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“Branching out? Utter madness!”

“It’s one thing for Ning Zhuo to be reckless, but you’re all grown adults, yet you’re following suit!”

“I do not agree to the branch family!”

Hearing this news, Ning Jiufan erupted in fury and immediately put a stop to it.

“Branching out will surely greatly harm the fortunes of my Ning family.”

“Ning Zhuo is a son who can bring prosperity to the family; even more so, he cannot be separated lightly!”

“If, during my guardianship of the family, branching occurs, leading to the further decline of the Ning family, how will I, Ning Jiufan, face the ancestors in the netherworld?”

Ning Jiufan’s attitude was resolute.

He was the only Golden Core cultivator in the entire Ning family, and his stance immediately overturned the entire situation.

“What? It was stopped by our clan’s Golden Core Ancestor?” Hearing this bad news, Ning Zhuo’s expression turned grim.

The messenger who was in contact with him wore a mournful face: “The family had already retrieved your bloodline umbilical cord, as well as the plaque and ancestral tablet for the branch family, but they were intercepted halfway by the Old Ancestor and confiscated.”

“The Patriarch specifically instructed the junior to make sure that you, Esteemed Sir, are aware that it is not that the main branch of the Ning family does not wish to cooperate, but rather that the arm cannot twist the thigh.”

Ning Zhuo fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.

He pondered deeply, his fingers unconsciously tracing the lid of his cup.

After a long silence, he spoke: “I am aware of this matter and I believe in the main branch’s sincerity to cooperate.”

“This is not your fault, nor is it mine; it is merely an unexpected turn of events.”

“I will still adhere to the previous agreement and release Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother, while also recruiting Ning Xiaoren under my command to help him earn merit.”

“But I hope that the main branch of the Ning family will dispatch forces to work with me in persuading the Old Ancestor.”

“Take this wish of mine back.”

The messenger, a mix of joy and worry, respectfully withdrew.

Ning Zhuo sighed deeply.

Ning Jiufan had always disregarded worldly affairs; he hadn’t expected him to suddenly interfere.

Was it because the matter of branching out was so significant, or was it because Ning Zhuo himself was constantly being monitored by Ning Jiufan, or perhaps a combination of both?

Not long after, Ning Zhuo proactively sought an audience with Ning Jiufan and brought up the matter of branching out.

Ning Jiufan snorted coldly, his face filled with displeasure, and directly gave Ning Zhuo a sharp flick on the forehead: “You still have the nerve to bring this up?!”

“Seeing you kept silent for a while, I didn’t expect you to pull off something so major as soon as you started.”

Ning Zhuo cried out in injustice: “This time it was Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother…”

Ning Jiufan directly interrupted: “I won’t listen to that!”

“Since she made a mistake, she should be dealt with according to family rules. This is not a bargaining chip for you to seek personal gain.”

Ning Jiufan glared: “How did I instruct you before? I told you not to get entangled in worldly affairs, to dedicate all your energy and time to the Imperial Examinations.”

“What have you been doing?”

“Or are you saying that you believe your achievements are already excellent enough to relax?”

Seeing the unfavorable turn of events, Ning Zhuo quickly said: “Old Ancestor, please calm your anger for now.”

“Please forgive this junior for speaking boldly, even if you stop me this time, can you really stop my heartfelt desire?”

“Regarding branching out, I am serious and unwavering!”

“I deeply believe that separation between me and the main branch is a parting for a wider path, each with our own future. Conversely, living together is to grow weary of each other and to constantly hinder one another. In the end, we will be bruised and battered, and unspeakable tragedies will occur!”

“If it truly reaches that point, Old Ancestor, you will also bear a part of the responsibility.”

Ning Jiufan was furious: “Good boy!”

His Golden Core aura erupted, directly pressing Ning Zhuo to his knees on the ground.

Ning Zhuo knew this was a critical moment, he braced his body, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, yet he stubbornly raised his head: “O-Old Ancestor, if you don’t believe me, how about we make a bet?”

Ning Jiufan’s momentum paused slightly: “What bet?”

Carrying a secretly made wager, Ning Zhuo left the room.

He sighed deeply; this was already the best outcome he had fought for with all his might.

Having come this far, Ning Zhuo was naturally unwilling to give up just like that, so he decided to gamble with the Ning family’s Old Ancestor!

The failure to branch out, coupled with Ning Zhuo’s continued actions of releasing Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother and recruiting Ning Xiaoren, caused widespread dissatisfaction among his subordinates.

The branch family was already deeply resentful of the main branch, and Ning Zhuo, who they saw as their future leader, was acting so subserviently.

And the couple Ning Ze and Wang Lan, who were grieving the loss of their son, were even more agitated, spreading rumors everywhere that Ning Zhuo had changed, and secretly fabricating stories that Ning Zhuo had reached a secret agreement with the main branch, accepting immense benefits, and abandoning the entire Ning family branch.

They hoped to force Ning Zhuo to prove his innocence.

And how to prove his innocence?

It was nothing more than pursuing the culprits and avenging his cousin Ning Ji!

Because of the internal spies like Ning Xiangguo, the City Lord’s Mansion found a loophole and quickly seized this opportunity, secretly cooperating with Ning Ze and Wang Lan to stir up a movement within the Ning family branch, demanding that Ning Zhuo come forward and explain the situation and process.

Ning Zhuo, however, did not appear.

He knew deeply that if he appeared, he would inevitably have to back down.

And if he backed down, and had eliminated Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother, he would have lost the most important reason. How could the Ning family’s many elders still approve of his proposal to branch out?

At the very least, the hope of branching out should be maintained and not diminished.

And the process of the second round of the Imperial Examination had also reached a critical point, forcing Ning Zhuo to invest his main energy in taking the examination.

The eighteenth test question.

The content of the question was undergoing slight changes – the arena was open, the preparation phase was concealed, and cultivators were allowed to use spells to assist.

Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong began their battle.

Sun Lingtong released the Golden Blood Battle Ape – Great Victory, yelling and urging Ning Zhuo to surrender directly.

Unexpectedly, after Ning Zhuo finished his preparations, he did not build any mechanical puppets, but simply refined more than twenty Flying Float Mechanical Hands!

“You’re the one who should surrender, Sun Lingtong!”

“Today, in this battle, I will reclaim the humiliation I have suffered over the years, being coerced, lured, and secretly controlled and oppressed by you!”

Ning Zhuo roared, his fighting spirit exceptionally high.

In the next moment, more than twenty Flying Float Hands flew into the air and unleashed spells on the Golden Blood Battle Ape – Great Victory simultaneously.

The eruption of spells was extremely powerful, and this extreme configuration of more than twenty Flying Float Hands pushed the attack power to the limit.

The Golden Blood Battle Ape – Great Victory was submerged in the dazzling tide of spells.

It struggled to resist, shooting down nearly ten Flying Float Hands, but in the end, it still fell, its body riddled with holes, a horrifying sight.

“No, my mechanical battle ape! You brat, you’re dead!!” Sun Lingtong screamed, fire spewing from his eyes, staring intently at Ning Zhuo, wishing he could devour him.

Having spent a long time in the black market and being trained by his master since he was a child, Sun Lingtong’s acting skills were not weak at all.

Ning Zhuo sneered fearlessly and excitedly shouted: “Sun Lingtong, do you know how long I’ve waited for this day? You thought I wasn’t aware, but in fact, I’ve been secretly investigating and researching your mechanical apes many times!”

The cultivators watching the battle cheered excitedly and applauded repeatedly upon seeing this result!

During this time, Sun Lingtong had been victorious in every battle, truly too strong.

Unexpectedly, this time, Ning Zhuo had luckily won.

That’s right, in the eyes of the cultivators, Ning Zhuo had merely adopted an extreme arena battle strategy, not building conventional mechanical puppets, but rather going all out and building more than twenty Flying Float Spellcasting Machines. However, observant individuals silently noted that Ning Zhuo had just “excitedly” shouted that he had secretly conducted multiple studies on the mechanical apes before.

Since he had studied them, why didn’t Ning Zhuo share the precious information he knew earlier, when the Golden Blood Battle Ape – Great Victory first appeared? If he had shared it, perhaps they could have also defeated Sun Lingtong!

This undoubtedly made everyone realize that Ning Zhuo had hidden a lot of information even when he pleaded guilty and accepted the punishment before.

This information could provide him with some advantages.

Like this victory in the arena, which was aided by information. It was precisely because Ning Zhuo had an unusual understanding of the Golden Blood Battle Ape – Great Victory that he was able to establish an advantage and secure the victory in the initial bombardment.

Thus, after the Imperial Examination that day, messengers came to purchase information from Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo politely declined all of them.

When the Imperial Examination resumed the next day, people were pleasantly surprised to find that Sun Lingtong was no longer using the Golden Blood Battle Ape – Great Victory.

Sun Lingtong had a somber face, always staring at Ning Zhuo, his eyes filled with hatred and anger that seemed about to overflow.

Therefore, everyone speculated that Ning Zhuo’s battle yesterday had severely damaged the mechanical ape, and it could not be repaired, at least in a short period of time.

Ning Zhuo thus received more praise, and at the same time, without the Golden Blood Battle Ape – Great Victory, people no longer placed as much importance on the limited information he possessed.

In the subsequent Imperial Examinations, Sun Lingtong no longer used the Golden Blood Battle Ape – Great Victory.

This was to incur losses and make his performance similar to Ning Zhuo’s. This way, there would be no significant difference between “Ning Zhuo” and “Entry Standard” on the achievement leaderboard.

Once there was a difference that did not match Ning Zhuo’s and Sun Lingtong’s performance, the cultivators would naturally easily guess the truth that the name and the person did not match.

The twentieth test question.

On the table was placed a Five Elements Spirit Transformation Plate.

In addition, there were several other mechanical components.

Whoever could design a suitable plan to utilize these mechanical components would not have a bad record.

While others were preparing and testing the functions of the mechanical components, Ning Zhuo picked up the Five Elements Spirit Transformation Plate and used it, extremely skillfully.

This scene was noticed by many cultivators who had been assigned to the observation seats.

Starting from the twenty-first question, the test examined large-scale mechanisms, allowing cultivators to choose an outsider to act as an assistant in refining the mechanism and participate in the Imperial Examination.

The twenty-second test question.

The question provided another mechanical component – the Blood Path Diagram Plate!

Ning Zhuo again started easily, almost using it as soon as he got it.

He chose Ning Xiaoren to be his assistant.

He ordered Ning Xiaoren to provide his essence blood. And Ning Zhuo used this essence blood to cast the Demonic Blood Meridian Technique and create the Blood Path Diagram Plate.

“Not enough, not enough.”

“More!”

“I need even more!!”

Under Ning Zhuo’s ruthless demands, Ning Xiaoren’s complexion quickly turned pale.

He showed fear: “A person’s essence blood is limited. Ning Zhuo, if you make me contribute any more, I’ll die!”

Ning Zhuo’s eyes were cold: “Ning Xiaoren, don’t you want to earn merit? Haven’t you repented to me and sworn to atone for your sins? If so, now is your best chance to save yourself!”

Ning Xiaoren was greatly alarmed: “You want me to die?!”

“Obey my command!” Ning Zhuo roared.

“No, no!” Ning Xiaoren retreated in panic, but on the arena, where could he retreat to.

Ning Zhuo sneered: “Whether you want to die or not, it’s not up to you.”

He suddenly turned his gaze to another arena, where Ning Jiufan and the Ning family patriarch stood.

“Patriarch, Ning Xiaoren is your son, do you think he should dedicate himself to the family?” Ning Zhuo shouted.

Many cultivators looked sideways.

This scene was quite interesting.

The Ning family patriarch’s face was ashen, full of struggle, and finally he said with immense pain: “My son, it is indeed time for you to sacrifice for the family! Don’t bring shame upon my main branch!”

Ning Zhuo burst into laughter.

“Father!” Ning Xiaoren cried out in disbelief, full of terror and helplessness.

However, to the surprise of the Ning family patriarch, Ning Zhuo did not actually kill Ning Xiaoren, but merely drained him until he was barely alive.

When the Imperial Examination ended that day, Ning Zhuo, carrying the unconscious Ning Xiaoren, went to see Ning Jiufan.

By Ning Jiufan’s side, the Ning family patriarch was doing his best to explain, stuttering and sweating profusely.

Seeing Ning Zhuo approach, the Ning family patriarch finally couldn’t help but glare and reprimand: “Ning Zhuo, how dare you trick me!”

It turned out that Ning Zhuo, guided by the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, had already known that Ning Xiaoren was involved in the kidnapping case.

He had quietly gathered enough evidence and secretly blackmailed the Ning family patriarch.

The Ning family patriarch then realized that Ning Xiaoren had colluded with outsiders to harm his own clansmen, a unforgivable crime!

Therefore, when Ning Zhuo wanted to drain Ning Xiaoren of his blood until he died during the day, his behavior was strange. Although he looked very hesitant and conflicted, he finally spoke up and persuaded Ning Xiaoren to dedicate his life.

As a result, after the Imperial Examination ended, he was dragged by Ning Jiufan and severely criticized.

Only then did the Ning family patriarch realize that Ning Jiufan was already aware of Ning Xiaoren’s crime of colluding with outsiders.

Ning Zhuo bowed deeply and saluted Ning Jiufan, only saying: “Old Ancestor, I won this bet.”

Ning Jiufan glanced at the ashen-faced Ning family patriarch and said in an extremely indifferent tone: “Sacrificing your own son for your own position and power, having a patriarch like you is truly the fortune of my Ning family!”

Plop.

The Ning family patriarch fell to the ground, his eyes blank with fear.

“My Ning family is a family of cultivation, bound by kinship and bloodline. You don’t think of helping your son, letting him escape control and return to the light, but only care about your power and status.”

“You have truly disappointed me greatly!”

After severely criticizing the Ning family patriarch, Ning Jiufan looked at Ning Zhuo, his expression quite complex.

He wanted to persuade him, but in Ning Zhuo’s resolute eyes, he still opened his storage belt and took out the bloodline umbilical cord, the Ning family plaque, and the ancestral tablets.

“Take them, my branch family patriarch.”

Ning Zhuo was overjoyed and quickly took them, inspecting them on the spot to ensure everything was correct. He then bowed to Ning Jiufan: “The Imperial Examination is not over yet, I will not immediately establish a branch family to avoid family instability.”

“Old Ancestor, after the branch family is established, it will still rely on your protection.”

Ning Jiufan snorted coldly: “Get out of here, you brat, you’re a constant worry.”

“Lord Zhu has already arrived outside your house; he is specifically here to see you.”

“You can say whatever you want, or not say. Remember, you are already the branch family patriarch of my Ning family.”

Ning Zhuo quickly thanked him and respectfully withdrew.

(End of Chapter)