Chapter 374: Young Overlord
Liu Zhen first inquired about Ning Zhuo from Sun Lie.
“You’re talking about Ning Zhuo? In today’s Puppet Immortal City of Huoshi, there’s not a soul who doesn’t know him.” Sun Lie was slightly surprised, but he still answered Liu Zhen.
“May I ask how your sect heard of Ning Zhuo’s reputation, and why you’re asking about him?” Sun Lie was curious.
Liu Zhen then explained the reason—it wasn’t something that needed to be concealed. On the other hand, he had great trust in Sun Lie, who had once saved his life.
After listening, Sun Lie suddenly understood. “So Ning Zhuo has long since left Puppet Immortal City of Huoshi and gone out to travel. No wonder he’s always secluded in cultivation and hasn’t made any public appearances for many days.”
Back then, Ning Zhuo had left in secret, relying on the puppet construct Wanli Dragon. In the entire Puppet Immortal City of Huoshi, only the upper echelon cultivators knew this secret.
Sun Lie clearly wasn’t among them.
Liu Zhen cupped his hands in salute. “Master Sun, please tell me in detail about this Ning Zhuo.”
Sun Lie said, “Speaking of Ning Zhuo, he truly is a remarkable youth, an extraordinary talent.”
“His parents in his early years...”
After Sun Lie gave a detailed account, Liu Zhen remained silent for a long time.
He tended to believe that everything Sun Lie had said was true. After all, the latter had no reason to deceive him. Besides, he could easily verify these details from others.
“But if it’s really like that, then this Ning Zhuo is simply too astonishing, truly inspirational!”
Although Ning Zhuo was no longer in Puppet Immortal City of Huoshi, he had already become a widely discussed topic among the city’s residents, with conversations about him growing increasingly animated.
Because although he was born into a great clan, he had once been of humble status, suffered much exclusion and harsh treatment, and had been unremarkable.
It was only when the Lava Immortal Palace emerged that he soared upward, gradually revealing his brilliance. In the end, he even succeeded in establishing a branch family, replacing the Zheng Family, and becoming the patriarch of the Ning Family’s branch lineage.
The city’s common folk were unaware of the final details surrounding the Lava Immortal Palace, but the mere presence of the Ning Family’s branch lineage stood there as a constant reminder to everyone—of the achievements Ning Zhuo had attained!
Such a foundation, even if placed on someone in their middle years, would be exceptionally rare. And yet Ning Zhuo was just a sixteen-year-old youth.
Ning Zhuo’s success inspired countless young people. He became the ideal projection for the broad masses of commoners. Ning Zhuo’s success was also the desire buried in their hearts.
Thus, unknowingly, Ning Zhuo had already become an idol to the people of Huoshi City.
“Ning Zhuo was actually of such a background, long suffering cold stares, and only recently gaining the favor of the Ning Family’s Golden Core Ancestor.”
“How did he manage to do that?”
“Establishing a branch family is a very taboo matter!”
Liu Zhen felt curious, and also found it quite unbelievable.
How had Ning Zhuo managed to peacefully establish a branch family? What was the situation with the Ning Family’s main bloodline? Did they not try to stop him? Didn’t the Ning Family have a Golden Core Ancestor? Did they just watch him separate from the family like that?
Liu Zhen realized that the matter was far from as simple as it appeared on the surface. Ning Zhuo must have already reached numerous secret agreements behind closed doors—with the Ning Family’s Golden Core Ancestor, Ning Jiufan, as well as with the main bloodline of the Ning Family!
Liu Zhen pondered a bit more and asked Sun Lie, “Then, how do the other powers in Puppet Immortal City of Huoshi view the Ning Family’s branch?”
Sun Lie smiled. “That’s a good question.”
“I won’t talk about the rest. I’ll just tell you what happened during the branch family’s establishment ceremony, when Ning Zhuo arranged the open banquet.”
After hearing it, Liu Zhen wore an expression of utter shock.
“Ning Zhuo is only a Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet on the day of the branch family’s grand ceremony, he actually drew the personal congratulations of not one but two Golden Core cultivators—Fei Si and Zhou Nongying!”
“And even Zhu Hou, a member of the royal family, showed up?”
“Song Fuli, the Golden Core cultivator from Cloud Commerce who has a conflict with Ning Zhuo, tried to block the entrance and cause trouble. In the end, several flying messages arrived in succession, forcing him to retreat in disgrace!”
What did this imply?
Liu Zhen understood very well.
“This shows that the new force Ning Zhuo established had been fully acknowledged by the entrenched powers of Puppet Immortal City of Huoshi.”
“Their recognition was so strong that they were even willing to step forward to dissuade Song Fuli!”
“With things like this, the Ning Family’s branch will surely flourish in the future.”
“This kid Ning Zhuo is truly formidable!”
Originally, Liu Zhen had thought Ning Zhuo was merely a scion of a cultivation clan, enjoying the protection of his elders since childhood.
He never imagined that Ning Zhuo had practically built everything from scratch, becoming the patriarch of a newly established branch family!
Sun Lie’s expression turned mysterious as he told Liu Zhen, “According to rumors, Ning Zhuo even played a crucial role at the final moment of the battle at the Lava Immortal Palace.”
“Is that so?” Liu Zhen listened attentively, all kinds of speculation rising in his heart.
“This is just too inspiring!” Liu Zhen couldn’t help but exclaim.
Of course, he wasn’t going to gather intel only from Sun Lie.
He left Ziyang Courtyard and roamed various places in Puppet Immortal City of Huoshi, gathering information everywhere.
These pieces of information were mostly consistent with what Sun Lie had said.
Liu Zhen arrived at the former site of the Zheng Family, gazing at the Ning Family’s signboard, his heart filled with emotion. “Ning Zhuo may be young, but he is by no means simple.”
“Looking at how he rose to power—being mistreated and ignored in his youth, then seizing the opportunity brought by the Lava Immortal Palace with unrelenting resolve. Despite being a scion of a great clan, he willingly served as the Black Market Master and worked under the City Lord’s Mansion.”
“He’s exceptionally skilled at leveraging others to accomplish his goals. In the process of expanding himself, he utilized many resources from the Zhou Family, the Zheng Family, and even the City Lord’s Mansion.”
“He even mobilized forces within his clan to dethrone the young patriarch of the main bloodline. His political maneuvering was downright ruthless!”
“Rather than calling him a youthful talent, it’s more fitting to say he’s a young overlord.”
“One must never underestimate such a person! Beware of him borrowing strength to gain more leverage.”
Liu Zhen had left early and didn’t yet know that his own junior martial sister had been put in confinement for helping Ning Zhuo too much.
With other thoughts in his heart, he proactively walked up to the gates of the Ning Family’s branch.
Facing the cultivator acting as the gatekeeper, he said directly, “I’m a rogue cultivator. I heard this place is hiring?”
The gatekeeper gave him a glance. “If you want work, register first. Someone will lead you in. Do not wander inside the Ning Family grounds—else, bear the consequences.”
Liu Zhen had no intention of wandering.
After all, his strength had been significantly reduced, and he had only recently recovered from serious illness.
This time, he merely wanted to use the opportunity of recruitment to get inside the Ning Family’s branch and investigate in person.
Soon after, Liu Zhen and other cultivators hired for temporary work were led into the artifact refining chamber.
Inside the chamber, numerous furnaces burned and smelted day and night without pause.
Following the foreman’s arrangement, Liu Zhen arrived at his assigned position and began to work.
After just half a day, his frail body could no longer hold up—he was so weak that stars danced before his eyes.
“This workload is too much. We barely had any rest all morning!”
Liu Zhen was covered in grime and soot, feeling utterly dreadful.
He couldn’t continue. If he did, he’d collapse from exhaustion.
He approached the foreman to speak.
The foreman had long been dissatisfied with his efficiency. “What’s with your body? Why can’t you take any hardship?”
Liu Zhen sighed. “I didn’t expect the work to be this heavy!”
The foreman shook his head. “Why else do you think the Ning Family is paying us such high wages? If you want to earn that money, it’s going to be hard for you. Go on, go on.”
“If you can’t do it, there are plenty who can.”
Just as he was speaking, a one-armed cultivator walked in, shouting angrily, “Why is the output of Room Three the lowest among all the refining chambers?!”
“What exactly are you all doing?”
“Do you even know we’re rushing this batch? If this batch of Jade Tempered Mysterious Steel isn’t refined soon, the next one will pile right on! The clan’s stores are almost overflowing!”
The foreman waved Liu Zhen away without another word and ran up to the one-armed cultivator, bowing repeatedly and offering profuse apologies.
This one-armed cultivator was none other than the One-Armed Craftsman, one of the three scattered men from the black market.
Since Ning Zhuo had established the branch family, he had recruited the One-Armed Craftsman and temporarily appointed him as the head of artifact refining for the branch.
The One-Armed Craftsman greatly enjoyed this position and had maintained an extremely high level of enthusiasm for the work.
As Liu Zhen left the territory of the Ning Family’s branch, he had already come to a clear conclusion—although the branch was newly founded, its family atmosphere was excellent, and operations were running full steam.
Even though the One-Armed Craftsman was an externally hired guest official, he treated it as his own career.
As Liu Zhen was about to exit the gate, a group of young cultivators entered the family grounds, chatting excitedly and walking with pride.
Liu Zhen keenly observed that although these cultivators were very young, their demeanor was extraordinary. Other members of the Ning Family treated them with respect and admiration.
Some of the young cultivators were even carrying parts of slain beast corpses, with lingering traces of killing intent and battle will.
They had evidently just returned from a hunt.
Liu Zhen approached the gatekeeper and asked, learning the identities of these people.
Almost all of them were Ning Zhuo’s classmates.
Especially the two at the front, Ning Yong and Ning Chen, who had already followed Ning Zhuo even before the branch family was established.
They had received repeated care from Ning Zhuo. Clearly, in Ning Zhuo’s heart, his bond with these two was the deepest among his peers.
“So they are Ning Zhuo’s close confidants and future pillars of the family.”
“But their cultivation levels are generally low. How is it that the beast corpses they hunted were mostly at the Foundation Establishment level?”
With doubt in his mind, Liu Zhen continued to inquire.
The answer he received shocked him deeply.
It turned out that, according to the three-family agreement, many cultivators from Ning Zhuo’s branch held important positions within the Lava Immortal Palace.
By relying on these positions, they could leverage the palace’s authority to aid in their hunting.
“So that means, the Ning Family’s branch has also gained some control over the Lava Immortal Palace?”
Upon realizing this, Liu Zhen’s evaluation of the Ning Family’s branch surged even higher.
“The Ning Family’s branch is conducting large-scale artifact refining. If they manage this business properly, the profits will be considerable.”
“Jade Tempered Mysterious Steel… how did the Ning Family’s branch suddenly form such large-scale cooperation with the region near Jade Steel Mountain?”
“With significant control over the Lava Immortal Palace, they’ve secured a firm foothold within the hierarchy of power. As long as these positions remain, they won’t fall from their status.”
“By contrast, the Ning Family’s main bloodline has very few people in control of positions within the palace. The contrast between the two is striking.”
“The Ning Family’s branch is backed by Mount Huoshi, inherited the Zheng Family’s foundation, and has close-knit relations with other powers in the city. Its growth has been both rapid and stable.”
Liu Zhen was full of emotion.
He truly envied Ning Zhuo!
This was the kind of foundation a man should build.
“I’m far older than him, yet compared to him, I’ve practically wasted all these years!” As this thought crossed Liu Zhen’s mind, he instantly felt a bit dejected.
Suppressing his sense of loss, he recorded the intelligence into a jade slip and first sent it out via the courier station of the Southern Dou Country.
Afterward, he departed together with Sun Lie, beginning the journey back to the Myriad Medicines Sect.