The process to get into the Holy Orchid Institute was straightforward.

You'd enter a private room, reveal your soul realm and the amount of soul force you had using a soul crystal, and then the examiners would jot down your results.

Based on that, you'd get your class tag and the key to your dorm room.

Standing in one such room, Nie Li couldn't help but notice its resemblance to the grander soul realm ceremony hall, just on a smaller scale.

"Please come up, young master," one of the examiners called out.

Nie Li couldn't suppress a confident smile as he stepped forward, catching the examiners off-guard with his demeanor.

Nie Li approached, aware of the surprised looks his demeanor elicited. This confidence likely hinted at a strong soul realm, sparking curiosity among the examiners.

Many wondered why families bothered with a soul realm ceremony before the admission exams, knowing well that talents could be assessed during the exams themselves. The reason was simple: no family wanted to showcase their prodigies too openly, risking them being snatched up or killed by rivals.

Hence, talents were often given special training before the exams to mask their true capabilities, presenting an average soul force amount and a dimmed color.

Yet, other telltale signs like arrogance, ego, and confidence weren't as easily concealed.

When Nie Li placed his hand on the crystal, the room was bathed in a bright red light, causing the initially excited examiners to dismiss him as just another overconfident youth.

Their attention snapped back, however, when they noted his soul force amount: 70. The shock on their faces was palpable.

"How does someone with a supposedly useless talent have 70 soul force?" they murmured among themselves, their curiosity piqued.

Nie Li reveled in their astonishment, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. "Young master Nie Li, your class will be the Fighter rank class," the examiner announced after regaining composure, handing over the dorm key.

As Nie Li left, the whispers continued behind him.

"Could he be an orange soul realm, having masked his true color?"

"I doubt it; that shade of red doesn't seem like it could be faked."

"Then how does a red soul realm possess so much soul force?"

Nie Li, overhearing this, smirked to himself. "If they knew my soul force was actually 300, their jaws would hit the floor," he thought, chuckling at the prospect.

But his amusement was cut short.

As he opened the door to leave, he froze.

There, right in front of Nie Li, stood Lu Piao—his future best friend, the person who had made the ultimate sacrifice for him in his previous life.

Nie Li was at a loss.

He had known that sooner or later he'd cross paths with Lu Piao, but he hadn't expected it to happen so suddenly.

He found himself completely unprepared, with not even a greeting rehearsed for this moment.

His mind went blank.

How does one even begin a conversation with someone who was their closest ally in another life, someone who had died so that he could live, especially when that person has no memory of any of those events? Only Nie Li carried the weight of those memories.

"Hey, you ok?" Lu Piao asked, noticing Nie Li's intense stare.

Right.

That snapped Nie Li back to the present, if only for a moment.

Lu Piao, unaware of the emotional turmoil he had just sparked, simply tiptoed past Nie Li to enter the admission room.

He was already late and didn't want to risk angering the examiners further.

Left in the corridor, Nie Li felt as if time had stopped the moment the door closed behind Lu Piao.

The stares from others in the hallway blurred as his eyes welled up with tears.

Without a word, Nie Li turned and ran towards the bathroom, overwhelmed by a flood of emotions.

Reuniting with Lu Piao had reopened a vault of memories and feelings Nie Li wasn't ready to confront.

----------------------------------------

[ Bathroom ]

Nie Li stood alone in the bathroom, the cold water from the faucet hitting his face, but it did little to cool the turmoil inside him.

As the water ran over his skin, memories flooded his mind, each one hitting him like a physical blow.

The most vivid was the image of Lu Piao smiling bravely as he punched Nie Li down a hole to safety, turning to face the Snow Yeti alone.

That smile, full of resolve and sacrifice, haunted Nie Li.

"Damn you, Lu Piao. You shouldn't have betrayed me; you should have been like those selfish pricks. You were stronger than me; why didn't you just betray me so that I could hate you, so that I don't feel like this? Why did you have to sacrifice yourself?" Nie Li's thoughts were a whirlwind of pain and guilt.

The memory of being impaled by the Snow Devil Yeti followed, the cold seeping into his bones, his life fading away.

Yet, even as death claimed him, his mind was on Lu Piao—his friend's sacrifice, his laughter, their shared dreams, and the brutal reality of their world.

He gripped the edge of the sink tightly, his knuckles turning white.

The weight of his past life, the deaths, the losses, and the battles fought, pressed down on him.

Nie Li's heart raced, and for a moment, he felt as though he couldn't breathe.

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The walls of the bathroom seemed to close in on him, the echoes of his and Lu Piao's past enveloping him in a shroud of despair. It was as if the cold from that final, fatal encounter with the Snow Devil Yeti was creeping into his very soul, threatening to freeze him in place with fear and grief.

As the sound of the doorknob turning reached his ears, Nie Li's instincts kicked in. Without a second thought, he leaped out of the bathroom window, propelled by a desire to avoid anyone seeing him in his current state.

He wasn't ready to face anyone, not when his emotions were in such turmoil.

Nie Li made a beeline for his dorm room, his steps quick and purposeful.

Once inside, he closed the door firmly behind him and sank to the floor, a wave of exhaustion and distress washing over him. The room felt like a sanctuary and a prison all at once.

Lying there, feeling utterly defeated, Nie Li turned his gaze to the system. It had always been a source of strength and guidance for him, and now, more than ever, he needed its support.

"Please help me with my feelings and thoughts and," he began, his voice trailing off. The weight of his emotions, the intensity of his memories, it all felt too overwhelming to articulate fully.

Nie Li stopped speaking, the effort of even forming words too much to bear.

He lay there in silence, grappling with the myriad thoughts racing through his mind. It was exhausting, this battle within, and for a moment, Nie Li wished for nothing more than a respite from his own mind.

[ Simulation System Initiated ]

[ Mission: Therapy ]

[ Objective: Resolving Nie Li's inner demons ]

[ Outcome: Q and A Simulation ]

[ Description: In this session, player Nie Li will be guided through a series of reflective questions. These questions are designed to explore deep-seated emotions, thoughts, and conflicts. Based on the answers provided, the system will offer insights and suggestions to help Nie Li address and resolve these internal struggles, moving closer to achieving his desired state of mental and emotional well-being. ]

[ Actions Required: ]

- [ Engage with the Q and A Simulation. Respond honestly to each question presented. ]

Nie Li smiled.

[ Path Selection Required ]

[ Questions 1: How are you feeling? ]

"Feeling like shit. Confused, overwhelmed," Nie Li answered, his smile wry despite the turmoil churning inside him.

[ Questions 2: Do you have any idea why you are feeling like this? ]

Nie Li sighed deeply, letting silence fill the space for a few minutes as he gathered his thoughts.

"Everything, I guess," he started haltingly. "I... I never really stopped to think about how... insane everything that's happened to me has been. Getting a second chance, becoming this... talented heir."

He paused again, the weight of his words heavy in the air.

"Seeing everyone I love support me, it was nice... but then, seeing Lu Piao, it was like hitting a brick wall. My emotions, my feelings, my..."

He trailed off, struggling to find the words, his voice laden with emotion.

"You know what I'm talking about. When I woke up in my bed, everything felt unreal. I had lost everything, but suddenly, I was back in time."

Nie Li took a moment, his breathing uneven as he tried to compose himself.

"And because of the whole heir competition ordeal, I could set aside my emotions, but now... now I have to deal with them."

[ Questions 3: Do you want to deal with your emotions? ]

"If I'm... being honest, no," Nie Li admitted, his voice faltering.

"If I could... just push them aside, I would. But... I can't."

There was a heavy pause.

"I'm afraid."

[ Questions 4: What are you afraid of? ]

Nie Li hesitated, his eyes darting away as if he could escape the question simply by not looking at it. But the system persisted, unchanging, until finally, he sighed, resigning himself to answer.

"I am... afraid of myself," he started.

"Afraid that I'll become like... like everyone I despised."

He took a deep, shaky breath before continuing.

"In my first life, things were... straightforward. Talentless, expected nothing more than to graduate from the Holy Orchid Institute and... work on the farm."

He paused, struggling to articulate the complexity of his fears.

"But now, I came back here with all this knowledge, with the countdown to humanity's extinction ticking away... I don't know who's friend or foe. Demon beasts are one thing; humans, entirely another."

Nie Li's voice grew softer, more introspective.

"I was okay with the idea, in the beginning, that I could stop the extinction... by becoming strong.

In hindsight, I didn't have a proper plan, I was just going with the flow.

But then, the Heavenly Dharma Technique... it changed everything. Once it was etched into my soul, everything else felt small. Legend rank, Glory City, even humanity's extinction. I thought I had found the answer to save Glory City, but then..."

He stopped, his voice choked with emotion as he recalled a recent encounter.

"A week ago, I saw him—the same kid I had beaten half to death in the Heir competition because his family hurt mine.

He was unable to walk and I had Elder Nie Wei compensate him.

But I felt something that scared me, I felt... the thrill of power, of having others beg from me... It was intoxicating."

Nie Li's confession turned darker, more pained.

"But that thrill... it scared me. I realized I could turn Glory City into... my toy. And when I saw Lu Piao, all those thoughts of power, of using others for my ends... I couldn't push them away anymore."

His words were heavy with guilt and fear. "Lu Piao's sacrifice... I didn't want it to be just a step in some twisted power game of mine. I saw myself becoming a monster—a monster who didn't value the sacrifices of others, who saved humanity only to not lose its toy; who hurt others out of anger."

He took another long, ragged breath, his confession laid bare. "I'm afraid of becoming that monster."

[ Question 6: What steps can you take to ensure you remain true to yourself and not become the monster you fear? ]

"I... I don't know."

[ Question 7: Who can you rely on? ]

"The only people I truly trust are... Lu Piao and my family," Nie Li started.

"But I don't... I don't want to make them involved in all of this. They deserve better. They don't deserve to help carry my burden."

[ Question 8: Do you know the difference between a God and someone powerful? ]

"Huh, what does this have to do with anything?" Nie Li muttered, his confusion evident.

He let out a frustrated 'Tch,' his patience thinning. "I don't... I don't know."

[ Question 9: If a person finds an ant hill, gives it food, but then gets bored and starts killing the ants and destroying their home, is that person like a god to the ants, or just someone strong enough to cause them pain? ]

"I don't know... Maybe... a god?" Nie Li's response came out almost as a question, his voice steeped in uncertainty.

[ Question 10: In what sense? ]

"The human can give the ants food, can kill them whenever they want," Nie Li said, his voice trailing off, filled with a palpable confusion. "I think that's what a god is... an entity that can do whatever they want... to those lesser than them."

[ Question 11: The ants were fine before the human came. They could still get food, they could still get killed. What the human represents isn't a god but rather just a very powerful entity. A God is something that without, the ants can't live without. For example, let's take the sun. Without it, the ants are doomed. They rely on it for food, for water, for life. And yet, to the sun, the ants don't matter. They can live their life however they please. Even humans are dependent on the sun. Do you agree that the human isn't God in our hypothetical question? ]

"Yeah, yeah, but the sun isn't conscious, unlike a human," Nie Li countered, his voice laced with confusion and a hint of frustration. He paused, trying to piece together the direction of the system's questioning. "Shouldn't a god... be conscious?"

[ Question 12: The sun being conscious doesn't matter. What matters is this idea of the difference between the powerful and what it means to be a God. You are worried about becoming the human to the ants; you should aim to become, no, beyond the sun, a God. Someone whom humanity can't live without but also someone who is unbothered by humanity because of how strong a God is. Does this goal help negate your fear? ]

Nie Li lay on the floor, quiet, his gaze fixed on the ceiling, pondering the system's words. After a moment of contemplation, he found clarity.

"I think becoming a God is quite the long road in a cultivator's journey. Yet, that's what it means to be a cultivator: to go against the chains that bind you.

In stories, we are always told about this legendary cultivator who broke the chains of heaven and ascended beyond the stars. I guess he became the sun. I'll aim beyond him. I'll aim to be a God," Nie Li declared, a newfound certainty in his voice, devoid of any pauses or doubt.

Laughing, Nie Li raised his hand, embracing the path the system had laid out for him—a path that transcended his fears and aimed for something far greater than he had ever imagined.