: Assassination

2024-09-12 Author: Gu Zhenren

A medium-sized construct beast flexed its limbs and swiftly departed from Zheng Jian and the others.

Zheng Jian's focus was on the Zheng clan cultivator beside him. "Well?"

The Zheng cultivator wore a puzzled expression. "Strange! The merit I gained isn't much. It's even less than if I worked alone."

Zheng Jian's face darkened, and he remained silent.

The Zheng cultivators around him found this very odd.

They had clearly imitated Ning Zhuo, so why was the result so different?

The Ning cultivators Ning Zhuo promoted saw their merit skyrocket, each rushing into the medical hall.

On Zheng Jian's side, not only was Zheng Jian himself delayed, but the merit gains for the others were hardly impressive.

"Should we try again?" proposed a Zheng cultivator.

Zheng Jian shook his head. "Enough. We've tried three times already. No need for more."

At that moment, he recalled his own exploration within the medical hall.

Throughout, Zheng Jian had been sensing his innate talent – Heart-Piercing Insight.

When faced with rooms he couldn't enter, he would use his talent to test them indirectly.

The other rooms held nothing special. Only when he faced the door to the Critical Treatment Room and conceived the idea of forcing his way in was his Heart-Piercing Insight triggered. An alarm bell rang sharply in his heart, warning him that attempting a forced entry would certainly lead to death!

"There's only one Critical Treatment Room in the entire medical hall."

"There seems to be something peculiar inside."

"Ning Zhuo has already been in there twice, yet I haven't seen any related tasks even once."

Thinking of this, Zheng Jian said to those around him, "Ning Zhuo was once controlled by the Bukong Sect. It's very likely he kept some secrets and didn't disclose everything."

"Among these secrets should be the results of the Bukong Sect's infiltration and continuous exploration of the Molten Rock Palace."

"That's why he can promote his companions through joint tasks."

"However, this is nothing!"

"The Ning Clan is, after all, the weakest of the three families. Once our clan begins to exert its strength, the balance of power will become quite clear. As for Ning Zhuo, a mere Qi Refining junior... heh, he won't last."

"We only need to wait quietly for the right moment to arrive."

Realizing he couldn't defeat Ning Zhuo and the Ning Clan through legitimate means, Zheng Jian began leveraging his clan's strength to engage in competition at the clan level.

In the sky above.

A Raging Fire Drake circled and danced.

When a Raging Fire Snake grows horns, it becomes a drake, and most gain the ability to fly.

A Golden Core level aura radiated from it.

Such a Blaze Fiend beast was extremely difficult for the constructs within the Molten Rock Palace to handle alone. Unless they deployed constructs of the Dao Master or Demon General level.

Ning Jiufan and Zheng Shanlian arrived almost simultaneously to deal with the situation.

Zheng Shanlian held a construct scythe and smiled at Ning Jiufan. "Brother Ning, care to guess whether this construct weapon in my hand can take the life of this snake-drake?"

Ning Jiufan's expression turned grim. "Naturally, it can."

Zheng Shanlian then activated the construct scythe.

The blade of the scythe seemed to flicker slightly, as if a phantom light passed over it.

The next moment, the Raging Fire Drake, which had just been soaring through the air shrieking, was directly beheaded.

Its demon core was struck out of its body, falling towards the ground, while its entire serpentine form completely dissipated.

It lost its life in an instant!

Ning Jiufan's pupils contracted sharply.

Zheng Shanlian let out a turbid breath; a red flush flashed briefly in the depths of his eyes. Despite his seemingly calm and effortless demeanor just now, he had actually used his full strength.

That single activation directly consumed forty percent of his Golden Core法力 (fǎlì - magic power/spiritual energy).

Although the consumption was terrifying, the result was excellent, strongly intimidating Ning Jiufan.

"Brother Ning, congratulations, you guessed correctly." Zheng Shanlian continued asking, "Then, tell me, can this construct weapon of mine take that medical hall?"

Ning Jiufan was silent for a moment, then said sullenly, "It can."

Ning Zhuo entered Ning Jiufan's study.

Over the past few days, he had achieved numerous results, promoting most of the Ning Clan Reformation Team members into the medical hall.

Once in the medical hall, he used his official position to assign the Ning Clan Reformation Team particularly favorable tasks, increasing their gains even further.

Currently, the Ning Clan had completely surpassed the Zheng Clan in the competition for medical hall positions.

Ning Jiufan coughed lightly and pointed to a stool. "Sit first."

Ning Zhuo sat down.

"Take a look at these first." Ning Jiufan handed him several jade slips.

Ning Zhuo pressed the jade slips to his forehead. After scanning them with his spiritual sense, he found they were reports and pleas for aid from the main branch of the Ning Clan.

The letters stated that the Zheng Clan had launched a full-scale offensive, repeatedly obstructing and attacking various Ning Clan businesses. The Zheng Clan was acting everywhere, strongly targeting the Ning Clan, making it difficult for them to make any progress.

Other pleas for aid came from the black market, from those former Ning Clan stewards.

The black market under Ning Zhuo's control was also frequently encountering incidents; it was clearly the Zheng Clan acting behind the scenes.

Without the foundation of the Ning main branch, the black market was now in imminent danger!

Ning Zhuo snorted coldly. "It seems the Zheng Clan is determined to secure the medical hall."

He then looked at Ning Jiufan. "Ancestor, you called me here this time. Do you want us to give up?"

Ning Jiufan didn't state his position, only asking, "Ning Zhuo, what do you think we should do in the current situation?"

Ning Zhuo fell into deep thought.

He paced three circles around the study before finally stopping in front of Ning Jiufan. His voice carried a bitter tone. "The Zheng Clan is powerful. In principle, we shouldn't confront them head-on."

"But I think there might still be a chance."

"We can seek help from Lord Zhu Xuanji!"

Ning Jiufan shook his head. "The Zheng Clan's moves against our Ning Clan are all within the allowed bounds. How can Lord Zhu Xuanji show us undue favoritism?"

Ning Zhuo suggested another idea. "Then let's ask Lord Meng Kui to uphold justice!"

Ning Jiufan was stunned for a moment, then shook his head again. "Not appropriate! Our clan has already formed an alliance with Zhu Xuanji, the Zheng Clan, and the Zhou Clan. Asking Lord Meng Kui to intervene now would be no different from betraying the alliance."

Ning Zhuo said, "There might be a way to solve that. For example, I could branch off from the family, leading the branch lineage to seek refuge with Meng Kui."

"After all, almost all the members of the Reformation Team are from the branch lineages."

"If Meng Kui can truly protect us, we wouldn't have to yield!"

"You little rascal, thinking about branching off the family again!" Ning Jiufan was so angry he gave Ning Zhuo a knuckle rap on the head.

This time, however, Ning Zhuo raised his head high, a gleam of sharp light in his eyes. "Ancestor, just tell me if this idea of mine has any feasibility?"

Ning Jiufan was slightly taken aback.

He thought about it carefully. Huh? It actually might be possible to pull off.

Everyone could see that Meng Kui wanted to break up the alliance. Otherwise, he wouldn't have used the overt scheme of keeping official positions unchanged.

If Ning Zhuo could genuinely orchestrate a branch family split and defect to Meng Kui, Meng Kui would likely accept it gladly. He could then use this as a point to rightfully interfere in Ning Clan affairs.

Once the Ning Clan's internal affairs were interfered with, the City Lord's Manor could顺势 (shùnshì -顺势 means 'following the situation' or 'taking advantage of the opportunity') intervene in the alliance and the affairs of the other families.

But after careful consideration, Ning Jiufan still vetoed Ning Zhuo's proposal.

Branching off the family was far too risky!

Ning Zhuo sighed deeply. "If we can't borrow external strength, then I'm afraid we have no choice but to compromise with the Zheng Clan."

Ning Jiufan said, "Good. Young Ning Zhuo, you know when to bend and when to stand firm, and you can assess the situation realistically. That's truly rare for your age."

Ning Zhuo snorted. "I'd rather defeat Zheng Jian fairly and squarely. It's a pity our clan's strength is weak. I'll approach Zheng Jian one more time, under the pretext of proactively yielding, and have him compensate us with something... Sigh... We can't just yield for nothing, right?"

Ning Jiufan nodded. "Do it that way then."

Ning Zhuo's formal visiting card was delivered to Zheng Jian first.

After reading it, Zheng Jian passed it to the others.

The Zheng Clan Reformation Team members laughed heartily, their morale visibly rising.

"Boss, your prediction was spot on! That Ning Zhuo has indeed surrendered!"

"Has to get beaten up before he's willing to lower his head. Isn't that just贱 (jiàn - cheap/despicable)?"

"Refused the toast only to be forced to drink the forfeit. Haha, he deserves this outcome. In my opinion, there's no need to even meet him. He really thought he was something special."

Zheng Jian shook his head. "Ning Zhuo does have some skill."

"Not to mention anything else, I have considerable respect for his expertise in constructs."

"Meeting once more to talk is fine. I'm also somewhat interested in the cooperation he mentioned in his letter."

Ning Zhuo and Zheng Jian met again.

Zheng Jian cupped his hands in salute. "Brother Ning."

He wasn't arrogant, but the smile on his face fully displayed the superiority of an established family.

Ning Zhuo let out a long, quiet sigh. "Brother Zheng Jian, this time I'm not defeated by you, but my Ning Clan is defeated by the Zheng Clan."

Zheng Jian nodded. "Exactly so. Let's talk about the cooperation you mentioned in your letter?"

Ning Zhuo sighed again. "You should know that I've grasped a pattern. After completing a multi-person task, I can significantly increase my companions' merit."

Zheng Jian nodded.

Ning Zhuo said, "I can work for your Zheng Clan, helping your people quickly become medical officers."

"Once they become medical officers, with access to the medical hall's facilities and the tasks specific to medical officers, the progress of Zheng Clan cultivators will be astonishing!"

Zheng Jian was tempted. "Your proposal is interesting. So, what would my side need to offer?"

Ning Zhuo took a deep breath and试探性地 (tànshìxìng de - tentatively) said, "My Ning Clan needs a few positions within the medical hall."

Zheng Jian immediately shook his head. "That is absolutely impossible!"

Ning Zhuo gritted his teeth. "What if it's just me retaining a position?"

Zheng Jian shook his head again. "Brother Ning Zhuo, I dare not leave you in the medical hall. After all, above medical officers, there are higher positions. And the higher the position, the fewer there are."

"If I allow you to remain active in the medical hall, and you eventually become the Hall Master – I mean the highest position – wouldn't I, Zheng Jian, and the entire Zheng Clan become a laughingstock?"

"Even that won't do?" Ning Zhuo stared at Zheng Jian.

Zheng Jian shook his head. "Absolutely not!"

*Pfft.*

A soft sound.

Zheng Jian's body stiffened. He slowly looked down, disbelief in his eyes as he saw the tip of a blade protruding from his chest!

A single-handed sword had pierced through his back, through his heart, and out his front.

Ning Zhuo was also momentarily stunned, then suddenly暴退 (bàotuì - rapidly retreated), shouting loudly, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!"

His voice carried around. The Zheng Clan Reformation Team members, who were nearby, rushed to support.

Then, they saw Yang Chanyu withdraw her single-handed sword, having killed Zheng Jian.

Zheng Jian collapsed to the ground, eyes wide open, devoid of any sign of life.

Yang Chanyu cultivated the Old Cicada Art, which excelled at积蓄 (jīxù - accumulating energy/store up) and carrying out assassinations. Back then, even the renowned Luo Shang was defeated by her single sneak attack.

Let alone Zheng Jian, who was only at the Qi Refining stage.

"Boss!"

"Leader!!"

"Demon woman, I'll fight you to the death!"

The Zheng Clan cultivators were filled with fury, their eyes wide with rage. A surge of blood courage and indignation made them utterly unafraid of Yang Chanyu, a Golden Core cultivator.

Yang Chanyu, however, ignored them and charged straight towards Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo screamed for help. The Slippery Glow Talisman on his body activated automatically, forming a glossy protective shield.

Yang Chanyu slashed several times, but all were blocked by the glossy shield.

"Interesting." She suddenly stopped and looked towards the southeast direction. "I'll come for your life next time, little traitor!"

She glared coldly at Ning Zhuo, icily tossed out these words, then soared into the sky.

She left behind Ning Zhuo, who sat collapsed on the ground, unable to hide his terror, drenched in cold sweat, and utterly distraught.

(End of )