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The crowd arrived at the Ning family’s martial arts arena.

Ning Zhuo had originally intended to rent the Fire Persimmon Immortal City’s training grounds, but Zhou Zeshen said that it was unnecessary to waste money. There was also no need to specifically rush to the Zhou family; it would be better to have a small competition at the Ning family’s arena.

This statement immediately made Ning Zhuo glance at Zhou Zeshen, a thoughtful look rising in his heart.

Ning Yong immediately stood up, raising his hand and saying, “Then I’ll go contact the family’s training grounds!”

Seeing Ning Zhuo nod, Ning Yong excitedly ran out of the small courtyard.

Zhou Zeshen, wearing a smile, suggested again, “Heavy gambling is harmful, but a small wager is enjoyable. Brother Ning, why don’t we bet on something!”

Ning Zhuo also smiled and said, “It seems that Brother Zhou came here prepared.”

Zhou Zeshen spread his hands, “I was seen through by Brother Ning. I thought about it, and I couldn’t come to visit you empty-handed, right? So, I brought this!”

As he spoke, Zhou Zeshen took out a crossbow from his storage belt.

This crossbow was very small, only slightly larger than an adult’s palm, with an exquisite structure and made of bronze.

What was noteworthy was that it did not have a traditional arrow rest; instead, it had a rectangular wooden box.

“This is the Liu Dingjing Seizing Crossbow, slightly modified by me, with considerable power!”

Zhou Zeshen revealed a confident smile, “Brother Ning, if you win, I will give this to you, along with the mechanism diagrams.”

Ning Zhuo’s heart stirred, and he took out a mechanical firecracker monkey: “If you win, I will give it to you, also with the corresponding mechanism diagrams. My worry is that I won’t be able to give it away!”

“Hahaha…”

The two looked at each other and laughed at the same time.

Ning Yong quickly returned, panting, saying that he had reserved training ground number Ding.

The group immediately left the small courtyard and came to the training ground in a group.

The branch family cultivator in charge of the training ground was respectful and enthusiastic towards Ning Zhuo, asking what kind of battlefield was needed.

Ning Zhuo looked at Zhou Zeshen.

Zhou Zeshen then said, “Our place has layered mountains and peaks; let’s just make it mountainous terrain.”

So, several formations in the training ground were activated one after another.

The originally flat ground immediately had countless red soil upturned, piling up higher and higher.

As if there were invisible giant forces, the red soil was molded into two small hills, the height of which greatly exceeded the family walls of the Ning family’s territory.

This was not the end of it.

The power of the wood element acted on the hills, causing the grass and trees on the hills to mature in a dozen breaths, forming dense mountain forests.

A dark cloud gathered and floated over the battlefield, scattering heavy rain along the way.

A large amount of water was also created out of thin air, forming a small river between the two hills.

According to Zhou Zeshen’s request, the training ground did not activate the concealment formations.

Such a big commotion quickly attracted other Ning family members.

After introductions from Ning Zhuo’s classmates, everyone quickly understood the situation.

“It’s Young Master Ning Zhuo competing with the Zhou family’s genius, Zhou Zeshen!”

“Why?”

“Zhou Zeshen took the initiative to request a contest.”

“That’s bad, Zhou Zeshen looks cunning at first glance. Could it be that Young Master Ning Zhuo has been schemed against? Is Zhou Zeshen trying to make a name for himself by using our Ning family’s Young Master Ning Zhuo?”

“Ahem, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. Zhou Zeshen has already made a name for himself, much earlier than Young Master Ning Zhuo.”

“Didn’t you see that the two are communicating quite well? They’re both smiling!”

“It’s going to be bad! I’ve heard of this Zhou Zeshen; he has the heavenly gift of ‘water accumulating into a deep pool,’ and must have been cultivated by his family for a long time. But although Young Master Ning Zhuo has talent, he hasn’t been tested yet! How can he fight?”

“Young Master Ning Zhuo, rise up!”

“We all support you!”

More and more Ning family members gathered, and after discussing for a while, they shouted and cheered for Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo waved his hand to greet everyone, causing the cheers and shouts of the crowd to increase by another three points.

With the battlefield prepared, Ning Zhuo and Zhou Zeshen entered the training ground at the same time, each choosing a mountain peak to stand on, confronting each other.

Zhou Zeshen transmitted his voice, “Brother Ning, please!”

Ning Zhuo said, “Brother Zhou is a guest, please go first.”

“Alright, then I’ll show my humble skills.”

Zhou Zeshen patted his storage belt and directly released ten mechanical earth-drilling rats. The mechanical earth-drilling rats were very fast, very agile, and moved freely through the dense mountain forests.

Each mechanical rat had a mana tether attached to its body.

As the distance between the mechanical rats and Zhou Zeshen increased, the mana tethers also lengthened, fluttering and stable.

Ning Zhuo also patted his belt, taking out five mechanical firecracker monkeys.

He also used mana tethers to control them, making the mechanical firecracker monkeys somersault and jump between the branches and leaves.

The range of the training ground was ultimately limited, and the speed of both sides’ mechanisms was not slow. They quickly met at the foot of the mountain where Ning Zhuo was.

The front end of the mechanical rat was a spiral drill, which was very sharp, and could drill holes if it hit the mechanical monkey.

The mechanical monkey itself was much larger than the mechanical rat and had more strength.

Their movements were quite agile, and they could also cooperate with each other, quickly gaining the upper hand.

Bang bang bang…

Zhou Zeshen’s mana tethers were each connected to the tips of his ten fingers.

After the exchange, three of his fingertips trembled slightly, and the mana tethers snapped.

This meant that he had lost three mechanical earth-drilling rats in a row.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhou Zeshen, with his outstretched hands, contracted his ten fingers inward, and the remaining seven mechanical rats retreated at the same time.

“Good!”

The watching Ning family members then cheered loudly.

Just now, their view was obscured a lot by the trees, and there were many mechanical rats and monkeys, and the battle scene was chaotic, making it quite difficult for everyone to distinguish.

Now that Zhou Zeshen’s mechanical rats retreated, separating the two sides, everyone could see clearly.

Zhou Zeshen’s side lost three mechanical rats, and Ning Zhuo’s side had almost no losses. Looking at the complete version of *Tiangong Kaiwu* (The Exploitation of the Works of Nature), only one mechanical firecracker monkey fell behind in the pursuit.

Obviously, its mechanical leg was damaged, affecting its mobility.

In the first probing exchange, Zhou Zeshen decisively retreated, wanting the mechanical rats to increase the distance between the enemy and themselves.

Ning Zhuo naturally did not want this, and directly increased his mana output, commanding the mechanical firecracker monkeys to pursue their victory.

However, the speed of the mechanical rats was two points faster than the monkeys, with a more obvious advantage.

Seeing that the firecracker monkeys could not catch up, Ning Zhuo said, “Brother Zhou, be careful, I’m going to use weapon attachments.”

The next moment, the firecracker monkeys opened their mouths and spat out fiery red firecrackers.

The mechanical monkeys threw the firecrackers out with force.
Explosions reverberated, causing earth and stone to crumble, trees to topple, and dust to billow.

As the dust settled, only scattered remnants of the contraption remained at the site of the blast.

It turned out that at the crucial moment, the clockwork rats had burrowed into the earth and escaped.

Only two, which had also burrowed, were unfortunate enough to be located directly within the concentrated area of the firecracker’s explosive power.

Even after burrowing underground, they were blasted to smithereens.

“Only five left!”

Ning Zhuo calculated inwardly.

He frowned slightly, because the burrowing rats had entered the mountainous terrain, causing Ning Zhuo to lose track of them and their whereabouts.

They might have returned to Zhou Zeshen’s side, or they might be launching a surprise attack from underground towards Ning Zhuo.

“Should I continue to advance? Or should I cast a scouting spell?”

Ning Zhuo chose to cast a spell to survey his surroundings.

“So, he’s chosen to hold his ground for now?”

Zhou Zeshen stood atop the hill, and a glimmer of shrewdness flashed in his eyes as he witnessed this.

He secretly noted this detail.

Battles often reveal a person’s character more directly and honestly.

This was one of the reasons why Zhou Zeshen proposed the friendly spar.

The Zhou family wanted to win over Ning Zhuo, and Zhou Zeshen was keenly aware of Ning Zhuo’s immense potential for growth.

At the current rate, he was destined to become a pivotal figure in Fire Persimmon Immortal City in the future.

And the key to winning over such an important person was to understand them well enough.

A friendly exchange could often help cultivators quickly build relationships and deepen their understanding of each other.

“Five Fiery Apes are nothing to Ning Zhuo’s control!”

“He could have been casting scouting spells while commanding the clockwork Fiery Apes.”

“Indeed!”

“He understands my main intention for this spar!”

“He truly is a genius of my caliber!”

Zhou Zeshen’s lips curled into a slight smile, finding it comfortable to deal with intelligent people like Ning Zhuo.

Many things did not need to be explicitly stated, as they could understand each other.

Ning Zhuo deliberately slowed down the pace of the battle, and Zhou Zeshen, in turn, tossed out a storage pouch.

The storage pouch landed on the ground, its mouth wide open, and more than a dozen clockwork bats – Night Sky Bats – flew out.

The Night Sky Bats soared through the air, heading towards Ning Zhuo.

Upon seeing this, Ning Zhuo patted his belt and released a flock of Thunder Still Birds.

This type of clockwork construct was very popular because it was easy to control, simple to master, and widely praised.

The Thunder Still Birds and Night Sky Bats collided in mid-air, initiating the second direct confrontation between Ning Zhuo and Zhou Zeshen.

The Thunder Still Birds’ attacks were straightforward, while the Night Sky Bats were erratic and agile, with evasion capabilities far exceeding the Thunder Still Birds.

The Night Sky Bats were a clockwork creation of the Mudflow Sect and were clearly superior in performance compared to the common Thunder Still Birds.

Ning Zhuo had more Thunder Still Birds than Night Sky Bats, but after the engagement, the Thunder Still Birds were quickly depleted, clearly at a disadvantage.

The members of the Ning family wore solemn expressions, some with furrowed brows, secretly worrying about Ning Zhuo.

“He’s holding back!”

Zhou Zeshen’s heart skipped a beat.

Just now, Ning Zhuo’s control over the five clockwork apes was very agile, demonstrating a high level of control.

But in this aerial battle, Ning Zhuo’s Thunder Still Birds had almost no maneuvering, moving straight forward, making it quite easy to predict their attack paths.

This gave Zhou Zeshen a great advantage.

“Is it because the burrowing rat swarm retreated during the first confrontation, so Ning Zhuo is deliberately letting me win this round to save face?”

“This guy!”

Zhou Zeshen gritted his teeth, his mood somewhat complex.

He was grateful that Ning Zhuo was considering his face, showing such tacit understanding.

But there was also a great deal of displeasure.

Zhou Zeshen, as a genius, had rarely experienced such concessions.

“Although this is a friendly spar, I’ve always been very serious!”

“I’m giving it my all, but you’re holding back.”

“Although this is well-intentioned, it’s also a form of humiliation for me!”

“Ning Zhuo!”

“I want you to take me seriously!”

Zhou Zeshen shouted in his heart.

Spurred by this, he retrieved a medium-sized clockwork construct from his storage belt.

This clockwork creation resembled a fierce tiger, about two and a half zhang in length, five chi tall at the shoulder, with three-cun-long claws, two-cun-long teeth, white fur with black stripes, and golden tiger eyes, appearing quite imposing.

End of Chapter.