257: Chapter 257 Remnant Leaves of the Tree of Life

Lida did not object to Nie Ning's decision.

After all, everything he had was given to him by Nie Ning; becoming a defender of the regulations was an inevitability.

He could only blame his own bad luck; this had happened just as he was preparing for secluded meditation to study sorcery, and it was too late to make amends.

Ultimately, Lida was penalized one year's worth of resources, which were distributed among the other wizards and apprentices.

This was also one of the rules in the wizard regulations modified by Nie Ning, intended to have them monitor each other and reduce the probability of such an incident recurring.

While not a long-term solution, it was perfectly suited for the present, as it would at least force those restless individuals to show some restraint.

Besides, he was currently the strongest person in the Wilbes Republic.

As long as he was alive, these people had to comply whether they wanted to or not!

...

After settling these minor matters, Nie Ning left the branch with Lida.

Compared to the facilities at the branch, those in the Wizard Tower were clearly more effective.

However, to Nie Ning's surprise, another newly advanced female wizard named Yolanda was also living in the Wizard Tower.

But on second thought, it wasn't strange; besides the massive cost of building a Wizard Tower, wizards also followed the principle of survival of the fittest.

Most wizards would find another wizard to marry.

This would increase the probability of birthing a wizard, which was the origin of those wizard families.

Nie Ning was actually quite optimistic about Lida in this regard.

After all, Lida's conditions weren't bad, and with the resources he had been given previously, there was still a chance he could step into the Second Ring Wizard realm.

Even if Lida couldn't do it, if he produced an offspring with good aptitude, it could still lead to the emergence of a Second Ring Wizard, which would be a good thing for Ska City.

...

The architectural style of the Wizard Tower was similar to before, except many of the things left behind by Audrey were gone.

Without spending much time looking around, Nie Ning sealed the basement and told Lida and the other not to come down for anything, then began studying the leaf of the Tree of Life.

Admittedly, the mystical nature of this remnant leaf wasn't apparent before, but after he applied some stimulating materials, its extraordinary qualities gradually revealed themselves.

Just a single sniff could accelerate the recovery of injuries and make the mind clearer.

However, since he was only extracting the extraordinary properties from the remnant leaf, Nie Ning didn't use many processing steps; he simply improved the potion's compatibility with the human body to make its energy easier to absorb.

In passing, he also checked for any hidden traps left by Nales.

Since most mental energy feared Power of Corruption, Nie Ning could only cut off a small piece of the already tiny leaf for experimentation.

Fortunately, the result was positive; no anomalies were found.

In truth, Nie Ning was still very wary of Nales.

But the Tree of Life sounded incredibly impressive, and the abilities gained from it would likely be unimaginably powerful.

Sometimes risks are inevitable; he couldn't just sit on a treasure trove without using it.

...

After some processing, Nie Ning obtained a bottle of potion emitting a faint green glow.

Sensing the life energy radiating from it, Nie Ning impatiently went to the cultivation room.

After activating the formation, Nie Ning swallowed the potion directly.

A sweet taste entered his mouth.

In just an instant, Nie Ning felt as if he had overeaten, as if his body was stuffed full of something.

Nie Ning was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected the life energy contained in this tiny remnant leaf to be so high.

His entire body's flesh, blood, and internal organs were filled with life force.

Because the life force was too massive, Nie Ning entered a blurred state, much like being drunk.

Although his consciousness was very clear, his body became exceptionally heavy.

Yet in this state, many things he couldn't figure out before gradually became clear, especially regarding puppet crafting.

Having failed repeatedly at creating Artificial Spirits before, Nie Ning now felt it might not be that difficult after all.

There were also formations, alchemy, medicine refining, and so on; everything seemed to have become simple.

At the same time, a shimmering, illusory great tree appeared behind Nie Ning, its vast trunk enveloping him.

This state lasted for about half an hour.

Nie Ning's heavy body gradually recovered, but some life energy remained within him, making him incredibly energetic at this moment, wanting nothing more than to do something special to vent.

However, now was clearly not the time for that; Nie Ning quickly opened his panel.

[Class: Sky Knight (Peak), Third-Ring Wizard (Peak)]

[Talent: Supernatural Adaptability]

[Bloodline: ??? (Not Activated)]

[Derived Characteristics: Strange Beast Body, Elemental Spring, Power of the Tribe, Advanced Self-Healing (Corrupted), Power of a Hundred Beasts (Corrupted), Super-grade Mental Power Amplification, Thought Acceleration, Malice Perception, Intermediate Shapeshifting, Advanced Chaos Affinity, Advanced Life Force Affinity]

[Derived Skills: ..., Assisting Evil, Advanced Chaos Manipulation (Corrupted), Advanced Life Force Manipulation, Light Break Impact, Explosive Fireball, Ice Shackles, Crimson Flame Fire Feather, Sonic Boom Heavy Strike, Light-Shadow Slash, Storm Tornado, Ice Explosion Ring, Wood Armor, Cold Wave Invasion, Forbidden Domain of Living Beings]

[Cultivation Methods: ..., Blood Sun Qi Circulation Method, Spirit Dream Phantom Sound Method, Stairway to Godhood]

[Brand Witchcraft: Elemental Rotation Technique]

[Skills: ... Blood Burst Technique (Great Success), Ice Blue Wing Technique (Great Success), Earth Spirit Puppet (Great Success), Vine Entanglement (Great Success), Rainstorm Condensation Technique (Great Success), Blood Cloud Escape (Great Success)]

Self-healing, Shapeshifting, and Spiritual Power amplification all increased by one level, and he gained Advanced Life Force Affinity, Advanced Life Force Manipulation, and Forbidden Domain of Living Beings.

Nie Ning tested it; the self-healing effect had increased fivefold.

Originally, it would take 5 to 7 days for a severed arm to recover, but now it only took a day; it was simply heaven-defying.

The only drawback was the massive consumption of his own energy; after all, self-healing didn't come from nothing, and a decline in blood and qi would also inhibit his recovery ability.

So normally, the more severe the injury, the slower the recovery—provided there's no other energy supplement.

The Super-grade Mental Power Amplification was also a huge boost; Nie Ning felt his Spiritual Power intensity had risen by about twenty percent.

Spiritual Power amplification relates to sorcery control and power, Spiritual Power cultivation speed, soul resistance, and other attributes; for a wizard, it's almost a universal amplification attribute.

At this moment, Nie Ning looked at his right hand.

Without activating his Strange Beast Body, black fur began to grow on his palm, and the joints and flesh began to reorganize and transform; in a few moments, it became a black cat's paw.

"Interesting!"

Looking at his cat's paw, Nie Ning's eyes lit up.

Although the name was just average, the ability was exceptionally powerful.

Unlike the Strange Beast Body, which is a skill that cannot change body size but only grants the corresponding characteristics of a strange beast to enhance oneself...

...Shapeshifting involves body reorganization, fundamentally changing the body's structure.

...