Ning Jiufan brought Ning Zhuo with him back to his residence.
"You will stay in the side chamber," Ning Jiufan arranged Ning Zhuo's quarters close to his own, right next to his study.
After settling down, Ning Zhuo was summoned by Ning Jiufan to the study.
Ning Jiufan evaluated Ning Zhuo, asking him to create a few talismans in front of him.
Following Ning Zhuo's drawing, Ning Jiufan scanned them with his Divine Sense, first nodding slightly then shaking his head at the last two talismans.
"Your talisman making skills are quite decent, with a solid foundation, but there is still a distance from the top level."
Ning Zhuo spoke, "Ancestor, talisman making has never been my preference; I'm most passionate about Mechanical Artifacts."
"You're setting a high bar. Reaching the top level you mentioned is not easy, and it's rare even among cohorts in the Academy."
Ning Jiufan stared at Ning Zhuo and said sternly, "The foundation of our Ning Family lies in talisman making. No matter how profound your Mechanical Techniques are, your skill in talisman making must not fall behind!"
"Firstly, this is our Ning Family's strength; secondly, Mechanical Artifacts encompass all of the Hundred Cultivation Skills, and talisman making is one among them."
Ning Zhuo immediately bowed and saluted, "You are right in your teachings, Ancestor. I will firmly remember it."
Ning Jiufan added, "You should diligently study the talisman making insights I gave you earlier."
Ning Zhuo quickly assured that he would look at them whenever he found time.
Ning Jiufan eyed him sharply, as Ning Zhuo, this younger generation, was indeed slick in dealing differently with him!
In front of Ning Jiufan, the mighty Ning Family Clan Leader, everyone else would act with utmost reverence. Ning Zhuo did not show that attitude, appearing quite unorthodox.
However, Ning Jiufan did not reprimand him too much.
This was because very few people would dare to address him with such an attitude.
Ning Jiufan was also quite familiar with Ning Zhuo's upbringing. He knew that in a way, Ning Zhuo, since childhood, was not much valued by the family, akin to a wild child left to his own devices.
Such an attitude from the wild child Ning Zhuo could be considered understandable.
On the other hand, Ning Jiufan knew well the innate talent and the brilliance in Mechanical Techniques of Ning Zhuo. For this rising star among his juniors, there was also a sense of fondness deep within him.
Thus, the disrespectful attitude of Ning Zhuo, rather than merely tolerating it, Ning Jiufan found it quite straightforward.
Ning Jiufan had Ning Zhuo tidy up the desk and then deliberated before asking, "This time, the Meng Kui City Lord and Divine Hunter Zhu have jointly set a contract, agreeing among us, no matter what position one secures in the Lava Fairy Palace, it will be preserved afterward."
"Whoever becomes the Palace Master will not rescind others' positions at will."
"What's your view on this?"
"What do you think our Ning Family should do?"
Ning Zhuo immediately looked up at Ning Jiufan beside him and said without hesitation, "This is a great opportunity for our Ning Family!"
"If I were the Ning Family Head, upon hearing this news, the very next instant, I would gather all our clan members and mobilize them to compete for more positions with all their might."
Ning Jiufan remained expressionless and continued to ask, "And why would you do that?"
Ning Zhuo explained, "It's simple. The more positions our Ning Family holds, the more control we have over the entire Lava Fairy Palace."
"No matter who becomes the Palace Master, the future Lava Fairy Palace will still be the core location of Fire Persimmon Mountain."
"The main function of the Lava Fairy Palace is to suppress Fire Persimmon Mountain, prevent its eruption, constantly absorb Earth Flames from within the mountain, and eradicate the proliferating Flame Demon Beasts."
"These Earth Flames, Flame Demon Beasts, and other subterranean resources are immensely vast and are great natural treasures."
"The more positions our Ning Family holds, the more cultivation resources we can obtain from the Lava Fairy Palace."
"In fact, not only these tangible resources, but also the merits. Suppressing Fire Persimmon Mountain benefits Fire Persimmon Immortal City and contributes to the Southern Bean Kingdom; these merits are also intangible resources."
"Our Ning Family is actually in a somewhat awkward position. Although we have settled in Fire Persimmon Immortal City for over a decade after migrating from North Wind Country, in terms of overall strength and status, we're at the bottom among various forces."
"This opportunity is very rare, and such a chance might not come again for decades."
"If our Ning Family can seize this opportunity, we will surely be able to change the entire situation through the Lava Fairy Palace, improve our overall strength, foundation, and our status within the Southern Bean Kingdom."
Ning Jiufan stroked his beard, "If what you say is true, and this is a splendid opportunity, then are you suggesting mobilizing the entire family to change their cultivation?"
Ning Zhuo shook his head immediately, "Of course not!"
"Our Ning Family is innately adept at cultivating Frost Type Cultivation Techniques."
"This advantage cannot be lost, nor can it be changed."
"In my view, we should let most of the ordinary cultivators, those without this frost talent, switch to cultivating the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art."
"That way, through sheer numbers, we take the lead over Zhou Family, Zheng Family, and the City Lord's Mansion, and strive for more positions in the Immortal Palace!"
"As for the emerging geniuses of the Ning Family, let them continue to practice their original cultivation techniques."
Ning Jiufan remained noncommittal.
In his heart, however, he was quite satisfied with Ning Zhuo's response.
Thinking further, Ning Zhuo was only a mere sixteen years old, which made the Golden Core Ancestor of the Ning Family even more expectant of Ning Zhuo's future!
He glanced at Ning Zhuo and said, "I will send a letter to ask the current Clan Leader, do you think his ideas will align with yours?"
Ning Zhuo immediately exclaimed, "Ancestor, do you still have expectations for the main branch of the Ning Family! There's no need to ponder his answer, it will surely prioritize the main branch."
"In my opinion, if we truly want the Ning Family to prosper, we must carve a new path, establish a new faction."
"The people of the main branch have now become a stumbling block that thwarts our family's advancement."
"If I could separate from the family and become the leader of my own branch, I could definitely lead the whole Ning Family to climb new heights!"
This remark once again provoked Ning Jiufan to burst out.
"Always talking about separating, can't you live on without separating? Drop this subject!"
In the Ning Family Clan Land, inside the Ning Family council hall.
The Ning Family Clan Leader sat at the main seat, flanked by the Family Elders.
The Clan Leader passed the letter from Ning Jiufan to others.
The Family Elders quickly read through and all fell silent, not uttering a word.
The atmosphere in the council hall was extremely suffocating.
The Ning Family Clan Leader let out a deep sigh and said, "Let's all share your views."
The Battle Hall Elder spoke first, "The current situation is quite grim! If we allow the Renovation Team to secure positions at the Lava Fairy Palace, our branches will inevitably receive substantial support, making them difficult to contain."
"In the future, it will be hard to say who is a branch and who is the main lineage."
The Academy Elder chimed in, "We rely on controlling the Cultivation Techniques to govern the whole clan. But if cultivators switch to cultivating the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, controlling and restraining them through Cultivation Techniques becomes an absurd idea."
As soon as he finished speaking, a Talisman Hall Elder scoffed a few times, "You old things, why can't you see the situation clearly?"
"On the surface, this is the ancestor asking for our opinion. But in reality, this is just a polite and tactful letter of persuasion, can we even refuse?"
"This strategy is clearly orchestrated by Zhu Xuanji and Meng Kui. It's obvious they want to actively encourage us to compete vigorously for positions in the Lava Fairy Palace, without hesitating to concede future interests."
"Our clan has no choice but to go all out!"
"The Zhou Family and Zheng Family will do the same. Because whoever holds more positions in the Lava Fairy Palace will have more power in the Fire Persimmon Mountain in the future."
"This is an outright plan laid bare!"
"There's no way for us to stop it."
The Academy Elder shouted, "But, our Ning Family cultivators' innate talent lies in Frost Type Cultivation Techniques, determined by our very roots."
"Now, to have most of our people switch to cultivating the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, and to frantically vie for positions at the Lava Fairy Palace."
"Isn't this misplacing priorities and wasting our talents?"
The Talisman Hall Elder chuckled coldly, "Our family's innate talent indeed lies in Frost Type cultivation, but cultivating the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art is no obstacle either."
"Besides, most of our clan members don't have talents like Ice-jade Hands, so there isn't much difference whether they cultivate Frost Type or the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art."
"The problem now is not about us making a choice, but that we can only accept it."
"If we continue this trend, it will become difficult to decide who leads and who follows in our Ning Family in the future!"
With these words, the Ning Family Clan Leader and all Family Elders fell into silence.
The situation was extremely dire for the main lineage of the Ning Family!
Previously, Ning Zhuo had toppled Ning Xiaoren, opportunely uniting a group of former officials and taking control of the Black Market overnight.
This heavy blow had left the main lineage of the Ning Family still dazed to this day.
In reality, Ning Zhuo had already caused a division in the Ning Family, with some branch members establishing a new faction in the Black Market.
The main lineage of the Ning Family had found no countermeasures and had once pinned their hopes on the City Lord's Mansion and other parties, but Ning Zhuo's subsequent handling was excellent, even earning praise from Fei Si for being sensible, even more so than Sun Lingtong.
The main lineage of the Ning Family could only pin their hopes on the future. After all, it was a consensus at the high level that the Black Market could not fall under the control of one of the three families. It was just a special situation currently.
Finally, the main lineage of the Ning Family first got wind of this political strategy!
This would greatly boost the growth of the faction led by Ning Zhuo!
Originally, the foundation of Ning Zhuo's group was in the Black Market, earning wealth from there for cultivation.
Now, because positions will be preserved, the Lava Fairy Palace could likely become another source of wealth for Ning Zhuo's group.
And this time, the preservation of Lava Fairy Palace positions, affirmed by the highest echelons, was no longer an unsustainable foundation like the Black Market.
The high ranks of the Ning Family had already foreseen this grim future.
However, what utterly disheartened them was that they were simply unable to stop it!