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[Inuzuka]

@jokerxhisoka I think you're the one misunderstanding. First off, he had 3 cultivation techniques he could have used, 2 of which were as fast to cultivate and as strong as what he gave his friends and 1 that was slightly slower in exchange for being stronger in the long run.
Second and more importantly, cultivation 'talent' is roughly divided into your soul's color; Nie Li's is red, which is the worst, your soul's form; Nie Li's is scattered, which is again the worst, and your ability to sense and control soul force; Nie Li's innate talent is average (*shocked gasp* not the worst?!) and with the memories of his previous life, above average. So unless you include those whose ability to sense soul force is the worst (as in, the vast majority of the population who simply cannot become demon spiritualists in the first place), Nie Li's 'talent' is by every means the worst.

 

[Merilirem]

The powerful cat that goes woof!

 

[sonyalexandra]

@Inuzuka I just reread the manhua from chapter 1, I can vouch for you here. Here is the talent ranking of Nie Li close associates according to Glory City.
1. Duan Jian - Black Dragon bloodline
2. Zi Yun - Cyan Soul & Ning'er - Green Soul (Cyan is better than Green but most people said Zi Yun & Ning'er are equally stronger)
3. Du Ze - Yellow Soul
4. Nie Li's cousin - Red Soul (+Heavenly Physique)
5. Nie Li, Lu Piao & The three brothers - Red Soul
Later on Nie Li explains that Glory City's talent ranking is bull crap and Soul color doesn't really matter. One can become legend rank if they have cultivation technique which is suitable with one's Soul attribute & form. Among those I mentioned, Nie Li have no attribute & scattered form, which is the hardest one to train. Hence, why Nie Li have the worst 'talent'.

 

[AlmondMagnum]

@Inuzuka @sonyalexandra
That a red soul is the sign of bad talent is just the misunderstanding of present day Glory City, because they've forgotten the cultivation techniques for such souls. Nie Li knows those techniques, so he doesn't have to care.

He, in fact, has top-tier talent in the sense that he can use a top-tier cultivation technique. So do Du Ze, Lu Piao, Xiao Ning'er and Ye Ziyun. The three stooges don't, so they have to make do with slightly inferior techniques which nevertheless let them count as "geniuses" in Glory City.

Spoiler

Nie Li's post-Legend talent (which depends on his spirit root and not his soul color or shape) is remarkably good.

 

[Kaarme]

@givemersspls He has given the alchemy association plenty of superb recipes. Not only those pills will help the whole city a lot cultivation wise, but they also invigorate the study of alchemy and boost the economy by making money flow instead of sitting in the vaults of the rich families. Ironically enough doing that (and making himself richer in the process) is more effective than trying to teach random people the same information for apparently no reason. Unless you are fast friends, too altruistic people seem suspicious. However, if it's business and you are making good profit, nobody will question your motives, they will only try to negotiate good terms for themselves. He could teach his school friends good techniques because they are kids, thus being trusting, and because they are his buddies. He would even give his own life for Ziyun, so giving her this and that goes without saying. By extension he can conveniently help her family and the grumpy old man a whole lot. They all know his motive is to capture Ziyun, so they have no reason to suspect anything foul (although Ye Zong naturally would think any brat trying to woo his precious daughter is the worst).

 

[sonyalexandra]

@givemersspls If I remember correctly he already done those, after they done the demon spiritualist exam Nie Li actually gained 23 followers (these followers still haven't been mentioned until now) I believe he gave them cultivation technique and pointers. Do you remember when Holy Orchid students said there is new cultivation techniques given by the Snow Wind family to the institute? It's obvious who is the source of those new techniques. As for medical knowledge, you will never know what's going on until you see the symptoms so it's probably harder to pass medical knowledge to other people. This maybe sounds ridiculous to you, but for many years, Glory City greatest threat is demon beast invasion so it's understandable that most people, including Nie Li, neglect threat from poisons and diseases.

 

[DonGiovanni]

@givemersspls I don't know where you got this number from, but it's definitely not been 5 years. It's been about one.

 

[DonGiovanni]

@givemersspls totally agree with that. Should have started earlier with bringing the average power level up. He could have pretended that the knowledge came from his inexistent master, too. Like that, he wouldn't raise too much suspicion.

Spoiler

AFAIK, he's going to leave behind some general cultivation techs for the school, once he comes back - if he hasn't done so already. It's been a while since I've read the novel and manga.