Chapter 97: I, at the peak of the third layer, am advancing by leaps and bounds!

After the two geniuses of the Zhou family finished, the entire Zhou family’s re-cultivation team moved out, entering the magic array one by one.

"Third layer, middle stage."

"Third layer, middle stage."

"Third layer, early stage."

……

First came a string of third-layer Qi Refining cultivation bases, from middle stage to early stage; there were no third-layer late stage results.

Then came the peak, late, middle, and early stages of the second layer; surprisingly, there were no cultivators at the first layer of cultivation at all.

After this round of testing, the discussions among the Zheng and Ning family cultivators quieted down significantly. Many Zheng family cultivators turned solemn, while the expressions of most Ning family cultivators became even uglier.

Although the Zhou family’s re-cultivation team was small in number, they were very elite.

Following the order, it was the Zheng family’s turn next.

Zheng Jian, duty-bound, was the first to enter the testing array.

"Third layer, peak," the family elder announced in a loud voice.

"Oh!!" The Zheng family cultivators cheered, raising a wave of enthusiastic sound; the commotion was much louder than when the Zhou family cheered.

They seemed to be competing in this way.

Many of the Zhou family’s young cultivators watched silently, most of them with calm expressions.

In the reception hall.

The Zhou family head complimented, "The Zheng family’s house style is enviable; united as one, tightly integrated, one could say it is flourishing. This is all due to your capable management, Brother Zheng."

The Zheng family head laughed heartily and did not decline, "It is just like casting iron; steel must be hammered hundreds and thousands of times, and only by being tightly integrated can one have good weapons."

The Zheng family cultivators made quite a stir, cheering and teasing from time to time.

The Zhou family cultivators had clearly tested their cultivation bases in a round beforehand; they entered the array in order of their cultivation level.

The Zheng family did not do this.

This resulted in it being difficult to evaluate the results after each Zheng family cultivator went in.

If a cultivator tested with a good cultivation base, they would cheer loudly. If a companion’s test result was not ideal, others would loudly tease them, though not maliciously.

This atmosphere of healthy competition made the Ning family head secretly envious as well.

"My Ning family was once like this too."

"It is a pity that we suffered heavy losses during the migration, and after entering the city, the branch families staged a coup; we could only implement a policy of strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches."

"Sigh, only when the main branch has both quality and quantity can we gradually relax the suppression of the branch families and condense a fine house style."

The Ning family head had held a high position for many years; he was not unaware of the hidden worries within the family.

But he had no way to solve them.

He was a person of the main branch; his background determined his stance.

He could not betray the main branch to support the branch families. The branch family cultivators would not accept him, and the main branch cultivators would directly overthrow him.

"Every family has its own difficult scriptures to read," the Ning family head adjusted his mindset secretly.

He knew the situation of his own re-cultivation team very well. A large portion were at the first layer of Qi Refining; the subsequent test results would surely be very ugly.

Next, it was the Ning family’s turn.

Ning Xiaohui, with a cold face, walked into the testing array under the worried gazes of the Ning family members behind her.

"Third layer, peak," the elder announced.

The Ning family cultivators also erupted into cheers.

Zheng Jian and Zhou Zeshen looked at Ning Xiaohui as she walked out of the array; the latter still had a cold face, emitting an air of arrogance from head to toe.

Inside the reception hall.

The Zheng family head looked at the Ning family head, "Your family’s Ning Xiaohui has not been re-cultivating for long, yet she has actually reached the third layer peak?"

The Zhou family head also looked over, revealing an inquiring intent.

The Ning family head stroked his beard and smiled; he had long been waiting for this moment and said with feigned indifference, "My clan was slow to realize the significance of the Lava Immortal Palace and felt the huge gap deeply. I petitioned our ancestor, and with his permission, activated a talisman in the clan treasury called the 'Floating Clouds and Flowing Water Talisman'."

"When crafting this talisman, the sages used a glacial cold spring, which contains a small amount of heaven and earth spirituality. Therefore, it can help cultivators practice together and provide a bit more assistance."

The Zhou family head smiled and complimented the Ning family a few times, thinking to himself that the Ning family did indeed have a foundation.

The Zheng family head then said, "Brother Ning, our two clans should get closer. To be honest, my clan is currently forging a magic treasure with all our might and is lacking methods for extreme cold quenching. Your Ning family came from the North Wind Kingdom; I wonder if you could lend a hand?"

The Ning family head stroked his beard, "Easily done, easily done."

Yet, there was quite a bit of regret in his heart.

This Floating Clouds and Flowing Water Talisman carried its own spirituality and could help cultivators practice together; the effect was very good, but it had a limited number of uses.

If they could craft a 'Boat Leaping Over Mountain Pass Talisman' that carried its own spirituality, according to the Ning family’s secret arts, the two talismans could link together, with the spirituality nourishing and supplementing each other. Although the accumulation would be slow, by strictly limiting the frequency of use, they could reach the level of circular utilization.

Unlike now, where they only used a single talisman, the lost spirituality could not be recovered.

Fortunately, after Ning Xiaohui re-cultivated, she was only at the first three layers of Qi Refining; her cultivation base was weak, so the consumption of the Floating Clouds and Flowing Water spiritual talisman was relatively low.

Using this talisman was also a matter of having no other choice.

Firstly, on the night of the Dharma-Transmitting Bell, Ning Xiaohui had fallen asleep from exhaustion due to talisman crafting and had not adapted the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Technique that had been fine-tuned for her. She could only use the summarized version comprehended by others, so the efficiency was not high.

Secondly, Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother, the academy elder, and other high-level figures of that line had made a fuss and fought for many rights for Ning Xiaohui.

Thirdly, the Ning family head also considered the competitive relationship with the Zhou and Zheng families. If a leader like Ning Xiaohui had a lackluster cultivation base, the Ning family would suffer a great loss in the distribution of benefits among the three families.

For all these reasons, the Ning family had temporarily integrated the Floating Clouds and Flowing Water Talisman into Ning Xiaohui’s body to help her breathe, refine magic power, and progress rapidly at all times.

After Ning Xiaohui returned to the team, the test results of the other Ning family cultivators were not so pleasing.

A good number had second-layer cultivation, but most were surprisingly only at the first layer.

This actually could not be blamed on them; it was because the Ning family had recruited on short notice and not much time had passed.

But with the three families testing together, the voice of the Zhou family elder announcing the results seemed to get louder and louder, causing those first-layer Ning family cultivators to be shamed in public.

The Zheng family cultivators were mostly young and vigorous, sometimes bursting into laughter.

The Zhou family cultivators maintained their demeanor, but the disdain in the corners of their eyes became increasingly intense.

Ning Xiaohui was so angry her face turned livid; she looked at the cultivators beside her and said coldly, "A bunch of trash!"

Ning Chen and Ning Yong returned to the cultivator team one after another with defeated expressions; both of their cultivation bases were at the peak of the first layer.

"Since we started re-cultivating, we haven't rested all day, breathing to our limits every single day."

"I heard that the Zheng and Zhou families provide resources for free, but in our Ning family’s re-cultivation team, only the main branch has this treatment!"

"Yeah, if we had that kind of treatment and were given the same amount of time, we might not necessarily be worse than them."

Ning Chen and Ning Yong were very unconvinced.

Ning Zhuo reached out, patted their shoulders, and said bluntly, "Watch me."

Under the suspicious gazes of Ning Chen and Ning Yong, Ning Zhuo walked out of the team and into the testing array.

The entire drill ground was noisy.

Having reached this step, the true colors of the three major families were clear at a glance.

Although the number of Ning family cultivators was large, many only had first-layer cultivation. With so many such cases, no one expected much from Ning Zhuo’s performance.

However, the radiance of the testing array was extremely strong.

The Zhou family elder was stunned for a moment, and after confirming, he announced in a loud voice with an expression of disbelief, "Ning Zhuo, Qi Refining third layer, peak!"

The entire field fell silent.

Many people began to ask their companions what they had just heard.

When Ning Zhuo walked out of the testing array, he was immediately met with countless gazes.

The sixteen-year-old youth faced the crowd without any stage fright, smiling slightly. Afterward, he walked with his head held high and returned to the Ning family team with composure.

A large number of gazes followed him closely; even Zhou Zeshen, Zhou Zhu, Zheng Jian, and others cast inquiring looks.

"Who is this person? To actually have such a cultivation base!"

"The intelligence didn't mention him."

"Does the Ning family have a hidden gem too?"

Similar questions and emotions lingered in everyone’s minds.

Even the heads of the three major families were no exception.

In normal times, they would not have valued the family’s Qi Refining cultivators to this extent.

But now, the Lava Immortal Palace was on the mountaintop, and the Qi Refining cultivators in the family were the main force for exploring the Immortal Palace; no amount of importance placed on them would be too much!

The Zhou family head looked at the Ning family head, "I didn't expect you to have such a trick up your sleeve, Brother Ning."

The Ning family head stroked his beard and smiled, his posture composed, "Brother Zhou, you flatter me."

He did not explain further, which caused the two family heads of the Zhou and Zheng families to look at each other, both raising their impression of the Ning family by a level.

Little did the two know, the Ning family head had the same doubts as them!

Ning Zhuo’s return was met with cheers from the Ning family cultivators.

Ning Chen and Ning Yong crowded around, both with unbelievable surprise, "A-Zhuo, how did you suddenly reach the third layer peak?"

"Yeah, you're as strong as Ning Xiaohui now!"

Countless ears pricked up, all listening for Ning Zhuo’s answer.

Ning Zhuo smiled slightly, "Perhaps I am quite suited for the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Technique. Practicing this method, the progress is very fast, like a great river rushing, advancing a thousand miles in a day."

The crowd fell silent.

(PS: Forgot to mention—everyone, if you have monthly tickets, you can save them to vote after the book officially goes on sale at 12:00 PM on June 3rd; there will be a monthly ticket event. Thank you! Thank you!)