cloudsoaring sect, and thus Jiang Zhisu had never visited.

Even as clanmasters, neither Nie Donghai nor Nie Beichuan had ever had the privilege to see Jiang Zhisu in person on the occasions during which they had visited the Cloudsoaring sect.

This time, Jiang Zhisu was actually going to come to the Nie clan personally. This news shocked every member of the clan.

"Everyone leave, except the clanmaster!" After pondering for a moment, Li Fan pointed to Nie Donghai. "You stay too. Everyone else leave! And keep your mouth shut about this! Don't you let out a word about the spatial disruption zone appearing in the Nie clan!"

"What are you waiting for?!" Nie Beichuan yelled. "Didn't you hear Mr. Li? Leave! Now!"

Upon his order, the crowd of Nie clan members who had gathered around the place left the scene, even though they still had many questions and doubts in their hearts.

Even Nie Qian, who had been worrying so much about Nie Tian, dragged her feet and left reluctantly upon Nie Donghai's urging.

After the crowd had all left, Li Fan spoke, his expression very serious. "This is a matter of great importance. My master is going to arrive soon. We'll wait for him here."

"I understand." Nie Donghai and Nie Beichuan didn't know what to do, but nodded their heads to indicate they understood.

However, just as they were waiting and preparing themselves to greet Jiang Zhisu, the mysterious spatial rifts that had appeared out of nowhere, gradually began to close up for no apparent reason.

"This is…" Nie Beichuan was shocked to his core.

In a very short period of time, all the spatial rifts had disappeared into thin air.

In addition, the distorted magnetic field slowly returned to normal, and the odd scenery in the sky also disappeared without leaving a trace.

"How could this be possible?" Li Fan was at a loss of words.

But seeing the spatial rifts vanish, Nie Donghai put on a joyful look.

Because he knew that meant Nie Tian were safe.

Cringing in the pile of rubble, Nie Tian couldn't stop thinking about how all the anomalies had been caused by the animal bone in his hand. "Spatial disruption zone, ripped-open space…"

He bowed his head low and wondered how he was going to explain all this, while his eyes glittered with a strange light. "The secrets of the animal bone must not be known! The mysteries of that mystical land must be gradually dug up by me and me alone!"

Soon, he made up his mind and came up with an explanation in his head.

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Chapter Twenty-eight: The Sectmaster Visits!

Even as Nie Tian was lost in thought, the angry roars of Nie Nanshan, Nie Kan, and the others rang out from off in the distance.

"Who dares to trespass in the Nie clan?"

"Stop!"

Li Fan's expression flickered briefly, as if he knew the anomalies here had attracted the attention of some powerful expert.

"Scram! You stupid guards!" The charming voice of a woman rose up the distance, and soon after that, a red-garbed figure suddenly appeared in front of them.

It was a tender and charming woman dressed in fiery red garments. Her earrings, the heart-shaped pendant hanging from her snow-white neck, and the bracelet on her slender jade arm all reflected precious lights of various colors.

She was incredibly beautiful to begin with, but with the addition of all the precious jewelry, she seemed even more graceful and elegant.

The moment the charming red-garbed woman landed and saw Li Fan of the Cloudsoaring sect, she couldn't help but grin. "Li Fan? Why are you here?"

Li Fan snorted. Sounding irritated, he replied, "This is the Nie clan, one of our subordinate clans. Isn't it normal for me to be here? This isn't the An clan. How come you've completely ignored the owner's defenses and barged in?"

Nie Tian was astounded as he subconsciously fixed his eyes on that charming women in red. "An Shiyi?"

Having lived in Black Cloud City for so many years, he could instantly identify all of the powerful figures of the three major clans in Black Cloud City: the An clan, the Nie clan, and the Yun clan.

Over the years, the weakening of the Nie clan had allowed the comparative strength of the Yun clan to grow. Now they ranked second among the three major clans of Black Cloud City.

However, the An clan had always been the strongest, and it was they who managed the Spiritual Treasure Pavilion in Black Cloud City.

Just like the Cloudsoaring sect, the Spiritual Treasure sect was a powerful Qi warrior sect, and also the owner of the jewelry shop known as the Spiritual Treasure Pavilion. The An clan represented them in Black Cloud City.

According to the rumors, it was all because of An Shiyi that the An clan could maintain such a position in Black Cloud City.

Supposedly, the reason that the woman held such an important post in the Spiritual Treasure sect was that not only did she possess extraordinary power, but she was also very good at sect politics and had made numerous contributions to the Spiritual Treasure sect. Hence, she was highly regarded by the sectmaster.

Ever since she stepped out of the An clan and become an important figure in the Spiritual Treasure sect, she had scarcely visited Black Cloud City.

Nie Tian was surprised by the fact that one of the biggest names in Black Cloud City had suddenly showed up right there in front of him.

Feeling Nie Tian's gaze, An Shiyi intentionally ignored Li Fan. Instead, she immediately smiled at Nie Tian and threw him a flirtatious wink. "Am I pretty, young man?"

Nie Tian, who was about to walk out of the debris, was stunned for a moment. He took a closer look at An Shiyi, before he grinned and said, "Big sister, if I marry a woman in the future, I'll marry one exactly like you."

"Hahaha!" An Shiyi chuckled charmingly. "You've such a mouth on you! If I haven't married anyone by the time you've grown up, then I'll marry you."

"Okay!" Nie Tian didn't think before promising.

Nie Donghai stared blankly at Nie Tian, finding their conversation ridiculous and Nie Tian completely imprudent.

"Watch yourself!" Nie Beichuan said with a harrumph.

"Miss An!" Li Fan reminded her, "You haven't answered my question yet!"

An Shiyi still didn't bother to look at Li Fan. Instead she took out a crimson dagger from her pocket and threw it toward Nie Tian, saying with a flirtatious smile, "It's yours now!"

As the crimson dagger arced through the air toward him, it suddenly burst out in flames.

Nie Tian didn't dare to catch it. He let the dagger drop to the ground, and then waited for the flames to go out. Then he winked at An Shiyi and said, "Thank you for the token of love, big sister!"

"Hahaha! Such an interesting kid!" An Shiyi turned to Nie Donghai and smiled. "Consider that dagger my token of apology for trespassing into the Nie clan."

Nie Donghai's face turned grim. Shaking his head, he said, "I'm no longer the master of the Nie clan."

"Oh." An Shiyi gently nodded, and then began to mutter in a voice that was completely audible to Nie Beichuan. "After so many secret moves, someone has finally got what he wanted. Unfortunately, I don't think he'll be able to keep his position for long. He's too narrow-minded…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nie Beichuan said angrily.

An Shiyi glanced at him with a face full of disdain and slowly said, "I meant that the Nie clan may never prosper again with you as their master."

"You!" Nie Beichuan fumed, his eyes glaring. However, in fear of An Shiyi's status, he didn't dare to do anything further.

"Alright, enough jokes." An Shiyi raised her eyebrow and finally looked over at Li Fan. Expression serious, she said, "Some things can not be hidden. I noticed the the strong fluctuations and the glaring spatial rifts from far away. Also, the magnetic field here is still obviously abnormal, so an unstable space disruption zone must have been formed here.

"Both you and I understand what it means when a space disruption zone is formed.

"If the Cloudsoaring sect intends to take it as their own and explore it by themselves, I'm afraid it won't be that easy!

"Anyone who sees it should have a share of it, so we, the Spiritual Treasure sect, demand our share!"

"This is the Nie clan!" Li Fan replied indignantly. "And the Nie clan belongs to us. Since the space disruption zone showed up here, it ought to belong to us, the Cloudsoaring sect!"

"The Nie clan is also a part of Black Cloud City," An Shiyi argued. "Since it showed up in Black Cloud City, the An clan should obviously have the right to part of it!"

As of this moment, Nie Tian had already extracted himself from the pile of rubble and walked over to Nie Donghai's side, holding the dagger An Shiyi had gifted him.

Nie Donghai didn't pay any attention to the quarrel between Li Fan and An Shiyi. Instead he pulled Nie Tian closer and asked in a low voice, "Are you okay?"

He didn't ask Nie Tian where he had been, but asked whether he was alright. Clearly, all he cared about was Nie Tian's safety.

"Grandpa, sorry for making you worry about me," Nie Tian replied quietly. "I'm fine."

Nie Donghai nodded and held back from asking any more questions, refocusing his attention on Li Fan and An Shiyi.

At this moment, the greetings of Nie Nanshan and other members of the Nie clan came from the distance.

"Sectmaster Jiang!"

"Greetings, sectmaster!"

Hearing that Jiang Zhisu had arrived, An Shiyi instantly stopped arguing with Li Fan, and her expression grew calm yet serious.

Nie Donghai turned to Nie Tian. Voice low, he said, "The sectmaster is here. Think twice before you speak." Nie Tian nodded.

In a few seconds, the green-garbed Jiang Zhisu, accompanied by Nie Nanshan, appeared right there in front of Nie Tian.

As the master of the Cloudsoaring sect, Jiang Zhisu appeared to be only around forty-years-old, with a righteous face and a plain expression that probably wouldn't change under any pressure or difficulty.

Looking over at An Shiyi, he calmly said, "So, you're here too, kiddo."

"Greetings, uncle Jiang." An Shiyi smoothed away all her sharp edges when facing him and pretended to be modest and virtuous. "I happened to be in Black Cloud City when I sensed the changes caused by the spatial rifts appearing in the Nie clan. That's why I decided to come over and see what was going on."

After pondering for a moment, she continued, "Before I arrived, I didn't expect your honorable disciple Li Fan to be here. I was worried that members of the Nie clan wouldn't understand the dangers of the spatial rifts, and might make unadvised moves to hurt themselves. I'm only here to help.

"Fortunately, the space disruption zone wasn't fully formed. Apparently my worries were unfounded."

After hearing her explanation, Jiang Zhisu nodded. "I also happened to overhear what you just said to Li Fan. If a space disruption zone were to be completely formed in this place, our Cloudsoaring sect would surely invite the Spiritual Treasure sect to explore it with us."

"Thank you, uncle Jiang." An Shiyi bowed to express her gratitude, and then she smiled at Nie Donghai. "Sorry to have disturbed you."

After finishing these words, she winked at Nie Tian again and then left without a moment's hesitation.

It seemed all she had been waiting for was Jiang Zhisu's promise. After getting it, she simply walked out of the Nie clan, her mind settled.

Jiang Zhisu looked at Li Fan and asked, "Tell me what you've seen, and don't leave out any details."

Li Fan held nothing back, thoroughly explaining all the anomalies that he had witnessed in the Nie clan.

After he finished, Jiang Zhisu closed his eyes in thought for a while. Then he suddenly turned to Nie Tian and ordered, "This child stays. All the other members of the Nie clan may leave us for now."

Upon his order, Nie Donghai and his two brothers all bowed and then left, each with their own thoughts.

After all of them were gone, Jiang Zhisu gazed at Nie Tian and asked with a warm tone, "Child, I heard that you disappeared for ten days. Where were you during that time?"

Nie Tian took a breath and answered with a serious face, "Ten days ago, some similar spatial rifts appeared just like they did today. Then, I was sucked into one of them…"

"Sucked into it?" A strange light flashed in Jiang Zhisu's eyes. "Then what? What did you see? And how did you come back?"

Nie Tian described everything with a fascinated look on his face, as if he were immersed in a dream. "I saw a sky full of dazzling lights, as if there were countless meteors flying past me. It seemed like a magnificent dreamland, with sparks of light everywhere, and raining meteors of various colors. It felt like I stayed there for a long time, but at the same time it also felt like I was there only for a short while.

"Then, for unknown reasons, I was dragged out and returned to the Nie clan.

"I would've never expected that ten days would have passed. It's all so weird."

Nie Tian had confusion written across his face, as if he truly had no idea of what had happened to him.

Jiang Zhisu looked at him and listened to his story carefully. After quite a while, he nodded and gently said, "Alright, you may go to your grandfather now."

Nie Tian awkwardly mimicked Nie Donghai's previous actions, bowing towards Jiang Zhisu, and then left.

"Master, do you think the child told the truth?" Li Fan asked.

Jiang Zhisu's expression didn't change at all. "No."

"That little punk dared to lie to you?" Li Fan said angrily. "I'll call him back right now!"

Jiang Zhisu shook his head, a strange look in his eyes. It seemed he also felt that Nie Tian had some guts. "It doesn't matter if he was telling the truth. What matters the most is that something extraordinary indeed happened to him, right here."

"If we don't find out the truth, what should we do next?" Li Fan said indignantly.

Jiang Zhisu rubbed his chin in thought and added, "If it really was a space disruption zone that was on its way to being formed, it will show itself in the future. If it wasn't, then… there has to be something unusual about that child. I actually hope it was the child."

"What?!" Li Fan said, puzzled.

Jiang Zisu continued to explain, profound meaning filling his words, "Someone in our sect has already spotted him. Sooner or later, Nie Tian will be admitted into the Cloudsoaring sect. If it really was something on him that triggered the change, then after he becomes a disciple of our sect, he will naturally be a powerful asset. In the following period of time, you will stay in the Nie clan and see whether any more anomalies occur."

"I understand," said Li Fan.

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Chapter Twenty-nine: Strike With Another's Power

After bidding farewell to Jiang Zhisu, Nie Tian calmly went to find Nie Donghai.

A large number of Nie clan members were gathered at one of their major pavilions. Not only were Nie Donghai and his brothers there, but even members of the second generation were there, including Nie Qian and Nie Kan.

The moment Nie Tian arrived, he discovered that his grandfather looked rather grim and Nie Qian's face was full of grievances. It appeared that they had been arguing with Nie Beichuan.

Nie Kan turned his head and saw Nie Tian coming their way, and then immediately announced, "Nie Tian is here."

In a instant, all gazes were fixed upon Nie Tian.

"Nie Tian, has sectmaster Jiang left?" Nie Nanshan asked.

"Yeah." Nie Tian nodded. "He asked me a few questions, talked to Mr. Li, and then left."

Hearing that Jiang Zhisu had left, every member of the Nie clan seemed to have a huge burden lifted off their shoulders and suddenly felt relieved.

Jiang Zhisu was so widely respected and feared by the Nie clan that whenever he was around, nobody even dared to speak in loud voice.

"What did the sectmaster ask you?" Nie Beichuan said with a straight face.

Nie Tian didn't hesitate a bit to repeat Jiang Zhisu's questions and how he answered.

"You were sucked into a spatial rift and somehow magically returned to our clan?" Nie Beichuan had a strange look on his face, and was staring at Nie Tian with doubtful eyes, as if he hoped to find a loophole in the story from Nie Tian's expression alone.

Under his gaze, Nie Tian didn't say a word, and actually appeared quite composed.

After gazing for a while, Nie Beichuan failed to find anything, then suddenly said, "The dagger An Shiyi gave you was a token of apology for trespassing on the Nie clan's property, thus it should be turned over to the storehouse."

Nie Donghai let out a cold harrumph. "Second brother!"

Nie Qian also angrily said, "She clearly stated that it was a gift to Little Tian, so it should belong to Little Tian. Why should he turn it in?"

Nie Tian went blank for a moment. However it only took a moment before he realized what Nie Qian had been arguing with Nie Beichuan about.

Nie Beichuan raised his voice and held his head high, glancing around at certain other clan members. "I am the master of the Nie clan! An Shiyi must atone for barging into the Nie clan's property regardless of our defenses, and she said herself that the dagger in Nie Tian's hand was the atonement!"

The majority of the clan members who he looked at chimed in.

"The clanmaster is right."

"It's a reasonable solution."

"It's only fair!"

Only a small percentage of clan members seemed to support Nie Donghai. But knowing Nie Beichuan's power has been gradually increasing, even if they were dissatisfied inside, not a single one of them dared to speak up.

Nie Qian bit her lip, her bright eyes filled with rage and resentment.

Nie Donghai was utterly disappointed in the clan members. He sighed and prepared to persuade Nie Tian to hand over the dagger.

"Just now…" Nie Tian gradually lifted his dagger-holding hand and while smiling said, "After answering sectmaster Jiang's questions, I took out the dagger, told him it didn't belong to me, and said that I wanted to hand it over to Mr. Li.

"However, sectmaster Jiang said that since it was gifted to me, I should keep it and protect it, not letting down An Shiyi's good intentions.

"But…" He halted briefly, and looked at Nie Beichuan. "Since the clanmaster says the dagger needs to be turned in, I'll turn it in."

With these words, he spread open his hand, waiting for Nie Ping, the person in charge of the storehouse, to come and collect it.

However, right after he finished his comments, those clan members who previously clamored and demanded him to hand over the dagger, suddenly all shut up.

Even Nie Beichuan had various expressions flashing across his face.

The truth was that he couldn't tell whether Nie Tian was telling the truth.

If it was true, and Jiang Zhisu really had said those words, then he… absolutely didn't dare to contradict his will.

Not to mention that Jiang Zhisu had already left; even if he was still in the Nie clan, Nie Beichuan wouldn't dare to go to him to verify Nie Tian's claim.

He even wouldn't want to seek proof from Li Fan, in case Li Fan might think less of him.

The dagger almost immediately became a bit of an eyesore to him.

Nie Beichuan remained silent with an unreadable expression. Nie Tian raised his hand and waved the crimson dagger, shouting, "Uncle Nie Ping?"

Nie Ping was one of Nie Beichuan's trusted aides. Recently, he had deliberately set up obstacles for Nie Qian when she traded for flamecloud gems, and had deducted many flamecloud gems from Nie Qian's transactions.

However, when Nie Tian simply stood there waiting for him to collect the dagger, he suddenly didn't know what to do.

He couldn't help but looked timidly at Nie Beichuan.

Seeing that Nie Ping didn't dare to collect it, Nie Tian voluntarily stepped forward and shoved it into his hands with a smile. "Here you go. Later, I'll go tell Mr. Li that I've turned that dagger over to the Nie clan's storehouse. After all, I'm too young, and how unseemly would it be if I were to hold such a high-ranked spiritual tool, right?"

Even though he didn't know much about the ranking system of spiritual tools, he knew that this dagger from An Shiyi was an extraordinary object.

"What? No!" The moment Nie Ping heard that Nie Tian was going to inform Li Fan, he shivered with terror. It was as if the dagger had suddenly turned into a scalding hot item of trouble. Without any hesitation, he shoved it back into Nie Tian's hands as fast as he could.

Then, he turned and looked at Nie Beichuan with a helpless look on his face, as if he were about to cry.

Nie Beichuan was also shocked by Nie Tian's action. He took a deep look at Nie Tian, and with no other choice, he said, "Since sectmaster Jiang told you to keep it, then you'd better take good care of it."

"Oh, alright then," Nie Tian said indifferently. "Thanks a lot, clanmaster."

Before, he had always addressed Nie Beichuan as "second grandpa", but after Nie Beichuan had assumed clanmaster, he became more and more excessive. Thus, he no longer addressed Nie Beichuan that way, but rather called him "clanmaster", as an outsider would.

In Nie Tian's heart, Nie Beichuan no longer deserve to be called "grandpa".

Nie Donghai let out a cold harrumph. "Can we go now?"

Nie Beichuan didn't say a word.

Nie Donghai then turned to Nie Tian and said, "Let's go. You stay with me for the next few days."

As they spoke, Nie Donghai led Nie Tian away, towards the quiet stone pavilion that he currently lived in. Holding her chin high, Nie Qian caught up with them, feeling quite content.

After arriving at the stone pavilion, Nie Donghai closed the door before he stroking Nie Tian's head affectionately. Smiling, he said, "Smart kid."

Nie Tian laughed softly, well aware that Nie Donghai had seen through his trick of deliberately pressuring Nie Beichuan with Jiang Zhisu.

Nie Qian was eager to ask Nie Tian what had happened during the past ten days. "Little Tian, during the time you were gone…"

Nie Donghai threw her a fierce glare, stopping her from finishing her question. Then, he led them to the study, where he grabbed a brush pen and started to write rapidly on a piece of paper.

On the paper, Nie Donghai wrote with vigorous strokes, "Never tell anyone about what you've actually experienced or witnessed over the past ten days. With the sectmaster's cultivation base, even though we are five thousand meters apart, he is still able to hear every single word you say if he wants to. This includes even your whispers! Plus, we don't have the ability to seal off our voices."

Seeing these words, Nie Qian suddenly became vigilant, and didn't dare to say another word.

Nie Tian also gently nodded his head.

As of this moment, he realized that, compared to his grandfather, Nie Beichuan had been extremely stupid.

Since Jiang Zhisu was able to overhear their conversations from far away, he could also hear what Nie Beichuan had said to Nie Tian as long as he wanted to.

As intelligent and experienced as Jiang Zhisu was, it was very likely that he had secretly paid attention and got truthful answers to his questions.

Perhaps, Jiang Zhisu was eavesdropping on their conversation right now…

Nie Beichuan didn't realize this, and thus acted narrow-mindedly. If Jiang Zhisu did hear his words, it would undoubtedly have left Jiang Zhisu with a sour taste in his mouth.

In fact, it had.

At this very moment, outside Black Cloud City, Jiang Zhisu smiled to himself. "What a smart boy."

After these words, he waited no more. Blurring into action, he flew towards the Cloudsoaring Mountain like a red bolt of lightning.

It was impossible for him to waste too much energy on the Nie clan.

Since he couldn't easily determine what had truly occurred, he could only leave temporarily and dig up the truth bit by bit in the future.

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Chapter Thirty: Li Fan's Incitement!

Li Fan spent the following three months in the Nie clan, observing the area where the spatial rifts had opened up.

Unfortunately, after three months of waiting, Li Fan failed to witness any reappearances.

However, the news of a space disruption zone appearing in the Nie clan quietly spread throughout the whole of Black Cloud City. Quite a few foreign Qi warriors began to show up, one after another, to wander the perimeter of the Nie clan.

Because Li Fan had been staying in the Nie clan, Nie Donghai and Nie Qian seldom went to talk to Nie Tian. They intentionally showed little interest in Nie Tian's situation.

Both of them understood that as long as Li Fan was in the Nie clan, any conversations they had with Nie Tian would very likely be overheard.

Nie Tian himself understood the degree of complexity of the situation. For three whole months, he spent most of his time in his residence, not daring to further study the profundity of the one punch he had learned from that mysterious land.

He was worried that Li Fan might pick up on some inkling of the matter from the most subtle details.

Meanwhile, inside the An clan…

Three Qi warriors from the Spiritual Treasure sect returned from the Nie Family very late at night to find An Shiyi.

They were led by a short, chubby fellow named Qiu Heng, whose face was filled with a warm, perpetual smile. He was An Shiyi's martial uncle, and he knew a thing or two about the mysteries of spatial force.

After a moment of pondering, Qiu Heng said, "Kiddo, that space disruption zone hasn't showed up again for three months. During that time, I secretly approached and investigated the area, but found no anomalies of space movement. In my opinion, I'm afraid it was an accident and another space disruption zone will probably not appear."

One of his companions added, "We've taken turns and waited for three months now. We can assure you that nothing abnormal has occurred in that area during this time."

The three of them had been taking shifts to closely watch the Nie clan. If any anomalies popped up, they would have definitely caught them.

After such a long time, with not even the slightest of unusual activities occurring, they had privately begun to believe that spatial disorder which appeared in the Nie Family was perhaps merely an accident.

Each of them were in high posts and had important duties in the Spiritual Treasure sect, thus it was impossible for them to stay for an extended duration in Black Cloud City.

Finding An Shiyi today and making these comments, they clearly intended to leave.

"It seems we need to think about things from a different angle." The curvaceous and alluring An Shiyi sank back into the soft couch. With one hand propping up her delicate chin and her beautiful eyes glimmering with intelligence, she smiled and said, "There's a child from the Nie clan called Nie Tian, who mysteriously disappeared for ten days before the incident had occurred. During the ten days he was gone, the Cloudsoaring sect put in a surprisingly concerted effort to find him. Even Li Fan himself pulled a lot of strings.

"Both the Yun clan and the Yuan clan were turned upside down.

"This is no coincidence."

"I got to the site immediately after detecting the abnormal fluctuations in the Nie clan, and that kid instantly caught my eyes.

"At first I didn't know that he was the same Nie Tian who had disappeared for ten days.

"After vanishing for ten days with no explanation, he happened to reappear in the Nie clan exactly when space was ripped open. I have reason to believe that he must have entered a mysterious dimension through a spatial rift.

"What's more, living creatures can obviously remain alive within the dimension. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to make it back alive."

With these words, An Shiyi suddenly recalled her conversation with Nie Tian in the Nie clan three months ago, and couldn't help but snort with laughter.

The three powerful Qi warriors from the Spiritual Treasure sect had originally been focused on her speculations. However, the dim room seemed to be suddenly lit up by her sweet and charming chuckle.

As they watched An Shiyi, they appeared to have somewhat drifted off and momentarily lost themselves in her astonishing charm.

Qiu Heng was the first to regain his senses. Glaring at her, he rebuked, "Quit playing and finish what you're saying!"

An Shiyi stuck out her tongue, smiled, and said, "Since nothing unusual has happened in the Nie clan, perhaps we should focus on that kid Nie Tian and figure out where he had been during the ten days that he was missing.

"I have a hunch that the the abnormal activity in the Nie clan is most likely related to that kid."

"You think it was caused by the boy?" Qiu Heng's expression flickered, as if he were considering something. He nodded and said, "It's indeed a possibility. Some people with special inner attributes, or those who possesses miraculous items, could indeed trigger a disorder of space. But that kid… is merely a teenager. With such a low cultivation base, could he have truly caused something like that?"

"Martial uncle, please stay for a few more days," An Shiyi pleaded. "I'll make a plan and set something up to see if we can get the truth from Nie Tian."

Qiu Heng nodded in agreement. "Okay then."

An abrupt appearance of an unknown space disruption zone was of great significance, which could possibly change the destiny of a Qi warrior's sect.

Due to this reason, upon hearing about the anomaly in the Nie clan, they had rushed from the Spiritual Treasure sect to this location, hoping to get a share of the profits from the hands of the Cloudsoaring sect.

Having discovered no trace of any unusual activities after waiting for three months, they were rather embarrassed to report back to the sect leaders, therefore they would rather help An Shiyi carry out her new plan.

…

At the same time, back in the Nie clan, Nie Kan anxiously barged into Nie Beichuan's ice-cold cultivation chamber with a grim look on his face. Apparently, he didn't care at all that it was the dead of night. "Father! Something big has happened!"

"What's wrong?" Nie Beichuan let out a mouthful of frost mist, looking somewhat irritated by the sudden intrusion. "Why the panic? What happened exactly? Li Fan is here, isn't he? He wouldn't just sit around and let things get out of control."

Nie Kan continued, "I just got the news that after months of relentless hard work, we've finally clear the blockage and reopened the mine."

"Isn't it supposed to be a good news?" Nie Beichuan asked, confused.

The lifeline of the entire Nie clan lay in the flamecloud gem mine. After the last collapse, they had taken advantage of the opportunity and forced Nie Xiang to abdicate, arranging for another clan elder on their side to manage the mine exploitation.

That clan elder hired a huge amount of laborers from Black Cloud City to clear the fallen stones in the mine, in order to exhibit his capability.

It should have taken longer to clear up the blocked mine, but it was reopened ahead of time under their unrelenting efforts.

"The thing is… apparently there are no more flamecloud gems in the mine!" Nie Kan's voice trembled slightly.

Nie Beichuan sprung to his feet and yelled, "It's impossible! Not long ago, the Cloudsoaring sect sent a Qi warrior, an expert in mineral surveying, to examine that mine. According to him, with our mining speed, we should be able to continue mining for another several decades. How could he have been mistaken?"

Expression bitter, Nie Kan said, "They performed a thorough investigation, but couldn't find even one more flamecloud gem."

"Impossible! How could that be possible?!" Nie Beichuan appeared to be at a complete loss.

He clearly knew the only reason the Nie clan was accepted and sheltered by the Cloudsoaring sect over the years was that they had always mined for the Cloudsoaring sect.

If the Nie clan were to lose the mine, they would very likely be abandoned by the Cloudsoaring sect, and thus lose their protection.

It would be extremely hard for a clan to maintain its foothold in Black Cloud City without someone to rely on. At that time, the An clan and the Yun clan would be able to treat the Nie clan without the slightest scruple.

Nie Beichuan panicked. "Lock down this news temporarily. I need to personally visit the mine to confirm whether or not it's true!"

The next day…

After realizing that he was waiting in vain, Li Fan decided to leave. He didn't talk to Nie Beichuan before he left, but instead he went to Nie Donghai's small, five-floored pavilion.

Upon arrival, he also had Nie Donghai call Nie Tian to the first floor.

Soon after, Nie Tian came down from the third floor and saluted Li Fan, "Greetings, Mr. Li."

Li Fan seemed a bit unhappy, and yet he said, "No need to be so courteous. Call me uncle Li from now on." Ever since learning from his master Jiang Zhisu that Nie Tian had dared to spin such a huge lie to his master, he had always considered him to be a little punk full of vile tricks.

Therefore, seeing Nie Tian again, he couldn't help but hold a little grudge against him. He naturally put on a long face.

"Very well," Nie Tian replied obediently. "Uncle Li."

Li Fan didn't spare Nie Donghai a glance. He stared at Nie Tian and said, "It's been three months. There still haven't been any unusual or special activities. I can't stay in the Nie clan permanently, so I'll return to the Cloudsoaring sect today. You were pulled into that space rift, so some level of panic and confusion are inevitable. Perhaps some things slipped your mind due to excessive fear…"

After pausing for a moment, he continued, "If you ever remember anything, you can always come to the Cloudsoaring sect and tell me."

"I've said all that I can say," Nie Tian replied in a low voice.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

Li Fan's mouth twitched. After a moment of thought, he suddenly burst into laughter. "Well then. I won't burden you with more questions today. If you think of anything in the future, remember to come find me in the Cloudsoaring sect.

"If you remember something that turns out to help the Cloudsoaring sect, it will be considered an act of meritorious service on your part.

"You know that we've always been generous towards those who make huge contributions. With such a significant contribution, you won't have to wait till you are fifteen or till you reach the ninth level of Qi Refining; you would be directly accepted by the Cloudsoaring sect and become a true disciple!"

Upon these words, Nie Donghai's eyes suddenly lit up. Nie Tian's heart was also secretly shaken.

Becoming a disciple of the Cloudsoaring sect had always been the ultimate goal for the young generation of the Nie clan, and Nie Tian was no exception.

Li Fan's remarks made him understand that all the so-called rules were completely subject to the interpretation of the rule makers!

For decades, reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining by the age of fifteen had been the condition for the Cloudsoaring sect to accept children of the Nie clan as their disciples.

Members of the Nie clan had never dared to even think about breaking the rule.

However, as the rule makers, the Cloudsoaring sect could change the rules that had been around for decades and immediately make him a disciple of the Cloudsoaring sect, all with a few mere words!

Truth be told, such incitement… was extremely appealing to him!

Seeing that both Nie Donghai and Nie Tian were tempted, Li Fan chuckled and added, "Not only that. If your contribution was great enough, I can assure you that your grandfather will be made head of the Nie clan again! Even your grandfather's injuries are not completely incurable. Because of you, your grandfather may regain the hope of making a breakthrough in his cultivation!"

Upon hearing these words, the gaunt Nie Donghai briefly quivered, and his eyes glittered with the light of hope.

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