165: Chapter 165 Charlie with a Rich Collection

"The Federation rejected my application for the potion."

Lida spoke with a trembling voice.

For a peak Witch Apprentice, such a blow was undoubtedly fatal.

Nie Ning stopped his work upon hearing this and looked up at Lida.

Logically speaking, such a request should not have been rejected.

After all, he was a Second Ring Wizard, and there weren't many in the entire Wilbes Republic; most were concentrated in the Royal Capital.

Did he not even have this much influence?

"What reason did they give for the refusal?"

Nie Ning asked.

"They believe the time I've spent at the peak of Witch Apprentice is too short and that I need to settle for a few more years before reconsidering."

Lida clenched his fists, his voice filled with resentment.

Time was precious for wizards; the earlier one advanced, the more time they would have to go further in the future.

If he truly waited through these years, those people would likely use his lack of potential as an excuse to refuse the potion again.

"Those bastards have lived in peace for too long; they've already forgotten who is keeping the Wilbes Republic running!"

Nie Ning's face was grim, and his voice was cold.

Countless Wizard Apprentices died or were injured every year, risking their lives just to fight for a brilliant future.

Now that those people had settled down, they started discarding the very tools that helped them get there.

Lida couldn't help but look at Nie Ning, not expecting Nie Ning to have such a strong reaction to this matter.

To most Official Wizards, everything regarding an apprentice seemed so insignificant, barely different from an ordinary person.

The only difference was whether they could be useful in doing things for them.

"Go and call Charlie here."

Nie Ning took a deep breath and said to Lida.

"Maybe we should wait a bit longer."

Although Lida was unwilling, he didn't want to cause trouble for Nie Ning.

"Just go and call him."

Nie Ning's voice was flat, but it carried an unquestionable tone.

He wanted to see just how much wealth these Kingdom Wizards were hoarding!

Hearing this, Lida felt uneasy, but as a Witch Apprentice, he had no say in the matter; not going would only cause Nie Ning to dislike him.

This was why everyone fought so hard to become a Official Wizard.

Sometimes, even if one was unwilling, many things were beyond their control.

...

Before long, Charlie was invited into the office, his heart full of apprehension.

"I haven't done anything recently."

As soon as Charlie entered the room, he spoke with an innocent face, as if afraid he would be beaten if he reacted too slowly.

Nie Ning gestured for Lida to leave, then looked at Charlie with sharp eyes.

"I didn't call you for anything major; I just wanted to ask if you have any first-rank potions."

Charlie was no fool; he naturally saw that the atmosphere was a bit off.

He did have First Ring potions, but he didn't know what Nie Ning wanted to do, so for a moment, he didn't know how to answer.

Seeing Nie Ning's impatient expression, Charlie finally spoke: "No... I don't."

Despite what Charlie said, his hesitant manner was fully captured by Nie Ning.

"Take out all your spatial equipment."

Nie Ning said expressionlessly.

Hearing this, Charlie immediately frowned. "I'm afraid that's inappropriate? How can I show you my private belongings?"

After all, spatial equipment mostly contained private items, not to mention he had just said he had no potions; showing them to Nie Ning now would expose his lie.

Nie Ning stood up, staring intently at Charlie with a cold and stern expression.

"Now you have two choices: one is to take out the spatial equipment yourself, and the other is to be beaten by me, and then I'll take them myself."

Seeing that Nie Ning didn't look like he was joking, Charlie hesitated for a moment.

Mainly, Nie Ning was too abnormal today; at least based on his usual behavior, he didn't seem like such an unreasonable person.

"I just remembered that I seem to have a bottle of first-rank potion. If you want it, I'll give it to you."

Charlie gave a forced laugh and quickly took out a bottle of blue potion from his robe.

"Wouldn't it have been better to do this earlier?"

A smile appeared on Nie Ning's face as he walked over to Charlie and took the potion.

"I didn't thi—"

Charlie was all smiles, but just as he was about to speak, Nie Ning grabbed his neck without warning, and then a massive surge of magic power rushed into Charlie's body.

Caught off guard, Charlie was directly knocked unconscious by the powerful magic.

As Charlie's body went limp and collapsed to the floor, the smile vanished from Nie Ning's face, replaced by his usual expressionless look.

...

After a search, he found that Charlie had three spatial items alone.

There were two bottles of first-rank potions and one bottle of a darker-colored potion. That darker bottle was even better than the one Nie Ning had used for his last advancement; clearly, it was a second-rank potion.

Besides these, there were a large number of wizard books, rare materials, and pills.

Nie Ning even saw a recipe for a promotion potion inside!

Never mind anyone else; even with all the materials and resources Nie Ning had collected in that mountain range, they couldn't compare to the things Charlie was carrying.

"It seems your grandfather treated you well. This wasn't sending you here to reflect; it was clearly to let you find a quiet place to advance to a Second Ring Wizard."

Looking at the second-rank potion in his hand, a self-deprecating smile appeared at the corner of Nie Ning's mouth.

Something ordinary wizards dreamed of was just sitting on someone who didn't even need it yet.

It wasn't that Nie Ning had a problem with this.

After all, this was the result of another family's hard work; it made sense for the benefits to reach the descendants.

But when they ignored the hard work of others while those others were trying, it became a bit hard to accept.

If it weren't for Lida's situation, he wouldn't have bothered to tangle with these people.

But those people preventing Lida from advancing was equivalent to affecting his own interests.

Seeing the things on Charlie and then thinking back to his own situation when advancing to the second rank made it even more infuriating.

Especially that potion recipe.

At least in Nie Ning's view, making a first-rank potion wasn't as difficult as imagined; stalling those apprentices like this clearly had other motives.

A cold light flashed in Nie Ning's eyes.

"When I advance to the third rank, I'll definitely give you bastards a piece of my mind!"

Even if just for his own interests, he had to make those people pay a price.

Next, Nie Ning tidied up.

Besides taking one bottle of potion, he only memorized the potion recipe and then returned everything else to Charlie.

It wasn't that he didn't want those things, but now was not the time to fall out with The Federation.

After all, his strength was inferior to a Tier 3 Wizard; trying to shake The Federation was still a bit beyond him.

However, this time wouldn't be long; with his cultivation speed, he shouldn't have to wait long to advance to the third rank.

It just so happened that he would need to go to the Royal Capital then; perhaps he could leave those people with a deep impression!

...