Chapter 85: The Joint Examination of the Three Houses

Whether it was the Zhou family, the Zheng family, or the Ning family, all of them attached great importance to this joint assessment.

In the reception hall, the Zhou family patriarch sat in the seat of honor, the Zheng family patriarch on his left, and the Ning family patriarch on his right.

“Strange indeed. That shadowy demonic cultivator—who knows what kind of person he truly was? He has vanished without a trace,” said the Zhou family patriarch after taking a sip of tea and setting down his cup. “This time, our Fire Persimmon Immortal City has been utterly disgraced.”

Though he said as much, his expression remained calm, not the least bit enraged or humiliated. On the contrary, he seemed leisurely composed.

It was clearly a probing remark.

After the incident, the Zhou family’s higher echelons had gradually come to their senses.

Just as Zhu Xuanji had suspected, the Zhou family was also wondering who the traitor was, who had secretly let the shadowy demonic cultivator in ahead of time.

The Zheng family patriarch had a booming voice and said bluntly, “In my view, that shadowy demonic cultivator must have slipped away long ago! On the day of the Fire Persimmon Festival, the Golden Core ancestors of our three families worked together to dig the ground, nearly hollowing out the entire mountainside, and still not a single ghostly shadow was found.”

The Zhou family patriarch turned to the Ning family patriarch, eyes narrowing. “Brother Ning, how do you see this matter?”

The Ning family patriarch spread his hands. “No matter where that shadowy demonic cultivator came from, or who he was linked to, none of that matters.”

“At present, City Lord Meng Kui is personally keeping watch atop the volcanic summit, preventing any cultivator from entering the Immortal Palace.”

“In that case, only the Qi Refinement juniors remain able to contend for the palace’s inheritance by means of soul entry.”

“Meng Kui’s own grandson, Meng Chong, possesses supreme celestial aptitude. The two of you surely understand what such aptitude means.”

“For us three families to stand against him, we have no choice but to join forces, cooperate closely, and devote all our strength to supporting our younger generation. Only then will we have any chance of contending with Meng Chong.”

When he said this, the Ning family patriarch still did not know that Meng Chong had already failed once again in exploring the Immortal Palace and had fallen unconscious.

Still, his words won the approval of the Zhou and Zheng family patriarchs.

The pressure Meng Chong, with his heavenly talent, had placed on their two families was immense, and that was also one of the main reasons they had agreed to bring the Ning family into the alliance.

All three families were eager to unite, and all were willing to bring out their foundations to greatly support their juniors. The problem lay in how the resources would be divided.

If your family took more, mine would receive less.

None of the three families was willing to suffer a loss, so the preliminary alliance had stalled over the allocation of benefits.

They could not yet reach an agreement.

“Let us first see how this assessment goes,” said the Zhou family patriarch.

The Zheng family patriarch nodded. “Then let us watch carefully.”

The Ning family patriarch remained silent, a trace of worry hidden in his eyes.

He knew this jointly held cultivation assessment was not merely what it seemed on the surface; beneath it lay another crucial meaning. The three families would examine the quality of each clan’s retraining contingent and use that to determine how the resources would be distributed.

The Ning family patriarch knew full well that his side was the weakest. All he could hope for now was that the gap between them and the Zhou and Zheng families was not too great.

Led by an attendant, Ning Zhuo arrived at the Zhou family’s martial arena.

Many cultivators had already gathered in the square.

Most were young faces; middle-aged and elderly cultivators were rare.

The crowd was neatly divided into three groups: the Zhou family, the Zheng family, and the Ning family.

“Zhuo, you’re here.” Seeing Ning Zhuo appear, Ning Yong immediately stepped out from the crowd and trotted over to him.

Ning Chen was also in the crowd and waved in greeting.

Ning Zhuo smiled and waved back.

Ever since the last time he had blown up the Immortal Palace, the relationship between Ning Yong, Ning Chen, and him had undergone a qualitative change. They were no longer merely classmates; they had become comrades who had survived life-and-death combat together.

The martial arena was noisy and bustling.

Ning Zhuo and Ning Yong joined the Ning family’s group, where they were hardly noticeable.

As Ning Zhuo chatted casually with Ning Yong and Ning Chen, he also observed the people around him.

The Ning family’s retraining contingent had grown larger.

In the martial arena, the Ning family had the most people—more than sixty. The Zhou family and Zheng family numbered twenty-nine and forty-five respectively.

With the Ning family gathered together, they appeared to be the most numerous and imposing.

Many of the younger cultivators kept sweeping their gazes back and forth; at times they stared straight at the cultivators of the other two families, carrying an undercurrent of rivalry.

Ning Zhuo silently weighed the situation.

“Among the three great families, the Ning family started the latest and is also the weakest overall.”

“In the beginning, its retraining team was the smallest as well.”

“Yet the clan elders suddenly expanded it on a large scale. Is it because they lack confidence and are trying to fill the ranks with sheer numbers?”

“The Ning family has a fierce desire for the Lava Immortal Palace.”

Ning Zhuo then turned his covert attention to the cultivators of the Zhou and Zheng families.

The Zhou family cultivators were generally quiet, speaking little with one another, which gave off a stifling air. In the center of the group stood two figures, one tall and one short, one sturdy and one lean, clearly bearing the bearing of leaders.

“It’s Zhou Zhu and Zhou Zeshen,” Ning Zhuo recognized at once, for he had gathered quite a bit of intelligence.

The Zheng family cultivators were all well-built, radiating a sharp and vigorous aura. Their eyes were bright and lively; when they looked about, they seemed like blades of keen steel, so much so that many Ning family cultivators instinctively avoided their gaze.

At the very front of them stood a young cultivator wearing a headband, yet his eyes were closed. What drew the eye even more were the several hook-shaped magical tools slowly revolving beside him.

“It’s Zheng Jian!” Ning Zhuo thought.

After he had looked over the cultivators of the two families, he turned to the Ning family’s own people. At once, he felt that although they were numerous, they gave off a distinctly motley and undisciplined impression.

A Zhou family elder appeared before everyone. He activated the assessment formation and declared the start of the technique examination.

“Da Zhu, go,” said Zhou Zeshen.

“Mhm,” Zhou Zhu answered in a muffled voice.

Clearly, Zhou Zhu was the one with the higher cultivation, yet he followed behind Zhou Zeshen.

The two of them had originally stood in the center of the crowd, but the moment they started forward, the Zhou family members ahead of them shifted a few paces aside as if they had eyes in their backs.

Once the two Zhou geniuses had passed, they promptly returned to their original positions.

As Zhou Zhu and Zhou Zeshen walked out, the Zhou family crowd flowed like water, separating and merging at will, revealing a tacit understanding and exquisite coordination in the formation. Every step seemed to arise from mutual instinct; within the formation, figures intertwined without the slightest confusion, fully displaying the bearing of a great clan.

A sharp gleam flashed through Ning Zhuo’s eyes as he immediately caught the key clue and deduced, “These Zhou family cultivators are no ordinary group. Their coordination is highly practiced; they move as one body. They must have profound skill in battle formations.”

The Zhou family’s retraining contingent was the smallest in number, but it could not be underestimated.

Seeing this, many experienced cultivators revealed grave expressions.

Most others did not take it seriously, as the Ning family had the largest number of such people.

Under the watch of countless eyes, Zhou Zhu was the first to enter the assessment formation.

Once inside, he fully activated the Five-Element Qi Rhythm Art, causing the formation to shine with five-colored light.

The Zhou family elder glanced at him and then announced in a loud voice, “Zhou Zhu, peak third layer.”

Instantly, the Zhou family cultivators erupted into cheers.

They had clearly prepared in advance, shouting in unison with perfectly matched tones, drawing the attention of the other two families.

Next, Zhou Zeshen entered the formation.

“Zhou Zeshen, middle stage of the second layer!” the elder announced.

The Zhou family cultivators cheered again.

Someone from the Zheng family sneered and said dismissively, “So he’s a genius? Why is he only at the middle stage of the second layer? I’ve already reached the third layer!”

Zheng Jian opened his eyes and cast a faint glance at the speaker. The man at once fell silent as though struck dumb.

That small scene also fell within Ning Zhuo’s field of vision.

“Good, another useful piece of intelligence.”

“Zheng Jian is the undisputed leader of the Zheng family’s retraining contingent, with extremely high authority.”

In the reception hall, the Zheng family patriarch sighed with admiration. “Brother Zhou, your clan’s Array of Tidal Gathering and Dispersal at Will is truly effective.”

The Ning family patriarch nodded slightly in deep agreement.

Of course, they knew more than that. They understood that Zhou Zeshen had only begun retraining not long ago, yet he had already reached the middle stage of the second layer.

That was an extremely fast pace.

The Zhou family patriarch pretended to sigh. “How could such results come from the array alone? That younger generation member, Zhou Zeshen, has been putting his life on the line. Though he lacks Zhou Zhu’s natural talent, he has stubbornly caught up through massive amounts of healing support.”

“Several times, he was driven to the brink of death, leaving many clansmen deeply worried on his behalf.”

The Zheng family patriarch was moved. “With sons like that, how could a family fail to prosper?”

The Ning family patriarch echoed him as well, but his heart grew even heavier.

Ning Zhuo continued to observe in silence. He knew that Zhou Zhu and Zhou Zeshen had both studied at Mudflow Sect, and he was quite curious about their skill with mechanisms.

Unfortunately, today’s assessment offered them no chance to display any mechanical craft.