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

She pleasantly pointed to the group standing at the back of the hall, her voice ringing like a musical bell, "You all can return to your seats...today." As Xiao Ning'Er and the rest took their seats, Shen Xiu started her lecture.

"Today, I'm going to talk about inscription patterns. Whether for fighters or demon spiritists, inscription patterns can be a very powerful tool for battle and survival. They are separated into two main parts: Enchanting Patterns, which can be inscribed onto armours and weapons, and Battle Patterns, which can be inscribed on scrolls. Inscribed equipment is able to release far more battle power than their base material should allow, and scrolls allow for an instantaneous burst of power depending on what the inscribed spell is."

The students sat up in surprise as they realised that Shen Xiu was actually teaching something beneficial and substantial today. The three VIPs sat hidden right outside the classroom and listened to the lecture, nodding in approval to what they were hearing. These men consisted of Ye Sheng, the vice-principal of Holy Orchid Institute, Lu Ye, a professor in the Institute, and a mysterious grey robed elder named Ye Shuo.

As Xiao Ning'Er sat listening and lamenting at the fact that Glory City only managed to inherit such a small portion of inscription patterns after the Age of Darkness, an idea hit her like a bolt of lightning. This was how she would be able to raise the funds she needed for everyone's cultivation resources! Her past experiences had exposed her to 100 times more inscriptions than Glory City possessed, many of which were infinitely more powerful than anything anyone here had ever seen.

She quietly took out some paper and a pen from her interspatial ring and began to draft out some of the inscriptions which she would need to use in her upcoming plans. Glory City valued anything that could raise battle strength greatly and she would need to find the best applications for her inscriptions, which those around would find important and pay good money for. As the lecture progressed, she drafted out 10 precise inscriptions with a practiced, artistic flair.

Noticing her unnatural actions, the three men outside extended their spiritual sense to observe what she was doing. Vice-principal Ye Sheng gasped in surprise, "Those beautiful inscriptions that girl has been drawing. None of them exist in Glory City! Where did she find them?" The more he observed the drawings, the more astounded he got, murmuring, "Genius. She's a genius. Even if she copied them from somewhere, to be able to recreate them with such precision is not something anyone can do."

As Shen Xiu then moved on to teaching about the Scarlet Sunburst inscription that was credited to first generation house master of the Sacred Family, Xiao Ning'Er remembered that this was the moment that Nie Li first confronted the Sacred Family head-on by revealing that this inscription was plagiarised from the Book of Divine Lightning Flame.

After considerable thought, she decided not to go down the same path Nie Li had taken to begin tearing off the fake masks that the Sacred Family wore over their faces because she was not ready to stir them up just yet. Her own Winged Dragon family were directly oppressed and subordinate to the Sacred Family, and she was still officially engaged to Shen Fei, so she wanted to be more prepared first.

But their time would come soon.

Ye Shuo finally spoke, "Who is she?"

Lu Ye responded, "I've just looked her up. Xiao Ning'Er, the sole direct descendant of the Winged Dragon Family. She has a green soul realm and as of the last time she was tested, her soul force was 78! She's only 13 years old..."

Ye Shuo nodded in approval, "Keep tabs on her. She could very well become one of the backbone of the next generation of Glory City to defend the human race!"

The class ended and Xiao Ning'Er absentmindedly packed up her books as her thoughts remained distracted on inscriptions. She did not realise that Shen Xiu had walked up to her until the teacher grabbed her arm, leaning in and hissing in her ear, "Young lady, if you're not going to pay attention when I'm imparting important knowledge, then what's the point of coming to class? Don't forget who you are, and which family controls your family and your destiny. One word from me and your family will be crushed like a bug under my feet!"

Shen Xiu had sensed that the presence of the three VIPs outside had left and quickly transformed back into her venomous personality unconcerned that they would perceive anything.

Xiao Ning'Er almost panicked for a moment before a hard resolve came into her eyes, "Teacher Shen Xiu. Get. Your. Hands. Off. Me." Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw her friends come up behind her to back her up once they noticed that Shen Xiu held an intimidating posture towards Xiao Ning'Er.

Shen Xiu was about to rebuke the group in rage when she saw their insolent behaviour and intention to back up their friend but bit down on her tongue when she saw Ye Ziyun walk up and stand right next to Xiao Ning'Er with a firm expression of support. The City Lord's daughter was someone Shen Xiu still needed to be wary about simply offending.

"Mark my words, I will report this week's unacceptable behaviour to the principal. It has disrupted the learning of the other students and I will recommend that some of you be removed from the Institute. So you all just wait for my 'good' news!!" With that final sarcastic remark, Shen Xiu hastily left the room.

Xiao Ning'Er turned to those around her with gratitude in their eyes. "Thanks, guys, I didn't know she would suddenly threaten me like that out of nowhere. It was reassuring to know that you all had my back."

"No problem! After all, you're our bro now!" Lu Piao joked. Maybe he was trying to now convince her that he no longer had any lustful thoughts about her and change her impression of him, but she knew better than to believe him.

Nie Li replied with a serious expression, "I started this whole mess and then you got pulled into it, so we're in this together. You can trust me to support you anytime you need it." He gave her a sly grin, "After all, who else is going to train me up over the next two months?"

She punched his arm with a laugh before catching sight of Ye Ziyun's curious expression with her eyebrows raised in bewilderment.

"So what's on the menu today, boss? Are we going to the library again?"

When had they started calling her boss? This was getting more and more awkward, but at the same time, she felt a bit flattered as well. She just hoped Lu Piao wouldn't continue calling her bro, at the very least.

"No, you guys head home to train and reinforce your cultivations. I have something else I need to do today. Tomorrow, we'll skip class and meet in the library in the morning!" she responded with a gleam in her eyes.

As they turned to leave, she saw Nie Li looking at her with a thoughtful expression. He suspected that she was going to do something for them, after all, now that their cultivation was accelerating like mad, they would need cultivation resources to sustain their growth.

"Don't worry, I'll let you all know if I need any help." she reassured them.

After they left the room, Ye Ziyun still stood there next to her, subtly shaking her head in disbelief. "What's going on...boss?" Ye Ziyun suddenly burst out in uncontrollable giggles that went on until she was gasping for air. Xiao Ning'Er had not seen her friend laugh, or even genuinely smile, for a very long time and could not help but to laugh along with joy in her heart.

After they composed themselves, Xiao Ning'Er clarified, "You saw what happened the other day with Shen Xiu. I just managed to convince Nie Li that I wanted to help him reach bronze rank by the time of the exam. With the background of my noble family, I have access to more cultivation resources which can give him a chance at succeeding in two months. That's all there is to it. Nothing more."

Ye Ziyun leaned forward with a sudden exclamation, "Oh! That reminds me about what I came over to talk to you about. That cultivation technique from yesterday...it's incredible! With my position in Glory City, I am very clear that it is far better than any cultivation technique we have available. Do you know how valuable this would be to the elites of our city? I'm afraid to even reveal it to my father in case it gets out and we're targeted! Ning'Er, why does it seem like you're getting more and more mysterious..."

Xiao Ning'Er wasn't sure if the story she told the boys would work but she decided to keep it consistent anyway in case Ye Ziyun ever compared notes with them. "I managed to copy this technique from a secret inheritance that an ancestor from my family dug up from an ancient ruin a long time ago. I saw that it was well-suited towards someone with a Snow Wind attribute soul realm, and so I thought about you..."

"Oh...thank you, Ning'Er...this means more to me than you realise. I've always felt the pressure of living up to my father's expectations and I've felt his disappointment over the last few years when I did not progress as fast as he had hoped." Ye Ziyun decided not to mention another hidden worry that came into her mind, 'Does this mean that the Winged Dragon Family may have hidden elites in their ranks that are waiting for a chance to strike? With such a powerful technique, it would be easy to raise supreme experts. And what else may that ancestor have found in the ruin?'

Xiao Ning'Er had not been raised immersed in the politics of city rulership and so she did not have any of these thoughts towards the strategic relationships between the powers of Glory City. She turned towards the exit of the classroom of which they had been the only two students remaining a long time ago, "I'm heading towards the Guild of Inscriptionists, would you like to come with me?"

"Oh yea, you were incredible at inscriptions yesterday. Are you going to see your teacher there? Oh, by the way, I've updated the scroll creators of my family of your conclusions yesterday. They were completely amazed at the silver ranked inscription pattern you drew and couldn't wait to try creating it on a scroll!" Ye Ziyun exclaimed.