Shen Yue's grip tightened around Nie Li's collar, his face twisted with irritation.
"Ah ha?" Shen Yue sneered. "Won't show me mercy? Who do you think you are?"
Nie Li didn't struggle. He only looked at Shen Yue calmly.
"Just because you know some inscriptions," Shen Yue continued coldly, "you think you're special? Stay away from Ye Ziyun from now on—or I'll help you stay away."
Behind them, Du Zhe and others rushed forward.
"Shen Yue! Get him!"
Du Ze, Lu Piao, and the others rushed forward instinctively—
—but Shen Yue's followers stepped in their way, weapons and fists raised.
"Stay back," one of them scoffed.
"This doesn't concern trash like you."
Nie Li stepped forward calmly, grabbing Shen Yue's wrist and twisting.
Shen Yue's expression changed instantly.
His arm went numb.
Shen Yue screamed.
"What's happening…?" one of Shen Yue's followers muttered. "Boss Shen Yue looks like he's in pain."
Shen Yue gritted his teeth, sweat forming on his forehead.
I can't… feel my arm properly!
What demonic art is this?!
Nie Li looked down at him coldly.
"Ziyun is not a name you casually call," he said quietly.
"The next time I find you secretly following Ye Ziyun again…"
His eyes sharpened.
"Don't blame me for disciplining you."
Shen Yue roared, forcing his soul power to surge.
"I'm the genius of the Sacred Family! How can I lose to you?!"
Blue soul energy exploded outward as Shen Yue charged.
Shen Yue's soul force surged.
A sharp pressure exploded outward as his attack shot straight toward Nie Li.
Du Zhe reacted instantly, stepping forward.
"Nie Li—!"
Lu Piao and the others moved at the same time, trying to break through—
—but they were stopped.
Sacred Family lackeys stepped in their way, blocking them with sneers and raised hands.
One of them laughed harshly.
"Stay out of this, trash. If you know what's good for—"
CRACK.
The sentence never finished.
A hand seized the back of his head.
The lackey didn't even have time to scream before his face was slammed straight into the floor.
Wood cracked.
Blood splattered.
The man collapsed instantly, nose broken, body twitching.
Silence.
Everyone froze.
Du Zhe's eyes widened.
Lu Piao sucked in a sharp breath.
Slowly—almost fearfully—they turned toward the source.
A familiar figure stood there.
Red hair.
Calm posture.
Eyes burning with restrained fury.
"Karma…" Du Zhe breathed.
Relief washed over them like a wave.
Karma's gaze swept across the room—first to Nie Li locked in confrontation with Shen Yue, then to Du Zhe and the others being blocked.
His jaw tightened.
"How dare you?" he said quietly, voice low and dangerous,
"Who do you think you are… laying hands on my friends?"
The air felt heavier.
Not crushing.
Just… wrong.
Karma lifted one hand slightly—palm turned outward.
The gesture wasn't aimed at the Sacred Family lackeys.
It was directed elsewhere.
At the edge of the corridor, where shadows pooled unnaturally, a faint ripple passed through the air.
A presence.
It had been there all along.
The moment Karma's fingers moved—two short, precise motions—
That presence halted.
Whatever intent it carried dissolved instantly, withdrawing without sound, without resistance, as if it had never been there at all.
The remaining lackeys hesitated.
Their instincts screamed at them to back off.
But pride won.
"Don't be scared!" one of them barked. "It's just one guy—!"
They charged.
The first step felt normal.
The second—
Their footing slipped.
Just enough.
One stumbled forward—too fast.
Another felt his legs grow strangely heavy.
A third felt light, off-balance, like the ground wasn't where it should be.
"What the—?!"
Karma moved.
He stepped in and drove a punch into one man's stomach.
Thud.
The lackey doubled over, air forced violently from his lungs.
Another swung wildly—his arm felt slow, delayed.
Karma slipped past it and struck his jaw.
Crack.
The man spun and collapsed.
The others tried to surround him—but their coordination was gone.
Their bodies felt wrong.
Sometimes heavy.
Sometimes too light.
Every movement lagged just a fraction behind their intent.
Panic crept in.
"What's happening to us—?!"
"Why can't I move right—?!"
Karma didn't answer.
He just kept moving.
A punch to the ribs.
A knee to the thigh.
A sharp strike to the neck.
Each blow landed solid, controlled—enough to drop them, not enough to kill.
One by one, they fell.
Groaning.
Gasping.
Humiliated.
Karma stood among them, breathing steady, fists clenched.
The strange pressure faded the moment the last one hit the floor.
Du Zhe swallowed.
Lu Piao stared.
None of them understood what they had just seen.
Karma looked down at the fallen lackeys, then back toward Nie Li
His expression hardened.
Nie Li's soul power surged.
Golden light wrapped around his body, flowing smoothly—controlled, steady, terrifyingly dense.
"HAHA!" Shen Yue roared, blue soul power exploding outward.
"With such a weak soul force, you dare act so arrogantly in front of me?!"
He charged.
The air screamed.
BOOM!
The two forces collided—blue and gold crashing head-on. Shelves rattled, loose papers flew, and the floor cracked beneath their feet.
Shen Yue's attack collapsed instantly, crushed by a far heavier pressure.
"Impossible—!"
Shen Yue's body slammed back into the floor.
"—!"
His soul trembled violently.
N-Nie Li encountered countless life-and-death situations in his past life… countless experts lost their lives during soul force clashes…
That killing intent hidden deep within his soul realm—
—is directly transmitted to Shen Yue's soul realm!
"Drip… drip…"
Nie Li exhaled slowly, straightening his clothes.
"You peed your pants," he said flatly, looking down through the broken window.
"And you dared threaten me in that state." in
WOOSH—
Shen Yue's body flipped through the air as Nie Li threw him.
"Stay away from me from now on!"
The next instant, Shen Yue disappeared through the open window.
BANG!
His body slammed into the ground outside, rolling awkwardly before crashing into the grass below.
For a heartbeat, the library was dead silent.
Then—
"Boss!"
"Boss!!"
Despite their bruises and unsteady steps, Shen Yue's lackeys rushed toward the window. Their movements were stiff, faces pale, bodies still aching from Karma's earlier "lesson."
Outside, Shen Yue lay sprawled on the ground, eyes unfocused, breath ragged.
"Are you alright, Boss?" one of them asked hurriedly.
Another froze mid-step.
"…Your pants are wet."
Shen Yue's face twisted in humiliation.
"Take me away. Quickly!"
Laughter erupted from the library.
"Haha! Young master Shen still wet his pants at this age!"
A student blinked. "Wait—Shen Yue was thrown out by Nie Li… but he's almost a one-star Bronze Rank!"
Someone laughed.
"Haha! You noticed his pants, right? That's the sign of soul force collapse."
A student frowned thoughtfully.
"Isn't Nie Li the one who made a bet with the instructor?"
"They say he'll reach one-star Bronze Rank within two months… from the looks of it, his soul force is already stronger than Shen Yue's."
"Haha! Finally taught him a lesson!"
Du Zhe let out a long breath. "That felt good."
"Not bad, Nie Li," another friend said. "If you hadn't stood up, none of us would've dared."
"And with Karma around," someone added quietly, "Shen Yue didn't stand a chance."
Karma shrugged. "I just stretched my hands."
Lu Piao stared at Karma as if seeing him for the first time. "Y–You didn't even use a weapon," he muttered. "You just… walked through them."
Wei Nan let out a slow breath. "They couldn't even move properly. It was like their bodies weren't listening to them."
Zhang Ming nodded vigorously. "Yeah! One second they were charging, the next they were stumbling like they'd stepped into mud!"
Zhu Yu Jun glanced at the fallen students, then back at Karma. "And he didn't even look serious…"
Nie Li, however, hadn't said a word.
He had watched every movement carefully—the timing, the spacing, the way Karma never overcommitted. Even when surrounded, Karma's posture had never broken. His strikes weren't wild or desperate; they were precise, economical… practiced.
This isn't just raw strength, Nie Li realized. This is a combat instinct.
And that subtle distortion earlier— Nie Li narrowed his eyes slightly. Gravity? No… not fully. Just enough to interfere.
His heart sank and soared at the same time.
His growth rate is abnormal. Even faster than I anticipated.
Nie Li stepped closer, his expression serious. "Karma," he said, voice low, "since when did you become this strong?"
The chatter died instantly.
Du Zhe and the others leaned in, clearly just as curious.
Karma blinked, then scratched the back of his head. "Huh?" he said. "Strong?"
He glanced at them. "…I mean," he added with a lazy grin, "I was always the strongest among all of us, wasn't I?"
For half a second— Silence.
Then—
"THAT'S NOT AN ANSWER!" Lu Piao shouted.
Du Zhe shook his head helplessly. "You're unbelievable…"
Wei Nan laughed weakly. "You say that like it's obvious."
Zhang Ming crossed his arms. "At least pretend this is normal."
Nie Li exhaled slowly, shaking his head. Still the same Karma. Completely unaware of how terrifying he is.
Everyone laughed, tension finally gone.
"Alright," Nie Li said. "You guys head on. It's almost dark."
Karma turned, already moving.
"I'll walk him partway."
"Blah blah," Lu Piao waved them off. "Don't scare anyone else tonight."
Karma chuckled as he followed Nie Li out.
Later That Night – Training Grounds
The forest was quiet, moonlight filtering through twisted branches.
A wolf demon beast prowled nearby, ears twitching.
"Meh."
It quickly vanished.
Footsteps echoed.
Nie Li ran lightly through the trees, Karma following behind at an easy pace.
They stepped into the clearing.
"…Hi," Nie Li greeted brightly, lifting a hand.
Xiao Ning'er stood there, hands folded nervously.
"…Hi."
Karma followed with an easy grin. "Yo."
Her steps slowed unconsciously. She hadn't expected karma to be here at all.
Ning'er stiffened for a heartbeat.
Her cheeks were faintly warm, eyes flicking up only briefly before looking away again.
Ning'er turned, towards Nie li "I thought you wouldn't show up."
"How could I not?" Nie Li smiled. "I still have to treat your injury."
"…Thank you."
Karma cleared his throat. "Alright, doctor. Get to work."
Nie Li crouched beside her, examining her ankle carefully.
"The bruising's already lighter," he said. "Have you been resting?"
Ning'er nodded. "I've been sleeping well the past couple of days.
"That explains it."
Every now and then…
Her eyes drifted, just briefly, toward Karma—
before darting away again.
Nie Li focused again. "There's something I'd like to ask for your help."
Ning'er blinked. "?"
"I need Purple Mist Grass."
"Purple Mist Grass?" she repeated. "One demon spirit coin can get a lot. How much do you want?"
"The more, the better," Nie Li said. "I don't know how much is available on the market."
Ning'er frowned slightly.
"Purple Mist Grass is usually used for insect-repelling incense… what are you trying to do?"
Nie Li met her gaze calmly.
"I have ten thousand demon spirit coins. I want you to send people to all the pharmacies and acquire as much as possible."
Ning'er hesitated. "Then… I'll pay for it first. Ten thousand demon spirit coins isn't much to me."
Nie Li paused. "…Hmm."
Karma snorted quietly. "That's rich people's logic."
Nie Li shook his head.
"Tens of thousands isn't little money to us."
"I'll return it—with double the interest."
"No! No no no!" Ning'er panicked. "This little money isn't much to me!"
Nie Li smiled faintly.
"If I borrow without the ability to repay, I'd be a laughingstock."
"…Alright," Ning'er said softly.
Nie Li stood. "Then it's time to treat the other place."
Ning'er froze for a split second.
"…Okay."
Karma watched quietly, unaware of how intently his gaze lingered.
Feeling his presence more than his intent, Ning'er grew even shyer and instinctively lowered her head.
And the forest returned to silence.