Liu Zhen first inquired about Ning Zhuo from Sun Lie.
"You're talking about Ning Zhuo? In Fire Persimmon Immortal City these days, there's no one who doesn't know him," Sun Lie expressed slight surprise but still responded to Liu Zhen.
"How did your esteemed sect come to hear of Ning Zhuo's reputation, and why are you investigating his situation?" Sun Lie felt curious.
Liu Zhen explained the whole story, which wasn't something to hide anyway. On the other hand, he trusted Sun Lie greatly, the one who had saved his life.
After hearing this, Sun Lie suddenly said, "So it turns out Ning Zhuo has not been in Fire Persimmon Immortal City for a while now, having left to travel. No wonder he's always in seclusion, cultivating; it's been many days since he last appeared in public."
Ning Zhuo had left secretly, with the help of the mechanical artifact, Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon. Within Fire Persimmon Immortal City, only high-level cultivators knew this secret.
Clearly, Sun Lie was not among them.
Liu Zhen then paid his respects with a salutation, "I would ask Master Sun to tell me in detail about this Ning Zhuo."
Sun Lie said, "Speaking of Ning Zhuo, he is indeed a young hero, very remarkable indeed."
"His parents in his early years..."
After Sun Lie gave a brief introduction, Liu Zhen was silent for a long time.
He tended to believe what Sun Lie said was true, especially since the latter had no reason to deceive him. Moreover, it was very easy for him to verify this information from others.
"But if that's the case, this Ning Zhuo is too astonishing, truly inspirational!"
Today's Ning Zhuo, although not in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, had become a topic of enthusiastic conversation among the city's residents.
Though he came from a great family, his early life was humble, filled with much ostracism and criticism; he was not at all conspicuous.
Taking advantage of the emergence of Lava Fairy Palace, he rose rapidly and gradually revealed his edge, eventually successfully establishing a new branch family, replacing the Zheng Family, and becoming the Clan Leader of the Ning Family branch.
The city's residents might not grasp the final inner workings of Lava Fairy Palace, but the existence of the Ning Family branch was always there, silently telling everyone—about the achievements of Ning Zhuo!
Such an enterprise, even on a middle-aged person, would be quite rare. And yet Ning Zhuo was only a sixteen-year-old youth.
Ning Zhuo's success has inspired many young people. It gave the city's most numerous lower echelons the best point of reference; Ning Zhuo's success was also their heart's desire.
Therefore, imperceptibly, Ning Zhuo has become an idol for the residents of Persimmon Fire City.
"Ning Zhuo actually has such a status? He has been scoffed at for many years, only recently favored by the Golden Core Ancestor of the family."
"How did he manage that?"
"Isn't establishing a new branch family a highly taboo matter?"
Liu Zhen felt curious and also incredulous.
How did Ning Zhuo manage to establish a branch family peacefully? What about the Ning Family's main line? Didn't they stop it? Doesn't the Ning Family have a Golden Core Ancestor? They just watched him establish a new branch?
Liu Zhen realized that things were not as simple as they appeared on the surface. Ning Zhuo must have already reached many secret agreements with Ning Jiufan, the Golden Core Ancestor of the Ning Family, as well as with the main line of the Ning Family!
Thinking it over, Liu Zhen pursued further with Sun Lie, "So, how do the other powers in Fire Persimmon Immortal City view the establishment of this Ning Family branch?"
Sun Lie smiled, "You've asked a very good question."
"I won't talk about the others, let me just tell you about what happened at the time of the branch establishment ceremony, during the banquet organized by Ning Zhuo."
After hearing the full story, Liu Zhen looked shocked.
"Ning Zhuo is just a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, but on the day of the branch establishment ceremony, he actually attracted Fei Si and Zhou Nongying, two esteemed Golden Core Cultivators, to personally offer their congratulations!"
"And Zhu Hou, a member of the Royal Family was present too?"
"Cloud Merchant's Golden Core Cultivator Song Fuli, who didn't get along with Ning Zhuo, tried to cause trouble at the door on the day and ended up being persuaded by several Flying Messages in succession, leaving in an embarrassing predicament!"
What does this tell us?
Liu Zhen knew very well.
"It shows that the new power established by Ning Zhuo has been fully recognized by the established powers within Fire Persimmon Immortal City."
"Their level of recognition is extremely high, even willing to intervene, to persuade Song Fuli to back down!"
"Looking at this, it seems that the Ning Family branch will certainly thrive in the future."
"That young man Ning Zhuo, he's really impressive!"
Liu Zhen originally thought Ning Zhuo was just a young master from a cultivator family, sheltered by his elders from childhood.
He hadn't expected that the young man had almost started from scratch, creating his own branch family's foundation and becoming its Clan Leader!
Sun Lie revealed a look of mystery and told Liu Zhen further, "Rumor has it that Ning Zhuo even played a rather important role at the final critical moment in the battle within Lava Fairy Palace."
"Really?" Liu Zhen listened intently, various speculations emerging in his mind.
"This is truly inspiring!" Liu Zhen couldn't help but exclaim.
Of course, he wouldn't only inquire from Sun Lie.
He left Ziyang Courtyard and went everywhere in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, gathering intelligence.
The information he obtained closely matched what Sun Lie had said.
Liu Zhen arrived at the former site of the Zheng Family, looking at the Ning Family signboard with a heart full of emotion, "Though young, Ning Zhuo is certainly not simple."
"Reviewing his rise to power, he was mistreated and overlooked in his youth, but he firmly seized the opportunity presented by Lava Fairy Palace. Disregarding his status as a scion of a large family, he willingly became the Black Market Master, driving tasks for the City Lord's Mansion."
"He was very adept at using others to achieve his own goals. In the process of strengthening himself, he utilized many resources from the Zhou Family, Zheng Family, and even the City Lord's Mansion."
"He also initiated an internal family power move, bringing down the Young Clan Leader from the main line, his political maneuvering methods are ruthlessly efficient!"
"Rather than a young hero, it might be more fitting to call him a young schemer."
"In dealing with such a character, one must not underestimate him! We must be wary of him leveraging power."
Liu Zhen left early and was unaware that his own junior sister had been locked up for helping Ning Zhuo too much.
He approached the Ning Family's branch with a different agenda in mind.
Facing the cultivator on guard, he directly said, "I'm a loose cultivator, and I've heard that there's work available here?"
The guard gave him a once-over: "To work here, you must first register. Someone will lead you to your post, just make sure you don't wander around the Ning Family land without permission, or you'll suffer the consequences."
Liu Zhen had no intention of wandering aimlessly.
After all, his strength had been greatly diminished, and he was only recently recovering from a serious illness.
This time, he only wanted to take the opportunity presented by the job recruitment to delve deep into the Ning Clan's branch and gather information in person.
Soon after, Liu Zhen and the other cultivators, who were hired for short-term work, were led into the Qi Refining Room.
Inside the Artifact Refining Room, numerous smelting furnaces burned ceaselessly day and night, refining materials.
Following the foreman's instructions, Liu Zhen arrived at his workstation and began his labor.
In just half a day, his frail condition became unbearable, to the point of seeing stars.
"This workload is too much, I've hardly had any rest all morning."
Dirtied and disheartened, Liu Zhen found it quite dreadful.
He couldn't continue any longer; to do so would be to collapse from exhaustion.
He approached the foreman and spoke up.
The foreman had already been dissatisfied with his efficiency: "How come you're finding it so hard to handle?"
Liu Zhen sighed, "I didn't realize the work would be this demanding!"
The foreman shook his head, "Why else do you think the Ning Family is offering such high wages? You really do seem to be struggling. Go on, then, go on."
"If you can't do it, there are plenty others who can."
While they were talking, a one-armed cultivator entered in a fit of rage, shouting, "Why is the output of Room Three the lowest among all the Artifact Refining Rooms?!"
"What the hell is going on here?"
"Don't you know we're on a deadline? If we don't finish refining the Jade Dark Steel soon, the next batch will pile up! The family's storage is almost overflowing!"
Ignoring Liu Zhen, the foreman gestured at him to leave and turned his attention to the one-armed cultivator, bowing and scraping and repeatedly apologizing.
The one-armed cultivator was none other than the One-Armed Craftsman, one of the three prominent loose cultivators from the Black Market.
Ever since Ning Zhuo established the branch, the One-Armed Craftsman was recruited and temporarily took on the role of chief in charge of Artifact Refining.
The One-Armed Craftsman thoroughly enjoyed his position and always worked with immense enthusiasm.
Having left the Ning Clan branch land, Liu Zhen had a clear understanding; though the branch had only just been established, the family atmosphere was healthy and bustling with activity.
Even though the One-Armed Craftsman was an outside Guest Elder, he treated it as his own undertaking.
By the time Liu Zhen was leaving the premises, a group of young cultivators, chatting enthusiastically and striding confidently, entered the land.
Liu Zhen keenly observed: despite their youth, these cultivators had an extraordinary demeanor, and the Ning Family members treated them with much respect and admiration.
Some of the young cultivators even carried parts of demon beasts' corpses, still exuding a strong aura of killing intent and battle spirit.
They seemed to have just returned from a hunt.
When Liu Zhen asked the guard, he learned of their identities.
Most of them were classmates of Ning Zhuo.
Especially the leaders, Ning Yong and Ning Chen, had followed Ning Zhuo even before the establishment of the branch.
Having received a lot of care from Ning Zhuo, it was clear that the bonds of camaraderie with these two were the most profound in his heart.
"So they are Ning Zhuo's trusted confidants, the future backbone of the family."
"But their cultivation levels are generally weak, how come the demon beasts they hunted are all Foundation Establishment Level?"
Liu Zhen, puzzled, inquired further.
The answer he received sent shockwaves through his mind.
It turned out that through an agreement among three parties, many cultivators of Ning Zhuo's branch held important positions within the Lava Fairy Palace.
Through these positions, they could wield the palace's influence to aid in their hunting.
"So, the Ning Clan's branch actually has a significant hold over the Lava Fairy Palace?"
Realizing this, Liu Zhen's assessment of the Ning Clan's branch soared even higher.
"The Ning Clan branch is mass-producing artifacts, turning this into a profitable business, the returns are sure not to be slight."
"Jade Dark Steel… how did the Ning Clan branch suddenly start such large-scale cooperation with Yugang Mountain?"
"With considerable control over the Lava Fairy Palace, the Ning Clan branch has firmly established itself within the circle of power. As long as these positions remain, they won't fall from their rank."
"By comparison, the main branch of the Ning Clan has very few members holding palace positions. The contrast couldn't be starker."
"Backed by Fire Persimmon Mountain, with the heritage of the Zheng Family, and closely bonded with other forces within the city, the Ning Clan branch's growth has been both swift and stable."
Liu Zhen was deeply moved.
How he envied Ning Zhuo!
This was truly a man's legacy.
"I am much older than him, and yet it seems I've lived so many years in vain!" Liu Zhen thought to himself, feeling a sudden sense of despondency.
Resigning himself to his melancholy, he compiled the intelligence into a Jade Slip and sent it out through a station in the Southern Bean Kingdom.
Afterward, he began his journey back to the Ten Thousand Medicine Sect, alongside Sun Lie.