Chapter 21 - Treaties

When the young man in black clothes was just a few meters away from hitting Nie Li directly, his fist, which was full of veins and with his palm open like a blade, closed and he punched himself in the face.

PUMF

A small shockwave was generated, strong enough to raise a curtain of dust.

'Am I... alive?' Nie Li thought, completely surprised. He had acted before he could even think about it, his body just reacted to try to save Ye Ziyun. He pinched himself to see if he was dreaming.

"Ouch!" He wasn't.

"Nie Li!" Ziyun shouted, getting up from the ground and throwing herself towards where Nie Li was, even though the dust hadn't settled and she couldn't see clearly.

BAM

They both collided as they fell to the ground.

"Wow... you missed me that much? We saw each other this morning, you know." Nie Li joked to lighten the mood, but the girl was too anxious to fall for the teasing, so she just kept her face pressed against his chest.

Nie Li, for his part, as much as he really wanted to enjoy this situation, couldn't help but be worried about the figure right next to them. He was still on alert for any movement from the guy.

Then the dust finally began to settle slowly.

"Damn... it hurt more than I expected..." A male voice was the first thing they noticed, and then they saw the whole situation clearly.

The grass in the area was pulled up and broken, and in a circle of two meters around the guy, there was no grass; it had been disintegrated.

Blood was dripping from the nose of the young man in black clothes, staining the ground red. Moans of pain mixed with swear words could be heard coming from his mouth.

"Are you alright..? Ye Ziyun... Nie Li?" The boy finally asked, getting up from the ground without even wiping the blood from his face.

The girl just nodded, while Nie Li was in a state of shock, his expression showing extreme disbelief.

"XIANGJU????" Nie Li shouted, jaw dropped.

Beneath the long hair, the black clothes, the dark gray shirt, and also ignoring those 6 scars, three on each side of his mouth, it was possible to see that, without a doubt, the warrior in front of them was Xiangju, even though his stature had changed.

The boy smiled, having his identity revealed. Ye Ziyun was obviously not surprised; she knew it was him. They had talked about it. What surprised her the most was this overwhelming power. Her heart was still racing, but the danger had passed. The warmth from Nie Li had helped her—

The moment she realized how close they were, she jumped up and stood straight, trying to look graceful. But her red, burning face easily revealed her thoughts. Both boys found the situation amusing.

"Why did you stop the attack, Xiangju? I could have—"

"Been seriously hurt." The boy cut her off mid-sentence.

Nie Li said nothing, but he agreed. He was really willing to sacrifice himself for her because that attack would have undoubtedly killed him.

A bitter taste in Ye Ziyun's mouth made her uneasy... She hated to admit it, but this had certainly been the perfect outcome. However, someone from the Snow Wind Family could not allow themselves to be treated so lowly. How could she allow herself to be humiliated?

"Even so, you should have gone through with it. No matter what you think would have happened, I would have found a way to come out victorious!" Ye Ziyun spoke proudly. Xiangju didn't know exactly how to respond; he just scratched his hair, thinking of the right answer. But luckily, it was Nie Li's turn.

"No, you can't throw yourself into situations where the only way out is death. I... couldn't bear to lose you." The girl blushed deeply, unable to respond. Nie Li had left her speechless.

'Hehe, this was the best possible outcome, my friend.' Xiangju thought.

"What's going on here?" A deep, powerful voice called their attention.

In front of them, with purple-gray hair, wearing clothes ranging from moss green to dark gray with white details. His shoulder pads and belt were marked with a golden symbol.

The boys froze, and next to them, an immeasurable current of power flowed.

Ye Ziyun, however, was not scared but rather smiled widely.

"Papa—I mean, Great Lord of the City!" The girl corrected herself mid-sentence.

'Father-in-law!' Nie Li thought, smiling, already planning how to make a good impression.

But before anyone could do anything, Xiangju was the first to act, kneeling in front of the lord.

"It is a great pleasure, honorable Lord Ye Zong!"

"You... who are you?" The Lord asked with a suspicious look.

"This is Zhu Xiangju, the boy I had mentioned to you, Ye Zong."

The one who replied was Ye Xiu, who arrived right behind Ye Zong, dressed in his standard light gray clothes.

When Xiangju noticed the old man, he bowed again. Ye Xiu smiled slightly and waved for him to stand.

Ye Zong, with narrowed eyes, circled around Xiangju, analyzing him, judging him.

"He doesn't look like anything special." Ye Zong said without any filter. Those words hit Xiangju like a kick in the groin, and Ye Ziyun and Nie Li had to hold back their laughter.

Ye Xiu had an annoyed look, as if his musical taste had just been judged.

He forced a cough and then spoke again:

"Know that this boy reached Silver Rank one day after reaching 5-star Bronze Rank."

These words were enough to change the atmosphere. Now Ye Zong had an intrigued smile.

"Oh... that is indeed surprising." He observed him again, but now with much more scrutiny.

Xiangju felt like a piece of exposed meat. Nie Li and Ye Ziyun also watched the situation curiously.

Nie Li already expected Xiangju to do something absurd like that... he needed to get stronger too...

Ye Ziyun, for her part, was fascinated by Nie Li's angelic wings, touching them gently with an almost childlike curiosity. Her eyes sparkled as she observed them. Nie Li felt a bit uncomfortable with the touch, but he couldn't stop her from doing it; she was too beautiful to be stopped.

"Are you feeling unwell, boy?" Ye Zong asked, bringing everyone's focus back to the fight.

"H-how so? Oh..." Xiangju was momentarily confused but then realized the Lord was talking about the blood on his nose.

'Hehe, thank me later, folks.' Xiangju thought to himself.

"Actually, Great Lord of the City Ye Zong, this injury was caused during my combat training with the honorable Ye Ziyun."

"What..? But how—" When Ye Zong was about to ask how it was possible for his daughter, who always showed great talent but was not qualified to be considered a successor, he saw something absolutely extraordinary. A boy with orange hair, probably the same age as his daughter, had four large wings made of pure energy embedded in his back. It was undoubtedly what they call Soul Forming.

"You with the orange hair, what is your name?"

Ye Zong asked seriously.

"My name is Nie Li, Great Lord of the City. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Nie Li said, bowing. He understood what Xiangju had done and was obviously very grateful for it.

"Is that Soul Forming on your back? What rank are you?"

"Yes, your observation is correct, honorable sir. My current rank is 2-star Bronze Rank. My current class is still apprentice. I am a classmate of Ye Ziyun and Zhu Xiangju."

Nie Li explained everything in detail and in an extremely refined manner, undoubtedly making a good first impression.

"You are still in the apprentice class? Hahahahahaha you really have my attention, boys." Ye Zong said, smiling at them, then turned to Ye Xiu.

"This was a great find, my friend. Who knows what they might bring to us in the future. Don't forget to nurture them properly. From now on, Nie Li and Zhu Xiangju will have unrestricted access to the Lord's Mansion... Just don't enter Ye Ziyun's pavilion."

Lord Ye Zong was already leaving, but just before he left, he mentioned Ye Ziyun's part with a stern look at the two.

"WE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY!" Both boys said in unison.

When Xiangju and Nie Li met each other's gaze, instead of all the tension they had before, they exchanged smiles and fist-bumped.