“Su Mo?”

“He comes calling so late, just to proactively spar with me?”

“He must be an assassin!”

“I refuse to see him!!”

Upon receiving the report from his Foundation Establishment guard, Ning Zhuo immediately shook his head, “Chase him away.”

Ning Zhuo’s attitude was blunt and resolute.

The Foundation Establishment guard hesitated, “Young Master Ning Zhuo, if you do this, I fear…”

“Fear what?”

The Foundation Establishment guard continued, “I fear it will damage your reputation.”

“This Su Mo claims to be a low-level cultivator. If you don’t even respond to such challengers, what will the outside world think of you, Young Master?”

Ning Zhuo sneered, “Do you think I don’t know what you’re implying?”

“The opponent probably heard the rumors and is deliberately trying to probe me.”

“There must be others behind him!”

“Perhaps this isn’t just probing, but an assassination attempt.”

“Reputation is important, but my life is more important!”

“I crawled my way up from the bottom. See, others despise the dirty work of the black market, but not me! I’m very pragmatic.”

Speaking of this, Ning Zhuo added, “However, your reminder is not without merit.”

“Like this, summon Su Mo to the courtyard and entertain him with fine wine and delicacies.”

“Tell him this: lately, the winds have been tight, the situation is strange, and someone is slandering and spreading rumors about me. I will remember this challenge, this sparring match, and we can compete in the future when I have time.”

“For the next while, I will seclude myself and not act rashly. The signs are ominous, very ominous.”

“There’s a high chance someone will try to assassinate me!”

“Do you think I’m stupid?”

“Hehehe, I won’t give assassins an easy opportunity.”

“Hmm…”

“First thing tomorrow, I’ll move back to the clan grounds.”

Ning Zhuo let out a soft snicker.

“Understood, I will do so.” The Foundation Establishment guard retreated.

Ning Zhuo’s explanation had convinced him.

However, Ning Zhuo’s words were not mainly for him, but for others who were present.

Zhu Xuanji and Ning Jiufan frowned slightly upon hearing Ning Zhuo’s plan.

They wanted Ning Zhuo to act as bait, to lure the City Lord’s Mansion to attempt an assassination, thereby making a mistake. But Ning Zhuo himself had also realized that the situation was dangerous and already wanted to retreat.

“This won’t do!” Zhu Xuanji thought to himself.

Ning Jiufan frowned, “Moving to the clan grounds, will that prevent an assassination? How naive!”

He didn’t want to see Ning Zhuo take this course of action.

Although Ning Zhuo moving to the clan grounds was indeed safer for him than staying here, if the City Lord’s Mansion truly wanted to assassinate him, the clan grounds were no match for assassins.

If Ning Zhuo lived in the clan grounds, the casualties would only increase. After the assassination, the other members of the Ning clan would likely suffer as well.

Zhu Xuanji simply transmitted his voice to Ning Jiufan, “Brother Ning, please arrange this. Ning Zhuo is a member of your Ning clan.”

It wasn’t appropriate for Zhu Xuanji to come forward in this matter.

Ning Jiufan persuading him was the most legitimate approach.

Therefore, Ning Jiufan transmitted his voice to Ning Zhuo.

“Grand Ancestor, Grand Ancestor!” Ning Zhuo was overjoyed upon hearing this and hurriedly called out, “Grand Ancestor, you’ve come to save me! I will never forget your life-saving grace.”

Ning Jiufan told Ning Zhuo not to be afraid. He had already arrived nearby and was lying in wait, protecting Ning Zhuo. He instructed Ning Zhuo to bravely face the challenge!

“Even if this Su Mo is an assassin, this old man will guarantee your safety,” Ning Jiufan said.

But Ning Zhuo shrank back, “Grand Ancestor, I… I don’t want to.”

He touched his large head and suddenly had a look of realization.

“Wait, could it be…”

“Grand Ancestor, could it be that you spread the rumors, saying that I obtained a Demonic Sect True Scripture?”

“You’re secretly protecting me while also making me face the challenge, isn’t this clearly using me as bait?”

“Who are you trying to deal with?”

Ning Jiufan coughed, “You don’t need to know who.”

If he truly told Ning Zhuo that they were targeting the City Lord’s Mansion, wouldn’t Ning Zhuo be scared stiff?

Therefore, Ning Jiufan didn’t respond directly but evaded the question.

Of course, Ning Zhuo wasn’t stupid.

“I refuse, I refuse!!”

“This job is too dangerous. If I’m not careful, my little life will be in jeopardy, Grand Ancestor.”

“My little arms and legs can’t handle this.”

Seeing Ning Zhuo’s lack of cooperation, Ning Jiufan couldn’t help but let out a cold snort.

Who knew that this cold snort not only failed to scare Ning Zhuo but instead ignited his “rebelliousness.”

“Grand Ancestor, you can’t do this, Grand Ancestor!”

“Although I’m from a branch family, my branch family is still people, and we still bear the surname Ning!”

“You can’t treat me so differently, Grand Ancestor.”

“If you do this, it will be truly disheartening, Grand Ancestor.”

Hearing this, Ning Jiufan suddenly felt like he had become a biased family head, utterly muddleheaded.

Ning Jiufan said sternly, “Don’t spout nonsense, boy. I’m telling you, even if the main family patriarch were standing in your current position, he would have to do the same.”

“This is the big picture.”

“You are standing in this position, the situation is urging you. You must consider the big picture, child.”

Ning Zhuo stiffened his neck, “No, I refuse!”

“Grand Ancestor, don’t force me.”

“What kind of Grand Ancestor forces their junior to their death?”

“If you force me again, I’ll kneel in the ancestral hall, I’ll cry while clutching your father’s and your grandfather’s memorial tablets!”

“I’ll file a complaint! I’ll move into the ancestral hall and live there, eating, drinking, and relieving myself all in that place.”

Ning Jiufan: ?!

For a moment, he was stunned.

Truthfully, he had never seen such a disrespectful family junior!

This was too unruly.

He was about to teach Ning Zhuo a lesson but was stopped by Zhu Xuanji.

Zhu Xuanji said, “Right now, we still need this lad to cooperate with us.”

“The big picture is what matters, stabilizing him for now is the best course of action.”

Ning Jiufan immediately frowned.

Zhu Xuanji added, “Ning Zhuo is a junior of your family, don’t you understand him?”

“Let me give you some reminders.”

“He comes from a branch family and has been treated harshly since he was young. Although he attended the academy and received training, his mastery of mechanizations has been steadily accumulating but never demonstrated. This means that he wasn’t highly valued in the academy.”

“It was only during the emergence of the Lava Immortal Palace that his mechanization skills reached the point of bursting forth after a long period of accumulation.”

“It’s only recently that he discovered he has aptitude.”
“That kind of lad, unloved by his uncle and uncared for by his grandmother, grew up wildly for sixteen years. Don’t expect him to be genuinely filial to the Ning family’s elders and higher-ups.”

“Don’t forget, not long ago, he even pulled your clan’s young patriarch from his position. To this day, your former young patriarch is still locked up in the clan’s private prison, isn’t he?”

Ning Jiufan’s brow furrowed even more deeply: “Then, according to esteemed Grandmaster Zhu’s meaning…”

Zhu Xuanji merely smiled, offering no reply.

Ning Jiufan felt displeasure!

What?

He, a dignified Golden Core of the Ning family, an honored Ancestor, must accommodate a junior of the clan?

This was simply turning the heavens upside down!

But Zhu Xuanji’s words were not without merit; everything must be considered for the greater good.

What was the immediate “greater good”?

It was to entice the City Lord’s mansion to make a mistake, to send someone to assassinate Ning Zhuo.

Only by seizing the City Lord’s mansion by the throat could they then prove and expose the City Lord’s mansion’s great crime of dispatching shadowy demonic cultivators, blowing up the Immortal Palace, and fostering bandits to threaten the kingdom!

Once the great crime was confirmed, the Southern Bean Royal Family could justifiably take action, overturning the entire situation of the Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

At that time, Zhu Xuanji would not need to do anything at all; he would be directly recommended to become the Lord of the Immortal Palace.

Ning Jiufan could not help but fall silent.

At present, if Ning Zhuo were to give up, to cease his disguise, it would be easily discovered by Fei Si, causing him to become wary. Where, then, would there be any talk of assassination?

Therefore, Zhu Xuanji was right: they must stabilize Ning Zhuo, must persuade Ning Zhuo to cooperate with them.

Of course, the Golden Core Ancestors were not without their methods, such as certain spells that could control Ning Zhuo, as if controlling a puppet.

But this approach was unfavorable.

On the one hand, they were all of the righteous path, and desired to maintain their dignity. A group of honorable seniors, six in total, bullying a Qi Refining junior; this was simply unseemly.

Especially Ning Jiufan, as the Ning family’s Ancestor, who should be protecting the younger members of his clan, yet he was joining with five other Golden Cores to bully and manipulate his own junior – this was far too lacking in moral fiber.

On the other hand, Ning Zhuo needed to maintain a normal state. Only if he were willing to cooperate could he deceive Fei Si to the greatest extent.

The coercive methods that the Ancestors could use were likely to leave clues, or unhideable anomalies, that Fei Si could easily discover.

“Ancestor, Ancestor, are you there? Are you still there?” Seeing that Ning Jiufan did not respond to him for a long time, Ning Zhuo quickly called out in a soft voice.

“I am.” Ning Jiufan was both angered and amused. “You little brat, you truly deserve a beating.”

“This old man is telling you plainly, you cannot escape. Stay here for me, and await the assassination.”

“With me here, you won’t die!”

“An emperor doesn’t starve his soldiers; what do you want? Speak up. This old man will see if I can bestow it upon you. I won’t let you take risks for nothing.”

Ning Zhuo smiled wryly, and plopped down in the chair.

His expression was unsightly: “Can’t I really run, Ancestor?”

Ning Jiufan’s tone was grave: “No.”

“Alright. Quickly state your demands.” Ning Jiufan became impatient; he was a dignified Golden Core, while Ning Zhuo was but a mere Qi Refining cultivator; such an attitude was already exceedingly rare.

“Fine.” Ning Zhuo gritted his teeth. “Ancestor, I want to inherit the entire clan; I want to be the Clan Chief!”

Ning Jiufan: …

“Ancestor? Ancestor?” Ning Zhuo called out again.

Ning Jiufan was both angered and amused for a second time: “You, a mere Qi Refining cultivator, your ambition is so great that you actually want to covet the position of Clan Chief?”

Ning Zhuo hastily said: “Ancestor, being the Clan Chief is so impressive. I just want it.”

“Especially now, our Ning family’s main branch is always displeased with our side branch, constantly trying to suppress us in every way.”

“Our side branch’s days are bitter.”

“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have brought a group of people to the black market to make a living, Ancestor.”

Hearing this, Ning Jiufan fell silent once more.

He was not ignorant of the Ning family’s situation; he was well aware, and knew that Ning Zhuo’s words were true.

But it was difficult for Ning Jiufan to take action against the main branch.

The main branch was also of the Ning family’s bloodline, and were also the direct descendants of another Ning family Ancestor. Ning Jiufan had promised his friend that he would take care of his descendants.