538: Chapter 538 Abnormalities at the Academy

Nie Ning returned to the academy full of worries, but as soon as he stepped through the portal, he noticed the atmosphere felt off.

In Nie Ning's perception, the aura of the Power of Corruption within the academy was much stronger than when he had left.

You must understand, while the Power of Corruption is ubiquitous nowadays, the arrays of the major factions can suppress it to the greatest extent, avoiding the possibility of being alienated by it.

But now, the Power of Corruption inside the academy was actually denser than outside; this was rather suspicious.

Nie Ning's Spiritual Power spread out, and soon he discovered several locations where the Power of Corruption was particularly concentrated.

"So many Corruptors?" Nie Ning was somewhat surprised.

Although the intensity wasn't high, this phenomenon was not a good sign.

As he activated the Eyes of Corruption, Nie Ning's gaze shifted to the experimental zone below the main hall on the mountaintop; the aura of Corruption there was the highest.

Thinking of the student named Lars from before, Nie Ning frowned slightly and transformed into a blood cloud, fleeing toward the experimental zone.

After Nie Ning arrived at the experimental zone, he saw Amanra and the others looking grave.

Besides the teacher, there were also more than a dozen students.

However, the state of these students was wrong; similar to that student named Lars, they were all standing there motionlessly, looking dazed.

Seeing this, how could Nie Ning not know that something had gone wrong?

Apparently, Lars from before hadn't awakened, but was truly being toyed with by a Corruptor!

"What is going on?" Nie Ning walked to Amanra's side and asked with a solemn expression.

The appearance of a Corruptor is never a small matter, especially since the school had recently injected these students with extraordinary potions, allowing some people without cultivation aptitude to gain extraordinary power.

But this brought a drawback.

Because it wasn't achieved through self-cultivation, their Spiritual Power and soul strength could not keep up.

If they were devoured or influenced by a Corruptor at this time, they would be equivalent to energy packs, easily assimilated into Corrupted Puppets.

"I don't know. After you left, people started exhibiting this phenomenon one after another. We suspect that there is a Corruptor skilled at hiding in this area."

Amanra's expression was not good.

For her, this external assignment was equivalent to her performance record. If she didn't handle it well, things would likely become very troublesome later on.

After all, there were many people eyeing this position.

Once handled poorly, it was likely she would be replaced, and it wouldn't be so simple to get ahead in the future.

Nie Ning's gaze swept over those students.

Relying on his extraordinary senses, he could perceive that the aura of Corruption on these students was identical.

For a moment, Nie Ning thought of the intelligence he had just obtained from the Nales Church.

The appearance of the Power of Corruption had a history of 1500 years. Although it was rare to see people conducting in-depth research in this area, that didn't mean no one was actually researching it.

Because theoretically, the Power of Corruption was not much different from other energies; it was just that its essence was Corruption.

Just like the heat of a flame, this was one of its elemental characteristics.

Therefore, generally speaking, although the Power of Corruption was dangerous, it was also a very powerful force.

And those major factions would always mention the danger of the Power of Corruption to the outside world.

However, to say there was no research would be a lie.

Just like during the time he spent at the Extreme Phase Demon Palace, many people there would research the Power of Corruption, hoping to discover something that could change the world.

Now, everything in the academy had sufficient protection, and the probability of an individual being corrupted had almost dropped to the lowest point.

Furthermore, the possibility of an external Corruptor was almost non-existent.

If it were an external Corruptor, it would be difficult to enter the academy's range silently, unless it was that kind of Corruptor with strong concealment abilities.

Therefore, judging by the current situation, Nie Ning had reason to suspect that those major factions had made a move.

There might even be a mole from another faction among them!

"Bronk, I heard that your Corruption value has already exceeded the normal threshold. Could it be that you infected them?"

Just as Nie Ning was thinking, a slightly acrimonious voice suddenly rang out.

Nie Ning turned his head to look at the speaker.

It was a man with a sharp chin, a hooked nose, and a pair of eyes with a gloomy look, named Tai Zhu, a Fifth-Order Wizard of the Extreme Phase Demon Palace.

Although Nie Ning rarely judged people by their appearance, this person really had the potential of a villain based on his facial features.

"If you put it that way, then I must have a good talk with you."

"Just by your bird-like appearance, you look like a villain who commits all kinds of evil. Does that mean you are as consistent on the inside as you look on the outside?"

Nie Ning retorted unceremoniously.

A mere Fifth-Order nobody dared to provoke him; he was truly tired of living.

Others who heard this almost laughed out loud.

They could only turn around and pretend not to hear, but the amusement in their eyes betrayed them.

"You!" Tai Zhu was furious, a fierce look flashing in his eyes: "Sharp-tongued!"

"Then tell me, the protection here is so tight, besides you, who else would come into contact with the Power of Corruption."

"I heard that you can even infect the world core. I'm afraid infecting an ordinary student is easy for you, right?"

Nie Ning couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this.

"You investigated quite thoroughly, huh? Then do you know what this is?"

As he spoke, Nie Ning raised his arm, revealing the fox pattern on it.

Tai Zhu frowned, a look of confusion flashing in his eyes.

Although he knew it was a contract beast mark, he didn't understand why Nie Ning was showing it.

"Her teacher is Sage Huiyuan. Do you know what kind of fate awaits you if you frame me casually?"

Nie Ning pointed at the fox pattern on his arm, speaking in a mocking tone.

Although Nie Ning didn't want to do this, now that he was away from home, having a backer could avoid a lot of trouble. Before dealing with him, he had to consider whether he could bear the consequences.

Everyone present was a student of the Extreme Phase Demon Palace. When going to the Extreme Phase Demon Palace, they would investigate who could not be offended.

Even if they hadn't met Sage Huiyuan, they would have heard some rumors about him.

Many people's faces showed a solemn expression, and their eyes looking at Nie Ning were full of wariness, or rather, full of wariness toward the legendary Sage Huiyuan.

After all, he was an old monster who had lived for who knows how long. His strength was simply not something they could fathom, and he was even a special existence forbidden to be discussed within the Extreme Phase Demon Palace.

"So what? If everyone relied on their status to act recklessly, wouldn't the Extreme Phase Demon Palace be in chaos!"

Tai Zhu snorted coldly, and at this moment, he could only bite the bullet and continue.

However, his tone was significantly weaker than before.

Nie Ning curled his lips: "What you said is not wrong, but if you have any objections, produce evidence. During this period, besides me, others have also gone out quite a bit, including you."