Chapter Ten
Nie Li's question hung in the air, and the excited murmur of the group instantly ceased. All eyes turned to Long Chen. Nie Li's casual expression had vanished, replaced by a piercing intensity that made Long Chen's heart skip a beat.
As expected from someone who had tried to fight even the Sage Emperor in the future. His cultivation had been seen so easily by him.
Nie Li furrowed his brows and nodded slowly, as if confirming an internal theory. "Not that it's impossible, but it's unbelievable. Yesterday you barely had any Soul Force. Today, you are a Four-Star Bronze Rank Spiritualist. Did something happen?"
The question was direct, leaving no room for evasion. Long Chen felt a drop of sweat form on his forehead, but his face maintained a carefully confused expression. He already had a story ready for this.
"Ah, that…" he began, scratching the back of his neck as if a little embarrassed. "When I got home yesterday, my mother gave me something. It was a pill that my father left behind before he died. He never said what it was, but she thought she should give it to me when I showed true determination in my cultivation."
"Really?"
Nie Li remained silent, his eyes fixed on Long Chen, clearly expecting more.
"My mother didn't tell me anything else about it," Long Chen continued, "but I believe it was some sort of family heirloom."
"Do you… remember what this pill looked like?" Nie Li's voice was low and serious.
Long Chen pretended to think for a moment. "It was small, red, with some strange black markings, and had five thin bronze-colored lines circling it."
That was the appearance of a forbidden pill he had read about in a book from his house. Something truly left behind by his short-lived father. So technically, it wasn't a lie.
However, the moment the words left Long Chen's mouth, Nie Li's face visibly paled. Lu Piao and Du Ze, noticing the drastic change in atmosphere, exchanged worried glances.
"Nie Li, what is it?" asked Lu Piao. "It's a good pill, right?"
Nie Li lost the smile that had been on his face ever since he returned to this world. He ignored Lu Piao's question outright.
"Nie Li, what is it? Don't scare me!" Long Chen took two steps back, pretending to be afraid of what Nie Li might say.
Nie Li sighed and then looked at Long Chen with a mixture of shock and pity, not knowing what to do in this situation. "Long Chen, you shouldn't have taken that."
"W-why? Is something wrong?" Long Chen asked, his acting between fear and innocence worthy of an Oscar. Even the slight trembling tone in his voice seemed real.
Of course, Nie Li didn't notice this.
"If the pill you described is correct, and it really is that…" said Nie Li, his voice heavy with gravity, "that is the 'Divine Incapacitating Pill.'"
A collective shiver ran through the group upon hearing the powerful yet threatening name of the pill. Even Du Ze, normally composed, couldn't help but widen his eyes.
Nie Li continued: "It is an ancient and forbidden pill that raises a person's cultivation to a higher level in a short period of time. But it does so by burning all their future potential. The price is that their cultivation foundation is completely destroyed. You… you will never be able to advance again in your life."
He smiled bitterly. Finally understanding why Long Chen had been so weak in his previous life. It wasn't that his cultivation was too slow. It was that he took a forbidden medicine that undermined all his future potential. And that… he couldn't fix easily. At least not before reaching the Legendary Rank.
The silence that followed was heavy. Lu Piao's euphoria turned into horror. "What? So… Long Chen is stuck at Bronze Rank forever?"
The others also turned pale. It wasn't bad to reach the Bronze Level. But knowing he would be trapped in that Realm his whole life would be like torture.
"Let me take a look."
Without saying anything else, Nie Li stepped forward and grabbed Long Chen's wrist. He closed his eyes, sending a thread of his own Soul Force into Long Chen's body, probing his Soul Realm and his meridians. He expected to find a fragile foundation, damaged meridians, and an unstable Soul Realm on the verge of collapse.
But what he found made him frown even more.
Long Chen's Soul Realm was vibrant and solid. His meridians were wide and resilient, and the Soul Force circulating through them was stable and pure, with not the slightest sign of instability or damage. Everything was… perfectly fine. In fact, it was better than fine; his foundation was more solid than anyone in the Bronze Rank Nie Li had ever seen.
"No… it can't be," Nie Li murmured to himself, opening his eyes with an expression of total disbelief. Then he looked at Long Chen with a mixture of shock and curiosity. "Strange… it seems there's no problem. Your body is perfectly healthy. But it shouldn't be like this…"
The group let out a collective sigh of relief.
Long Chen also seemed to breathe easier. Holding his chest as if afraid his heart might jump out the next moment.
"Phew! What a scare!" Lu Piao was the first to break the tension, giving Long Chen a friendly slap on the back. "Man, for a second I thought you were screwed! But, hey, a jump to Four Stars overnight? That's amazing! Congratulations!"
Du Ze smiled, genuine relief on his face. "That's great news, Long Chen. Congratulations!"
Long Chen smiled and clenched his fists in thanks to them. From them, he really didn't care about being true friends.
But Nie Li still seemed suspicious. Something strange was going on. The Divine Incapacitating Pill did not fail. He secretly ran another test with his soul force, checking the compatibility between Long Chen's soul and body. The result confirmed that the soul was original; it wasn't an old monster reincarnated or possessing a young body.
'Maybe it's the attribute or the form of his Soul Realm? But that still doesn't make sense.' Nie Li pondered internally. 'I'll only be sure when I have a Soul Crystal to test him.'
For now, he could only accept what he saw. He looked at Long Chen and said, "Well, for now it seems there's no problem with your body. Just as a precaution, if you have other pills like that, don't take them. If possible, bring one so I can analyze it."
Long Chen shook his head, with a small bitter smile. "I'll ask my mother about it. But I believe that was the only one."
Nie Li sighed and a small smile appeared at the corner of his lips. "In that case, it's fine. At least nothing is wrong with you."
Long Chen also calmed down. But inside, he let out the air that seemed trapped in his lungs, as if he had narrowly escaped a disaster.
He had passed the first trial, and for now his biggest secret was safe.
He still didn't want to get into conflict with Nie Li. He knew if that happened, his chances of winning, even with higher cultivation, would be close to zero. If they were to be enemies, he should at least be two Realms above him.
But before that happened, he needed to get a good cultivation technique from Nie Li. After that, he could think about whether to continue with their group or follow his own path alone.
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