: The Ning Clan Main Branch's Major Crisis

2024-09-10 Author: Gu Zhenren

Ning Jiufan brought Ning Zhuo back to his residence, keeping him close.

"You will stay in the side room," Ning Jiufan arranged for Ning Zhuo to reside very near, right next to his study.

After settling in, Ning Zhuo was summoned by Ning Jiufan to the study.

Ning Jiufan tested Ning Zhuo by having him craft several talismans in his presence.

After Ning Zhuo finished drawing them, Ning Jiufan scanned them with his spiritual sense. He nodded slightly at first, but upon seeing the last two, he shook his head gently.

"Your talisman-making skill is quite decent, with a solid foundation, but there's still some distance from being top-tier."

Ning Zhuo spoke up, "Ancestor, talisman-making has never been my preference; what I love most are mechanical constructs."

"Your expectations of me are a bit high. Reaching the top-tier level you mentioned isn't easy; it's rare even among past classes at the academy."

Ning Jiufan glared sternly at Ning Zhuo. "The foundation of our Ning Clan lies in talisman-making! No matter how profound your mechanical arts become, you must not neglect your talisman-crafting skill!"

"Firstly, it's our clan's specialty. Secondly, mechanical constructs encompass all hundred arts of cultivation, and talisman-making is one of them."

Ning Zhuo immediately cupped his hands in salute. "Ancestor, your teaching is right. I will firmly remember it."

Ning Jiufan added, "You must study the notes on talisman-making I gave you earlier carefully."

Ning Zhuo hurriedly assured him that he would read them whenever he had time.

Ning Jiufan stared at him. This junior, Ning Zhuo, was truly slick; his attitude towards him was very different from others!

Even the esteemed Ning Clan Head would stand before Ning Jiufan with utmost respect. Ning Zhuo lacked this attitude and was quite unruly.

However, Ning Jiufan did not reprimand him excessively.

Primarily because very few people dared to treat him with such an attitude.

Ning Jiufan was also quite knowledgeable about Ning Zhuo's upbringing. He understood clearly that, to some extent, Ning Zhuo had been neglected by the clan since childhood, raised like a wild child.

It was somewhat understandable that a wild child like Ning Zhuo would have such an attitude towards him.

On the other hand, Ning Jiufan was well aware of Ning Zhuo's innate talent and aptitude for mechanical arts. Deep down, he held a fondness for this rising star among the younger generation.

Therefore, Ning Jiufan not only tolerated Ning Zhuo's unruly attitude in front of him but actually found Ning Zhuo quite straightforward.

Ning Jiufan had Ning Zhuo tidy up the desk and then deliberately tested him, asking, "This time, City Lord Meng Kui and Chief Zhu have jointly established a contract, stipulating that regardless of what positions we obtain within the Molten Rock Palace, they will be retained afterward."

"In the future, no matter who becomes the Palace Lord, they will not arbitrarily dismiss the positions of others."

"What is your view on this point?"

"What do you think our Ning Clan should do?"

Ning Zhuo immediately looked up at Ning Jiufan beside him and answered without hesitation, "This is a tremendous opportunity for our Ning Clan!"

"If I were the Clan Head, the moment I heard this news, I would summon the entire clan, mobilize them, and go all out to secure as many positions as possible."

Ning Jiufan's expression remained neutral as he continued asking, "Why do that?"

Ning Zhuo explained further, "It's simple. The more positions our Ning Clan controls, the greater our influence over the entire Molten Rock Palace."

"Regardless of who becomes the Palace Lord, the Molten Rock Palace will remain the core of Flaming Persimmon Mountain in the future."

"The main function of the Molten Rock Palace is to suppress Flaming Persimmon Mountain, preventing its eruption, continuously absorbing the subterranean flames, and eliminating the proliferating Blaze Demonic Beasts."

"And these subterranean flames, Blaze Demonic Beasts, and other underground resources are极其庞大 (immense) in scale, constituting a huge natural treasure trove."

"The more positions our Ning Clan holds, the more cultivation resources we can obtain from the Molten Rock Palace."

"In fact, it's not just these tangible resources; there's also merit. The Molten Rock Palace suppresses Flaming Persimmon Mountain, benefiting Flaming Persimmon Immortal City and contributing to the Southern Bean Kingdom. These merits also count as intangible resources."

"Our Ning Clan's current situation is actually somewhat awkward. We wandered here from the North Wind Kingdom and have taken root in Flaming Persimmon Immortal City for over a decade, but in terms of overall strength and status, we are at the bottom among the four major powers."

"This current opportunity is very rare; we might not encounter another like it for decades."

"If our Ning Clan can seize this chance, we can definitely use the Molten Rock Palace to change the entire situation, enhance our clan's overall strength,底蕴 (depth/reserves), and status within the Southern Bean Kingdom."

Ning Jiufan stroked his beard. "If, as you say, this is a great opportunity, do you intend to mobilize the entire clan to switch their cultivation paths?"

Ning Zhuo immediately shook his head. "Of course not!"

"Our Ning Clan's天赋 (natural aptitude) lies in cultivating frost-attribute techniques."

"This advantage cannot be discarded, nor can it be changed."

"In my opinion, we should have the majority of ordinary cultivators who lack such frost aptitude all switch to cultivating the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art."

"This way, through sheer numbers, we can strive to secure positions within the Immortal Palace before the Zhou Clan, Zheng Clan, and the City Lord's Manor!"

"As for future Ning Clan talents, let them continue cultivating the original techniques."

Ning Jiufan neither agreed nor disagreed.

In his heart, however, he was quite satisfied with Ning Zhuo's answer.

Thinking further, Ning Zhuo was only sixteen years old. This made the Ning Clan's Golden Core elder even more expectant of Ning Zhuo's future!

He glanced at Ning Zhuo and said, "Wait for me to send a letter and ask the current Clan Head. Do you think his opinion will align with yours?"

Ning Zhuo immediately exclaimed, "Ancestor, are you still pinning hopes on the Ning Clan's main branch? There's no need to guess his reply; he'll definitely prioritize the main branch."

"Frankly, if we truly want the Ning Clan to develop better, we need to find a different path, establish a separate faction."

"The people of the main branch have now become stumbling blocks hindering our Ning Clan's significant progress forward."

"If I could branch off and become the head of a branch family, I would certainly lead the entire Ning Clan to new heights!"

This statement earned Ning Zhuo another knock on the head from Ning Jiufan.

"Always talking about branching off, branching off! Can't you live without splitting the family? Don't mention this again!"

Ning Clan Territory, Ning Clan Council Hall.

The Ning Clan Head sat in the main seat, with the clan elders seated to his left and right.

The Clan Head passed Ning Jiufan's letter to the others.

The elders finished reading quickly and fell into silence, not uttering a word.

The atmosphere in the entire council hall was quite heavy.

The Clan Head let out a deep sigh and said, "Speak your minds. What are your views?"

The War Hall elder spoke first. "The current situation is quite dire! If we allow the conversion team to secure positions in the Molten Rock Palace, the branch families of our clan will inevitably receive massive support, making them extremely difficult to contain."

"In the future, it's hard to say who will be the main branch and who will be the branch families within our Ning Clan."

The Academy elder concurred. "We rely on controlling the cultivation techniques to control the entire clan. But if the cultivators all switch to the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art, the idea of restraining and controlling them through the techniques becomes baseless."

As soon as he finished, the Talisman Hall elder sneered a few times. "You old fogies, why can't you see the situation clearly?"

"On the surface, this is the Ancestor inquiring about our opinion. But in reality, it's just a politely and委婉 (tactfully) worded letter urging us to concede. Can we actually refuse?"

"This strategy was agreed upon by Zhu Xuanji and Meng Kui. Clearly, it aims to actively promote our four powers to compete fully for positions within the Molten Rock Palace, even at the cost of conceding some future rights."

"Our clan has no choice but to go all out; there is no second option!"

"The Zhou Clan and Zheng Clan will do the same. Because whoever controls more positions in the Molten Rock Palace will hold more power on Flaming Persimmon Mountain in the future."

"This is a blatant阳谋 (open scheme/unavoidable plot)!"

"There's no way for us to阻止 (stop/prevent) it."

The Academy elder cried out, "But our Ning Clan cultivators' aptitude lies in frost-attribute techniques; it's determined by our innate bone structure!"

"Now, you want the majority of our clan to switch to cultivating the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art and frantically compete for positions in the Molten Rock Palace?"

"Isn't this confusing the primary with the secondary, wasting our natural gifts?"

The Talisman Hall elder sneered repeatedly. "Our clan's aptitude is indeed in cultivating frost-attribute techniques, but cultivating the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art doesn't pose any major obstacles either."

"Moreover, the vast majority of clansmen don't have talents like Icy Jade Hands. Whether they cultivate frost-attribute techniques or the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art, the difference isn't that significant."

"The problem now is not that we have a choice, but that we can only accept it."

"It's just that if this trend continues, it will be hard to say who will be the main branch and who will be the branches in the future of our Ning Clan!"

Upon hearing this, the Clan Head and all the elders fell into silence.

The situation was quite severe for the Ning Clan's main branch!

Previously, Ning Zhuo had ousted Ning Xiaoren, united a group of former stewards, and taken control of the black market overnight.

That heavy blow left the Ning Clan main branch reeling to this day.

In effect, Ning Zhuo had already caused a split within the Ning Clan, with a branch faction establishing their own base in the black market.

The main branch had not found an effective countermeasure. They had once placed hopes on the City Lord's Manor and other parties, but Ning Zhuo's subsequent handling was excellent; even Fei Si praised him for being sensible, more agreeable than Sun Lingtong.

The main branch could only pin their hopes on the future. After all, it was a consensus among the higher-ups that the black market should not fall under the control of one of the three families; it was just a特殊 (special/exceptional) circumstance for now.

However, the main branch first encountered this new strategy!

This would greatly boost the development of the faction led by Ning Zhuo!

Originally, Ning Zhuo and his group's foundation was the black market, earning resources from it for cultivation.

Now, with positions being retained, the Molten Rock Palace was likely to become another source of resources for Ning Zhuo's faction.

And this time, the strategy of retaining Molten Rock Palace positions received confirmation from the highest level, unlike the black market, which was an unsustainable foundation.

The Ning Clan leadership could already foresee this糟糕 (awful) future.

Yet, what made them utterly disheartened was that they simply could not阻止 (stop/prevent) it!

(End of )