TDG : rise of shadow army

Seeing how his fist was effortlessly pried open by Nie Li, Shen Yue's face twisted in pain. Shen Yue's lackeys were all stunned, completely unable to act due to the pressure emanating from Chan Wei.

"What happened? What's going on with Boss Shen Yue?" They thought.

They stared blankly at Shen Yue. In their minds, Shen Yue should have been more than enough to handle Nie Li, so why was he showing such a painful expression? What was happening? Why were they frozen in place?

Du Ze, Lu Piao, and Chan Wei were not too surprised. Seeing this scene, they remained calm. Ever since they had started practicing the cultivation techniques taught by Nie Li, their progress had skyrocketed. Although Du Ze and Lu Piao's soul strength had yet to reach high levels, their physical strength had improved tremendously. As for Chan Wei, his strength was already at the Silver rank.

The technique Nie Li practiced had to be even more powerful than theirs. They weren't sure how far his cultivation had progressed, but handling Shen Yue was more than within his capabilities! Only Chan Wei knew that Nie Li's real advantage came from his battle experience. During this confrontation, Chan Wei subtly slipped one of his shadows into Shen Yue's, while also aligning his own shadow with Shen Yue's.

Nie Li said coldly, "Ziyun's name isn't something you deserve to utter. If I ever catch you following her again, I'll beat you down every time I see you!" After his rebirth, Nie Li would never allow anyone with ill intentions to approach Ziyun! The life-and-death struggles they had shared, the bond they had built—these were things that scum like Shen Yue could never understand.

"This is impossible! How could I lose?" Shen Yue refused to accept reality. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine losing to Nie Li. His expression darkened with malice. "You've forced my hand!"

Shen Yue's soul realm began to surge, spirals of soul force bursting from his body, launching toward Nie Li. However, Chan Wei took advantage of the moment to have his shadow siphon a portion of Shen Yue's soul force, weakening the attack by at least a quarter.

Although he lacked any Demon Spirit combat abilities, Shen Yue could still use his soul force to attack Nie Li's soul realm directly.

Shen Yue's soul force had already reached 78, whereas two days ago, Nie Li's was only 5. Now, however, it had already surpassed 30.

Even so, Nie Li's soul force was still only a little over half of Shen Yue's.

"This isn't good. Nie Li has only just started cultivating his soul force two days ago. His soul force won't be able to compete with Shen Yue's." Du Ze's expression changed, but he was still too far away from Nie Li. Then, he glanced toward Chan Wei, who winked at him before swiftly knocking out the lackeys using a sleep-inducing technique from his past world. They collapsed to the ground without resistance.

Shen Yue focused all his attention on Nie Li, not noticing Du Ze rushing toward him.

"Ridiculous!" Nie Li sneered in contempt. In his previous life, he had fought against countless Demon Spirit Masters who possessed unparalleled, supremely powerful super-demons. These Demon Spirit Masters, besides having powerful spirits and immense soul force, also wielded an incredibly high level of control over their own soul energy.

Even though Nie Li's soul force was still weak in this life, he carried with him the experience of countless life-and-death battles from his past life. His control over soul force was as sharp as ever. Even though his soul force was only at level 30, a Bronze-rank Demon Spiritualist wouldn't have the slightest advantage against him!

Shen Yue's use of soul force was crude and unrefined, knowing only how to recklessly bombard his opponent's soul realm. From Nie Li's perspective, this level of soul force control was no different from that of a primitive brute.

Soul force should not be used in such a way!

To Nie Li, Shen Yue was full of weaknesses. If Nie Li truly wanted to, Shen Yue would already be a lifeless corpse on the ground in mere moments.

But Nie Li had no interest in killing Shen Yue, because to him, Shen Yue wasn't even a threat!

Would a tiger ever consider a mere chicken a danger?

Just as Shen Yue's soul force was about to strike Nie Li's soul realm, Nie Li condensed his soul force into fine needles, preparing to counterattack. However, before he could, he saw Shen Yue's attack dissipate in an instant. Realizing what had happened, he smirked as he saw Du Ze pinning Shen Yue to the ground.

Shen Yue spat out blood from the sudden interruption, his soul realm thrown into complete chaos. Seeing this opportunity, Chan Wei once again siphoned a portion of Shen Yue's soul force, causing him even more pain before discreetly withdrawing his shadow.

"Urghhh!" Shen Yue let out a piercing scream, like a pig being slaughtered. He had lost a significant portion of his soul force, leaving his soul realm teetering on the brink of collapse. However, it quickly began to stabilize as it healed itself naturally—since Chan Wei had only extracted around five points of soul force.

With a soul-tearing pain coursing through him, sweat poured down Shen Yue's face as he gasped for breath, his entire body trembling as though he had just witnessed something terrifying. Du Ze had already stepped back after slamming him into the ground.

His soul realm quivered, his mind was in complete disarray, and his vision grew blurry. When Shen Yue looked up and met Nie Li's gaze, he saw only death staring back at him. His entire body shuddered uncontrollably.

Overwhelmed by sheer terror, Shen Yue felt warmth spread between his legs—he had wet himself.

Meanwhile, his lackeys were still unconscious on the ground, as Lu Piao took the opportunity to deliver a few satisfying kicks to them, much to the amusement of Chan Wei and Du Ze.

Lu Piao wasn't normally one to kick someone when they were down, but after fearing for Nie Li's life during Shen Yue's attack, he needed to vent his frustration.

"You were so scared you pissed yourself. Disgusting," Nie Li sneered. "I can't be bothered wasting my time on you. Get lost and stay out of my sight!" With one hand, Nie Li grabbed Shen Yue and threw him out the window.

Boom!

Shen Yue crashed onto the ground with a heavy thud, kicking up a thick cloud of dust. Seeing this, Chan Wei followed suit, tossing the lackeys out one by one to join their master. Thanks to their Bronze-rank strength, they woke up from the impact.

They groggily got to their feet, looking around in confusion—only to see Shen Yue lying beside them.

"Boss!"

"Boss!"

Shen Yue's lackeys immediately rushed to his side, hurriedly helping him up. That's when they noticed—the front of Shen Yue's pants was soaked.

"Hurry, get me out of here!" Shen Yue hissed through gritted teeth, his eyes filled with lingering fear as he felt the damp warmth spreading through his clothes.

His lackeys quickly carried him away, avoiding the stares of onlookers as they fled in disgrace.

Those who knew Nie Li and Shen Yue were all stunned. Nie Li had actually lifted Shen Yue with one hand and thrown him out the window! Was this a dream? Shen Yue's lackeys had been completely useless against Chan Wei despite their Bronze-rank cultivation.

In the Apprentice Fighter class, Nie Li's innate talent was completely inferior to Shen Yue's. Everyone had assumed that Nie Li would be the one to get taught a lesson, but instead, it was Nie Li who had given the lesson, not Shen Yue!

Although many people hadn't seen the actual fight, the fact remained—Shen Yue had been defeated. It was undeniable.

"Haha, Shen Yue was so scared that he actually wet himself. His soul realm must have been shaken!"

Thanks to Chan Wei and Du Ze's intervention, Nie Li had yet to reveal his true strength.

Everyone in the library was talking about it.

Nie Li, Du Ze, Lu Piao, and Chan Wei exchanged glances. Du Ze and Lu Piao's faces were flushed red with excitement and sheer satisfaction. Seeing Shen Yue finally get what he deserved was simply too gratifying. That arrogant brat had been insufferable for too long, and they had all been dying to see him humiliated!

The incident in the library caused a ripple among the students, but in the vast Holy Orchid Institute, it didn't have a huge impact and soon settled down. Nie Li and the others continued to train diligently.

Inside Shen Xiu's Office

"What did you just say? You were thrown out of the library by Nie Li?" Shen Xiu's expression remained calm, but her tone carried a chilling edge. "Your strength has already reached 63, and your soul force is at 78. How could Nie Li possibly be stronger than you?"

The lingering fear from earlier still haunted Shen Yue. That murderous intent had left a deep shadow in his heart. Every time he thought about it, he felt a chill run down his spine. His soul realm had been shaken so severely that it would take him at least a month to recover. Worse still, his fear would slow his cultivation considerably.

Moreover, after checking himself, he realized that his soul force had actually dropped to 73, but he didn't dare tell his aunt.

"Aunt, that guy Nie Li knows some kind of demonic magic. His strength is clearly weaker than mine, yet when he grabbed my hand, my entire arm went numb. My soul force was also obviously stronger than his, but I was interrupted by a mere commoner, which shook my soul realm. I even felt a tearing sensation before I saw Nie Li's gaze… At that moment, I must have been too weak, because I felt sheer terror."

Shen Xiu's face turned ashen, trembling with rage. Shen Yue had been so scared that he wet himself—this was utterly humiliating!

Nie Li, I will make you pay! Shen Xiu clenched her fists so tightly that they cracked. This enmity was absolutely irreconcilable!

"What is his current strength and soul force?" Shen Xiu frowned. She hadn't forgotten her bet with Nie Li. If he managed to reach Bronze 1-star within two months, she would have to resign!

"His strength is at most 30, and I estimate his soul force to be no higher than 10!" Shen Yue stated what he believed, but since there had been no direct contact, his estimation of Nie Li's soul force was far from accurate.

"Useless. And yet you still lost to him?" Shen Xiu reprimanded coldly.

Shen Yue opened his mouth to argue but could only close it again, feeling wronged. He never imagined that he would lose. Nie Li's soul force was so weak, but there hadn't even been a real fight due to another person's interference.

"It was those lackeys who were useless! Chan Wei took them all down with ease!" Shen Yue finally snapped in frustration.

"Interesting. No wonder that old fossil Ye Shuo is interested in him," Shen Xiu mused, her tone laced with indifference. She was someone who had seen many things in her life. To her, Nie Li was insignificant; only Chan Wei piqued her interest. However, the Lord of the City's manor was watching over him. "It doesn't matter. One strong individual alone cannot harm the Sacred Family, and for now, Nie Li remains the only nuisance due to his skills."

In the Library

Chan Wei and Nie Li remained behind to discuss something privately while the others returned to their rooms.

"Brother, I know you could have easily dealt with Shen Yue, but I wanted to test a new ability of mine. I can slip my shadows into other people's and affect their soul realms. I'd like you, Du Ze, and Lu Piao to accept one. It will help you in case of emergencies. Xiao Ning'er already has one, and they can also enhance cultivation by boosting the absorption of energy for the person who possesses them. For enemies, I can use them to slow their cultivation or even tear away a portion of their soul force to absorb it, like what you saw with Shen Yue. What do you think, brother?" Chan Wei asked, facing Nie Li.

"I agree, and I'm sure our brothers will as well, especially Du Ze. But for now, I'd like you to keep your shadows inside our enemies. I need to run some tests to determine if someone with a higher cultivation level can detect them," Nie Li replied.

"No problem, brother. Do you want to check on the wolf pup?"

"Maybe another time. I have some shopping to do tomorrow with the money you gave me. I plan to improve our finances," Nie Li declared before heading off.

Chan Wei returned to his room, giving the little wolf a hug before feeding it beast milk. Exhausted, he fell asleep with the pup in his arms.

Chan Wei didn't notice as two monkey shadows slipped out from his own. The shadow on the floor took the shape of a crowned man, his eyes glowing with an intertwining blue hue. He gestured towards the monkey shadows standing guard at the door before his form reverted to Chan Wei's sleeping silhouette.

(Author's Note: Hi, just a heads-up that I won't be answering any questions about the last paragraph—you'll find out later ^^)