Nie Li slowly channeled his soul force into the Soul Crystal.
Inside, a few bright dots floated, but overall, the Soul Crystal remained mostly dim.
"I feel relieved now. Nie Li's soul force is much weaker than mine!" Lu Piao blinked and chuckled.
Du Ze shot Lu Piao a glare.
Nie Li didn't mind at all.
The amount of soul force wasn't crucial to him.
He was more concerned about the changes in his soul force.
The red soul realm was shapeless and attribute-less.
An attribute-less, shapeless soul realm was indeed considered weak because it had no defining traits, and it didn't gather cohesively.
It turned out my initial soul realm was like this.
It was only after practicing all sorts of chaotic techniques that it became even more disorderly.
No wonder I struggled to break through all those years in the Temporal Demon Spirit Book.
This was the reason.
An attribute-less soul realm is the most unstable and easily changed.
Nie Li deeply pondered.
If there's a technique suited for the attribute-less soul realm, it would be those three: the Heavenly Dao Divine Technique, the Battle God Divine Technique, and the Void Divine Technique.
Among them, the Heavenly Dao Divine Technique is the most profound, the Battle God Divine Technique the most domineering, and the Void Divine Technique the most mysterious.
In terms of future achievements, the Heavenly Dao Divine Technique might lead to the highest, but it's also the hardest to master.
An attribute-less soul realm takes longer to cultivate with any technique compared to others, but mastering the Heavenly Dao Divine Technique is the most powerful.
The Heavenly Dao is all-encompassing, matching some characteristic of the attribute-less soul realm.
If mastered, you could practice all types of techniques and possess supreme power, creating your own path.
With ordinary techniques, a soul realm can house at most one demon spirit.
If you find a stronger one, you have to replace the previous demon spirit.
However, with the Heavenly Dao Divine Technique, you can accommodate seven different demon spirits.
Each time you integrate one, your power surges.
Gather seven strong demon spirits, and your cultivation and combat strength reach unimaginable heights.
After much hesitation, though the cultivation speed isn't quick and is much slower than the techniques Du Ze, Lu Piao, and others follow, the longer journey bears fruit.
Once mastered, the Heavenly Dao Divine Technique is undoubtedly the most powerful!
Nie Li silently recited the mantra and started the most fundamental cultivation.
In the future, he might need substantial support from pills, but for now, foundational cultivation to solidify his base is sufficient.
Seeing Nie Li starting his cultivation, Du Ze, Lu Piao, and others began exploring their own techniques, absorbing the spiritual energy from the heavens and earth to strengthen their soul realms.
The more they practiced, the more they realized the profoundness of their techniques.
Six people, six soul realms spun rapidly, surging with vigor.
Both Du Ze, Lu Piao, and the other three commoner students significantly increased their soul force.
Their progress was astoundingly fast since the techniques Nie Li gave them were incredibly superior.
Once begun, their cultivation sped up dozens or even hundreds of times compared to ordinary techniques.
Nie Li operated the Heavenly Dao Divine Technique.
He was not in a rush, preferring to take solid steps to strengthen his foundation gradually.
His soul realm constantly shifted shapes like a vast ocean, with soul force flowing through it.
Nie Li sensed a notable increase in his soul force.
In the first cultivation stage of soul force, it must reach a state of harmony with the mind.
As the soul force strengthened, the soul realm started to churn and emit a faint azure glow.
Nie Li and his group stayed in the library, engrossed in cultivation.
One day, two days...with the passage of time, Nie Li's soul force gradually rose from five points to over thirty.
This speed was astonishing.
If Instructor Shen Xiu knew how rapidly Nie Li was progressing, her reaction would be unpredictable.
Nie Li, however, wasn't the fastest.
Du Ze, Lu Piao, and others advanced even quicker, especially Du Ze.
It wouldn't be long before he'd reach the first star of the Bronze rank.
Imagine the level of soul force they would achieve after completing one stage of cultivation.
Reaching the Bronze one-star rank within two months was nothing to Nie Li; he might even surpass it, hitting Bronze two-star or even three-star levels! What expression would Instructor Shen Xiu have during the assessment two months later?
At that time, the classroom of the junior martial artist apprentice class was absent Nie Li and his friends for days, leaving their seats conspicuously empty.
As night approached on the third day, would Nie Li forget? Xiao Ning'er eagerly awaited the descending night.
Recalling the event that transpired, the serene Xiao Ning'er sitting in her seat blushed, her face adorned with a gentle and pure smile, which made her even more radiant and captivating, leaving the nearby male students mesmerized.
Ye Ziyun was puzzled.
Lately, Xiao Ning'er seemed distracted often, sparking Ye Ziyun's curiosity about what had caused such preoccupation.
Could it be that Xiao Ning'er is secretly in love with Nie Li? Ye Ziyun couldn't see what was so special about that Nie Li that he captured the heart of a prideful girl like Xiao Ning'er.
On the podium, Instructor Shen Xiu lectured, casting a glance at the six empty seats, sneering internally.
Nie Li was likely immersed in hard training.
But what of it? Did he think diligent training could elevate his soul force from five to one hundred in just two short months? That was utterly impossible! If Nie Li possessed a green or azure soul realm, perhaps there was the slightest hope.
But with a red soul realm, in her eyes, Nie Li was bound to fail! His audacity to challenge her in class would come at a steep price!
She could already imagine the desolation Nie Li would face upon being expelled!
Shen Xiu displayed a slight smirk before continuing her lecture, "Seven types of soul realms exist: red, orange, yellow, green, azure, blue, and violet. The red soul realm is the lowest. Throughout Glory City's several hundred years of history, those who reached the Silver demon spirit master rank with a red soul realm are exceedingly rare. Unless encountering a fortuitous opportunity, the red soul realm has a soul force capacity cap of 600, getting harder to progress beyond that!"
Her words cast a wave of deep disappointment among the commoner students.
If the maximum potential of their soul force was indeed capped at 600, unless they encountered a stroke of fortune, they could, at most, reach the Bronze five-star level.
Students with red soul realms murmured grievances over their fate—why were their soul realms red?
"Some things are predestined by nature. People must bow to destiny. Just as some are born into wealth and comfort, others come into the world as lowly commoners!" Shen Xiu scoffed.
Both Ye Ziyun and Xiao Ning'er frowned in disdain.
They disliked Shen Xiu, finding her words excessive.
Glory City was always under the threat of demon beasts, yet Shen Xiu constantly sowed discord between commoners and prestigious families, showing blatant disregard for the big picture.
Hearing her words, the commoner students clenched their fists tightly, nearly drawing blood from their palms.
Though furious, most chose to endure.
Unlike Nie Li, they lacked the courage to gamble against an instructor with their expulsion on the line.
They wouldn't dare and couldn't do it, making them harbor deep respect for Nie Li.
Nie Li remained unaware, but Shen Xiu's constant belittlement of these commoner students made him their unintentional spiritual leader.
Virtually every commoner student hoped Nie Li would triumph and drive out the maliciously insulting Shen Xiu.
Nie Li's recent actions won the hearts of these commoner students.
As time passed, news of Nie Li's public confrontation with Shen Xiu and the Divine Sacred Family, and his bet with Shen Xiu, spread throughout Saint Orchid Academy.
All the academy's students discussed this.
"Claiming to raise his soul force from five to 100 in two months—utterly ignorant of his limits!"
"Indeed, even a prodigy with an azure soul realm might not achieve that!"
"I hope Nie Li wins. I can't stand that nasty woman Shen Xiu."
"Me too, though his odds are thin."
Seventy percent of Saint Orchid Academy's students were commoners.
That made them naturally inclined to support Nie Li, who stood up against Shen Xiu for their sake.
While many disliked the Divine Sacred Family, some prestigious family members looked down on Nie Li's actions.
Even if the Divine Sacred Family was at fault, they're one of the Three Peaks Families.
Nie Li's actions were insubordinate, challenging authority! To them, he was a disgrace among the prestigious family offspring.
"Some people prefer mingling with those lowly commoners. What can you do?" They mocked Nie Li.
As evening approached, most students at Saint Orchid Academy went off to dinner, leaving the library quiet.
Nie Li, Du Ze, Lu Piao, and others, after having had their meal, returned to the library to resume their cultivation.
"Nie Li, my soul force has reached eighty-nine. At this rate, I'll break through to the Bronze one-star in a week!" Du Ze whispered, unable to contain his excitement.
This cultivation speed was beyond his imagination!
"Good."
Nie Li smiled slightly.
This speed didn't surprise him.
Not just Du Ze, but Lu Piao, Wei Nan, and others were also in a state of ecstatic joy.
Their soul forces had significantly advanced.
At this pace, reaching the Bronze one-star within two months seemed entirely feasible for them as well.
The acceleration of their soul force was beyond belief, making them feel as if they were living in a dream!
"We need to get some spiritual herbs. With them, our cultivation speed will be even faster!" Nie Li suggested.
Upon hearing this, Du Ze and Lu Piao felt a jolt of realization.
Their soul force had advanced so rapidly without using any herbs.
If they had herbs, their cultivation speed would be even more astonishing!
But where would they find such herbs?
Herbs that could enhance cultivation were expensive, with each plant costing several thousand demon spirit coins!
Although they'd earned over sixteen thousand demon spirit coins from hunting horned goats, much was spent on buying a Soul Crystal, leaving less than ten thousand demon spirit coins.
"You all continue cultivating in the library. I have some errands to run tonight. I'll figure out how to turn the remaining ten thousand demon spirit coins into more!" Nie Li said with a grin.
With more funds, they could buy herbs to enhance their cultivation.
They didn't know what Nie Li was planning, but since Nie Li had a plan, they didn't ask further.
Tonight, Nie Li had already arranged to meet Xiao Ning'er! If he could help heal her injuries, that would be a good deed.
Du Ze, Lu Piao, and the others couldn't have guessed that Nie Li was leaving them to meet with Goddess Ning'er.
If they knew, they'd likely be frustrated—Nie Li, abandoning friends for a girl!
(End of the chapter)