Tales of Demons and Gods : The Legend of Xiao Ning'Er

"Is everything all right, Nie Li?" Ning'Er asked in concern.

He took a deep breath before he started speaking, "Well...I wanted to thank you once again. When I went back to my hometown, I struggled for awhile on whether to intrude on my ancestor's tomb. You must know that it would have felt so dishonouring. But as I thought about the future for my cousin Nie Yu, who is as close as a sister to me, I decided to take the chance."

She raised her eyebrows in curiousity as he continued his story.

He bowed deeply and cupped his hands to her, "Thank you for pointing me in the right direction. I know I've said this before but I will fight alongside you through fire or ice. I am in your debt!"

She saw a glimpse of the man she had fallen in love with in her previous life, and who had earned her complete affection and adoration. Filled with nostalgia, she hid the tears that threatened to spill out from her eyes, and bowed back towards him.

"Nie Li...I have a feeling that the future will hold unspeakable dangers for Glory City and humankind. The best way you can thank me right now is to grow as strong as possible, support the team that we're setting up as the core of Glory City's future, and...to protect Ziyun with all of your power."

She realised that she did not want to go through the experience of sharing a man with another woman again in this life. She held no regrets for the past, but now that she had the chance to choose a different path, she would choose and build her own destiny.

"And this rare shapeshifting fae...I've never even heard of it before today." He winked as he gave her a devious smile. "Imagine the pranks that I could do with this!!"

Sha laughed out loud as the mood became lighter. "As long as none of those pranks are on me, you have my full support!" She put both thumbs up as she mirrored the scheming smile that he had on his face. She was glad that she still had such precious friends who could remind her that it was possible to have moments of fun and joy in her relentless pursuit for finding a solution against the Sage Emperor.

They went their separate ways back to their respective clans' homes, but Ning'Er found herself deviating in her route. Without making a conscious decision, as her thoughts drifted to her past love and stirred deep emotions in her heart, her feet had brought her to walk past Linjian's courtyard.

She abruptly woke up from her daydreaming to find herself standing outside the large wooden doors leading into his compound. She realised where she was and wondered if she should drop in unannounced to see him.

As she considered what she might say to him, she suddenly heard his voice softly grunting in controlled exhalations as he channelled his soul force into a martial routine. She smiled as she heard the ringing sound of a sword being smoothly pulled out of its scabbard.

She giggled as a thought came to her mind. 'Before he has even officially asked me to be his girlfriend, he's already found his 'girlfriend', the Unity Sword!' She smiled even wider as she remembered the excited look on his face when the Divine Family won the bid at the auction.

She waited until she sensed from the sounds that he had completed one set of routines before raising her hand towards the door in front of her.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

A moment later Linjian opened the door, slightly breathless and covered in sweat from his practice. He burst into a big smile when he saw her at the door. "I was wondering when you would get back to Glory City! How are you?"

Her eyes opened wide in shock as she sensed the aura that radiated from his skin that had not dispersed yet from his training. "5-Star Silver Rank! Linjian! What incredible speed."

He looked a bit embarrassed as he heard her words and flattery. He lifted his hand to his hair and brushed it away from his face. "Well...you did give me that godly cultivation method. I would have been embarrassed if I couldn't make progress especially with my family's access to cultivation resources."

His eyes turned grim with a flash of anger and conviction. "And...one day I'm going to destroy the Dark Guild so that they don't threaten the sons and daughters of Glory City ever again." The traumatic experience on the way back from the Ancient Orchid City Ruins has affected him deeply.

Growing up as the treasured son of the Divine Family, everything had come easy to him. The suffering he had faced under a Deacon Yun Hua and the closeness he had felt to death had transformed him, and inserted a fire and determination that he had lacked before. This newfound focus and drive had formed the basis for his current explosive growth.

She realised with a start that he could help her for her vital expedition to the Ning You City Ruins in a month's time. "Linjian...would you like to join my friends and I for training this month? We discovered an effective training method and meet everyday for the second half of the day at the City Lord's Mansion..."

She was uncertain if he would feel that it was unbelievable that a group of children would have found a more effective training than the school or even Divine Family possessed. She was surprised at his response.

"Of course! I thought you'd never ask!" The whole school had heard of this small group of students with godly growth rates and improvements, and everyone wanted to know their secret but hadn't dared to ask directly. Linjian wasn't going to pretend to be shy and pass up this opportunity!

Ning'Er sighed with relief and was overjoyed to know that she had found another strong person to support her plans for Glory City. With the Divine Family's backing combined with the Snow Wind Family's presence, it would be very difficult for the Sacred Family to make any direct moves for awhile.

.....

The next morning, Ning'Er, Ziyun and Du Ze were introduced to the Genius class of the third year students. The unique thing about the third year students was that there were some who were actually in their fourth or fifth year depending on how long they took to pass the exams.

In the first year recruit class, students could take one full year to reach Bronze Rank. For the second year, students were allowed up to two years to reach Silver Rank, which was the prerequisite to go to the third year. Then in the third year, students were given up to three years in order to reach Gold Rank, and try to get into one of the specialised guilds or departments of Glory City.

Linjian himself was in the second year at the 'third year level' of Holy Orchid Institute. He had been placed in the Genius Class this year in anticipation of his break through to Gold Rank sometime this schooling year.

The teacher for this class was an elderly man held in extremely high regard named Lu Ye, which was why he had been given the heavy responsibility of the graduating class of The Holy Orchid Institute. He was a guest elder of the Divine Family and was a renowned Black Gold ranked warrior of the older generation, once fighting off a Sacred Bristlebacked Tiger singlehandedly. He had saved the life of the heavily injured Patriarch of the Divine Family in the process which was why he had been given an honoured guest elder position for as long as he lived.

His piercing grey eyes looked at each of the students in the class one by one, making them feel as though he could read their deepest thoughts. He began speaking with a squeaky, high-pitched voice that made him appear to be a harmless, old man, completely unlike the dangerous warrior they had heard he was.

"Welcome to the third year class of Holy Orchid Institute! I have high hopes for all of you this year. Some of you are returning to this class and are familiar with each other already, some are those who passed the second year exam. And some..." He paused for dramatic effect. "There's a few here from the recruit class!"

He continued, "I hope that none of you come in arrogant. Those who have been through my class before know that I have three main principles. Firstly, hard work is essential no matter how talented you are. I will kick you out if you're lazy. Secondly, flexibility is key as each individual's path is different. Finally, unity is what Glory City is built on. So I don't want to see anyone intentionally injuring another in your competitiveness." As he stated the third principle, his eyes glanced over to Ning'Er.

"As you might know, you're not required to attend any of my lectures or training if you wish because you will have your own secret training methods from your families. However, each month I will hold a small assessment individually for each of you to make sure you're not slacking! If I find your methods lacking, then attendance to my sessions will be compulsory for you!"

The students nodded in seriousness, finding Lu Ye's terms extremely fair. For those who did not know him, it immediately elevated their level of respect for him.

Ning'Er scanned her eyes and perception over the students in the training yard. Most of them appeared rather ordinary especially considering the experts she had encountered across her previous life. Linjian was clearly the strongest in the class right at the border before breaking through to Gold Rank.

However, there was a small, hunched boy that stood in the back quietly that gave her an unusual sense of danger. Although his external aura didn't project anything impressive, her intuition told her that there was more that meets the eye. His gaze hid a subtle malicious intent as their eyes met, and the insidious smile he gave her sent chills down her spine. She got the feeling as though a venomous beast were slowly stalking its prey as she looked at his calm, calculated expression.

As they went around introducing themselves to the class, it was finally his turn.