Xiao Yu wasnât at all concerned with what the students were gossiping about as he continued to lead Nie Li and Lu Piao along the small path to an area that was densely packed with structures. There were many courtyards in this area, and Xiao Yu entered one of the more secluded ones.
âThose who live around here are the geniuses of the West District; therefore, itâs best if you donât provoke them. Those whoâre able to live here all have backgrounds,â Xiao Yu warned as he didnât feel assured. âYou guys should remain here while you cultivate.â
Nie Li raised his head to observe his surroundings and saw that there were two buildings in Xiao Yuâs courtyard. Nie Li and Lu Piao would live in one of them, occupying a room right next to Xiao Yuâs.
Xiao Yu looked at Nie Li and said, âWithout my guide, donât wander unnecessarily. Youâre not allowed to enter my room either.â
By comparison, Xiao Yu was far more worried about Nie Li.
âFine.â Nie Li shrugged but didnât put much importance in Xiao Yuâs words.
Nie Li and Lu Piao walked around the courtyard. The environment of the courtyard was fairly decent, filled with chirping birds and fragrant flowers. There was also a small artificial mountain with a river flowing down. The two of them were quite satisfied with Xiao Yuâs place. Heâd probably spent a lot of money on this.
âIâll gift you guys this two spiritual stones. You can go ahead and start cultivating,â said Xiao Yu as he passed two stones to Nie Li and Lu Piao. He then continued, âIâll be making a trip outside to help you guys register.â
After bidding farewell to Nie Li and Lu Piao, Xiao Yu walked out.
Nie Li took a spiritual stone and sat with his legs crossed. Just as he was about to start cultivating with the spiritual stone, Yu Yan flew out of Nie Liâs sleeve with a woosh.
âI nearly died from the stuffiness,â Yu Yan said gloomily. Ever since they came to the Draconic Ruins Realm, sheâd been hiding in Nie Liâs sleeve. Although she was aware that she couldnât keep herself concealed forever, she still didnât attract too much attention as many students in the Skysoul Institution also brought pets with them. Therefore, the people from the Draconic Ruins Realm also treated her as a pet.
As for Jindan, before coming into the Draconic Ruins Realm, Nie Li had placed him in a pouch. Inside, the little guy seemed to have entered a hibernating state and shrank smaller and smaller until he was only the size of a fist. Therefore, he didnât attracting any attention when they brought him in.
As for the little guy, Nie Li still hasnât thought of a better method to deal with him. But since this little guy was sleeping, Nie Li was naturally spared from these worries for the time being.
âThere really are a lot of experts in the Draconic Ruins Realm,â Yu Yan sighed. Along the way, sheâd sensed several powerful auras that had utterly astonished her. Almost everyone in the Draconic Ruins Realm was an expert of some kind!
âThatâs for sure. The Tiny World is only a small realm compared to the Draconic Ruins Realm.â Nie Li smiled. Throughout her entire life, Yu Yan had stayed in the Tiny World; so naturally, she wouldnât know much about the Draconic Ruins Realm.
Yu Yan felt an intense pressure. Originally, in the Tiny World, even without her strength as a Spiritual God, she was at least still at the pinnacle of Legend rank. Therefore, she had the power to deal with all of the ordinary opponents. But ever since she came to the Draconic Ruins Realm, she realised that she was nothing.
Although Nie Li wished to give Yu Yan a cultivation technique, there was nothing he could do, since she wasnât an ordinary life form. He could only allow Yu Yan to gain insights on her own. However, Nie Li sensed that her Flames of Life were extremely powerful and that there might be some kind of secret hidden in her body. Therefore, her cultivation would naturally be different.
âNie Li, I want to use this time to cultivate. The ambient aura of Draconic Ruins Realm is completely different from the Tiny Worldâs, to the point that I donât even know how to absorb it.â
Yu Yan floated in the air as she quietly cultivated. She closed her eyes as flames began to revolve around her. It seemed as though she was submerged in some kind of trance-like state.
Nie Li took out his spiritual stone. He had to use his time efficiently and cultivate, as he aimed to break through to the Heavenly Fate Realm as fast as possible.
Nie Li stirred up his soul realm and slowly absorbed the spiritual stoneâs energy and began to refine it inside his body. A majestic energy coursed through his body. Previously, heâd been stuck in the Tiny World; but now, he could finally absorb Heavenly Energy.
As Nie Li practised the [Heavenly God] cultivation technique, he sensed traces of Heavenly Energy slowly flowing through his meridians and nurturing his flesh. All the pores in his body screamed in ecstasy.
Just as the powers of the stone started to take effect, Nie Li realised that heâd already drained the stone dry of Heavenly Energy.
Sensing how empty the spiritual stone had become, Nie Li bitterly smiled. Since heâd cultivated the [Heavenly God] cultivation technique, the capacity of his soul realm has become shockingly vast. One spiritual stone was entirely insufficient for him. It felt like heâd been eating a meal, but before he could have his fill, his meal was suddenly cut short.
âI have to find a way to acquire more spiritual stones,â Nie Li thought inwardly. As long as he had enough spiritual stones, his talent as an 8-grade Heavenly Spiritual Root, and his comprehension towards cultivating, he could make a rapid breakthrough into the Heavenly Fate Realm if there are sufficient spiritual stones supplied to him.
After coming to the Draconic Ruins Realm, he absolutely has to shake the Demon Lord off his tail in terms of cultivation!
As Nie Li and Lu Piao were cultivating, a knock sounded on the door.
The voice was sweet and clear. âBig brother Xiao Yu, are you around?â
The voice was so soft that it made the bones in his body go weak.
Upon hearing the voice outside, Lu Piao opened his eyes as a trace of an evil smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He turned to Nie Li and said, âNie Li, could this be Xiao Yuâs little lover?â
âXiao Yu isnât here.â Nie Li yelled towards the outside as he bitterly smiled in his heart. Lu Piao was too gossipy.
âHm?â The voice outside was slightly surprised as the door was pushed open.
A pretty girl was seen at the entrance of the door, roughly sixteen or seventeen years old. She wore a yellow silk dress and had pearly white skin. Her eyes were as clear as springwater as they shifted between the two faces before her. This girl appeared as beautiful as a pearl, emitting a jade-like glow. Her brows gave off a witty impression.
The girl curiously looked at Nie Li and Lu Piao. âBig brother Xiao Yu isnât around? Who are you?â
Nie Li looked at the girl and said, âWeâre friends of Xiao Yu. He stepped out just now. I wonder why youâre looking for him?â
Lu Piao looked dazed as he gazed at the girl. He couldnât help sighing with sorrow in his heart. This little lover of Xiao Yu was indeed beautiful. Among the girls who heâd seen before, she was only slightly below Ye Ziyun and Xiao Ningâer.
âOh, nothing much. I heard that heâd returned, so I came to greet him. I never imagined Iâd meet the two of you. Are you new students for this year?â the girl asked as she blinked.
âYeah.â Lu Piao immediately nodded his head.
âOh, my name is Huang Ying, Iâm big brother Xiao YuâsâŚfriend.â A scarlet red trace flashed over Huang Yingâs face.
At the sight of this, Nie Li immediately understood what was going on. This girl was probably fond of Xiao Yu.
âDo you want to wait until he returns, orâŚâ Nie Li enquired.
Huang Ying pondered for a brief moment and said, âIâll wait here for a while then.â
She only waited for a moment before a youth wearing a long white robe walked in. Upon seeing Huang Ying, his face went solemn as he said, âYingâer, so youâre here! After hearing of Xiao Yuâs return, I guessed that youâd be here!â
âYan Hao, why do you care?â Huang Ying pouted her lips in displeasure.
âHuang Ying, whatâs so good about Xiao Yu that youâre always thinking about him?â Yan Hao said with indignation. In terms of family endowments, he was several folds better than Xiao Yu. In terms of looksâŚfine, he admits that his looks were slightly inferior to Xiao Yuâs, but he wasnât terribly far away either.
âIâm happy. I like to do it. Why do you care?â Huang Ying snorted as she appeared to dislike Yan Hao.
Yan Haoâs gaze swept past Nie Li and Lu Piao as he coldly said, âThe two of you must be those geniuses from the Tiny World? An 8-grade Heaven Spiritual Root and a 5-grade Heaven Spiritual Root?â
Nie Li casually glanced at Yan Hao, but he didnât answer his question. Lu Piao was also too lazy to bother with a reply.
âIâm asking you!â Yan Hao said in a cold tone as he knitted his brows.
Nie Li coldly swept a glance at Yan Hao as he said, âThere doesnât seem to be a need for us to answer you,â
Yan Hao had been overbearing from the moment he entered the room, which made Nie Li rather unhappy.
âBrat, do you know who youâre talking to? Donât think you can be arrogant in the Skysoul Institute just because you have a Heaven Spiritual Root. Youâd better first ask around and find out who the big shots are around here! Iâve seen plenty of Heaven Spiritual Root geniuses before, but before you break through to the Heavenly Fate Realm, youâre nothing!â Yan Haoâs majestic aura surged and used his aura to suppress Nie Li and Lu Piao.
This Yan Hao was already a Heavenly Fate Realm expert and caused Nie Li and Lu Piao to instantly feel a suffocating pressure.
However, Yan Hao had obviously restrained his aura. Even he didnât dare act too rashly inside Skysoul Institute. If he killed someone inside the Skysoul Institute, even his family wouldnât be able to protect him.
Nie Li coldly looked at Yan Hao. In his previous life, heâd encountered lots of experts with backgrounds much stronger than Yan Haoâs. However, heâd never backed off before. Even if the opponent was already at the Heavenly Fate Realm, Nie Liâs heart still carried a vague trace of bloodlust and intent. Itâd been awhile since he crossed swords with a Heavenly Fate Realm expert!
Huang Ying suddenly stood between Nie Li and Yan Hao as she coldly stared at Yan Hao. âYan Hao, whatâre you doing? Youâre not allowed to treat big brother Xiao Yuâs friends like this!â
Yan Haoâs aura slightly slugged as he retracted it and gave a meaningful glare at Nie Li, who stood behind her. Nie Li was obviously still an Earth Fate Realm, so why did he sense battle intent coming from him? Could it be that even though Nie Li was being suppressed by the aura of a Heavenly Fate Realm, he still felt no fear?
That blazing battle intent had only flashed through Nie Liâs eyes for a brief moment before he reverted to his calm self. If there was a choice, itâd still be better for him not to cause any scenes with Yan Hao.
Yan Hao coldly snorted, âThe two of you can hide behind a woman. Iâll let both of you off today, but I advise you to leave Xiao Yu. Thereâs definitely nothing for you to gain by following a piece trash like him. But if you guys choose follow me instead, I can still consider taking you in.â