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For Ning Xiangqian, having his life hanging by a thread might be considered normal, but for Ning Xiangguo, his life thread was the thinnest, the most transparent.

Based on Ning Zhuo’s understanding of this divine ability, he surmised that Ning Xiangguo was either hiding many secrets or had his heart set elsewhere, not truly relying on Ning Zhuo.

Considering the City Lord’s Manor’s infiltration into the three great families and their consistently evident intelligence advantage, Ning Zhuo initially judged that Ning Xiangguo was likely an informant cultivated by the City Lord’s Manor!

Divine Ability – Threads of Mortal Life!

In the process of using it, Ning Zhuo increasingly felt its wondrous utility.

When Ning Zhuo activated it, he could use the Threads of Mortal Life to forcefully manipulate the actions of others.

As for the specifics of the action, the extent of it, etc., it would be specifically judged based on the strength of both parties.

Ning Zhuo had experimented and found that he could extract Yuan Dasheng’s spirituality and Sun Lingtong’s soul.

However, this was all based on the willingness and full cooperation of the latter two.

For others, under the premise of resistance or lack of awareness, Ning Zhuo was unable to do these things.

At least, that was the case for now.

“The Threads of Mortal Life, once deployed, have persisted until now without requiring me to replenish them.”

“Even without activating the Threads of Mortal Life, I can deduce the extent of the target’s hidden secrets and their true feelings based on the state of the threads.”

This point alone was already quite remarkable.

Not to mention the other powers and wondrous utilities.

“Furthermore, after planting the Threads of Mortal Life, the fortunes of those involved can be gathered together, adding to the whole.”

“No matter how you look at it, this divine ability is an unparalleled tool for building influence.”

“I wonder what the Lotus Blossom will be like, what form the divine ability will take when it undergoes its final qualitative change!”

Ning Zhuo was increasingly curious about the answer to this question.

Regarding Ning Xiangguo, Ning Zhuo pretended not to know, still entrusting him with important tasks. It had to be said that among all the Foundation Establishment cultivators, Ning Xiangguo had the keenest eye and handled matters with the most thoroughness.

Assigning tasks to him made people feel at ease.

Compared to Ning Xiangqian, despite being the strongest in combat, he was, after all, a former deacon of the family’s War Hall.

He was still not as reliable as Ning Xiangguo.

After dealing with the affairs of the black market, Ning Zhuo once again entered his room for secluded cultivation.

He reduced his outside activities to a minimum.

The spell exchange sessions, once held every three days, were changed to every five days.

The content of the exchange also underwent a transformation.

Previously, it was just sparring, exchanging insights and experiences on spellcasting.

Now, there was an added segment for critiquing mechanical constructs.

Ning Zhuo’s fellow disciples would bring out the mechanical fire monkeys and other creations they made in Chen Cha’s workshop and hand them over to Ning Zhuo.

After examining them, Ning Zhuo would offer point-by-point critiques of the fire monkeys.

Every time he pointed out shortcomings, he would do so in a simple and easy-to-understand manner, leaving the creators enlightened.

Ning Zhuo would also tell them how to make mechanisms better and faster.

This behavior greatly benefited his fellow disciples in the Modification Team.

As a result, Ning Zhuo’s authority in the minds of everyone was thoroughly consolidated.

Upon encountering a mechanical construct that met the standards, Ning Zhuo would openly take out spirit stones and buy it on the spot at market price.

Seeing their own mechanical creation fortunate enough to be acquired by Ning Zhuo, everyone involved would stand tall and proud.

If there were any innovative little gadgets, Ning Zhuo would also take out pills or spirit food to exchange for them.

This was an even higher level of recognition, and the young cultivators who received such treatment were all overjoyed.

Zhou Zeshen sat in a corner, watching this lively scene, his eyes flashing with shrewdness.

“A star surrounded by moons, Ning Zhuo has completely mastered this team!”

“And in the Ning family’s Modification Team, the number of direct descendants is small, with the branch families being the mainstream. In other words, Ning Zhuo has basically become the actual controller of the Ning family’s Modification Team!”

Since Zhou Zeshen was summoned by the Zhou family patriarch and ordered to establish a relationship with Ning Zhuo, he had been actively inviting Ning Zhuo, attempting to increase the frequency of meetings and facilitate cooperation between the two parties.

As a result, Ning Zhuo had been cultivating diligently these days, rejecting all of Zhou Zeshen’s invitations.

Zhou Zeshen was quite persistent, and Ning Zhuo realized that constantly refusing was not a solution.

So he told Zhou Zeshen that he would be organizing an exchange meeting for the Modification Team every five days.

At that time, if Zhou Zeshen was interested, he might as well come and have a chat.

Otherwise, he would have to wait until seven days later, when Ning Zhuo would be going out to provide assistance and comfort to the Orphanage.

Zhou Zeshen decisively participated, finding a corner in the courtyard to sit down.

He watched coldly and soon discovered that among the Ning family members, there was one person who was out of sync with the lively atmosphere.

“It’s Ning Ji, Ning Zhuo’s cousin!”

For small figures like Ning Ji, Zhou Zeshen would not have paid special attention to them originally.

But Zhou Zeshen had memorized all the information about Ning Zhuo, and therefore knew about Ning Ji.

“This guy主动开曾主动开口, wanting a piece of the pie, wanting to borrow Ning Zhuo’s magic tool to cultivate when Ning Zhuo was heavily rewarded by the main branch.”

“As a result, he was sternly rejected by Ning Zhuo.”

Zhou Zeshen then looked at Ning Zhuo, admiring him in his heart.

So far, Ning Zhuo had handled everything perfectly.

Once Ning Zhuo had loosened his grip at that time, he would undoubtedly have fallen into a trap.

Such unconditional help would only foster the greed of others, leading to incessant nagging.

How could someone like Ning Ji ever be satisfied?

Similarly, it would stimulate more similar people to swarm in and cling to Ning Zhuo.

Over time, even the largest family business would suffer heavy losses.

Superficially, it would win people’s hearts, like a brocade of flowers, but it would all be an illusion.

Once Ning Zhuo stopped, no longer providing assistance, those who had benefited would be disappointed, harbor great resentment, and even hatred.

Therefore, Ning Zhuo had sternly refused from the beginning, appearing very clean and decisive.

Next, his actions were even more important.

Ning Zhuo directed many fellow disciples to participate in the making of mechanical fire monkeys.

And the produced mechanical monkeys would be examined and evaluated by Ning Zhuo.

Then he would buy most of them with spirit stones, and individual outstanding ones would also receive other rewards.

With such measures, although Ning Zhuo still contributed resources, it was not a free contribution, not a white gift to those who just reached out and wanted to gain without work.

Thus, a positive cycle was formed, and more importantly, the basic color of the team was determined – fairness and justice.

Ning Zhuo’s every comment was public and clear.

This brought about clear rewards and punishments, open and transparent.

He put an end to personal corruption, formed a positive and upward atmosphere, and won over more people’s hearts.

Zhou Zeshen looked at Ning Zhuo, who was talking eloquently and smiling in front of him, and he found it hard to imagine that Ning Zhuo had once been a marginal figure from a branch family.

“Shouldn’t such a figure be cultivated by the family from a young age, with family elders imparting knowledge face to face?”

“This is the kind of awareness and means that only cultivators cultivated in the direction of inheritance from childhood have.”

“Who would have thought that Ning Zhuo would have such a foundation?”

Zhou Zeshen thought secretly: “Ning Zhuo is very good at hiding his sharpness, he hides it too well.”

“It is precisely because they did not expect him to be such a figure that the main branch of the Ning family suffered a great loss this time. It is also understandable!”

“Most normal sixteen-year-old young cultivators spend most of their lives in school. What do they know?”

Especially Ning Zhuo, who lost his parents at an early age, was adopted by his great uncle, and had been treated harshly from childhood to adulthood.

“How could he have such understanding, such vision, such means?”

Zhou Zeshen couldn’t figure it out.

He believed that the main reason why the main branch of the Ning family failed this time was that they were too careless and thought that such a scheme could easily solve Ning Zhuo.

As a result, Ning Zhuo easily resolved it.

Ning Zhuo avoided the trap, organized his fellow students, and used the plan to his own advantage, intervening in the black market, causing the main branch of the Ning family to lose both the chicken and the rice.

Now Ning Zhuo has become the master of the black market.

A sixteen-year-old, Qi Refining Tier 3 black market master.

He also commands nearly twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators, and these Foundation Establishments are not ordinary, they can be considered elites among Foundation Establishments.

Ning Zhuo’s series of actions made Zhou Zeshen sigh in his heart and call out wonderfully.

Zhou Zeshen is good at strategy and very much likes this kind of intellectual confrontation.

In his opinion, the game and competition of the right path are far more interesting, deeper, more meaningful, and more worthy of appreciation than real swords and guns.

“Among the Qi Refining geniuses of the four major forces in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, only Ning Zhuo and I are the same, we are the same kind of people.”

Zhou Zeshen’s degree of goodwill towards Ning Zhuo has greatly increased.

He admires Ning Zhuo and is also quite envious.

“What’s the difference between Ning Zhuo’s current power and the family elder?”

“Although I have talent, I am restricted everywhere in the family. Even if I am the son of a family elder, it is still like this, unable to break free.”

“How can Ning Zhuo be so glorious!”

“More importantly, it’s the benefits!”

“What Ning Zhuo is getting now is the income of the black market!”

“Oh, right! These members of the Modification Team also follow Ning Zhuo’s lead! These are all his manpower, for his use!”

After Ning Zhuo commented on all the mechanical creations, he began to exchange spell insights.

Zhou Zeshen listened quietly, becoming more and more surprised in his heart.

It turned out that Ning Zhuo’s talent was not only in mechanism techniques, but also in traditional spells, he also had a terrifying comprehension.

The people on the Five-Faced Leaderboard are all from the City Lord’s Mansion.

The Zhou family and the Zheng family still know nothing about the rewards on the leaderboard.

The more Zhou Zeshen listened, the more engrossed he became, and a fascinated look appeared on his face.

The corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, and he couldn’t help but feel delighted that this listening had brought such great benefits.

During the question and answer session, Zhou Zeshen also participated, asking several questions.

Ning Zhuo carefully considered each of them before giving a detailed answer.

Zhou Zeshen was greatly touched, gained a lot, and sincerely thanked him.

This made the other Ning family cultivators feel quite honored, deciding that Ning Zhuo used his personal talent to ‘conquer’ the Zhou family genius.

Zhou Zeshen did not just take without giving. He was very clear that he was here to perform and to build a relationship with Ning Zhuo.

He also elaborated on his spellcasting insights during the exchange, and took the initiative to invite Ning Zhuo to a public mechanism technique showdown for everyone in the venue.

Ning Chen, Ning Yong and others all had bright eyes and were full of anticipation.

Ning Zhuo only thought for a moment before decisively agreeing: “Then please teach me, Brother Zhou.”

He had always wanted to compete with Zhou Zeshen and Zhou Zhu and learn about the Mudflow Sect’s mechanism techniques.

Now that Zhou Zeshen had taken the initiative to propose it, it simply touched Ning Zhuo’s heart.

There was no reason for Ning Zhuo not to agree.

End of this chapter.