Chapter 4

In the afternoon.

After venting her frustrations, Nie Qian saw Nie Tian eat and drink his fill before falling into a deep sleep, and could only reluctantly stop.

The piece of bone that Nie Tian had brought back from the lottery conference was always held in his hand, but Nie Qian did not notice any spiritual resonance between Nie Tian and the bone.

"Such a fool, grabbing so many high-level spirit artifacts, yet not knowing how to pick a good one..." Nie Qian muttered softly.

"It's useless. Even if he had taken the highest-quality pearl, it wouldn't have been of much use to him. None of those seven spirit artifacts were suitable for him. I knew from the beginning that he wouldn't gain anything from the lottery conference," Nie Donghai's voice came from outside the door at this moment.

"Father, Mr. Liu." Nie Qian turned around and saw Nie Donghai and Liu Yan from Lingyun Sect coming together.

Nie Donghai looked lovingly at Nie Tian, who was lying on his back on the bed, fast asleep in the afternoon. He sighed softly, his face darkening. "A few days ago, I secretly tried to determine the spiritual energy attribute in this child's body, but..."

He paused for a moment and continued, "Perhaps it's because my realm is insufficient, but I didn't sense any spiritual energy fluctuations in him. At that moment, I knew that even if he participated in the lottery conference, he probably wouldn't gain anything."

"Because I understood this, I didn't insist on him participating in the lottery conference."

Nie Qian was stunned and said somewhat blankly, "But after I pleaded, Father, you still..."

Nie Donghai smiled bitterly, "I still couldn't let go, still hoping for a miracle. Now it seems I was hoping for too much."

"It's all my fault," Nie Qian blamed herself.

At this moment, she realized that Nie Donghai loved Nie Tian just as much as she did, and finally understood that Nie Donghai was willing to clash with the Nie family again just to give Nie Tian a slim chance.

Even though he knew his efforts might be in vain.

"Let me take a closer look," Liu Yan said as he walked to the window and extended his hand toward the sleeping Nie Tian.

A white, hazy light emanated from Liu Yan's left palm, the gentle glow making his hand look like white jade.

Liu Yan's hand gently pressed on Nie Tian's abdomen. He squinted, his expression focused, and the spiritual energy from his palm, like fine threads, slowly seeped into Nie Tian's limbs and bones.

The sleeping Nie Tian seemed quite comfortable, his chubby face showing a smile of enjoyment, and he even snored, as if he were having a beautiful dream.

The hazy white light, like white jade, gradually spread from Nie Tian's skin, making him look like a porcelain doll under a lamp.

However, Nie Donghai and Nie Qian looked worried as they watched Nie Tian.

They were very clear that the jade-like glow all came from Liu Yan's spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy that circulated in Nie Tian's body did not trigger any other changes, which meant that Nie Tian did not have any other spiritual energy fluctuations in his body.

After a while, Liu Yan gently withdrew his hand and turned to Nie Donghai, shaking his head.

Nie Donghai and Nie Qian both looked desolate.

"According to what I know, my junior sister's talent is exceptional, not only in Black Cloud City but also in our Lingyun Sect. Even if she combined with a talentless mortal, her child should inherit some of her talent, so it shouldn't be like this."

Liu Yan also looked puzzled, "But I carefully examined, and I truly didn't sense any special spiritual energy fluctuations in Nie Tian's body."

"Alas..." Nie Donghai sighed deeply, his expression dejected.

"However," Liu Yan changed the subject, frowning, "Nie Tian's blood and qi are very vigorous. I noticed this during the lottery conference; he is stronger and more powerful than all the other children of his age. His flesh and bones are very resilient. If we ignore spiritual energy, in terms of pure strength and brute force, he is probably unmatched in this generation of the Nie family."

"But what use is that?" Nie Qian's face was bitter. "Those children are still young. When they grow up and understand the words of adults, they will all start cultivating spiritual energy. Spiritual energy is the fundamental measure of a cultivator's strength and the true source of power. How far can he go relying solely on brute force?"

"That's what I'm worried about too," Nie Donghai added. "Children with special spiritual energy attributes can cultivate spiritual energy techniques that match their attributes, and they will progress rapidly, laying a solid foundation early on. Only such children have the potential to reach the ninth level of Qi Cultivation by the age of fifteen, thus gaining the favor of our Lingyun Sect."

"Like Nie Tian, who doesn't show any obvious cultivation attributes, his cultivation speed will naturally be much slower. This means that by the age of fifteen, it will be almost impossible for him to reach the ninth level of Qi Cultivation. The doors of Lingyun Sect will be permanently closed to him, and he will be limited to our Nie family."

Liu Yan came to Nie Donghai and patted his shoulder comfortingly, saying earnestly, "Not entering Lingyun Sect isn't necessarily a bad thing. Many talented individuals in our Lingyun Sect have met untimely deaths. To reach the pinnacle, every step is a perilous journey, and only those with great fortune can overcome it every time."

"Living a peaceful life like Nie Tian might also be a blessing."

Liu Yan's words reminded Nie Donghai of his deceased daughter, Nie Jin. He felt a pang of pain and was speechless.

"Once this matter is settled, I will return to Lingyun Sect. When my junior sister was on the mountain, I was her mentor. I value and love her very much. You can rest assured, I will do my best to find the person who harmed her and inform you as soon as I have any news."

After saying this, Liu Yan patted Nie Donghai's shoulder again and then walked away.

"Thank you, Mr. Liu," Nie Donghai thanked him.

"Thank you, Mr. Liu," Nie Qian also said hurriedly.

The two intended to see him off, but when they reached the door, they found that Liu Yan had already walked away quickly and disappeared.

"Mr. Liu has been very kind to us," Nie Donghai mused for a moment and said with a frown, "If Mr. Liu hadn't been here today, those clan members... they probably wouldn't have let Nie Tian off easily."

"After I left with Little Tian, did those people...?" Nie Qian said resentfully.

Nie Donghai nodded slowly, "They certainly caused a commotion. They all used the excuse that Nie Tian is not a direct descendant of the Nie family, saying he caused trouble at the lottery conference and demanding that I punish him. Fortunately, Mr. Liu spoke up for him, or they would have continued to hold him accountable, and even I couldn't have stopped them."

"It's a pity that Mr. Liu has left and won't come often," Nie Qian sighed.

"As long as I am the head of the Nie family, I won't allow them to act recklessly!" Nie Donghai said firmly.

"I'm afraid... I'm afraid you won't be in that position for long," Nie Qian smiled bitterly.

"I will stay as long as I can, and I will seek justice for you and Jin!" Nie Donghai's expression was resolute, and with these words, he left.

Watching his fading figure, Nie Qian's face was sorrowful, and she sat down at the door, lost in thought.

Inside the room, Nie Tian, who was still asleep, had a few threads of spiritual energy left from Liu Yan's examination, which lingered for a long time.

Nie Tian's skin, nourished by the spiritual light, trembled slightly like ripples in water.

Each slight tremor of his skin made the spiritual light dim a bit, as if it was being greedily absorbed and refined by his flesh and blood.

None of this was known to Liu Yan, Nie Donghai, or Nie Qian.

Usually, Nie Tian would only nap for half an hour.

But today, he abnormally slept for two hours, and only when the last trace of spiritual energy light and fluctuation disappeared from his body did he wake up, feeling completely refreshed.

...

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