: Zhou Zeshen Issues a Challenge

Ning Xiangren's Life-Thread appeared normal, but Ning Xiangguo's was the finest and most transparent. Based on Ning Zhuo's understanding of this ability, he speculated that Ning Xiangguo was either hiding many secrets or his loyalties lay elsewhere, not truly relying on Ning Zhuo.

Considering the City Lord's Mansion's infiltration of the three major families and their consistently obvious intelligence advantage, Ning Zhuo initially judged that Ning Xiangguo was likely an informant developed by the City Lord's Mansion!

Ability – Life-Thread.

The more Ning Zhuo used it, the more he appreciated its subtle applications.

When activated, Ning Zhuo could use the Life-Thread to forcibly control another person's actions. The specifics of the actions, their scale, etc., were determined by factors like the relative strength of both parties.

What Ning Zhuo had managed to test was extracting Yuan Dasheng's spiritual nature and Sun Lingtong's soul. However, this was done with the latter two's voluntary and highly cooperative consent. For others, if they resisted or were unaware, Ning Zhuo couldn't achieve such feats.

At least, not yet.

"Once the Life-Thread is set, it has persisted until now without requiring me to replenish it."

"Even without activating the Life-Thread, I can infer the scale of a target's hidden secrets and their true intentions by observing the state of the thread."

This meant Ning Zhuo could, to some extent, gauge his subordinates' "loyalty."

That alone was quite impressive!

Not to mention its other potential uses and subtle powers.

"Additionally, after implanting the Life-Thread, the fortunes of individuals can be gathered and combined."

"By all appearances, this ability is a peerless tool for managing a faction!"

"I wonder what the final, qualitatively transformed ability will be like when the lotus fully blooms."

Ning Zhuo grew increasingly curious about the answer.

As for Ning Xiangguo, Ning Zhuo pretended not to know and still entrusted him with important tasks.

It had to be said that among all the Foundation Establishment cultivators, Ning Xiangguo had the highest insight and handled matters meticulously. Assigning tasks to him was reassuring.

In comparison, although Ning Xiangqian was the strongest in combat, having once been the executive of the family's combat hall, he wasn't as reliable as Ning Xiangguo.

After handling the black market affairs, Ning Zhuo returned to seclusion for intense cultivation.

He minimized his outside activities.

The spell exchange meetings, once held every three days, were changed to every five days.

The content of the exchanges also shifted.

Previously, it was just sparring and sharing insights and experiences on spellcasting. Now, a segment for critiquing mechanical creations was added.

Ning Zhuo's classmates would bring their mechanical creations, like the Blazing Monkeys made in Chen Cha's workshop, and hand them to Ning Zhuo.

After inspection, Ning Zhuo would critique each Blazing Monkey point by point.

He always pointed out the shortcomings in a simple, understandable way, making the creators have sudden realizations. Ning Zhuo would also tell them how to make the mechanisms better and faster.

This practice greatly benefited his classmates in the Modification Team.

Consequently, it solidified Ning Zhuo's authority in everyone's minds.

When he encountered mechanical creations that met the standard, Ning Zhuo would publicly take out spirit stones and buy them on the spot at market price.

Those whose creations were fortunate enough to be purchased by Ning Zhuo would puff out their chests with pride.

If there were innovative little gadgets, Ning Zhuo would exchange them for pills or spiritual food. This was a higher level of recognition, and the young cultivators who received such treatment were all elated.

Zhou Zeshen sat in a corner, watching this bustling scene, a gleam flickering in his eyes.

"Surrounded by stars, like the moon—Ning Zhuo has completely mastered this team."

"And within the Ning family's Modification Team, the main lineage members are few; the branch lineages are the majority. That means Ning Zhuo has essentially become the de facto controller of the Ning family's Modification Team."

Since being summoned by the Zhou family head and ordered to build a good relationship with Ning Zhuo, Zhou Zeshen had actively invited Ning Zhuo, attempting to increase their meetings and foster cooperation.

However, Ning Zhuo had been solely focused on intense cultivation these days, politely declining all of Zhou Zeshen's invitations.

Zhou Zeshen was quite persistent. Ning Zhuo felt that consistently refusing wasn't a solution. He told Zhou Zeshen that he organized a Modification Team exchange meeting every five days. If Zhou Zeshen was interested, he could come then. Otherwise, he would have to wait for the opportunity seven days later when Ning Zhuo would travel to慰问 the orphanage.

Zhou Zeshen decisively attended, finding a corner in the courtyard to sit.

He observed coldly and quickly noticed that one person among the Ning family members stood out from the enthusiastic atmosphere.

"It's Ning Ji, Ning Zhuo's cousin."

For a minor figure like Ning Ji, Zhou Zeshen normally wouldn't pay special attention.

But Zhou Zeshen had memorized all intelligence regarding Ning Zhuo and thus knew about Ning Ji.

"This guy once spoke up when Ning Zhuo was heavily rewarded by the main lineage, trying to get a share, wanting to borrow Ning Zhuo's magical tools for cultivation."

"He was sternly refused by Ning Zhuo."

Zhou Zeshen looked back at Ning Zhuo, inwardly praising.

So far, Ning Zhuo's handling had been nearly perfect!

If Ning Zhuo had relented then, he would have undoubtedly fallen into a trap.

Helping without conditions would only fuel others' greed, leading to petty individuals clinging to him.

Would someone like Ning Ji ever be satisfied?

Similarly, it would attract more such people to flock to Ning Zhuo, trying to latch on.

Over time, even the largest family fortune would suffer significant losses.

Superficially, it might seem popular and flourishing, but it would all be an illusion!

Once Ning Zhuo stopped providing aid, the unmet expectations of those who had benefited would lead to resentment, even hatred.

Therefore, Ning Zhuo refused outright from the beginning, clean and decisive.

His subsequent actions were even more crucial!

Ning Zhuo directed his numerous classmates to participate in making mechanical Blazing Monkeys.

He would then inspect and evaluate the produced mechanical monkeys. He would purchase most of them with spirit stones, with additional rewards for exceptionally outstanding ones.

Through these measures, although Ning Zhuo still expended resources, it wasn't a free giveaway, not白白 handed to those who just reached out wanting something for nothing.

This created a positive cycle and, more importantly, established the team's foundation—

Fairness and Justice!

Every comment Ning Zhuo made was public and clear, leading to distinct rewards and punishments, transparency. He prevented favoritism and corruption, fostering a positive, upward atmosphere and winning over more hearts and minds.

Zhou Zeshen looked at Ning Zhuo, who was speaking confidently with a smile, and found it hard to imagine that Ning Zhuo had once been a marginalized figure from a branch lineage!

"Shouldn't someone like this be cultivated by the family from childhood, taught personally by the elders?"

"These are the insights and methods of a cultivator groomed from a young age to be a successor."

Who would have thought Ning Zhuo had such skills?

Zhou Zeshen pondered: "Ning Zhuo is very good at hiding his edge. He hid it too well!"

"Precisely because no one expected him to be like this, the Ning main lineage suffered a major loss this time."

It was understandable.

A normal sixteen-year-old young cultivator, having spent most of their life in school, what would they know?

Especially Ning Zhuo, who lost both parents young, was raised by his uncle, and had endured harsh treatment and neglect since childhood.

"How does he have such understanding, such vision, such skill?"

Zhou Zeshen couldn't figure it out.

He believed the Ning main lineage's major defeat was primarily due to underestimating the enemy, thinking such schemes could easily deal with Ning Zhuo.

Instead, Ning Zhuo effortlessly resolved the situation.

Ning Zhuo avoided the traps, organized his classmates, and turned the tables, getting involved in the black market, causing the Ning main lineage to fail in their scheme and suffer losses!

Now, Ning Zhuo was the master of the black market.

A sixteen-year-old, Qi Refinement third level, master of a black market!

He commanded nearly twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators under him, and these weren't ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators either; they were considered elite among their peers.

This series of actions by Ning Zhuo made Zhou Zeshan sigh in admiration inwardly, exclaiming at their brilliance.

Zhou Zeshen excelled at strategy and greatly enjoyed such battles of wits.

In his view, the game of正道, the contest of schemes, was far more interesting, profound, and meaningful than bloody, direct confrontations. It was more worthy of savoring!

"Among the Qi Refinement geniuses of the four major powers in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, only Ning Zhuo and I are the same kind of people!" Zhou Zeshen's favorable impression of Ning Zhuo increased significantly.

He admired Ning Zhuo and also felt quite envious.

"What difference is there between Ning Zhuo's current power and that of a family elder?"

"Although I have talent, I'm constrained everywhere within the family. Even though I'm the son of an elder, it's the same, quite restrictive."

"Not as free and impressive as Ning Zhuo."

"More importantly are the benefits!"

"Ning Zhuo is now gaining the profits of the black market."

"Oh, right. These Modification Team members also look to Ning Zhuo as their leader. These are his manpower, serving him!"

After Ning Zhuo finished critiquing all the mechanical creations, he began exchanging spell insights.

Zhou Zeshen listened quietly, growing increasingly surprised—Ning Zhuo's talent wasn't limited to mechanical arts; he also had a terrifying comprehension of traditional spells.

The five leaderboards were filled with people from the City Lord's Mansion.

The Zhou and Zheng families still knew nothing about the leaderboard rewards.

Zhou Zeshen listened more and more engrossed, his face gradually showing a fascinated expression, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, unable to restrain his joy at gaining such significant benefits from this session.

When the Q&A segment arrived, Zhou Zeshen also participated, asking several questions.

Ning Zhuo carefully considered each before giving detailed answers.

Zhou Zeshen was deeply affected, gained much, and sincerely expressed his thanks.

This made the other Ning family cultivators feel quite honored, believing Ning Zhuo had used his personal talent to "subdue" the Zhou family genius.

Zhou Zeshen didn't just take; he was very aware that his purpose here was to show his worth and build a relationship with Ning Zhuo.

During the exchange, he also shared his own insights on spellcasting and actively invited Ning Zhuo to a public mechanical arts duel in front of everyone present.

Ning Chen, Ning Yong, and others all had shining eyes, full of anticipation.

Ning Zhuo only thought for a moment before decisively agreeing: "Then I ask Brother Zhou not to hold back in teaching me."

He had always wanted to spar with Zhou Zeshen and Zhou Zhu to experience the Mud Flow Sect's mechanical methods.

Now, Zhou Zeshen taking the initiative to propose it hit right at Ning Zhuo's heart.

There was no reason for Ning Zhuo not to agree.

(End of )