"Silence!" Bellowed Ye Yan, remnants of his power sending harmless ripples through the twins' soul realms, "How dare you speak to me in such a manner! Your cultivation techniques mean nothing if you don't have someone to guide you in them! As a Legend Rank Spiritist, I have such knowledge to do so!"
"Really?" Laughed Nie Li cheekily, "Then answer this: how can a demon-spirit be integrated?"
"Oh, that's an unfair question, brother," thought Nie Tai with a smile. Ye Yan gave a shallow response to the question, not truly answering it. An individual was only able to integrate with a demon-spirit due to an attribute, or trait to be more precise, that would awaken within their soul realm upon reaching Silver Rank. The possession of the trait determined whether or not one could house a demon-spirit; this is also why there are some who are unable─or find it extremely difficult─to integrate with a demon-spirit.
Chuckling at Ye Yan's response, Nie Li replied, "If you are willing to become by student, I will ensure that you actually learn something; though, no student of mine should be satisfied or proud of remaining within the Legend Rank for a thousand years; it would be disgraceful," before Ye Yan could argue, Nie Li continued, "Anyway, since you're not completely dispersed, I could probably find a way to give your body back to you."
There was a moment of quiet as Ye Yan absorbed this information, "I could have a body? All that I would have to do was to be your student?"
"Sure, why not. You could be useful on this continent," replied Nie Li offhandedly.
"You rotten brat! Treat me with some respect!" Snarled Ye Yan, distracted from his thoughts.
Nie Tai stopped listening to their squabbling then; she agreed that Ye Yan could prove useful, if only for a short time. Returning to her cultivation, she quietly trained. Sadly, she was interrupted by Ye Yan, who had discovered her, "You seem very talented, would you like to be my disciple? I am a founder of Glory City: Ye Yan!"
Stunned, she opened her eyes to see a wispy shape of an old man floating in front of her. The first thought that ran through her mind was, "Does he have no shame?"
Chuckling, she replied, "Since you had no luck with my brother, you decided to come to me?"
The ghost moved erratically in the air before answering, "Your brother?"
"You can see the state of souls, correct?" Asked Nie Tai, without waiting for an answer, "Do you see nothing odd about mine? Or Xiao Li's? I'm not going to be a disciple of some thick-skinned ignoramus."
"Igno-How dare you! I should have known you brats were related! How are your souls connected!?" Demanded the ghost, bouncing quickly from one subject to another.
"Figure it out, oh powerful Legend Rank Demon Spiritist. I'm sure that someone of your caliber knows far more than I on such a subject," answered Nie Tai, her sarcasm causing the ghost to bristle. Without bothering to wait for him to reply, she began to start cultivating, but was stopped by Ye Yan quietly asking.
"How can you two use the same cultivation technique so differently?" Gone was the arrogance in his voice, all that was left was the need for knowledge.
Smirking, Nie Tai replied, "Because, wind doesn't blow one way and blood goes to and from the heart; knowing that, why is it so hard to believe that there are multiple paths to the same destination?"
Ye Yan was silent and left Nie Tai to cultivate silently. Her peace went uninterrupted for about ten minutes when Nie Li called out with a voice laced with soul force, "You old coot! Ning'er, don't listen to this senile ghost! Your Lightning Dragon cultivation technique is better than any of what he has!"
Sighing defeatedly, Nie Tai stood and managed to gain a hold of Nie Li's soul force. Heading towards it, she noticed that Xiao Ning'er was nearby. Moving through the area was difficult as Nie Tai set foot into the light from earlier; there seemed to be layers of areas stacked on top of each other in a beautifully woven way. The ginger heard Ye Yan growl, "You brat! How dare you call me a coot!"
Nie Li angrily tore into the ghost, "How are you anything else?! You want to trade trash for treasure by playing a naive girl! You should be ashamed for your actions!"
"Brother," thought Nie Tai with a smirk on her face, "You're acting your real age."
"Nie Li?" Called Xiao Ning'er. Nie Tai was close enough that she could hear her faintly through the layers of the Heavenly Sacred Barrier, "How could I hear your voice in my ears and head?"
"I'll tell you later, it's pretty easy to do," replied her brother kindly to Xiao Ning'er. His attitude changed quickly when speaking to Ye Yan, "What do you want, old coot?"
Finally seeing her brother and Xiao Ning'er, Nie Tai arrived in time to see the old Ye Yan flail his ghostly arms childishly, "I don't want to see your cultivation technique! I'm already dead and can't even use it!"
"Then why were you asking about Ning'er's technique? You're a liar and a coot rolled into one. Despicable," ruthlessly berated Nie Li.
Ye Yan gritted his teeth and hissed, "I only wanted to see if there was anything wrong with the technique! That is all!"
"Like you could find anything wrong with it," commented Nie Tai, her presence shocking the two arguing males.
Before Ye Yan could turn on her, Nie Li chuckled, "Correct, sister, but maybe it is not impossible for him to see the Lightning Dragon technique."
"Hmm," voiced Nie Tai, raising a brow in response, "Very well, you are the own who gifted it to Ning'er, I guess you can decide what to do with it."
Looking hopelessly from twin to twin, Ye Yan cursed his curiosity and slowly asked, "What do you want in return?"
"The shinies within," answered Nie Tai without hesitation. Startled, Ye Yan looked at Nie Li for confirmation.
"The Thunder God's Meteorite Sword and the Ribbons of Pandora," specified Nie Li easily.
"Absolutely not!" Immediately disagreed Ye Yan. Those two weapons were sealed with the Heavenly Sacred Border for a reason; if given to the wrong people, they could bring disaster to Glory City. Xiao Ning'er just looked from the twins to the ghost confusedly, she didn't really understand what they were doing.
"Then I suppose you won't see the technique," said Nie Li dismissively. Groaning, Ye Yan bit his imaginary fingernails.
He stilled when Nie Tai added, "And I was thinking about showing him half of the first chapter of our cultivation, but I suppose he isn't interested."
"Really, sister?" Questioned Nie Li with an evil glint in his eyes, "You are truly far to kind."
"I thought that such an expert would be interested," continued Nie Tai with a smirk stretching across her face.
Burying his head into his ghostly hands, Ye Yan muttered something incoherently. With amusement on his face, Nie Li asked, "What did you say, old coot?"
Snapping, Ye Yan replied, "Fine! I'll show you to the Thunder God's Meteorite Sword and the Ribbons of Pandora! If you die in the process, it's going to be your fault."
"Really?" Commented Nie Tai in exaggerated enthusiasm, "Amazing."
Grimacing, Ye Yan demanded, "You will show me the techniques first though. And tell me how you knew of them."
"Easy, and elder," Nie Li grinned devilishly, "We know many things that you cannot even dream of."
"Whatever," spat Ye Yan. He floated over to the twins, "Now show me the techniques, for I know you won't be able to subdue the weapons."
"Oh, why is that?" Questioned Nie Tai in a challenging tone.
"Only one of the five founders of Glory City were able to subdue the Thunder God's Meteorite Sword, even then it was just barely. None of them could even enter the trials of the Ribbons of Pandora, so they couldn't gain control of the item," explained Ye Yan impatiently.
"Why don't we make a bet?" Offered Nie Tai, "If my brother and I are both able to subdue the weapons, then you will follow us. If we are not, you may be permitted to see the entire chant of the Lightning Dragon and the entire first chapter of our cultivation technique."
"You brats actually want me to follow you around!" Roared Ye Yan. Then his personality flipped, "The entire chant? What is the name of your cultivation technique?"
Seeing the twins play with the founder, Xiao Ning'er suppressed a giggle as Ye Yan's emotions continued to flip flop. Muttering, the ghost finally decided, "You will show me the Lightning Dragon technique first and then I will take you to the weapons."
Turning to Xiao Ning'er for permission, Nie Li shrugged as she said it was his decision, "Very well, you have a deal."
A soft light enveloped Nie Li as the knowledge of the Lightning Dragon rose to the surface. A ball of cyan light floated towards Ye Yan, who quickly absorbed it. Electricity seemed to crackle around the founder as his eyes widened in amazement. Breathlessly, he declared, "If I had such a godly cultivation technique, I would have easily made it to Legend Rank. Maybe even beyond it..."
"Now, shall we go?" Asked Nie Tai impatiently.
"Y-yes, this way," answered Ye Yan, floating in front of them. The layers of the Heavenly Sacred Border seemed to fold around him, leaving a straight path.
Eyebrows furrowing, Nie Tai questioned, "Founder, how would you characterize soul realms?"
In a surprised tone, Ye Yan carefully replied, "By color. Red would be the one with the least amount of potential, and violet would be the one with the most potential. Do they do it differently now? How is your characterized?"
"No, the school does it the same way still. By those standards, my brother and I would the ones with the least amount of potential because of our red soul realms," informed Nie Tai.
"What!" Screamed Ye Yan, spinning around, "How is it possible?"
"We'll tell you once we get out of here," placated Nie Li.
"Brother," ruminated Nie Tai, careful to make sure the message was coated in enough soul force that Ye Yan couldn't hear it. From how the ghost floated distractedly, she knew that Ye Yan could sense that the twins were doing something: "Maybe we should leave him in Glory City once the Guild is taken care of; people will listen to him and that would be enough to change the schooling system. He seems to want to teach someone, anyone even."
"Agreed," replied Nie Li. Nie Tai could see Ye Yan fighting the urge to turn around and ask what they were doing as Nie Li continued, "I guess I can be nicer to him."
The path they were taking gradually became darker and darker. Every once and awhile, a bloodcurdling scream would erupt from the fog-like light.
"Much appreciated," finished Nie Tai, cutting the rumination channel.
"We're here," announced Ye Yan as the group entered a large, gray space. There were two stone paths: one was dark and mysterious where the other one was swarming with strong demon-spirits. The influence from the two weapons converged onto the group as they entered the space.
Xiao Ning'er almost fell to her knees as horror caused goosebumps to race up and down her arms. Quickly, the twins rushed to her side. Nie Tai flooded Xiao Ning'er with her soul force, quickly calming the noble girl. Nie Li created a small dome around them, preventing the effects of the pressure from the Thunder God's Meteorite Sword and Ribbons of Pandora.
"How-how are you two unaffected?" Panted Xiao Ning'er, barely able to raise her head.
"That's a story for a different day," murmured Nie Li softly, "For now, focus on the sword. The residual electrical energy will do wonders for you."
"R-right," Nodded the girl, forcing her gaze on the path riddled with demon-spirits. Almost immediately a change was felt and energy seemed to rush into her. Nie Tai couldn't help the proud smile that overtook her features as Xiao Ning'er vaulted from the middle of Four-Star Silver Rank to near the top of Five-Star Silver Rank! She was finally strong enough to overturn her fate.
Ye Yan watched silently and closely as Nie Li presented Xiao Ning'er with a demon-spirit, "Take this, it's a Heavenly Lightning Sparrow with a god level growth-rate."
Hesitantly, she accepted the gift and proceeded to integrate with it. Glancing at the twins, Ye Yan asked, "What does god level growth-rate mean?"
"A topic for later, founder," replied Nie Li, not turning to face the ghost. The elder was slightly surprised, but did not comment on the matter further. As Xiao Ning'er focused entirely on the integration, he questioned, "Will you keep your word, Ye Yan?"
"Of course," answered the ghost without hesitation. He added, "However, I haven't dispersed yet because my soul is tethered to the Thunder God's Meteorite Sword. So even if I didn't want to uphold the bet, I have to. Be warned that I won't last for lost long outside the Heavenly Sacred Barrier."
"Alright," replied Nie Li easily. Nie Tai continued to protect Xiao Ning'er from the pressure as Nie Li got up to approach the sword. Nie Tai studied the state of his soul realm and the pressure from the Thunder God's Meteorite Sword pulsated as an intruder was felt. Once he managed to get halfway there, Nie Li merged with the Shadow Devil and activated Void Form.
"How?" Muttered Ye Yan, his eyes widening at the ancient and rare creature that Nie Li managed to procure, "How are you two so well prepared?"
"Let's just say we have accurate foresight," chuckled Nie Tai. The elder's brows furrowed as he tried to dissect her words. During this short amount of time, Nie Li reached the altar where the sword was. He released his merging with the Shadow Devil and called forth the Fanged Panda. He didn't merge with the demon-spirit, rather he used it to defend his soul realm as he opened it to the countless demon-spirits swarming around the altar.
Nie Tai cursed as she felt this and quickly closed her eyes, she circulated her soul force between Xiao Ning'er and her brother, leaving a strong, stable defense that connected the group. When Nie Li let the first rampaging demon-spirit, Nie Tai could feel his soul squash the intruder; with the aid of the Fanged Panda and the added defence of Nie Tai's soul force, the process went quickly, Her brother grew from Four-Star to Five-Star Silver Rank! Waves of soul force washed over Nie Tai as she felt his soul realm grow. Ye Yan remained silent and astonished as these two children that acted like ancient experts managed to do what he thought impossible.
Slowly but surely, the pressure around the sword lessened; standing, Nie Li reached for the sword. The surge of pure energy from the artifact left the group breathless as it reverberated through the entirety of the Heavenly Sacred Border, no, throughout all of Glory City!
Releasing a quick breath, Nie Li laughed, "I suppose it's your turn, sister!"
"Monsters, you actually managed to do it..." Said Ye Yan, accepting his fate as Nie Li bounded over to the group.
"Very well," agreed Nie Tai, smiling widely. Making sure that Xiao Ning'er was fine, Nie Li waved her away. Walking over to the beginning of the other path. Nie Tai calmed her heart before stepping into the inky darkness.