History Manhua / TalesOfDemonsAndGods

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Shen Fei, Shen Yue's older brother, decides to invite Li's family to the martial arts tournament held by the Sacred Family every year, challenging Li in a fight to the Death. Li accepts, and Fei thinks he's caught Li in a trap. To say this backfires is [[CurbStompBattle putting it mildly.]]

* BigBrotherInstinct: Nie Li has this towards his younger sister, Xiao Yu. Ironically, in his past life, ''she'' wound up being the one protecting ''him,'' as she has far more spiritual potential than he does. [[spoiler:And with his guidance and tools at his dispoxal in this life, she may become even stronger still.]]

* KillerRabbit: [[spoiler:Nie Li's "God Tier" fanged panda, created through the fusion of hundreds of demon spirits, is [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter freaking adorable]], and when he's using its abilities, Nie Li takes on an appearance similar to [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda Po the Panda]]. However, that doesn't make it any less dangerous, granting Nie Li incredible strength and endurance, as well as the ability to control gravity, and to [[KamehameHadouken shoot yin and yang]] KiManipulation from its mouth.]]

* ForWantOfANail: At a certain point, it starts to become clear that Nie Li's constant meddling with the timeline is making this history diverge from the one he experienced in his past life. In particular:
** His carefully orchestrated HumiliationConga against the Sacred Family seems to have made them increasingly desperate, [[spoiler:potentially pushing up the timeline for the fall of Glory City.]]
** His flirtation with Ye Ziyun, along with his obnoxious grandstanding, seems to have earned him a fearsome enemy in the form of [[spoiler:Ye Han, the city lord's adopted son and Ye Ziyun's chief suitor]].

* {{Troll}}: While not usually pronounced, Nie Li has some trollish tendencies, particularly where the Sacred Family is concerned. It's probably the biggest stain on his OmniscientMoralityLicense, as antagonizing one of the three most powerful families in Glory City [[spoiler:and the employers of the Dark Guild]] may have [[ForWantOfANail unpredictable consequences]].

* TeensAreShort: Nie Li and the female cast look physically quite mature ''unless'' they happen to be standing next to an adult, at which point they frequently get dwarfed.

* YoungerThanTheyLook: The main female cast is only thirteen or fourteen, but are far better developed than you'd expect for their stated age. The only indications that they're not even close to being adults is a slight rounding to the features and that [[TeensAreShort they're weirdly tiny when standing next to any adult]].

* BoobsOfSteel: Shen Xiu is a Gold-ranked Demon Spiritualist and instructor who has a fairly powerful fox demon merged with her soul. Yang Xin is also a Gold-ranked demon spiritualist, as well as the director for the Alchemy Association. Both are ''incredibly'' well endowed.

* TheAllegedBoss: Yang Xin is the director of the Alchemists' Guild, second in authority only to the President. Moreover, she managed to get her illustrious position at a relatively young age- she's in her mid 20s, while most of her equals are at least twice her age. Nevertheless, after [[spoiler:Nie Li manages to be recognized as a master alchemist,]] she winds up spending much of her on screen time acting like his servant.

* BadassBookworm: Although he's hardly a slouch as a fighter and a demon spiritualist, Nie Li's real strength is in the massive amount of knowledge he retained from his previous life, which he obtained through rigorous study. Among other things, that knowledge helped him to discover superior cultivation techniques for himself and his friends, and [[spoiler:helped him get in the good graces of the Alchemists' Guild]].
* BaitAndSwitch: Thanks to [[spoiler:money made from exploring the Orchid City ruins, plus the proceeds from the Alchemists' Guild]], Nie Li managed to acquire quite a bit of cash. However, even he isn't willing to spend the millions of spirit coins necessary to buy the Alchemist Guild's latest elixirs... [[spoiler:because he already had a large supply of his own, since ''he was the one who provided the formulas for those elixirs in the first place'']]. Suffice it to say, he nearly gave his elders a heart attack.

* BoobsOfSteel: Shen Xiu is a Gold-ranked Demon Spiritualist and instructor who has a fairly powerful fox demon merged with her soul. Yang Xin is also a Gold-ranked demon spirituralist, as well as the director for the Alchemists' Guild. Both are ''incredibly'' well endowed.

* GoldFever: Nie Li actually manages to [[XanatosGambit deliberately]] cause one of these using a relatively common plant (Purple Mist Grass) with few known practical uses (it's mainly used for incense and insect repellent). [[spoiler:Of course, he stocked up on that plant just before introducing several potent recipes to the Alchemists' Guild, all of which had that plant as a core ingredient. When demand for that plant suddenly spiked, he was able to resell it at a massive profit.]]

* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Nie Li's family was [[GloryDays once quite wealthy and influential]], but it has long since fallen into decline, almost becoming nobility in name only. [[spoiler:Nie Li manages to largely reverse these fortunes, thanks in large part to his connections to the Alchemists' Guild.]]
** The Alchemists' Guild has also seen better days- as the frequency of demon beast attacks increased over time, people became more interested in learning how to fight, and less interested in learning how to create potions and elixirs. As a result, there were more people in need of their services, but fewer people to provide those services, stretching them thin. [[spoiler:Their fortunes reverse dramatically after Nie Li decides to lend them his aid.]]

** [[spoiler:The Alchemists' Guild]] benefited massively, both in terms of wealth and influence, thanks to Nie Li's scheme with purple mist grass. As a result, they happily open their coffers to him- after all, he was the one who helped fill them!

** Yang Xin, the 25-year-old director of the Alchemists' Guild, is generally seen wearing an outfit with an [[CleavageWindow unusually low neckline,]] even when on official business. And that's assuming we're not getting a scene with her [[FuroScene in the bath.]]

** [[spoiler:Eventually, this ethos is also adopted by Nie Li- with the massive amount of money that his connections to the Alchemists' Guild gives him, he can skirt a lot of rules that most people would never get away with.]]
* SelfFulfillingProphecy : [[spoiler:In the original timeline, the Sage Emperor used calculations on natural law to predict the future and determine that Nie Li would be his archnemesis, and set out to hurt him and his loved ones as much as possible as a result... which was, of course, the reason Nie Li became his archnemesis in the first place. This gets even worse for him because while, in the original timeline, he ultimately ''succeeded'' at killing Nie Li, the Temporal Demon Spirit Book sent Nie Li back in time and means that now he's created an even stronger archenemy that he's not yet aware of.]]

** [[spoiler:Nie Li also winds up playing this role to the entire Alchemists' Guild, helping to bring them back to prominence with a few carefully provided recipes he picked up in his past life. They, in return, [[Fiction500 give him giant sacks of cash.]]]]

** Both his family and [[spoiler:the Alchemists' Guild]] don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, considering his [[spoiler:alchemical recipes]] brought them incredible wealth and influence.

* XanatosGambit: Nie Li has a multi-layered scheme involving purple mist grass, a relatively common herb that is primarily used for insect repellent and incense. [[spoiler:He happens to know purple mist grass has ''many'' more uses than most people realize, particularly as a reagent for certain elixirs. So he stocked up on purple mist grass, sent the formulae that used purple mist grass to the Alchemists' Guild, and then resold it [[GoldRush once the price skyrocketed]].]]
** But that was only the first part of the plan. Part two [[spoiler:involved exploiting the goodwill that came from donating those formulae]]. After he [[spoiler:completely demolished the exam to become a primary master at the Alchemists' Guild]], he unloaded the bombshell that he- or rather, his "[[InventedIndividual master]]"- had a number of [[spoiler: incredibly valuable lost recipes]] at his disposal, and would hand them over in exchange for [[spoiler:a massive chunk of the profits]]. Naturally, they go along with it.

* DungeonCrawl: Shen Linjian, an older student at Holy Orchid Academy, organizes a party of his fellow students to explore the ancient ruins of Orchid City. Nie Li decides to join up to get a part of the massive hoard that he knows will be there- or, more specifically, [[spoiler:to get his hands on an ancient artifact that contains a powerful spirit he intends to merge with]].

* XanatosGambit: Nie Li has a multi-layered scheme involving purple mist grass, a relatively common herb that is primarily used for insect repellent and incense. [[spoiler:He happens to know purple mist grass has ''many'' more uses than most people realize, particularly as a reagent for certain elixirs. So he stocked up on purple mist grass, sent the formulae that used purple mist grass to the Alchemists' Guild, and then resold it [[GoldRush once the price skyrocketed]].]]
** But that was only the first part of the plan. Part two [[spoiler:involved exploiting the goodwill that came from donating those formulae]]. After he [[spoiler:completely demolished the exam to become a primary master at the Alchemists' Guild]], he unloaded the bombshell that he- or rather, his "[[InventedIndividual master]]"- had a number of [[spoiler: incredibly valuable lost recipes]] at his disposal, and would hand them over in exchange for [[spoiler:a massive chunk of the profits]]. Naturally, they go along with it.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Ye Ziyun can see how hard Xiao Ning'er has fallen for Nie Li, and [[ShipperOnDeck she actively tries to push Nie Li to accept Xiao Ning'er's affections]]. That said, she's also aware of how much Nie Li wants her, and she continues to playfully tease him about [[TriangRelations the prospect of a relationship]].

** Shen Xiu dresses in a ''cheongsam''-like dress, which is cut to expose her [[BareYourMidriff midriff]] and her legs, as well as the bottom and sides of her [[BuxomBeautyStandard ample breasts]]. Adding to that factor is her [[AnimalMotifs fox-demon powers,]] which gives her CuteLittleFangs on top of everything else.

* AttackBackfire: Chu Yuan, the scion of a wealthy noble family, winds up angry at Nie Li for attracting the attention of [[BuxomIsBetter Hu Yan Lan Ruo]]. When physical attacks fail, Yuan tries instead to overload Li's soul with spiritual energy, which could permanently cripple Nie Li's spiritual abilities. [[spoiler:Thanks to his specialized cultivation techniques, Nie Li not only manages to survive the attack, but subsequently absorbs a chunk of Yuan's own spiritual power, weakening Yuan and pushing Nie Li up to the next tier.]]

* BuxomIsBetter: Almost all the named female characters are... gifted... in that department, but [[HotForTeacher Shen Xiu]] and [[HeadTurningBeauty Yang Xin]] are by far the most "qualified" for this trope.
** Later on, we add Hu Yan Lan Ruo, who may be even more "gifted" than Shen Xiu and Yang Xin. At the very least, she's the only one with an actual CleavageWindow, seeming to deliberately emphasize her curvy proportions.

** Shen Xiu dresses in a ''cheongsam''-like dress, which is cut to expose her [[BareYourMidriff midriff]] and her legs, as well as the bottom and sides of her [[BuxomIsBetter ample breasts]]. Adding to that factor is her [[AnimalMotifs fox-demon powers,]] which gives her CuteLittleFangs on top of everything else.

** Shen Xiu dresses in a ''cheongsam''-like dress, which is cut to expose her [[BareYourMidriff midriff]] and her [[ShesGotLegs legs]], as well as the bottom and sides of her [[BuxomIsBetter ample breasts]]. Adding to that factor is her [[AnimalMotifs fox-demon powers,]] which gives her CuteLittleFangs on top of everything else.

* AristocratsAreEvil: The politics of Glory City necessitates a certain amount of underhandedness from all of the noble families, from the relatively weak and destitute (like Nie Li's) to the wealth and powerful (like the three major families that control most of the city). However, [[spoiler: the Sacred Family]] takes it to an entirely different level, [[spoiler: by employing [[TheSyndicate the Dark Guild]] to serve their interests.]]

** Played straight in the fight between Nie Li and Shen Fei. Nie Li bets he'll beat Fei in less than twenty moves. [[spoiler:Fei goes down in two.]]

* GoldFever: Nie Li actually manages to artificially cause one of these, [[XanatosGambit deliberately]], using a relatively common plant (Purple Mist Grass) with few known practical uses (it's mainly used for incense and insect repellent). [[spoiler:Of course, he stocked up on that plant just before introducing several potent recipes to the Alchemists' Guild, all of which had that plant as a core ingredient. When demand for that plant suddenly spiked, he was able to resell it at a massive profit.]]

** The acting patriarch of the Sacred Family, Shen Ming, also wound up getting hoisted, since he [[spoiler: bet a massive amount of money on Shen Fei's victory]]. And then, when that backfired, [[spoiler: he doubled down on his losses after Nie Li beat an ''even stronger'' Demon Spiritualist]].
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Li's family was [[GloryDays once quite wealthy and influential,]] but it has long since fallen into decline, almost becoming nobility in name only. [[spoiler: Li manages to largely reverse these fortunes, thanks in large part to his connections to the Alchemists' Guild.]]
** The Alchemists' Guild has also seen better days- as the frequency of demon beast attacks increased over time, people became more interested in learning how to fight, and less interested in learning how to create potions and elixirs. As a result, there were more people in need of their services, but fewer people to provide those services, stretching them thin. [[spoiler: Their fortunes reverse dramatically after Nie Li decides to lend them his aid.]]
** [[spoiler: This process seems to be kicking into gear with the Sacred Family, after Li repeatedly humiliates them.]]
* HumiliationConga: Much of Nie Li's grand scheme involves discrediting and humiliating the Sacred Family. While this might play into his more practical concerns, it's pretty obvious that he [[{{Schadenfreude}} enjoys watching them suffer.]]
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Zi Yun can see how hard Ning Er has fallen for Li, and [[ShipperOnDeck she actively tries to push Li to accept Ning Er's affections]]. That said, she's also aware of how much Li wants her, and she continues to playfully tease him about [[TriangRelations the prospect of a relationship]].
* IdleRich: Much of the Sacred Family qualifies, which is a big part of why Xie Li can't stand them.

* ImprobableAimingSkills: Among the [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands many, many skills]] Li picked up in his previous life is a mastery of archery. The few times he has used those skills, he came very close to blowing his cover.'

** All of the other characters in Li's class are also ''thirteen'' and they act way too mature for someone of that age.
* IntimateHealing: In order to treat Ning Er's "arctic sickness," she needs the affected parts of her body massaged with special medicine. Since Nie Li is the only one who knows how to make and apply the medicine, he winds up seeing- and feeling- far more of Ning Er than either one of them probably expected.
** It's made all the more embarrassing when Ning Er starts to moan and blush from Li's touch. Supposedly it's a reaction to the pain, but it doesn't quite [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything look that way...]]
* InventedIndividual: In order to cover up how he obtained [[spoiler: a number of advanced- and previously unknown- alchemical recipes]] without seeming suspicious, Li invents a story about having studied under [[spoiler: a master alchemist]] who does not wish to deal with the public.
* JustifiedExtraLives: Nie Li gets a second shot at life thanks to the [[MacGuffin Temporal Demon Spirit Book.]] He isn't the only one with a way around death, however; [[spoiler: Ye Zi Yun's [[MeaningfulName Ice Phoenix]] Soul can resurrect her, provided her body isn't entirely destroyed.]]

** All of his friends- be they commoners like Lu Piao and Du Zhe, or nobles like Ye Zi Yun or Xiao Ning Er- have received the benefit of Li's extensive knowledge of cultivation techniques, often becoming far stronger than they otherwise would have been. They, in turn, use that strength to help him in his crusade to protect Glory City.
** [[spoiler: The Alchemists' Guild]] benefited massively, both in terms of wealth and influence, thanks to Li's scheme with purple mist grass. As a result, they happily open their coffers to him- after all, he was the one who helped fill them!
** Li's family also starts to see massive benefits from his efforts. So much so that they let him take magical items from the family vault, which has [[spoiler: sadly become nearly empty, as his family had to sell off most of their assets to stay afloat, economically.]]

* KillerRabbit: [[spoiler: Li's "God Tier" fanged panda, created through the fusion of hundreds of demon spirits, is [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter freaking adorable]], and when he's using its abilities, Li takes on an appearance similar to [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda Po the Panda.]] However, that doesn't make it any less dangerous, granting Li incredible strength and endurance, as well as the ability to control gravity, and to [[KamehameHadouken shoot yin and yang]] KiManipulation from its mouth.]]
* LethalJokeCharacter: After countless hours and a ''massive'' amount of money spent [[spoiler: fusing the souls of demon beasts,]] Nie Li winds up fusing with the end product his efforts: [[spoiler: a fanged panda]], which is considered one of the weakest demon beasts in existence. As it turns out, however, there's a very good reason that [[spoiler: this particular beast managed to survive the fusion process over other, supposedly stronger beasts.]]
* LetsYouAndHimFight: What do you do when you're attacked by assassins from the Dark Guild? [[SummonBiggerFish Put them in the path of the giant demonic apes that were chasing you,]] of course!
* LivingAphrodisiac: [[spoiler: The true secret of Hu Yan Lan Ruo's amazing seductive abilities- she hunted down and integrated an incredibly rare Snow Sakura Demon Spirit into her soul, giving her its ability to [[CharmPerson supernaturally charm]] men. Li is only able to resist because he has willpower that far exceeds his actual rank.]]
* LoveTriangle: Between Nie Li, [[YamatoNadeshiko Ye Zi Yun]] and [[FieryRedhead Xiao Ning Er]], with both Ye Zi Yun and Xiao Ying Er looking to pair up with Nie Li, and Li seeming to entertain both of their relationships at once. Strangely enough, there doesn't seem to be any animosity between Zi Yun and Ying Er, with both having a friendly competition for Li's affections.
** Later on, Hu Yan Lan Ruo seems to add herself as a fourth angle to the Love Triangle (Love Parallelogram?), and seems intent on using her feminine wiles [[spoiler: and the power of her demon beast]] to seduce Li.
* LovelyAngels: Ning Er and Zi Yun became known as the Twin Gemini in the previous timeline, thanks to their great skills and ability to work together seamlessly. In this timeline, they are already referred two as "the Two Goddesses."

* MagikarpPower: Weirdly enough, Li picks a cultivation technique that operates on this principle. It develops his abilities relatively slowly, but gives him the advantage of eventually allowing him to integrate as many as ''seven'' demon beasts into his soul realm.

** While we never see anything ''too'' inappropriate, Xiao Ying Er does undress in front of Li several times, so that he can apply the medicine necessary to keep her cultivation technique from killing her. Nevertheless, the art lingers on her exposed shoulders, legs and feet [[MaleGaze far longer than is necessary]].

* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: So... is there anything that Li ''didn't'' manage to learn in his past life? Or that he doesn't just happen to have in his BagOfHolding?
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Zig-zagged. [[spoiler: On the one hand, the city is way better prepared to handle the invasion of demon beasts this time around, compared to Nie Li's original timeline. On the other hand, Nie Li's meddling (in particular his provocation of the Sacred Family) causes the invasion to occur much earlier than anticipated. Overall, it's a net positive as the city ultimately survives the assault, but only at great cost.]]

* OmniscientMoralityLicense: Nie Li effectively has one, thanks to his memories from his past life. It eliminates the need for a SecretTestOfCharacter to determine their trustworthiness; whether they know it or not, ''everyone'' has undergone this test, based on what they did when Glory City was attacked, and only Li knows who passed.

* {{Polyamory}}: Discussed. Few people have a problem with Nie Li trying to have good, seemingly romantic, relations with both Zi Yun and Xiao Ning, especially once he [[spoiler: saves Glory City from a massive demon beast attack]] as it is the norm for powerful nobles to have multiple wives. The fact that he's able to secure impressive dowriess for both women doesn't hurt their families' feelings either.

** There are also rankings for souls [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience based on their colors.]] From weakest to strongest, they're red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, azure and indigo. Ye Zi Yun has a cyan soul, while Shen Yue and Xiao Ying Er have green souls- almost everyone else, including Li, has red souls.

* ReincarnationRomance: An odd variant: thanks to effectively reincarnating as his past self, Li is able to pursue his (tragically short-lived) romance with Ye Ziyun several years before it otherwise would've happened.

** [[spoiler: Eventually, this ethos is also adopted by Li- with the massive amount of money that his connections to the Alchemists' Guild gives him, he can skirt a lot of rules that most people would never get away with.]]

* SilkHidingSteel: Ye Zi Yun is the daughter of a powerful noble family, and conducts herself with propriety and grace. She is also gifted with one of the most powerful soul realms of her generation, and has the potential to become a Legendary Demon Spiritualist, given time and training. And that's ''before'' she adopts Nie Li's specialized cultivation technique...

* TeensAreShort: Nie Li and the female cast look physically quite mature ''unless'' they happen to be standing next to an adult, at which point they frequently get dwarfed.

** [[spoiler: Li also winds up playing this role to the entire Alchemists' Guild, helping to bring them back to prominence with a few carefully provided recipes he picked up in his past life. They, in return, [[Fiction500 give him giant sacks of cash.]]]]
* ThreesomeSubtext: While Nie Li is absolutely set on Ye Ziyun, multiple characters note that it's not unusual for nobility to have multiple wives. Even her own father has two, possibly three counting Ziyun's deceased mother. So if he was interested he could probably marry both Ziyun and Ning'er... but unfortunately for the latter he's not particularly interested. [[spoiler:He changes his mind later and comes to love both of them.]]

* {{Troll}}: While not usually pronounced, Li has some trollish tendencies, particularly where the Sacred Family is concerned. It's probably the biggest stain on his OmniscientMoralityLicense, as antagonizing one of the three most powerful families in Glory City [[spoiler:and the employers of the Dark Guild]] may have [[ForWantOfANail unpredictable consequences]].
* TrueCompanions: Nie Li decides to become this with [[ThoseTwoGuys Lu Piao and Du Zhe]] because, despite being relatively weak, they chose to stay behind and fight when Glory City gets overrun, sacrificing themselves to allow others to escape. This time around, Nie Li intends to give them a boost [[SuperEmpowering in the form of superior cultivation techniques]], in the hopes that it'll keep them alive.

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: It's amazing how little suspicion Li manages to attract to himself, considering how rapidly he has increased his power, and how much obscure knowledge he has demonstrated. Justified in that almost all of the people who might call him out on it have a vested interest in his success:
** His friends are just happy to have whatever help Li can provide them, and have little reason not to trust him, given how much he has bestowed on them.
** His teachers look much better when they produce talented students, and Li is about as talented as it gets.
** Both his family and [[spoiler: the Alchemists' Guild]] don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, considering his [[spoiler: alchemical recipes]] brought them incredible wealth and influence.

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatPerks: Li's entire family is elated when he announces he [[spoiler: passed the test to become a Bronze-rank Demon Spiritualist]]. His father, in particular, is happy [[ComicallyMissingThePoint about the tax break the family will get.]]

** But that was only the first part of the plan. Part two [[spoiler: involved exploiting the goodwill that came from donating those formulae]]. After he [[spoiler: completely demolished the exam to become a primary master at the Alchemists' Guild]], he unloaded the bombshell that he- or rather, his "[[InventedIndividual master]]"- had a number of [[spoiler: incredibly valuable lost recipes]] at his disposal, and would hand them over in exchange for [[spoiler: a massive chunk of the profits.]] Naturally, they go along with it.
* YearInsideHourOutside: The Temporal Demon Spirit Book allowed Nie Li to get nearly a century of experience in his past life, despite apparently dying in his late teens or early twenties. This is the explanation for how [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands he can do so many things so well.]]
* YoungerThanTheyLook: The main female cast is only thirteen or fourteen, but are far better developed than you'd expect for their stated age. The only indications that they're not even close to being adults is a slight rounding to the features and that [[TeensAreShort they're weirdly tiny when standing next to any adult]].

* MoneyGrinding: A weird non-video game example: Li and his friends are in severe need of money, so they start killing Horned Sheep to sell off the valuable parts from them. It manages to make them the money they need, although RealityEnsues when their activities wind up [[GreenAesop nearly destroying the entire local population of Horned Sheep]].

* AristocratsAreEvil: The politics of Glory City necessitates a certain amount of underhandedness from all of the noble families, from the relatively weak and destitute (like Nie Li's) to the wealth and powerful (like the three major families that control most of the city). However, [[spoiler: the Sacred Family]] takes it to an entirely different level, [[spoiler: by employing [[TheMafia the Dark Guild]] to serve their interests.]]
** There's also some implication that [[spoiler: the Sacred Family are not merely cowards. Considering the Dark Guild's methodology and stated goals, it's entirely possible that they helped to orchestrate the fall of Glory City in the previous timeline.]]
** [[spoiler: During the massive Demon Beast attack, Shen Hong's internal monologue openly admits that Sacred Family was actively in collusion with Dark Guild, planning to conquer or annihilate Glory City with a massive Demon Beast army in two years, but for some unexplained reason, Dark Guild launched the attack early.]]
* ArrangedMarriage: Common in Glory City, particularly among noble families. At the beginning of the story, Chen Yue and Ye Ziyun are engaged to be married, and Xiao Ning Er is intended to marry Chen Yue's older brother. In Nie Li's past life, both of these marriages were ultimately ruined by the fall of Glory City. In this life, [[spoiler:they're ruined by both women becoming powerful enough to defy the wishes of their families]].

* TheBet: Despite his absurdly low soul power, Nie Li makes a bet with his teacher, Chen Xiu, that he'll be able to pass the test to become a Bronze-ranked Demon Spiritualist and Fighter in two months. If he fails, he agrees to leave the school; if he succeeds, she agrees to resign. [[spoiler:When Nie Li inevitably wins that bet, Chen Xiu surprises him by keeping her end of the bargain.]]

* BigDamnHeroes: When [[spoiler:it looks like]] Nie Li is getting beat up by Chen Yue's goons, [[spoiler:Ye Ziyun and Xiao Ning Er]] step in to intervene.

* BoobsOfSteel: Chen Xiu is a Gold-ranked Demon Spiritualist and instructor who has a fairly powerful fox demon merged with her soul. Yang Xin is also a Gold-ranked demon spirituralist, as well as the director for the Alchemists' Guild. Both are ''incredibly'' well endowed.

* BringMyBrownPants: When Chen Yue attempts to use his soul energy in a brute force on Nie Li's soul, it establishes a connection that Li uses to attacking Yue with his KillingIntent. As Yue had never experienced the feeling of someone genuinely wanting to ''murder him'' before, he winds up invoking this trope.

* BuxomIsBetter: Almost all the named female characters are... gifted... in that department, but [[HotForTeacher Chen Xiu]] and [[HeadTurningBeauty Yang Xin]] are by far the most "qualified" for this trope.
** Later on, we add Hu Yan Lan Ruo, who may be even more "gifted" than Chen Xiu and Yang Xin. At the very least, she's the only one with an actual CleavageWindow, seeming to deliberately emphasize her curvy proportions.

* CurbStompBattle: Subverted. Chen Yue intends to do this to Nie Li early on, by recruiting a bunch of Bronze-rank fighters to help beat up Li. Li realizes that he can probably win in a fair fight... but instead chooses to [[TakeAThirdOption make it look like exactly what it was intended to be]], while screaming that the Sacred Family was trying to murder him.

* CynicalMentor: Nie Li's first teacher, Chen Xiu, wastes no time in explaining how [[BecauseDestinySaysSo no one will ever exceed the innate potential of their soul realm]]. Nie Li, unsurprisingly, [[ScrewDestiny has a different opinion on that matter]].

* DungeonCrawl: Chen Linjian, an older student at Holy Orchid Academy, organizes a party of his fellow students to explore the ancient ruins of Orchid City. Nie Li decides to join up to get a part of the massive hoard that he knows will be there- or, more specifically, [[spoiler:to get his hands on an ancient artifact that contains a powerful spirit he intends to merge with]].

* {{Expy}}: The similarities between Nie Li and [[Franchise/{{Naruto}} Naruto Uzumaki]], or between Chen Yue and Sasuke Uchiha, are probably not coincidental. In fact, there are a LOT of allusions to existing properties and memes in the manga, to the point where entire panels from various series like ''{{Manga/Bleach}}'', ''{{Manga/Naruto}}'', or ''{{Manga/DragonBall}}'' are [[UsefulNotes/{{Plagiarism}} directly traced over]].
* FeetOfClay: Chen Xiu tries to impress three visiting [=VIPs=] with one of her family's ancient inscriptions (which are used to enchant magical items and create spell scrolls). Rather than impressing them, however, she winds up getting her entire family accused of plagiarism, courtesy of Nie Li.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Shen Fei, Chen Yue's older brother, decides to invite Li's family to the martial arts tournament held by the Sacred Family every year, challenging Li in a fight to the Death. Li accepts, and Fei thinks he's caught Li in a trap. To say this backfires is [[CurbStompBattle putting it mildly.]]

** Chen Xiu dresses in a ''cheongsam''-like dress, which is cut to expose her [[BareYourMidriff midriff]] and her [[ShesGotLegs legs]], as well as the bottom and sides of her [[BuxomIsBetter ample breasts]]. Adding to that factor is her [[AnimalMotifs fox-demon powers,]] which gives her CuteLittleFangs on top of everything else.

** It's debatable whether Hu Yan Lan Ruo has a more revealing outfit than Chen Xiu, but unlike that teacher, the provocative nature of her dress appears to be [[FemmeFatale deliberate.]]

** There are also rankings for souls [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience based on their colors.]] From weakest to strongest, they're red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, azure and indigo. Ye Zi Yun has a cyan soul, while Chen Yue and Xiao Ying Er have green souls- almost everyone else, including Li, has red souls.

* RedOniBlueOni: [[PlayingWithFire Xiao Ning Er]] plays the role of the Red Oni, while [[AnIcePerson Ye Zi Yun]] takes on the role of the Blue Oni.
* ReincarnationRomance: An odd variant: thanks to effectively reincarnating as his past self, Li is able to pursue his (tragically short-lived) romance with Ye Zi Yun several years before it otherwise would've happened.
* TheRival: Chen Yue of the Sacred Family plays this role to Nie Li, at least in the first part of the story.

* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: Everything Li does is meant to prevent the destruction of Glory City. Whether or not he succeeds has yet to be seen.

* StrongerSibling: In the original timeline, Li's younger sister, Xiao Yu, was even stronger than he was. Even in the current timeframe (where she's still a small child), she's a bit of a LittleMissBadass capable of lifting several times her own weight.

* TheSyndicate: The Dark Guild is a criminal organization that, among other things, acts to undermine the leadership of Glory City, through a combination of terrorism, assassination, and blackmail. And they're powerful enough to legitimately scare the noble families. [[spoiler: Except for the Sacred Family, who they work for.]]

* ThreesomeSubtext: While Nie Li is absolutely set on Ye Ziyun, multiple characters note that it's not unusual for nobility to have multiple wives. Even her own father has two, possibly three counting Ziyun's deceased mother. So if he was interested he could probably marry both Ziyun and Ning'er... but unfortunately for the latter he's not particularly interested.

* {{Troll}}: While not usually pronounced, Li has some trollish tendencies, particularly where the Sacred Family is concerned. It's probably the biggest stain on his OmniscientMoralityLicense, as antagonizing one of the three most powerful families in Glory City [[spoiler: and the employers of the Dark Guild]] may have [[ForWantOfANail unpredictable consequences.]]
* TrueCompanions: Li decides to become this with [[ThoseTwoGuys Lu Piao and Du Zhe]] because, despite being relatively weak, they chose to stay behind and fight when Glory City gets overrun, sacrificing themselves to allow others to escape. This time around, Li intends to give them a boost [[SuperEmpowering in the form of superior cultivation techniques,]] in the hopes that it'll keep them alive.

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: It's amazing how little suspicion Li manages to attract to himself, considering how rapidly he has increased his power, and how much obscure knowledge he has demonstrated. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that almost all of the people who might call him out on it have a vested interest in his success:

* VanityIsFeminine: While every cultivator suddenly wants purple mist grass after it's discovered to [[spoiler: make spirit-enhancing elixirs much more powerful]], women in particular want it because [[MundaneUtility using it in an herbal bath makes them look younger and prettier]].

* ArrangedMarriage: Common in Glory City, particularly among noble families. At the beginning of the story, Chen Yue and Ye Zi Yun are engaged to be married, and Xiao Ning Er is intended to marry Chen Yue's older brother. In Nie Li's past life, both of these marriages were ultimately ruined by the fall of Glory City. In this life, [[spoiler:they're ruined by both women becoming powerful enough to defy the wishes of their families]].

* BigDamnHeroes: When [[spoiler:it looks like]] Nie Li is getting beat up by Chen Yue's goons, [[spoiler:Ye Zi Yun and Xiao Ning Er]] step in to intervene.

* CurbStompBattle: Subverted. Chen Yue intends to do this to Nie Li early on, by recruiting a bunch of Bronze-rank fighters to help beat up Li. Li realizes that he can probably win in a fair fight... but instead chooses to [[TakeAThirdOption make it look like exactly what it was intended to be,]] while screaming that the Sacred Family was trying to murder him.
** He probably did this for two reasons: one, to continue his HumiliationConga against the Sacred Family, and two, to [[spoiler: conceal his rapidly growing power.]]
** Played straight in the fight between Nie Li and Shen Fei. Li bets he'll beat Fei in less than twenty moves. [[spoiler: Fei goes down in two.]]
* CynicalMentor: Li's first teacher, Chen Xiu, wastes no time in explaining how [[BecauseDestinySaysSo no one will ever exceed the innate potential of their soul realm]]. Li, unsurprisingly, [[ScrewDestiny has a different opinion on that matter.]]
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: The Miracle Meridian Hands allows someone to close off their soul realm, causing them to rapidly build up spiritual energy and, thus, increase their abilities much more quickly than they normally could. The downsides are that it's incredibly exhausting and can potentially cause long-term damage to a person's spirit meridians. [[spoiler: Also, as Li found out when he used the technique, it's ''incredibly'' painful to experience, at least until you break through to the next level.]]
** There's also an elixir that temporarily gives a massive boost to someone's power, at the cost of [[CastFromExperiencePoints completely preventing them from increasing their spirit energy for two years.]]

** Xiao Ying Er also counts- she continued to take part in intensive spiritual training, despite being in enormous pain from the "arctic disease" she suffered from, which is described as feeling like you're on fire in the middle of a hailstorm. Not only that, she managed to conceal that disease from everyone else until she literally couldn't stand anymore. The only reason Li knew about it- and was able to treat it in this timeline- is because [[TimeyWimeyBall he cheated.]]
* DirtyCoward: While only Li knows it, when the day of the invasion comes, the entire Sacred Family will flee, abandoning their posts at one of the city gates and leaving Glory City to its fate. It's no surprise that Li has no love for the Sacred Family, and takes every opportunity to undermine them.
** In general, you can tell who Li will befriend and who he'll make an enemy of, based on whether they demonstrate this quality.
* DismantledMacGuffin: Although quite powerful already, the [[TimeyWimeyBall Temporal Demon Spirit Tome]] was damaged in Li's previous life, having had its last eight pages torn out at some point in the past. [[spoiler: He collects the first such page in the tomb of a long dead king, found in the ruins of Orchid City.]]
** The Snow Wind family finds a blueprint they don't understand. When Mei Li looks it over, [[spoiler: a small sub-section of the construction is able to subdue the patriarch of the Snow Wind family, a legend rank demon spiritualist without even trying.]]
* DungeonCrawl: Chen Linjian, an older student at Holy Orchid Academy, organizes a party of his fellow students to explore the ancient ruins of Orchid City. Li decides to join up to get a part of the massive hoard that he knows will be there- or, more specifically, [[spoiler: to get his hands on an ancient artifact that contains a powerful spirit he intends to merge with.]]
** Matters become complicated when [[spoiler: they're ambushed by the Dark Brotherhood,]] making things significantly more dangerous than they already were.

* FeetOfClay: Chen Xiu tries to impress three visiting V.I.P.'s with one of her family's ancient inscriptions (which are used to enchant magical items and create spell scrolls). Rather than impressing them, however, she winds up getting her entire family accused of plagiarism, courtesy of Nie Li.
* FemmeFatale: Hu Yan Lan Ruo seems to fit into this trope, having zero compunctions about trying to seduce Li in front of [[ReincarnationRomance Ye Zi Yun.]] That said, [[spoiler: her intentions seem more benevolent than self-serving, making her more of a HeroicSeductress.]]

* FilleFatale: Ning Er may not have as many admirers as Ye Zi Yun, but she is far more forward, romantically speaking. Nie Li even thinks to himself that she'll be "troublesome" later in life, given [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything her reaction]] to Nie Li's massage.

** His carefully orchestrated HumiliationConga against the Sacred Family seems to have made them increasingly desperate, [[spoiler: potentially pushing up the timeline for the fall of Glory City.]]
** His flirtation with Zi Yun, along with his obnoxious grandstanding, seems to have earned him a fearsome enemy in the form of [[spoiler: Ye Han, the city lord's adopted son and Zi Yun's chief suitor.]]

* GoldFever: Li actually manages to artificially cause one of these, [[XanatosGambit deliberately]], using a relatively common plant (Purple Mist Grass) with few known practical uses (it's mainly used for incense and insect repellent). [[spoiler: Of course, he stocked up on that plant just before introducing several potent recipes to the Alchemists' Guild, all of which had that plant as a core ingredient. When demand for that plant suddenly spiked, he was able to resell it at a massive profit.]]
** This almost winds up backfiring on Ning Er, who originally bought the Purple Mist Grass for Li. [[spoiler: Ning Er's family found out about her purchase, and tried to force her to turn over the grass so they could sell it, which, after Li's manipulations, became worth ''thousands of times'' more than it did before. She (barely) [[KarmaHoudini avoided punishment]], ironically also because of Li- she accidentally manifested her soul powers, which had been enhanced dramatically by Li's cultivation technique, impressing her elders enough that they let her offense slide.]]
* GoodIsNotSoft: Nie Li is unquestionably a good person, always doing his best to protect Glory City, as well as his friends and family. And to those ends, [[BewareTheNiceOnes Li will do anything and everything necessary]], [[PayEvilUntoEvil including killing anyone who presents themselves as a threat.]]
* HardWorkHardlyWorks: Simultaneously played straight and subverted. The common understanding in Glory City is that you're either born with the potential to become a great Demon Spiritualist, or you aren't, and while training is important, no amount of training can compensate for a weak soul. For the most part, [[JerkassHasAPoint they're not wrong.]] Of course, that's before Nie Li comes in with a few tricks he picked up in his previous life...
* HiddenDepths: Obviously, there's a ''lot'' to Nie Li that most people don't see, but a better example of this is Hu Yan Lan Ruo. Generally, she comes across as a BrainlessBeauty who's a little too flirty for her own good. In reality, [[spoiler: she's far brighter and more talented than she lets on, and is destined to become the substitute House Master for her family around the time Glory City falls.]]
** On top of that, [[spoiler: she managed to merge with a fairly powerful demon beast, whose abilities she uses to enhance her capacity for persuasion and seduction.]]

* KillerRabbit: [[spoiler: Li's "God Tier" fanged panda, created through the fusion of hundreds of demon spirits, is [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter freaking adorable]], and when he's using its abilities, Li takes on an appearance similar to [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda Po the Panda.]] However, that doesn't make it any less dangerous, granting Li incredible strength and endurance, as well as the ability to control gravity, and to [[KamehameHadouken shoot yin and yang]] [[KiAttack Ki Attacks]] from its mouth.]]

* TheAllegedBoss: Yang Xin is the director of the Alchemists' Guild, second in authority only to the President. Moreover, she managed to get her illustrious position at a relatively young age- she's in her mid 20s, while most of her equals are at least twice her age. Nevertheless, after [[spoiler: Nie Li manages to be recognized as a master alchemist,]] she winds up spending much of her on screen time acting like his servant.
** Justified- she's trying to suck up to him as a way of [[spoiler: courting Li's (alleged) master]], and doesn't want to potentially sour relations [[spoiler: and thus cutting them off from new recipes]]. It still doesn't look good to see a 25-year old woman, especially one who [[MsFanservice dresses the way she does,]] trying to impress a 13-year old.
** Averted when dealing with [[spoiler: anyone but Li]]. As it turns out, she's savvy (and scary) enough to go toe-to-toe with a family elder and make ''them'' back down, when she needs to.

* BadassBookworm: Although he's hardly a slouch as a fighter and a demon spiritualist, Nie Li's real strength is in the massive amount of knowledge he retained from his previous life, which he obtained through rigorous study. Among other things, that knowledge helped him to discover superior cultivation techniques for himself and his friends, and [[spoiler: helped him get in the good graces of the Alchemists' Guild.]]
* BaitAndSwitch: Thanks to [[spoiler: money made from exploring the Orchid City ruins, plus the proceeds from the Alchemists' Guild]], Li managed to acquire quite a bit of cash. However, even he isn't willing to spend the millions of spirit coins necessary to buy the Alchemist Guild's latest elixirs... [[spoiler: because he already had a large supply of his own, since ''he was the one who provided the formulas for those elixirs in the first place''.]] Suffice it to say, he nearly gave his elders a heart attack.
* BeneathTheMask: Nie Li has to spend most of his early days in the academy pretending he doesn't know or remember all the things he does, and he often [[ObfuscatingStupidity makes himself seem more stupid than he is]]. Eventually, though, he drops the act, and lets other people know exactly who they're dealing with.
* TheBet: Despite his absurdly low soul power, Nie Li makes a bet with his teacher, Chen Xiu, that he'll be able to pass the test to become a Bronze-ranked Demon Spiritualist and Fighter in two months. If he fails, he agrees to leave the school; if he succeeds, she agrees to resign. [[spoiler: When Li inevitably wins that bet, Xiu surprises him by keeping her end of the bargain.]]
* BigBrotherInstinct: Li has this towards his younger sister, Xiao Yu. Ironically, in his past life, ''she'' wound up being the one protecting ''him,'' as she has far more spiritual potential than he does. [[spoiler:And with his guidance and tools at his dispoxal in this life, she may become even stronger still.]]

* BlackEyesOfEvil: [[spoiler:When Nie Li uses the Shadow Devil Spirit's abilities, his irises turn pitch black.]]

* {{Expy}}: The similarities between Nie Li and [[Franchise/{{Naruto}} Naruto Uzumaki]], or between Chen Yue and Sasuke Uchiha, are probably not coincidental. In fact, there are a LOT of allusions to existing properties and memes in the manga.

* ArrangedMarriage: Common in Glory City, particularly among noble families. At the beginning of the story, Chen Yue and Ye Zi Yun are engaged to be married, and Xiao Ning Er is intended to marry Yue's older brother. In Li's past life, both of these marriages were ultimately ruined by the fall of Glory City. In this life, [[spoiler: they're ruined by both women becoming powerful enough to defy the wishes of their families.]]
* ArtifactOfDoom: The [[NamesToRunAwayFromVeryFast Nightmare Demon Pot]] appears to be one of these. While most of its uses aren't known- even to Li- it emits an aura that strengthens demon beasts, and it can be used to [[spoiler: fuse demon spirits into more powerful forms]]. Suffice it to say that people ''really'' wanted to get their hands on it when it went up for auction.
** The Temporal Demon Spirit Book may also qualify. Despite regularly making use of its abilities in his past life, Li barely understood how it worked, and has no idea how it transported him back to his 13 year old self.
* AttackBackfire: Chu Yuan, the scion of a wealthy noble family, winds up angry at Li for attracting the attention of [[BuxomIsBetter Hu Yan Lan Ruo]]. When physical attacks fail, Yuan tries instead to overload Li's soul with spiritual energy, which could permanently cripple Li's spiritual abilities. [[spoiler: Thanks to his specialized cultivation techniques, Li not only manages to survive the attack, but subsequently absorbs a chunk of Yuan's own spiritual power, weakening Yuan and pushing Li up to the next tier.]]

* BuxomIsBetter: Almost all the named female characters are... gifted... in that department, but [[HotForTeacher Chen Xiu]] and [[HelloNurse Yang Xin]] are by far the most "qualified" for this trope.

* BigBrotherInstinct: Li has this towards his younger sister, Xiao Yu. Ironically, in his past life, ''she'' wound up being the one protecting ''him,'' as she has far more spiritual potential than he does. [[spoiler: And with his guidance and tools at his dispoal in this life, she may become even stronger still.]]
* BigDamnHeroes: When [[spoiler: it looks like]] Li is getting beat up by Chen Yue's goons, [[spoiler: Ye Zi Yun and Xiao Ning Er]] step in to intervene.
* BlackEyesOfEvil: [[spoiler: When Li uses the Shadow Devil Spirit's abilities, his irises turn pitch black.]]

* {{Expy}}: The similarities between Nie Li and [[Franchise/{{Naruto}} Naruto Uzumaki]], or between Chen Yue and Sasuke Uchiha, are probably not coincidental.

!!This work has examples of the following tropes:

* XanatosGambit: Has a multi-layered scheme involving purple mist grass, a relatively common herb that is primarily used for insect repellent and incense. [[spoiler: He happens to know purple mist grass has ''many'' more uses than most people realize, particularly as a reagent for certain elixirs. So he stocked up on purple mist grass, sent the formulae that used purple mist grass to the Alchemists' Guild, and then resold it [[GoldRush once the price skyrocketed.]]]]

* YoungerThanTheyLook: The main female cast is only thirteen or fourteen, but are far better developed than you'd expect for their stated age. The only indications that they're not even close to being adults is a slight rounding to the features and that [[TeensAreShort they're weirdly tiny when standing next to any adult.]]