75: Chapter 75 Corruption!

Nie Ning was equally helpless regarding that group of assassins.

There were simply too few clues, and there weren't many forces in the city capable of deploying two High-Tier Knights.

Borton had investigated, but those families clearly didn't fit the criteria.

Moreover, other families had been established in Ska City for a long time, while the Hervis Family could only be considered a small family in Ska City.

If they wanted something from the Hervis Family, there likely would have been some signs long ago, or at least a suspicious individual would have appeared.

Furthermore, someone capable of deploying two High-Tier Knights would likely have ten thousand ways to deal with the Hervis Family; there was no need to send assassins directly.

Therefore, according to Nie Ning's guess, that group of assassins was likely not from the local area.

Unfortunately, Nie Ning was not Matt's attendant, so he knew limited information, and he didn't know if Matt had offended someone outside.

...

Late at night.

Nie Ning broke into a cold sweat and woke up suddenly from his bed.

He looked around but didn't find anything suspicious.

"What's going on! Why was Malice Perception triggered?"

Moreover, this malice was extremely intense, yet it didn't seem to come from the outside.

Nie Ning hurriedly summoned the Human-Faced Balloon and the Jerky Bear Head.

After the battle during the day, because it had absorbed too many people, the Human-Faced Balloon was covered in faces, and even wisps of mist floated around it.

And after the Jerky Bear Head devoured the red root, its soul body had also changed.

Small flowers grew on top of its head, its shriveled body resembled a black branch, and even the bear head soul body had become pitch black and deep.

Malice Perception continued to trigger warnings incessantly, the frequency of the alerts increasing several times compared to before.

"Was my previous guess wrong?"

Looking at the two eerie soul bodies in front of him, Nie Ning felt a faint sense of unease.

Yet he was clearly able to control these two soul bodies, and there were no signs of them losing control, so why was the frequency of Malice Perception's triggers getting higher and higher?

"There must be something I haven't noticed."

Nie Ning frowned, unable to think of where the problem lay for the moment.

But he could be certain that these two soul bodies definitely had issues.

Suddenly, Nie Ning thought of the people Audrey had brought earlier.

"Corruptor, does that refer to these eerie soul bodies?"

"It seems they should know something; perhaps I should try to start with Audrey."

The problem with the eerie soul bodies was very serious.

After experiencing the incident with the Little Boy, Nie Ning didn't even dare to sever the mental link.

Normally, a soul body would naturally disappear after a person died, but these two soul bodies likely wouldn't dissipate easily.

Moreover, both soul bodies had grown after the battle during the day; once he released the mental restraints, it would likely cause even greater trouble.

...

"Forget it, I won't sleep; I'll cultivate."

At this moment, Nie Ning had no sleepiness, so he could only use cultivation to numb himself.

He habitually opened the panel and took a look.

[Rank: High-Tier Knight (Mid-Stage), Apprentice Wizard (Peak)]

[Talent: Supernatural Adaptability]

[Bloodline: ??? (Inactivated)]

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

[Derived Skills: Assisting Evil, Elementary Five Elements Manipulation (Corrupted)]

[Cultivation Method: ..., Shijue Flying Swallow Technique, Self-Revised Meditation Technique]

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

The panel was about the same as before, but as soon as he closed it, Nie Ning noticed something wrong.

He opened it again and took another look.

"Hmm?"

He didn't know when, but the word "Corrupted" had been added to the Five Elements Manipulation in the derived skills.

Not only that, the Beginner Self-Healing that had mutated due to the black water potion had also become "Corrupted".

Seeming to think of something, Nie Ning looked at his left arm; the spot where he had been hit by the Little Boy's black water had already recovered to its original state.

After a moment of thought, Nie Ning took out a small knife and cut the skin on his wrist; in just a moment, the wound had healed and recovered.

Visually estimating, the healing speed was about 1.5 times that of the mutated state.

"Even more powerful than the mutation; is it because of the Human-Faced Balloon?"

Apart from this, Nie Ning couldn't think of any other reason; it couldn't possibly be caused by the dead Little Boy, right?

Nie Ning reached out and summoned a blue water ball, which looked no different from before.

However, as Nie Ning moved his thought, the water ball seemed to lose its luster and slowly turned into an eerie gray color.

He threw the water ball in his hand, and it shattered upon hitting the ground, but there were no water stains left on the ground.

Turning his head to look at the flower pot on the windowsill, as Nie Ning used Wood-element manipulation, the flowers inside swayed twice.

When Nie Ning used "Corrupted", the flowers turned gray in the blink of an eye and withered rapidly as Nie Ning stopped casting.

Nie Ning cast the other elements once; Metal-element items would rust, and soil would just turn black.

And when he used fire, the gray flames were unable to ignite the firewood!

"What's the use of this? If it doesn't light a fire, then does it..."

Nie Ning looked at the flames in his hand, a strange luster flashing in his eyes, and immediately summoned the Jerky Bear Head again.

Under the calcination of the flames, Nie Ning clearly felt the fluctuation of the Jerky Bear Head's soul power.

You have to know, previously when fighting against the Little Boy, the Five Elements Manipulation had limited power and could barely cause substantial damage.

It was only slightly useful when the flames were attached to the longsword.

"Since it can cause damage to soul bodies, doesn't that mean it can also be useful against the owner of the coffin nail!"

Thinking of the soul body he encountered last time, Nie Ning couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.

If he hadn't found its weakness back then, his grave grass would probably be a meter high by now.

If the Corrupted flames could cause damage to the Stooped Old Man, perhaps he would have a countermeasure for that kind of pure soul body in the future.

However, although gaining a new ability was good, it also made Nie Ning feel increasingly uneasy.

Without needing to think, he knew that the Corrupted self-healing must come from the Human-Faced Balloon, and the Five Elements Manipulation should have come from the Little Boy's original body, but now it had been eaten by the bear head.

At this moment, Malice Perception was still issuing warnings, seemingly indicating that things were not as simple as he had thought.

...

In the following half a month, Nie Ning remained immersed in cultivation.

Under his unremitting efforts, combined with the help of Beginner Spiritual Power Amplification, the 6 crystal cores were now completely filled with magic power, reaching a point where no further progress could be made.

In other words, he only needed to obtain the corresponding magic potion, and he would step into the ranks of a First-Ring Wizard!

However, this was also the most headache-inducing part for Nie Ning.

The wizard notes obtained in Wantai Forest did not record the precautions for a wizard's breakthrough, nor did they mention the corresponding magic potion recipes.

So Nie Ning didn't know exactly what to do.

Moreover, so much time had passed, and although Nie Ning went to Borton's place every day, he had not received any notice from Ivy.