Ning family.

Today was the big day for the Ning Family to announce the results.

Ning and his wife Wang Lan sat in the central hall early in the morning, waiting for the results of the final exam of the two younger generations in the home.

The Ning Family's disciples had been tested for their Innate Bones from the moment they were born. They would be tested once a year until they were 12 or 13 years old.

Those with cultivation aptitude were sent to the clan's private school, which was provided by the clan to study full-time until they were sixteen or seventeen years old, where they would undergo the graduation exam.

The annual exam was related to the fate of the young cultivators.

The top 30 youths in the exam were qualified to join the Ning Family's own businesses, and their future was undoubtedly even broader.

Wang Lan was sipping tea on the surface, but her gaze would occasionally glance at the door, unable to hide her nervousness and anticipation.

Ning's eyes were droopy and his mood was very depressed.

He had waited until dawn, waiting to see the Huang Gusan ghosts return.

"They failed!"

"I didn't expect this tuft of hair to be so fierce and vicious.”

"It's all right, it's all right.""

"When I contacted the three ghosts of the Huang family, I didn't reveal my true appearance, and the Wandering Guest couldn't know it was me."

　　"The Huang Family's three ghosts really had a false reputation, with the God Suppressing Talisman and the spirit pet Green Blade Mantis, they still lost in a three-on-one fight! I really misjudged them.”

"Alas, what should I do next?"

　　Ning Blame was forced to make a risky move, but it failed miserably. He had a headache and didn't know how to explain it to the young clan leader.

　　"Father, mother, I passed the exam, I made it into the top thirty!" At this moment, a young man ran into the house and shouted excitedly.

　　"Really? Ji'er, you really passed the exam?!” Wang Lan immediately stood up, her face full of surprise.

The young monk Ning Ji's voice was very loud, "Of course! Mother, you don't even believe your own son?”

"Oh?" She asked. Ning looked up and saw his son Ning Ji's unbridled smile.

Normally, Ning Ji's grades were around the 40th percentile. He didn't expect that he would outperform himself in this final exam.

This unexpected news, slightly diluted Ning's melancholy.

　　Ning Ji's voice was high pitched: ''Father, mother, your child has given you a lot of face this time. I told you a long time ago that I know what's in my heart. Although my grades on weekdays are bad, it's just that I'm not willing to give it my all.”

"Unlike someone else…”

　　"During the weekdays, the grades are good, stabilized within the top thirty. But this time, he missed the bottom and only got thirty-one. He fell off the list!”

As he said this, Ning Ji turned his head and looked at the white-robed youth who had walked in behind him with a mocking look on his face.

The white-robed young man was dressed simply. His eyes were clear, and he had a guilty and disappointed expression.

"Great Uncle, Great Aunt." The white-robed youth clumsily bowed.

　　Wang Lan looked at the teenager and pointedly said, "What? Little Clumsy, you failed the exam this time?!”

　　Ning Ze’s face sank as he reached out and demanded, "Bring me the report card.”

Ning Ze clumsily took out the report card, and handed it to his Uncle Ning.

Ning Ze lowered his head and glanced around, his face turning as dark as water.

The next moment, he shook the paper in his hand and said with hatred, "Little Zhuo, how could your mistake be so serious?"

"I remember that you had quite a few achievements in puppeteer arts."

" Previously, you made a puppet parrot, and it was praised by the clan elders."

"The puppeteer technique is clearly your strong point. How did you make an inferior one this time?"

"Alas, if you did not make this mistake, you would have been in the top 30!"

Auntie's eyes were sharp. "Little Zhuo, tell me, have you been taking on some private work for the puppeteer workshop recently?"

Without waiting for Ning Zhuo's reply, Auntie sighed: "Alas, how many times have I told you not to be greedy for money. At your age, you should be studying hard.”

"You put all your energy into making money. It's like picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelon."

"Look at you now, is it good? Out of the thirties?!"

"The family estate can't get in!!!”

When Ning Zhuo heard this, he finally mustered up his courage: "Auntie, I heard from my classmates that you can go through connections."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by his aunt loudly: "Go through connections? Do you know how many spirit stones it costs to use connections? Do you know how many people we have to find if we go through connections?"

"Oh, now that you didn't do well in the exams, with a flippant remark, your great uncle and I will have to look up and down for people, run our legs off, and go around giving you backdoor connections?"

"You still have the nerve to open this mouth!"

"If I had known this, I wouldn't have done it in the first place."

"I told you long ago to focus on cultivation and not to take on private work to earn so little spirit stones."

"What's the point?!"

"You'll earn much more if you get within the 30th place and enter the family industry. There are still fewer key things to do, and there's more time for you to continue your cultivation."

When he said that, he bowed and said,"Uncle, aunt, my classmates are waiting for me to have dinner. There is nothing else to do."

Eldest Uncle stared at Ning Zhuo silently.

Ning Zhuo fiercely raised his head, his face was all red from being humiliated, he gritted his teeth and said in a hard voice, "Eldest uncle, eldest aunt, I, Ning拙, will do things alone!"

"Since it's thirty-one, forget it."

"Over the years, I've been indebted to the two old men for their care, and I'm grateful for it. The test turned out to be like this, it's an evil that I forged, that's my own fault!"

"I'll do things alone!"

"I don't believe that if I go out, I won't be able to find a way to support myself."

Speaking till this, Ning Zhuo clumsily bowed and excused himself, "Uncle and Auntie, my classmates are still waiting for me to gather for dinner. If there is nothing else, I'll take my leave first."

Uncle Ning stared at Ning Zhuo in silence.

Auntie raised her hand and said disgustedly, "Go go go, you are so big-hearted, you scored so poorly in the exams, but you are still in the mood for a dinner party!"

　Ning Zhuo couldn't stay any longer and left in anger.

　Great aunt looked at Ning Ji and changed her face, turning her anger into joy: "My son is still excellent!”

She pushed the refreshments on the table, "Quickly try it, this is the Golden Meal Hall's refreshment, the Golden Silk Jade Dew Cake, after eating it, it can increase the base of your sea of consciousness and strengthen your divine mind, which is very helpful for your cultivation, and even for building your foundation in the future!"

Ning Ji's eyes lit up, and he couldn't wait to pick one up and put it in his mouth.

Ning Ji's eyes lit up as he eagerly picked up one and put it into his mouth.

The taste of the Golden Silk Dew Cake was unique. The cake was soft and glutinous, while the golden silk was hard and crisp. There was also a fluid filling inside.

Ning Ji swallowed it in three gulps and felt a clear air rising from his stomach, straight to the sky, making him feel refreshed.

Ning Ji praised sincerely: "Delicious, delicious!"

"Then eat more, all for you." His mother laughed.

　　Ning Ji ate all three of the remaining ones and licked his lips, unable to finish, "Worthy of being produced by the Golden Meal Hall, it's just delicious! How come there are only four? Are there any more?”

His father snorted coldly, "Each piece of cake here is worth 20 spirit stones. You just ate nearly a hundred spirit stones. Do you still want more?"

"Then you have to work harder and not slack off! In the future, you should perform well in the family and strive to earn enough spirit food for yourself with your own hands as soon as possible."

　　Ning Ji shouted, "Father, I've done you a favor this time! Think about it, if I had the grades I had before, you would have to run around and send me to the family estate through the back door with gifts. I've saved you hundreds of stones by doing so well in the exams.

"Besides, I'm eating these to increase my spirit, to make my cultivation easier, and to work harder."

"If I had such a level of resource supply, my results would have been among the best."

　　Seeing his son talk back, Ning's father glared and was about to reprimand him.

　Ning's mother hurriedly said, "Alright, alright, all of you, cut it out.”

She glared at her husband and said, "My son did well on the exams, so he should be praised. You can't say a few words and you want to criticize him again.”

"Don't look at my son who is always playful, but he is reliable at critical moments."

"Unlike Ning Zhuo, who usually makes people take their grades lightly, in the end, he is the one who makes people worry the most!"

"Look at him, just after criticizing him for a sentence or two, he just turned his head and left. This kind of uneducated! Was what I said wrong?"

"Hmph, he even ran out to eat. He's in the mood for it!"

Ning Ji sneered: "He is too arrogant and self-righteous. He doesn't listen to his parents earnest instructions."

　　"By the way, our family shouldn't really be giving him access and spending favors, right?”

Father Ning snorted coldly. "This is not something you should worry about."

　　Seeing his father's anger, Ning Ji subconsciously shrunk his neck, and thinking about the results of this great examination, he raised his voice and said, "Mother, Ning Zhuo can even go out to eat, I also want to go out to a restaurant and eat spiritual food. Give me a penny. You don't know how much I've paid for this grand exam!"

"Very good." Mother Ning smiled and took out a bag of spirit stones and handed it to Ning Ji.

Ning Ji took the purse and got up to leave.

He left the Ning residence and walked down the street, but he was not in a hurry to his favorite restaurant. Instead, he strolled along the street.

He wanted to see where Ning Zhuo was eating.

　　Normally, he didn't have this kind of opportunity, and now that he had easily caught it, Ning Ji wanted to taunt the other party more for fun.

　　As a result, he searched left and right, but couldn't find him.

　　After asking a few shopkeepers, they confirmed that Ning Zhuo had not been here at all.

　　Ning Zhou slapped his head and realized: ''This kid is pretending, where's the dinner party? I'm afraid that at this time, he's staying in the shabby house where his mother died of illness and crying!”

　　"Forget about him, I'll finish a meal first.”

Not only was the spirit food delicious, but it also had the magical effect of increasing one's cultivation. Ning Ji was looking forward to it.

His guess was partly correct.

Ning Zhou had returned to his own home.

Compared to his uncle and aunt's residence, Ning Zhuo's house was simple and dilapidated.

　　Ning Clumsy gently closed the courtyard gate and walked through the small courtyard, into the main house and into the inner room.

This was his bedroom and also his study.

Although the furniture was shabby and crude, it was very clean.

Ning Zhuo touched the Lion Rock on the desk.

A glimmer of light flashed across Lion Rock's face, indicating that no one had been here during his absence.

Ning Zhuo turned around and came to the bed. He gently twisted the railing beside the bed, and suddenly, a rattling sound of a mechanism came out.

Immediately, the bed moved sideways, revealing the underground passage.

He stepped on the wooden ladder and entered the secret underground chamber.

After stepping on the ground, he twisted the switch on the wall and moved the bed above his head back to its original position.

There was no light from the ceiling, but the runes on the walls around the basement lit up, making the small space even brighter.

At this point, the disappointment, grief, depression and other expressions on Ning Zhuo's face disappeared without a trace, replaced by a calm expression.

He came to his most familiar work bench and sat down, the workbench was a variety of puppet parts.

Ning Zhou pulled open the right hand side of the drawer, revealed a drawer full of cakes.

Each pastry was wrapped in paper.

On the paper, there was the symbol of the Golden Dining Hall.

He casually grabbed a handful of Golden Silk Dew Cake. There were five or six pieces. He activated his magic power and burned the paper of the cake in the next moment, but the cake itself was not damaged at all.

Obviously, he did this action number very much, already skilled to the extreme.

Ning Zhuo chewed on the pastry, his eyes slightly diverging. In his heart, he recalled his performance today.

This good habit, he has kept for more than ten years.

"There should be no problem."

　　"It's just that I didn't expect that the other people's performances in this Grand Examination generally missed the mark and didn't completely play to their level.”

"When I was looking at the rankings before, I almost thought that I had failed to control the points and entered the top 30."