She slowly turned, looking in the direction of the voice, and indeed saw Lin Bufan: "Father."
Lin Shanshan bowed her head with demure grace.
Lin Bufan snorted coldly, "Come here."
Lin Shanshan obediently walked to Lin Bufan's side.
Lin Bufan waved away the attendants, leaving only the father and daughter in the courtyard.
Lin Bufan strolled in the courtyard with Lin Shanshan closely following by his side.
He glanced at his beloved daughter and asked, "Do you lack confidence in the lad from the Ning Family, or in your senior brother?"
Lin Shanshan was taken aback.
She immediately grasped the meaning behind his words and looked up at Lin Bufan, "Father, is this a trap you've set?"
Lin Bufan shook his head slightly, "Not quite. It was Ning Zhuo who personally requested my assistance, and coincidentally, I also wanted to see what he was made of. So I went along with the current and facilitated this situation."
Lin Shanshan said anxiously, "But father, Young Master Ning Zhuo is only sixteen; I'm five years his senior, not to mention senior brother."
"He's so young; how can he be a match for senior brother? By targeting him, an outsider, won't our Ten Thousand Medicine Sect be accused of bullying guests if word gets out?"
Lin Bufan glanced at his daughter again, his tone indifferent, "You seem quite concerned for an outsider; I have never seen you like this before."
"You're underestimating Ning Zhuo. He's far from simple!"
Saying this, Lin Bufan took out a Jade Slip and handed it to Lin Shanshan.
Lin Shanshan infused her Divine Sense to check and discovered that the content of this Jade Slip was the intelligence gathered by the sixth disciple who had been dispatched to Fire Persimmon Immortal City for field investigation.
Lin Shanshan quickly scanned through it, her eyes gradually widening.
Contrary to what she had expected, Ning Zhuo had not been valued and nurtured by his family from a young age. Instead, he had been ostracized and harshly criticized throughout his life.
Even a few months earlier, he had been targeted by the then Young Clan Leader of the Ning Family.
However, soon after, he brought a group together to retaliate, ousting the Young Clan Leader.
Ning Zhuo had been unremarkable and unnoticed for over a decade.
But with the emergence of the Lava Fairy Palace, he suddenly exploded onto the scene. If he had been silent before, he was earth-shatteringly noticeable now.
Not only had he controlled the Black Market for a time, maneuvering among the major powers in the city, but he had also performed exceptionally well in the Lava Fairy Palace, which enabled his branch family to succeed and separate from the main Ning Clan. At a young age, he had already established his own enterprise!
The Ning branch family took over the entire Zheng Family's clan land, which was even more prestigious than that of the main Ning Clan. And on the day of the branch family's grand ceremony, Ning Zhuo held a grand banquet. The City Lord's Mansion's Fei Si, Zhou Family's Zhou Nongying, two Golden Core Cultivators, and Zhu Hou from the Ciyou Orphanage, along with envoys from the Southern Bean Royal Family, all attended in person.
On that day, a Golden Core Cultivator from the Cloud Merchants had blocked the door, trying to embarrass Ning Zhuo.
Yet he was dissuaded by three consecutive Flying Messages! Ning Zhuo hadn't even shown his face.
What did this imply?
Lin Shanshan, though inexperienced and naive about the world, did not lack insight or ability. On the contrary, she had been carefully nurtured by Lin Bufan from a young age to view things from the perspective of a high-ranking individual.
Lin Shanshan felt shocked; she was acutely aware of what these deeds signified.
It meant that Ning Zhuo was far from simple on the surface; he was deeply calculating, with old skill! He must have hidden himself for many years, disguising his true self until the emergence of the Lava Fairy Palace, when he saw the opportunity and decisively rose to prominence.
Could his Innate talent really have been demonstrated only when he cultivated the Three Superior Sect Techniques? Could he have been unaware of this for over a decade?
Indeed, that was possible.
But consider what Ning Zhuo did during the competition for the Lava Fairy Palace. He brought down the Young Clan Leader, controlled the Black Market, and utilized the resources of a tripartite alliance to advance wildly. In the end, he even gained the tacit approval of the Ning Family's Golden Core Ancestor for his split from the family!
Could these events have been orchestrated by a naive youth?
No, certainly not.
Therefore, combining his demonstration of innate talent, Lin Shanshan deduced that this was merely Ning Zhuo showing the right talents at the right time!
Lin Shanshan then saw information regarding Yugang Mountain.
"Young Master Ning Zhuo once visited Mist Hidden Mountain, and Yugang Mountain is nearby. I accepted the Mist Embroidery Orchid he gave me and specifically checked the map."
"The jade run dark steel business of the Ning branch family has only just begun, and it coincides with the time Young Master Ning Zhuo was at Mist Hidden Mountain."
"This must be the fruit of his efforts."
"This time, his visit to the Ten Thousand Medicine Sect to seek an alliance is likely for such cooperation."
"He really is... quite remarkable!"
For the first time, Lin Shanshan felt admiration for a peer, or more precisely, for a youth five years her junior.
She caressed the Jade Slip in her hands, thinking more and more that Ning Zhuo truly had it tough.
From a young age, he faced severe criticism and neglect but didn't settle for the status quo. Instead, he accumulated strength in secret, bided his time, and lulled all enemies into a false sense of security.
Lava Fairy Palace was just an east wind, an opportunity that Ning Zhuo had waited for desperately for over a decade.
Many people in Fire Persimmon Immortal City said that it was the Lava Fairy Palace that made Ning Zhuo. But Lin Shanshan believed that with such genius, he only lacked one opportunity. If it hadn't been the Lava Fairy Palace, it would have been something else.
"Such a person, unless he lives a life unrecognized, will firmly seize the first opportunity that comes his way, launching himself to great heights and completely turning his life around!"
Seeing Lin Shanshan silent for a long time, Lin Bufan smiled, "Shanshan, now you understand, don't you? Ning Zhuo has hidden many things from you. Don't be deceived by his young appearance."
"He is a person with deep schemes, who hides very well, and there are many things he hasn't told you, right?"