Chapter 174: A Hint of Blooming (Please vote for the monthly ticket)

Ning Ze listened quietly, his gaze flickering frequently.

"So that's how it was." Only now did he understand a portion of what had transpired.

Ning Ze nodded slowly: "Lan'er, you did well."

Wang Lan said: "I'm still feeling lingering fear even now. Today was too perilous; I never expected Little Zhuo would truly succeed!"

"I... I don't quite know how to face him."

"After all, it was he who saved you and dragged that damned Ning Ning Xiaoren down from his position."

Ning Ze sighed: "This is precisely what I wanted to discuss with you."

"Little Zhuo..."

"I misjudged him in the past; I looked down on him too much."

"Regardless of whether he had an expert guiding him from the shadows this time, based on his speech and conduct at the banquet alone, he is definitely no ordinary person!"

"From now on, we must follow closely behind him and support him with all our might."

"Let Ji'er follow him. They are, after all, cousins!"

Wang Lan was startled: "Ah? Dear, you this..."

Ning Ze glared: "Can't you see? Little Zhuo has such prestige and talent; he will at least be an Elder in the future."

"Didn't you see how the Elder-level figures of the branch families, like Ning Youfu and Ning Houjun, personally stepped in to support Little Zhuo and show their goodwill?"

"Ji'er has no talent. Little Zhuo's future is not something Ji'er can compare to. Let Ji'er follow Little Zhuo now; if Little Zhuo considers their past relationship and offers some guidance, who knows how much hardship it will save Ji'er."

Wang Lan worried: "Dear, you still don't understand the relationship between Ji'er and Little Zhuo, do you? Although they are cousins, they have never gotten along since they were children; their relationship has never been good."

Ning Ze shook his head: "You, oh you, you are just a woman after all."

"You haven't seen it clearly."

"Let me ask you, how is the relationship between Little Zhuo and us?"

Wang Lan shook her head hesitantly: "Not close at all."

Ning Ze snorted coldly: "To be precise, it's terrible!"

"But he saved me today and cleared my name; why? Is it because he is filial to us? Does he cherish the memory of us raising him?"

Wang Lan blinked, hesitating: "Although we favored Ji'er more, it was indeed us who raised Little Zhuo to adulthood."

Ning Ze shook his head: "The biggest reason Little Zhuo saved me was so he could rely on me to pull Ning Ning Xiaoren down."

"Another reason is: I am his uncle, his closest relative in this world."

"He wants to advance, he wants to climb higher, so he must be beyond reproach in his character. Therefore, he will definitely treat us well, simply because of this blood relationship."

"From the banquet just now, I have already confirmed—Little Zhuo has this awareness, as well as the capacity!"

Wang Lan: "Since that's the case, we have our own lives; why must we suck up to Little Zhuo?"

Ning Ze shook his head again: "Little Zhuo treats us well because our blood ties are close."

"By the same token, the main family will also see us as being on Little Zhuo's side because of this."

"Especially today, we two testified against Ning Ning Xiaoren! This means that even if we aren't willing, we are already seen as Little Zhuo's people."

"We are already deeply bound to Little Zhuo; we prosper together and suffer together."

Wang Lan opened her eyes wide: "So that's how it is."

Ning Ze nodded: "Since we are already deeply bound to Little Zhuo, why not just go all the way, support him fully, and defect to him?"

"He has talent and such capacity; relying on him is not a bad thing."

Wang Lan fell into silence.

The youth she once looked down upon had now become the object they had to suck up to and rely on.

This made it difficult for her to adjust her mindset for a time.

After a long while, she nodded slowly, her tone desolate: "Dear, you are right. We... we will rely on Little Zhuo."

Ning Ze nodded: "Tomorrow morning, I will make this decision clear to Ji'er."

The couple settled the matter and went to bed.

In Ning Ze's cultivation secret room, Unlike Ning Zhuo was still performing his daily tasks.

Amidst layers of clouds, blood light overflowed from his body, condensing into membranes that covered his entire upper body and partially his lower body, making him look as if he were wearing a light suit of blood-colored armor.

The Mirror Platform Spirit-Communication Art had now reached the peak of the sixth layer.

However, both the Demonic Blood-Tendon Art and the Five Elements Qi-Law Art still had plenty of room for progress.

Unlike Ning Zhuo focused his efforts on the Demonic Blood-Tendon Art.

Because, according to his deduction: "I have dragged Ning Ning Xiaoren down today, and for a period of time, I will be a figure of interest, the focus of the clansmen's discussions."

"The main family won't be so foolish as to continue withholding my rewards."

"Ning Ning Xiaohui's performance is far inferior to mine; the possibility of me obtaining the Ice Jade Wine is extremely high!"

Unlike Ning Zhuo intended to use the Ice Jade Wine to boost his magic power, so the Demonic Blood-Tendon Art, which had no shortcuts, became his current focus.

The hard work of refining essence blood came to an end.

Unlike Ning Zhuo slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air.

He began to ponder the situation.

"Today I dragged Ning Ning Xiaoren down, becoming famous throughout the clan and widely known."

"For the next period of time, I need to recruit followers, unite as many branch clansmen as possible, and officially establish my momentum."

"This task must be completed quickly, and the sooner the better."

"Once this momentum passes, the difficulty of establishing it again will be more than doubled!"

"As for the accounts of Ning Ze's family, they can be settled slowly in the future."

What Sun Lingtong had taught him was always to repay kindness with kindness and grudges with grudges.

Unlike Ning Zhuo had grown up in the Ning family and knew the situation like the back of his hand.

It was precisely because he understood the contradictions between the main and branch families so deeply that he was able to easily exploit them to take down Ning Ning Xiaoren.

Ning Ning Xiaoren's existence had hindered his progress and had to be removed.

Unlike Ning Zhuo had never considered leaving the family or rashly cooperating with outsiders.

He was very clear about the value of his identity as a Ning clansman.

This identity helped him grow steadily and learn.

If he weren't a Ning clansman, people like Zheng Jian and Zhou Zeshen would have treated him with a completely different attitude.

The pressure from Zhu Zeshen's investigation also made Unlike Ning Zhuo choose to continue hiding within the family.

After obtaining the embryonic form of the supernatural ability, Life-Thread, Unlike Ning Zhuo was even more convinced that his Ning family identity could not be discarded at will.

Once Life-Thread was planted, it could exist for a long time. It was quite beneficial to his fortune, making Unlike Ning Zhuo understand that uniting more clansmen around him was highly advantageous!

"Speaking of Life-Thread... I happened to observe today that the Life-Threads of many classmates have become thicker and firmer."

"I clearly didn't cast the supernatural ability on them again."

"Could it be because I dragged Ning Ning Xiaoren down, my prestige increased, making them more inclined to follow me?"

As his thoughts turned, Unlike Ning Zhuo thought of another key point.

"Has my communication jade slip been relayed through Chen Cha and reached Seeing Fei Si's hands?"

To deal with Ning Ning Xiaoren, Unlike Ning Zhuo had secretly utilized his relationship with Seeing Fei Si.

Seeing Fei Si had previously appreciated Unlike Ning Zhuo, and inciting internal strife within the Ning family was beneficial to the City Lord's Mansion, so it was highly likely that Seeing Fei Si had moved the secret agents planted in the Ning family to assist Unlike Ning Zhuo.

As it turned out, it was a success!

However, the City Lord's Mansion would naturally not expose their key agents to Unlike Ning Zhuo because of this. Thus, at the banquet, Unlike Ning Zhuo had speculated about who among the branch clansmen might be an agent for the City Lord's Mansion.

"The main family, the branch families... and the City Lord's Mansion's agents..."

"I didn't even need to use the Buddha-Heart Demon Seal or Life-Thread to reach this point."

"Aren't everyone's desires, the contradictions between groups, and the operational rules of righteous forces all just strings?"

"I only need to guide them according to the situation to make them take the actions I want."

"When every action is combined, the situation can be turned into what I want."

"Isn't this just another level of 'Acting According to the Spirit'?"

Unlike Ning Zhuo thought of how he had previously strengthened his control over the Spirit-Agility stage Yuan Yuan Dasheng by constantly taking actions that followed its spirit.

"The reason I was able to succeed this time was by following the thoughts of these people and guiding them."

"Life-Thread..."

As Unlike Ning Zhuo thought of this, a flash of inspiration appeared in his mind.

The inspiration flashed, and when Unlike Ning Zhuo subconsciously searched for it, it vanished again.

"Was it my illusion?"

"I seemed to feel that the lotus bud of the supernatural ability's embryonic form just trembled, and seemed to open a tiny bit?"