Whether it was the Zhou Family, the Zheng Family, or the Ning Family, all took this tripartite joint test very seriously.
In the reception hall.
The Zhou Family's Clan Leader sat at the head, with the Zheng Family's Clan Leader on his left and the Ning Family's Clan Leader on his right.
"It's puzzling, that Black Shadow Demon Cultivator truly is a mystery, and no one knows where he has disappeared!" The Zhou Family's Clan Leader took a sip of tea and put down his cup, "This time, our Fire Persimmon Immortal City's reputation is utterly lost."
Despite his words, the Zhou Family's Clan Leader's face remained calm, with no trace of anger or shame, and instead, he appeared leisurely and composed.
This was obviously a probing remark.
After the incident, the higher-ups of the Zhou Family gradually figured out what had happened.
Just as Zhu Xuanji had guessed, the Zhou Family was also wondering who was the mole, who had secretly let the Black Shadow Demon Cultivator in advance.
The Zheng Family's Clan Leader had a loud voice and said directly, "In my opinion, that Black Shadow Demon Cultivator had already sneaked away! On the day of the Fire Persimmon Festival, the three of us Golden Core ancestors dug together, almost hollowing out the entire mountain base, but we still couldn't find a single ghostly trace."
The Zhou Family's Clan Leader looked at the Ning Family's Clan Leader, his eyes narrowing, "Brother Ning, what do you think?"
The Ning Family's Clan Leader spread his hands, "It doesn't matter where the Black Shadow Demon Cultivator is from, or who he is colluding with. These things aren't important."
"Currently, Lord Meng Kui is personally sitting at the volcanic peak, blocking all cultivators from entering the Immortal Palace."
"In this way, only disciples at the Qi Refinement Realm can use the method of Soul Entering Immortal Palace to compete for the inheritance of the Immortal Palace."
"Meng Chong, the direct grandson of Meng Kui, has superior talent. You two brothers must know the significance of immortal aptitude."
"Our three families can only resist Meng Chong by joining forces, cooperating closely, and fully supporting our younger generations."
As he said these words, the Ning Family's Clan Leader had yet to know that Meng Chong had once again failed in exploring the Immortal Palace and had already fallen unconscious.
But his words drew approval from the Zhou Family and Zheng Family Clan Leaders.
The pressure that Meng Chong's immortal aptitude brought to their two families was immense, which was one of the main reasons they agreed to an alliance with the Ning Family.
The desire for a tripartite alliance was strong, and they were all willing to bring out their family resources to vigorously support the younger generation. But the issue was how to allocate these resources.
If your family takes more, my family will have less to use.
None of the three families was willing to suffer a loss, so the initial alliance stalled over the distribution of interests.
The three families temporarily could not reach an agreement.
"Let's wait and see the results of this test first," said the Zhou Family's Clan Leader.
The Zheng Family's Clan Leader nodded, "Let's have a good look then!"
The Ning Family's Clan Leader remained silent, a trace of worry in his eyes.
He understood that the joint cultivation test organized by the three families had a deeper layer of meaning beyond the surface—each family would evaluate the quality of the other's renovation teams to determine resource allocation!
The Ning Family's Clan Leader was well aware that his family was the weakest. He could only hope that the gap between them and the Zhou and Zheng Families wasn't too large.
Ning Zhuo was led by a servant to the Zhou Family's martial arts field.
Many cultivators had already gathered in the square.
Almost all were young faces, with few middle-aged or elderly.
The crowd was clearly divided into three groups, representing the Zhou Family, the Zheng Family, and the Ning Family.
"A Zhuo, you're here." Seeing Ning Zhuo appear, Ning Yong immediately walked out of the crowd and trotted towards him.
Ning Chen was also in the crowd, waving at Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo smiled and waved back.
Since he had blown up the Immortal Palace last time, the relationship between Ning Yong, Ning Chen, and himself had qualitatively changed. From ordinary classmates, they had become comrades who had experienced life-and-death battles.
The martial arts field was noisy.
Ning Zhuo and Ning Yong blended into the Ning Family's crowd, not very conspicuous.
Ning Zhuo casually chatted with Ning Yong and Ning Chen while observing the people around him.
"The scale of the Ning's Renovation Team has grown!"
In the martial arts field, the Ning Family had the largest number of people, more than sixty.
The Zhou Family and Zheng Family had crowds of twenty-nine and forty-five people, respectively.
The Ning Family gathered in one place, appearing very large in number.
Many young people scanned back and forth with their eyes, sometimes directly facing the cultivators of the other two families, creating a sense of hidden competition.
Ning Zhuo pondered secretly, "Among the three families, the Ning Family started the latest and is overall the weakest."
"Originally, the renovation team was the smallest in scale."
"The sudden expansion by the family's higher-ups, is it because they feel lacking in confidence and want to fill in the numbers with people?"
"The Ning Family has a strong desire for the Magma Fairy Palace!"
Ning Zhuo also covertly observed the cultivators of the Zhou and Zheng Families.
The Zhou Family cultivators were generally silent, with little communication amongst themselves, giving off a stifling feeling. In the center of their crowd, two figures stood together, one tall, one short, one sturdy, and one thin, clearly exuding a leader's aura.
"It's Zhou Zhu and Zhou Zeshen." Ning Zhuo had a lot of intelligence in his grasp and immediately recognized them.
The Zheng Family cultivators were muscular, exuding a vigorous vigor. Their eyes were bright; when they looked around, they seemed like sharp weapons, making many Ning Family cultivators consciously avoid their gaze.
Standing at the front of their group was a young cultivator wearing a headband, with his eyes closed. The notable thing was that several hook-shaped magic artifacts hovered leisurely around him.
"It's Zheng Jian!" Ning Zhuo thought to himself.
After observing the cultivators of the two families, he glanced back at the Ning Family's, immediately feeling that although they had more people, they noticeably gave off the feeling of a motley crew.
An elder from the Zhou Family appeared in front of everyone. He activated the testing array and announced the start of the cultivation technique test.
"Dazhu, go," Zhou Zeshen said.
"Okay." Zhou Zhu answered sullenly.
Although he had a higher cultivation level, he followed behind Zhou Zeshen.
Originally, they were in the center of the crowd, but when they started moving, the Zhou Family members in front of them seemed to have eyes on their backs and moved aside a few steps.
After the two Zhou Family geniuses passed by, they immediately returned to their original positions.
As Zhou Zhu and Zhou Zeshen walked out, the Zhou Family members flowed like water, moving and separating freely, demonstrating a tacit understanding and skillful cooperation in formation. Every step they took seemed to be in perfect harmony, with figures interlacing yet without a trace of chaos, showcasing the grand demeanor of a big family.
Ning Zhuo's eyes gleamed as he immediately captured the key clues, deducing, "These Zhou Family cultivators are not ordinary, their coordination is seamless, and they act as one entity. They must have deep expertise in battle formations."
The Zhou Family's renovation team had the fewest members but could not be underestimated!
Seeing this, many knowledgeable cultivators revealed solemn expressions.
More people, however, didn't take it to heart, with the Ning Family having the most such individuals.
Under countless watchful eyes, Zhou Zhu was the first to enter the testing array.
After entering the array, he fully activated the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, causing the array to also emit the light of the five elements.
The Zhou Family's elder took one look and then loudly announced, "Zhou Zhu, third level peak."
In an instant, the Zhou Family's cultivators all cheered.
Obviously prepared, they all shouted in unison, even in tone, making the cultivators from the other two families glance over.
Next, Zhou Zeshen entered the array.
"Zhou Zeshen, second level mid-term!" announced the family elder.
The Zhou Family's cultivators cheered again.
Someone in the Zheng Family sneered disdainfully, "Is that what you call a genius? How come he's only at the mid-term of the second level? I reached the third level!"
Zheng Jian opened his eyes and glanced lightly at the speaker, who immediately fell silent.
This small scene also fell into Ning Zhuo's sight.
"Hmm, another useful piece of information."
"Zheng Jian of the Zheng's Renovation Team is an absolute leader with high authority."
In the reception hall.
The Zheng Family's Clan Leader sighed, "Brother Zhou, your family's Gathering and Dispersing As Desired Spirit Tide Array is indeed handy."
The Ning Family's Clan Leader nodded slightly, deeply agreeing.
They naturally knew more; they were aware that Zhou Zeshen had only recently started cultivating, yet had reached mid-term of the second level.
Such speed was exceptionally swift.
The Zhou Family's Clan Leader pretended to sigh, "Relying solely on the Gathering and Dispersing As Desired Spirit Tide Array, how could such results be possible? Zhou Zeshen, this junior, has been risking his life. Although he does not have Zhou Zhu's talent, he relentlessly pursued with many healing methods."
"Several times, he was on the brink of death, causing many in the family to worry and be concerned."
The Zheng Family's Clan Leader was moved, "With such children, how could the family not flourish?"
The Ning Family's Clan Leader also chimed in with agreement, though his heart grew heavier.
Ning Zhuo continued to observe silently. He knew that Zhou Zhu and Zhou Zeshen had both trained at Mudflow Sect and was very curious about their mechanical techniques.
Unfortunately, today's event did not provide an opportunity for them to showcase their mechanical skills.