Ning Zhuo retrieved the Mengye Hu to re-examine it.

The Mengye Hu’s sentience was extremely weak. Even when Ning Zhuo used the Ren Ming Xuan Si divine ability to connect with it, he received no response.

In this state, the Mengye Hu couldn’t possibly fight autonomously.

Yet, Ning Zhuo was deeply satisfied.

“To successfully seek help was a stroke of luck.”

“The Mengye Hu has been freed from danger. If it had been destroyed, the loss would have broken my heart.”

This time, he took out the Mengye Hu to re-evaluate its mechanical structure.

He discovered that the Mengye Hu’s mechanical design was exceptionally outstanding! Even with Ning Zhuo’s current Grandmaster-level attainment in mechanism arts, he couldn’t find any areas for improvement.

The deeper Ning Zhuo delved, the more he realized that the Mengye Hu’s mechanical body possessed a natural aesthetic.

“Originally, I pieced it together from scattered design blueprints. I never expected such an excellent design. Adding anything would be too much; subtracting anything would be too little.”

Therefore, for Ning Zhuo’s upcoming upgrade of the Mengye Hu, he only needed to focus on its materials.

The Mengye Hu’s mechanical body had suffered severe desertification and was no longer usable. Ning Zhuo planned to destroy the old body directly after forging a new one this time.

Although some scraps still had value and could be sold for money, such a small sum wasn’t worth earning. It could easily expose many secrets of the Mengye Hu. Ning Zhuo would not risk a great loss for a small gain.

“Perhaps I could use Nascent Soul-level precious materials to forge the Mengye Hu’s new body?”

Once this thought arose, it became unstoppable.

Ning Zhuo decided to try.

Since the design was fixed and required no changes, the direction for material selection was largely set.

“But there are still some small material tests that need to be done.”

Ning Zhuo briefly estimated the workload and found that it would take quite some time.

“No problem, I can entrust this to Gongsun Yan. He can help me with most of the work.”

Ning Zhuo was different from before; not only had his personal strength improved, but he also had many cultivators around him who could assist and share his workload.

Ning Zhuo put away the Mengye Hu and took out Yuan Dasheng to study.

This time, when he sought help from Shutuzhenyu Zhenjun, Ning Zhuo did not take out Yuan Dasheng for the Zhenjun to act again.

On one hand, the agreement was for a single intervention. A second intervention would inevitably incur a cost.

On the other hand, if Ning Zhuo were to continuously reveal two sentient mechanical puppets, it would be too conspicuous. It might even lead Shutuzhenyu Zhenjun to associate him with a certain annihilated sect. Such a risk should be avoided if possible.

Finally, Yuan Dasheng’s problem was much simpler than Mengye Hu’s. His sentience had stabilized, and Ning Zhuo had also discovered the root cause. He was confident he could resolve it independently.

Ning Zhuo then took out Xue Shu Yu Xie.

He examined it meticulously, feeling it all over, and gained considerable insights.

Throughout the process, various improvement ideas and directions emerged in his spiritual sea, sparking numerous inspirations.

“If this round of design is finalized, Xue Shu Yu Xie’s combat power might surpass Yuan Dasheng’s.”

“If it were Mengye Hu’s old body, their combat power would likely be on par.”

Ning Zhuo had not put much thought into the initial design of Xue Shu Yu Xie; it was quite ordinary.

This version of Chongzhuang Xueyuan Dasheng was also a result of Ning Zhuo’s efforts in Huoshi Xiancheng. Now that Ning Zhuo’s strength had greatly increased, looking back at his old designs made him realize they were full of flaws.

Ning Zhuo put away Xue Shu Yu Xie, rose from the cultivation room, and headed straight for the Yanwu Fajian.

Xue Cainu Hui was not with him. Most of the time, Ning Zhuo left her in the Qingshi Dongfu, accompanying Qing Chi and progressing together.

Ning Zhuo entered the internal space of the Yanwu Zhenfa and saw Xue Cainu Hui and Qing Chi practicing combat.

“Young Master Ning Zhuo!” Qing Chi spotted Ning Zhuo, her face lighting up with surprise. This momentary distraction almost allowed Xue Cainu Hui to seize the opportunity and defeat her.

“Keep fighting, let me watch closely,” Ning Zhuo nodded to Qing Chi, gently urging her on with a smile.

Inspired by Ning Zhuo’s encouragement, Qing Chi was filled with intense fighting spirit. She twisted her body and clashed with Xue Cainu Hui, her every move swift and powerful. Compared to before, the previous Qing Chi had seemed as if she hadn’t eaten enough.

Xue Cainu Hui: ?!

She was not human, but merely a sentient mechanical puppet. Caught off guard by Qing Chi’s change, she was immediately forced onto the defensive.

However, Xue Cainu Hui had a proud nature and felt humiliated. She immediately adopted a daring and aggressive style, enduring multiple attacks to hold her ground and gradually brought the intense practice battle back to an even footing.

Ning Zhuo observed for a moment, nodding in satisfaction repeatedly.

Qing Chi’s progress exceeded Ning Zhuo’s expectations.

“Xiao Qing naturally has a talent for martial combat; her strength only greatly diminished after losing her memory.”

“But her body is still original, so there are many muscle memories.”

“Her current situation is somewhat similar to mine during the Xuanjia Dong trials—both are a form of review.”

The difference was that Qing Chi had physical memory, while Ning Zhuo had absorbed the experiences of many demon cultivators, meaning he had mental memory.

In short, both were reviewing, not learning anew.

This made Qing Chi’s growth in martial combat quite evident.

“Xue Cainu Hui has also improved a lot.”

This was the advantage of sentient mechanical creations—they themselves possessed a certain degree of growth potential.

Qing Chi and Xue Cainu Hui could be said to be mutually beneficial.

The two continued to fight, soon becoming breathless and nearing exhaustion.

Ning Zhuo decisively called out, stopping the practice battle.

“Qing Chi, look at this spell image.” Ning Zhuo activated the Yanwu field’s array, replaying the recent practice battle.

Ning Zhuo then pointed out, “Actually, in many places, handling it this way would be better.”

He commented on Qing Chi’s performance and her critical decisions during the battle.

Qing Chi once again demonstrated her unique talent. As soon as Ning Zhuo pointed something out, she immediately grasped the core meaning. In some areas, Ning Zhuo only made a brief mention, and she could draw inferences from it.

“Young Master, what you said makes so much sense!” Qing Chi’s eyes sparkled with brilliance, looking at Ning Zhuo with admiration. Ning Zhuo smiled.

Although the trip to Xuanjia Dong did not directly enhance his martial arts realm, Ning Zhuo underwent extensive tempering during the trials, thoroughly digesting the demon cultivator memories and experiences he had previously absorbed, gaining considerable insights.

These were more than enough to guide the current Qing Chi.

After finishing his guidance, Ning Zhuo had Qing Chi and Xue Cainu Hui resume their practice battle.

Ning Zhuo’s guidance had an immediate effect!

In the previous practice battle, Qing Chi had worked very hard, but the overall situation was evenly matched. Now, after consciously making changes, and after the first three rounds of offensive and defensive exchanges, she gained the upper hand, clearly suppressing Xue Cainu Hui.

Qing Chi herself experienced this improvement, becoming more excited with each engagement, gradually getting carried away.

At the same time, her respect for Ning Zhuo grew deeper in her heart.

Ning Zhuo nodded frequently, feeling gratified.

He felt quite indebted to Qing Chi. Bringing her to Wanxiang Zong was partly due to his mother’s dying wish, and partly, Ning Zhuo also had the goal of compensation and fostering good relations.

In the Qing Jiao Army, Qing Chi was the main general, and Ning Zhuo was just the deputy general.

The most suitable person for the Qing Jiao Army’s branch was never Ning Zhuo, but Qing Chi.

In Ning Zhuo’s cultivation plan, Baizhi Xiancheng held an extremely important position. And controlling the Qing Jiao Army was one of the keys to grasping the immense benefits within it.

With a dull thud, Xue Cainu Hui was once again knocked to the ground.

But she quickly stood up and turned to fight again.

Her proud nature remained; she was very unwilling to accept defeat, showing no intention of giving up.

Seeing this, Ning Zhuo’s heart stirred, and he said loudly, “Qing Chi, be careful next. I’m going to intervene.”

Ning Zhuo took out several strands of spider silk from his storage belt.

These were none other than Golden Core-level Xukong Zhusi!

These spider silks came from Chezhuzi. Before the Xuanjia Dong trials, Chezhuzi had already delivered the goods to his door through the Tongshang Tang’s channels.

Ning Zhuo channeled his magic power into the Xukong Zhusi, immediately causing the latter to vanish into the void, the front half disappearing before him, then reappearing around Xue Cainu Hui.

The Xukong Zhusi draped over the mechanical puppet, instantly forming a stable and strong connection with Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo’s fingers moved slightly, and he began to manipulate Xue Cainu Hui.

With his participation, Xue Cainu Hui’s martial combat ability immediately skyrocketed, instantly surpassing Qing Chi.

However, with Ning Zhuo intentionally holding back, the margin of superiority was not significant, just enough to provide Qing Chi with a beneficial external pressure.

Qing Chi fell into a disadvantage, and under this pressure, she continuously broke through, with visible progress in each exchange of offense and defense.

This situation was very similar to Ning Zhuo’s experience in Xuanjia Dong, practicing against various Xuanjia armaments!

“I truly am different now,” Ning Zhuo thought happily. While training Qing Chi, he was also experiencing his own mechanism manipulation abilities.

His martial combat ability surged, and his realms in Bing Dao and mechanism arts rose, making his current manipulation of mechanisms significantly more powerful than before, giving him a sense of effortless control, as if using his own limbs.

He gradually felt the depth and limits of Xue Cainu Hui’s mechanical puppet.

This feeling was something he had never experienced before.

“Besides my mechanism arts realm, my artifact refining realm reaching Master-level also gave me an intuitive understanding of Xue Cainu Hui’s performance.”

This feeling was wonderful.

So much so that Ning Zhuo grew increasingly eager, wanting to control Xue Cainu Hui and display her strongest power.

But he managed to restrain himself, after all, Qing Chi was not his real enemy.

For a moment, Ning Zhuo even wished that Ban Ji and Situ Xing would cause trouble, so he could thoroughly indulge himself on them in the Yanwu Hall.

The practice battle continued for a moment, until Qing Chi’s physical strength was completely exhausted, and Ning Zhuo promptly ended it.

Qing Chi pouted, looking at Ning Zhuo with a hint of resentment: “That’s not fair, Young Master. I already can’t beat you, and you and Xue Cainu teamed up two against one to bully me. This isn’t fair at all!”

Ning Zhuo walked over to her, reached out and stroked her hair, comforting her with gentle words for a few moments, which brightened Qing Chi’s mood.

He then encouraged her, “Your talent is immense, and your progress is visibly great. The reason I put pressure on you is because I know you can do it.”

“You are inherently powerful, and the potential you hold is even greater, deserving of more intense exploration!”

Encouraged by Ning Zhuo, Qing Chi’s spirits lifted. Although exhausted, her eyes gleamed, and she secretly decided to resume extra practice after a rest, to consolidate what she had just gained. She aimed for greater progress, not to disappoint Ning Zhuo’s expectations, and to surprise him even more.

Ning Zhuo then retrieved new combat footage and guided Qing Chi.

Although Qing Chi was fully engaged, her physical strength was exhausted and her mind was weary, and she quickly became drowsy.

Ning Zhuo decisively stopped, allowing her to rest.

Qing Chi was unwilling.

Ning Zhuo comforted her, “Another day, I’ll teach you some Confucian cultivation spells that will allow you to study with tireless determination and gain more learning ability.”

Qing Chi was overjoyed.

Ning Zhuo himself was eager to learn, and he also hoped that those around him would be.

After Qing Chi left, Ning Zhuo brought Xue Cainu Hui before him, examining her all over, and came up with many ideas for improvement.

These all needed him to organize them thoroughly afterwards, compare them, and then make a decision.

Ban Family Ancestral Land.

“You have arrived.” Many Grand Elder Family Heads bowed, their faces filled with respect.

“Hmm.” The Grand Elder Family Head said expressionlessly, glancing around, “Ban Ji’s defeat in Xuanjia Dong should be known to all.”

“If he had lost to others, it would have been fine. Although he was eliminated by Tie Zheng this time, in the end, it still counts as a defeat to Ning Zhuo.”

“Ning Zhuo is Ban Ji’s fateful obstacle. Once Ban Ji is defeated, the hidden loss of luck is immense.”

“Although we promptly provided the Bailian Jinshen Dan to Ban Ji, using external objects to compensate for his luck, Ning Zhuo’s luck should experience a significant increase.”

“This time, we will use the Zuzuo Shuji Lian to attack his luck and nullify this increase.”

“Otherwise, he will grow stronger with each battle, and Ban Ji will grow weaker. When will the King’s Mandate be triggered then?”

The Grand Elder Family Head rallied the cultivators present.

Every cultivator had a solemn expression. For the family, for the future, their resolve was absolutely sufficient.

They had long speculated that Ning Zhuo must possess a powerful protective treasure related to luck.

But Ban Ji’s King’s Mandate was already tied to the Ban family’s fate, so this round of confrontation was imperative!

The Grand Elder Family Heads took their positions, channeling their spiritual sense, magic power, and so forth into the Zuzuo Shuji Lian.

Om—

This heavy treasure of the Ban family emitted a low hum, its surface rails began to slide at high speed, knobs rotated autonomously, levers rose and fell, and countless mechanical components lit up with intricate, subtle runes.

This operation targeting Ning Zhuo’s luck officially began!

Crack, crack—

A series of mechanical components instantly fractured.

The Grand Elder Family Heads remained solemn, without the slightest wavering. This situation was well within their expectations.

At the same time, Ning Zhuo was astonished to discover that the Wo Fo Xin Mo Yin in his spiritual sea began to vibrate slightly, simultaneously emitting a faint glow.

As time passed, the vibration of the Wo Fo Xin Mo Yin grew stronger, and its glow became more intense.

“Someone is plotting against me!” Ning Zhuo’s eyes flashed with a cold light, and he immediately activated his magic power, channeling it into the Wo Fo Xin Mo Yin, providing a slight assist.

Ban Family.

The expressions of the many Grand Elder Family Heads gradually changed.