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Benevolence Orphanage.

The five-story Puppet Tower.

This was the tallest building in the orphanage, and the place Li Leifeng often used for performances during his lifetime. Every fundraiser almost happened here.

Although it was morning, many cultivators had already gathered.

For Zhu Hou’s succession, the stage had been newly arranged.

On either side of the stage, two vermilion pillars had been added. The pillars were carved with two lines of characters: Benevolent Heart Spreads Widely, Virtuous Deeds Benefit the World.

Below the stage, more than a dozen round tables were set up.

Around the round tables were round stools.

Many cultivators sat, enjoying the tea and snacks on the tables while chatting leisurely. A few also stood in the corners, conversing with each other.

These people were all dressed in brocade robes and luxurious clothing, their demeanor proper, their conversations quiet, subtly exuding an air of elegance.

Their topics of discussion revolved around Li Leifeng, Zhu Hou, and donations.

They subtly probed each other about how much they would donate during Zhu Hou’s succession ceremony.

Donations were a delicate matter.

Neither too high nor too low. Some, seeking fame, deliberately donated more. For others, their reputation in the righteous path became a burden at this moment. Even if their pockets were empty, they had to donate a large sum of money.

In these probing exchanges, people played along, joked, bluffed, and indirectly inquired, only truly relaxing after each had gained something.

The topic quickly shifted to the siege by demonic beasts.

“Up until now, the City Lord’s Mansion hasn’t requested reinforcements from the capital of Nandou Kingdom. This shows that the situation is still under control. Although our Fire Persimmon Immortal City is newly built, we can hold on!”

“Any Red Flame Demonic Beast, regardless of the species, has value in every part of its body once it falls. So, from another perspective, these surrounding beast tides are waves of spirit stones.”

“Hahaha…” The crowd burst into laughter.

Overall, because the Lava Immortal Palace bore the brunt of the beast tide’s pressure, the situation in Fire Persimmon Immortal City was very stable, and the morale of the citizens remained at a high level.

Some also had a clear understanding of the situation: “The real key to this beast tide is not Fire Persimmon Immortal City, but the Lava Immortal Palace!”

“You might not have grasped the situation on the mountaintop. Most of the view is obscured by clouds and mist.”

“However, I heard from a fellow Daoist who could enter the Immortal Palace that the beast tide there is truly terrifying!”

“If it weren’t for Lord Meng Kui’s urgent mobilization of many Nascent Soul cultivators to the Immortal Palace battlefield, the Lava Immortal Palace alone wouldn’t be able to hold on.”

“If the Lava Immortal Palace falls, our Fire Persimmon Immortal City here will absolutely not be saved!”

This profound insight was met with scorn from the surrounding cultivators, who generally felt that this cultivator was being overly pessimistic.

The cultivator insisted on his view and did not back down in front of the crowd: “The clouds and mist on the mountaintop are actually proof. Our City Lord’s Mansion is unwilling to let us perceive the truth. Why?”

“It’s because they fear that if we see the real beast tide, our morale will plummet, our will will be lost, and we will choose to leave the city when we could escape. This is detrimental to the overall situation.”

“There is also a striking piece of evidence. You’ve all heard the recent rumors about uniting all cultivators, including those from the demonic and evil paths, to participate in the city defense.”

“If the pressure weren’t immense, why would the City Lord’s Mansion do such a thing?”

“It’s precisely because the front line is tight and the pressure is huge, so they have to mobilize all fighting forces!”

This remark quickly drew ridicule.

The dissenters also argued logically: “Fool! The City Lord’s Mansion does this to keep these demonic and evil cultivators under their supervision. The previous Nascent Soul melee is the best warning. Unsupervised demonic cultivators are truly hateful, and if you’re not careful, they can cause big trouble.”

“Alas… if it weren’t for the Recruitment Order, our Fire Persimmon Immortal City wouldn’t have so many杂七杂八 (miscellaneous) people mixed in.”

“The King’s vision is grand, but I would rather our Fire Persimmon Immortal City digest the Lava Immortal Palace by itself…”

After this dissenter finished speaking, someone echoed.

“This kind of rumor is pure nonsense!”

“I don’t believe that the dignified City Lord’s Mansion would even court demonic and evil cultivators. This is too shameful for the righteous path, for our Nandou Kingdom.”

“Such evil and heretical paths should operate in the gutters and dark corners.”

“Look here, in such a grand hall, is there any evil or demonic path person?”

More people echoed: “Yes, yes.”

“That makes sense.”

“Brothers, I have a question. I heard recently that the Monkey Head Gang is organizing a team to go out of the city to clear out scattered Red Flame Demonic Beasts and participate in the entire city defense system. Do people like them count as evil and heretical paths?”

“Of course they do!”

“Hmph, the founder of the Monkey Head Gang is named Yuan Yi, I know him. In his early years, he made his fortune relying on a monkey pet named Yuan Dasheng.”

“He’s not good stuff either, having climbed up from the bottom and annexed many small gangs.”

“Originally, the Monkey Head Gang was okay, but recently, they actually destroyed the Viper Gang and joined the black market. It’s simply laughable.”

“Yes, did the current leader of the Monkey Head Gang have his brain eaten by a monkey? To make such a stupid decision. Once you get involved with blackness, you can only be black. They can’t mix with the righteous path from now on, their upper limit is already locked.”

“I don’t think so. I think the new leader of the Monkey Head Gang is extremely intelligent. He made a big gamble and latched onto a powerful figure. You should know that the current master of the black market is named Ning Zhuo, a member of the Ning family, a disciple of the righteous path!”

“Ning Zhuo, I know. Before the Nascent Soul melee not long ago, there was a rumor that he possessed a genuine scripture. It turned out to be just a rumor.”

“In my opinion, he’s also foolish. He doesn’t maintain his perfectly good righteous identity, and for some trifling gains, he dabbles in the black market. He’s simply short-sighted and has cut off his future in the righteous path. Even with talent, his life in the future will be stained by this mud and be pointed at by others.”

Just as they were talking, the large door opened.

The cultivator responsible for guiding VIPs stood at the entrance and loudly announced:

“Lord Zhu Xuanji of the Divine Catch Division has arrived!”

“Young Master Ning Zhuo of the Ning family has arrived!”

The hall, which had just been buzzing with conversation, suddenly fell silent.

The cultivators all turned to look.

They saw a middle-aged man with his hands behind his back, stepping over the high threshold and walking into the building.

He had a square face, golden gleam in his eyes, and a large red brocade robe with black sleeves. His entire body exuded an air of upright solemnity.

It was Zhu Xuanji.

The cultivators did not dare to be disrespectful and rose one after another to bow and salute Zhu Xuanji.

Zhu Xuanji nodded faintly, his expression unreadable.

Ning Zhuo, a step behind him, also strode into the hall.

He was still dressed in a white shirt, his eyes clear, black and white distinct. His face held the youthfulness of a sixteen-year-old boy, but his demeanor was already extraordinary, neither humble nor arrogant, his gaze firm.

Based solely on his appearance, it was hard to believe that such a handsome young man was the one who controlled the black market and purged the entire Viper Gang overnight.

Ning Zhuo followed Zhu Xuanji and leisurely ascended the tower.

Those with distinguished status were all arranged in private rooms on the upper floors.

This time, Ning Zhuo could be said to have benefited from Zhu Xuanji.

Seeing the two of them go upstairs and disappear from view, the cultivators in the hall sat down one after another.

Outwardly, they changed the subject, but in reality, they were secretly transmitting messages.

“Did you see that, did you see that!” The cultivator who had just said that the Monkey Head Gang leader was latching onto a powerful figure was quite excited, transmitting messages to many people.

“You think Ning Zhuo is simple?”

“What does a mere Qi Refining young man rely on to sit in the position of black market master?”

“It’s not because he was supported. It’s because the previous black market master, Sun Lingtong, committed a crime. Under the Recruitment Order, there had to be a stable black market. So the upper levels of the immortal city selected Ning Zhuo.”

“Ning Zhuo was able to unseat the young master of the Ning family, so he’s a ruthless person. He comes from a branch of the Ning family but has talent, so he was pushed out by the upper levels to control the black market and stabilize the situation first.”

“Ning Zhuo also received the favor and support of the four major forces of Fire Persimmon Immortal City because of this. He usually gets along well with the geniuses of the Zhou and Zheng families. Most of the criminals he captures in the black market are sent to Lord Feisi to count as his achievements.”

“Look at him now, following Zhu Xuanji!”

“Zhu Xuanji didn’t bring anyone with him, why did he bring him?”

“It’s obvious that Lord Zhu Xuanji also values Ning Zhuo! How vast his future will be when he retires from the black market in the future!”

“You just need to use your brain and think a little, and you’ll know!”

Someone hesitated and replied: “But Ning Zhuo is in charge of the black market, his record isn’t clean.”

The cultivator who strongly supported the Monkey Head Gang leader scoffed with great disdain and said: “You just saw it too, Ning Zhuo, sixteen years old, he’s only sixteen years old!”

“How young.”

“How does the saying go? A prodigal son returning is worth more than gold!”

“So young, making some mistakes is normal. When he returns to the righteous path in the future, his dark past can instead prove his growth. What’s the big deal?”

After the cultivator finished speaking, he held his nose high,压众人 (overpowering others), and was extremely smug.

The crowd fell silent for a moment.

They wanted to refute, but Zhu Xuanji had just appeared publicly with Ning Zhuo, which was the most solid evidence.

They were convinced.

Many people looked up towards the third floor, harbouring the thought of befriending Ning Zhuo.

They were all people of the righteous path and used to think they shouldn’t get too close to Ning Zhuo, who was in charge of the black market. But after today, they generally found that Ning Zhuo’s future seemed very bright!

Little did they know that Ning Zhuo was already deeply suspected by Zhu Xuanji. The reason Zhu Xuanji kept him by his side was to deal with Ning Zhuo.

If Ning Zhuo didn’t handle it well, he could very likely be apprehended and detained by Zhu Xuanji on the spot.

Once Ning Zhuo lost his freedom, he would definitely be eliminated and completely lose the opportunity to compete for the position of Palace Master of the Lava Immortal Palace!

Zhu Xuanji was the first important figure to arrive.

Following him was a Nascent Soul true transmission from the Purple Cloud Pavilion.

This true disciple had played the role of a shadowy demonic cultivator during the Nascent Soul melee and had been chased out of the city by Zhu Xuanji all the way. In the end, he had to expose the Purple Cloud Pavilion’s signature spell to get rid of Zhu Xuanji.

This time, upon entering, he first went upstairs specifically to greet Zhu Xuanji, and then returned to his own private room.

The entire process was very natural, without a hint of awkwardness.

It could be said that he had the utmost righteous demeanor.

After the Nascent Soul from the Purple Cloud Pavilion, there were only some Foundation Establishment level figures.

For example, the master craftsman from the Artifact Refining Workshop, the master pharmacist from the Elixir Pavilion, or the head chef from the Golden Dining Hall, and so on.

Ordinarily, more cultivators would participate in this succession ceremony. For the sake of the Nandou royal family, there would be at least more than two Nascent Soul cultivators.

But now, it was wartime with demonic beasts besieging the city, so everything had to be simplified. The vast majority of Nascent Soul cultivators were defending in the Lava Immortal Palace and were difficult to spare.