The Ning Family Clan Leader had been quite curious about the sudden appearance of Ning Zhuo. After reviewing many documents, he spoke with some relief: "So, it turns out that this child, Ning Zhuo, had already shown a talent for mechanical techniques."
The first piece of intelligence stated: Ning Zhuo's mother, Meng Yaoyin, was a mechanism cultivator. Although she passed away very early, she left behind many treatises on mechanical techniques for Ning Zhuo. Ning Zhuo cherished these books as his mother's relics, often falling asleep with them in his arms as a child. As he grew up, he was influenced profoundly by these texts.
During his early childhood, Ning Zhuo started showing a strong interest in mechanical techniques. He frequently visited Ciyou Garden to watch Li Leifeng's puppet shows.
Ciyou Garden was an orphanage in Fire Persimmon Immortal City that housed homeless children, supported collectively by the City Lord's Mansion and various wealthy households in the city.
This was a policy of the Southern Bean Country.
Li Leifeng, the director of Ciyou Garden, possessed a Thunder Spiritual Root and was also a mechanism cultivator. The mechanized tower he constructed could absorb external lightning, transforming it into power to maintain its operation without consuming any spiritual power. During combat, the tower would unleash stored electricity, which whipped like chains, binding and electrocuting enemies.
"Li Lao's puppet shows are indeed unparalleled." Seeing this, the Ning Family Clan Leader couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
He had witnessed several of Li Leifeng's puppet shows and found them utterly astonishing!
Perhaps influenced by Li Leifeng, Ning Zhuo loved puppets and similar toys from a young age. His favorite playthings included a hoop, a kneeling figure, and a three-haired doll.
When he entered the family academy, his foremost interest was in mechanical techniques. He studied diligently, often neglecting other subjects, leading to increasingly poor performance in those areas.
It wasn't until after he turned ten that his performance in various subjects began to improve, ranking him in the upper-middle tier within the academy.
Since the Ning Family valued talismans, Ning Zhuo's uncle and aunt naturally didn't want him to ruin his future by going down a wrong path, so they strictly disciplined him, smashing three large baskets full of his mechanical toys in the process.
Although Ning Zhuo appeared to be restrained on the surface, he continued to seize every opportunity to study mechanical techniques in private. He even volunteered to work as a child laborer in some mechanical workshops, regardless of pay. For him, just being able to come into contact with mechanical artifacts was a source of joy.
Perhaps because of his persistence and passion, Ning Zhuo's proficiency in mechanical techniques continually improved.
At fifteen, a mechanical parrot he created surpassed the standards of all his peers, catching the eye of a family elder at the academy, who praised it on the spot.
However, during the major family examination, Ning Zhuo, who had been slightly anticipated by some elders, underperformed.
"He was too nervous!" the Ning Family Clan Leader sighed after viewing the jade slip.
The jade slip detailed the specifics of Ning Zhuo's cohort's family examination.
"Indeed," Ning Xiaoren agreed, "at that time, the string incidentally got tangled, and Ning Zhuo didn't notice. When he was about to take action, the entanglement gave him no room to perform."
"If I were the proctor, I would have granted him another chance to retake the exam," Ning Xiaoren lamented.
The Ning Family Clan Leader shook his head: "The proctoring elder did nothing wrong. According to the rules, candidates should examine thoroughly before the exam. Since this happened, Ning Zhuo must take responsibility."
As the father and son discussed, a servant came to report: Feng Jiqing had arrived.
"Invite him in," the Ning Family Clan Leader nodded.
Feng Jiqing appeared as a middle-aged man with squinted eyes, long green hair, a tall and slim figure, and a windmill-like blade strapped to his back.
Feng Jiqing had a Wind Spiritual Root and some expertise in mechanical techniques. Although he wasn't a formal mechanism cultivator, his produced and controlled mechanical wind falcons were swift as lightning and attacked with the ferocity of a storm.
After failing to recruit the youthful guest, the Ning Family had persistently sought external talents.
Recently, the Ning Family increased their incentives and finally recruited Feng Jiqing. He was one of the most significant talents the Ning Family had attracted so far.
"Clan Leader, Young Clan Leader," Feng Jiqing saluted with his hands cupped, standing straight. He was at the Foundation Establishment Peak and understood the value of mechanism cultivators, holding his worth in high regard, hence his average attitude toward the two high-ranking Ning Family members.
Young Clan Leader Ning Xiaoren smiled: "Master Feng, this time we've invited you to appraise these two mechanized Explosive Flame Monkeys and evaluate the creator's mechanical skills."
The connection between Ning Zhuo and the mechanized Explosive Flame Monkeys was something the Ning Family Clan Leader and the Young Clan Leader didn't wish to disclose too quickly.
On one hand, Ning Xiaoren wanted to pretend ignorance to build an image of himself and make Ning Zhuo feel his "sincerity."
On the other hand, the matter concerning the mechanized Explosive Flame Monkeys inevitably involved Fei Si. If word got out, it would put Fei Si in a difficult position, which the Ning Family wished to avoid.
Fei Si, who managed most of Fire Persimmon Immortal City's daily affairs, held significant power and was not someone to be provoked easily.
Their concealment inadvertently caused some misunderstanding for Feng Jiqing, who couldn't help but speculate: "Are they planning to offer a hefty sum to hire Chen Cha?"
Feng Jiqing certainly didn't want this to happen, so he began inspecting the two mechanized Explosive Flame Monkeys without revealing any emotion.
One of the monkeys was well-made and solidly constructed, representing a previous version. The other was crude and shoddy, already significantly damaged, which Ning Zhuo had deliberately modified afterwards.
After inspecting the monkeys, Feng Jiqing remarked: "The main material for the monkey's skin is Fire Velvet Rat Skin, woven with traditional spiritual power embroidery. A traditional craft, nothing worth mentioning."
"Using celestial gold for the framework is essential because setting up a storage formation requires it. Celestial gold is usually the best option."
"But if it were me, I would go a step further and choose the empty lungs of a Cloud Whale. This way, the formation created could store living creatures, while the current one can only store dead objects."
"The mechanized Explosive Flame Monkeys were designed to harvest Fire Persimmons. Although Fire Persimmons can somewhat be considered fire essence, they are fundamentally living entities, as they are the fruits of the Fire Persimmon Tree. Storing them in a formation space that reserves living beings would be more suitable, preserving their quality better."
Feng Jiqing only mentioned the advantages of his plan, without touching on the rarity of Cloud Whale empty lungs.
"The material used for the body of the mechanized Explosive Flame Monkeys is quite good." This significant highlight was glossed over by Feng Jiqing.
"There are many formations in the palms, and the matching methods are relatively new and pretty good." Feng Jiqing minimized his praise when he couldn't avoid complimenting.
"The most brilliant part of this mechanized design, in my opinion, is the wanderer bullet in the monkey's brain," Feng Jiqing swiftly praised but immediately turned critical.
"However, such material choices, while saving considerable costs, are unusable below the Foundation Establishment Stage, significantly limiting the number of potential buyers."
"Without this flaw, the sales of mechanized Explosive Flame Monkeys could multiply several times, even tenfold," Feng Jiqing concluded.
"This design has its shortcomings," Feng Jiqing summarized.
The Ning Family Clan Leader and Ning Xiaoren exchanged glances, the former remaining silent while the latter pursued: "Is the creator's mechanical skill considered strong?"
Among the hundred arts of cultivation, mechanical techniques ranked low.
The father and son were not versed in this area, and being among the upper echelon of the family, they were constantly swamped with affairs or engaging in intrigues, making it hard to grasp the nuance of the mechanized Explosive Flame Monkeys.
In fact, not just mechanical techniques, a brand new pill recipe would be hard for them to evaluate.
They were neither alchemists nor focused on mechanical techniques.
In ancient times, when even Foundation Establishment cultivators were scarce, families were generally weaker than sects, and cultivation kingdoms were exceedingly rare, often fleeting in historical records.
But the development of cultivation to the present day had made the hundred cultivation arts vast and profound, making cross-disciplinary understanding as difficult as crossing a mountain.
Feng Jiqing pondered, "Chen Cha operated the Frisbee Workshop for many years, and only managed to produce such a mechanism artifact after much effort."
"So, it is indeed commendable."
"This mechanism artifact has its ingenious parts, though not many. Even if it sells well now, the harvesting business of Fire Persimmons will undoubtedly suffer next year, and its utility is limited."
"On balance, this mechanism artifact is medium, slightly above average."
"As for the maker, I shall leave my comments at that," Feng Jiqing concluded.
The Ning Family Clan Leader and Ning Xiaoren exchanged another glance.
The former thought: "For a Foundation Establishment Cultivator like Feng Jiqing to rate something as medium is a great compliment for Ning Zhuo, who is only in the Qi Refinement Realm."
The latter became even more resolved to win over Ning Zhuo.
Meanwhile.
At Ciyou Garden.
Zhu Xuanji hid his form and entered the garden.
An old man sunbathing in the garden suddenly furrowed his brow, looking towards the hidden Zhu Xuanji: "Who's there?!"
Zhu Xuanji was startled, then revealed himself.
He performed a hand incantation, causing his eyes to emit golden light, activating a detection spell to observe his surroundings.
"I see. There's an invisible thunder force here circulating within the courtyard. As soon as I stepped in, the differences in electric potential between before and after I entered allowed you to sense my presence," Zhu Xuanji complimented as he stomped his foot.
A small explosion of thunder under his feet kicked up a layer of soil, revealing the bricks underneath. The runes on the bricks created a dizzying pattern at a glance.
These bricks were laid in the ground at intervals, not forming a formation.
Because there was no complete formation, it was hard for Zhu Xuanji to detect, making it the first time he was caught since entering Fire Persimmon Immortal City.
"So, it's Lord Zhu Xuanji. Have a seat," the old man said, lying still on the chair.
Zhu Xuanji had already appeared publicly in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, a matter well known throughout the city.
Strangely, the old man was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, and only at an early stage at that, yet he showed a casual attitude towards someone as high-ranked as a Golden Core cultivator like Zhu Xuanji.
Zhu Xuanji didn't feel offended in the least. He approached the old man with a smile: "Senior Li Leifeng, I've long heard of your great name. I came specifically to visit you."
The old man, Li Leifeng, snorted coldly: "For such an illustrious figure as Zhu Divine Capture to visit, you are rather late."
"You say you are here for a visit, yet you actually aim to verify whether I am the Black Shadow Demon Cultivator?"
Zhu Xuanji chuckled awkwardly.
Li Leifeng sighed: "I have lived for so many years and seen many things. Lord Zhu, feel free to inspect as you will."
Zhu Xuanji cupped his hands: "Forgive my intrusion."