56: Chapter 56 Basic Soil Control

Nie Ning dodged the Red Fang Beast's charge, slashing his longsword toward its neck.

However, the Red Fang Beast turned its head at that moment, using its tusks to block Nie Ning's slash.

Seeing this, Nie Ning leapt into the air. At the same time, the soil below bulged; clearly, the Red Fang Beast intended to repeat its old trick.

As an earth pillar rose from the ground, Nie Ning infused Battle Qi into his longsword and unleashed a fiery red sword qi at the pillar.

The flame sword qi was extremely powerful, shattering the earth pillar instantly.

Taking advantage of this opening, Nie Ning leapt onto the Red Fang Beast's back and stabbed his longsword toward its head.

"Clang~"

But Nie Ning had overestimated the sharpness of his longsword. It clattered against the skull, only piercing a wound about two inches deep.

The Red Fang Beast then shook its body, trying to throw Nie Ning off.

Using the force-exertion techniques of Shadow Gliding Steps, Nie Ning remained on its back despite the swaying and jolting.

Just as Nie Ning prepared to pull out his sword to attack the Red Fang Beast's eyes, the beast made a move that was completely beyond his expectations.

The Red Fang Beast suddenly jumped and flipped its body to land on its back, seemingly trying to crush him with its weight.

Nie Ning's reaction was incredibly fast; he kicked off hard with both legs, abandoning his longsword to jump away.

But before Nie Ning could breathe a sigh of relief, an earth pillar emerged from behind him and pushed him back.

At that exact moment, the Red Fang Beast landed, pressing down on Nie Ning's arm.

Grimacing in pain, Nie Ning forcefully pulled his arm out and stood on guard, staring at the Red Fang Beast.

Strangely, the Red Fang Beast lay motionless on the ground as if it were dead.

Seeing this, Nie Ning feared the Red Fang Beast was playing a trick and did not dare to step forward rashly.

As time passed second by second, several minutes went by, yet the Red Fang Beast remained on the ground with no intention of getting up.

Growing suspicious, Nie Ning kicked a small stone toward the Red Fang Beast.

The Red Fang Beast still didn't move.

Then, a smear of blood began to flow from beneath the Red Fang Beast.

Nie Ning frowned slightly but plucked up the courage to go forward and investigate.

It was then that he discovered the Red Fang Beast was actually dead!

"What's the situation?"

Nie Ning was a bit dazed.

It was a perfectly good fight; how did it suddenly die?

Nie Ning thought there might be some powerful strange beast nearby, so he alertly observed his surroundings.

But after a while, there was no movement at all.

Unable to figure it out, Nie Ning used his strength to lift the Red Fang Beast to retrieve his longsword.

"That works too?"

Looking at the Red Fang Beast's head, Nie Ning couldn't help but widen his eyes.

The longsword was still there, except it had been driven entirely into the Red Fang Beast's head.

"A real-life version of 'I killed myself'?"

No wonder this guy lay motionless; it turns out that when its back hit the ground, it happened to land right on the longsword.

After all, it was a longsword forged from high-quality steel; it lacked sharpness but had more than enough hardness.

Nie Ning couldn't help but roll his eyes.

He had already envisioned a grand battle and even planned out an escape route in case he couldn't win.

After all that, this is it?

Still, it was a gift from heaven. Although he was a bit disdainful, fearing that eating the Red Fang Beast might affect his intelligence, it was better than having nothing to eat.

Nie Ning pulled out the longsword with force and began to dissect the Red Fang Beast's corpse.

The most valuable part of a Red Fang Beast was its crystal core, followed by its pair of hard tusks.

Since it was inconvenient to carry much, Nie Ning only took these two items and a piece of Red Fang Beast meat.

Then, before other predators could smell the blood, he quickly left the scene.

...

Night.

Inside a small burrow.

It was inconvenient to grill outside, so Nie Ning had specifically dug a hole to roast the meat to avoid the firelight attracting other beasts.

Looking at the now-cooked Red Fang Beast meat, Nie Ning began to feast.

As Supernatural Adaptability began to take effect, Nie Ning's body grew hot, but it soon subsided.

"It seems I didn't obtain a blood-and-qi type talent."

Nie Ning shook his head slightly, opening his status panel while eating.

[Class: Intermediate Knight (Peak), Apprentice Wizard (Mid-stage)]

[Talent: Supernatural Adaptability]

[Bloodline: ??? (Unactivated)]

[Derived Traits: Strange Beast Body, beast source, Beginner Self-Healing (Mutated), Strength of an Ox, Tiger Back and Bear Waist, Elementary Agility, Limb Coordination, Elementary Poison Resistance, Intermediate Cold Resistance, Malice Perception, Strong Physique, Elementary Wood Affinity, Elementary Fire Elemental Affinity, Elementary Earth Elemental Affinity]

[Derived Skills: Assisting Evil, Elementary Fire Control, Primary Earth Control]

[Cultivation Methods: Basic Knight Method, Swift Fox Method, Mountain Collapsing Qi Condensation Art, Self-Modified Meditation Method]

[Skills: Hedal Combat Technique (Great Success), Swift Swordsmanship (Great Success), Breath Condensation Technique (Great Success), Shadow Gliding Steps (Great Success), Concentrated Heavy Strike (Great Success), Single Stroke Slash (Proficient)]

Although he didn't obtain Earth Spike, Nie Ning had gained an Primary Earth Control skill.

Nie Ning was slightly disdainful toward this.

It seemed powerful, but in reality, it was just simple earth element manipulation.

While it offered ever-changing utility and increased his proficiency in manipulating the earth element, its power was very low, not even as strong as his Concentrated Heavy Strike.

What Nie Ning really wanted were skills like the Frenzied Giant Bear's sonic wave or berserk abilities.

He couldn't say it was useless; it was okay for dealing with low-level knights, given his current magic level.

But against slightly stronger opponents, it could only serve as a distraction.

Just like in the fight against the Red Fang Beast, the earth pillars actually couldn't cause much damage at all; they relied entirely on the beast's own brute strength.

...

After finishing the roasted meat, Nie Ning focused on the Strange Beast Body again.

Although he didn't necessarily gain a trait, the Strange Beast Body could cause physical changes.

At least, that was the case most of the time.

Nie Ning felt uneasy.

The most formidable part of the Red Fang Beast was undoubtedly its tusks. Nie Ning feared that such things would grow in his own mouth; just the thought made him shudder.

If someone saw him, they might think he was a wild boar spirit, which would be depressing.

But he had to face reality eventually, so Nie Ning activated his Strange Beast Body.

Feeling the powerful energy filling his body, Nie Ning didn't pay it much mind and quickly felt his mouth.

"Phew, thank goodness."

He didn't feel anything extra in his mouth, which left him immensely relieved.

He looked over his body and found no changes there either, which left him somewhat perplexed.

Given the difference between strange beasts and ordinary animals, it stood to reason that he should have some physical change. Did he really only get an earth control skill?

Nie Ning scratched his head, but then he noticed something was wrong.

Why had his bull horns changed positions?

As he felt around, he discovered that there was now another pair of horns on his head!

"I'm not a real strange beast; am I supposed to attack people with my head in the future?"

Nie Ning couldn't help but complain in a low voice.

If he fought someone in the future, he feared his head would be split open by a sword.

"At least they didn't grow on my mouth; that's probably the only advantage."

...