With less than a month to go before joining the Genius Class, Nie Li agreed to attend the Sacred Family tournament with Shen Fei. He wanted to teach the Sacred Family a lesson. Nie Li took out the Demon Spirit Pot and began refining. With his current strength, it was a hundred times easier to produce a God-level demon spirit. As he started, to his surprise, the little Fanged Panda emerged victorious again, just like in his past life.
It was down to the last ten attempts to produce the God-level demon spirit. In a moment of carelessness, Nie Li accidentally touched the sharp end of the Demon Pot, causing a drop of blood to fall onto the demon spirit. He thought nothing of it, but once again, the Fanged Panda emerged victorious. This time, however, it had changed. The panda, originally black and white, now had fur as red as blood, with some white patches still remaining to show that it was indeed the Fanged Panda. It also had draconic eyes and dragon wings, indicating a draconic bloodline.
Nie Li was stupefied. He finally realized that his cultivation technique was slowly transforming his body into that of a dragon, one with the noblest of bloodlines. He knew that once he achieved this transformation, even the Sage Emperor wouldn't be his match. Hurriedly, he fused with the Fanged Panda, fearing someone might see it. Then, he tested its abilities.
First, he could still transform into the original form of the Fanged Panda. It still had the Yin-Yang Blast, but now the Yang part was infused with Draconic Yang Flame, and the Yin part with Draconic Yin Flame. When he tested the blast, it was astonishing—it could level an entire mountain. Moreover, it was incredibly fast, capable of catching even a Legend Rank fighter off guard. Nie Li estimated that with his strength, he could even kill a Legend Rank 3 fighter if he took them by surprise.
Another ability was the gravitational field. It was now fully controllable; he could set and stop it, even after reverting to his human form. Despite his already immense strength, Nie Li thought he could use this to further strengthen his internal organs and advance his physical power. He could control gravity up to 1,000 times the planet's normal gravity.
Then, there were the wings. He could use them to travel at half the speed of sound. Nie Li was confident that even if he couldn't defeat a peak Legend Rank fighter, he at least had the means to escape. He decided that after the tournament, he would embark on a journey to retrieve Goddess Yu Yan. He tested his limits with the Yin-Yang Blast and realized that, due to the immense soul force consumed by the draconic flames, he could only cast it five to seven times at most. He needed a superior energy source to fuel it more efficiently.
Nie Li could now cultivate Law Energy if he wished, but he wanted to surprise the goddess with his talent so she would trust him with her problems. With his past life experiences, he knew he could control three laws: the Law of Light, the Law of Darkness, and the Law of Death. Since he had experienced death twice already, he believed no one would dare claim to be more talented in Death Law cultivation than him. However, with his new draconic bloodline, he was unsure if he could control more laws. Perhaps, with his ability to absorb bloodline abilities, he could cultivate all laws, but that was a matter for the future. For now, he had to focus on more immediate concerns.
Since there was still time before the tournament, Nie Li decided to absorb some bloodlines. Under the cover of night, he snuck out of the city walls in search of demon beasts with exotic abilities. Most of the ones he encountered were Snow Wind-type apes. He found a particularly strong one, approximately at the Black Gold Third Star level. He retrieved a long sword from the family treasury and engaged in battle.
Nie Li chose not to use his demon spirit for three reasons:
Its abilities were too flashy and could attract stronger beasts.Using the Yin-Yang Blast would reduce the beast to ashes, leaving no blood or bone to absorb.He wanted to practice swordsmanship. In his past life, he had practiced a little, but this time, he wanted to see the peak of the Sword Dao.
The beast had the ability to control the water in the environment, producing ice blades. Nie Li was impressed by the ability and saw many ways to use it. Greed shining in his eyes, Nie Li rushed at the beast, suppressing his strength to just below the beast's level to practice his movements and sword techniques. After several exchanges, the beast, riddled with wounds, was exhausted. Growing bored, Nie Li cleaved its head with a single stroke.
Nie Li absorbed the beast's blood essence and core, gaining the ability to control water in the environment as if it were his own limb. This ability was unique even among ape demon spirits, and Nie Li was glad he had encountered it before it could grow stronger. What he didn't know was that this beast, despite its strength, would have been a disaster for the city if left to grow, but to Nie Li, it was merely a practice session.
Continuing his search, Nie Li found a snake-type demon beast, also of the Snow Wind variety. This snake had a cold poison that could petrify its prey, turning it into a snow statue. It could drain the heat from an ordinary Black Gold practitioner in minutes. Nie Li estimated that if he could wield this ability, he could even kill a Legend Rank fighter. The snake was a Legend Rank beast, making it extremely dangerous. He knew he had to kill it immediately or the nearby villagers would suffer.
Nie Li transformed into the Fanged Panda and engaged the snake with his sword, coating it with soul force and Yang Fire. Though each of his blows was lethal, the snake's nimble body evaded them. The battle continued until the snake launched itself at him. Nie Li parried its attack with his sword, knowing that its fangs were stronger than steel. Seeing an opportunity to improve his swordsmanship, Nie Li stopped using his Yang Fire and engaged the snake with only his sword. The snake overpowered him, throwing him to the ground with its fang locked against his blade. As death loomed near, a flash of insight struck him, and he broke through a barrier, cutting the snake's fang and piercing its throat.
With the snake dead, Nie Li absorbed its core and blood, gaining the ability to produce a snow-cold venom. This venom was incredibly dangerous, and Nie Li's confidence in facing Legend Rank opponents grew stronger. After killing dozens of Black Gold-ranked demon beasts and solidifying his swordsmanship and strength, which had reached 2,500 dragon marks, Nie Li felt he had made significant progress in one night. He believed he could reach the peak of Black Gold Rank before attending the academy. With that thought, he concluded his trip and returned home.