Chapter 1: Transmigrated with nothing
It was already well into the summer and the sky was clear; a late morning with a golden orb casting its warm rays over the northern outskirts of Glory City.
The climate within the St. Ancestral Mountain is quite cold and the temperature didn't match what one would expect from the month of August. It was definitely warm, but it wasn't blisteringly hot.
The weather was simply perfect for outside work, and at this moment many farmers could be seen making good use of it, filling the vast fields of herbs belonging to the Heavenly Marks family.
The farmers wore straw hats and simple thin linen clothing. These were all mortals with Red soul realms and no cultivation base; Demon Spiritualists and Fighters would never do such lowly jobs.
Nie Li's family was also a family of farmers and was no different - Nie Li's father, uncle and aunt all attended the fields like usual. The exceptions today were Nie Li's mother, Xiao Yun, and Nie Li himself, as it just happens that Nie Li had gotten into a fight with Nie Xiaofeng and Nie Xiaori and got beaten up to the point of losing consciousness, currently staying in bed to recover.
Xiao Yun had stayed behind along with her niece Nie Yu, doing household chores and also watching over Nie Li who was in deep sleep since yesterday.
"Auntie, auntie! Big brother Nie Li woke up! Big brother Nie Li woke up!" A little girl with pigtails and red hair ran through the building while calling out loudly in a high-pitched voice.
Meanwhile Nie Li slowly straightened his body on top of a bed, laying his back against the wall. He clutched his chest with his hand at the same time as he felt his ribs hurting, with his body seeming to be bruised in various places.
While ignoring the pain, Nie Li scanned his surroundings, taking them in with alertness and agitation in his eyes. He had really transmigrated from Earth!
There was no Truck-kun nor meeting with God though. One night he simply had a very long dream and at the end of it he woke up in the body of the teenage Nie Li in Glory City of the Tiny World, also possessing all of Nie Li's life memories thus far.
Because of those memories that now belonged to him, he knew for sure that he was Nie Li, and that he was in Glory City; there was no doubt about it. According to what he knew, he's thirteen years old, just about to start his first year in the Holy Orchid Institute's Fighter Apprentice Class.
Holy Orchid Institute is a boarding school; a year in the Institute lasts 10 full months and then there are two months of holidays. Going by this knowledge, it was over eight months before the events of the canon if the novel was to be believed. - Nie Li's brain quickly made these kinds of observations after he realized where he now was
'I'm Nie Li… It's Glory City… Eight months…' Nie Li's mind was still in chaos and shrouded by fog of confusion as he thought, not being fully awake yet.
"Xiao Li."
A feminine voice was heard while Nie Li's eyes registered a new person entering the room.
'It's my mother, Xiao Yun,' Nie Li thought as he looked at a mature woman.
"Big brother Nie Li!" a little girl, Nie Yun, followed behind Xiao Yun.
Xiao Yun approached Nie Li's bed and knelt down with a concerned expression. "Xiao Li, thank heavens you're okay! You scared us so much when you didn't wake up for so long. Are you okay now?"
Meanwhile Nie Yun also gazed at Nie Li with her large eyes.
After a moment Nie Li decided to attempt using the new language that he had just learned and spoke up. "I think-"
His voice was hoarse and his throat dry. He cleared his throat and continued, "I think I'm fine. Just hurting."
Nie Li was unsure if he had something broken, but he guessed that not and he only had bruises. The difference in strength between him and Nie Xiaofeng and Nie Xiaori is so large that either of them can easily play with him while controlling their strength. They probably only roughed him up somewhat while knocking him out by accident.
After hearing Nie Li's reply, Xiao Yun let out a breath of relief and her expression transformed from concerned to a scolding one. "It's good if you're unhurt. Xiao Li, be more careful next time. How many times did we tell you to not fight with Elder Nie Wei's grandsons? I know that they're the ones picking on you, but you didn't even start training yet! You're making things difficult for Elder Nie En…"
Xiao Yun scolded, but upon seeing Nie Li's absentminded and defeated expression, she didn't feel like continuing. Usually Nie Li would snap back and be quite stubborn, but it was different this time.
Meanwhile Nie Li was in deep thought as he looked at the woman in front of him. 'She is my mother, the woman who gave birth to me and raised me as Nie Li…'
Although Nie Li was aware of this fact, his feelings toward his mother were somewhat cool. He felt a level of gratitude and closeness, but that was it.
Nie Li also thought of another matter. 'Nie Xiaofeng and Nie Xiaori, one of them is a 1-star Silver rank Demon Spiritualist, while the other is a 1-star Silver rank Fighter. They're from a rivaling branch of the family under elder Nie Wei. In comparison, Nie Li has a Red soul realm and a pitiful Fighter talent, his current strength is far below 1-star Bronze rank Fighter; he's no different from an ordinary person's…'
Nie Li seemed to be a timid and cowardly teenager in his memories with little talent for cultivation, yet he was still very stubborn and petty, indignantly picking fights with those stronger than him for no real reason other than to defend his pride.
'I guess some things never change…'
"Xiao Li, is something wrong?" Xiao Yun asked; and Nie Yun also looked at Nie Li with concern.
"Nothing." Nie Li faintly smiled. "Sorry for worrying you. I won't fight with Nie Xiaofeng and Nie Xiaori again."
After hearing Nie Li's reply, Xiao Yun was silent for a while, before saying, "Good. Now stay in bed and recover, Xiao Li. I'll bring you some warm meat stew."
"Thank you," Nie Li faintly replied reflexively. Hearing his *mother's* affectionate tone, he couldn't help but at least be nice.
Xiao Yun smiled and then left the room, bringing Nie Yu with her to allow Nie Li to *rest in peace*.
Once Nie Li was left alone in the room, he let out a very long breath while silently observing his new surroundings, a simple room in an ancient China's style. 'Incredible… This is Glory City and I am Nie Li.'
Various emotions intertwined in Nie Li's heart as he slowly began to accept the reality of his new situation.
Although Nie Li thought that the Tales of Demons and Gods novel was quite bad and had some terrible aspects in it, he still absolutely loved it and loved the world within, along with the various incredibly loyal and brilliant heroines.
Once upon a time he even thought that if he were to transmigrate into any world without a golden finger or any wishes, then he would like to transmigrate as Nie Li in his first life as long as he would also have Nie Li's Fate and favor of the Heavenly Dao.
And that's because instead of receiving a cheat from a higher power or having certain knowledge ingrained into him, he could travel through heaven and earth himself, he could witness the world's brilliance with his own eyes, experience fortune and misfortune, have all kinds of experiences, use the Temporal Demon Spirit Book for centuries and learn things by himself, naturally transforming himself as a person in the process and reaching a new level of existence.
At that time he thought that Heaven's favor would naturally give him a sort of plot armor that wouldn't allow him to easily die, as he would be the Fated One that had to kill the Sage Emperor. However, now that he was transmigrated as Nie Li with no rhyme or reason, or a warning, he couldn't help but frown - all of his once-upon-a-time daydreaming relied on him being favored by Heaven and on finding the Temporal Demon Spirit Book, but how could he rely on that? How could he know that he would be safe in any dangerous situation he gets himself into?
Perhaps an average Otaku would be excited and believe themselves to be the center of the world and a destined hero right after transmigrating, but Nie Li wasn't so naive; not after reading holy scriptures such as Reverend Insanity or Re:Zero. What was the guarantee that he wouldn't be left to die if he makes a mistake and proves to be useless? There could always be someone else that could be nurtured into being a pawn of Heavens instead of him, and it could also be a different world without a Sage Emperor.
The fact remained - Nie Li now had nothing, a Red soul realm, no talent for either soul force or strength cultivation, no resources, no special abilities, no cheats and no background, while he began his life in a world filled with monsters as a weakling.
Having a Red soul realm in Glory City basically destined him to live at the lowest level of society. Without a special cultivation technique, Nie Li could only reach 3-star Bronze rank Fighter level before Glory City is overrun by demon beasts in four years from now.
Without incredulous luck and Heaven's favor, as a 3-star Bronze rank, simply surviving the beast tide and the travel through the desert would be a miracle, but relying on luck before Nie Li even receives the Temporal Demon Spirit Book was simply too naive and risky.
But it wasn't like the situation was completely hopeless.
Nie Li thought, 'Although it feels a little scummy, I can always try to rely on the strength of others to protect myself for the next few years, for example rely on Du Ze or Xiao Ning Er. With my knowledge of the future I can still produce a great ripple in fate if I use it well. The most important thing though is a cultivation technique…'
If Nie Li could wish for one little thing when transmigrating, then he would wish for a personal cultivation technique. In this world, where all kinds of knowledge has been lost or destroyed by the Sage Emperor, it is very easy to become a powerhouse - one only needed a powerful cultivation technique and the most average person could become a peak level Martial Ancestor Expert! With a decent cultivation technique, Nie Li could quickly reach Legend rank even as a Red soul realm, standing at the top of the mortal world of the Tiny World.
'Of course I received no such wishes, but perhaps my knowledge of the novel is of some use and I can somehow acquire a powerful cultivation technique…'
Perhaps Nie Li should feel shocked by his current situation, but having in-a-way lived as Nie Li for thirteen years in this world, he accepted his 'transmigration' quite easily. It is just that he felt incredibly excited and anxious, as the path toward the various ambitions in his heart might be very risky and messy. Because of that he thought of the most important things first, all while stifling his wild emotions.
Nie Li straightened his body further, but at that time he got hit by another wave of aches that caused him to frown. Stopping himself from approaching the low desk in the room for the time being, he dropped lower and propped his chin in the palm of his right hand, entering a deep thought.
In general, the Cultivation Techniques in the novel were only described briefly and given a name, without any detail on how to actually cultivate them. Meanwhile in the manhua the chants were all written in unreadable letters. It is only in the donghua (3d anime) that the chants of the cultivation techniques were mentioned. The chants of the Heavenly Qilin, the Lightning Dragon and Nine Revolving Ice Phoenix Technique were all mentioned, but only the first sentence or two, all while having a terrible machine translation to English - even if Nie Li was able to recall some of these, they shouldn't really be helpful.
However, among Nie Li's memories of all the Cultivation Techniques, there was the chant of the first Chapter of Heavenly God Technique that he remembered perfectly. In general, his memory was quite good and he read the entire Tales of Demons and Gods novel around ten times, being a lore master in a way. One caveat was that he wasn't Chinese, but he read the version of the novel translated to English, so there were surely things lost in translation.
At this time Nie Li didn't have much hope that just a single line translated to English could allow him to master a supreme technique, but he still decided to give it a try and see the result. There was no harm in giving it a try.
Nie Li closed his eyes and focused his mind. Then he silently chanted with focus as he recalled: 'The Heavenly Dao shines. Heaven shrouds but cannot contain. The Great Dao envelopes but cannot dispute. Know all, perhaps, perhaps not.'
Instantly, Nie Li's soul realm was like a surging sea, constantly changing its shape. Portions of soul force ebbing and flowing, and Nie Li felt that his soul force had been strengthening at a clearly visible and incredible rate.
Nie Li 's face paled. For a Red soul realm like him that's normally unable to cultivate, the power of this chant seemed a thousand times higher than that of the common cultivation technique that he learned from the Heavenly Marks Family! And cultivating it was also very comfortable! With just one chant Nie Li felt his soul force strengthen.
'It f*cking worked!' Nie Li nearly felt like screaming, barely holding himself down. This single line he memorized was enough to produce such an incredible effect. It was not something he expected.
Nie Li closed his eyes and concentrated on chanting the English chant of the Heavenly God Technique's first chapter again.
His soul realm rapidly rotated, surged and expanded. The effect was completely incomparable to the cultivation sessions in the past. He practiced the Heavenly Marks Family cultivation technique over the years, spending many hours on it, but his soul force only increased to 3. In the end Nie Li gave up on increasing his soul force completely, because the progress was simply too pitifully slow!
If in the past Nie Li cultivated at the pace of a snail, then now he was like a fighter jet!
Nie Li repeated the chant a few times, feeling an intoxicating and addictive feeling while energy surged through his body, gathering in his soul realm. His soul force was strengthening, but instead of growing in size or number, it first seemed to be rapidly becoming denser and stronger.
Nie Li felt incredibly excited. He didn't know how far this improvised chant of Heavenly God Technique could take him, but simply reaching 1-star Silver rank or 1-star Gold rank Demon Spiritualist level would be much better than nothing! With this he wouldn't be defenseless anymore and various opportunities would open for him. And if he could actually use it to cultivate all the way to peak Legend rank like Nie Li, then that would be simply amazing!
...
Chapter 2.
"Wow, you're shining!" a little girl suddenly exclaimed with a voice like a tinkle bell. "Big brother Nie Li, are you cultivating?
'I'm shining?' Nie Li opened his eyes only to see Nie Yu and Xiao Yun enter the room.
Soon the corners of his mouth curled up as he thought of that. A practitioner's body emitting a cyan glow was a sign of a talented individual or of a strong soul force - close to that of 1-star Bronze rank.
But in Nie Li's mind, with his knowledge of the novel, it should probably be because his soul force was incredibly pure and dense, having a strong foundation, all thanks to practicing the Heavenly God Technique chant, and not being strong. After all, in the past he practiced for hours, but he never managed to produce a cyan glow.
At this moment Nie Yu was looking at him curiously with large eyes, and Nie Li looked back at her.
Xiao Yun, who was currently carrying a bowl of warm soup, also appeared quite shocked by what she just saw.
"Xiao Li, how did you do it?" Xiao Yun asked, expression of disbelief.
Being questioned like that, Nie Li appeared somewhat speechless. After a moment's lag, he replied, "I simply cultivated…"
This kind of answer seemed to be good enough, because after a few seconds, Nie Li's mother's expression changed from a shocked to a joyous one. "That's great, Xiao Li! Weren't you unable to cultivate soul force? Did something change? Did you have some kind of breakthrough?"
"Well, I don't know… But my cultivation is now faster," Nie Li vaguely replied; one couldn't go wrong with that.
Xiao Yun's smile deepened as she looked at Nie Li for a while.
"Alright, alright. That's great, but eat up first! Practice later!" Xiao Yun said and placed the bowl of soup at a counter beside the bed.
Gazing at Nie Li, she thought, 'It would be great if we had a Bronze rank Demon Spiritualist in the family, but I shouldn't place too heavy responsibilities on Little Li. Just becoming a Bronze rank Fighter would be good enough.'
In the entire Heavenly Marks Family there are only a few Demon Spiritualists. As for Fighters: there were less than 70, majority of them at Bronze rank. Becoming a Bronze rank practitioner, whether a Fighter or a Demon Spiritualist, wasn't an easy thing to accomplish. Fighters alone already have a high status in the village with a total population of a few thousand, and it could be considered a success if Nie Li could become one rather than live as a farmer like them.
At this moment Nie Li got up from bed while ignoring the pain in his chest.
"Thank you." Nie Li got up to the counter and began eating the meat stew absentmindedly.
The stew was flavorful and thick, having a lot of meat in it and little vegetables.
In his heart Nie Li knew this stew was made from demon beast meat. Every year practitioners of Glory City kill thousands of demon beasts outside and thousands of tons of meat are still left in the wild to rot. Although Nie Li's family was poor, there was no lack of food in Glory City.
"Slow down, Xiao Li, or you'll end up choking." Xiao Yun chuckled as she watched Nie Li wolf down the soup, before leaving.
Nie Li didn't react and instead continued eating. He could feel his stomach rumbling, as it apparently didn't receive any food for quite a while. Due to the discovery of the effectiveness of the Heavenly God Technique chant, he didn't really feel like eating, but it is simply that he wanted to quickly become strong that he ate without reservation.
Xiao Yun soon left the room and brought Nie Yu with her, leaving Nie Li by himself again.
After Nie Li finished the stew, he wiped his mouth with a piece of cloth and went to sit on his bed again. He closed his eyes and resumed cultivating with the Heavenly God Technique, causing his soul realm to rotate rapidly.
Xiao Yun had come again in a while and asked if Nie Li wanted seconds, to which Nie Li concurred.
After eating again and cultivating for a few minutes in total, Nie Li opened his eyes. Even if Heavenly God Technique was supposed to be the slowest among the top-tier techniques, his progress should still be incomparable to the standards of Glory City.
Nie Li originally thought that he was destined for several years of a difficult life, but now a new world of possibilities opened in front of him. Although he didn't have ridiculous cheats or millions of books and techniques in his head, Heavenly God Technique's first chapter might be more than enough.
In the end, it turned out that cultivating in this world was as simple as chanting lines with profound truths of the universe. Nie Li found it quite laughable, but that was the reality of his situation. If only this single chant allows him to reach all the way to Legend rank, then just thanks to knowing it, his future achievements during his time in Glory City or the Tiny World will be unimaginable.
At the same time, Nie Li thought of trying to adjust the chant. After all, the chant that he practiced was in no way the original Heavenly God Technique but an English translation. The words he used were not the exact words that the creator of this technique, or the author of the novel, must have intended for it.
Nie Li stood up from his bed and went to the small study desk that was in the room and took out a piece of paper and a pen.
'The Heavenly Dao shines. Heaven shrouds but cannot contain. The Great Dao envelopes but cannot dispute. Know all, perhaps, perhaps not. If I translate it to this world's language, then it would be something like this…'
Nie Li translated the chant in his mind, writing it down. He then focused and chanted the rough translation of the Heavenly God Technique chant in this world's language.
The effect of this chant was once again amazing, however, it didn't seem any better than that of the English version if the two were compared; in fact, the effect could have even been worse.
'Hmm, if I used more accurate wording and adjusted the translation, the effect should be better,' Nie Li thought to himself and adjusted the translation a few times, trying to fit the original meaning more.
He then chanted the final translation. This time, the result was more similar to the English chant, but cultivating it felt a little less comfortable, in the end it didn't seem better.
As Nie Li thought about it, he came to a conclusion that the language that the practitioner used to chant a cultivation technique really shouldn't matter, but the underlying meaning behind the words or the practitioner's understanding of them. After all, there are supposed to be multiple ancient languages in this world - it was unlikely that ancient people used a different language to cultivate than they used in writing or everyday life.
Nie Li could now simply chant his top-tier technique in English and have his cultivation soar, but he decided to take it a step further.
'If a Cultivation Technique is as simple as a line of words representing or resonating with the truths of the universe, then I can adjust these lines to be closer to my understanding and knowledge of the world… Let's try it.'
The chant he remembered was: [The Heavenly Dao shines. Heaven shrouds but cannot contain. The Great Dao envelopes but cannot dispute. Know all, perhaps, perhaps not.]
Nie Li looked at the first sentence: The Heavenly Dao shines.
'Heavenly Dao, the Great Dao or simply Dao, in most cultivation worlds, at the true core of it, basically means the world and the rules of the world. Rivers flowing, apples falling down, trees growing, humans dying - this is Dao. Space existing, time passing - these are also Dao. When Demon Spiritualists use special techniques to overturn rivers and spit out flames - this is also Dao. When humans or cultivators try to understand the world, they cultivate Dao.'
'Dao in direct translation from Chinese means the way, the path or road, indicating the path upon which one travels or the act of traveling itself. With this in mind, The Heavenly Path could be further seen as the way of heaven, the path of all, the way and rules of the world, rules behind everything. In the end Heavenly Dao could be better described with these simple words - the rules of the world and the world itself, instead of using a riddle-word.'
'As for the word shines, it could be translated to: is magnificent, is grand, is brilliant, but most likely shows the way. Or this entire line could be: The Heavenly Dao shows the way or The Heavenly Dao guides? The rules of the world show the path?. The most simple and encompassing way would be…'
After a while Nie Li came up with an adjusted line, changing The Heavenly Dao shines to: Dao is the rules of the world, Dao is the world itself.
The underlying meaning of the first line being: the heavenly dao shows and teaches the way, the perfect path. Showing was replaced with being, as the line itself is telling the practitioner what Dao is and how he can find the path - by understanding the rules of the world!
Nie Li chanted the Heavenly God Technique chant once again, but with the change in the first line. As he did that, he found that it was slightly more comfortable this way and the cultivation effect seemed to be somewhat enhanced as well.
Then Nie Li chanted the original English chant again, but found that it was slightly inferior to his new version. Comparing it to when he chanted it earlier was too difficult, so he couldn't tell if it was his understanding of the cultivation technique that affected the outcome.
But regardless, he moved on to the next lines excitedly.
Heaven shrouds but cannot contain. The Great Dao envelopes but cannot dispute.
'The first line I see as: Heaven can cover or hide something from one's eyes or view, but it cannot block someone or cannot contain/ecompass/explain something.'
'As for the word Heaven, I am not sure how to understand it… Outside of the direct meaning, Heaven is usually judged to be the enemy of the cultivators, something that seeks balance in the world. Usually, the way of heaven is to take away surpluses while replenishing deficits, it emphasizes on balance. And the way of humans is exactly the opposite: it is to reduce the deficits and build up the surpluses, because cultivators focus on personal strength at the cost of the environment and other creatures or other humans. The two are complete opposites, and they are in conflict with each other. Thus in the cultivation worlds the act of cultivation is considered to go against the way of heaven, opposing one's short natural lifespan and weak body, the ignorance of the mind, and trying to raise higher as a being, and usually face Heaven's retribution in the form of calamities in return.'
'But the two lines are connected. In one there is Heaven and in the other The Great Dao. If they are connected, The Great Dao could be judged as everything or the rules of the world like earlier mentioned, but then what is Heaven? I guess, most likely something arbitrary, like obstacles, such as problems or the randomness of life, or something from outside of our control, an interference of a higher power, or something outside of the world…'
'The chant is using the word Heaven, but this particular word doesn't help in understanding the profound truths of the world, it's too vague. I could also see it more directly as the sky with clouds… Usually looking up at the sky can be considered looking at a higher realm, higher power or achievements outside of mortal/mundane norm. The sky is blocking our path outward into the great universe, but in truth it is only covering the path, but doesn't completely block or stop us!'
Nie Li continued working on modifying his cultivation technique and frantically scribbling on the paper scroll in English.
Eventually he came up with a prototype chant with the profound truths of the universe:
[Dao is the rules of the world, Dao is the world itself. The sky that blocks our path is only an illusion. The world can be explained but not understood. To know all is impossible, for that is a man's nature; knowing is a matter of perspective.]
Nie Li chanted it silently in his mind as he thought of the meaning behind the words he chose, based on his scientific and spiritual knowledge from Earth.
At the same time Cyan glow enveloped his body, his soul force surged and absorbed huge amounts of energy. If compared to the first time Nie Li chanted the Heavenly God Technique, the effect was now on another level!
Nie Li repeated the chant a few times and was very satisfied with the effect, this self-modified cultivation technique was simply superior and better for him.
Unfortunately, there were no fireworks and a sudden Bronze rank breakthrough as he got intimate with his self-created technique, like some fanfictions made you believe. His cultivation technique was simply better.
After a moment Nie Li resumed to work on the cultivation chant to try and improve it further. He made various changes and modifications by the method of trial and error. However, as time passed, almost none of the changes he tried seemed to give any improvements. No matter what ideas or sentences Nie Li tried, he was unable to modify this technique any further.
When Nie Li decided to stop his final chant was simplified and changed to:
The laws of the world show the way. What blocks our path is only an illusion. The world can be explained but not understood. To know all is impossible, for that is a man's nature.
It was the version of the chant that Nie Li had the best results with. He had to accept that no matter what he tried now he was unable to improve his cultivation technique at all at this time. It seemed like this chant was near his limit of comprehension at this moment.
On one hand Nie Li was disappointed that his further efforts bore no fruit, but on the other he felt slightly happy that his personal cultivation technique reached such a high level that he now might not need to worry about making any minor improvements.
Nie Li then tested the original English Heavenly God Technique chant again.
The effect was still incredible and incomparable to the poor techniques of the Heavenly Marks family, but it was noticeably worse than his modified version and didn't feel as natural or comfortable.
'How should I call this new Cultivation Technique? I really hope it still offers the same perks as the original Heavenly God Technique in the form of a solid foundation and ability to merge with multiple Demon Spirits. Either way, the modified chant feels straight out better, more powerful and more comfortable to me, so I should probably cultivate it rather than that one line I read in a novel…'
In the end, the original chant that Nie Li remembered wasn't a cultivation technique he read on an ancient scroll, the Temporal Demon Spirit Book or received from reborn Nie Li, but was simply a translated line from a novel... His new technique seemed simply more suited for him, so he believed that he should practice it instead.
'For now, I'll call it the Heavenly Monarch Technique, as it's simply a bastardized and modified version of the Heavenly God Technique chant.'
Modifying a powerful Cultivation Technique was so simple that Nie Li felt too OP for a moment. It was too easy! Perhaps his scientific understanding of physics and the world would be his personal cheat in this world.
Next Nie Li thought of other ways that he can abuse his novel knowledge.
(AN: Nie Li with no real cheats and only his meta knowledge, with his bastardized cultivation technique chant from the novel being the only gimmick. What do you think of this kind of story? Nie Li could still accomplish a lot! And I could totally write this kind of story if I felt like it.)
(BTW the main love interest is Ning Er, but the MC would also try luck with Huyan Lanruo, Yang Xin, Ye Ziyun and even with Shen Xiu and maybe Sikong Hongyue. Ning Er is a brilliant waifu, but two brilliant waifus are better than one, right? And three are better than two...)