Chapter 172: Chapter 156: Blood-Veined Armor Shield, Bloody Hunt

A fine, crimson network of veins, like a spiderweb, spread across the surface of the flesh.

’A new ability, Limb Growth? But the formation speed is only barely decent when I activate Blood Qi Burst...’

Han Ning gazed at the 30-centimeter-square Armor Shield before him. He turned to Egg Pancake, who was sticking its butt in the air while washing its face with a towel, and said, "Egg Pancake, hit this Armor Shield with your Flaming Claws. Be careful not to burn the furniture."

"CHIRP~"

Egg Pancake chirped in reply, placing the towel on its head. Its claws ignited in a blazing crimson light and, with a SWOOSH, slammed against the surface of the Armor Shield.

BOOM—

A low explosion rang out as its large claws struck the Armor Shield.

The fleshy Armor Shield instantly burst apart, revealing the cracked shield within.

Han Ning used the controlled flesh to envelop the aftershock, containing it within a small area.

When the flames subsided, the blood-red Armor Shield was still burning. It held on for nearly two seconds before dissolving into a scattering of red light particles.

’At most, it can resist a Soul Technique of the same level for two seconds.’

This wasn’t even really a Soul Technique, so being able to block Egg Pancake’s Flaming Claws was already pretty decent.

The only problem was that the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm currently lacked any offensive power. All it could do was transform its limbs into sharp spikes and repeatedly "inject" its opponent.

The All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm was a special kind of Soul Beast. Han Ning had barely trained it at all; when it wasn’t eating, it was usually in a deep sleep. The fact that it had broken through to the Awakened Level after eating two hearts yesterday, on top of gaining this astonishing Limb Growth ability, was a pleasant surprise. He was quite satisfied.

After all, its strengths lay in its bizarre support abilities. For combat, he had Yin Yi and Egg Pancake, which was more than enough.

Han Ning also considered that having the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm hidden in his own body wasn’t its strongest combat form. If it entered Egg Pancake’s body and unleashed its various support abilities, it would be like giving wings to a tiger, allowing Egg Pancake to unleash terrifying combat power.

However, under normal circumstances, he would keep it inside his own body to ensure his safety.

...

After washing up and eating breakfast, Han Ning left his dorm. He found Dean Wu at the building entrance, already directing the construction of the Insect Nest, and told him about his plan to explore the Earth Flame Forbidden Land.

At this point, only Extraordinary Level Crystal Stones could help Yin Yi improve her strength. To get stronger, they had no choice but to venture into the territory of an Insect Master or a Forbidden Land to find more powerful Soul Beasts.

They couldn’t afford to provoke the Insect Masters for now, so their only option was to find Soul Beasts in a Forbidden Land.

"The Earth Flame Forbidden Land... It’s too dangerous." Dean Wu’s brow furrowed when he heard Han Ning’s plan.

But he didn’t try to stop him. Instead, after a moment of thought, he said, "Come with me. Let’s go see Mr. Rajkica and get a set of communication equipment."

"Communication equipment?" Han Ning asked, confused. "Didn’t you say they only work within a range of a few dozen kilometers without a relay station? What’s the point of me taking one?"

Dean Wu smiled.

"If there’s no relay station, we’ll build one. Didn’t you mention before that the ant nest in the Earth Flame Forbidden Land could serve as a backup shelter? This is the perfect opportunity. I’ll have Mr. Rajkica take a team north to build a relay station. That way, if you run into any danger, you can contact us immediately, and we’ll figure out a way to rescue you."

"Well... alright, then."

Seeing that Dean Wu’s tone left no room for argument, Han Ning didn’t press the issue.

After contacting him via walkie-talkie, the two of them found Rajkica on the second floor of Building A, inside a makeshift workshop where he was busy assembling some device.

After hearing Dean Wu’s explanation, he rummaged through the clutter of equipment on his table. He pulled out a square device about the size of a laptop, clearly cobbled together from various parts, pushed it toward Han Ning, and said,

"Han Ning, my friend, take this Communication Device for now. Remember to turn it on when you leave. I’ve specially modified it to have a standby time of at least seven days. Once our relay station is set up, we’ll be able to contact you on a special radio frequency."

As he spoke, Rajkica began to explain to Han Ning how to operate the device.

As a highly educated person and a Beast Master whose Spiritual Power had reached Tier One, Han Ning had a quick mind. He understood the basics of how to use it after just a single glance.

The Communication Device wasn’t light, weighing about 10 kilograms, but for a Beast Master, carrying such a weight was a piece of cake.

After saying goodbye to Rajkica, Dean Wu led Han Ning to Lena’s room.

All sorts of Beast Hide Scrolls were arranged on rows of shelves.

When they pushed the door open and entered, Lena was holding her son and talking with Nia.

In one hand, Nia held a slice of bread scavenged from the academy’s convenience store, and in the other, a carton of milk. She was taking small bites and sips. Aside from the Insect-man features on her hands and head, she looked just like a human girl enjoying her breakfast.

She gave them a faint smile when she saw them arrive.

"Not bad. I haven’t seen her in two days, and Nia’s spirits are much better," Han Ning said to Lena, smiling and nodding at Nia.

Nia looked at Han Ning, carefully choosing her words. Then, in a voice with a peculiar intonation, she spoke, one word at a time:

"Han... Ning... Big... Brother, goo...d... mor...ning."

Hearing her strangely melodic voice, the smile on Han Ning’s face grew even wider.

"Oh? You’re teaching Nia the language of Xia Country? Looks like I’d better hurry up and learn the Insect-man language myself."