: Ning Zhuo Takes Action

What Ning Zhuo had vaguely worried about before had finally happened—the Zheng family had set their sights on the clinic!

The clinic facilities within the Molten Rock Palace were top-notch, greatly aiding in both repairing constructs and treating cultivators themselves.

Whichever faction controlled the clinic would wield significant influence in logistical matters.

Such power could elevate a faction's influence to new heights.

If the Molten Rock Palace were to open to the public in the future, the clinic would also serve as an operational site. With its facilities alone, it could generate immense daily profits.

The Zheng family's long-standing artifact-forging business paled in comparison to the clinic.

Even disregarding all of the above, the mere act of repairing constructs offered substantial gains.

Cultivators could dismantle various constructs within the Molten Rock Palace, gaining firsthand intelligence and rapidly exploring, understanding, and learning the mechanical arts embedded within them.

It was worth noting that these techniques originated from the Three Sects' masters, experts at the Void Refinement stage, making their value immense.

Ning Zhuo currently held three second-tier positions, corresponding to the clinic, the Five Elements Artillery Tower, and the Mustering Platform.

Among these, the clinic was undoubtedly the most valuable.

This was because the clinic could engage in production, creating value, and its scope of application far exceeded that of the Five Elements Artillery Tower and the Mustering Platform.

Zheng Jian proactively sought out Ning Zhuo, demanding that he name a price to hand over the clinic.

This prompted a light chuckle from Ning Zhuo.

He had originally intended to nurture the Zheng family's modification team, maintaining an open attitude himself. Instead, the Zheng family directly aimed to monopolize the entire clinic, treating it as their exclusive property and forbidding other factions from meddling!

"This is the true attitude of a major cultivation clan."

In the past, the Zheng family had primarily sought to win Ning Zhuo over, appearing very friendly.

But when true conflicts of interest arose, the Zheng family immediately revealed their tough, aloof stance.

They competed with all their might, unafraid to turn hostile—past affections meant little when sufficient benefits were at stake.

"Zheng Jian's current persuasion is only the first step in this competition."

Ning Zhuo understood clearly that if he refused, the Zheng family would likely employ various tactics against him next.

Ning Zhuo looked at Zheng Jian, his expression displeased: "Brother Zheng Jian, you must be joking, right? How can a crucial place like the clinic be so easily handed over?"

"The memory of us collaborating to forge the Mechanical Ape still feels vivid."

"Today, let us compete fairly."

Zheng Jian, with his hands behind his back, shook his head, his face full of sincerity: "Ning Zhuo, there are plenty of positions within the Molten Rock Palace. Why must you insist on clinging to these clinic positions?"

"Doing so will lead to severe attrition between your side and mine. That is extremely disadvantageous for both our families."

"Be rational. If we mutually avoid conflict, it benefits both sides and is better for the overall situation."

Ning Zhuo smiled slightly: "Securing the clinic positions is our rightful duty. I must ask the Zheng family to step aside."

Zheng Jian finally snorted coldly: "How is that possible? My Zheng family's strength clearly surpasses your Ning family's. Our clan is an established family in Blazing Persimmon Immortal City, while your Ning family are merely wanderers from the Northwind Kingdom."

"If it truly comes to competition, you will undoubtedly lose. Ning Zhuo, think carefully—are you perhaps misjudging the situation?"

At this point, the negotiation had effectively broken down.

Ning Zhuo said expressionlessly: "I don't believe so. Then let us compete and see who truly has the skill!"

With that, Ning Zhuo turned and left, ending the discussion on a sour note.

On this matter, he could not compromise. Because the clinic contained a critical treatment room!

This was very useful for Ning Zhuo—not only could it store some illicit goods, but it also allowed secret meetings with people like Sun Lingtong, serving as a very secure location.

Just earlier, inside the critical treatment room, he had crafted the Floating Ice White Jade Hand construct. He might even choose to undergo Foundation Establishment here in the future.

The critical treatment room was crucial for Ning Zhuo.

During the recent negotiation, he had considered feigning compliance with the Zheng family.

But upon reflection, he found no room for maneuver.

If Ning Zhuo agreed to让步, given the Zheng family's temperament and habits, they would most likely not permit him to freely enter and leave the clinic in the future.

Even if they did agree, allowing only Ning Zhuo entry while excluding the rest of the Ning family would be an even worse scenario for him.

It would almost be seen as Ning Zhuo prioritizing his personal interests, abandoning his role as a leader, forsaking his clan, and disregarding the family's welfare.

"This matter is somewhat troublesome..." Ning Zhuo left the clinic, pondering how to respond along the way.

After his recent visit to the Mercy Orphanage, he had steeled his resolve, no longer wavering, and committed fully to striving for control of the Molten Rock Palace at all costs.

Undoubtedly, the struggle for the position of Palace Master of the Molten Rock Palace had reached its final stage.

Ning Zhuo was now waiting for the Palace Examination.

This was currently the only method Ning Zhuo knew to secure the Palace Master position.

"To become Palace Master, one must achieve the top rank in the Palace Examination."

"And to participate in the Palace Examination, merit points are required."

"In this aspect, my disadvantage is far too great."

This was Ning Zhuo's greatest concern at the moment.

Previously, his bombing of the palace had caused his merit points to drop into negative territory. Since then, he had taken on multiple tasks, earning substantial merit. But even now, his merit points remained awkwardly negative.

And that was just the debt from bombing the palace.

Not long ago, using his position as head of the Five Elements Artillery Tower, he had shelled the base of Blazing Persimmon Mountain, triggering a tide of Scarlet Flame Demonic Beasts.

Now, this demon beast tide continuously attacked the Molten Rock Palace. The losses inflicted on the palace would be partially attributed to Ning Zhuo.

Following that, Ning Zhuo cooperated with the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, allowing Scarlet Flame Demonic Beasts entry to meet the minimum conditions for shelling the Molten Rock Palace.

Ultimately, the destruction of the Historiography Pavilion would also see a significant portion of the loss attributed to Ning Zhuo.

"However, none of this has been settled yet."

Ning Zhuo could well anticipate that once the settlement results came out, his merit points would undoubtedly be a massive pit.

"I must fill this enormous pit before the Palace Examination."

"Not only fill it, but also accumulate more merit points to rank high enough to qualify for the Palace Examination."

Under these circumstances, relying solely on Ning Zhuo himself to earn merit points with all his might would certainly not be enough.

The only path before him was to borrow strength from others!

The modification teams of the Ning, Zheng, and Zhou families, even the City Lord's Manor—all could be leveraged to give Ning Zhuo the best possible chance of participating in the Palace Examination.

Therefore, dealing with the Zheng family and Zheng Jian was quite troublesome for Ning Zhuo at the moment.

He couldn't simply suppress them outright, nor could he continuously yield.

The methods and approaches of the struggle needed careful handling, with control firmly maintained.

Only then could he achieve a favorable outcome.

After deep consideration, Ning Zhuo took action that very afternoon.

He led a group from the Ning family and stationed themselves by the street.

A battle had just ended, and constructs were gathering into a stream, slowly retreating.

Ning Zhuo stood at the forefront of the crowd, suddenly pointing: "See that construct pillar? Ning Yong, go bring it here."

Ning Yong leaped forward, channeling his spiritual power, reached out, grabbed the target, and pulled it out of the construct formation.

Carrying the pillar, Ning Yong ran straight back to Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo had him place the pillar flat on the ground, then both accepted the corresponding repair task—a multi-person maintenance mission.

Ning Zhuo squatted down and started working, while Ning Yong stood by observing.

In a few moves, Ning Zhuo opened the pillar's outermost layer. Then, he pried open the inner armor, revealing the internal structure.

The pillar was hollow, its inner walls covered with array patterns. A central support beam held numerous brass gears and hair-thin golden wires.

These wires and gears intertwined intricately, some visibly tangled into a mess.

The complexity made Ning Yong feel somewhat dizzy.

Ning Zhuo's eyes gleamed sharply as he quickly assessed: "The problem isn't major. Some brass gears need replacing, and the golden wires need rerouting."

Ning Zhuo handled the most difficult and tedious tasks successfully. Ning Yong watched from the side the entire time.

At the final stage, Ning Zhuo took out a small bronze wrench from his storage belt, the wrench faintly showing parts of talismanic patterns.

Ning Zhuo instructed Ning Yong to use the small wrench to adjust the angles of various gears.

For each gear adjustment, Ning Yong silently recited incantations, installing them one by one.

He followed Ning Zhuo's commands extremely obediently.

Ning Zhuo told him what to do, and he did it without question.

His main trait was obedience!

Ning Yong successfully completed the task. The repaired pillar construct stood up again and rushed back to the retreating construct troops on its four support legs.

Ning Zhuo then began allocating the merit points.

For cooperative repair tasks involving two people, merit distribution depended on their respective contributions.

However, contribution was difficult to quantify.

Aside from factual basis, it mainly relied on the judgment of the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit and Ning Zhuo himself.

Since the destruction of the Historiography Pavilion, Ning Zhuo had been unable to contact the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit.

Without the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit's involvement, it became solely Ning Zhuo's decision as the clinic director.

As the director, he now demonstrated upright conduct and high moral standing. He suppressed his own merit points to the minimum, ceding most to Ning Yong.

Thus, Ning Yong saw his merit points suddenly surge a large chunk, instantly reaching the standard for the Medical Officer position.

Ning Yong himself had accumulated considerable merit.

Ning Zhuo arranged for him to immediately go to the clinic and continue earning merit there as a Medical Officer.

Ning Zhuo looked at the others behind him: "Who's next?"

Ning Chen stepped forward.

"Young Master, it's me."

"By the way, there's a Zheng family cultivator nearby, watching us. Probably a scout from Zheng Jian's side."

Ning Zhuo chuckled: "It doesn't matter."

"Our actions like this align with the greater trend."

"Zheng Jian alone... can hardly withstand its force!"

"Let's continue."

"Yes!!!" everyone responded in unison, morale soaring.

(End of )