Chapter 99: The Fire-Exploding Monkey was created by him!

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

"Third layer, mid-stage."

"Third layer, mid-stage."

"Third layer, early-stage."

……

First came a series of third-layer Qi Refining cultivation bases, from mid-stage to early-stage; there were no late-stage third-layer cultivators.

Then came peak second-layer, late-stage, mid-stage, and early-stage; surprisingly, there were no cultivators at the first layer 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 extremely elite.

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

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

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

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

They seemed to be competing in this way.

Many young cultivators of the Zhou family 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, it can be called 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 should be hammered a hundred or a thousand times, and only by being tightly united can one have good weapons."

The Zheng family cultivators made quite a commotion, cheering and mocking 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 cultivation level.

The Zheng family did not do this.

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

If a cultivator tested well, they would cheer; if a companion's test result was not ideal, others would loudly mock them, though not maliciously.

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

"My Ning family was once like this too."

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

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

The Ning family head had held a high position for many years; it was not that he did not know the hidden worries within the family.

But he had no choice.

He was a member of the main branch, and 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 secretly adjusted his mindset.

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 magic array amidst 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 magic array; the latter still had a cold face, radiating 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 already reached the peak of the third layer?"

The Zhou family head also looked over, revealing a questioning intent.

The Ning family head stroked his beard and smiled; he had long been waiting for this moment and feigned indifference, "Our clan was slow to realize the potential of the Lava Xian Gong and felt a huge gap. I petitioned the ancestors, and with their permission, activated a talisman in the clan treasury called the 'Cloud-Moving Water-Flow Talisman'."

"When crafting this talisman, the sages used a piece of 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, secretly thinking that the Ning family indeed had a foundation.

The Zheng family head then said, "Brother Ning, our two clans should get closer. To tell you the truth, our 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, "Easy to say, easy to say."

Yet, there was much regret in his heart.

This Cloud-Moving Water-Flow Talisman came with 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 Mountain-Pass Talisman with its own spirituality, according to the Ning family's secret arts, the two talismans could be linked, with the spirituality nourishing and supplementing each other. Although the accumulation would be slow, strictly limiting the number of uses could achieve a degree of recycling.

Unlike now, using only a single talisman, the consumed 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 Cloud-Moving Water-Flow spiritual talisman was relatively low.

Using this talisman was also a matter of necessity.

Firstly, on the night of the Dharma Bell, Ning Xiaohui fell asleep from exhaustion due to talisman crafting and did not adapt the Five Elements Qi Law to herself after fine-tuning. 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 faction had made a fuss, winning 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 interests among the three families.

Because of all these reasons, the Ning family temporarily integrated the Cloud-Moving Water-Flow Talisman into Ning Xiaohui's body, helping her breathe and refine magic power at all times, leading to rapid progress.

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

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

This actually could not be blamed on them; it was because the Ning family had expanded recruitment temporarily and not long ago.

But now, with the joint test of the three families, the voice of the Zhou family elder announcing the results seemed to get louder and louder, making those Ning family cultivators with first-layer cultivation feel humiliated in public.

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

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

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

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

"Since re-cultivating, we have been working without rest, breathing to the limit 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!"

"That's right, if we had such treatment and were given the same amount of time, we might not necessarily be unable to surpass them."

Ning Chen and Ning Yong were very unconvinced.

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

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

The entire martial arts arena was noisy.

Proceeding to this step, the true colors of the three great families were clear at a glance.

Although the Ning family had many cultivators, 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 magic 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, third layer of Qi Refining, peak!"

The whole arena fell silent.

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

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

The sixteen-year-old youth faced everyone without the slightest stage fright, smiling slightly. Afterwards, he walked with his head held high and returned to the Ning family team calmly.

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

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

"The intelligence didn't mention it."

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

Similar questions and emotions lingered in everyone's hearts.

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

In normal times, they would never have valued the family's Qi Refining cultivators as much as they did now.

But now, the Lava Xian Gong was right on the mountaintop, and the Qi Refining cultivators in the family were the main force for exploring the Xian Gong; 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 much, which actually made the two family heads of the Zhou and Zheng families look at each other, both raising their impression of the Ning family by a level.

Little did they 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 peak of the third layer?"

"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 more suited to the Five Elements Qi Law. Practicing this method, the progress is very fast, like a great river rushing, advancing a thousand miles 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 noon on June 3rd; there will be a monthly ticket event. Thank you! Thank you!) ===== CHAPTER 100 =====