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“Based on Li Leifeng’s assessment, Ning Zhuo possesses profound innate talent in mechanical arts. He predicted that Ning Zhuo would show promise at the age of six.”

“But in truth, Ning Zhuo remained unremarkable until the recent appearance of the Lava Immortal Palace, when he finally displayed his talent and became a prominent figure.”

Zhu Xuanji had long since gathered much information about Ning Zhuo, familiar with his growth trajectory.

Previously, Zhu Xuanji had believed that Ning Zhuo had been accumulating knowledge, building up to a powerful emergence. After cultivating a new path, he gradually discovered his innate talent and then blossomed.

But now, Li Leifeng’s jade slip shattered his previous understanding.

“If Ning Zhuo could perform the Square Cleansing Wronged Souls play at the age of five, judging by his control over the puppets, his fundamentals are incredibly solid!”

“Ning Zhuo’s poor performance during the Ning Family Grand Examination due to nervousness… clearly, that was an act.”

“It seems Ning Zhuo began hiding his talents and feigning mediocrity from a very young age.”

“He kept it hidden for over a decade, only actively revealing his brilliance recently.”

“Why?” Zhu Xuanji was filled with doubt.

“Ning Zhuo, this disciple from a branch family of the Nings, why would he hide his talents and disguise himself?”

“Throughout his long years in the academy, why did he appear so ordinary?”

“Surely, if Ning Zhuo had displayed his talent and innate abilities, he would have received focused cultivation from the family!”

Zhu Xuanji thought of Ning Xiaoren.

“Perhaps there’s internal strife within the Ning family?”

“The crucial point is, if this child started disguising himself from the age of three or four, what kind of mind does he possess?”

“Such cunning is simply too profound!”

As Zhu Xuanji thought of this, a hint of chill even rose in his heart.

“So Ning Zhuo did this deliberately, hiding for a full decade?”

“During this time, did Ning Zhuo have no youthful vanity or impulses?”

“Or… could there be a hidden expert guiding him?”

Zhu Xuanji’s doubts grew.

The more he discovered, the more questions arose in his mind.

“Ning Zhuo is problematic!” Zhu Xuanji affirmed in his heart.

He had started to suspect Ning Zhuo before, but he also knew that this suspicion was unfounded. He just felt there was an inexplicable strangeness and unnaturalness about Ning Zhuo.

Now, Zhu Xuanji understood the reason!

“I have investigated countless cases and pursued criminals and culprits. My experience has accumulated greatly, cultivating an intuition for solving cases.”

“Ning Zhuo’s performance is excellent, without any obvious flaws or inconsistencies.”

“However, performance is still performance, and there is always a gap between it and reality!”

Zhu Xuanji had witnessed too much truth and falsehood. Although sometimes he couldn’t rationally judge, in his heart, he had already sensed this strangeness and unnaturalness.

When this feeling of unnaturalness accumulated to a certain extent, Zhu Xuanji couldn’t help but begin to suspect Ning Zhuo.

“Ning Zhuo, you little fellow, what kind of role are you playing in the struggle over the Lava Immortal Palace?”

Zhu Xuanji furrowed his brows, looking up at the night sky.

Tonight, the moonlight was hazy, covered by clouds.

Various pieces of intelligence, countless clues, flickered in Zhu Xuanji’s mind, rising and falling, mixed together and swirling into a huge vortex.

Zhu Xuanji stared at the clouds obscuring the moon, as if looking at the mist in his mind.

He had a strong feeling – he was just missing the last piece of the puzzle.

Like a jigsaw puzzle, just missing that final crucial piece!

As long as he found it and put it together, he could tear open the mist covering his eyes and allow the moon of truth to be fully revealed.

“So… the History Pavilion is that final puzzle piece!” Golden light suddenly erupted in Zhu Xuanji’s eyes.

An urge rose within him to immediately fly back to the Lava Immortal Palace and personally supervise Ning Xiaohui’s thorough investigation of the History Pavilion.

“No, no, I can’t do that.”

Zhu Xuanji lowered his head and paced, deep in thought.

He was completely immersed in his own world of contemplation, forgetting everything around him.

Zhu Hou saw him deep in thought and smiled, not making a sound, just watching quietly.

As a senior, seeing such a performance from an excellent junior of the royal family filled him with appreciation and satisfaction.

Zhu Xuanji quickly reviewed everything that had happened. From the time he arrived at Fire Persimmon Immortal City until now, Ning Zhuo had appeared far too frequently in the various events.

“Ning Zhuo must be playing a relatively important role.”

“Perhaps he is the biggest cloud of mist concealing the truth!”

“But I cannot unravel it, I lack direct evidence.”

“Even if I present Li Leifeng’s list, Ning Zhuo will have countless explanations and excuses.”

“In fact, even if he openly admits that he has been pretending for over a decade, what can be done?”

“Perhaps, I should conduct a surprise inspection and see what he commonly uses in his storage equipment?”

“No, that’s not right either!”

Zhu Xuanji thought that Ning Zhuo was merely in the Qi Refining stage. Even if he was deeply involved with the mastermind, he was only a capable pawn.

Even if Zhu Xuanji pried open this pawn and saw the true colors it had been hiding, what could be done?

“It would instead scare the snake in the grass too much and provoke conflict.”

“Currently, Ning Xiaohui is one key, and Ning Zhuo is another.”

Thinking this, Zhu Xuanji made a decision.

He first wrote a secret letter to inquire of Zhu Zhen.

After Zhu Zhen ceased his investigation, he secretly came to Zhu Xuanji and voluntarily expressed his willingness to contribute more.

Zhu Xuanji arranged for him to be within the Lava Immortal Palace, not revealing his royal identity, but disguising him as an outsider cultivator, diligently completing tasks and constantly earning merits.

In reality, Zhu Xuanji had another important task for Zhu Zhen – for the past few days, Zhu Zhen had been secretly responsible for protecting and monitoring Ning Xiaohui!

“Being outside the Immortal Palace now is actually an opportunity.”

Zhu Xuanji created a jade slip secret message, instructing Zhu Zhen to fully protect Ning Xiaohui from now on!

At the same time, Zhu Xuanji took out a dressing mirror from his storage belt.

This mirror was exquisitely beautiful to the extreme.

The entire mirror was surrounded by a lifelike golden phoenix, its wings spread to embrace the mirror’s surface, its feathers as delicate as silk, incredibly fine, as if each feather was subtly trembling.

The phoenix’s head was held high, its eyes like stars, exuding majesty and mystery, its beak slightly open, as if murmuring ancient spells. Its long tail wound downwards, the tail feathers lightly coiled beneath the mirror frame, forming a graceful curve, adding a touch of softness and vibrancy to the mirror.

The Golden Phoenix Mirror!

This was something Zhu Xuanji had taken from the treasury of the Southern Bean Royal Family.

The King of Southern Bean had specifically told him that this Golden Phoenix Mirror was originally an item from the Lava Immortal Palace, merely seized by the Grand Emperor Emeritus.

If it were returned to the Lava Immortal Palace, it would certainly yield a huge amount of merit!

Zhu Xuanji had kept this treasure mirror in his possession, intending to use it as a trump card for a useful time.

Now, he decisively took it out, deciding to secretly give it to Ning Xiaohui through Zhu Zhen. By having Ning Xiaohui present it, she could gain a massive amount of merit in a short period.

In this way, Ning Xiaohui could instantly obtain the position of the History Pavilion.

This was the most crucial breakthrough for the current situation!

Zhu Xuanji had not originally planned to pay such a heavy price. But at this moment, after obtaining Li Leifeng’s list, he felt chills emanating from Ning Zhuo.

This prompted him to make such a decision.

“Ning Zhuo… he is another key, the most important witness.”

“He should also be fully won over!”

Thinking of this, Zhu Xuanji’s gaze focused, and he fully returned to his senses.

He smiled at Zhu Hou, looking a little embarrassed.

Zhu Hou waved his hand dismissively: “To be able to help you, Uncle I am very pleased.”

Zhu Xuanji said: “Clan Uncle, I have changed my mind. Tomorrow, I want to attend your inauguration ceremony, and I also want to bring someone else.”

Zhu Hou was curious: “Oh? Were you deep in thought just now because of this person?”

There was nothing Zhu Xuanji needed to hide from Zhu Hou, so he admitted frankly: “That’s right, this person is called Ning Zhuo, and he is the talent recorded on Li Leifeng’s list.”

“Although he is only a cultivator in the Qi Refining stage, currently only sixteen years old, he is the most special young man I have ever seen.”

“Many times, I cannot fathom him!”

Zhu Hou immediately showed surprise.

He had witnessed how the young Zhu Xuanji had progressed by leaps and bounds and was very clear about Zhu Xuanji’s talent.

This was the first time he had heard Zhu Xuanji give such a high evaluation of someone! And this person was only in the Qi Refining stage, only sixteen years old.

Zhu Hou was extremely curious and laughed heartily: “Hahaha, this makes me incredibly look forward to tomorrow’s inauguration ceremony.”

“Ning Zhuo, is it? I must take a good look and see what kind of young genius can catch your eye, Zhu Xuanji!”

The next day.

“This is bad, this is bad! Young master, wake up, wake up quickly!” The anxious voice of the Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit woke Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo lay in bed and suddenly opened his eyes: “What happened? Has more than half of the Lava Immortal Palace’s defensive shield been broken?”

Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit: “No, it’s worse than that.”

“This morning, Ning Xiaohui obtained a magical artifact called the Golden Phoenix Mirror and is about to present it to the Immortal Palace!”

“The Golden Phoenix Mirror was originally an item of the Immortal Palace, a pair with the Jade Dragon Mirror, specifically equipped for the Mirror Platform Spirit Art.”

“Now, by presenting such an important magical artifact, her merit will skyrocket, instantly exceeding the minimum standard for the History Pavilion’s position!”

The Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit was extremely anxious.

Ning Zhuo’s heart immediately tensed, and he sat up quickly: “What?!”

He was about to continue questioning the Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit about this emergency, when Ning Jiufan’s voice came from outside: “Ning Zhuo, wake up, I will take you out.”

Ning Zhuo’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly put on only his inner garment, pushed open the door, and bowed to Ning Jiufan.

Ning Jiufan held Ning Zhuo’s collar with one hand and flew into the sky.

On the way, he explained: “The Orphanage is holding an inauguration ceremony today. Zhu Xuanji is in charge of this matter. Since you have donated items to the Orphanage multiple times in the past, he specially invited you to attend.”

“I didn’t expect Lord Zhu Xuanji to think so highly of you, Xiaozhuo, you must perform well.”

“Understand?”

Ning Zhuo’s heart was icy cold, but on the surface, he appeared especially surprised: “This young one has always been grateful to Lord Li Leifeng! When I was a child, I stole leftover pastries from guests at the Orphanage. Lord Li Leifeng discovered me but didn’t chase me away, and even treated me to many brand new tea cakes and pastries.”

The Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit was dumbfounded.

It watched Ning Zhuo being taken away, leaving the Lava Immortal Palace. Only then did it react, subconsciously extending its dragon claw, its four fingers spread wide.

The Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit looked in the direction Ning Zhuo had gone and cried out: “No—!”

“Come back.”

“Ning Zhuo, come back quickly!”

“Ning Xiaohui is about to enter the History Pavilion and know everything!”

Ning Zhuo’s heart was chillingly clear, as if he were in a snowfield, cold to the bone.

“Ning Xiaohui suddenly has a magical artifact to present, and I am being taken away from the Lava Immortal Palace at this crucial juncture.”

“This must be Zhu Xuanji’s doing!”

“Zhu Xuanji suspects me even more deeply. Where did I expose a flaw?”

“Could it be that Han Ming has been captured?!”