Chapter 186

Ning Xiangqian's Human Life Hanging by a Thread was normal, but Ning Xiangguo's was the smallest and most transparent.

According to Unlike Ning Zhuo's understanding of this divine ability, he speculated that Ning Xiangguo either hid many secrets or had his heart elsewhere and did not truly rely on Unlike Ning Zhuo.

Considering the City Lord's Mansion's infiltration of the three major families and its consistently obvious intelligence advantage, Unlike Ning Zhuo made a preliminary judgment: Ning Xiangguo was very likely an eye planted by the City Lord's Mansion!

Divine Ability—Human Life Hanging by a Thread.

In the process of using it, Unlike Ning Zhuo felt its wonderful use more and more.

When Unlike Ning Zhuo activated it, he could use Human Life Hanging by a Thread to forcibly control others' actions. As for what the specific action was, the magnitude, etc., he made specific judgments based on the strength of both sides, etc.

What Unlike Ning Zhuo tried was that he could extract Yuan Dasheng's spiritual nature and Sun Lingtong's soul. But this was based on the premise that the latter two were willing and very cooperative. For others, under the premise of resistance or ignorance, Unlike Ning Zhuo could not do these things.

At least for now.

"After Human Life Hanging by a Thread is set up, it has existed until now, and I haven't had to supplement it."

"Even if Human Life Hanging by a Thread is not activated, I can infer the size of the secrets hidden by the target and their true state of mind through the state of the hanging thread."

This meant that Unlike Ning Zhuo could, to a certain extent, detect the "loyalty" of his subordinates.

This point was already quite powerful!

Not to mention, there were other wonderful uses of its power.

"Plus, after planting Human Life Hanging by a Thread, fate can be gathered together and added up completely."

"No matter how you look at it, this divine ability is a supreme sharp weapon for managing forces!"

"I wonder what the divine ability will be like when the lotus blooms and reaches the final qualitative change."

Unlike Ning Zhuo became more and more curious about the answer to this question.

As for Ning Xiangguo, Unlike Ning Zhuo just pretended not to know and still entrusted him with important tasks.

It must be said that among all the Foundation Establishment cultivators, Ning Xiangguo had the highest vision and handled things thoroughly. Entrusting tasks to him made people feel at ease.

By comparison, although Ning Xiangqian had the number one combat power, he was once a steward of the family's Battle Hall. But he was still not as reliable as Ning Xiangguo.

After Unlike Ning Zhuo handled the black market affairs, he entered the room again for bitter cultivation.

He reduced his outdoor activities to a minimum.

The spell exchange that used to be once every three days was also changed to once every five days.

The content of the exchange also changed.

In the past, it was just sparring and exchanging insights and experiences in spellcasting. Now, there was an extra segment of commenting on mechanical creations.

These classmates of Unlike Ning Zhuo would take out the mechanical Fire-Exploding Monkeys, etc., that they made in Chen Cha's workshop and hand them to Unlike Ning Zhuo.

After Unlike Ning Zhuo checked them, he commented on the Fire-Exploding Monkeys one by one.

Every time he pointed out the shortcomings, he could make it simple and easy to understand, making the makers suddenly enlightened. Unlike Ning Zhuo would also tell them how to make mechanisms better and faster.

This behavior benefited his classmates in the reform team greatly.

Because of this, Unlike Ning Zhuo's authority in everyone's hearts was completely consolidated.

When he encountered mechanical creations that met the standards, Unlike Ning Zhuo would take out spirit stones in public and buy them on the spot at the market price.

Seeing that their mechanical creations were fortunate enough to be purchased by Unlike Ning Zhuo, the parties involved all held their heads high.

If there were any innovative little gadgets, Unlike Ning Zhuo would also take out elixirs or spiritual food to exchange. This was a higher level of recognition, and the young cultivators who received such treatment were all beaming with joy.

Zhou Zeshen sat in a corner, watching this heated scene, with sharp light flickering in his eyes.

"Stars arching over the moon; Unlike Ning Zhuo has completely mastered this team."

"And in the Ning family's reform team, the number of people in the Ning family's main lineage is small, and the branch lineage is the mainstream. That is to say, Unlike Ning Zhuo has basically become the actual controller of the Ning family's reform team."

Ever since Zhou Zeshen was summoned by the Zhou family patriarch and ordered to get along well with Unlike Ning Zhuo, he had been actively inviting Unlike Ning Zhuo, attempting to increase the frequency of their meetings and promote cooperation between the two sides.

As a result, Unlike Ning Zhuo had been bitterly cultivating these days and declined all of Zhou Zeshen's invitations.

Zhou Zeshen was quite persistent, and Unlike Ning Zhuo saw that always refusing was not a solution. He told Zhou Zeshen that he would organize a reform team exchange meeting every five days. At that time, if Zhou Zeshen was interested, he might as well come and talk. Otherwise, he would have to wait until seven days later, when Unlike Ning Zhuo went out to fund the consolation of the Ciyou Garden.

Zhou Zeshen decisively participated and found a corner in the courtyard to sit down.

He watched coldly and soon discovered that among the Ning family members, there was one person who was out of tune with the warm atmosphere.

"It's Ning Ji, Unlike Ning Zhuo's cousin."

For a small character like Ning Ji, Zhou Zeshen would not have paid special attention to him originally.

But Zhou Zeshen remembered all the information about Unlike Ning Zhuo, and therefore knew about Ning Ji.

"This guy once took the initiative to speak up when Unlike Ning Zhuo was heavily rewarded by the main lineage, wanting to share a piece of the pie and borrow Unlike Ning Zhuo's magic treasure for cultivation."

"As a result, he was sternly refused by Unlike Ning Zhuo."

Zhou Zeshen looked at Unlike Ning Zhuo again, sighing in admiration in his heart.

So far, what Unlike Ning Zhuo handled could be called perfect!

Once Unlike Ning Zhuo agreed at that time, he would undoubtedly have fallen into a pit.

Such unconditional help would only fuel the greed of others, leading to small ghosts entangling him.

The branch clansmen, who were still feeling invigorated by yesterday's victory at the ancestral hall, were like being hit on the head with a club, and the spirit they had just gathered scattered again.

Similarly, it would also stimulate more similar people to swarm up and cling to Unlike Ning Zhuo.

Over time, no matter how big the family business was, it would suffer heavy losses.

On the surface, it wins people's hearts and looks like flowers, but in fact, it is all an illusion!

Once Unlike Ning Zhuo stops and no longer aids, the expectations of others who once benefited will fall through, and they will develop great resentment and even hatred.

Therefore, Unlike Ning Zhuo refused in words from the beginning, appearing very clean and neat.

Next, his actions were the key!

Unlike Ning Zhuo directed many classmates to participate in the manufacture of mechanical Fire-Exploding Monkeys.

And for the mechanical monkeys produced, Unlike Ning Zhuo would examine and evaluate them. Then he would buy most of them with spirit stones, and individual excellent ones would have other rewards.

With such measures, although Unlike Ning Zhuo still paid resources, it was not an uncompensated payment, not a free gift to those who just reached out and wanted to get something for nothing.

This formed a positive cycle, and more importantly, it determined the background color of the team—

Justice and fairness!

Every comment Unlike Ning Zhuo made was public and clear, and what followed was clear rewards and punishments, open and transparent. He put an end to private corruption, formed a positive atmosphere, and won over more people's hearts.

Zhou Zeshen looked at Unlike Ning Zhuo, who was talking eloquently and smiling in front of him; he found it hard to imagine that Unlike Ning Zhuo was once a marginal figure from a branch lineage!

"Shouldn't such a character be cultivated by the family since childhood, with family elders teaching him personally?"

"This is the cognition and means that only a cultivator cultivated in the direction of an heir since childhood has."

Who would have thought that Unlike Ning Zhuo would have such a foundation?

Zhou Zeshen thought to himself: "Unlike Ning Zhuo is very good at hiding his sharpness. He hides it too well!"

"Precisely because they did not expect him to be such a character, the Ning family's main lineage suffered a big loss this time."

It is understandable.

A normal sixteen-year-old cultivator spends most of his life in school; what does he know?

Especially Unlike Ning Zhuo, whose parents died when he was young, was adopted by his eldest uncle, and had been suffering from harsh treatment since he was a child.

"How could he have such understanding, such vision, and such wrist?"

Zhou Zeshen could not figure it out.

He believed that the main reason for the Ning family's main lineage's disastrous defeat this time was that they underestimated the enemy too much, thinking that using such a scheme could easily solve Unlike Ning Zhuo.

As a result, it was easily resolved by Unlike Ning Zhuo.

Unlike Ning Zhuo avoided the pit, organized his classmates, and used the scheme against them, intervening in the black market, making the Ning family's main lineage steal a chicken but lose the rice!

The current Unlike Ning Zhuo has become the master of the black market.

Sixteen years old, the master of the black market at the third layer of Qi Condensation!

He also commands nearly twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators under him, and these Foundation Establishment cultivators are not ordinary, counting as elite members among Foundation Establishment cultivators.

This series of actions by Unlike Ning Zhuo made Zhou Zeshen sigh in admiration in his heart, shouting that it was wonderful.

Zhou Zeshen is good at strategy and likes such intellectual confrontations very much.

In his view, the game of the righteous path is far more interesting, deeper, more connotative, and more worth savoring than real swords and guns fighting!

"Among the Qi Condensation geniuses of the four major forces in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, only Unlike Ning Zhuo and I are the same; we are the same kind of people!" Zhou Zeshen's favor for Unlike Ning Zhuo increased significantly.

He admired Unlike Ning Zhuo and was also quite envious.

"What is the difference between Unlike Ning Zhuo's current power and that of a family elder?"

"Although I have innate talent, I am restricted everywhere in the family. Even if I am the son of a family elder, it is the same, quite unfree."

"How can there be such scenery as Unlike Ning Zhuo."

"The more critical thing is the revenue!"

"What Unlike Ning Zhuo is getting now is the revenue of the black market."

"Oh, right. These members of the reform team also look to Unlike Ning Zhuo as their leader. These are his manpower, used by him!"

After Unlike Ning Zhuo finished commenting on all the mechanical creations, he began to exchange spell insights.

Zhou Zeshen listened quietly, and his heart became more and more surprised—it turned out that Unlike Ning Zhuo's talent was not only in mechanism arts, but he also had terrifying comprehension in traditional spells.

The five leaderboards were all people from the City Lord's Mansion.

The Zhou family and the Zheng family knew nothing about the rewards of the leaderboards until now.

The more Zhou Zeshen listened, the more fascinated he became, and his face gradually showed a look of obsession, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, unable to help himself because this listening had such huge gains.

When it came to the question-and-answer session, Zhou Zeshen also participated and asked a few questions.

Unlike Ning Zhuo answered in detail after careful consideration.

Zhou Zeshen felt great and gained a lot, thanking him sincerely.

This made other Ning family cultivators feel quite honored, feeling that Unlike Ning Zhuo "conquered" the Zhou family genius with his personal talent.

Zhou Zeshen did not just take, he was very clear that he came to perform this time, to pull relations with Unlike Ning Zhuo.

In the exchange, he also expounded his own spellcasting insights and took the initiative to invite Unlike Ning Zhuo to a public mechanism art duel facing the people in the field.

Ning Chen, Ning Yong, and others all had bright eyes and were full of expectations.

Unlike Ning Zhuo only thought for a moment and then decisively agreed: "Then please don't hesitate to teach me, Brother Zhou."

He had always wanted to compete with Zhou Zeshen and Zhou Zhu to appreciate the mechanism means of the Mud Flow Gate.

Now, Zhou Zeshen took the initiative to propose it, which was exactly what Unlike Ning Zhuo wanted.

How could Unlike Ning Zhuo not agree?