Expedition

After finishing, he decided to test it. He put two demon spirits into designated spots on the floor of the tent and activated the array. Demon spirits dissolved leaving behind an empty demon spirit stone. Background soul force rose rapidly. Checking the results Nie Li could say that only a small amount of energy was escaping the containment array. It would be around 10 percent by the time he finishes absorbing all of that energy.

Ninety percent of efficiency wasn't bad. Soul energy inside the tent was many times thicker than outside but he could raise it even further to cultivate faster. He added another 2 demon spirits and sat down to cultivate. Nie Li could estimate that his cultivation speed was 4 times higher than normal and soul energy will last 6 hours. Anything else other than pure energy he directed towards the mysterious structure inside his soul realm. It devoured them without a problem. From what Nie Li understood from the novel it required an extremely large amount of energy to advance.

And it didn't care about the type and form of energy. Nie Li didn't send the pure soul energy towards it because he suspected it would barely notice this small amount of energy. For the rest of his soul realm, it was still a huge amount of energy. So he decided to feed it only when there would be an overabundance of energy. Because when it advances it would improve his entire soul realm as well. His novel counterpart was able to raise his spiritual roots this way.

Considering that meditation can replace sleep for cultivators, he could progress at an unprecedented pace. He continued to cultivate deep into the night until the energy inside the tent was depleted. The session was very productive. He had squeezed three days' worth of 8-hour cultivation into it. It was only 2 hours in the morning so he decided to start another session.

When he finished with his cultivation and left his tent it was already a bright day. His soul force also reached 75. It was impressive. Another session of cultivation like this and he can reach the Bronze rank. He went to breakfast in high spirits.

He had joined the classes today. If he misses too many times, it may attract unnecessary attention. When he entered the classroom, he noticed that Ye Ziyun and Xiao Ning'er were sitting together. But they looked a bit awkward as if they didn't know what to talk about. Most likely, it was Ye Ziyun's initiative to sit together. And even though they both wanted to restore their friendship, they had been apart for so long that they couldn't find a common topic. Seeing him, both of their eyes lit up.

"Hi, Nie Li," they greeted him smiling. Everyone in the class became silent. Since when do the two goddesses of the class become so chatty. They were just talking about them greeting some commoner students, now they are talking to Nie Li as well. Usually, they don't even talk to each other. But today they were sitting together.

Shen Yue was glaring at him. His spies must have already told him about the meeting of their study group. So he must be blaming him for corrupting Ye Ziyun and Xiao Ning'er. Why else would princesses of two big families in Glory city lower themselves to greet commoners? But it didn't matter. He may become angry as much as he likes, if the bigshots of Sacred family don't intervene, it won't amount to much. And they won't. Because in their eyes Nie Li wasn't a threat to their plans.

"Hi girls," he greeted them and said to Ye Ziyun, "Ye Ziyun, yesterday I wanted to ask you something, but forgot about it. Can you stay after classes for a few minutes to talk?"

"Um, sure" answered Ye Ziyun. Xiao Ning'er looked at him curiously.

"Okay then," said Nie Li and went towards his seat at the back of the class. He could hear them talking in a low voice after he left. At least he gave them a common topic to talk about.

When he returned to his seat his friends began asking about the girls. They were surprised to see the girls in their study group. They could understand Nie Li inviting his cousin, but how he was able to invite their classmates they didn't understand. Nie Li just said that they were interested in the knowledge. His friends weren't satisfied with the answer but they knew they couldn't get anything more from him. Strangely, Du Ze was silent. He looked like he wanted to ask something a couple of times, but stopped himself. Nie Li didn't remember him being so shy in the past.

When the classes ended, he told his friends to leave without him. They left dragging Lu Piao who was demanding Nie Li to teach him. At least he wasn't shouting about what he wanted to learn.

When everyone except Ye Ziyun left and Xiao Ning'er was waiting for her at the door, Nie Li approached her. He immediately got to the point, "Ye Ziyun, can you organize me a meeting with Chen Linjian?"

"What?" She was surprised and then asked, "Why do you want to meet him?"

"I have a business proposition for him," he said and seeing her suspicious look added, "Yes, It's related to that little expedition of yours"

"How?" she asked after a few minutes of speechlessness.

"I have my sources," Nie Li said.

Ye Ziyun stared at him for some time and said, "I can organize a meeting between you and him. It's nothing compared to what I owe you. But if you want to just join the expedition I can invite you myself. I can invite up to three people," she said.

Nie Li was surprised. He hadn't thought about this. He was trying to follow the way of the novel Nie Li and forgot about the other paths. He approached her because meeting with Chen Linjian was not easy. Genius classes had their buildings and territories, and not everyone could enter those. He couldn't wait for Chen Linjian in the library all day as well.

So it was really surprising to hear her offer. But he shouldn't have been surprised. These young masters and mistresses must have some kind of agreement between them.

"Are you sure you don't want to bring your guards?" asked Nie Li.

"No, Chen Linjian is bringing the guards," she said averting her eyes. And Nie Li understood. They are keeping the expedition secret from their families so she couldn't bring her household guards.

"What's the agreement about the share of the treasures?" he didn't want to rob Ye Ziyun.

"Individual finds are yours, group finds have a percentage in share" she answered looking at him curiously.

Ah, she probably doesn't care about that. She is in it for the adventure. This is her hidden rebellious side. When she drops her dutiful daughter role there's a quite audacious girl hidden beneath. And he loved that side of her.

"Then it's alright" Nie Li answered. All of his finds will be individual ones.

"Thank you for your offer. I accept it," Nie Li continued, "And won't even ask for a share from group finds."

"Okay," she seemed pleased. The fact that she is going on an adventure with a friend must have made her happy. Or maybe the fact that he is not asking for a share from her loot.

"When is the expedition?" Nie Li asked.

"You don't know?" she asked surprised.

"No. I only know that Chen Linjian is organizing an expedition and some children from influential families are participating"

"Hm," she said thoughtfully, "It's in three days at 6 o'clock in the morning. The meeting place is the library."

"Thank you again Ye Ziyun. You don't know how much trouble you saved me from." And he was not lying. He even wanted to organize his own expedition with a couple of Silver rank mercenaries but decided it would be pointless. He was not planning to rob the entire group. They had found the treasure on their own in his previous life, so taking it all for himself would be a bit unfair. The fact that he is stealing the lamp from Shen Yue, well, it's compensation for him being an a***ole. And he will get something else if he is lucky.

Another headache for him was Ye Ziyun's safety. He didn't know if Dark Guild will act this time or not. And that 5 star Silver rank demon beast that attacks the group. In his previous life, she was safe, but that doesn't mean she would be safe this time as well. So he must be close by to protect her if something happens.

"Okay," she said. And Nie Li left after saying goodbye to the girls.

Now that he had secured a place in an expedition, he must make preparations.

---------------------