Chapter 174

Ning Ze listened quietly, his eyes flashing frequently.

"So that's how it is." At this point, he knew part of the story.

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

Wang Lan said: "I'm still scared even now. Today was too thrilling; I didn't expect Little Zhuo to really do it!"

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

"After all, he saved you and brought that damned Ning Xiaoren down."

Ning Ze sighed: "This is exactly what I want to tell you."

"Little Zhuo..."

"I was blind before, I underestimated him too much."

"Regardless of whether he had an expert pointing him in the right direction this time, just based on his speech and behavior at the banquet, he is definitely not a thing in a pond!"

"In the future, we must follow closely behind him and support him as much as possible."

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

Wang Lan was surprised: "Ah? Master, you this..."

Ning Ze stared: "Can't you see? Little Zhuo's prestige, plus his talent, will at least be an elder in the future."

"Didn't you see that branch elders like Ning Houjun and Ning Youfu personally came to support Little Zhuo and show goodwill?"

"Does Ji'er have talent? Little Zhuo's future is not something Ji'er can compare to. Let Ji'er follow Little Zhuo now; if the latter considers past feelings and promotes Ji'er a little, who knows how much difficult effort it will save Ji'er."

Wang Lan was very worried: "Ji'er and Little Zhuo's relationship, Master, don't you know? Although they are cousins, they haven't gotten along since they were children; their relationship is not good at all."

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

"You didn't see it clearly."

"I ask you, how is Little Zhuo's relationship with us?"

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

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

"But this time he cleared my name and saved me, why? Is he being filial to us? Thinking of our upbringing?"

Wang Lan blinked and said hesitantly: "Although we favored Ji'er more, it is indeed us who raised Little Zhuo."

Ning Ze shook his head: "Little Zhuo saving me, the biggest reason is that he can rely on me to bring Ning Xiaoren down."

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

"If he wants to progress and climb high, he must have impeccable character. So, he will definitely take care of us, just because of this blood relationship."

"From the banquet just now, I have confirmed—Little Zhuo has this understanding and capacity!"

Wang Lan: "Since that's the case, we should live our own lives, why bother to curry favor with Little Zhuo?"

Ning Ze shook his head again: "Little Zhuo treats us well because our blood relationship is extremely close."

"By the same token, those in the main branch will also see us as being in the same group as Little Zhuo because of this."

"Especially today, we both testified against Ning Xiaoren! This means that even if we don't want to, we are seen as Little Zhuo's people."

"We are already tied together with Little Zhuo, sharing honor and disgrace."

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

Ning Ze added: "Since we are already deeply tied to Little Zhuo, why not just be straightforward and support him with all our might 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 her whole family had to curry favor with and rely on.

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

After a long time, she nodded slowly, her tone desolate: "Master, you are right. Let's... let's go rely on Little Zhuo."

Ning Ze nodded: "Tomorrow morning, I will clarify this decision with Ji'er."

The couple discussed it and went to bed.

In Ning Ze's cultivation secret room, Ning Zhuo was still doing today's homework.

Amidst heavy floating clouds, blood light overflowed from his whole body, condensing into pieces of fascia that covered his entire upper body, with a little covering his lower body, making him look like he was wearing a layer of blood-skin light armor.

The Mirror Platform Psychic Law had now reached the peak of the sixth level.

But the Demon-Dyed Blood Tendon Art and the Five Elements Qi Law still had plenty of room for improvement.

Ning Zhuo focused on the Demon-Dyed Blood Tendon Art.

Because according to his speculation: "I brought Ning Xiaoren down this time, and for a period of time, I will be a figure in the limelight, the focus of the clansmen's discussion."

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

"Ning Xiaohui's results are far inferior to mine, the possibility of me winning the Ice Jade Wine is very high!"

Ning Zhuo planned to use the Ice Jade Wine to boost his magic power cultivation, so the Demon-Dyed Blood Tendon Art, which had no shortcuts, became his current cultivation focus.

The hard work of refining essence blood was over.

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

He began to ponder the situation.

"Today I brought Ning Xiaoren down, and I am famous throughout the clan, widely known."

"In the next period of time, I need to recruit troops and buy horses, unite as many branch clansmen as possible, and officially build momentum."

"I need to complete this task quickly, and the sooner the better."

"Once this east wind passes, the difficulty of wanting to build momentum again will more than double!"

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

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

Ning Zhuo grew up in the Ning family and knew the situation of the Ning family like the back of his hand.

It was precisely because he understood the contradictory relationship between the main branch and the branch family so deeply that he easily used their contradictions to help himself get rid of Ning Xiaoren.

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

Ning Zhuo never had the idea of leaving the family and cooperating with outsiders rashly.

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

The status of a Ning clansman helped him grow steadily and learn and progress.

If he weren't a Ning family member, Zheng Jian, Zhou Zeshen, and others would have a different attitude toward Ning Zhuo.

The pressure of Zhu Xuanji investigating the case also made Ning Zhuo choose to continue hiding in the family.

After obtaining the embryonic form of the divine ability "Human Life Hanging by a Thread," Ning Zhuo confirmed even more that his Ning family status could not be easily discarded.

Because once "Human Life Hanging by a Thread" is planted, it can exist for a long time. It is quite helpful for his aura, making Ning Zhuo understand that uniting more clansmen around him is very beneficial!

"Speaking of 'Human Life Hanging by a Thread'... I accidentally observed today that the 'Human Life Hanging by a Thread' of many classmates has become thicker and stronger."

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

"Could it be because I brought Ning Xiaoren down, my prestige increased greatly, making them more inclined to take me as their leader?"

With a turn of his mind, Ning Zhuo thought of another key point.

"Has my communication jade slip already been transferred through Chen Cha and handed to Fei Si?"

To deal with Ning Xiaoren, Ning Zhuo secretly used his relationship with Fei Si.

Fei Si had appreciated Ning Zhuo before, and causing internal friction in the Ning family was beneficial to the City Lord's Mansion, so it was highly likely that he moved the City Lord's Mansion's mole in the Ning family for Ning Zhuo.

As a result, it succeeded on the first try!

It's just that the City Lord's Mansion would naturally not expose the key mole to Ning Zhuo because of this. Therefore, Ning Zhuo guessed at the banquet who among the Ning branch clansmen participating in the banquet would be the City Lord's Mansion's mole.

"Ning family main branch, branch family... and the City Lord's Mansion's mole..."

"I didn't even need to use my Buddha Heart Demon Seal or 'Human Life Hanging by a Thread' to reach this step."

"Aren't everyone's desires, the contradictions between groups, the operating rules of righteous forces, etc., all strings?"

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

"Each action combined with each other can make the situation become the way I want."

"Isn't this 'following the spirit' on another level?"

Ning Zhuo thought of the previous time when he wanted to strengthen his control over the Spirit-Moving Stage Yuan Dasheng and continuously took measures to conform to its spirituality.

"The reason I was able to succeed this time is that I followed these people's thoughts and guided them."

"'Human Life Hanging by a Thread'..."

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

The inspiration flashed, and when Ning Zhuo subconsciously searched for it, the inspiration disappeared again.

"Is it my illusion?"

"I seem to feel that the lotus bud of the embryonic divine ability just trembled, and it seems to have opened a little?"