Upon hearing Nie Li's words, the spirits of the ordinary students in the class were lifted, their eyes brightening with renewed vigor.
They were all very familiar with the deeds of Ye Mo and had always taken him as a role model, aspiring to become truly powerful beings.
However, Instructor Shen Xiu's previous remarks had been so disheartening that it left them in a state of deep dejection.
"You... Throughout the centuries in Glory City, the only one who reached the pinnacle of power all by himself was Lord Ye Mo!" Shen Xiu paused, still stubbornly arguing.
"Instructor Shen Xiu just said it's impossible, didn't she? So why contradict herself now?” Nie Li said with a cheerful smile, "Lord Ye Mo is a clear example that regardless of whether one is born into a great family or an ordinary one, the future holds limitless potential. There is no such thing as an insurmountable task if one is willing to strive!"
Shen Xiu was almost frantic.
This Nie Li was infuriating, catching every fault in her words and relentlessly exploiting it.
It was blatant disrespect! She glared coldly at Nie Li, harboring a firm resolve that she would not let him have an easy time in the upcoming days.
Not far from Nie Li, Du Ze gave him a grateful glance.
Even though Nie Li was from a noble family, he risked offending Instructor Shen Xiu to speak up for the ordinary students, which deeply moved Du Ze.
Adolescent hearts are straightforward, and from that moment, Du Ze considered Nie Li to be his friend.
Shen Xiu sneered, "Sharp-tongued as you are, you think speaking so boldly can change harsh realities? You've only seen Lord Ye Mo's brilliance, not how many people spend their entire lives achieving nothing. Forget becoming a demon spirit master; even becoming a martial artist is as difficult as reaching the heavens. Nie Li, is it? For someone from a noble family, you show remarkable lack of awareness. Let me see what talent you possess!"
Shen Xiu looked down at the parchment scroll in her hands, glanced at it, and mocked, "Nie Li, a red soul realm, current soul force of 5, strength of 21. Based on your talent, you can at most reach Bronze rank in your lifetime. Becoming a demon spirit master is impossible for you; even some ordinary students are better. No wonder you're talking like this; it's merely to cover up your inner inferiority!"
The levels of the Soul Realm are divided into seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, azure, blue, and purple.
Red is the weakest, practically at an unusable level.
Most people are generally orange or yellow; reaching green or azure is already a mark of genius, while blue and purple exist only in legends.
Hearing Shen Xiu's words, the ordinary students looked at Nie Li with pity.
For someone from a noble family, Nie Li truly had the worst talent, likely to achieve little in this lifetime.
Ye Ziyun glanced at Nie Li and sighed softly.
Although she wasn't particularly fond of Nie Li, learning of his poor talent evoked a feeling of sympathy.
Beside Ye Ziyun, Shen Yue sneered disdainfully.
If he had known earlier that Nie Li's talent was so lacking, he wouldn't have considered him a threat.
Nie Li wasn't even qualified! Such poor talent was only fit for living at the bottom of Glory City, while he, Shen Yue, was a direct disciple of the Divine Sacred Family, one of the Three Peaks Families.
How could Nie Li possibly compare to him?
If it weren't for Ye Ziyun, he wouldn't have bothered attending this rabble class and mingling with garbage like Nie Li!
Shen Xiu pressed on forcefully, "With such poor talent, even in your own family, you'd probably receive no attention. How dare you be so arrogant and disrespectful?"
Shen Xiu's words brought to mind Nie Li's past life.
Before leaving Glory City, Nie Li was indeed very weak, as Shen Xiu described: stuck at Bronze three-star and unable to progress.
Whether at school or within his family, he was insignificant, almost like dust.
If it weren't for bravely saving Ye Ziyun later, he could never have captured the goddess's heart.
At that time, Ye Ziyun was a Gold one-star demon spirit master, the gap between them as vast as heaven and earth.
Nie Li didn't even have the qualification to fight alongside Ye Ziyun, only able to watch helplessly as she perished under a demon beast's claws, buried in the endless sands.
This was the eternal pain in Nie Li's heart!
After miraculously escaping the Endless Desert, Nie Li encountered many fortunate events, discovering that many wondrous things exist in the world, and that even soul force talent can be improved!
If it was the Nie Li from before, faced with such accusations from an instructor, he wouldn't have had the courage to retort.
But the current him was different; he had an unshakeable confidence that someday he would show these people that he would reach heights they couldn't even imagine!
Since he was reborn, he would charge forward without hesitation, overcoming any obstacle, whether gods or Buddhas!
To everyone’s surprise, Nie Li, ridiculed by Shen Xiu, showed not a hint of shame but instead looked at her with determination and declared, "Instructor Shen Xiu, do you really think a soul realm determines someone's future? With your low character, you would surely go out of your way to praise those with higher talent, while mercilessly ridiculing those with lower talent! You spout a heap of seemingly reasonable justifications just to cover up your vile nature!"
Shen Xiu trembled with anger, never having encountered a student who dared to oppose her so bluntly.
Nie Li's words touched on her unspoken dark thoughts, making her furious and causing her to shout, "Silence! Who do you think you are to dare slander your instructor like this?"
Nie Li sneered, "I'm ashamed to have a teacher like you. I am sure there will be many ordinary students in this class who will surpass your expectations and achieve unimaginable greatness! Instead of patiently guiding them, you crush their confidence with harsh words. You’re unworthy of being a teacher! My talent may be poor, but so what? One day, I will become a legendary demon spirit master like Lord Ye Mo, and I will marry the most beautiful woman in Glory City!"
As he spoke, Nie Li’s gaze fell resolutely onto Ye Ziyun in the distance.
Watching Nie Li look her way, Ye Ziyun felt her heart inexplicably race and her cheeks flush.
She never expected Nie Li to be so bold as to say such things in class.
However, in her heart, she didn't feel any affection for Nie Li.
She struggled to understand how she felt about his words.
Seeing Ye Ziyun's expression, Shen Yue's face darkened.
Although he and Nie Li weren't on the same level, he still sensed a sliver of threat.
"Hahaha! That's the most ridiculous joke I've ever heard! A person with a red soul realm claiming he will become a legendary demon spirit master like Lord Ye Mo? Even when Lord Ye Mo was young, he demonstrated extraordinary talent with an azure soul realm! Do you think success is mere luck? How laughable!" Shen Xiu scornfully remarked, "Instead of spouting nonsense here, why don't you focus on studying?"
Nie Li declared, "I know you might ridicule these words, but one day I will prove them with facts! High talent doesn't decide one's achievements. Overcoming the strong with the weak, defying the heavens is what we cultivators do, striving against the impossible!"
Nie Li's words stirred the hearts of the students.
Cultivation is indeed about defying the heavens; without a heart that defies the impossible, what is the point of cultivation?
With a resounding voice, Nie Li continued, "Without relentless determination and the courage to make the impossible possible, high talent is just useless waste. Since I'm in this world, I'll take on every impossible challenge against the heavens! Instructor Shen Xiu, how about we make a bet?"
Despite countless setbacks in his past life, Nie Li never gave up.
Now that heaven has granted him the chance to live again, he would ascend to the top with unimaginable speed!
"What bet?" Shen Xiu coldly snorted.
"I bet that in two months' time, I can reach the Bronze rank. If I don't, I'll quit school willingly. But if I succeed, Instructor Shen Xiu, you must resign. How about that?" Nie Li stated boldly, looking directly at Shen Xiu.
Hearing Nie Li's words, everyone was shocked.
Nie Li dared to make such a bet with Instructor Shen Xiu? Although most of the ordinary students disliked the snobbish Shen Xiu and hoped Nie Li would win, they felt Nie Li had no chance of succeeding.
"Hahaha, how absurd! He claims he'll reach the Bronze rank in two months. Does he think he can increase his soul force from 5 to 100 in that time?" Shen Xiu mocked, filled with contempt.
Has Nie Li lost his mind?
"I only ask one thing, Instructor Shen Xiu: do you dare to accept?" Nie Li persisted boldly.
"Why wouldn’t I dare? I refuse to believe that such an arrogant fool could accomplish anything! Just who do you think you are, spouting such nonsense!" Shen Xiu huffed angrily, "So disrespectful! Stand at the back for the next two months!"
Shen Xiu's notoriety for being unreasonable was well-known.
Nie Li glanced at her dismissively, unaffected by having to stand at the back.
"Since Instructor Shen Xiu has agreed to the bet, just don't regret it later!" Nie Li began walking to the back.
"Me, regret? Ridiculous! Just don't come crying to me later!" Shen Xiu sneered.
Seeing Nie Li being made to stand at the back, a few noble students snickered quietly.
"The future legendary demon spirit master has been punished to stand!"
"Heh, seems he fears being expelled after all!"
"Weren't you all high and mighty just a moment ago?"
"To increase soul force from 5 to 100 in two months, who does he think he is? Even Lord Ye Mo couldn't achieve such a speed in his youth!"
Shen Xiu coldly chuckled; what could Nie Li's arrogance change? In this class, her word was final.
She never took Nie Li's words seriously; increasing soul force from 5 to 100 in two months? Shen Xiu found it laughable, impossible! Nie Li, prepare to leave this school!
When Nie Li was sent to stand at the back, Du Ze was silent for a moment, then stood up and joined him.
Nie Li had spoken up for the ordinary students and been punished for it; of course, he would stand together with him.
Seeing Du Ze stand with Nie Li, Shen Xiu's expression turned sour, and she said, "If you like punishment, stand together with him!"
Sharing a glance, Nie Li and Du Ze exchanged a silent understanding and smiled slightly.
At this moment, Nie Li felt as if he was back in his past life when he first met Du Ze.
Du Ze was still the same Du Ze.
After Du Ze joined him, Lu Piao thought for a moment and stepped over to stand beside Nie Li too.
"Why are you over here too?" Nie Li asked with a smile.
Lu Piao shrugged, "Sitting is boring, thought I'd stand here for a change of air, isn't that alright?"
"Haha, whatever!" Nie Li laughed.
Lu Piao was just as he remembered from his previous life: full of bravado yet loyal.
Even though this had nothing to do with Lu Piao, he considered Nie Li his friend, and friends stood together in tough times.
Gradually, three other ordinary students stood up and joined Nie Li.
As a noble, Nie Li took a risk and made a bet to speak up for them, leaving a deep impression of gratitude that made them feel they had to support Nie Li.
With these brothers joined together, Nie Li felt genuinely content and in high spirits.
Shen Xiu's face turned even darker, like a frozen sheet of ice, as she continued her lecture.
"After testing, it's revealed that among all the students in the class, Ye Ziyun possesses an azure soul realm with a soul force of 86, Shen Yue and Xiao Ning'er have green soul realms with soul forces reaching 78. They're about to achieve the Bronze one-star rank. Congratulations to them!" Shen Xiu announced, giving Nie Li a condescending glance.
This was real talent; what was Nie Li compared to that?
Listening to Shen Xiu, the students exclaimed in admiration.
An azure soul realm with a soul force of 86! Their class had such a formidable person, with such strong talent that they might even become a legendary demon spirit master one day!
As for Shen Yue and Xiao Ning'er, they too had extraordinary potential, with limitless futures.
Ye Ziyun's appearance, exceptional talent, and mysterious background made her the most dazzling figure in class.
As for Xiao Ning'er, she was equally beautiful and talented, albeit slightly less so than Ye Ziyun.
In any case, they were beyond the reach of ordinary people!
(End of Chapter)