239: Chapter 239 Genius Knight

Suddenly, many factions began searching for the person who had spread the news.

However, it wasn't long before someone came forward to claim the news was fake.

As it turned out, the news was half-true and half-false.

This place was indeed a ruin of the Eye of Astral, but it was one of their outposts, and specifically, a trial ground.

To enter this place, besides needing a Teleportation Array, one also required a token of the Eye of Astral—the necklace in Nie Ning's hand.

As for the rest, Abbott didn't know.

Nearly twenty years had passed, and he had neither found a way to leave nor discovered what kind of trial ground this actually was.

He only knew there was something wrong with the space here; no matter how one walked, they could never reach the end.

Over the years, people had entered these ruins one after another.

But the final outcomes were never good; they either starved to death or died in brawls over resources.

Abbott had survived by relying on his superhuman constitution and eating those poisonous locusts, though the toxins had caused his vitality to decline.

...

Hearing this, Nie Ning and Heloise were starting to lose their composure.

Good grief, this place was a total trap.

The man hadn't gotten out in twenty years, and Nie Ning didn't think his own brain was any sharper than anyone else's, meaning their chances of escaping were minuscule.

Seeing their grim expressions, Abbott paused. "Besides us, there are actually four other people here who came in a few months ago."

"Furthermore, those people seem to be looking for something. Even after all this time, they haven't shown any signs of anxiety."

Hearing this, Nie Ning raised an eyebrow. "Then why didn't you go find them?"

"Among them are a Fifth-Order Wizard and a Tier 5 Knight."

Abbott said after a moment's thought.

When away from home, such people were often the most dangerous.

If he were caught by them, his fate likely wouldn't be any better than it was in Nie Ning's hands.

So he had been lying low nearby, hoping to see if those people had a way to leave.

As for running into Nie Ning's group, it was a complete accident.

He had happened upon a Flesh Spider and mistakenly thought it was a scout sent out by those people.

Fearing discovery, he wanted to kill the Flesh Spider, but he hadn't expected Nie Ning to arrive with others at that moment.

Everything that happened after that, Nie Ning and Heloise already knew.

Nie Ning didn't have much of an emotional reaction to Abbott's attempt to kill them.

In such an environment, if Nie Ning were in his shoes, he would have long ago found a way to screw those people over or cripple them.

After all, the gap in strength was too large; one could hide for a while but not forever, and no one knew what would happen once they revealed themselves.

Compared to Abbott, who had lost his edge, Nie Ning naturally wouldn't just sit around waiting for death; after all, fortune favors the bold.

"How old are you?"

Nie Ning suddenly asked.

Abbott was stunned for a moment, then fell silent. With a somewhat unnatural expression, he slowly spoke, "In my forties, I suppose."

Hearing this, Nie Ning and Heloise were dumbfounded, staring straight at Abbott.

In other words, this guy had become a Tier 5 Knight in his twenties?

Even for Nie Ning himself, his goal was only to reach the peak of Rank 5 before the age of thirty.

If Abbott were in Belvis World, he might have already become a super-powered individual they'd have to look up to by now.

No wonder this guy had no backbone and signed the contract immediately after being scared.

Anyone else with such heaven-defying talent would likely be unwilling to die.

"What do you think? Interested? Should I give the contract to you?"

Heloise nudged Nie Ning with her elbow and said with a giggle.

Seeing Heloise's smiling face, how could Nie Ning not know what the girl was thinking? He rolled his eyes. "You should keep him for yourself."

If he had the resources to nurture a super genius, wouldn't it be better to use them to make god-forbidden rings?

Nie Ning couldn't help but give himself a mental thumbs-up for his wit; a nuisance like this was better left for Heloise to worry about.

"If you don't want him, I don't want him either. I'll just set him free once we leave this place."

Heloise pouted and said irritably.

"I don't care, put him wherever you like." Nie Ning turned his head, having no intention of accepting this troublesome fellow.

He wasn't planning on killing Abbott anyway, nor did he want to waste Abbott's great talent.

At worst, he'd just keep a low profile when going out and avoid trouble as much as possible; it was better than using his own resources to nurture someone else.

...

Listening to the two of them pushing him back and forth, Abbott felt miserable.

Clearly, it was a good thing, but he couldn't feel happy at all.

He even wondered if there was something wrong with these two people's heads.

He had only been in here for twenty years or so; had the outside world changed that much?

One should know that with his aptitude, he was a rarity in the entire history of knights.

Now, he was being tossed back and forth by these two as if he were some major burden. It was even more humiliating than signing a slave contract.

"I am a knight of the Splitting Light Holy Flame Sword Sect."

Abbott rubbed his nose and said instinctively.

He didn't know why he said it.

Perhaps it was his damned pride at work, hoping at least to change their opinion of him.

"What Holy Sword?"

Heloise looked at Nie Ning with a blank expression.

Nie Ning was even more confused. He had never been to Belvis World, so how would he know what the hell this Holy Sword Sect was?

Of course, a faction that could nurture a knight with such talent likely wasn't small.

But in Nie Ning's eyes, whether others were strong or not had nothing to do with him.

After all, he had only offended the Nales Church, not the whole world. Could that damned deity actually come down to find him?

Instead of relying on these factions, Nie Ning preferred the principle of equivalent exchange.

Seeing that the two of them knew nothing, Abbott was completely stunned.

He had only been gone for twenty years; could it be that the Splitting Light Holy Flame Sword Sect had already been wiped out?

"It's fine. Small factions are still factions; we won't look down on you."

Seeing Abbott's dazed expression, Heloise uncharacteristically patted his shoulder and comforted him softly.

This only made Abbott feel like crying without tears.

The grand Splitting Light Holy Flame Sword Sect was now being called a small faction.

It seemed the Splitting Light Holy Flame Sword Sect was likely gone; otherwise, how could no one have heard of it?

Standing nearby, Nie Ning almost burst out laughing.

This simple guy actually believed Heloise's nonsense.

With Heloise's clever little head, how could she not see the power of the Splitting Light Holy Flame Sword Sect?

"I have heard of the Crimson Holy Blade though."

Nie Ning smiled and asked.

But now it was Abbott's turn to be confused, and he said somewhat awkwardly, "I don't know much about those factions. After all, I haven't been out for many years."

Hearing this, Nie Ning and Heloise exchanged a glance, both seeing what the other was thinking.

Perhaps the Crimson Holy Blade wasn't as strong as they had imagined...

...