Ning Ze listened quietly, his eyes flashing frequently.

“So that’s how it is.” Only now did he understand a portion of what had happened.

Ning Ze nodded slowly, “Lan’er, you did well.”

Wang Lan said, “Even now, I’m still afraid. Today was too dangerous. I didn’t expect Xiao Zhuo to actually pull it off!”

“I…I don’t know how to face him.”

“After all, he saved you and brought down that damned Ning Xiaoren.”

Ning Ze sighed, “This is exactly what I wanted to discuss with you.”

“Xiao Zhuo, I misjudged him before. I underestimated him.”

“Regardless of whether there was a master guiding him this time, his demeanor and conversation at the banquet alone were not those of someone destined to remain ordinary.”

“From now on, we must follow closely behind him and support him as much as possible.”

“Let Ji’er follow him. They are cousins after all.”

Wang Lan was surprised, “Ah? Husband, you…”

Ning Ze glared, “Can’t you see? With Xiao Zhuo’s reputation and talent, he will at least become a Clan Elder in the future.”

“Didn’t you see the old masters from the branches of Ning Houjun and Ning Youfu personally stepping forward to support Xiao Zhuo and offer their goodwill?”

“Does Ji’er have talent? Xiao Zhuo’s future is beyond what Ji’er can compare to. Letting Ji’er follow Xiao Zhuo now, so the latter can give Ji’er a leg up considering their past relationship, will save Ji’er a lot of hard work.”

Wang Lan was worried, “Husband, you’re not clear about Ji’er and Xiao Zhuo’s relationship? Although they are cousins, they’ve never gotten along since they were young. Their relationship has always been bad.”

Ning Ze shook his head, “You, you are just a woman, after all.”

“You haven’t seen it clearly.”

“I ask you, what is the relationship between Xiao Zhuo and us?”

Wang Lan hesitated and shook her head, “Not very close.”

Ning Ze snorted, “To be accurate, it’s very bad.”

“But this time, he cleared my name, saved me. Why? Is it because he’s filial to us? Does he remember our nurturing?”

Wang Lan blinked, hesitating, “Although we favor Ji’er more, we did raise Xiao Zhuo.”

Ning Ze shook his head, “The biggest reason Xiao Zhuo saved me is that he can rely on me to bring down Ning Xiaoren.”

“Another principle is: I am his own paternal uncle, his closest relative in this world.”

“If he wants to advance, to rise higher, he must be flawless in character. Therefore, he will definitely take care of us, because of this blood relation.”

“From the banquet just now, I have confirmed – Xiao Zhuo, he has this awareness and this magnanimity.”

Wang Lan, “If that’s the case, why should we try to curry favor with Xiao Zhuo and not just live our own lives?”

Ning Ze shook his head again, “Xiao Zhuo has to treat us well because of our blood ties, which are incredibly close.”

“Similarly, the main branch families will also see us as being in the same camp as Xiao Zhuo because of this.”

“Especially today, when we both testified against Ning Xiaoren, it means that even if we don’t want to, we are seen as Xiao Zhuo’s people.”

“We and Xiao Zhuo are already bound together, one prospers, all prosper; one suffers, all suffer.”

Wang Lan widened her eyes, “So that’s how it is.”

Ning Ze continued, “Since we are already deeply tied to Xiao Zhuo, why not simply go all out to support him, to rely on him?”

“He has talent and such magnanimity. Attaching ourselves to him is not a bad thing!”

Wang Lan fell into silence.

The boy she once looked down on had now become the object of their entire family’s flattery and reliance.

This made it difficult for her to adjust her mindset for a time.

After a long while, she slowly nodded, her tone desolate, “Husband, you are right. I, we will go and rely on Xiao Zhuo.”

Ning Ze nodded, “Tomorrow morning, I will explain this decision to Ji’er.”

The couple settled the matter and went to bed.

In Ning Zhuo’s cultivation chamber, Ning Zhuo was still doing his homework for the day.

Amidst layers of floating clouds, his entire body was overflowing with bloody light, condensing into pieces of sinew, covering his entire upper body, with a small amount covering his lower body, making him seem like he was wearing a layer of bloody leather armor.

The Mirror Platform Spiritual Connection Art had now reached the peak of the sixth layer.

But the Demonic Blood Tendon Art and the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art still had plenty of room for improvement.

Ning Zhuo focused on the Demonic Blood Tendon Art.

Because according to his speculation, “This time, I brought down Ning Xiaoren, and for a period of time, I will be a prominent figure, the focus of the clan.”

“The main branch won’t be so muddleheaded as to continue to withhold my rewards.”

“Ning Xiaohui’s results are far inferior to mine. It is highly likely that I will win the Ice Jade Wine.”

Ning Zhuo planned to use the Ice Jade Wine to boost his magical power cultivation, so the Demonic Blood Tendon Art, which had no shortcuts, became his current focus of cultivation.

The hard work of refining essence blood ended.

Ning Zhuo slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a mouthful of foul air.

He began to think about the situation.

“Today, I brought down Ning Xiaoren, and my name is known throughout the clan.”

“In the next period of time, I need to recruit troops and unite as many branch clansmen as possible to officially start my own faction.”

“This must be done quickly, and the sooner the better.”

“Once this tailwind passes, wanting to rise again will be many times more difficult.”

“As for the account of Ning Ze’s family, it can be settled slowly in the future.”

Sun Lingtong always taught him to repay kindness with kindness and grievances with grievances.

Ning Zhuo grew up in the Ning family and knew the Ning family’s situation like the back of his hand.

It was precisely because he understood the contradictory relationship between the main branch and the branch families so deeply that he easily used their contradictions to help him get rid of Ning Xiaoren.

Ning Xiaoren’s existence had already hindered Ning Zhuo’s progress and had to be removed.

Ning Zhuo never had the idea of leaving the family and rashly cooperating with outsiders.

He was very clear about the value of the Ning family member identity.

The identity of a Ning family member helped him grow steadily and learn.

If he were not a member of the Ning family, Zheng Jian, Zhou Zeshen, and others would have treated Ning Zhuo in a different way.

Zhu Xuanji’s pressure to investigate the case also made Ning Zhuo choose to continue hiding in the family.

After obtaining the Divine Power Embryo – Life Hanging by a Thread, Ning Zhuo was even more certain that the Ning family identity could not be easily abandoned.

Because once the Life Hanging by a Thread was planted, it could exist for a long time, which was quite helpful to the aura.

Letting Ning Zhuo understand that uniting more clansmen around himself was greatly beneficial.

Speaking of Life Hanging by a Thread, he had noticed today that the Life Hanging by a Thread of many classmates had become thicker and stronger.

“I clearly didn’t use the Divine Power Embryo on them again.”

“Could it be because I brought down Ning Xiaoren, and my reputation has greatly increased, making them more inclined to follow me?”

With a shift in his thoughts, Ning Zhuo thought of another key point.

“Has my communication jade slip been relayed from Chen Cha to Fei Si’s hands?”

“In order to deal with Ning Xiaoren, Ning Zhuo secretly used his relationship with Fei Si!”

Fei Si had previously admired Ning Zhuo and causing internal strife in the Ning family was beneficial to the City Lord’s Mansion, so it was highly possible that he had asked the internal response of the City Lord’s Mansion, planted in the Ning family, for Ning Zhuo.

As a result, the experiment was successful.

However, the City Lord’s Mansion would not expose the key internal response to Ning Zhuo because of this.

Therefore, Ning Zhuo had guessed at the banquet which of the Ning family branch members participating in the banquet would be the internal response of the City Lord’s Mansion.

“The Ning family’s main branch, branch families, and the internal response of the City Lord’s Mansion, I didn’t need to use the Buddha Heart Demon Mark, Life Hanging by a Thread, and I have already done this step!”

“Everyone’s desires, the contradictions between groups, the operating rules of the righteous forces, and so on, aren’t they all marionette strings?”

“I only need to guide them according to the situation to make them produce the actions I want.”

“Every action combined together can make the situation become the way I want it.”

“Isn’t this another level of following the spirit?”

Ning Zhuo thought of the previous time when he wanted to strengthen his control over Yuan Dasheng in the Spiritual Movement Realm, and constantly took measures to conform to spirituality.

“The reason I was able to succeed this time is because I followed the ideas of these people to guide them.”

“Life Hanging by a Thread!”

Ning Zhuo thought of this, and a flash of inspiration appeared in his mind.

As soon as the inspiration appeared, it disappeared again when Ning Zhuo subconsciously went to search for it.

“Is it my illusion?”

“I seem to feel that the lotus flower bud of the Divine Power Embryo just trembled a little, and seemed to open a crack?”