84: Chapter 84 Kidnapping

After continuous attempts, Nie Ning discovered that Five Elements Manipulation allowed him to more easily control elemental power and the construction of corresponding runes.

Just like his previous advancement, this would reduce the difficulty of branding runes.

Thinking back now, Nie Ning felt a lingering sense of fear.

With the qualitative change in his Spiritual Power, his thinking had become much clearer than before.

According to his own calculations, it would have been impossible to construct such a massive Five Elements spell structure with his Spiritual Power at that time.

After all, that was a fusion sorcery that combined five types of sorcery.

Even if they were all the lowest-level Rank One sorceries, for an apprentice-level Spiritual Power, there was almost no possibility of inscribing them even with the help of a promotion potion.

Five Elements Manipulation was not limited to elemental power; it also granted a corresponding comprehension bonus for runes, making it easier to manually craft various spells.

Nie Ning finally understood why the Wizard Chronicles referred to Psionicists as 'New Humans.'

With the enhancement of various strange talents, the growth potential of these people was clearly higher than that of ordinary people.

...

The next day.

Nie Ning fell into silence as he looked at the Little Earth Man in front of him, which wasn't even as tall as his leg.

The Little Earth Man was about fifty centimeters tall, its entire body encased in grey rock, with no eyes or any facial features.

If it weren't for its two legs and feet, others might have mistaken it for a stone pillar.

“Sorcery really isn't that simple.”

Nie Ning sighed at the sight.

Just like Knight Techniques, without the corresponding proficiency, even a successful cast would have limited power.

However, being able to achieve this level in just one night was already quite good.

With a bit more effort, he might be able to summon a Small Mountain Giant in the future.

Of course, that was provided his strength could keep up.

At this moment, Nie Ning couldn't help but miss the skills obtained through Supernatural Adaptability.

Assisting Evil didn't require proficiency at all; he could use it as soon as he picked up a blade.

But for some reason, the acquisition rate for these types of skills was extremely low.

Uh...

It didn't seem that low, actually.

After all, Five Elements Manipulation counted as five skills.

But compared to these utility skills, Nie Ning preferred to obtain sonic attack skills like that of the Frenzied Giant Bear.

Without needing to study, such skills were like being branded into one's bloodline; they could be mastered and used in actual combat with just a simple attempt.

The efficiency was ten thousand times higher than learning sorcery himself!

Unfortunately, while the Wantai Forest was large, the variety of mutated beasts within it wasn't that great, and those who possessed powerful skills were even fewer.

Supernatural Adaptability almost never worked on the same species twice, so the road to becoming stronger this way was long and difficult.

...

After a quick wash, Nie Ning went directly to Lilith's garden to water the plants.

Because Lilith's school was preparing for holiday exams, she had been busy studying lately and rarely came to the garden to tend to the flowers and plants.

With no one around, Nie Ning could take it easy while working.

Especially after gaining Earth Control and Water Control skills.

Nie Ning hardly needed to lift a finger to maintain the entire small garden.

But today, an uninvited guest arrived in the small garden.

The Three-Colored Fox.

Looking at the little fox hiding in the flowers preparing for a sneak attack, Nie Ning felt strangely amused.

Although he had indeed sold a Three-Colored Fox for money, he wasn't the one who killed that adult Three-Colored Fox in the first place.

At that time, the Three-Colored Fox was already on the verge of death after being attacked by the Crimson Fire Ape; it wouldn't have survived even without him. He was just making use of what would have gone to waste.

Unfortunately, beasts were beasts; their simple thinking patterns made them unable to distinguish the truth.

Nie Ning waved his hand, and as the soil beneath the Three-Colored Fox's feet churned, the fox became stuck, unable to move.

As Nie Ning approached, panic appeared in the Three-Colored Fox's eyes.

Looking at the little fox, Nie Ning felt it was strange. Lilith usually kept it in a cage, so why was it out here today?

Thinking of this, Nie Ning picked the Three-Colored Fox up by the scruff of its neck and walked toward Lilith's room.

After avoiding several servants who were cleaning, Nie Ning arrived at the second floor of the castle where Lilith lived.

But as he neared the room, the half-open door and the shards of a vase at the entrance caught his attention.

Nie Ning frowned at the sight but did not use mental detection.

It was a girl's room after all; Nie Ning really couldn't bring himself to do something like peeping.

Nie Ning originally thought the Three-Colored Fox had broken the vase.

But as he slowly approached the doorway, he saw the broken iron cage.

Since the Three-Colored Fox was quite close to Lilith and didn't have the strength to break an iron cage, it looked more like it had been sliced open by a sword.

Realizing Lilith might have met with misfortune, Nie Ning immediately burst into the room to check, only to see a room in total disarray.

Not only was Lilith gone, but the room looked like it had been ransacked.

The fallen books and messy furniture all indicated that something bad had certainly happened.

Nie Ning's expression turned grim as he carefully scanned the room.

It looked like someone was searching for something.

Furthermore, Lilith should have just woken up at this time, and there were no bloodstains in the room.

Maids passed by here from time to time, so even if Lilith had encountered trouble, it couldn't have happened very long ago.

With that in mind, Nie Ning's Spiritual Power spread out to the surroundings.

Under his mental perception, Nie Ning soon discovered some traces.

Nie Ning quickly went downstairs and, sure enough, saw trampled flowers and plants in the flowerbed.

“I'd like to see who has the audacity!”

...

Following the traces on the ground, Nie Ning soon arrived at the place where Lilith had been pursued by assassins before.

The power of a Wizard manifested; under the detection of his Spiritual Power, Nie Ning discovered several suspicious figures.

Nie Ning restrained his aura and cautiously approached the target.

Currently, five men in plain clothes were hiding in an abandoned shack, and in the corner was the bound Lilith.

After confirming Lilith was okay, Nie Ning looked at the kidnappers.

To Nie Ning's surprise, every single one of these kidnappers was at the High-Tier Knight level!

Moreover, if he guessed correctly, these people should be from the same group as those previous assassins.

In other words, to obtain that unknown item, a total of seven High-Tier Knights had already come!

The rarity of High-Tier Knights went without saying; there weren't many in the entire Ska City, and even the City Lord's Mansion might not necessarily have this many High-Tier Knights.

Hiding behind a corner, Nie Ning began to ponder what to do.

If it were just to save Lilith, it would be extremely simple for his current self, one could even say effortless.

But this couldn't go on forever.

The enemy was in the dark while he was in the light; no one knew if there would be a next time.

And he wasn't good at interrogating people, and he wouldn't get useful clues if he handed them over to others for interrogation.

Glancing at Lilith, whose face was covered in tear stains, Nie Ning suppressed the urge to rescue her and ultimately decided to wait a little longer.

...