Chapter 273: Ning Zhuo, You Have to Step Up!
"Boss Zheng Jian, I wish you great success on your path ahead!"
"Congratulations to the chief for entering the medical hall and being promoted to the position of medical officer!"
"Young master, Ning Zhuo only got ahead of you for now. With your talent, you'll definitely surpass him and become the number one in the medical hall."
Zheng Jian waved his hand as he walked, looking radiant and high-spirited.
In full view of everyone, he walked slowly into the medical hall.
The doors of the medical hall automatically closed behind him, and the outside noise suddenly faded away.
Zheng Jian glanced around and saw rows of medical desks and more rooms upstairs, taking a deep breath.
He first chose to take a stroll around, finding that while he could go upstairs, many of the rooms were still off-limits to him.
"The position of medical officer is, after all, just the lowest rank in the medical hall. To manage this place, I still have a long way to go."
Zheng Jian attempted to take on some tasks.
He was soon delighted to discover that after acquiring the title of medical officer, his task list had expanded at least threefold.
"Many of these tasks are brand new; I've never encountered them before."
"The rewards for these new tasks are clearly a tier higher than those outside the medical hall."
The excitement in his heart dissipated quickly, and soon his eyes dimmed slightly, showing a glint of cold light.
He thought of Ning Zhuo.
"Ning Zhuo got ahead of me, becoming a medical officer in the hall before I did. He's had access to these tasks much earlier than I have."
"Fortunately, he's been missing for two days now since that incident."
"This is my best chance to surpass him! If I miss this, there might never be another opportunity this good."
Zheng Jian saw Ning Zhuo as his greatest competitor, harboring deep hostility towards him.
This was because, after an urgent discussion, the Zheng family thoroughly analyzed the puppet buildings within Lava Immortal Palace and discussed all available positions, deciding to prioritize the medical hall above all else!
The Zheng family's decision was communicated to the Zheng family reconstruction team, and as the most outstanding member and undisputed leader of the team, Zheng Jian naturally shouldered the key task of surpassing Ning Zhuo!
Lava Immortal Palace's outer ring.
This was an area where battles occurred frequently.
A battlefield in ruins.
Eight Mechanical Night Bats circled and danced in the air, looking down from above, scanning the ruins and surveying the full picture.
Two of the Zhou family's talented cultivators stood amidst the rubble.
While controlling the Night Bats, they also conversed.
Zhou Zhenshen's face carried a worried expression. "Since the incident with Shiji Pavilion and Ning Xiaohui, the Red Flame Demonic Beasts have broken through the protective barrier and attacked the Immortal Palace more frequently. In my opinion, the golden protective shield is much weaker than before."
Zhou Zhu didn't mind. "Isn't this a good thing? The more the Red Flame Demonic Beasts rampage, the more puppet buildings they destroy, which means more opportunities for us to repair these structures."
"This is what we're best at. Repairing a puppet building earns us far more credit than other tasks."
Zhou Zhenshen slowly shook his head, still worried. "There won't be any whole eggs under a toppled nest. If Lava Immortal Palace is destroyed by the beast tide, all our plans will fall apart!"
Zhou Zhu was more optimistic, immediately expressing his confidence in his family and Meng Kui.
Zhou Zhenshen continued, "The full scale of the beast tide has yet to be revealed. Many beasts die every day, yet the tide continues without end."
"The key point is, none of the Nascent Soul-level beasts have shown themselves yet."
"On top of that, the No-Void Sect poses an even greater threat."
"This evil sect's influence spans multiple nations, and the critical thing is, their sect's location has never been exposed. Some even speculate that this unique sect deliberately chooses not to establish a base."
"So, in comparison, sects like the Soul-Devouring Sect, with obvious territory, are easier to deal with."
As they spoke, the two put away the Night Bats.
Both closed their eyes, receiving the information transmitted by the Night Bats.
Afterward, Zhou Zhenshen and Zhou Zhu crouched down, their fingers extending puppet strings infused with mana, held taut.
The strings moved across the ground, quickly sketching a rough outline of the ruins.
The two discussed repair plans, one speaking after the other.
The plan involved not only restoring the original puppet building but also adding many defensive and offensive puppet creations to the structure.
This wasn’t their first time repairing; they were already experienced.
They knew that this enhanced restoration would earn them more credit afterward!
Of course, doing this required them to invest heavily, spending materials, manpower, and bearing many other costs.
The Zhou family fully supported them.
Like the other two families, the Zhou family was also striving to obtain positions within Lava Immortal Palace.
Not long after, Zhou Zhenshen and Zhou Zhu stood up simultaneously and began their work.
They first released over a dozen Burrowing Mice.
The Burrowing Mice rotated their spiral drills, burrowing into the ruins, breaking the building's foundation, and at the same time checking the situation beneath it.
Then, Zhou Zhenshen released the White Tiger Strong Charge Vehicle, while Zhou Zhu took out the Azure Dragon Crane Arm.
The White Tiger Strong Charge Vehicle had made an appearance before when Zhou Zhenshen sparred with Ning Zhuo. Its shape was lifelike, with sturdy and powerful limbs, as if it could leap at any moment. The vehicle's large body, covered in silver-white, reflected a cold metallic gleam. The White Tiger's eyes were made of crystals, capable of emitting light and seeing through the enemy's mysteries.
The Azure Dragon Crane Arm appeared coiled at first. Once unfurled, its bronze scales were tightly packed, and the dragon's spine rose high, looking incredibly strong and powerful.
The White Tiger Strong Charge Vehicle's tiger head retracted, retreating into its body.
Zhou Zhu inserted the Azure Dragon's tail into the empty hole in the White Tiger's neck, securely fastening the two together.
The dragon’s spine became rigid, and the dragon’s head rose high, as if ready to soar into the sky.
Under the joint efforts of the two Zhou family geniuses, the White Tiger Strong Charge Vehicle leapt forward, directly jumping into the ruins of the house.
The Azure Dragon Crane Arm started moving, striking everywhere as flexibly as a dragon or a snake. Its mouth opened wide, grasping broken wooden beams and tossing them aside. Sometimes, when it encountered something particularly hard, the dragon's mouth would bite down, crushing the debris to facilitate further cleanup.
With such specialized puppet creations, the ruins were quickly cleared.
Zhou Zhenshen and Zhou Zhu meticulously swept the area once more, then began reconstruction.
Both had previously studied in the Mud Flow Sect and were highly skilled at this kind of building, earning significant rewards for their work.
As they operated various types of puppet creations, they also had the leisure to chat.
They talked about Ning Zhuo, knowing that he had not made a public appearance in two days.
They speculated that Ning Zhuo might have defected out of fear, worried that the No-Void Sect would come after him.
After all, Ning Xiaohui's death was still fresh in everyone's mind.
Zhou Zhenshen looked toward the medical hall. "If that's the case, Zheng Jian has a chance."
"The position in the medical hall is extremely important because it not only repairs puppet creations but also heals people."
"If Zheng Jian gains a foothold and the Zheng family takes control of the medical hall, the Zheng family’s status in Huoshi Immortal City will surely rise significantly."
"Ning Zhuo... when will you step up?"
Zhou Zhenshen had always had a favorable impression of Ning Zhuo, believing that the latter was a thoughtful person like himself.
And from the perspective of family interests, Zhou Zhenshen fervently hoped that Ning Zhuo would defend the medical hall's interests and block Zheng Jian.
After all, the Zheng family was only second to the Zhou family. If the Zheng family controlled the medical hall, it would cause a significant blow to the Zhou family's standing!
For both personal and family reasons, Zhou Zhenshen hoped that Ning Zhuo would step forward at this critical moment.
Ning Jiufan also hoped that Ning Zhuo would step forward!
Two days had passed since the new political strategy was issued, but he noticed that Ning Zhuo remained in his room the entire time.
Either cultivating the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, studying puppet manuals, or researching the talisman knowledge that Ning Jiufan had given him, with no sign of leaving.
Ning Jiufan summoned Ning Zhuo. "A snake can't move without a head. As the leader of the reconstruction team, you have great public support. Why do you stay cooped up every day?"
"At this moment, the Zhou family and Zheng family are both doing their utmost to compete for positions. Yet, our Ning family’s momentum is being suppressed. We urgently need a leader to rally the people and lead the family forward."
Ning Zhuo replied, "Ancestor, it's too dangerous for me!"
"My situation is different from Zheng Jian’s, Zhou
Zhenshen’s, and Zhou Zhu’s."
"I once worked with the No-Void Sect, but now I've defected to the righteous path. They must hate me to death and will certainly find a way to assassinate or ambush me, trying to take my life."
"If I'm even a little careless, I'll end up just like Ning Xiaohui!"
"So, to be safe, I should stay by your side."
"I'm the only talented person in our Ning family among the Qi Refining stage. If I die, the family's loss would be too great!"
Ning Jiufan immediately blew his beard and glared, once again scolding Ning Zhuo for being cowardly and lacking the spirit of the Ning family.
Ning Zhuo lowered his head, shrugged his shoulders, and appeared helpless. "Ancestor, just scold me. If it will calm you down, you can scold me for ten days or half a month."
Ning Jiufan was at a loss for words. He had never seen such a shameless character among the Ning family juniors.
For a moment, he didn’t know what to say or how to scold him.
After a brief silence, Ning Jiufan looked at the shameless Ning Zhuo and helplessly said, "Speak, what do you want in exchange for actively stepping up and raising our Ning family’s prestige?"
Ning Zhuo smiled bitterly, "Ancestor, it's not that I’m unwilling to contribute to the family. I’m just worried about my own safety. The talismans you gave me don’t give me enough security."
"I’ve received the directional Escape Void Talisman from the family before. This talisman can allow me to teleport away quickly in a crisis."
"I think, if Ning Xiaohui had this talisman, she wouldn’t have died."
Ning Jiufan slightly shook his head. "You're dreaming. Even we Golden Core cultivators find it difficult to use teleportation within Lava Immortal Palace."
"There are restrictions inside the palace, making it almost impossible to use escape techniques."
At this point, Ning Jiufan stroked his beard and said, "How about this, I’ll give you a spiritual talisman. It will protect you well!"
Ning Zhuo's eyes lit up, and he immediately bowed deeply. "Thank you, Ancestor, for bestowing the talisman."
Ning Jiufan glared at him, thinking, "Who said I was going to give you one?"
(End of chapter)