2 First Mission: Rebuke Nie Li

(The beginning section is copied from the novel. I still recommend to re-read it for reference since it's 100% accurate, but the perspective is now different.)

Ye Zi Yun has a noble identity. She is the daughter of Glory City's City Lord, as well as the granddaughter of the only Legend rank Demon Spiritualist, Ye Mo, having very high status. Not only that, she also has a cyan soul realm, a rare genius talent!

If Shen Xiu's nephew, Shen Yue, manages to have Ye Ziyun as his wife, it would strongly strengthen the Sacred Family's position in Glory City. I would also raise Shen Yue's and Shen Xiu's own status in their family. This is why Shen Yue joined the Fighter Apprentice class, aiming to use this chance to get close to Ye Ziyun. And it's also the reason why Shen Xiu is teaching this class, aiming to help Shen Yue spend more time with Ye Ziyun and see Shen Yue in a good light, which failed miserably in the original novel.

Shen Xiu reverted her transformation with both of her arms hugging her perky chest. Her eyes swept across the students and she said, "In the next 2 years all of you are my students. Although the principal mentioned before that Holy Orchid Institute's students are equal, I have to let you know the ugly truth. In this world, equality doesn't exist!" Shen Xiu spoke in a slightly shrill voice. Her words were like daggers that were heavily stabbed into the hearts of the students.

The students below the stage were quietly listening. No one spoke a word.

"After you have all grown up and leave this school you will agree with my words. Equality is merely a lie that adults fill you with. You can't be living in a fairy tale forever," Shen Xiu said, lowering her head to look at the students.

"Glory City is the only city that has been preserved throughout the Age of Darkness. We are the only surviving humans. Within Glory City there are two kinds of powerful existences. The Fighters and the Demon Spiritualists. A Demon Spiritualist's existence is noble. Only one Fighter within thousands or tens of thousands could have a chance of being born a powerful Demon Spiritualist. Until now, in all of Glory City, only a few thousand Demon Spiritualists exist. We are the guardians of Glory City!"

"Fighters and Demon Spiritualists are divided into Bronze, Silver, Gold, Black Gold and Legend ranks. The higher the rank, the more powerful one is. If a family produces a Gold rank Demon Spiritualist, only then can one become an aristocratic family. If a family produced a Black Gold rank Demon Spiritualist, they can become a Noble family. If a family produces three Black Gold rank Demon Spiritualists or a Legend rank Demon Spiritualist, that family can become a Major family."

"We have thirty-six people here. Some come from commoner families, some come from noble families. Although your starting point is the same, your identities are not. I hope each and every one of you has self-awareness and a degree of manners. Commoners will always remain as commoners. It's impossible for you to become an Aristocratic family, so do not dream of rising up to becoming a phoenix. Even within nobility, there is a strict difference of levels which can never be exceeded."

Under Shen Xiu's gaze, the students that were simply dressed in the class showed discomfort on their faces. They were embarrassed and lowered their heads. A few nobles proudly pushed out their chests and showed an arrogant pride on their faces. Only Shen Yue, Nie Li, Ye Ziyun, Lu Piao and a few other nobles kept calm.

Seeing Shen Xiu's look full of contempt, Nie Li could not help but feel a surge of anger within his heart. In his past life, before Glory City was broken through, the Sacred Family was the first to flee. Therefore, Nie Li does not have any pleasant impressions for them. Whether it's Shen Yue or Shen Xiu, there weren't any redeeming qualities. In his past life Shen Xiu was very harsh, which led to Nie Li disliking her.

From Shen Yue's point of view, because Nie Li didn't like his teacher in school in his previous life and because in another reality the circumstances lead the Sacred Family to ally with the Dark Guild in order to survive, after living for hundreds of years, experiencing many disasters and hardships, and participating in thousands of life and death battles, Nie Li couldn't control his anger and exploded like an eight year old child, insulting and making an elder of one of the most powerful factions in the sect (city) his enemy, all while his cultivation was pitifully low, he had no background and no backers.

"Teacher Shen Xiu, I have a question," Nie Li suddenly said.

At the same time, a new message appeared in Shen Yue's mind.

[You received a new mission]

[Mission 1: Rebuke Nie Li]

[Objective: Rebuke Nie Li's words in class. Attempt to discredit Nie Li and display his arrogance, egoism, stupidity and bratty attitude unfit of a centuries old expert.]

[Reward: Nie Li's complete knowledge on soul realm attributes and soul shapes.]

[Bonus reward: System Points depending on the level of Nie Li's humiliation and hate. Maximum of 20.]

While Shen Yue was taking in the message from the Antagonist System, in the outside world the time continued flowing.

All the students were listening quietly and Nie Li suddenly interrupted her speech, leading Shen Xiu to be unhappy. Shen Xiu recognized Nie Li as he was the one who stared lewdly at Ye Ziyun. The words she spoke previously were directed at Nie Li to warn him. Who would have thought Nie Li would actually speak up?

Shen Xiu coldly snorted, "What is it?"

"Teacher Shen Xiu says that Glory City is the only one that survived the Age of Darkness, that we are the only human beings surviving. What proof do you have on this statement? May I ask if the teacher ever went out of the St. Ancestral Mountains and visited the Endless Desert, the Toxic Forest, the Blood Moon Marsh, the Spirit Gulf, the Heavenly Luster Mountains, and the Northern Snow before?" Nie Li asked, looking at Shen Xiu smugly.

As someone who was reborn, and retained his past experiences, Nie Li can completely look down on Shen Xiu!

"Heavenly Luster Mountain? Northern Snow?" Shen Xiu frowned. Endless Desert, Toxic Forest and Blood Moon Marsh she has heard of before, but those places are very far away from the St. Ancestral Mountains. They only exist in legends.

Shen Xiu snorted and answered, "I've never been to those places. I have been in Glory City since birth, and have never been to those places."

Nie Li smiled faintly and said, "Since Teacher Shen Xiu has never been to those places, how can you be so sure that we are the only human beings alive?"

Shen Xiu couldn't help but be at a loss for words. Glory City stood for hundreds of years and had no relations with any other human settlements, it's a self-governed and isolated community. Even if there are many unexplored lands, they have no relation to Glory City yet. From what is known, Glory City is the only human settlement that survived through the Age of Darkness. There is no evidence yet to prove that other humans exist.

If there is no proof of something existing and there is no reason to support it, with most of the evidence proving otherwise, then it's natural to assume that something imaginary very likely does not exist, as indulging in fantasies doesn't help in living in the present. Obviously it's impossible to prove that something imaginary doesn't exist either.

For example, it's impossible to prove that invisible fairies that make you forget things exist, but it's impossible to prove that they don't exist either. Perhaps these fairies do exist? After all, they are invisible! It's a logical dilemma called Devil's Proof. However, it's safe to assume that based on what we know about the world and science, that invisible fairies probably don't exist.

The students in the class started to talk quietly. They have no idea what kind of places Nie Li spoke about. Ye Ziyun, who was sitting far away, began to show interest that flashed across her eyes. She curiously looked at Nie Li. How does Nie Li know of those places?

Seeing the students below discussing away, Shen Xiu's face was extremely displeased. Nie Li only rebuked her words with a half-assed argument, but the students now looked down on her, annoying her. She scoffed, "So what? How can you prove that we are not the last surviving human beings?"

"Proof?" Nie Li faintly smiled. "Let me tell Teacher Shen Xiu a story. There was once a frog in the depth of the well. Since its birth, it has always been in that well. Since the start it could only see a part of the sky, so it claimed that the sky is only as big as the hole of the well. But is the sky only the size of the hole? We could only say that the frog is ignorant."

Listening to what Nie Li just said, the students in the class couldn't help themselves from laughing. They all felt that what Nie Li said made sense. And the idiom, "a frog viewing the sky from the bottom of the well" was indirectly calling Teacher Shen Xiu a frog.

"Viewing the sky from the bottom of the well, what an appropriate description," a few girls said while giggling away. They all disliked Shen Xiu, and couldn't help looking at Nie Li full of admiration, since Nie Li would be the only one daring enough to openly insult a teacher in class.

"You…" Shen Xiu started as she stared at Nie Li. She was furious to the point of almost vomiting blood. Nie Li actually compared her to an ignorant frog. Since her birth the noble and prideful her was not insulted so badly by a mere peasant. She has never encountered such a rampant student.

Ye Ziyun, who was sitting far away, couldn't control her laughter as well. Nie Li had actually made Teacher Shen Xiu speechless.

Ye Ziyun is a natural beauty. Her smile was fascinating. Nie Li winked towards Ye Zi Yun and smiled.

Seeing Nie Li's expression, Ye Ziyun immediately turned her head back, and thought in her heart, 'Such audacity!' Nie Li's impression in her heart still remained as a bad student.

Watching Nie Li not only choke Teacher Shen Xiu, but also tease Ye Zi Yun, Lu Piao couldn't help raising a thumb at him, thinking this guy's awesome.

At the side of Ye Ziyun, Shen Yue only rolled his eyes, his face expressionless and lightly pitying.

Nie Li looked at Shen Xiu, and continued "Teacher Shen Xiu, I still have another question."

Shen Xiu was about to die from the anger by being called an ignorant frog, but as a teacher she couldn't flare up here. She could only reply in a bad mood, "What question do you still have?!"

"Teacher Shen Xiu said, 'a commoner will always remain a commoner, they can never become a noble.' I have a little question. Wasn't the Legend rank Demon Spiritualist, Ye Mo, a commoner when he was still young?" Nie Li asked, blinking his eyes a few times and looking at Shen Xiu. "Is Teacher Shen Xiu not aware of this?"

After listening to what Nie Li said, the eyes of the commoners in the class all lit up, they were all aware of Lord Ye Mo's story, setting him as an example to follow, wanting to become a powerful existence. Except the words that Shen Xiu spoke of earlier on were simply too harsh, causing them to be depressed.

"You… In the hundreds of years of Glory City, Lord Ye Mo's the only one able to climb to the peak relying on his own ability!" Shen Xiu showed a moment of lag and quickly retaliated with her far-fetched reply.

"But didn't teacher Shen Xiu say that it's impossible? Why are you self-contradicting yourself?" Nie Li coldly sneered. "Lord Ye Mo is a clear cut example, no matter if it's a noble or a commoner, the future's potential is infinite, nothing is difficult as long as one is willing to climb!"

Shen Xiu almost exploded, this brat is too annoying, catching loopholes in her words and constantly attacking them, simply having no respect for the elder! She gazed coldly at Nie Li, he dared to openly contradict her in front of all these people, she'll not let Nie Li have a good time in the coming future!

Not far away from Nie Li, Du Ze looked at Nie Li, eyes full of gratefulness. Although Nie Li is a noble he still ran the risk of offending teacher Shen Xiu, helping commoners to speak up, which made him very touched. Teenager's heart is very primitive, hence he has already determined Nie Li as his friend.

"I also have a question," Shen Yue suddenly spoke up, standing up from his seat.

If Shen Yue didn't interfere now, then Nie Li would gain the support of the commoners in class due to his stupid speech, and would discredit his family and his aunt, indirectly discrediting himself. Shen Yue didn't want Nie Li to gain any benefits today and gain momentum. Since he's supposed to be antagonizing Nie Li, then it wouldn't be a problem to go against him from the start. Shen Yue wanted to become the main character instead and steal everything from Nie Li, all of his advantages, including his reputation!

Furthermore, it was a good chance to test the Villain System. If there was no mission then perhaps Shen Yue would stay low and work in the shadows, but Shen Yue needed some points to at least buy a top-tier cultivation technique for himself and one for his favorite girl Xiao Ning Er, and he couldn't miss on Nie Li's knowledge on soul realm attributes and soul shapes either. It was elementary information and it seemed like it was a very comprehensive piece of Nie Li's knowledge.

Shen Yue turned toward Nie Li and said, "Nie Li, does Glory City have trade relations with any other human settlements?" He glared at Nie Li and immediately continued coldly, "No. But according to you there are other human communities that your Family knows about, but didn't care to trade with them and didn't inform the City Lord? Does your Heavenly Marks Family think itself above other humans that you have no need to offer help or trade? If your family doesn't know about these places, then how do you? Are you perhaps a spy from outside of Glory City?"

Suddenly everyone was looking at Nie Li with suspicions, they had not heard of these places, but his Family had? Why didn't they trade with them? And if Nie Li claims that humans live in these places, then why not contact them and where is his proof? Could Nie Li be someone from outside of Glory City?

Shen Yue could only sneer at Nie Li for using Devil's proof as an argument.

In truth, Shen Yue knew that Nie Li does indeed know about many human settlements that are barely surviving at this moment, isolated from the outside world. However, Nie Li never bothered to visit them to offer help and he didn't even spend a little effort to inform Glory City's authorities of them in the novel. Nie Li only spent some time helping the Heavenly Fate Plateau's tribe by drawing them a map and then telling the Abyss Prison Realm families how to use the teleportation array, just because they happened to be in his way, all while calling himself the savior of humanity.

99% of the world here is occupied by Demon Beasts and the humans are on the border of extinction, but Nie Li did not care about any of them despite being so righteous and unable to tolerate even the smallest wrongs in front of his eyes. In the Tiny World, Nie Li only selfishly helped himself and gathered a group called friends for the Draconic Ruins realm to secretly groom them into soldiers against the Sage Emperor. Nie Li claimed that Glory City was his home and claimed that he would do anything in his power to protect it, even his life, but in the end he barely helped it enough to survive despite having more than enough ability to do so.

When Nie Li came back to the Tiny World a few years later Glory City was actually nearly destroyed anyway, only having a few Legend rank combatants! From a population of several millions it dropped to only three hundred thousand.

Shen Yue had no problem with Nie Li being selfish or keeping knowledge and power to himself, after all, Shen Yue was no better, but what pained Shen Yue's eyes was how Nie Li firmly believed and claimed that he was a righteous and selfless hero, a heaven's gift to mankind.

With his knowledge Nie Li could have done so much more for Glory City or the humans of the entire Tiny World. He could make humans return to the ancient glorious times when they had thousands of Legend rank Demon Spiritualists just by sharing a few mediocre-grade techniques for all attributes reaching up to Earthen Fate Realm, as well as release some information on soul realm attributes and soul shapes. That's all that he needed to do to greatly help Glory City.

Nie Li could also reclaim the land from the Demon Beasts, creating a place to raise an army of geniuses against the Sage Emperor. He could do so much that would only help him in his goal of defeating the Sage Emperor and it would cost him little effort, but he didn't do any of that and even made no arrangements for when he leaves the Tiny World, not even mentioning that he wanted to destroy a barrier around the Tiny World when he already knew well that this place was the only safe haven from the Sage Emperor left in this universe.

Nie Li only asked the Nether Lord to take care of Glory City when ascending, and this guy wasn't very reliable, as Nie Li knew well that he already failed to save Glory City in the first life. And in the end, the Nether Lord failed to save Glory City in it the second life as well.

In Shen Yue's view, Nie Li claimed to love his family and his home when he was there, but in truth, he treated the entire Tiny World as nothing but a stepping stone, forgetting about it soon after.

Shen Yue was unable to deny that Nie Li did have his good points as a hero as well. The main one being that Nie Li really cared about his close ones and really did try very hard to protect them, even to the point of rushing head-first into danger for them.

However, the original author made his personal character quite trash and made him dimwitted in his actions. Apart from trying hard, Nie Li had little redeeming qualities.

In Shen Yue's eyes, Nie Li got to his current level, especially in the first life, only thanks to being carried by ridiculous luck, heavenly dao and the OP Temporal Demon Spirit Book, all while stumbling about dumbly, otherwise he would have died long ago. No matter what Nie Li did, his luck saved him and he gained experience from it.

Shen Yue, in his selfish personal ambitions and pursuit of the peak, had no qualms over ruining Nie Li's life and stealing this knowledge and experience. He believed that even though he was selfish, he could still use Nie Li's abilities to a higher extent, being a better hero and savior of mankind. Not to mention that if he did nothing, then Nie Li would surely destroy his own life.

Shen Yue thought that in the novel the good or smart things that Nie Li did were forced by plot armor, luck and fate, unfit of his character as a person. Nie Li was described and praised as a smart and great hero by the narrator and by other characters that were his allies, but, in fact, he acted and was portrayed as a bratty and egoistic hypocrite. It was not Nie Li who was smart as a character or a person, but his actions were forced by plot armor and the author, making him do things unfit of his incompetent persona and carrying him through life, all the while he constantly keeps provoking young masters, keeps rushing into dangers blindly and keeps insulting those stronger than him.

Nie Li would repeatedly destroy lives of those he doesn't like, while he would randomly give mercy and help those that he likes, all while using the pretext of being righteous and just.

Many readers wouldn't be able to see it or would simply ignore it. While reading the novel or the manhua, Nie Li is the protagonist that we see, everything is from Nie Li's point of view and he is the one in the right in any conflict, while his enemies are clearly the evil ones. Most people would ignore Nie Li being hypocritical, foolish and selfish, and would simply enjoy the story, being carried away by Nie Li's POV.

But as Shen Yue became more mature and gained more life experience, he grew to despise Nie Li as a protagonist and was always annoyed by him. At this moment Shen Yue was unable to tolerate such bullshit anymore. In his opinion a great story was ruined because Nie Li was its main character (from the start), not even mentioning the last rushed chapters.

Shen Yue thought that it's similar with many Xianxia protagonists - they claim to be righteous and just, but often times are worse than Hitler, slaughtering entire families along with innocents just because they bear the same surname as his enemy, all while using the mask of righteousness that, worst of all, they firmly believe in. Perhaps John being transmigrated as Shen Yue and a villain was a work of fate.

But even though Shen Yue really didn't like Nie Li, he was not overcome with rage at this moment. He was only annoyed. The reason that he was antagonizing Nie Li in this situation was for his own benefits and to suppress him. If Shen Yue transmigrated as a poor commoner instead of Shen Yue with a system, then he would probably support Nie Li in his rant instead and become his best friend, since Nie Li treats his friends so well.

At this moment, before Nie Li could rebuke Shen Yue, he was bombarded with another question by Shen Yue, "Nie Li, you mentioned Lord Ye Mo, that commoners can rise above their station as he did, but do you know his soul realm? It's the rare Cyan soul realm that only geniuses have. I also believe that commoners can have great achievements and become nobles, but it's common knowledge that without the support of a noble or a miracle, people with low-grade talent and no resources will struggle in their cultivation. Everyone has a chance to change their fate, but without a miracle becoming a powerful Demon Spiritualist with a Red soul realm is simply dreaming! Or am I wrong?"

"You are wrong!" Nie Li snorted coldly at Shen Yue. "Shen Yue, you feel that the soul realm decides a person's future, right? I have a Red soul realm myself, so what? An aptitude cannot determine a person's future. One day I will prove you wrong. One day I will become a Legend rank Demon Spiritualist like Lord Ye Mo and marry the most beautiful woman in Glory City!"

As he spoke, Nie Li's gaze fell on the far away sitting Ye Zi Yun, his eyes shining with resoluteness.

Seeing Nie Li looking towards herself, not knowing why, Ye Zi Yun suddenly felt her heart speed up, cheeks burning red. She never had the thought that Nie Li is actually so bold to say this kind of stuff in class. Seeing Nie Li's gaze, his meaning was clear. Except in her heart she doesn't have any feelings for Nie Li and only thought that he was a good-for-nothing boaster, after hearing Nie Li's speech she had an indescribable feeling within her.

"Legend rank?" Shen Yue asked Nie Li in amusement. It was exactly what he wanted to hear, who would have thought that Nie Li would get provoked so easily. He asked, "Could it be that you know a secret that allows Red soul realms to become Legend rank Demon Spiritualists, but you don't care to share it with your family, the City Lord or other citizens? Glory City only has a single Legend rank guardian and it's constantly under the threat of being wiped out. If all Red soul realm commoners could become Legend rank experts like you said, then why don't you share it with everyone? In that case Glory City could be safe."

Hearing Shen Yue's words, Nie Li was stunned, and so was the rest of the class as they stared at him. If Nie Li really knew such a secret then if he shared it, wouldn't all of them be able to become Legend rank Demon Spiritualists as well?

Obviously, Nie Li was only spouting nonsense! It's common knowledge in Glory City that Red soul realms are unable to cultivate soul force, with only a few exceptions being able to reach 1-star Silver rank in their lifetime.

Nie Li was flabbergasted. He obviously couldn't share his top-tier cultivation techniques with just anyone. For a moment he didn't know how to respond.

But Shen Yue didn't give Nie Li a chance to come up with an excuse and continued:

"Of course you can't share it because you only wanted attention and spouted nonsense. You interrupt the class, brag shamelessly, insult the teacher and waste the time of some of us that came here to study and learn!" Shen Yue retorted sharply and then turned toward Du Ze and other commoners. "As for those who prefer to train instead, my Sacred Family is always willing to give a fair chance to hardworking and capable commoners, even if they have a Red soul realm."

After Shen Yue's speech, all the students in class glared at Nie Li in displeasure and annoyance. Nie Li was only bragging shamelessly, while what Shen Yue said was all reasonable and simply true. The only person to rise to a noble from a commoner had genius talent, so without talent they needed a backer!

Shen Yue just said that his Sacred Family is willing to recruit commoners even if they have a Red soul realm. If they could get on Shen Yue's good side and were noticed by him, then their future would be bright!

Most of the commoners had this exact same thought. Instead of looking towards Nie Li with appreciative faces like they did in the novel, the commoners now had their gazes glued to Shen Yue with sparkles shining in their eyes, including Du Ze who was dirt-poor and his family was in debt.

Upon seeing all that, Nie Li was simply dumbfounded. He tried to uplift the spirits of the commoners, but now they were searching for a noble to support them in their cultivation. It was what he was going to offer them after class!

Shen Yue scoffed inwardly. Nie Li claims that anyone can achieve anything and reach the peak, but he ignores the fact that he received the miracle of the heaven-defying Temporal Demon Spirit Book, had ridiculous luck and knew supreme level cultivation techniques.

Nie Li spoke a bunch of principles, but he never gave the common masses a chance to rise up in the novel apart from his few friends. When Nie Li left the Tiny World for the upper realm, millions of Red soul realm commoners were still unable to cultivate, destined for mediocrity, not even able to reach Bronze or Silver rank in their lifetime!

Shen Yue sent Shen Xiu on stage a meaningful look and a nod.

Shen Xiu curled her lips up into a ridiculing smile, glaring at Nie Li. She mocked, "A Red soul realm actually said that he wants to become a Legend rank Demon Spiritualist like Lord Ye Mo, ridiculous! Nie Li, right? You dare to interrupt the class and waste everyone's time with your nonsense. For such rudeness to your teacher, go stand at the back of the class to listen to lectures for the rest of the month. I don't want to hear your comments again!"

Nie Li's face darkneed. Shen Xiu is known to be unreasonable. If he doesn't do what Shen Xiu says, then he could get expelled from the Holy Orchid Institute. Although Nie Li didn't need the Institute's teachings, once he got expelled from the Institute he would lose his chances of seeing Ziyun or the rights to visit the Heavenly Sacred Border.

Under Shen Xiu's oppressive gaze and displeased looks thrown by every single person in the class, Nie Li had no choice but to bitterly walk to the back of the classroom.

Seeing Nie Li standing at the back, a few Noble kids mockingly whispered.

"Future Legend rank Demon Spiritualist got punished standing!"

"Tsk tsk, so he's afraid of withdrawal from school!"

"Wasn't he so arrogant just a while ago?"

Shen Xiu sneered, so what if Nie Li is being arrogant, doesn't she still have the saying in the classroom?

At this moment, instead of being joined at the back by others, Nie Li was alone in his humiliation. He was only seeking attention while shamelessly boasting, so why would the other students also get themselves punished for Nie Li's stupidity? Furthermore, supporting Nie Li would mean offending Shen Yue.

Shen Yue laughed coldly in his heart., because as he looked at Lu Piao, he saw that even Lu Piao was pretending that he didn't know Nie Li. As for Du Ze, he didn't even look at Nie Li.

'Shen Yue!' Nie Li cursed Shen Yue in his heart. He was a little brash earlier and got caught up in Shen Yue's word game. But after calming down he only laughed. So what if he got humiliated now? Nie Li's mentality is much stronger than that. With his knowledge and experiences of hundreds of years of cultivating, Shen Yue will soon realize that he can only look at Nie Li from afar.

Nie Li's old friends were distancing themselves from him now, but once he apologizes, explains everything and helps them in cultivation, everything will be resolved.

But what hurt Nie Li the most was the distasteful look that Ye Ziyun was sending him right now. He wanted to show off in front of her, but it only backfired and Ye Ziyun saw him as nothing but an egoistic boaster!

'Shen You, you will pay for it!' Nie Li's knuckles turned pale white as he squeezed his fists in anger. 'I will repay this humiliation to you a hundred fold! I will destroy your entire Sacred Family of traitors!'