Ning Zhuo's expression was somber as he discussed with the other two and decided to agree to the ransom once more, sending Ning Xiangguo again.
After comforting his uncle and aunt thoroughly, Ning Zhuo immediately went to see the Ning Family Ancestor, Ning Jiufan, and explained the situation to him.
Ning Jiufan then asked Ning Zhuo, "What do you think about this?"
Ning Zhuo said, "I believe that this is because of my participation in the tribunal test, where I performed quite well. It's clear that many people do not want to see me continue to win like this. Therefore, they resorted to despicable means to distract my energy and time."
Ning Jiufan stroked his beard, his gaze at Ning Zhuo filled with implicit admiration.
In his view, Ning Zhuo's achievements in the tribunal test were not merely "quite good"; they were exceptionally outstanding. Against many Golden Core Cultivators, he managed to win more often than not. Among Qi Refinement Cultivators, he stood uniquely tall, even surpassing Meng Chong.
"It's quite normal for you to be targeted. It's good that you can see the essence of it," said Ning Jiufan. "Therefore, trying to use ransom to retrieve your cousin is hopeless. What do you plan to do?"
Ning Jiufan was still testing Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo sighed deeply, his face full of sorrow as he looked at Ning Jiufan, "Ancestor, although I am not close to my uncle's family. To be honest, for a long time, I was dependent on others' charity, and they looked down on me and treated me coldly."
"But firstly, after all, they are my closest blood relatives in this world. Secondly, part of my ability to grow up indeed came from their protection."
"Both emotionally and rationally, I cannot ignore them."
"When poor, one should refine oneself; when successful, one should adhere to the welfare of all. Thus, having achieved a little, I wanted to repay them and return their kindness."
"Now, in this situation, even though I am well aware that this is the enemy's conspiracy and trickery, I can only fall into their trap."
After hearing all this, Ning Jiufan couldn't help but stroke his beard again and sighed, "Ah, you child..."
He stopped abruptly, yet his heart was filled with great satisfaction for Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo was always so unpredictable, often clamoring about splitting the family, but at the heart, he was a member of the Ning Family, very persistent when it came to kinship.
Ning Jiufan, having already reviewed Ning Zhuo's background, was well aware that Ning Ze's family treated Ning Zhuo as more than just cold and neglectful; they were indifferent and considered him a burden. This could be seen from the fact that "Ning Zhuo lost his mother at two years old, but it was years later before Ning Ze's family took him in."
Even so, Ning Zhuo was still so forgiving toward Ning Ze's family. At the critical juncture of the tribunal test, he still refused to give up on Ning Ji, willing to fall into the trap.
Such an accommodating attitude touched Ning Jiufan deeply.
"To truly understand a person, one must not only listen to what they say but also watch what they do."
"This child Ning Zhuo is good, inherently kind and gentle."
"A promising youngster indeed!"
"With such caliber and perspective, if he were to become the Clan Leader in the future, it might be a good thing for the whole family."
Ning Jiufan had been accumulating disappointment and dissatisfaction with the current main line of the Ning Family.
Every time Ning Zhuo mentioned splitting the family before him, the incremental changes sparked a significant transformation, and Ning Jiufan began to seriously consider the picture of Ning Zhuo taking over the family in the future.
Ning Jiufan said, "This matter, you need not concern yourself with. I will arrange it."
Ning Zhuo became anxious, "Ancestor, are you planning to take action personally? That must not happen!"
"You are the greatest hope of our Ning Family."
"For the following tribunal tests, being without me is tolerable, but without you, it is absolutely unthinkable!"
"My performance was satisfactory only because I took advantage of the rules of the tribunal test."
"I would rather my energy and time be distracted, but you, Ancestor, absolutely must not. If you were to do so, our enemy would probably laugh themselves awake from sleep!"
Seeing Ning Zhuo's anxiousness for his well-being, Ning Jiufan felt a great comfort in his heart and couldn't help but reach out to pat Ning Zhuo's head.
This affectionate gesture was the first time Ning Jiufan had done so.
And really, the feel of this big head was quite nice!
"There is no need for you to worry, Little Zhuo. I know my limits," said the Ancestor.
"Don't belittle yourself. To this point in the second round of the tribunal test, it's clear to everyone that the trials of the Lava Fairy Palace are very biased towards Trial Disciples."
"You've switched to cultivating the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art and are now one of Lava Fairy Palace's own. In the coming tribunal tests, this advantage of identity should not be underestimated."
"Next, our Ning Family will surely only have the two of us participating in the tribunal tests. We must advance together, and even if we cannot attain the position of Palace Master, we can still seek other high-ranked positions to secure a solid foundation for the Ning Family in the Fire Persimmon Immortal City in the future!"
"This little turbulence, I will shoulder for you. Following this, you must give it your all and not be distracted by trivial matters from the outside world."
Ning Zhuo was moved to the brink of tears and bowed deeply on the spot.
Ning Zhuo receiving the protection of Ning Jiufan was unsurprising. His performance was also within the anticipated scenarios.
After excusing himself, he immediately relayed the information to Ning Xiangguo, telling him that he was under the protection of the Ancestor and would focus all his efforts on the tribunal tests, no longer concerning himself with external trivialities.
Ning Xiangguo immediately showed a hint of joy, congratulating Ning Zhuo for being so acknowledged and cared for by their family Ancestor, predicting a bright future ahead. He strongly agreed with Ning Jiufan's view that this was definitely the enemy's trick to distract Ning Zhuo. If Ning Zhuo was affected, it meant the entire Ning Family was affected, and they must not let the enemies succeed!
Despite Ning Xiangguo's flowery speech, Ning Zhuo understood that the latter was a spy.
Ning Xiangguo had secretly pledged allegiance to the City Lord's Mansion.
Based on subsequent information from the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, Ning Zhuo knew that the group of masked men was indeed the black hand of the City Lord's Mansion.
The masked assassin was proficient with Gu Insects and had once attacked and attempted to assassinate the talented cultivators of three families.
Ning Xiangguo himself didn't know the real camp of the group of masked people. But this did not prevent him from delivering his own intelligence to the secret lines at fixed times.
Upon receiving this intelligence, the secret line of the City Lord's Mansion immediately presented it to their Senior.
Upon reviewing the intelligence, the Senior grew anxious.
They had finally found a way to disturb Ning Zhuo, only for Ning Jiufan to thwart it.
This immediately filled the Senior with intense malice, wanting to exploit Ning Ji's remaining value before his effectiveness ended, to ensure his death would cause substantial trauma to Ning Zhuo's psyche!
"Although Ning Zhuo is a genius, he is still just a sixteen-year-old child."
"Even if his relationship with his uncle's family is weak, as long as Ning Ji dies, I will still have a fallback plan, to widely spread rumors and tarnish Ning Zhuo's righteous reputation, to make him frustrated and infuriated."
The Senior rapidly reported their views upwards.
The action plan ultimately ended up in Fei Si's hands.
"Ah, Ning Zhuo..." Fei Si sighed, the image of Ning Zhuo paying him respects, with the utmost deference, floated before his eyes.
But Fei Si could sense the fire burning in the depths of Ning Zhuo's eyes.
"You, boy, have ultimately blocked the path of my Meng Family."
No matter how much Fei Si admired Ning Zhuo, he would not sacrifice his own interests for him.
Fei Si relied on Meng Kui, and any damage to the Meng Family's interests was a blow to his own.
So, he used his malicious and ruthless intelligence to modify the entire operation plan.
Senior received Fei Si's instructions and, the more he pondered, the more ingenious he found them to be, admiringly thinking, "As expected of Lord Fei Si," while executing them with all his might.
Soon, a masked man received the order to strike and confronted Ning Ji.
"You're going to die!"
"Ning Zhuo will not save you."
"Before your death, do you have anything you would like to say?"
Ning Ji, terrified, yelled that it was impossible and begged desperately.
The masked man tortured him greatly, Ning Ji was in so much pain that he wanted to die, he cursed the masked man and Ning Zhuo and others profusely, venting his fury and regret before death.
Ning Jiufan issued instructions, ordering a group of family experts to raid the kidnapper's location, forcibly rescue Ning Ji, and leave no room for the enemy to play treacherous schemes.
Ning Xiangguo also received a covert order from the City Lord's Mansion. Through the operation of other secret channels, he led a group of loyal followers and successfully infiltrated the operation team.
Ning Ji was dead.
The rescue mission had failed.
But Ning Xiangguo succeeded!
He captured Ning Xiaohui's grandmother, who was trying to escape, and took her prisoner. He delivered the evidence of her involvement in the kidnapping of Ning Ji and the woman herself into Ning Zhuo's hands.
Seeing the evidence in Ning Xiangguo's presence, Ning Zhuo's expression turned as still as water, anger causing him to crush the cup in his hand.
When left alone, his gaze turned deep and his heart went cold.
He felt the chill, the coldness coming from those above.
Ning Jiufan did not care about Ning Ji's life at all; what mattered to him was the Ning Family's interests. Thus, upon intentionally inquiring and understanding Ning Zhuo's "true feelings," he had no more qualms about taking action. Regardless of success or failure, he wanted to make a decisive strike, to put an end to the matter as soon as possible.
Apart from being ruthless, Fei Si was even more sinister. He decisively activated Ning Xiangguo as his pawn, delivering Ning Xiaohui's grandmother into Ning Zhuo's hands. Because he knew: Ning Zhuo held deep distaste and loathing for the main branch of the Ning Family. Now that he knew Ning Xiaohui's grandmother was the culprit behind the kidnapping of his cousin, Ning Ji, what would Ning Zhuo do?
Ning Zhuo would likely cause a commotion! He would be angry, agitated, emotionally unstable, and his surroundings would be just as volatile.
Ning Zhuo would become a ticking bomb within the Ning Family's ranks!
The venom of Fei Si was evident in this.
And he only sent out a mad old woman, while still keeping Ning Xiaoren in reserve. To employ strategies without exhausting them, truly, he was a master of maneuvers.
As for Ning Ji?
Heh.
Who really cares about the life or death of such a minor character?
Perhaps, only his biological parents would.
"The lives of the insignificant are truly fragile," Ning Zhuo reflected within the dimly lit room, his eyes flickering uncertainly.
Ning Ji's life took a drastic downturn; one moment glorious and flattered, the next a hostage, tortured to death.
Simply because he had been dragged into a high-level shadowy struggle.
He was like debris, crushed to dust between the grinding wheels of two powers.
Ning Zhuo thought of himself.
He was very aware that a significant reason he had gained Ning Jiufan's favor was because he had demonstrated his worth, especially after the death of Ning Xiaohui.
Compared to Ning Jiufan and Fei Si, he was an insignificant character. Against the Meng Family, the Royal Family, and the Zhu Family of Southern Bean Country, he too was a minor character.
The slightest misstep, and he could be ruthlessly crushed.
Just like Ning Ji.
The only difference might be that Ning Ji died without knowing the truth of the matter, while Ning Zhuo might understand some of it, just enough to die informed.
For Ning Zhuo, this situation was actually better than what he had planned.
He acted swiftly.
Arrangements within the Lava Fairy Palace included cultivators from the Ning Family, with representatives from each branch of the main line.
Ning Zhuo first secretly consulted with them, reaching a consensus before making contact with the Ning Family Clan Leader's line.
Such a sudden event shocked the Ning Family Clan Leader into using the emergency transmission route, personally rushing to the Lava Fairy Palace for a secret meeting with Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo was very direct in his position: Ning Xiaohui's grandmother, a member of the main branch, had kidnapped a junior from a collateral branch, exploiting the younger talents of the family. If this matter were to be exposed, what a tremendous blow it would be to the main branch, to you as the Clan Leader!
But I, Ning Zhuo, have considered the interests of the family, acting for the greater good, not wanting to disclose this matter. However, if you from the main branch want to cover it up, you'll have to pay a price!!
The Ning Family Clan Leader's face turned ashen: "This price, is it to agree to our division? Absolutely not!"
Ning Zhuo's face held a faint smile: "The other lines of the main branch have all agreed. What does it matter if you alone, Clan Leader, persist?"
The Ning Family Clan Leader was adamant, any division within the family during his tenure would be a major stain in his leadership!
But Ning Zhuo was determined: "The so-called price is negotiable."
"Clan Leader, don't you wish for your son to return to the family?"