Chapter 2: Chapter 2: The Awakening of Destiny's Rival
From the depths of forgotten time and weary past, a rival rises, bound by fate to stand against the chosen. In Heaven's quiet dawn, two souls do stir, each to the other yoked, yet ever at odds. Their paths, like rivers intertwined, must clash where destiny decrees. One shall rise with Heaven's light, the other with shadowed might, and the heavens, impartial, shall bear witness to the battle forged by fate.
Naraku sat at his desk with a plain expression, his black hair and black eyes betraying no emotion.
Next to him sat a girl with striking purple hair—Ye Ziyun, the daughter of the City Lord.
As the lesson was about to begin, the students engaged in quiet, excited discussions among themselves.
"I heard we have a new teacher today," one student said eagerly.
"Yes, and she's a 3-star Gold rank Demon Spiritualist from the Sacred Family. Her name is Shen Xiu!" another student added.
"And look, there are two new students. Do you know who that purple-haired girl is?"
"The new boy is quite handsome," one of the girls commented, her gaze lingering on Naraku.
At that moment, a woman entered the room and took her place at the podium. The room fell silent as all eyes turned toward her.
Shen Xiu was an imposing figure with a tall, attractive build and fiery red hair. Her lavender dress hugged her form, accentuating her perky chest, and her exquisite makeup highlighted her elegance. Her demeanor was one of pride, arrogance, and indifference.
As a 3-star Gold rank Demon Spiritualist of noble birth, Shen Xiu considered herself above the students. She had only agreed to teach this beginner Fighter Class due to familial obligations and aspirations, the Elder of the Sacred Family ordering her to.
Her primary motivation was to support Naraku, who was also a member of the Sacred Family, in winning the favor of the City Lord's daughter. Success in this endeavor could elevate her own family's status within Glory City.
With a wave of her hand, Shen Xiu ensured that the students were quiet and attentive before beginning the lesson.
"Demon Spiritualists and Fighters are categorized into five ranks: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Black Gold, and Legend. Each rank is further divided into five levels, from 1-star to 5-star."
"You may choose to become either a Demon Spiritualist or a Fighter, but a Demon Spiritualist is always superior to a Martial Warrior.
"Demon Spiritualists are of noble existence. They cultivate their soul force within their Soul Realms. However, becoming one is difficult, requiring both talent and persistence."
As Shen Xiu's lecture continued, the clouds outside parted, allowing a ray of sunlight to shine dramatically through the classroom window.
The light fell upon one of the students in the back row, as if bestowing a blessing upon him.
The sunlight struck the boy, and as he felt its warmth, his gaze became clearer, his eyes widening in shock.
The boy in question was none other than Nie Li—an ordinary student who happened to be the most significant figure in the room.
Nie Li was a regressor from the future, a self-proclaimed supreme expert who had been killed by the formidable Sage Emperor, an evil overlord of the heavens.
Just before his death, Nie Li used his Temporal Demon Spirit Book, a cheat item, which allowed his soul to return to the past, back to his school days.
In Nie Li's previous life, Glory City was ravaged by countless assaults from demon beasts.
Its once-unshakable protector, the Legendary Demon Spiritualist Ye Mo, perished in the city's final defense.
With his death, the city fell, and only a few thousand survivors managed to escape, fleeing toward the endless desert to the east of the St. Ancestral Mountains.
During their desperate exodus, their numbers dwindled—one by one, succumbing to the dangers that lurked at every turn.
Before Glory City's destruction, Nie Li had been painfully weak.
Despite his best efforts, he had remained stuck at the 3-star Bronze rank, unable to advance any further in his cultivation.
His lack of progress made him invisible in the eyes of both the institute and his own family.
Treated as if he were insignificant, mere dust beneath the notice of those more powerful than him.
Back then, Nie Li had been nothing special—just another struggling student with no exceptional talent.
If it weren't for the reckless moment when he had thrown his life on the line to save Ye Ziyun, he likely never would have captured the attention of the goddess he had admired from afar.
At the time, Ye Ziyun had already achieved the remarkable level of a 1-star Gold rank Demon Spiritualist, her cultivation soaring far beyond his.
The distance between them had felt like a chasm that could never be crossed. She was a radiant star in the sky, while he remained earthbound, unable to even dream of standing beside her.
However, after the destruction of Glory city, and under the constant threat of death, Nie Li and Ye Ziyun, the daughter of the City Lord, grew close.
They became each other's strength, enduring the hardships of the desert together, and eventually, they fell in love. Through mutual support, they became stronger in cultivation.
But happiness, as Nie Li learned, was fleeting. Their bond was tragically cut short.
In the end, Nie Li wasn't even qualified to fight alongside Ye Ziyun.
During the final battle, all he could do was watch helplessly as she faced the horde of beasts with unmatched bravery.
He remembered the terror that gripped him when he saw the massive claws of a demon beast tear into her.
Her body, once full of life and power, slowly fell, lifeless, into the shifting desert sands, her blood staining the ground where she once stood.
The image of her falling had burned itself into Nie Li's memory, a constant reminder of his own powerlessness. And as the beasts closed in around him, all hope seemed lost.
Yet by some miracle—perhaps sheer luck—Nie Li had survived. He had wandered out of the Endless Desert, his body weakened but his will unbroken.
After emerging from the seemingly endless desert, Nie Li wandered across the Divine Continent.
Along his journey, he encountered remnants of humanity—survivors scattered by the unrelenting tide of demon beasts. He also stumbled upon many mysterious encounters
In the years that followed, he had several mysterious encounters, that expanded his understanding of cultivation and power.
It was during these journeys that Nie Li uncovered deeper secrets of the Temporal Demon Spirit Book, a mysterious book with the power to manipulate time and destiny.
Armed with the ancient and esoteric knowledge contained within the book, combined with the centuries of experience he gained during his travels, Nie Li broke through the barrier of Legend Rank, ascending to even higher levels of cultivation.
When Glory City fell, Nie Li had been too weak to stop it. Everyone he cared about—his friends, his family, and Ye Ziyun—died in the chaos.
And when Nie Li himself was finally struck down by the Sage Emperor, his only wish as he lay dying was to return to the days when Ye Ziyun was still by his side. If only the heavens would grant him a second chance.
If not for the destruction of Glory City, Nie Li—born into the declining Heavenly Marks family—would have never had a future with Ye Ziyun, the daughter of the City Lord. Their social divide and cultivation would have kept them apart, their paths never meant to cross.
But now, Nie Li had been reborn.
In this life, the obstacles that once seemed insurmountable no longer posed a problem.
While his talent in this timeline was still considered poor, with the knowledge he had gained from his previous life, elevating his talent would be a trivial matter.
Because in his previous life he learned that the concept of soul force talent, which had once seemed like an immutable trait, was not set in stone.
Talent could be upgraded, honed, and perfected through the right knowledge and cultivation techniques.
Now, having returned to this time, with all the knowledge from his past life, he would not let himself remain the weak, forgotten student he once was.
With his second chance, Nie Li vowed to change the course of history. He would prevent Glory City's destruction. He would save everyone—his friends, his family, and most of all, Ye Ziyun.
This time, nothing would stop him.
Weekly Power Status
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