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The Zhou family patriarch sat at the head of the table, with the Zheng family patriarch on his left and the Ning family patriarch on his right.

"It's peculiar; we still have no clue about the identity of that shadow demon cultivator!" The Zhou family patriarch took a sip of tea and set the cup down. "This time, our Huoshi Immortal City has truly lost face."

Although he said this, his expression remained calm, showing no signs of anger or shame. Instead, he seemed relaxed and composed.

This was clearly a probing statement.

After the incident, the Zhou family higher-ups began to suspect who the traitor was, who had secretly released the shadow demon cultivator.

Just as Zhu Xuanji had speculated, the Zhou family also wondered who might have been the mole.

The Zheng family patriarch, with his loud voice, spoke directly, "In my opinion, that shadow demon cultivator must have fled long ago! On the day of the Huoshi Festival, our three Golden Core patriarchs worked together to dig up the ground, nearly hollowing out the entire mountain base, but we didn't find a trace of him."

The Zhou family patriarch looked towards the Ning family patriarch, squinting his eyes, "Brother Ning, what do you think of this matter?"

The Ning family patriarch spread his hands, "It doesn't matter where the shadow demon cultivator came from or who he colluded with. These things are not important."

"Right now, City Lord Meng Kui himself is stationed at the volcano top, preventing any cultivators from entering the Immortal Palace."

"In this way, only disciples in the Qi Refining stage can use their souls to enter the Immortal Palace and compete for its inheritance."

"Meng Kui's own grandson, Meng Chong, is extraordinarily talented. You both understand the significance of such a talent."

"We three families must join forces, work closely together, and fully support our juniors if we are to contend with Meng Chong."

When he said this, the Ning family patriarch was still unaware that Meng Chong had once again failed in exploring the Immortal Palace and had fallen unconscious.

But his words earned the approval of the Zhou and Zheng family patriarchs.

The immense pressure brought by Meng Chong's exceptional talent was a major reason why they agreed to ally with the Ning family.

The desire for an alliance among the three families was strong, and they were all willing to bring out their resources to support their juniors. However, the problem lay in the distribution.

If one family contributed more, the others would have less to use.

None of the three families wanted to suffer a loss, so their preliminary alliance was stalled by issues over benefits distribution.

The three families couldn't reach an agreement for the time being.

"We'll first see how the test goes," the Zhou family patriarch said.

The Zheng family patriarch nodded, "Let's take a good look then!"

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

He knew that this joint cultivation test organized by the three families had a deeper meaning beyond the surface—it was a way to evaluate the quality of each family's modified cultivation teams to determine resource allocation!

The Ning family patriarch was very aware that his side was the weakest. He could only hope that the gap between them and the Zhou and Zheng families wasn't too large.

Ning Zhuo, led by a servant, arrived at the Zhou family's martial arts training ground.

Many cultivators had already gathered in the square.

They were mostly young faces, with few middle-aged or elderly.

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

"Ah Zhuo, you're here." Seeing Ning Zhuo appear, Ning Yong immediately walked out of the crowd and ran towards him.

Ning Chen was also in the crowd, waving at Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo smiled and waved back.

Since their last battle at the Immortal Palace, Ning Yong, Ning Chen, and Ning Zhuo's relationship had undergone a fundamental change. From ordinary classmates, they had become comrades who had fought through life and death.

The training ground was noisy and bustling.

Ning Zhuo and Ning Yong blended into the Ning family crowd, looking inconspicuous.

While chatting casually with Ning Yong and Ning Chen, Ning Zhuo observed the people around them.

"The scale of the Ning family's modified cultivation team has grown!"

In the training ground, the Ning family had the largest number of people, exceeding sixty.

The Zhou and Zheng families had groups of twenty-nine and forty-five people, respectively.

The Ning family members gathered together, appearing strong in numbers.

Many young people scanned around, sometimes making direct eye contact with cultivators from the other two families, with a sense of hidden rivalry.

Ning Zhuo pondered to himself, "Among the three families, the Ning family started the latest and is overall the weakest."

"Originally, the modified cultivation team was also the smallest."

"Did the family higher-ups suddenly expand the team because they felt lacking in confidence and wanted to fill the ranks with more people?"

"The Ning family has a strong desire for the Lava Immortal Palace!"

Ning Zhuo also secretly observed the Zhou and Zheng family cultivators.

The Zhou family cultivators were generally silent, with little communication among themselves, giving off a repressive feeling. In the center of their group stood two figures, one tall and one short, one strong and one thin, with an obvious leader's demeanor.

"It's Zhou Zhu and Zhou Zhendeep." Ning Zhuo had gathered quite a bit of intelligence and recognized them immediately.

The Zheng family cultivators were all muscular and exuded a fierce energy. Their eyes were sharp, and their gazes were like blades, causing many Ning family cultivators to avoid eye contact.

The young cultivator standing at the forefront of the Zheng family, wearing a headband, had his eyes closed. What caught people's attention were the few hook-shaped magical instruments hovering around him.

"It's Zheng Jian!" Ning Zhuo thought to himself.

After observing the cultivators from the Zhou and Zheng families, Ning Zhuo looked at the Ning family cultivators and immediately felt that, despite their numbers, the Ning family seemed disorganized and ragtag.

An elder from the Zhou family appeared before everyone, activated the test formation, and announced the start of the skill assessment.

"Da Zhu, let's go," Zhou Zhendeep said.

"Mm," Zhou Zhu replied in a muffled voice.

Although Zhou Zhu had a higher cultivation level, he followed behind Zhou Zhendeep.

They were initially in the center of the crowd, but as they moved forward, the Zhou family members ahead of them seemed to sense it and stepped aside a few paces.

Once the two Zhou family geniuses passed, the crowd immediately returned to their original positions.

As Zhou Zhu and Zhou Zhendeep walked out, the Zhou family members moved like flowing water, seamlessly coordinating and showing a high degree of formation expertise. Every step they took seemed synchronized, their movements interweaving without the slightest chaos, displaying the demeanor of a great family.

A gleam flashed in Ning Zhuo's eyes as he immediately caught key details and deduced, "These Zhou family cultivators are extraordinary. Their coordination is seamless, and they operate as one. They must have deep expertise in battle formations."

Although the Zhou family's modified cultivation team had the fewest members, they were not to be underestimated!

Seeing this, many knowledgeable cultivators showed solemn expressions.

Most people, however, didn't pay much attention, with the Ning family having the most of such individuals.

Under countless gazes, Zhou Zhu was the first to enter the testing formation.

Once inside, he fully activated the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, causing the formation to emit the light of the five elements.

The Zhou family elder took a glance and loudly announced, "Zhou Zhu, third layer peak."

In an instant, the Zhou family cultivators cheered.

They were clearly prepared, shouting in unison, drawing the attention of the other two families' cultivators.

Next, Zhou Zhendeep entered the formation.

"Zhou Zhendeep, second layer mid-stage!" the elder announced.

The Zhou family cultivators cheered again.

Someone in the Zheng family sneered, "And they call him a genius? How come he's only at the second layer mid-stage? I'm already at the third layer!"

Zheng Jian opened his eyes and glanced indifferently at the speaker, who immediately fell silent.

This small scene also fell into Ning Zhuo's view.

"Mm, another useful piece of information."

"In the Zheng family's modified cultivation team, Zheng Jian is the absolute leader with supreme authority."

The Zheng family patriarch sighed, "Brother Zhou, your family's Gather-Disperse Spirit Tide Formation is truly effective."

The Ning family patriarch nodded slightly, agreeing deeply.

They naturally knew more, understanding that Zhou Zhendeep had only recently modified his cultivation, yet had reached the second layer mid-stage.

Such speed was incredibly fast.

The Zhou family patriarch feigned a sigh, "Relying solely on the Gather-Disperse Spirit Tide Formation couldn't achieve such results. Zhou Zhendeep has been pushing himself to the limit. Although he doesn't have Zhou Zhu's talent, he has been catching up madly using numerous healing methods."

"There were several times when he was on the verge of death, causing many family members to worry deeply."

The Zheng family patriarch was moved, "With such descendants, how could a family not prosper?"

The Ning family patriarch echoed this sentiment, though he felt increasingly heavy-hearted.

Ning Zhuo continued to observe silently. He knew Zhou Zhu and Zhou Zhendeep had trained at the Mud Flow Sect and was curious about their mechanical skills.

Unfortunately, today's event did not provide them with an opportunity to showcase their mechanical techniques.