Chapter 638 - 395: Continuous Breakthroughs

Chapter 638: Chapter 395: Continuous Breakthroughs

’This is far enough for now. If I push any deeper and run into a Lord Level opponent, it’ll be a tough fight.’

After a moment of deliberation, Han Ning decided to turn back.

The gap between a Lord and a War General was immense.

’First, I’ll go back and recover my strength. Then I’ll wait for Xie Mingke to help me from the inside and see if I can get back in.’

He knew that soon after he left, the Foreign Affairs Team would discover the anomaly here.

Getting in again wouldn’t be so easy.

As Han Ning returned through the courtyard’s exit gate, he found Li Changxi still standing at the entrance to Jade Pagoda Village, waiting anxiously.

He let out a long sigh of relief only after seeing Han Ning’s calm and unhurried figure emerge from the darkness.

...

To prevent the ruin’s sphere of influence from expanding, Li Changxi anonymously reported the situation at Jade Pagoda Village to the authorities.

Xie Mingke also immediately reported the situation on her end.

None of this had anything to do with Han Ning for the time being.

「A few days later, in his rental apartment.」

Han Ning gazed at two prepared potions, picked up the one on the left, and drank it.

WHOOSH~

An endless scene of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood materialized before his eyes.

A monster hidden among the corpses, greedily gnawing on the scattered limbs, suddenly looked up, its gaze meeting Han Ning’s.

A dense, crimson light flared to life.

The first to transform was not Han Ning, but Frost Jade, who was crouching beside him.

The little white dog’s entire body was enveloped in eerie blue flames.

Its white fur began to take on a light blue sheen.

Before long, the fur around its four limbs and neck had turned a light blue.

Its Talent also rose from D to D+.

However, Egg Pancake and the Little Fatty Silkworm, who were not connected via the Sequence Spiritual Contract, did not receive this benefit.

"HISS?" "COO COO..."

Egg Pancake, who was in the form of a small pet snake, and the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm, who had shrunk to human size, stared in astonishment at the transforming human and dog.

’So, raising my Sequence Level also upgrades the Talent of my contracted Soul Beasts. That saves me the trouble of gathering evolution materials.’

Han Ning felt the changes from reaching Tier Eight. Aside from his body growing slightly stronger, he had also gained some peculiar new abilities.

His Spiritual Power increased by about twenty percent.

Similar to his breakthrough to Tier Nine, an intensely negative emotion tried to invade his mind at the moment of ascension.

But under the crushing weight of Han Ning’s immense Spiritual Power, these negative emotions vanished in the blink of an eye.

Then, without a moment’s pause, Han Ning consumed the other potion.

This was a potion created using the characteristics of Tier Seven—Secret Alchemist.

Secret Alchemist was the Tier Seven of his Beast Taming legacy, and its characteristics originated from that deceased friend of Li Changxi.

The moment the potion entered his mouth, a blood-red mist surged from his body, enveloping him and Frost Jade.

All sorts of knowledge about concocting strange and exotic potions flooded Han Ning’s mind.

His Body, reformed by the red mist, continued to grow stronger.

An even more potent wave of negative emotions relentlessly bombarded his mind.

And as he suppressed them, his Spiritual Power began to grow rapidly.

Meanwhile, burning blue flames appeared on Frost Jade’s four paws.

Its pair of canine ears became rounder and swept back.

Its body grew from the size of a Tibetan Mastiff to a frame larger than an average tiger.

Between its snow-white eyebrows, a blue, flame-shaped Rune materialized.

[

Race: Netherworld Dog

Gender: Female

Talent: C

Level: Extraordinary II (1/7000)

Innate Ability: Soul Devouring

Soul Techniques: Soul Roar, Fire of Life...

]

[Soul Devouring]: The Netherworld Dog can devour Spirit Bodies to replenish its Physical Strength and Spiritual Energy, enhance the destructive power of its Soul Techniques, and transfer the Spirit Body’s residual Spiritual Power back to its host.

[Soul Roar]: Unleashes a shriek that strikes terror into Ghosts, stunning undead-type creatures and ripping at their Soul Bodies. The more souls devoured, the more potent the effect of Soul Roar becomes.

[Fire of Life]: Burns its own Soul Body or a devoured Soul Body to inflict soul-harming damage on an enemy.

When used on a non-hostile creature, it can help them recover from spiritual injuries.

"It evolved..."

Stroking Frost Jade’s fluffy neck, Han Ning discovered that the abilities of a Secret Alchemist could complement his Soul Beasts.

He could use the knowledge he had just acquired to create various enhancement potions for his Soul Beasts to consume, increasing their combat prowess.

For example, the Fire Vein Secret Medicine.

After a Soul Beast consumes it, it grants them the temporary ability to control flames.

Blood Burst Secret Medicine: Unlocks the body’s potential, stimulates Blood Qi, and induces a frenzied state.

However, these concoctions weren’t particularly useful to Han Ning himself.

He had studied various Spiritual Secret Techniques, and their effects clashed with those of these secret medicines.

The most pleasant surprise was the boost to his Spiritual Power.

Advancing two Sequences in a row had taken him from the very beginning of Tier Three all the way to eighty percent of the way through it.

With just one more Sequence breakthrough, he could restore his Spiritual Power to the Tier Four level.

Suddenly, Han Ning’s phone let out a crisp ring.

"Hello?"

"Your friend... Li Changxi is in trouble." Xie Mingke’s serious voice came from the other end of the line.

Han Ning’s brow twitched. "What happened to him?"

"He’s missing. It seems he was abducted by some underground organization. This is the last location our surveillance team tracked him to before he vanished..."

Xie Mingke rattled off an address.

"Got it. Thanks for the information."

...

Forty minutes later, a taxi drove into the northwestern district of Ludao City, entering an urban village—an area that bordered the suburbs but was officially within city limits.

The roads within the urban village were narrow, barely allowing two lanes of traffic. Combined with the endless stream of pedestrians and an absurd number of electric scooters, it was nearly impossible for cars to make any headway.

Even on a weekday, the urban village was bustling. The ceaseless flow of pedestrians, the calls of street vendors, the tangled, low-hanging wires overhead, and the tightly packed, self-built homes all contributed to its lively, down-to-earth atmosphere.

Despite the chaotic construction, the streets were surprisingly clean. There was no sewage runoff or the expected sight of chicken droppings and spit, a testament to the city’s beautification projects.

Han Ning wove through a series of alleys, large and small, before stopping to look ahead.

On a slope fifty meters ahead and to his left stood a spacious courtyard enclosed by a thick brick wall.

Within the courtyard was a three-story building constructed in the style of the Ancient Xia Country.

The corners of the roof on each floor curved gracefully upwards, light and lively like a bird spreading its wings—the classic "flying eaves" architectural style.

Several tall, neatly-trimmed ancient pines surrounded the building, lending the entire courtyard a quaint, antique charm.

This was where Li Changxi had disappeared.

His Spiritual Power swept over the area like a gentle breeze.

’They’re in the courtyard up ahead... In the basement of that three-story building, there are an unknown number of Extraordinary Creatures.’

’A unique power is distorting my spiritual senses, but it doesn’t seem very strong...’

Han Ning’s eyes narrowed. The moment he saw the building, he smelled a conspiracy.

The fact that a residential building in this bustling area was hiding an unknown number of Extraordinary Beings was highly suspicious.

Even though he had just had a breakthrough, he didn’t barge in rashly. He had to be careful.

Instead, he took a photo of the building and sent it to Xie Mingke.

"This building is hiding a number of Extraordinary Beings. Help me find out what this place is used for."

"No need. I know what it is. It’s a private clubhouse, nominally controlled by the ’Ludao Anle Real Estate Company.’ We internally suspect it’s a front company indirectly controlled by the Eternal Spring Clubhouse."

"The Eternal Spring Association is..."

"I know what that is. What I want to know is, what kind of experts do they have?"

"You’re looking for trouble with them?" Xie Mingke sounded surprised. "I advise against it. The Eternal Spring Association is teeming with masters. Even for us in the Foreign Affairs Team, taking them down would come at a great cost."

"Just give me the relevant intel. I’ll handle the rest myself," Han Ning reiterated.