Chu Xuan-gui and Song Tao-sheng fell silent.

Li Guan-yu was not optimistic about Ning Zhuo, believing that he was no match for Gu Qing.

This statement was quite reasonable. Because this Xing-yun Minor Test was related to papermaking. This process required the involvement of many Ru-cultivator methods, such as using wen-feng, wen-xin, and even wen-gong.

Ning Zhuo was not an orthodox Ru-cultivator, but Gu Qing was.

The latter was not only a Ru-cultivator but had also been cultivated since childhood, receiving education in classic Confucian texts. His teacher was the Grand Ru Zhao Han-sheng! It could be said that in terms of Ru-cultivator training, Gu Qing had received far more than Ning Zhuo.

Now that he was participating in this Xing-yun Minor Test, his advantages were clear and truly enormous.

Even if Chu Xuan-gui and Song Tao-sheng favored Ning Zhuo, they could not deny these advantages.

And it was impossible for Chu Xuan-gui and Song Tao-sheng to prevent Gu Qing from participating.

Many things could only be done secretly, and superficial fairness and justice had to be upheld.

This was why Xuan-jia Cave was so furious when Ban Jie laid down traps and manipulated the Minor Test. Ban Jie later paid a huge price to gain the understanding of Xuan-jia Cave.

Chu Xuan-gui and Song Tao-sheng could not overtly favor Ning Zhuo too much, otherwise, the credibility and reputation of the Ru-cultivator community would be ruined!

So what should be done next?

Song Tao-sheng was silent for a moment before saying, “Actually, it doesn’t matter. We wanted to assist Ning Zhuo before because we didn’t understand him. Now we know that Ning Zhuo is a first-rate genius. He can make a name for himself in Wan-xiang Sect based on his own strength.”

“He has already taken first place in the previous two Ru-cultivator Minor Tests. To be honest, there’s already quite a bit of suspicion.”

“We just need to ensure that the next two Ru-cultivator Minor Tests provide him with precise help, and that will be enough.”

Song Tao-sheng’s meaning was clear.

Even without their help, Ning Zhuo could still win first place in other Xing-yun Minor Tests on his own.

So, even if he didn’t become the champion in this Ru-cultivator Minor Test, it wouldn’t matter!

In fact, there were benefits.

At least it would prove that the Ru-cultivator community’s Minor Test was not designed specifically for Ning Zhuo, completely dispelling potential suspicion and risk.

Song Tao-sheng paused, then added, “I think Gu Qing’s participation also has many benefits.”

“This young man comes from Hua-zhang Nation and is a famous young genius across the country. His participation in the Xing-yun Minor Test we organize signifies that we also have allies outside of Wan-xiang Sect. This can greatly boost our prestige!”

Chu Xuan-gui and Li Guan-yu nodded simultaneously upon hearing this.

Chu Xuan-gui suddenly thought of Situ Gu: “It seems that Situ Gu’s almost proactive involvement in this Xing-yun Minor Test must have been due to meeting Zhao Han-sheng and Gu Qing in advance, and perhaps even reaching an agreement.”

Li Guan-yu interjected, “If that’s the case, then Gu Qing’s intentions are also clear. He wants to win first place in this Xing-yun Minor Test!”

Ru-cultivators always had a knack for politics.

As the three discussed, they easily saw through Situ Gu’s stance and Gu Qing’s intentions.

Li Guan-yu looked jokingly at the two in front of him: “A Grand Ru’s move is indeed extraordinary. We worked so hard to set things up, and then someone comes from afar and immediately reaps the benefits.”

Song Tao-sheng chuckled freely: “How can things always go our way? In the entire Wan-xiang Sect, the three of us are only Golden Core cultivators. And the entire Ru-cultivator community only has a certain voice in the middle echelons of Wan-xiang Sect.”

Chu Xuan-gui’s expression was calm, his voice indifferent: “Zhao Han-sheng is a Grand Ru on par with Elder Duan-mu Zhang. It is very difficult and unnecessary for us to obstruct him.”

“It’s understandable that Gu Qing travels the world, wanting to accumulate achievements everywhere.”

“Since he desires this first place so much, it would be unreasonable if he didn’t pay some price, wouldn’t it?”

At this point, Chu Xuan-gui had abandoned his original plan of supporting Ning Zhuo to aim for first place.

Since the matter was no longer feasible, they would let nature take its course and refine the plan.

After all, Chu Xuan-gui’s relationship with Ning Zhuo was not that close, more a matter of appreciation and optimism. Among the entire Ru-cultivator community, only Wen Ruan-yu could truly do more for Ning Zhuo.

However, she was still under house arrest.

Ning Zhuo was not an orthodox Ru-cultivator after all, and in the hearts of the Ru-cultivators, he was still one step removed from being one of their own.

Li Guan-yu and Song Tao-sheng smiled.

It was excellent that Chu Xuan-gui could change his mind.

Li Guan-yu laughed, “As a Grand Ru, Zhao Han-sheng must have a rich family background. It is proper for him to add splendor to this Xing-yun Minor Test for his student.”

“Haha, I’ll also participate in such a good show. I’ll go with you to meet this Grand Ru who has come from afar.”

Chu Xuan-gui and Song Tao-sheng immediately welcomed him.

Song Tao-sheng said, “Once we finalize our discussion, we will spread the relevant news.”

Li Guan-yu nodded, “Given Ning Zhuo’s accomplishments, he will naturally understand what we mean to convey.”

He had also learned a lot about Ning Zhuo.

The reason for this was that Ning Zhuo’s entire performance in Xuan-jia Cave had been recorded on jade slips and widely sold by Tong-shang Hall.

Li Guan-yu, as if seeing it with his own eyes, witnessed Ning Zhuo’s various performances in the Xuan-jia Cave Minor Test.

What impressed him most was Ning Zhuo’s grasp of human nature. At the final moment, Ning Zhuo used only words to persuade others to retreat voluntarily. This even included a Golden Core cultivator like Tie Zheng.

This act made Li Guan-yu greatly admire Ning Zhuo.

Because Ru-cultivators generally advocate the principle of “a gentleman uses his words, not his hands.”

Ning Zhuo’s use of words to repel the enemy perfectly aligned with the preferences of Ru-cultivators.

Duan-mu Zhang’s previous change of opinion about Ning Zhuo also had this aspect as a reason.

Azure Stone Cave Mansion.

Ning Zhuo was studying diligently, meditating on the Mo-ran Blood-tendon Art.

With the computing power of the Luo-shu, the blood tendons were continuously magnified, until their most microscopic secrets were revealed within Ning Zhuo’s spiritual consciousness.

This time, what he saw was no longer complex structures like spirals and layers, but the most basic elemental blood-qi lines!

“Forming blood tendons is merely a result, the most external manifestation.”

When a blood tendon is purely and longitudinally stretched, it does not simply get longer. With the infusion of blood qi, countless blood-qi lines are like countless tightened bowstrings. This is the most basic principle!

The simple act of pulling can accumulate terrifying rebound force.

And this force, when released, can be used anywhere in the body!

A single blood-qi line is very simple, but when two or three interweave, it becomes complex. Some lines will primarily provide power, called main lines. Others will be responsible for guiding and restraining direction, called auxiliary lines.

Countless blood lines intertwine to form the various structures of a blood tendon.

For example, layering is when countless blood-qi lines are arranged in parallel, allowing the whole to withstand, or accumulate, pulling and rebounding forces in a certain direction, which is quite astonishing, demonstrating a more macroscopic “韧性 (resilience).”

And the spiral, on the other hand, is when countless tiny pulling and dragging lines are continuously and offset-stacked in space, causing blood qi to be pressurized and refined within them.

This time, the comprehension process was quite smooth!

For example, before, Ning Zhuo’s comprehension of the Mo-ran Blood-tendon Art was like walking on sand. Now, it was like sitting on a wooden board and sliding down a sand dune.

Ning Zhuo was not surprised, but pleasantly so: “My level in Organ Arts has leaped to master-level, and in comprehending the Mo-ran Blood-tendon Art, I immediately grasped the core.”

“With the core foundation understood, the next step is to understand and memorize the various combinations of blood-qi lines.”

Although this learning content was quite extensive, Ning Zhuo only needed to proceed step by step and would not encounter learning obstacles.

“The Mo-ran Blood-tendon Art and Organ Arts are quite compatible!”

“By cultivating it, cultivators can refine blood qi into blood tendons. These are alternative organ components that can be attached to flesh and bone. From this perspective, the Three Sect Honored Masters treated the human body as a machine.”

Sun Ling-tong quietly returned to the Azure Stone Cave Mansion.

“Here, Xiao Zhuo, these are the demonic cultivator souls purchased this time.” He brought back a large number of demonic souls, two of which were at the Golden Core level.

Qin De’s soul was not among them.

However, Ning Zhuo had long known this.

When Sun Ling-tong was operating in the black market, Ning Zhuo had been observing through Ren-ming Xuan-si. If Sun Ling-tong encountered any danger, he would use his methods to quickly extract him, freeing him from peril.

Ning Zhuo even witnessed the entire negotiation process between Sun Ling-tong and the gray-robed cultivator.

Sun Ling-tong: “I’m going back now.”

He had recently been primarily comprehending the Luo-shu’s array, and had made considerable progress. His comprehension was extremely high, and with the two Ru-arts taught by Ning Zhuo, he was like a tiger with wings.

“I will strive to deal with the Luo-shu array and acquire this Dao artifact within one or two months!” Sun Ling-tong stated before quietly departing.

No sooner had he left than bad news reached Ning Zhuo.

“Zhao Han-sheng, Gu Qing—” Ning Zhuo frowned slightly.

Someone was disrupting his plans!

In Ning Zhuo’s plan, the upcoming Ru-cultivator Minor Test was essentially his guarantee for first place. He hadn’t expected problems to arise in this area.

“Zhao Han-sheng and Gu Qing come with malice, first to snatch the fruit, and second to step on me to establish their reputation.”

“The greater my reputation, the higher my value, and similar opponents will emerge one after another.”

If Ning Zhuo had chosen to be patient back then, such incidents would most likely not have occurred.

But similarly, he would also incur losses in other areas.

No option in life is perfect. There are always pros and cons; acquiring something always means losing something.

“Alas, it’s a pity. If I could obtain the soul of the demonic Ru-cultivator Qin De, I would have more confidence in this Ru-cultivator Minor Test.”

“I wonder why Zhong Dao suddenly attaches such importance to Qin De and guards him so strictly.”

Ning Zhuo carefully analyzed the intelligence and soon understood the attitudes of Chu Xuan-gui and Song Tao-sheng.

“Their attitude towards me has also undergone a subtle change.”

Facing Zhao Han-sheng and Gu Qing, the help they offered Ning Zhuo was greatly reduced.

“Ultimately, I’m still not truly one of their own.”

Ning Zhuo was not disappointed.

The Ru-cultivator community’s actions were also reasonable. They couldn’t sacrifice their own reputation for Ning Zhuo, could they?

In fact, if the Ru-cultivator community had supported Ning Zhuo so strongly, Ning Zhuo would have felt awkward.

The current situation was good.

This was a mutual choice.

Ning Zhuo had always regarded the Ru-cultivator community as just one of his entry points into the Wan-xiang Sect.

“Refining these papers requires the use of various Ru-cultivator resources.”

“Although these resources can be provided to outsiders who participate in this Minor Test, it’s ultimately not as good as using one’s own.”

“Gu Qing has too great an advantage in this regard.”

“Not to mention that the Ru-cultivators aren’t optimistic about me, I myself feel that the hope of winning first place is too slim.”

Ning Zhuo gave a wry laugh, but still decided to participate.

Even if he didn’t get first place, as long as he could obtain the corresponding precious paper, that would be enough.

Adjusting his mood, Ning Zhuo began to cultivate using these demonic cultivator souls.

Tian-zi Ben-wo, Fen-zhou Du-hun Art!

As the two intertwined, the demonic cultivator souls cried out in agony, and their lifelong memories and experiences poured into Ning Zhuo’s body.

Several hours later, Ning Zhuo slowly opened his eyes.

Almost all the demonic cultivator souls had dissipated.

“Exterminating demons and defending the Dao, it is our inescapable duty!” Ning Zhuo spoke with righteous indignation.

His eyes gleamed as he recalled his gains from this time, finding that the quality of the souls in the second round of procurement was clearly not as good as the first batch.

“The gray-robed cultivator’s supply capacity, judging from this time, is not very good.”

“The souls I will need in the future will have to be sourced from Bai-zhi Xian-cheng.”

The memories and experiences of countless cultivators were a massive amount of nourishment, covering multiple aspects of cultivation.

But Ning Zhuo still needed a process to digest them. Just as in Xuan-jia Cave, he also faced various bronze weapons, and it was only through repeated sparring that he quickly digested the experiences and memories related to martial arts, truly making them his own.

“Most of the souls are either Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment. They only fill in the basics, and there’s a lot of overlap.”

“In the future, continuing to absorb such souls will yield diminishing returns.”

What was truly useful were the experts.

What caught Ning Zhuo’s attention the most this time was a demonic cultivator named Ling Mo.

This person was born in Bei-feng Nation. He was ordinary in appearance, without exceptional talent, but possessed an ice spirit root, and thus joined a small local sect.

A conspiracy led to the sect’s destruction. He witnessed his master and fellow disciples being massacred, and in his escape, he was forced into Shuang-hou Valley.

In Shuang-hou Valley, he nearly died several times, struggling with severe injuries.

Finally, at his wit’s end, in extreme cold and despair, he created a cultivation method with his astonishing talent and will.

In the ice and snow, he used his own meridians as a furnace, the Xuan-bing qi of ten thousand years as material, and the obsession for revenge as fire, to reforge his physical body.

This cultivation method was later named “Yong-ji Xuan-bing Casting Body Demonic Art” by him!

Traditional ice techniques often pursued variations of spells and long-range control, but Ling Mo abandoned these. He used the power of ice to transform and enhance himself, making his body the most powerful weapon.

“Shuang-hou Valley—”

Ning Zhuo and Sun Ling-tong had once passed by it together.

It was a dangerous place among dangerous places, a desperate situation among desperate situations.

But Ling Mo survived there and even benefited from the misfortune.

And this “Yong-ji Xuan-bing Casting Body Demonic Art” was precisely what he relied on during his long stay in Shuang-hou Valley!