“I—” Normally, Ban Ji would have cursed out loud. He wasn’t known for his good temper or his righteous demeanor.

But just as the curse was about to escape his lips, he suddenly realized the situation he was in.

This wasn’t the Ban family; it was the main gate of the Wuxiang Sect, and so many people were watching.

He could only swallow his curses, instead widening his eyes and glaring intensely at Ning Zhuo, his gaze practically spitting fire.

“This little brat actually treats me like a demonic cultivator! This righteous facade is infuriating!”

“No, that’s not right. Even though I’m a demonic cultivator, I’m from the Ban family, I’m a righteous sect, I’m a righteous sect too!”

Ban Ji realized his mistake and immediately spoke out to refute Ning Zhuo, accusing the latter of slandering him.

To his surprise, Ning Zhuo lifted his head proudly, looking down at Ban Ji with disdain through his nostrils, saying, “Ban Ji, your reputation precedes you. Now it seems you’re a hypocritical and cunning coward who can’t own up to his actions. Nothing more.”

With that, he flicked his sleeve and walked away.

“You—” Ban Ji was furious, instinctively clenching his fists.

In the past, he would have used force to kill any cultivator who dared to provoke him like this. Even if he couldn’t do it himself, Ban Ji could rally his family’s forces to swarm them.

But not now!

Ban Ji’s eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at Ning Zhuo’s retreating back, wishing he could just punch him and pierce him through the back of his heart.

He was truly infuriated!

Ban Ji had never been provoked like this, or publicly humiliated in such a way.

And he couldn’t even refute it.

Because he had actually done those things. Even his recent refutation sounded weak.

“I really, really want to kill him with one punch!”

“I really want to step on his head and directly tell him, ‘Grandpa, I did it, so what?!'”

A strong urge welled up in Ban Ji’s heart, and his demonic cultivation instinctively circulated, causing demonic energy to swirl around him.

But he couldn’t.

If he did that, he would be openly violating the Wuxiang Sect’s rules. At that point, not even the entire Ban family could protect him.

“It’s bad enough for me! But how would my father and mother face the family?”

“This is unbearable, truly unbearable!”

For a moment, Ban Ji was so angry he wanted to roar up at the sky.

He felt so utterly stifled.

“If only there was no family,” a thought flashed through his spiritual sea, more intensely than ever before.

The Demonic Dao emphasizes indulging in one’s emotions and desires, expressing them fully. “I don’t care how vast the world is, I am the greatest! My personal emotions are the most important, the world revolves around me.”

Only by doing this can demonic cultivators practice their demonic arts smoothly.

From this perspective alone, demonic cultivators are inherently at odds with rules and find it difficult to integrate into a tightly-knit organization.

However, demonic cultivators are also skilled at manipulating the emotions of others.

But now, Ban Ji’s intense anger and hatred were thoroughly stirred by Ning Zhuo.

Ban Ji gritted his teeth, grinding them audibly.

“It’s decided!”

“I must grind you to dust.”

“I will brutally trample you underfoot and wash away this shame.”

“Just you wait, just you wait.”

“Why hasn’t this Xingyun Minor Trial started yet?!”

Ban Ji exuded killing intent.

Many onlookers’ eyes gleamed.

They had gotten some juicy gossip and witnessed quite a spectacle.

Some nodded inwardly: “Ning Zhuo truly lives up to his reputation as a rising star of the righteous path. Under the Three Questions of Conscience, he exudes righteousness. Seeing him today confirms it.”

Others frowned in confusion: “How can a prestigious family like the Ban family tolerate someone like Ban Ji? His demonic cultivation is quite formidable.”

Still others secretly shook their heads: “In just a few verbal exchanges, Ban Ji was provoked by Ning Zhuo to the point of almost losing control. The difference between the two is clear.”

Everyone wants to indulge their desires and rule the world, but no one wants others to become such demonic cultivators.

Therefore, deep down, everyone naturally favored Ning Zhuo.

In just the first round of confrontation, relying solely on words, Ning Zhuo gained the upper hand, using Ban Ji to highlight his own righteousness and winning over a group of people.

As soon as Ning Zhuo arrived, he deliberately provoked Ban Ji, then promptly left. After scanning the crowd, he walked up to Lu Zeng and bowed respectfully.

“May I ask if you are Senior Lu Zeng?” Ning Zhuo asked with a calm smile and polite demeanor.

He naturally paid more attention to mechanism cultivators. This Lu Zeng was among the individuals he had gathered intelligence on.

Lu Zeng wore indigo clothes and had many tool bags around his waist. A bronze ruler hung on his chest, and a wooden mechanism box was strapped to his back.

Ning Zhuo knew that Lu Zeng primarily cultivated the “Liansi Ouhe Jue” and that his innate magic tool was a mechanical creation called Qianji Ou.

Lu Zeng, facing Ning Zhuo, felt a great deal of goodwill and smiled warmly, waving his hands repeatedly: “I don’t deserve such an honor, I don’t deserve such an honor. We can address each other as peers.”

Ning Zhuo was only at the Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivation, but Lu Zeng would never underestimate him for that.

Ning Zhuo was a genius who stood out in the first wave, with a future prospect of at least the Golden Core stage. He had already gained the goodwill of the Confucian cultivators and the Zhuxie Hall, and had openly confronted Ban Ji and the Ban family, proving his strong backing.

Such a person, even a blind man could see his promising future. Lu Zeng was naturally not blind and treated him as an equal.

After a few exchanges, Lu Zeng voluntarily gave Ning Zhuo a jade token, stating that future transactions could use this token to receive discounts.

Lu Zeng himself operated several shops. If he successfully joined the Wuxiang Sect this time, he expected to set up a shop at the main gate of the Wuxiang Sect to sell a large number of mechanical external components.

He was most skilled at manufacturing these mechanical components. The marvel of the “Liansi Ouhe Jue” was fully demonstrated in these components: as long as they were attached to a mechanical creation, fine threads would condense and tightly connect the two.

Lu Zeng relied on this to sell large quantities of mechanical components, obtaining cultivation resources and advancing his own cultivation.

After giving Ning Zhuo the jade pendant, Lu Zeng, in front of Ning Zhuo, proactively sent another jade pendant flying towards Ban Ji.

“Both of you are exceptional talents, geniuses in cultivating mechanism arts. If there can be business dealings in the future, it would naturally be for the best.”

A gleam flashed in the eyes of both Ning Zhuo and Ban Ji.

With this action, Lu Zeng immediately declared his neutral stance: “I’m a businessman, I’m friendly with both of you, and I won’t offend anyone!”

This aligned with his background as an outer disciple and matched the description of his personality in the intelligence reports.

After a few more words with Lu Zeng, Ning Zhuo chose to take his leave.

He walked over to the other side, in front of the Golden Core cultivator, Tie Zheng.

Tie Zheng was eight chi tall, wore a bronze beast-mask, and was clad in a warrior’s uniform. His exposed elbows, knees, and other joints were replaced by steel bone spheres.

He carried a great saber with a麒麟 (qílín) beast-head hilt on his back, and iron chains wrapped around his waist, from which twelve beast-head copper bells hung.

Ning Zhuo actively tried to strike up a conversation, but Tie Zheng responded coolly.

After a few exchanges, Ning Zhuo voluntarily left.

He knew Tie Zheng’s background and was not bothered by his cold reaction.

Tie Zheng came from a prominent family but had been betrayed multiple times. His parents, wife, sworn brothers—these betrayals filled him with contempt and disgust for human nature, prompting him to leave his family and become a rogue cultivator, practicing alone in the mountains and wilderness.

More than others, he trusted the saber in his hand.

He also found an opportunity in the wilderness to cultivate saber beasts. To date, he had cultivated twelve saber beasts, whose main materials were Golden Core-level sabers, so the saber beasts were also of the Golden Core level.

This made his combat power far exceed the norm, establishing him as a renowned Golden Core rogue cultivator in the Feiyun Kingdom.

Ning Zhuo then approached Ao Pan, bowing respectfully, “Junior Ning Zhuo. May I ask for your esteemed name, senior? Please forgive my ignorance.”

Among the three Golden Core cultivators present, Ning Zhuo knew the first two, but not Ao Pan.

Ning Zhuo had thoroughly studied the intelligence reports he had, and he could confirm that Ao Pan was not mentioned in them.

This could only mean that Ao Pan had only recently arrived at the main gate of the Wuxiang Sect.

Ao Pan was seven chi tall, with a hunched back like an old ape. He had three claw marks on his left cheek, and his eyes were mismatched in size. His right eye was smaller and cloudy like a stone, while his left eye was slightly larger, with a golden vertical pupil.

“No offense taken. I am from the Fubo Kingdom and only arrived yesterday.”

“Ning Zhuo, I know of you. Like you, I am also an outsider.”

Among the three Golden Core cultivators, Ao Pan was the most enthusiastic towards Ning Zhuo.

“Fubo Kingdom?” Ning Zhuo immediately became interested and, using the term as a starting point, began a conversation with Ao Pan, chatting for a few moments.

Ning Zhuo was well-read and familiar with many common facts, including some customs and traditions of the Fubo Kingdom.

Ao Pan talked about things he was familiar with, which made him feel close to Ning Zhuo and want to continue talking. However, Ning Zhuo apologized with a bow and voluntarily took his leave.

“Although this person is a body cultivator, he has many thoughts. I used the topic of the Fubo Kingdom to probe him several times, but he responded evasively and avoided everything.”

In just a short round of conversation, Ning Zhuo had roughly understood Ao Pan’s temperament.

In comparison, Tie Zheng seemed more reliable.

Ning Zhuo decisively disengaged.

Ao Pan stared at the back of the big-headed youth, his mismatched eyes slightly narrowed: “This kid is even more slippery than me. Although he exudes righteousness after passing the Three Questions of Conscience, he’s not straightforward and has very deep social skills.”

“He talked a lot about the Fubo Kingdom, and I revealed a lot about my situation to him, but I don’t even know where he’s from!”

While the Xingyun Minor Trial had not yet begun, Ning Zhuo continued to make acquaintances with the surrounding cultivators.

He quickly fixed his gaze on Zhang Wangxing.

This was because this person emitted a very clear aura of a Foundation Establishment peak cultivator.

Zhang Wangxing was burly, but he was clad in an even wider, coarse gray robe, with a large hood obscuring his face. He even used magic to create shadows, covering his countenance.

It was daytime, and the light outside Xuanjia Cave was bright, but when Ning Zhuo faced Zhang Wangxing, he could only see the lower edge of the shadow within the hood, outlining Zhang Wangxing’s jawline. And this arc often showed subtle fluctuations.

“May I ask if you are Fellow Daoist Zhang Wangxing?” Ning Zhuo greeted him proactively.

Zhang Wangxing nodded slightly, his voice hoarse: “Indeed, I am, Fellow Daoist Ning Zhuo.”

Ning Zhuo knew his information. Although this person was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, he possessed Golden Core level combat power. He cultivated the “Xuerou Duobian Jing,” which complemented his lower-grade talent. Despite his amiable tone at the moment, he was actually a demonic cultivator who was usually hired for any job to earn high rewards and fund his cultivation.

Zhang Wangxing transmitted a divine thought: “Fellow Daoist, if you intend to deal with Ban Ji in the Xingyun Minor Trial, I can offer my assistance. I believe a person of Fellow Daoist Ning Zhuo’s noble background would not treat me unfairly.”

Ning Zhuo did not refuse, responding with a divine thought: “That goes without saying. The situation is currently unclear, but should the need arise, I will certainly contact Fellow Daoist Zhang.”

Zhang Wangxing chuckled: “Fellow Daoist, be careful. To be frank, if Ban Ji were to hire me, I would also agree.”

His tone carried a veiled threat, boldly raising his price.

This put Ning Zhuo in a subtly passive position, knowing he couldn’t stay long, and decisively took his leave.

“I acted ostentatiously, being among the first to get the stone token, and I’m not afraid of the Ban family, provoking Ban Ji, which earned me equal treatment from the Golden Core cultivators.”

“Yet, I found myself at a disadvantage in front of a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator. It’s quite interesting.”

Ning Zhuo felt a surge of emotion.

He had left Huoshi Immortal City this time to travel the world, seeing magnificent landscapes along the way and encountering all sorts of people.

At this moment, under the Wuxiang Sect’s Feiyun Grand Assembly, cultivators from all sides gathered, further broadening his horizons and frequently touching his heart.

“Young Master Ning Zhuo!” At this moment, a mechanism cultivator stepped forward voluntarily to greet Ning Zhuo.

This person was also a Foundation Establishment cultivator, stout and burly, with dark, shiny skin like a lump of iron. He carried a square iron shield on his back, moving slowly and deliberately.

As soon as Ning Zhuo saw him, he smiled and called out his name: “Zhang Dadan.”

This was an acquaintance.

Zhang Dadan had also participated in Qing Huangzi’s Xingyun Minor Trial, and Ning Zhuo had even hosted him. Besides him, there were also Buding Sun, Chen San, Jiang Xiaobian, and Ah Huo.

Ning Zhuo still had a deep impression of these individuals.

Ning Zhuo patted Zhang Dadan’s shoulder: “Where are the others?”

Upon asking, he learned that Buding Sun had intended to come with Zhang Dadan, but was delayed by another Xingyun Minor Trial. Fortunately, there were many rounds of the Jiuzhong Xuanbing Jia’s Xingyun Minor Trial, similar to the Zhuxie Hall, so he hadn’t lost the opportunity.

Chen San had already pledged allegiance to Ning Zhuo and was off executing Ning Zhuo’s tasks.

Jiang Xiaobian and Ah Huo were not interested in the Jiuzhong Xuanbing Jia. It didn’t align with their cultivation paths.

For them, there were many other Xingyun Minor Trials that were more suitable.

Ning Zhuo exchanged a few words with Zhang Dadan, and then other cultivators came forward to initiate conversations.

Ban Ji had previously maintained a cold and aloof demeanor, appearing unapproachable. As a demonic cultivator with a notorious reputation (significantly amplified by Ning Zhuo’s rumors), even those who wanted to curry favor had to weigh their options and hesitated.

Ning Zhuo was different.

As soon as he arrived, he provoked Ban Ji to the point of exasperation, gaining the upper hand and displaying his strength. More and more cultivators believed that the power behind Ning Zhuo was certainly no less than the Ban family’s; otherwise, Ning Zhuo’s forceful and confident performance would be inexplicable.

Moreover, Ning Zhuo actively engaged in conversation and interaction, even with people like Zhang Dadan, which warmed the hearts of the observing cultivators.

So, next, without Ning Zhuo having to go to them, many cultivators actively came over.

Ning Zhuo responded to each one, his attitude consistently kind and friendly.

This scene immediately highlighted Ban Ji. Ban Ji stood by the mountain wall, solitary, looking quite neglected.

Ban Ji watched Ning Zhuo, who was surrounded by the crowd, his eye twitching incessantly.

Damn it!

This familiar situation was happening again.

This wasn’t good.

If things continued this way, would Ning Zhuo once again rally a bunch of fools to gang up on him?

Troublesome!

He was truly a nuisance!

Ning Zhuo had not been there long, but in just a few rounds of socializing, he made Ban Ji feel pressured once again.