Ning Zhu’s expression was solemn. After discussing with the two, he decided to agree to the ransom again and let Ning Xiangguo make another trip.

Ning Zhu comforted his uncle and aunt well and immediately went to pay his respects to the Ning family’s patriarch, Ning Jiufan, explaining the situation to him.

Ning Jiufan asked Ning Zhu what he thought of the matter.

Ning Zhu said, “I believe this is due to my participation in the Imperial Examinations and my good performance. It’s clear that many people don’t want to see me continue winning like this. Therefore, they are using underhanded means to consume my energy and time.”

Ning Jiufan stroked his beard, his gaze towards Ning Zhu filled with hidden admiration.

In his opinion, Ning Zhu’s performance was more than just “good”; it was exceptionally outstanding, exceeding expectations. The latter had won in many duels against Golden Core cultivators, achieving more victories than defeats. This was unique among cultivators of the Qi Condensation stage, even Meng Chong couldn’t compare to Ning Zhu.

“It’s quite normal for you to be targeted. It’s also very good that you can see this essence,” Ning Jiufan said. “Therefore, there’s no hope of getting your cousin back by paying ransom. What do you plan to do?”

Ning Jiufan was still testing Ning Zhu.

Ning Zhu sighed and looked at Ning Jiufan with a face full of sorrow: “Ancestor, although I am not close to my uncle’s family, honestly, for a long time, I was living under their roof, and they treated me coldly and poorly.”

“But firstly, they are, after all, my closest blood relatives in this world. Secondly, a part of my growing up was indeed due to their protection.”

“Both in terms of emotion and reason, I cannot ignore them.”

“If one is poor, one should cultivate oneself; if one is prosperous, one should benefit the world. Therefore, as soon as I achieved a little success, I thought of repaying them and this kindness.”

“Under the current circumstances, even though I know this is the enemy’s scheme, I can only fall into the trap.”

Upon hearing these words, Ning Jiufan couldn’t help but stroke his beard again and sighed, “Alas, my child…”

He stopped speaking, but in his heart, he was extremely satisfied with Ning Zhu.

Ning Zhu was usually unconventional, always shouting about dividing the family, but he was ultimately a member of the Ning family and deeply attached to kinship.

Ning Jiufan had long since reviewed Ning Zhu’s information and knew deeply that Ning Ze’s family treated Ning Zhu not just poorly and coldly, but with indifference, regarding him as a burden. This could be seen from the fact that “Ning Zhu’s mother died when he was two, but it wasn’t until several years later that Ning Ze’s family adopted him.”

Even so, Ning Zhu still treated Ning Ze’s family with such generosity. At the crucial juncture of the Imperial Examinations, he was still unwilling to abandon Ning Ji and was willing to fall into the trap.

This posture of “falling into the trap” moved Ning Jiufan quite a bit.

“To understand a person, one must not only listen to what they say but also observe what they do.”

“This child, Ning Zhu, is good; at his core, he is pure and kind.”

“He’s a good prospect!”

“With such capacity and vision, if he were to become the patriarch in the future, it might be a good thing for the entire family.”

Ning Jiufan had already accumulated increasing disappointment and dissatisfaction with the current main branch of the Ning family.

Every time Ning Zhu mentioned dividing the family in front of him, the qualitative change caused by quantitative change began to make Ning Jiufan genuinely envision the situation of Ning Zhu taking charge in the future.

Ning Jiufan said, “You don’t need to worry about this matter. I will arrange it.”

Ning Zhu became nervous: “Ancestor, are you going to act personally? This won’t do!”

“You are the greatest hope of our Ning family.”

“In the upcoming Imperial Examinations, it’s fine without me, but it’s absolutely impossible without you!”

“The reason I could perform well is just because I took advantage of the rules of the Imperial Examinations.”

“I’d rather have my energy and time consumed, but you, Ancestor, must not. If you do that, the enemy will likely wake up laughing in their sleep!”

Seeing Ning Zhu’s concern for him, Ning Jiufan was deeply comforted and couldn’t help but reach out and pat Ning Zhu’s head.

This was the first time Ning Jiufan had made such an intimate gesture.

And surprisingly, the feel of that large head was quite nice!

“Ancestor knows what he’s doing, Xiao Zhu, you don’t need to worry.”

“You also don’t need to underestimate yourself. The second round of the Imperial Examinations has progressed to this point, and everyone can see that the Imperial Examinations of the Lava Immortal Palace are heavily skewed towards the trial disciples.”

“You’ve cultivated the Five Elements Qi Law Technique, so you are one of the Lava Immortal Palace’s own people. The advantage of this identity in the upcoming Imperial Examinations cannot be ignored.”

“Next, only the two of us from the Ning family will participate in the Imperial Examinations. We must advance together. Even if we cannot obtain the position of Palace Master, we can still strive for other high-ranking positions to lay a solid foundation for the Ning family’s future foothold in Fire Persimmon Immortal City!”

“Ancestor will bear this small storm for you. From now on, you must go all out and not be distracted by external trivial matters.”

Ning Zhu was so moved that his eyes turned red and he immediately bowed deeply.

Ning Zhu was not surprised to receive Ning Jiufan’s protection. The latter’s performance was also one of the situations he had anticipated.

After taking his leave, he immediately summoned Ning Xiangguo and informed him that he had received the Ancestor’s protection and would focus entirely on the Imperial Examinations, no longer concerning himself with external trivial matters.

Ning Xiangguo immediately showed a hint of joy and congratulated Ning Zhu on being so recognized and cared for by his Ancestor, foreseeing a vast and bright future for him. He strongly agreed with Ning Jiufan’s opinion that this must be the enemy’s scheme to entangle Ning Zhu. If Ning Zhu were affected, the entire Ning family would be affected, and the enemy must absolutely not be allowed to succeed!

Although Ning Xiangguo spoke eloquently, Ning Zhu understood the latter’s identity as a mole.

Ning Xiangguo was secretly allied with the City Lord’s Mansion.

And based on the subsequent intelligence from the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, Ning Zhu also knew that the masked men were the black hands of the City Lord’s Mansion.

The masked assassins were skilled in using Gu worms and had previously attacked and harmed the genius cultivators of the three families.

Ning Xiangguo himself did not know the true allegiance of the masked men. But this did not prevent him from delivering his intelligence to the hidden line at a fixed time.

The hidden line of the City Lord’s Mansion received this intelligence and immediately presented it to their superiors.

Upon seeing it, the superiors immediately became anxious.

They had finally found a way to interfere with Ning Zhu, but it was thwarted by Ning Jiufan.

This immediately generated strong malicious intent from the superiors, who wanted to quickly extract all of Ning Ji’s value while he was still useful, making his death cause a major impact on Ning Zhu’s mind!

“Although Ning Zhu is a genius, he is still only a sixteen-year-old child.”

“Even if his relationship with his uncle’s family is distant, as long as Ning Ji dies, I still have a backup plan. I can widely spread rumors to tarnish Ning Zhu’s righteous reputation and make him feel depressed and irritable.”

The superior quickly reported his opinion upwards.

The action plan was finally delivered to Fei Si’s hands.

“Ning Zhu…” Fei Si sighed, and the image of Ning Zhu bowing respectfully to him appeared before his eyes again.

But Fei Si could sense the fire burning in Ning Zhu’s eyes.

“You kid, you are still blocking my Meng family’s path after all.”

No matter how much Fei Si appreciated Ning Zhu, it was impossible for him to sacrifice his own interests for him.

Fei Si was attached to Meng Kui, and any damage to the Meng family’s interests was damage to his own interests.

Therefore, he used his malicious and cunning wisdom to improve the entire action plan.

After receiving Fei Si’s instructions, the superiors thought about it more and more, finding it exquisite. While sighing, “As expected of Lord Fei Si,” they went all out to execute it.

Soon, the masked men received the order to strike and came before Ning Ji.

“You are going to die!”

“Ning Zhu watched you die and did nothing to help.”

“Do you have anything you want to say before you die?”

Ning Ji was greatly startled and cried out that it was impossible, begging bitterly.

The masked men tortured him greatly, and Ning Ji was in such agony that he cursed the masked men, Ning Zhu, and others, venting his rage and regret before death.

Ning Jiufan issued instructions, ordering a batch of skilled family members to storm the kidnappers’ location, forcefully rescue Ning Ji, and not give the enemy any room to play tricks.

Ning Xiangguo also received secret orders from the City Lord’s Mansion. Through the operations of other hidden lines, he led a group of trusted followers and successfully infiltrated the action team.

Ning Ji died.

The rescue mission failed.

But Ning Xiangguo succeeded!

He intercepted Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother, who was attempting to escape, and captured her. He delivered the evidence of the latter’s kidnapping of Ning Ji, along with the person, to Ning Zhu’s hands.

Ning Zhu saw the evidence, his face ashen in front of Ning Xiangguo, so angry that he directly crushed the cup in his hand.

When he was alone, his eyes were dark, and his heart felt cold.

He felt the coldness, the ruthlessness from those in power.

Ning Jiufan didn’t care about Ning Ji’s life safety; he cared about the interests of the Ning family. Therefore, he deliberately questioned Ning Zhu, and after understanding Ning Zhu’s “true feelings,” he had no scruples and acted directly. Regardless of success or failure, he had to make a final decision and try to end this matter.

Fei Si was not only ruthless but also more sinister. He decisively activated the chess piece that was Ning Xiangguo and sent Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother to Ning Zhu’s hands. Because he knew: Ning Zhu was extremely resentful of the Ning family’s main branch and held deep contempt for them. Now, when he knew that Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother was the culprit behind kidnapping his cousin Ning Ji, what would Ning Zhu do?

Ning Zhu would likely cause a scene! He would be angry, agitated, his state of mind unstable, and his environment would also become unstable.

Ning Zhu would become a bomb within the Ning family’s ranks!

Fei Si’s venom was evident.

And he only sent out a crazy old woman, still holding Ning Xiaoren as a backup. Using a plan without exhausting it was the hallmark of a good strategist.

As for Ning Ji?

Such a small figure, who truly cared about his life or death?

Perhaps, only his biological parents did.

“The lives of small figures are truly fragile.” Inside the house, in the dim light, Ning Zhu’s eyes flickered.

Ning Ji’s life took a sharp turn for the worse. One moment he was in the limelight, flattered by others, and the next he became a hostage, tortured to death.

Just because he was caught in the power struggle among the upper echelons.

He was like a speck of dust, crushed by the millstones of two forces.

Ning Zhu thought of himself.

He was very aware that a large part of the reason he gained Ning Jiufan’s favor was because he had shown value, especially after Ning Xiaohui’s death.

Compared to Ning Jiufan and Fei Si, he was a small figure. Compared to the Meng family and the Zhu family, the royal family of the Southern Bean Kingdom, he was also a small figure.

With the slightest carelessness, he would also be ruthlessly crushed.

Just like Ning Ji.

The only difference might be that Ning Ji did not know the truth of the matter until his death. And Ning Zhu might understand a little, just dying knowing the truth.

This situation, for Ning Zhu, was actually better than his plan.

He quickly took action.

Among the Ning family cultivators arranged in the Lava Immortal Palace, there were representatives from each branch of the Ning family’s main line.

Ning Zhu first secretly discussed with them and reached an agreement before contacting the branch of the Ning family patriarch.

This sudden situation startled the Ning family patriarch so much that he used the emergency teleportation route to personally rush to the Lava Immortal Palace and meet with Ning Zhu in secret.

Ning Zhu’s statement was very direct: Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother, a member of the main branch, kidnapped a junior from a side branch and threatened the young genius among the family’s younger generation. How big a blow would it be to the main branch and to you, Patriarch, if this matter were exposed!

But I, Ning Zhu, for the sake of the family and the overall situation, am unwilling to expose this matter. But if you, the main branch, want to cover this up, you will have to pay a price!!

The Ning family patriarch’s face was ashen: “This price is to agree to your division of the family? This is absolutely unacceptable!”

Ning Zhu smiled slightly: “All the other branches of the main line have agreed. What’s the point of you, Patriarch, insisting alone?”

The Ning family patriarch’s attitude was firm. During his term, causing a family division would definitely be a major stain on his administration!

But Ning Zhu had already cornered him: “The so-called price can be negotiated.”

“Patriarch, don’t you want your son to return to the family?”