75 Interrogation

Nie Li was working on his star shuttle when the received a call from Ye Ziyun. The star shuttle was coming along nicely. He was able to integrate antigravity and inertial dampening inscription patterns from soul puppet design into it. The only thing remaining was a reliable propulsion system and he will have his flying artifact ready.

So he didn't pay attention to who was on the other side while responding. He had also activated full area camera mode seeing that Ye Ziyun called in that mode. He thought the girls were again together and wanted to talk together. He had no idea that Ye Ziyun had done so to warn him about her father and his guest.

Now looking at the image of the unimpressed City Lord and amused Xiao Yunfeng, he was sweating bullets. A great first impression!

"City Lord, Lord Xiao Yunfeng, this junior greets you." he greeted them respectfully. He had not expected that the City Lord would contact him so soon and especially not through a phone.

They also greeted him formally and Ye Zong invited him to the City Lord's mansion for a personal meeting. Nie Li accepted his invitation because one cannot say no to a City Lord, especially if he was their future father-in-law. The fact Xiao Ning'er's father was also there, made the situation even more delicate.

Nie Li could imagine what kind of questions bothered them most. He decided to play the role of a genius, quirky inventor. That way they would be less worried about the source of his knowledge. He was not planning to tell his story to Ye Zong. Maybe even not ever. The girls on the other hand will learn when the right time comes. They deserved it. But today was not that time either.

He had prepared an inventory for such an event. He took it and his star shuttle and left his house. Even though its propulsion system wasn't finished yet it could fly at 40-50 kph well above any height where he could be noticed from the ground at night. It was the fastest transport to reach the City Lord's Mansion right now.

He walked towards his garden. It wasn't well illuminated at night so no one would notice his star shuttle's takeoff. He took it out from his interspatial ring. It was designed to look like a manta ray. Large manta ray. Nie Li was planning to take his girls on a flight when the shuttle would be ready. When Nie Li would be finished, it would be able to fly at supersonic speeds. Aerodynamic shields would protect the passengers from opposing airflow.

It was twenty minutes later that he approached the City Lord's mansion. Nie Li didn't fly too high in case he would lose his target destination. There wasn't any well-lit high rise building in the city. The City Lord's Mansion was a large sprawling territory that could have housed several big parks from Robert's world inside. And it actually housed them too.

At the entrance, Ye Zong told him to approach, only one person was waiting. Guards couldn't be seen anywhere. That didn't mean they weren't there. Because the person waiting for him was Ye Xiu, the City Lord's brother, and the third most powerful person in the Snow Wind Family.

It looks like Ye Zong decided that there should be as few witnesses as possible. Nie Li agreed with him. Even if the guards were loyal, rumors could be spread among them.

Since Nie Li decided to play the role of Tony Stark of this world, he directly landed in front of Ye Xiu.

At first alarmed, the experienced elder quickly pulled himself together. Even though he hadn't seen many flying artifacts his family had a technique that allowed them to walk on the air. But that was the prerogative of the Black Gold rank demon spiritualists, not some children.

They greeted each other formally, and Ye Xiu led him towards the City Lord's headquarters where Ye Zong was waiting for him. They made small talk on the way, not touching on sensitive matters.

When they reached Ye Zong's office the girls were leaving and noticed Nie Li.

"Nie Li, wait here for a moment. I will report to City Lord." Ye Xiu said and entered the office leaving the girls and Nie Li alone. Nie Li could have believed it to be a coincidence if there wasn't a hidden person in the antechamber with them. It was a Black Gold rank demon spiritualist with a familiar signature.

It was the same signature that watched over their lesson when Nie Li argued with Shen Xiu. Nie Li was able to notice them when he hadn't even reached the Bronze rank, but now with his 2-star Silver rank, he could just ignore the effects of the concealing technique. The technique worked somewhat similar to the 'notice me not' charm from Harry Potter books.

"Nie Li," said Ye Ziyun looking around and not noticing the additional person in the room. "Umm. Don't worry about my father. He may seem strict, but he is nice inside."

"I will take t into account. Do you have any advice about your father?" he asked turning to Xiao NIng'er.

"My father approves of you," she replied blushing. That means Xiao Yunfeng isn't going to be hard on him about the matter of his daughter.

"Thank you." Nie Li said. "Oh, by the way, I have prepared your knowledge crystals."

"Oh, the Sacred Empire era language?" Ye Ziyun asked. Both of the girls were excited. Nie Li had given them Woodland empire language crystals some time ago and girls already liked the ability to read ancient books. Even though cultivation was their main passion, it didn't mean they didn't have other interests.

Ye Ziyun took a great interest in inscription patterns. But in a more universal way than his cousin, Nie Zexi who was becoming a great inscription master on her own. Xiao Ning'er on the other hand decided to test herself in healing. Healing her own sickness must have inspired her. Nie Li encouraged their interests because being a simple musclehead would be a waste of their talents.

Girls thanked him profusely and took the knowledge crystals. Nie Li could feel the burning interest the hidden person was emanating about the crystals, but he stayed silent. Then the girls wished him good luck and left. They were excited about learning the Sacred Empire era language.

After the girls left, Nie Li stayed silent for a short moment and said, "Good evening elder Ye Shuo."

"So you have noticed me," a grey-haired elder appeared.

'Not only you but others as well' Nie Li wanted to say but stayed silent. He could see the active monitoring arrays layered around the room. Nie Li was sure Ye Zong and others were also watching the proceedings.

But Nie Li wasn't worried. Even if it wasn't a completely calculated move on his part, the existence of a method to pass knowledge to someone quickly would explain some of Nie Li's weird abilities, especially his overwhelming knowledge.

"Yes, and the elder hadn't even tried hard to hide his presence." Nie Li said. He could understand that it was some kind of test of his abilities. He just didn't know if the initiative belonged to Ye Zong or Ye Shuo. He decided to keep the fact that he had also noticed him during Shen Xiu's special lesson to himself.

Ye Shuo, on the other hand, was scrutinizing Nie Li. He remembered the kid from overseeing a lesson where he had shown his prowess with the inscription patterns. He regretted overlooking him because of his red soul realm. It was the first time he underestimated someone's talent so badly.

"Still, it would have troubled even some Gold rank cultivators. Your talent is undeniable, but how did you know my name?"

"There aren't many strong Black Gold rank cultivators with a Snow Wind attribute in the city." Nie Li simply replied. There were many other nuances but there was no need to voice them.

"Okay, then kid. It's good to see that a younger generation is so talented." Ye Shuo said smiling.

"Thank you,"

"I was wondering about those knowledge crystals of yours. How do they work?" Ye Shuo asked.

Nie Li understood that it was a question that interested not only Ye Shuo but also those inside the office monitoring them.

"It's as the name calls. A cultivator can crystallize part of his knowledge for others to absorb. Very convenient to teach a language quickly. Unfortunately, it's one-time use and disappears after a single usage."

"Oh, can anyone create it?"

"No, it requires perfect mental control and a large amount of energy. A cultivator practically sacrifices part of their cultivation to create the crystal from the energy. Even with the help of some fortunate treasures, I am hesitant to create them."

"You mean to tell me that you sacrificed part of your cultivation to create those crystals?" asked Ye Shuo wide-eyed.

"No, I have a treasure that takes care of the energy needs. Still, meditating for six hours to concentrate on the necessary knowledge to create a single crystal is just more than I can afford currently." Nie Li replied.

"That's unfortunate. And can any kind of knowledge be shared by the crystal?"

"Yes. But the deeper the knowledge, the harder it would be to create a crystal, the harder it would be to absorb." Nie Li replied.

"So, let's say if you created a knowledge crystal with your inscription knowledge..."

"Impossible," Nie Li stopped him. "I won't be able to create such a crystal with my current abilities. And even if I did create it, there would be no one who could absorb it safely."

"I think I can give you this crystal with the language of the Woodland empire. The languages are easier," Nie Li continued passing a blue crystal to Ye Shuo. "It was one of the first I created as an experiment. It's not as safe as those I gave the girls. But you can learn the language of the Woodland empire for the cost of a day's headache."

"Thank you Nie Li." Ye Shuo took the crystal. Nie Li was sure that they would research it thoroughly. "You know you could make serious money by making such crystals"

"I could," Nie Li agreed. "But I won't. I prefer to create some interesting artifact in a fraction of the time that's needed to create the knowledge crystal, with much less effort, and make dozens of times more money."

He was not planning to become their knowledge repository. He told them about knowledge crystals so they won't question how he learned so much in such a short time. Any conclusions they come up with would be their own fault.

"Ha ha ha," laughed Ye Shuo. "If I could create artifacts like yours, I would too."

Maybe considering the interrogation ended, Ye Xiu appeared at the door. "Nie Li, Lords Ye Zong, and Xiao Yunfeng are waiting for you."

Nie Li thanked him and Ye Shuo and entered the office. Inside Ye Zong and Xiao Yunfeng sat around a table as if they hadn't heard the entire conversation outside. The fact Ye Zong let on Xiao Yunfeng to such secrets meant he decided to bring the Winged Dragon Family into his camp. That played into Nie Li's hand as well.

Nie Li greeted them again. It won't hurt him to be polite to his future fathers-in-law. Even though they decided to get him interrogated before the meeting.