Chapter 647: Returning with Glory
Lin He from the Blood Sect walked over with Yu Tong. After seeing Qi Yiren revealing her intentions so bluntly, she said with a smile, “That girl is such a bold one.”
“Junior martial sister, if you were bold like her, perhaps your relationship with Nie Tian would be completely different now.”
Yu Tong snorted softly and didn’t utter a word.
Meanwhile, Nie Tian looked blankly at Qi Yiren. Amused by her words, he said, smiling, “I don’t plan to take a wife yet, young miss. But if I do plan to get married, I’ll give you some serious consideration. Okay?” He found the girl very amusing.
“Alright!” Qi Yiren said very generously. “Come find me when you want to get married. I’m still young anyways. I’ll wait for you.”
A noble young woman wreathed in a frosty aura stepped up and bowed slightly with her hands clasped in front of her. “Greetings, Big Brother Nie. I’m Xuan Yue from the Ice Pavilion Sect. Thank you for taking care of my older brother and senior martial brothers in that strange dimension you went to. My brother spoke very highly of you every time your name came up. I’m very curious as to what kind of person you really are, so I’ve so come to see you in person so cheekily.”
Xuan Yue’s appearance resembled Xuan Ke’s to a large extent. She was wearing succinct, white combat garments. Even though she wasn’t wearing any makeup, her face was jade-like and charming.
Nie Tian bowed back to her with a smile. “That’s very kind of you. Your big brother is one of the few people that I consider truly exceptional. He gave me a very deep impression back when we met during the Heaven Gate trial. I’ve considered your brother a very strong rival ever since.”
“It’s my brother’s honor that you’d consider him a strong rival,” Xuan Yue said.
After Qi Yiren and Xuan Yue, the girls crowding around Nie Tian took turns to state their identity, hoping to gain Nie Tian’s attention.
“Greetings, Big Brother Nie. My name is Cao Feifei. Cao Qiushui is my older brother...”
“I’m from the Pill Pavilion Sect. My name is...”
Smiling, Nie Tian bowed back to them one by one.
He could see that these gorgeous young women from all over the Domain of the Falling Stars didn’t just come upon their sects’ request.
Many of them were simply curious about him and thus had come to see him for themselves.
Of course, their seniors must have reminded them before they had come that Nie Tian was now the brightest rising star throughout the Domain of the Falling Stars and that they would receive unconditional support from their sects if they could win his favor.
Therefore, some of these lofty girls had come with the intention of sweeping Nie Tian off his feet, while others had come out of curiosity or admiration.
Even after being pushed to the side, Li Ye mingled with the crowd of young women and introduced himself to them, showing them his most handsome angle as he did. “Hi, I’m Li Ye. I’ll bound to become the best equipment forger throughout the Domain of the Falling Stars.”
However, most of the girls didn’t show any interest in getting to know him. Very few actually talked to him.
All of them fixed their eyes on Nie Tian as they sought opportunities to move to the front and talk to him.
After handling the crowd of beauties for a while, Nie Tian felt a headache coming on, and then gazed into the distance. He saw that the unearthly gorgeous Dong Li was standing side by side with her aunt Nie Qian on the balcony of one of the bamboo buildings. She was eating grapes from a bunch as she talked and laughed with Nie Qian. She pointed at him from time to time, as they were apparently making fun of him.
“They’re laughing at me...” Nie Tian said inwardly.
As he withdrew his gaze, he discovered the An sisters, who were standing behind the beauties from the other realms. They seemed to be hesitating to squeeze through the crowd to see Nie Tian.
He could tell that they were feeling inferior to the other girls. They wanted to meet Nie Tian, but they had scruples.
They knew that even in the Realm of Flame Heaven, the An Clan was an insignificant clan, which had been abandoned by the Spiritual Treasure Sect.
Compared to ancient powers like the Ice Pavilion Sect, the Tool Sect, and the Cao Clan, which had stood prosperous in the Domain of the Falling Stars for thousands of years, their clan was nothing.
Perhaps that was why the An sisters were so hesitant.
Nie Tian had planned to visit his grandfather first. Considering his current cultivation base, he was able to locate Nie Donghai effortlessly with his psychic awareness.
However, a moment ago, he had noticed that one of the windows of the building, which seemed to be Nie Donghai’s residence, had shut after opening briefly.
He smiled bitterly as he realized what Nie Donghai’s intentions were. “Grandpa must want to stay out of this mess, and thus chose to let me deal with these girls myself.”
As he walked through the crowd of beauties towards the An sisters, he caught sight of Yu Tong, who was standing behind the crowd.
He nodded at her. “Long time no see. You seem to have entered the Greater Heaven stage as well. Congratulations.”
Composed, Yu Tong said softly, “I’m still not you.”
Lin He, who was standing next to Yu Tong, hastily said with an expression as if she felt greatly honored, “Nie Tian, Junior Martial Sister Yu always considered you as her target, and has been working very hard to catch up to you.”
Yu Tong pulled her sleeve, signaling her to not seem too needy. “Okay, that’s enough.”
Nie Tian then gave Yu Tong another look, before walking past them towards the An sisters. Standing before An Shiyi, he asked with a hearty smile, “How come you’re here too? You weren’t in the Realm of Flame Heaven the last time I was back, and I also had other tasks, so I didn’t go to see you.”
“Now that you’re such an important person, how do we dare to demand you visit us?” An Ying said sarcastically. “We should consider ourselves lucky that you still remember us.”
However, she had a joyous smile on her face since Nie Tian had ignored the chosen from the powerful sects and come to talk to them.
An Shiyi took a deep look at him. smiling like a blossoming flower. Only after a few seconds did she say, “You’re... a grown man now. You’re no longer the daring little rascal in the Nie Clan.”
Upon hearing these words, Nie Tian recalled the time he had met her for the first time in the Nie Clan. A hearty laugh escaped his mouth.
Then, the three of them chatted casually about what they had all gone through over the past few years and funny stories from the past.
The girls from the other realms also showed strong interest in the contents of their conversation, and thus quickly gathered around them and listened in silence.
After an unknown period of time, only when it was getting dark did Nie Tian split off from the An sisters and walk towards Nie Qian’s residence.
Standing on the balcony, Nie Qian grabbed a peeled orange that Dong Li handed to her. “The little punk is finally coming here.”
She seemed to worry that Dong Li would misunderstand their relationship, and thus explained, “Li, the An Clan and our clan have been friends for many years. Back when we were in trouble, the An Clan exerted their power to help us.
“Because of that, that little punk took An Shiyi as his sworn sister. And they haven’t seen each other for years, so...”
Nie Qian had long since heard that Dong Li had stood by Nie Tian no matter what and defended him with everything within her power.
Dong Li smiled heartily. “You don’t need to explain that to me, aunt. I know him. Gratitude is a precious virtue. I wouldn’t have had my eyes on him if he were an ingrate.”
“It’s great that you can understand,” Nie Qian said, smiling.
Approaching the bamboo building where Nie Qian lived, Nie Tian noticed that two young women were playing chess on the balcony of a nearby building.
They were Ye Qin from the Yin Sect and Qin Yan from the Water Moon Chamber of Commerce.
Since the two of them already knew Nie Tian rather well, they didn’t join the chattering young women that had swarmed to him.
Only when Nie Tian walked by did they turn to smile at him.
Smiling, Nie Tian nodded back at them and went on towards the building where Nie Qian lived.
After putting down a white chess piece, Ye Qin lifted her chin and asked Qin Yan, “Why are you here, Qin Yan? I heard that Dong Li is your good friend.”
The tips of Qin Yan’s eyebrows rose as she placed a black piece, saying, “I’m only here to take a look. Don’t read too much into it. You, on the other hand, are a chosen one from the Yin Sect, which has a close relationship with Nie Tian. You have quite a head start.”
“Unlike those girls, I’m here for business,” Ye Qin said with a subtle smile.
Qin Yan sighed and said, “Even if we don’t want to give up on him, we’re still one step too late… I have to admit that when it comes to judging talent, Dong Li is much better than me. She invested significantly in Nie Tian long before he displayed his remarkable talent. I’m thinking that even if I got to know Nie Tian before her, I probably wouldn’t have acted so decisively and gained such firm control of him.”
“Dong Li is indeed very outstanding in that aspect,” Ye Yin said. “I’ve got to give it to her.”
As the two of them talked, Nie Tian went up to Nie Qian’s residence and saw his aunt, who he missed deeply.
Nie Qian gave him a stern look. “You’ve finally remembered to come here, huh? Bedazzled by those girls, are you? Do you still know who you are?”
Nie Tian cleared his throat and replied hastily, “I don’t even know who they are.”
“But anyways, if your mother was still alive, she would be even prouder than I am.” Nie Qian’s eyes welled up as mixed emotions rose in her heart.
All these years, she had brought out her strongest side to face countless difficulties.
On this day, after seeing that Nie Tian had gained such exceptional abilities and influence, she thought of her late sister and finally let her emotions overwhelm her.