60: Chapter 60 Breakthrough in Strength

Just as Nie Ning was doing his best to control the Seed of Dou Qi and avoid being blown apart by the majestic energy, the worst happened.

At this moment, Nie Ning realized his spiritual power was insufficient, and the magic power in the crystal cores showed signs of spinning out of control.

Nie Ning's heart instantly grew cold.

If Dou Qi and magic power erupted simultaneously, he would probably be blown to pieces...

However, precisely because Nie Ning's negative emotions were so strong, the energy of the silver-colored hundred-flavor fruit began to surge, and then this energy started to run wild inside his body.

Nie Ning's internal organs were affected, traces of blood seeped from the corners of his mouth, and his body turned a dark purplish-red because the energy had nowhere to be released.

Sensing a mortal danger, Nie Ning opened his eyes, which were filled with confusion and pain.

He originally thought he had struck luck, but he didn't expect to be struck by luck instead!

He hurriedly took out the water cloud vine from his pack and devoured it greedily.

Next, he took out the spirit fusing liquid and soaked the four crystal cores he had obtained into it.

The water cloud vine had the effect of softening Dou Qi, making it peaceful and stable, helping one break through ranks.

It was too late to obtain a promotion potion now.

If he couldn't break through as soon as possible to expand the storage capacity of the Seed of Dou Qi and accommodate more Dou Qi, he would definitely be burst by this energy.

The crystal cores were used as a backup for emergencies.

If he could break through naturally, that would be best; if not, he could probably only rely on the crystal cores.

...

As the effects of the water cloud vine took hold, Nie Ning abandoned the Meditation Technique and instead began to practice the Mountain Collapsing Qi Condensation Art he had obtained from Borton.

This cultivation method focused on defense, making the body and Dou Qi more stable and firm.

Nie Ning actually didn't have a high demand for cultivation methods because he already had a super strong constitution bonus; any method was just a tool to enhance Dou Qi.

Adopting the mindset of treating a dead horse as if it were alive, Nie Ning began to circulate the Mountain Collapsing Qi Condensation Art, preparing to force a breakthrough to the High-Tier Knight level.

Under the influence of the water cloud vine, the Dou Qi became softer, but Nie Ning knew this was only temporary.

The energy of the silver-colored hundred-flavor fruit was continuously converting into Dou Qi, and the effect of the water cloud vine simply couldn't keep up with the conversion efficiency.

Without the help of a promotion potion, the difficulty of the breakthrough rose linearly.

No matter how Nie Ning operated, it was as if a wall was blocking him; the barrier to the high tier remained motionless.

At this time, Nie Ning's entire body was swollen and bloated, giving him the feeling that he was about to burst.

However, the magic power of the crystal cores in the bottle had not been fully purified yet. Rashly merging them into his body would inevitably trigger the violent magic power of the strange beasts, which would likely only make matters worse.

Just as Nie Ning was about to burst, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

A breakthrough was about making energy more condensed and firm; the destructive power of pure Dou Qi would rise linearly.

Since he couldn't break through, what if he directly purified the Dou Qi?

Normally, this operation would be unfeasible, but Nie Ning thought of an idea.

Acting as soon as he thought of it, Nie Ning controlled the Seed of Dou Qi to rotate slowly.

He used this to draw the energy of the silver-colored hundred-flavor fruit, causing it to distribute pressure evenly onto the Dou Qi, compressing the Dou Qi with the energy of the silver-colored hundred-flavor fruit.

Soon, Nie Ning discovered that this method was indeed feasible.

The originally translucent Dou Qi crystals began to turn white, making the Seed of Dou Qi increasingly solid and compact.

However, the energy of the silver-colored hundred-flavor fruit was extremely majestic. The speed of compressing the Dou Qi was not only slow, but the total amount of Dou Qi didn't change at all.

Nie Ning gritted his teeth and persevered.

When he opened his eyes again, the crystal cores in the bottle had been purified.

Seeing this, Nie Ning did not hesitate. He took off his armor, hurriedly removed the crystal cores from the bottle, and then sliced open his chest to stuff all four crystal cores inside.

In just a few minutes, the abnormal sensation of merging with the crystal cores appeared.

The four strange beasts Nie Ning had hunted were the earth-element Red Fang Beast, the water-element Lar Phantom Water Beast, the fire-element Blazing Lora Frog, and the metal-element Vajra Ant King.

At this moment, Nie Ning felt his whole body alternating between hot and cold, as if a ten-thousand-pound boulder were pressing down on him, followed by a discomfort like the screeching of glass.

As his body began to merge with the crystal cores, the energy of the silver-colored hundred-flavor fruit seemed to find an outlet and began to surge toward the location of the crystal cores all at once.

Although Nie Ning could no longer control the magic power, what he needed to do was not use it.

Instead, he used his spiritual power to connect with the other crystal cores, transferring the magic power evenly among them.

This way, with insufficient magic power in each individual crystal core, it would naturally maintain a balanced state.

Although he avoided the fate of exploding and dying, the side effects of merging the crystal cores continued to torture Nie Ning.

At this time, Nie Ning was groggy. The Dou Qi in his body was still purifying, and the magic power was also increasing at an extremely rapid rate.

In the end, Nie Ning could not hold on. His consciousness sank into darkness, and he collapsed onto the ground.

...

He didn't know how long it lasted, but Nie Ning woke up from his slumber feeling dizzy.

Nie Ning immediately began to check his body. Finding all his parts still there, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Then, Nie Ning began to observe the internal situation of his body.

After merging the several crystal cores, the magic power had already filled more than half.

However, due to his limited spiritual power, he couldn't call upon a large amount of magic power. He needed to improve his spiritual power as soon as possible to maintain balance.

The Seed of Dou Qi was still in the position of his heart, only...

"Hmm?"

Feeling the powerful strength in his body, Nie Ning realized that he had actually broken through!

He hurriedly opened the status panel, and sure enough, it had changed.

[Rank: High-Tier Knight (Middle Stage), Apprentice Wizard (Late Stage to Peak)]

[Talent: Supernatural Adaptability]

[Bloodline: ??? (Not Activated)]

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

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

The improvement was massive, so massive that Nie Ning dared not imagine it.

"Is this what a fortuitous encounter is..."

Nie Ning opened his mouth, unable to believe this was actually real.

His Knight cultivation had reached the middle stage of the High-Tier, which simply exceeded Nie Ning's expectations; he had even saved himself a promotion potion.

As for his Wizard strength, Nie Ning guessed it was likely due to his spiritual power.

His magic power level met the requirements, but his spiritual power was still a bit lacking, which was why it was between the late stage and the peak.

Next were the traits. His poison resistance had increased by one level, which was likely a passive increase due to his constitution being too strong.

What surprised Nie Ning a bit was the elemental affinity; it had now become Elementary Five Elements Affinity, though overall it was still the same as before.

Besides that, he had gained an Elementary Water Control skill.

...