Chapter 273: Righteous Path Rising Star Ning Zhuo

Childcare Garden.

The five-story Puppet Pavilion.

This was the tallest building in the Childcare Garden and also the place where Li Leifeng often performed during his lifetime. Almost every time he raised funds, it was here.

Although it was morning, many cultivators had already gathered here.

The Puppet Pavilion had a "hui" character structure, with a stage set up in the central hall.

For Zhu Hou's handover, new arrangements had been made on the stage.

On both sides of the stage, two vermilion pillars had been added, with two lines of characters carved in relief on the pillars—"Benevolent Heart Spreads Aid, Thick Virtue Covers the World."

A dozen round tables were placed under the stage.

Round stools were distributed around the round tables.

Many cultivators were sitting, chatting while eating the tea and snacks on the round tables. A few were standing in corners, exchanging words.

These people were all dressed in brocade robes, behaving appropriately, their conversation voices low, faintly revealing an air of gentleness and elegance.

The topics they discussed revolved around Li Leifeng, Zhu Hou, and donations.

They implicitly probed each other about how much they would donate at Zhu Hou's handover ceremony.

Donating was a matter of tact.

It couldn't be too high, nor too low. Some people deliberately donated more to seek fame. For others, the reputation of the righteous path became a burden at this moment. Even if their pockets were tight, they had to donate a large sum of money.

In this probing exchange, people were hypocritical, joking, bluffing, and side-stepping; only after gaining something did they truly relax.

The topic quickly turned to the beast tide besieging the city.

"Up to now, the City Lord's Mansion hasn't asked for help from the Southern Bean capital. This shows that the situation is still under control. Although our Fire Persimmon Immortal City is newly built, it can hold on!"

"Any Red Flame beast, regardless of breed, has value in every part of its body once it falls. So, from another perspective, this beast tide is a spirit stone tide."

"Hahaha..." Everyone laughed.

Overall, because the Molten Lava Immortal Palace bore the brunt of the beast tide pressure, the situation in Fire Persimmon Immortal City remained very stable, and the morale of the city residents was maintained at a high level.

Some also had a very clear judgment of the situation: "The real key to this beast tide is not Fire Persimmon Immortal City, but the Molten Lava Immortal Palace!"

"You might not understand the situation on the mountaintop. Most of the view is covered by clouds and smoke."

"I heard from a fellow Daoist who can enter the Immortal Palace that the beast tide there is truly terrifying!"

"If it weren't for Lord Meng Kui's emergency mobilization, allowing many Jin Dan cultivators to enter the Immortal Palace battlefield, the Molten Lava Immortal Palace alone wouldn't be able to hold on."

"If the Molten Lava Immortal Palace falls, Fire Persimmon Immortal City here definitely won't be saved!"

This insightful view was scoffed at by the surrounding cultivators, who generally felt this cultivator was too pessimistic.

The cultivator insisted on his view and did not back down in front of the crowd: "The clouds and smoke on the mountaintop are actually proof. Our City Lord's Mansion doesn't want us to see the truth. Why?"

"It's because they are worried that if we saw the real beast tide, our morale would collapse, our will would be lost, and we would choose to leave the city when we could. This is not beneficial to the overall situation."

"There is another piece of evidence. You have all heard the rumors recently about uniting all cultivators, including those from demonic and evil sects, to participate in the city defense."

"If the pressure wasn't great, why would the City Lord's Mansion do such a thing?"

"It's precisely because the front line is tight and the pressure is huge that they need to mobilize all combat power!"

This remark quickly drew jeers.

The opponent also had his reasons: "Fool! The City Lord's Mansion is doing this to keep these demonic and evil cultivators under their supervision. The previous Jin Dan melee was the best warning. Unsupervised demonic cultivators are truly hateful; if you're not careful, they'll cause big trouble."

"Sigh... if it weren't for the Recruitment Order, our Fire Persimmon Immortal City wouldn't have mixed in so many miscellaneous people."

"The monarch's vision is great, but I would rather the Molten Lava Immortal Palace be digested by our Fire Persimmon Immortal City alone..."

After this opponent finished speaking, someone echoed.

"This kind of rumor is pure nonsense!"

"I don't believe that the dignified City Lord's Mansion would even need to win over demonic and evil cultivators. This is too shameful for the righteous path and for our Southern Bean Kingdom."

"Such evil outsiders should be active in the gutters and dark corners."

"Look here, in such a hall, is there any demonic or evil sect member?"

More people echoed: "Yes, yes."

"That makes sense."

"Brothers, I have a question. I heard recently that the Monkey Head Gang is organizing a team to go out of the city to clear out lone Red Flame beasts and participate in the entire city defense system. Do people like them count as evil outsiders?"

"Of course they count!"

"Hmph, the founder of the Monkey Head Gang is called Yuan Yi; I know him. In his early years, he relied on a monkey pet called Yuan Dasheng to make his fortune."

"He's not a good person either; he climbed up from the bottom and annexed many small gangs."

"The Monkey Head Gang was originally okay, but recently, they actually wiped out the Poison Snake Gang and went to join the black market. It's simply ridiculous."

"Yes, has the current leader of the Monkey Head Gang been eaten by monkeys? He actually made such a stupid decision. Once stained with black, it can only be black. They can no longer mix in the righteous path from now on; their ceiling is locked."

"I don't think so. I think the new leader of the Monkey Head Gang is very smart. He made a big gamble and latched onto a big thigh. You must know, the current master of the black market is called Ning Zhuo, who is from the Ning family and is a righteous path disciple!"

"Ning Zhuo, I know; before the Jin Dan melee, there were rumors that a true scripture was on him. It turned out to be just a rumor."

"In my opinion, he is also stupid. He didn't maintain his good righteous path identity and, for a few pennies, got involved in the black market. It's simply short-sighted, cutting off his own righteous path future. Even with talent, his whole life will be stained by this mud, and he will be pointed at by others."

As they were talking, the main door opened.

The cultivator responsible for leading the VIPs stood at the door and shouted loudly:

"Lord Zhu Xuanji of the Divine Catcher Division arrives—!"

"Young Master Ning Zhuo of the Ning family arrives—!"

The hall, which had been arguing heatedly, suddenly fell silent.

The cultivators turned to look.

They saw a middle-aged man with his hands behind his back, stepping over the high threshold and walking into the pavilion.

He had a square face, eyes containing golden radiance, wore a bright red brocade robe, with black sleeves, and his whole body was filled with an air of uprightness and solemnity.

It was Zhu Xuanji.

The cultivators didn't dare to be negligent and stood up one after another to salute and greet Zhu Xuanji.

Zhu Xuanji nodded faintly, his expression emotionless.

Ning Zhuo, who was one step behind him, also walked into the hall.

He was still wearing a white shirt, his eyes clear, black and white distinct, his face carrying the immaturity of a sixteen-year-old youth, but his bearing was already extraordinary, neither humble nor arrogant, his gaze firm.

Based on appearance alone, it was hard to believe that such a beautiful youth was the one who controlled the black market and washed the entire Poison Snake Gang in blood overnight.

Ning Zhuo followed Zhu Xuanji and leisurely ascended the high pavilion.

People with noble status were all arranged in private rooms upstairs.

This time, Ning Zhuo could be considered to have benefited from Zhu Xuanji's light.

Seeing the two of them go upstairs and disappear from view, the cultivators in the hall then sat down one after another.

On the surface, they changed the topic, but in reality, they were secretly transmitting voices.

"Did you see that? Did you see that!" The cultivator who had just said the Monkey Head Gang leader was latching onto a big thigh was quite excited and transmitted to many people.

"Did you think Ning Zhuo was simple?"

"He is a small Qi Refining youth; why would he sit in the position of black market master?"

"It wasn't because he was supported; it was because the previous black market master, Sun Lingtong, committed a crime, and under the Recruitment Order, there had to be a stable black market. So the upper echelons of the Immortal City pushed Ning Zhuo out."

"Ning Zhuo was able to pull the young clan leader of the Ning family off his horse; he is also a ruthless person. He comes from a branch of the Ning family but has talent, so he was pushed out by the upper echelons to control the black market and stabilize the situation first."

"Ning Zhuo has also gained the favor and support of the four major forces of Fire Persimmon Immortal City. He usually walks very close to the geniuses of the Zhou and Zheng families, and most of the criminals he catches in the black market are sent to Lord Fei Si to pad his performance."

"Look at him now, following Zhu Xuanji!"

"Zhu Xuanji didn't bring anyone else; why did he bring him?"

"It's very clear that Ning Zhuo is also valued by Lord Zhu Xuanji! When he retires from the black market in the future, what a vast future he will have!"

"Use your brains and think a little, and you'll know!"

Someone hesitated and replied: "But Ning Zhuo is in charge of the black market; his resume is not clean."

The cultivator who supported the Monkey Head Gang leader scoffed and said with great disdain: "You just saw it, didn't you? Ning Zhuo, sixteen years old, he is only sixteen!"

"So young."

"How does the saying go? A prodigal who returns is worth more than gold!"

"Being so young, making a few mistakes is normal. Returning to the righteous path in the future, his dark past will instead prove his growth. What's the big deal?"

The cultivator finished speaking, his nostrils flared, suppressing the crowd, feeling extremely proud.

The crowd fell silent for a while.

They wanted to refute, but Zhu Xuanji just brought Ning Zhuo to appear in public, which was the most certain evidence.

They were convinced.

Many people looked up toward the third floor, all harboring small thoughts of wanting to befriend Ning Zhuo.

They were all righteous path people and previously felt that they shouldn't get too close to Ning Zhuo, who controlled the black market. But after today's event, they generally discovered that Ning Zhuo's future seemed very bright!

Little did they know, Ning Zhuo was already deeply suspected by Zhu Xuanji. The reason Zhu Xuanji brought him along was to take action against him.

If Ning Zhuo didn't handle it well, he would likely be captured and detained by Zhu Xuanji on the spot.

Once Ning Zhuo lost his freedom, he would definitely be eliminated and completely lose the opportunity to compete for the position of Molten Lava Immortal Palace Master!

Zhu Xuanji was the first big figure to arrive.

Following him was the Jin Dan true disciple of the Purple Cloud Pavilion.

This true disciple had played the Shadow Demon Cultivator during the Jin Dan melee and had been chased out of the city by Zhu Xuanji. In the end, he had to expose the Purple Cloud Pavilion's signature technique to shake off Zhu Xuanji.

This time, when he entered, he first went upstairs, specifically greeted Zhu Xuanji, and then returned to his private room.

The whole process was very natural, without a trace of awkwardness.

It could be said that he had the demeanor of the righteous path.

Following the Purple Cloud Pavilion Jin Dan, there were only some Foundation Establishment-level figures.

For example, the master craftsman of the Artifact Workshop, the master alchemist of the Alchemy Pavilion, or the head chef of the Golden Meal Hall, etc.

If it were normal times, more cultivators would participate in this handover ceremony. Looking at the face of the Southern Bean royal family, at least there wouldn't be only two Jin Dan cultivators.

But now, it was a wartime with beasts besieging the city, and everything had to be simplified. The vast majority of Jin Dan cultivators were holding their ground in the Molten Lava Immortal Palace and found it difficult to get away.