Ning Jiufan brought Ning Zhuo back to his dwelling.

“You can stay in the side chamber,” Ning Jiufan arranged for Ning Zhuo to be nearby, right next to his study.

After Ning Zhuo settled in, Ning Jiufan summoned him to the study.

Ning Jiufan tested Ning Zhuo, asking him to create a few talismans in his presence.

After Ning Zhuo finished the sketches, Ning Jiufan swept his divine sense over them. He nodded slightly at first, but then slightly shook his head when he saw the last two talismans.

“Your talisman crafting level is decent, and your fundamentals are quite solid, but there’s still a gap before you reach the pinnacle.”

Ning Zhuo spoke up, “Ancestor, talisman crafting has never been my preference. What I enjoy most is crafting mechanical constructs.”

“Your expectations for me might be a bit high. Reaching the pinnacle level you speak of is not easy; it’s rarely seen in the academy throughout the years.”

Ning Jiufan glared at Ning Zhuo and sternly said, “The foundation of our Ning family lies in talisman crafting. No matter how profound your mechanical skills are, you cannot neglect your talisman crafting!”

“Firstly, this is our Ning family’s specialty, and secondly, mechanical constructs encompass the hundred arts of cultivation, and talisman crafting is one of them.”

Ning Zhuo immediately cupped his hands in a bow, “Ancestor, you are right to reprimand me. I will certainly keep it firmly in mind.”

Ning Jiufan added, “You must carefully read the notes on talisman crafting that I gave you before.”

Ning Zhuo quickly expressed that he would read them whenever he had leisure.

Ning Jiufan stared at him; this junior, Ning Zhuo, was truly slippery, treating him in a manner quite different from others!

Even the dignified Ning family patriarch would be utterly respectful when standing before Ning Jiufan. Ning Zhuo, however, lacked this attitude and was quite ill-mannered.

Yet, Ning Jiufan did not reprimand him excessively.

This was because few people could treat him with such an attitude.

Ning Jiufan also understood a great deal about Ning Zhuo’s growth experience. He knew in his heart: to a certain extent, Ning Zhuo had been neglected by the family since childhood, belonging to a wild child who was left to fend for himself.

It was understandable for the wild child Ning Zhuo to treat him with such an attitude.

On the other hand, Ning Jiufan was deeply aware of Ning Zhuo’s talent and aptitude for mechanical arts. For this rising star among the younger generation, he also held a deep affection in his bones.

Therefore, Ning Zhuo’s ill-mannered attitude in front of him was not only tolerated by Ning Jiufan but also made him feel that Ning Zhuo was quite straightforward.

Ning Jiufan had Ning Zhuo tidy his desk and then deliberately tested him, asking, “This time, City Lord Meng Kui and Divine Investigator Zhu jointly established a covenant, agreeing that regardless of the positions we obtain in the Lava Immortal Palace, they will be retained afterwards.”

“In the future, no matter who becomes the Palace Lord, the positions of others will not be arbitrarily revoked.”

“What is your view on this point?”

“What do you think our Ning family should do?”

Ning Zhuo immediately looked up at Ning Jiufan beside him and said without hesitation, “This is a great opportunity for our Ning family!”

“If I were the Ning family patriarch, the moment I heard this news, I would convene the entire clan, mobilize them, and go all out to strive for more positions.”

Ning Jiufan’s expression remained unchanged as he continued to ask, “Why do you say so?”

Ning Zhuo continued, “It’s simple. The more positions our Ning family controls, the higher the degree of control we will have over the entire Lava Immortal Palace.”

“No matter who becomes the Palace Lord, the future Lava Immortal Palace will still be the most crucial place in Fiery Persimmon Mountain.”

“The main function of the Lava Immortal Palace is to suppress Fiery Persimmon Mountain, preventing it from erupting, constantly absorbing the earth flames from Fiery Persimmon Mountain, and eliminating the proliferating Red Flame Demon Beasts.”

“And these earth flames, Red Flame Demon Beasts, and other underground resources are extremely vast in scale, a huge natural treasure trove.”

“The more positions our Ning family controls, the more cultivation resources we can obtain from the Lava Immortal Palace.”

“In fact, it’s not just these tangible resources, but also merit. The Lava Immortal Palace suppresses Fiery Persimmon Mountain, which is beneficial to Fiery Persimmon Immortal City and meritorious to the Southern Bean Kingdom. These merits should also be considered intangible resources.”

“Our Ning family’s situation is actually somewhat awkward. We wandered here from the Northern Wind Kingdom, and although we have been rooted in Fiery Persimmon Immortal City for over a decade, in terms of overall strength and status, we are at the bottom among the four forces.”

“This opportunity is extremely rare, and it’s unlikely we will encounter another one like it for decades to come.”

“If our Ning family can seize this opportunity, we can undoubtedly change the entire situation through the Lava Immortal Palace, improving our Ning family’s overall strength, foundation, and status in the Southern Bean Kingdom.”

Ning Jiufan stroked his beard, “If it is as you say, that this is a great opportunity, then do you intend to mobilize the entire clan to change their cultivation methods?”

Ning Zhuo immediately shook his head, “Of course not!”

“Our Ning family’s innate talent lies in cultivating ice and frost attributed cultivation methods.”

“This advantage cannot be lost and cannot be changed.”

“In my opinion, the majority of ordinary cultivators who do not possess this kind of ice and frost talent should all switch to cultivating the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art.”

“This way, through sheer numbers, we can race ahead of the Zhou family, Zheng family, and the City Lord’s Mansion, and go all out to secure positions in the Immortal Palace!”

“As for the Ning family geniuses who emerge later, they can continue to cultivate their original cultivation methods.”

Ning Jiufan remained noncommittal.

In his heart, however, he was quite satisfied with Ning Zhuo’s answer.

Considering that Ning Zhuo was only sixteen years old at this time, the Golden Core ancestor of the Ning family was even more expectant of Ning Zhuo’s future!

He glanced at Ning Zhuo and said, “Wait until I write a letter and ask the current patriarch. Do you think his ideas will be consistent with yours?”

Ning Zhuo immediately protested, “Ancestor, are you still pinning your hopes on the main branch of the Ning family! You don’t need to think about his answer; it will definitely prioritize the main branch.”

“As I see it, if you truly want the Ning family to develop better, you must find a different path and establish a new stronghold.”

“These people in the main branch have now become a stumbling block preventing our Ning family from making significant progress.”

“If I can split off and become the head of a branch family, I will definitely be able to lead the entire Ning family to a new peak!”

As a result, these words earned him another knuckle rap from Ning Jiufan.

“Always talking about splitting the family, can’t you survive without splitting? Don’t mention this again!”

Within the Ning family grounds, in the Ning family’s deliberation hall.

The Ning family patriarch sat in the main seat, with the Ning family elders seated on either side.

The Ning family patriarch handed Ning Jiufan’s letter to the others.

The elders quickly finished reading it and fell into silence, not uttering a word.

The atmosphere in the entire deliberation hall was quite heavy.

The Ning family patriarch sighed deeply and said, “Tell me your thoughts.”

The Elder of the Battle Hall was the first to speak, “The current situation is quite dire! If we allow the cultivators who switch their methods to secure positions in the Lava Immortal Palace, our clan’s branch families will undoubtedly receive immense support, making them extremely difficult to contain.”

“In the future, it will be hard to say who among our Ning family is the branch family and who is the main branch.”

The Elder of the Academy echoed, “We rely on controlling cultivation methods to control the entire clan. But if cultivators all switch to cultivating the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, then controlling and restraining them through cultivation methods will be nonsense.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Elder of the Talisman Hall sneered several times, “You old fogeys, how can you still not see the situation clearly?”

“On the surface, this is the Ancestor asking for our opinions. But in reality, this is merely a gently worded, tactful persuasive letter. Can we possibly refuse?”

“This political strategy was decided upon by Zhu Xuanji and Meng Kui. It is obvious that they want to actively promote our four forces competing with all our might for positions in the Lava Immortal Palace, even sacrificing future interests for this purpose.”

“Our clan has no choice but to go all out! There is no second option!”

“The Zhou family and Zheng family will also do the same. Because whoever controls more positions in the Lava Immortal Palace will have more power on Fiery Persimmon Mountain in the future.”

“This is a naked conspiracy!”

“There is nothing we can do to stop it.”

The Elder of the Academy protested, “But our Ning family cultivators’ talent lies in ice and frost attributed cultivation methods, which is determined by our innate bone structure.”

“Now, we are being asked to have the majority of our entire clan switch to cultivating the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art and frantically strive for positions in the Lava Immortal Palace.”

“Isn’t this confusing priorities and wasting talent?”

The Elder of the Talisman Hall sneered repeatedly, “Our clan’s talent is indeed in cultivating ice and frost attributed cultivation methods, but there are no obstacles to cultivating the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art either.”

“Moreover, the vast majority of our clansmen do not possess innate talents like Ice Fat Jade Hands. There isn’t a significant difference between cultivating ice and frost attributed cultivation methods or cultivating the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art.”

“The problem now is not for us to choose, but for us to only accept.”

“It’s just that if things continue to develop in this trend, it will be difficult to say who is the main branch and who is the subordinate branch in our Ning family in the future!”

Upon hearing these words, the Ning family patriarch and all the elders fell silent.

The situation for the Ning family’s main branch was extremely grim!

Ning Zhuo had previously taken down Ning Xiaoren and subsequently rallied a group of former deacons, taking control of the black market overnight.

This heavy blow had left the Ning family’s main branch feeling dazed ever since.

In fact, Ning Zhuo had already caused a split in the Ning family, with some branch family members establishing a new stronghold in the black market.

The Ning family’s main branch had not found a way to counteract this and had placed hope in the City Lord’s Mansion and other parties, but Ning Zhuo’s subsequent handling was excellent. Even Fei Si praised him as sensible, more so than Sun Lingtong.

The Ning family’s main branch could only hope for the future. After all, it was a high-level consensus that the black market could not fall under the control of one of the three families. It was just a special situation at present.

As a result, the Ning family’s main branch first encountered this political strategy!

This would greatly boost the development of the faction led by Ning Zhuo!

Originally, the foundation of Ning Zhuo’s group lay in the black market, earning resources from it for cultivation.

Now, because the positions would be retained, the Lava Immortal Palace was highly likely to become another source of resources for Ning Zhuo’s group.

And this time, the political strategy of retaining positions in the Lava Immortal Palace had been confirmed by the highest level, no longer an unsustainable foundation like the black market.

The high-level officials of the Ning family had already foreseen this grim future.

However, what made them incredibly disheartened was that they were utterly powerless to stop it!