256: Chapter 256 Deterring the Scoundrels

"I will be watching you~"

Nie Ning rolled his eyes, mockingly mimicking Divine Will's voice before showing a look of disdain: "Pah! Watching your sister!"

As the words fell, the blood mist in the air suddenly surged violently.

Seeing this, Nie Ning hurriedly summoned flames, burning all the blood mist to ashes in an instant.

After confirming Divine Will had vanished, Nie Ning finally breathed a sigh of relief, secretly complaining: 'A petty thief character like this probably doesn't mix well among the gods.'

Nie Ning suddenly thought of something.

"Wait, that's not right. Did he not tell me what the Artifact Fragment looks like?"

This was even better; he wouldn't have to go through with the so-called deal.

But on second thought, a god shouldn't make such a low-level mistake, right?

And...

Did this guy not set up a contract or something...

After all this, there was absolutely nothing that could threaten him. Was this Nales really an idiot?

"Whatever, I've got the benefits now. I'll deal with future problems when they come."

His gaze moved to the World Tree Leaf in his hand, and a strange light flashed in Nie Ning's eyes.

What would happen if he ate the leaf?

After all, he had Supernatural Adaptability; perhaps he could extract some supernatural trait of the World Tree from it.

But this tattered leaf needed to be carried on him to mask his presence from High-level Wizards.

If he didn't gain the corresponding ability, wouldn't he be a sitting duck if he encountered a High-level Wizard?

"Why think so much? At worst, I'll just avoid High-level Wizards. Anyway, who knows how long it'll take for that idiot god to find me."

"If all else fails, I'll just ask for another. I'll just bluff Nales then; who doesn't know how to make empty promises?"

At this thought, Nie Ning could no longer contain himself.

After all, this was top-tier stuff; just thinking about it made his blood boil.

...

Soon, Nie Ning returned to the Federation Branch.

Because apprentices had no money to build labs or buy equipment, the branch had labs for them to use.

"My lord, you're back."

As soon as he entered, the receptionist, Milei, came forward to greet him.

"Is Lida here?"

Nie Ning asked casually as he walked.

The frequency of Corruptors appearing wasn't high. Even though Nie Ning had lived in Ska City for several years, he had only encountered a few.

"Master Lida has returned to the Wizard Tower. Do you need him for something?"

Milei asked, following closely behind.

Nie Ning stopped and turned to Milei: "The Wizard Tower is finished?"

Thinking back, it had been two years since the Wizard Tower was destroyed, and it hadn't even started being rebuilt the last time he was back.

"It's finished."

Milei nodded with an excited look.

"Recently, the wizards' benefits have improved a lot. They even sent a Second Ring Wizard to build the Wizard Tower, and one of the new apprentices was even promoted to Official Wizard because of it."

For her, the more Official Wizards in Ska City, the safer they were.

So, they were naturally happy from the bottom of their hearts about The Federation's changes.

Little did she know that the person driving these changes was right in front of her.

Just then, a Wizard Apprentice walked in from outside.

The male Witch Apprentice wasn't old, around thirty, with a mole at the corner of his eye.

The apprentice glanced at Nie Ning, then beckoned to Milei, saying haughtily: "Come over here and massage my legs."

Milei looked at Nie Ning awkwardly.

Because of the wizard shortage in Ska City, many people were recruited from elsewhere.

Most of these people were Rogue Wizard by origin, and their qualities were mixed. Quite a few became arrogant and overbearing after gaining power, and the one before them was one of those.

The Witch Apprentice looked displeased: "Didn't you hear me!"

Milei was about to step forward, but Nie Ning reached out to stop her, then looked at the male apprentice with a calm expression.

"I remember there's a rule in the Wizard Regulations that no one is allowed to use their strength to bully others, right?"

This was one of the regulations he had modified, and he had increased the penalties for violations.

The Witch Apprentice looked at Nie Ning, who had no magic fluctuations like a normal person, conjured a fireball in his hand, and shouted: "Who are you? Is it your place to speak here?"

Seeing this, Nie Ning hooked his finger, and the male apprentice was lifted by an invisible force.

The apprentice's expression immediately turned to panic.

Because to use Telekinesis, one had to be at least at the First-rank Wizard level.

If one wanted to control a late-stage Witch Apprentice without using spells, they would need strength at the Peak First-rank or higher.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong, I'll never do it again."

The Witch Apprentice apologized in terror.

"Open your eyes in your next life!"

As Nie Ning's voice fell, the Witch Apprentice directly turned into a cloud of blood mist.

If it were before, he might have disciplined him a bit.

But after the Charlie incident, he knew that a dog can't stop eating filth!

This was a good chance to deter others, lest this kind of thing happen again after he left.

Milei was truly shocked by this scene and stood frozen in place.

"Go and gather all the Witch Apprentices and wizards here."

"Tell them that anyone who isn't currently breaking through and dares not to come—come back and tell me, and I'll invite them one by one."

Nie Ning's calm voice reached Milei's ears, snapping her out of her shock.

Snapping back to her senses, Milei looked at Nie Ning with a hint of fear.

Because according to Nie Ning's former personality, he would have at most increased the punishment, never using such bloody methods.

As Milei left, Nie Ning sighed to himself.

How could he not know what he looked like now?

But since Heloise left, he no longer had the heart to play these house-playing games.

...

Under Milei's notification, all the Wizard Apprentices in Ska City arrived.

A total of two Official Wizards and four Apprentice Wizards.

Upon learning that someone had provoked Nie Ning, many people showed worried expressions.

Nie Ning saw this but didn't act as ruthlessly as before.

Disciplining one or two people was fine, but if too many wizards died, it would easily cause problems if Corruptors appeared. Then it wouldn't be as simple as just one or two people dying.

Next, Nie Ning intimidated the crowd and revised the Ska City Wizard Regulations once more.

Since the benefits were already in place, the severity of punishments and the requirements for obtaining resources naturally had to be increased; otherwise, they would only develop a lazy character that disregarded life.

And the first person to be sanctioned was Lida.

As the manager of the branch, this situation only occurred because of Lida's poor management.

Furthermore, because the Wizard Tower was destroyed back then, he had compensated Lida with a bottle of second-rank potion.

For a wizard with average talent like Lida, it went without saying what that meant.

If he couldn't even do this small thing well, then what use was Lida!