Chapter 535

Three Generals Camp.

Strategist Ning Zhuo's residence.

In the simple small reception hall, there were only Liu Er, Ning Zhuo, and Zhao Xi.

Zhao Xi sat in the seat of honor, with Ning Zhuo accompanying him.

"This subordinate pays respects to Lord Zhao!" Liu Er stood in front of Zhao Xi and cupped his hands in salute.

He looked at Zhao Xi with an earnest face, sincerely thanking him for his help.

Zhao Xi looked at Liu Er, his gaze pausing on the dried blood at the corner of Liu Er's mouth.

Just now, when Shuang Jing led the Quartermaster to attack, Liu Er had blocked it with his body, was injured, and had spat blood, but he had endured it all along without seeking treatment.

Zhao Xi nodded slightly, stretched out his finger, and pointed at Liu Er: "You are a sensible one, very good."

Then, he waved his hand casually: "Sit."

In Zhao Xi's heart, he didn't care about Liu Er, this human-demon hybrid Jin Dan, at all; his main attention was on Ning Zhuo.

Back in Canglin Immortal City, Ning Zhuo had already dealt with Zhao Xi.

At that time, Ning Zhuo had used Nascent Soul level treasure materials from the remains of the Shi Zhong old monster to successfully bribe Zhao Xi with a large sum, and he had also helped the Red Flower Camp.

Therefore, Zhao Xi was smiling at this moment, chatting with Ning Zhuo with the attitude of an old friend.

After a few words of small talk, Zhao Xi said jokingly: "To be honest, when I first met Young Master Ning, I would never have thought that you would become the son-in-law of the Grand General Mu's mansion and the husband of Mu Lan."

He rubbed the armrest of the wooden chair with his palm and sighed: "The changes in the world are truly unexpected and very mysterious!"

Ning Zhuo wore a smile, but his heart tightened slightly, knowing that they had reached an important point.

He did not hesitate at all and immediately stated: "Regarding this matter, it was also by chance that I had to bite the bullet and step up."

"I believe Lord Zhao already has a clear understanding of the situation at that time."

Zhao Xi laughed aloud, pointed his finger at Ning Zhuo's nose, and laughed in a friendly tone: "When I heard about it at the time, I was also dumbfounded."

"Everyone's goals were not achieved, but you, brat, were the only one who got the biggest benefit in the end."

"Your luck is truly enviable. Tsk tsk..."

The smile on Ning Zhuo's face immediately disappeared, and he shook his head bitterly: "My lord, after this happened, I received a letter from my family, heavily questioning and reprimanding me."

"To tell you the truth, I am one of the most valued heirs in my clan, shouldering the responsibility of marrying into the Nandou Kingdom's royal family."

"Once this happened, it indeed put the family in a very passive position, and the relationship with the Nandou Kingdom also suffered major setbacks."

"Because of my impulsive decision, my clan's losses were much greater than outsiders imagined!"

Ning Zhuo said this with a heavy expression.

Zhao Xi tilted his head slightly, his tone unreadable: "In that case, if you ask me, why don't you and your family just move from the Nandou Kingdom to the two kingdoms?"

Ning Zhuo shook his head: "My lord, I will speak frankly."

"This is almost impossible!"

"Firstly, my clan spent great effort and paid a heavy price to finally gain a foothold in the Fire Persimmon Immortal City of the Nandou Kingdom and develop rapidly. Moving to the two kingdoms would be tantamount to starting over, and the cost is too high."

"Secondly, the two kingdoms border the North Wind Kingdom. My clan was forced to flee from the North Wind Kingdom back then. If we get too close to the original hostile forces, it will be good for neither my clan nor the two kingdoms."

Ning Zhuo said this, stood up, and cupped his hands to Zhao Xi.

His face was solemn: "Therefore, the marriage contract between me and General Mu Lan must be dissolved!"

"The reason it is still maintained now is due to two main reasons."

"First, the fact is already done, and my clan has paid the price, so I am wondering if I can use this identity to operate something back to compensate for some of the family's losses."

"Second, given the current military situation, the Red Flower Camp is the best ally of my Three Generals Camp, so I will certainly not dissolve the marriage contract with General Mu Lan during this period. That would be very bad for all parties!"

"When the time is right, I will dissolve the marriage with General Mu Lan according to the agreement."

Zhao Xi looked relaxed, but in fact, his eyes were focused, staring closely at Ning Zhuo, observing every slight change in Ning Zhuo's expression.

Zhao Xi only saw frankness and sincerity.

Both he and Liu Er breathed a sigh of relief.

The Grand General Mu's mansion was one of the few Grand General mansions in the two kingdoms, with a high status. Ning Zhuo having this identity as the son-in-law was equivalent to immediately entering the court of the two kingdoms, and at a high level!

Naturally, the court of the two kingdoms was unwilling to see such a foreigner occupy such a position.

Ning Zhuo had known this for a long time.

Therefore, from the beginning, he had made his attitude and decision clear to all parties.

Zhao Xi had come to the front-line camp this time with many secret missions. One of them was to examine Ning Zhuo and try to determine his views on the Grand General Mu's mansion and his own intentions.

This answer from Ning Zhuo made Liu Er happy and made Zhao Xi feel satisfied.

Only then did Zhao Xi have the motivation to continue this conversation.

Zhao Xi smiled until his eyes narrowed: "Young Master Ning Zhuo, sit, sit down and talk first! You took the initiative to offer me the mechanism creation this time, your awareness is very high, and this move is beneficial to the army. Whatever you want, if I can make the decision, I will arrange it for you immediately."

Ning Zhuo also smiled and sat down again as requested: "I mainly have two requests."

"First, it is the National Power Brick. After using this kind of treasure, I was deeply impressed; it can be said that I have tasted the marrow and cannot stop."

Zhao Xi laughed aloud: "Agreed!"

Ning Zhuo continued: "As for the second, let's see if there are any items to speed up cultivation."

He explained in detail: "I am currently in the second stage of the Foundation Establishment period, the stage of treasure medicine nourishment."

"What's awkward is that even if I get a new National Power Brick, it's difficult to raise my cultivation base."

"So, I want to see if there are any auxiliary items specifically for this."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xi pondered for a few breaths and said knowingly: "The exchange list provided by the Quartermaster's office contains many auxiliary cultivation items, and there must be treasures suitable for the treasure medicine nourishment stage."

"However, for Young Master Ning Zhuo, exchanging military merit for National Power Bricks is the priority."

"Therefore, what Young Master Ning Zhuo really wants is a treasure with excellent efficacy. I believe you have already looked through the Quartermaster's exchange list, and the treasures on it are not as satisfactory as you would like."

Ning Zhuo immediately cupped his hands: "Lord Zhao is wise; you saw through my thoughts at a glance."

"Military merit is limited."

"Of course, I would rather exchange for National Power Bricks. After all, such good things are rare. Although there are many cultivation kingdoms, there are very few situations where National Power Bricks are used as rewards."

"It can be said that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"Unless there is a certain treasure with excellent efficacy that makes me willing to spend some military merit to exchange for it, and willing to give up some National Power Bricks."

"It's just that currently, I haven't seen such treasures on the list."

Zhao Xi nodded and sighed: "Young Master Ning Zhuo, you are worthy of being from a great clan; this request is a bit extravagant."

Liu Er, who had been listening on the side, nodded in agreement with Zhao Xi's evaluation.

For the vast majority of cultivators, there is no need to invest too many resources in Foundation Establishment cultivation. It's too wasteful! Because in the early stages, cultivation is relatively easy, and it is easy to improve one's cultivation base.

But Ning Zhuo used rare treasures like National Power Bricks in the first stage of Foundation Establishment. In the second stage, he still wanted to use treasures no less than National Power Bricks to speed up his cultivation.

Is this necessary?

Under normal circumstances, for the vast majority of cultivators, there is no need for this at all!

Saving resources for later stages of cultivation is more cost-effective.

Ning Zhuo is young, only sixteen. For most young cultivators, they are still in the Qi Refining period. Even if there are geniuses who have advanced to the Foundation Establishment period, they would not deliberately seek these heavy treasures to simply increase their cultivation. They use them more for other aspects, such as comprehending techniques, sparring, etc.

Zhao Xi's evaluation that Ning Zhuo's behavior was extravagant was very much in line with Liu Er's thoughts.

Liu Er recalled carefully that his own Foundation Establishment period was all his own effort, consuming time, with most of the day spent practicing.

The resources Ning Zhuo was consuming now, even if he advanced to the Jin Dan period, some of them he hadn't even enjoyed!

Especially the National Power Bricks.

Liu Er hadn't even used one of these good things yet.

Previously, he had indeed received such rewards due to military merit, but he had handed them all to Generals Generals Guan Hong to help the latter heal quickly.

While Liu Er was envious, he could only sigh that Ning Zhuo was worthy of being a young master of a great clan.

!

Ning Zhuo explained to the two that this was his first time participating in such a great war, and his thirst for cultivation had reached the peak of his life, and he extremely hoped that he would be as strong as possible.

Therefore, he was very eager to have such auxiliary treasures to help his cultivation break through to another stage faster.

This explanation added some understanding of Ning Zhuo for Liu Er and Zhao Xi.

Zhao Xi recalled the intelligence and felt that Ning Zhuo's move was also quite reasonable. After all, the latter's combat power reached the Jin Dan level, and currently, the biggest shortcoming was Ning Zhuo himself. Strengthening weaknesses was actually a correct choice.

It's just that Ning Zhuo's willingness to spend such heavy capital went against common sense, which was surprising and made people envious.

Zhao Xi pondered: "I think carefully, there is indeed such a treasure in our country's royal treasury."

"It was when the envoy from the Sanyang Kingdom visited and presented it to the royal family as a diplomatic gift."

"The treasure talisman is called the Three Enclosures Treasure Talisman. The royal family of the Sanyang Kingdom mainly cultivates the 'Sanyang Taiyuan Technique,' evolving from the content of the scriptures, using mysterious magnetic jade sand tempered by the three lights of the sun, moon, and stars as ink, drawing talisman patterns on thousand-year-old yin-yang paulownia leaves, and finally incorporating powder ground from dragon tendons to complete it."

"The quality of this treasure talisman reaches the magic treasure level and can be reused. Once consumed to a certain extent, one can still add materials on its basis and make it again, adding many more uses."

"As everyone knows, the 'Sanyang Taiyuan Technique' possesses the meaning of all things growing, and it is a top-tier treasure technique in the world. In the early stage of Soul Transformation, one can separate three Sanyang divine spirits, which is extremely powerful. For the treasure medicine nourishment stage, the 'Sanyang Taiyuan Technique' is even more of a piece of cake."

"If Young Master Ning Zhuo can exchange for this treasure, it is equivalent to possessing certain cultivation advantages of the 'Sanyang Taiyuan Technique' during the Foundation Establishment stage!"

Ning Zhuo couldn't help but be moved: "According to your meaning, my lord, can such a national treasure also be exchanged with military merit?"

Zhao Xi laughed: "Normal channels naturally won't work, but isn't there still me?"

Ning Zhuo immediately understood, handed over a storage bag, and told Zhao Xi that there would be double the gifts after the matter was completed.

Zhao Xi scanned it with his spiritual sense, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up, and he openly put the storage bag into his arms.

The atmosphere in the room became even more harmonious.

The three of them chatted for a while.

It was mainly Zhao Xi and Ning Zhuo communicating, with Liu Er occasionally interjecting.

"It's getting late, and I have matters to attend to."

Before leaving, Zhao Xi looked at Ning Zhuo and then at Liu Er: "You are both my people now. In the coming period, you must perform meritorious service well. The more merit you perform, the more face I will have."

"Since you have both offered mechanism creations, you have awareness."

"Don't always stare at some things on the battlefield. Although there are good treasure materials, can they compare to military merit?"

"Especially those hills near our military camp, those strongholds of the forces, are very richly managed."

Liu Er and Ning Zhuo immediately understood the implication.

Ning Zhuo asked: "After cleaning the battlefield, shouldn't we go all out to attack the Dragon King Giant Wood Mountain?"

Although the Dragon King Giant Wood Mountain was knocked down by the Iron Flow Plain, because of the divine light covering it and divine arts protecting it, the mountain was well preserved, changing from a vertical state to lying horizontally. The Dragon King Giant Wood Mountain had limited losses, and there were many Dragon King temples, so there were still many stubborn forces guarding this place.

Zhao Xi shook his head: "Before Du Du Tiechuan went into seclusion to heal, he issued a military strategy—control but do not attack the Dragon King Giant Wood Mountain. I am just an Army Supervisor, and I cannot change this military strategy, nor do I want to."

"Therefore, after cleaning the battlefield, your various armies will all bloom everywhere, quickly attacking the surrounding strongholds."

Liu Er frowned: "The Dragon King Giant Wood Mountain is a place that the Ginseng Whisker Dragon King Temple must save. Commander Du wants to attract the enemy army here for a second great battle."

"No wonder he spent such huge capital here to build such a strong camp. Even now, there are still cultivators constantly working."

Ning Zhuo added: "Therefore, before the second great battle, the scope of our army's attacks everywhere is also limited."

"There are not many targets around that can be attacked."

Zhao Xi laughed aloud: "These are all things you have realized; I haven't said anything. That's it, I'm leaving first."

Ning Zhuo and Liu Er both stood up, followed Zhao Xi, and respectfully sent him out of the camp.

At the time of parting, Zhao Xi sent a spiritual message to Ning Zhuo: "By the way, can you perform a divination for the second battle?"

Ning Zhuo's previous prophetic poem was very accurate, which made Zhao Xi unable to forget it.

Ning Zhuo immediately smiled bitterly: "This ability of mine can only be successful when I have a feeling in my heart. At other times, I am completely powerless. I hope you will forgive me, my lord!"

"Then forget it." Zhao Xi rode on his tall horse and left directly.

Liu Er watched Zhao Xi's departing back while sending a spiritual message to Ning Zhuo, thanking him for introducing Zhao Xi to him this time.

Ning Zhuo responded secretly: "It was also by chance. Zhao Xi wants to gain military merit and didn't hesitate to take risks to come to the front-line camp."

"He is a newcomer and must establish prestige, just as the saying goes, a new official applies three fires."

"Our matter just meets his needs, which is why the cooperation was reached."

Liu Er sighed: "That may be so, but without the strategist's relationship and the mechanism creation, how could such results be achieved?"

With this close relationship with Zhao Xi, Liu Er, an outsider, could be considered to have roots in the court of the two kingdoms.

This was a very significant breakthrough!

Liu Er had been taught by his master since he was a child, and his political talent was not bad, making him understand that he was the biggest beneficiary in this matter.

Therefore, he returned the favor and immediately promised Ning Zhuo: "Strategist, no matter how much military merit that Three Enclosures Treasure Talisman is worth, I am willing to give my own military merit to you, Strategist. If it's not enough, I will come forward and persuade the two younger brothers, and I will definitely do my best to let you, Strategist, get what you wish!"

Ning Zhuo smiled and did not refuse, only responding with one word: "Good."

Currently, the results of cleaning the battlefield were all converted into military merit and hung on Liu Er alone.

After all, he was the main general of the Three Generals Camp.

Ning Zhuo didn't want to do this kind of thing that attracted attention and made people jealous.

According to the previous agreement between Ning Zhuo and the three generals, 30% of this military merit belonged to him.

It's just that in order to push Liu Er to the top of the list, they hadn't distributed it yet.

The top spot on the list could greatly increase the reputation of the Three Generals Camp, making it easier to collect the remaining soldiers later.

This was another layer of consideration.

(End of chapter)